Breaking Bad 3.2: "Caballo Sin Nombre"

Sorry for the late review. I found this episode markedly better than the premiere. I'd say B+, largely based on the second half of the episode.

This episode seemed to have a couple overarching themes--blindness, scrutiny and inscrutability, and parents and children concealing things from each other. The episode begins with Walt blinded by pepper spray (I liked the snot effect) and ended with him blinded by soap. The first time the pink bear eye showed up, I thought "I'm sick of this" but I really enjoyed the way it was used in the final scene, and I liked that Walt brought it back with him in his suitcase. Meanwhile, Skyler and Walt hide the nature of their conflict from Walter Jr., Skyler lamely attempts to call Beneke out with a cliched "But think of the children!" and Jesse buys his house out from under the noses of his reticent parents. Much of the episode revolves around deliberate lack of knowledge and refusals to communicate. Maybe this is some kind of symbolic reference to uncertainty about the future--like I said last time, I think I underrated lung cancer as a plot accelerant. Walt and Jesse are still floating along without a project; I hope the Pollos deal heats up soon.

One gripe with this episode (and the season so far) is the continuation of flashy stunts that seem uncharacteristic and unnecessary. I'm thinking specifically of the Ouija board, here. Breaking Bad used to have this extremely refreshing sense of realism, such as when Walt had to duct tape his rolls of cash into the vent so they wouldn't blow away. But that said, the last scene totally killed me. I was finally on the edge of my seat!

And my final formal observation--we, as viewers, don't really seem to be able to get into Walt's head anymore. Where is he driving and why is he so into his broken windshield? Why does he fish the band-aid out of the hotel pool? What's the explanation for his ridiculous, improbable beer and popcorn bender? Previously Walt even served as an audience surrogate with all his caution and panic, (not to mention his Ph.D. and underdog-y good nature). I bet we'd all agree that the turning point for Walt's relatability is when he lets Jane choke to death, but it's interesting to go into the new season so alienated from the viewpoint of the purported main character. Maybe this presages a dynamic where Jesse is the one who's all responsible and shit, so I'm really looking forward to seeing this when the two interact.

Other stuff:
- Beneke implied that Skyler is fortunate to have the luxury of being able to make decisions about morality in a relative vacuum. I'm not a big fan of book-fixing or breaking the law in general, but Skyler's seeming lack of nuance is increasingly annoying. Who else was totally delighted when Walter Jr. called her a bitch?
- Walter Jr. to his dad: "Everybody is on your side"-- although he's newly isolated from the viewers.
- At least Tuco's uncle can "remember [Walt's] name." ::rolls eyes::
- Once again, how awesome was that last scene?
- I was pretty disappointed last time by Jesse's clean-cut-ness last time but he looked so good here. I'm not sure yet how I feel about his change in demeanor. I vituperatively enjoyed seeing his parents get theirs though.
- I'm worried Jesse is running out of money. Rehab probably cost like 35 grand and the house 400, and he started with about 480,000 (plus whatever they had before, which I can't remember but think was probably only a couple thousand). Though I guess he could still send a kid to Harvard for a year or something.
- Speaking of kids, I really liked seeing the cleaner's daughter. I've always enjoyed the way Breaking Bad fleshes out the world its characters live in--maybe we'll see Gomez's family some time or something.
- Not that into the background music so far.