Breaking Bad: To'hajiilee (5x13)

I... don't... even... know... what... to... say. I'm in shock! This episode was a simply stunning example of what Breaking Bad is capable of. I was gripping the edge of my seat the whole way through, and the ending of the episode did not disappoint. I'll start with a plot summary, move to the few teeny tiny problems I had, and then finish with a discussion of why this episode kicked some ass.

So. Lydia is inspecting the meth production and talks to Todd about the necessity for a purer product. Todd then receives a phone call from Walt, asking him to set up a meeting with his uncle about a new target: Jesse Pinkman. At the meeting, Jack agrees to kill him only if he agrees to cook for their meth business one more time, just to help teach Todd. 

Jesse, Hank, and Gomez, meanwhile, concoct a plan to find Walt's money. Hank and Gomez go to Huell (Saul's bodyguard) and trick him into think that Walt has killed Jesse. He is, understandably, freaked out, and he tells them all that he knows. It's not enough to help them find the money, but it does give Hank another idea: based on Huell's hints, they know that Walt buried his money in seven tubs. They set up a fake tub of cash with dirt surrounding it, and Jesse sends a picture to Walt.

Here's where things get crazy: Walt, in a blind panic, rushes out to the site where he buried the money, all the while talking frantically to Jesse. On the phone, he admits to several of his crimes, only to arrive at To'hajiilee to find... it was a trap. He realizes this fairly quickly, and calls Jack (Todd's uncle) and tells him to get out there right away, because Jesse is coming and he probably has backup. He stays on the phone with Jack, but when Jesse, Hank, and Gomez arrive, he calls off the assassins and surrenders. Hank arrests him, Jesse spits at him, the two are separated and put into two separate cars. But then... 

Jack and his team show up! There's a long tense waiting period, and... a shootout begins! Thus we end our episode with the fates of the main characters up in the air.

Whew. Okay, so I'll comment very briefly on the few weaknesses.

Saul, Skyler, Walter Jr., and Marie were all in this episode very briefly. Marie's presence was good: Hank calls her to tell her the wonderful news that he has Walt under arrest. This was such a poignant scene in light of what immediately follows. We see this couple express their love for one another, and then Hank promises to see her soon. But now, thanks to the shoot out, that promise might never be fulfilled.

Skyler and Jr. have their brief moment at the car wash. Skyler is teaching Jr. how to process transactions, and seems unwilling to let him go home. He thinks she's being unreasonable, and that the smell of the gas surely must be bearable by now. Skyler of course doesn't want him to leave because going home could be dangerous. Saul shows up, has a tense exchange with Skyler, and then pulls Walt outside to tell him that Huell has gone missing.

Just after this scene, Walt gets the picture and phone call from Jesse, which gets the ball rolling towards the tense final moments.

My problem? This brief appearance from Skyler, Jr., and Saul feels unnecessary. It cuts up the focus of the episode. Saul's conversation with Walt does give our main character a sense of foreboding, but since the bombshell from Jesse comes so soon after, it feels like an unnecessary step in building the tension of the story. This scene was too brief to accomplish much, but still took too long away from where the focus of the episode should have been.

But honestly, that's nitpicking. This episode was insanely good. The buildup to the climactic finish was tense. The frantic drive down to To'hajiilee was great. Jesse spitting in Walt's face was great. The scene with Huell was great.

I think maybe my favorite small moment was when Walt, Todd, and Jack were discussing the planned hit on Jesse. Walt is the one who's decided to have him killed, but he still seems so torn about the whole thing. He says that Jesse is "like family" to him, which is of course messed up in so many ways. But just the level of defensiveness that he displays in this conversation is so wonderfully twisted, given that he's paying to have him killed.

I also loved to see Andrea and Brock return. Again, this scene was a scary testament to how twisted Walt can really be. Here he is, in a room with a kid he once poisoned, and he just seems so totally at ease with lying his way through the situation.

I also adored the moment when Walt realizes that Jesse has been working with Hank. He looks... betrayed. Even after everything else that happened, I don't think he thought Jesse would honestly turn him in. It's at that moment that he finally concedes defeat.

Finally, after seasons and seasons of Walt getting away with everything, he has been caught. By the police. And they have evidence against him. Nothing like this has ever happened in the whole five seasons what we've had so far. It's an enormous game changer.

There were a lot of other great things about this episode, but I'm doing my best not to ramble on too much. In all honesty, this episode was probably the strongest of this season. I'm anticipating an exciting final three episodes to wrap up one of the best television series ever made.

9.5/10