Breaking Bad Season 2 Disk 4:

Episode 11:
No one ever expects the 12 year-old on the bike to be the shooter. Well, now I will. I knew it was a set-up but I was waiting for the ball to drop and the dude to get popped. That was pretty harsh.
This is one of those episodes that reminds me of the saying, "always darkest before the dawn". Except that this whole series is kind darkest before the dawn. It just keeps building and building and we've had this foreshadowing of an explosion at the White residence. Now with the drug deal on the line and the baby trying to come early, Walt can not make a right decision.
Meanwhile, Jesse has just tried heroine for the first time and Jane has relapsed. When Walt comes by for the product, he can't rouse either of them, though to be fair, he only tried to wake Jesse. Jesse who is conscious just long enough to tell Walt the meth is under the sink.
I know that this show is not glorifying drug use, even though one of the main characters is an addict. I recently heard an article which mentioned the leads in this show as anti-heroes. Until that interview, I had only thought of them as flawed, or perhaps even very flawed, heroes. You like Walt. You like Jesse. They have good reasons for what they do, at least in their minds, and they do try to do the right thing by their family and friends. But when Jesse tells Jane to leave so he can smoke some meth, you just know that she is going to lapse and that he only has it in him to try and send her away once. That's when I got the whole anti-hero bit. He's not just a guy with an addiction problem who wants to make some money, he's an addict that wants to make more money so he can do more drugs so he can make more money so he can more drugs. And if he gets to the fuck the hot girl from next door and gets he in on his little game, then all the better. You probably can't see the frown on my face, but it's there. What was once empathy with an occasional bit of sympathy is now antipathy towards Jesse. And I don't even know how I feel about Walt, who has been more than a bit mercenary as of late. Don't think that I'm complaining. This is riveting television. The acting and writing are good enough that I want to see the outcome. If they give me even a glimpse of the possibility of redemption for these characters, I will be hooked for the run of the show.

Episode 12:
Oh Walter, what have you become? I wonder about moral relativism and psychopaths. If they don't know that they are doing anything bad and no one else is involved, are they really doing something bad? What if there is someone else involved, but it's not something they're doing that hurts the other person, but a lack of doing something? What if we're not talk about a psychopath but a regular person who has lost sight of right and wrong? What if that person realizes that their inaction is tantamount to homicide if the situation were different? Unless the very start of the next episode shows a drastic change of situation, Walt has slipped over to the dark side and has embraced it completely.

Episode 13:
Lies. Lies and propaganda. To think that it all unraveled over one little question while under general anesthesia. For all of Walt's book smarts, he certainly lacks some common sense and is greatly short on his supply of wisdom. Sure, he didn't think that he was going to live long enough to have to worry about any of his lies coming back to haunt him, but when he found out that his cancer was in remission, he should have worried a little more on covering his ass. One call to his mom and a nicely worded email to Gretchen and he might have made it out of this season with a family living at the same house as him.
Now I'm sure about the causal relationship between Walt's inaction the previous episode and the mid-air collision this episode, but I'm thinking that he has a fair amount of the moral blame on his shoulders. Of course, you have got to be wondering what the guys at air traffic control were thinking, just letting Q come back to work as if everything were okay, simply because he said he couldn't be by himself any longer. Not to mention that some of the blame will surely fall on Q himself. I'm not absolving Jesse in this either, since he is the enabler in Jane's relapse When Jesse finds out about Walt's inaction, he will likely try to kill Walt.
This season did not end in a happy place for anyone, certainly not us viewers.

Breaking Bad Season 2 Disk 3:

Episode 8:
Is anyone surprised that Badger first proves that the guy trying to buy is a cop, and then talks himself into selling to the guy anyways? He was not the brightest of the dim bulbs Jesse picked to be his dealers, but still, you would think that unless he was high he would have had more common sense. But he doesn't. I think this is a great angle the writers have here. When the young cop is interrogating him, Badger says, "I thought we were going to hang out". Badger is this lonely loser, who likes to do meth, likes to make money selling meth, and is desperate for a friend.
Then we have Jesse back at the casa with Jane, who is way too good looking for this particular wanna be gangster. She does reveal that she's in recovery so maybe she's not too far removed from the lifestyle that Jesse is leading, and maybe she will prove to be motivation to do better in the future. Just who's version of better is at question.
The drug bust and slimeball lawyer are hilarious. Everything that could go wrong, did go wrong. At least Walter was not frozen by fear and put into action what he had counseled Hank to do - to take your fear head on and kick it in the teeth. It will be interesting to see how the lawyer shakes out. His character is as crooked as the day is long, but he has some code he works by, and I think he's as smart as he is ambitious. I guess that's the perfect combination if your an up and coming drug king pin.

Episode 9:
Is this Walt and Jesse's last cook out? This is one of those times where watching a show that is a couple of years old kind of spoils the effect, because I know that there are three more seasons of the show. But, that aside, while you're watching this episode you can't tell how it's going to go until Walt and family are sitting int he doctor's office and hearing the diagnosis. I saw the scan and thought what Walt thought when I saw it, but I also know from friends and family members that what you see on the scan is not necessarily what you think you are seeing, which is why we pay the doctors the big bucks.
Walt came down pretty hard on Jesse for a fair amount of the episode. Jesse is kind of an idiot, I supopse, and I also understand how frustrated Walt was spending what he thought was going to be his last weekend cooking with one easily avoidable mishap after another. You know that he cares for the kid during the scene where they are making the battery and Walt is explaining how things work and Jesse is grasping it and almost answers copper instead of just wire. I think if he would have said copper, Walt would have given him a congratulatory hug.
Somthing I like about both these characters is that they will do what other people consider bad things, maybe even what they would have considered bad at an earlier point in their life, but there are certain things that are sacred, like thier families and friends and no matter how much they complain each kicking in part of his profits to balance the other one out as the need arises. If it wasn't for the murder and providing this horrible drug, you could almost respect their choices.

Episode 10:
Talk about your mean drunks. Walt is either a horrible father and pretty much an idiot, or he is one sick bastard with a plan. I don't mean physically sick, because, well we already know that he is. Obviously, I'm referring to his treatment of Walter Jr. and the tequila. You have to wonder what Walt was thinking and what is going to come up between Walt and Hank.
Jesse's dad is supposed to be a bad-ass, but seems like a normal enough guy, I guess I can see why Jesse feels hurt when Jane won't introduce him, but then she does have a point since Jesse is the 'stoner' neighbor and meeting her dad for three seconds does not give you an accurate view of a person's character.
Meanwhile, back at the office... I will just come out and say it, I don't like Skylar. I haven't ever liked her. But, I don't dislike her. I just don't think that she is a good match for Walt. So, I don't really care what she does with her co-worker, except how it might impact Walt. This is not a bad thing. Really. I think it adds to the tension of the story. Please note that I said Skylar and not the actresses name - I think Gilligan made a conscious decision to portray her in a certain, oft-seeming unsympathetic way.
So, the leit motif at the beginning of about half the episodes this season has been a forensics team in haz-mat gear collecting evidence at Walt's house after an explosion and/or fire. This episode show more than we had seen before which included two, presumably, body bags laid out in the drive-way. When the next scene is the party mentioned above and Hank is talking about C4 on the turtle and one's mind naturally goes to the drug cartel's involvement in the explosion - as I think the producers want us to. But, as the episode progresses and Walt becomes Mr. Fixit, I wonder if it won't be him blowing up the house accidentally, or if the whole home repair schtick is just to set-up the last scene.

Breadking Bad Season 2 Disk 2

Episode 5: Breakage
I love that Jesse really is smart, no matter how stupid he sounds or looks trying to be street. Of course, someone who is moving more than a pound crystal meth a week is street, most likely. For all of Walter's concerns about the new business arrangement, Jesse has his stuff together and knows what he's doing. He's even right about acceptable losses, though of course Walter will never admit it, because, well quite frankly, he has no street cred, nor does he desire any. Walter's world is cut and dry - all about the numbers, whether they be the formulas for cooking the meth, the money collected, or figuring out the bills and planning for his family.
Hank's bravado is finally shown for that, even if to no one but the audience. We now know that for all of his big talk, that he's just as disturbed by killing Tuco as anyone would be at taking a life, and that he is just as afraid of the repercussions as you or I would be. I suspect we will see this played front-and-center this season. Maybe even more than once.

Episode 6: Peakaboo
Jesse has himself a fine crew of dealers. These guys are not good guys who made mistakes, these are the dregs of society, but they're nothing compared to the whore and her pimp, or whatever 'Spooge' is to her. These people are the lowest of the low, me thinks. It is so rare to see dirty people on television. I don't mean the fake-looking dirty used for comic effect on sitcoms, I mean the scabby, rashy, ain't-washed-in-a-month-or-more kind of dirty. You also rarely get to see junkies except as corpses or the crazies that the CSI has to deal with. Spooge and his, um, baby-mama, they're rare on television, they're genuine looking.
I was just commenting today how I would like to see more of the principal and Walter at school. Then, boom, Walter is teaching again and Carmen is having a little chat with him, saying that she is inspired by him and is there for him, in a discreet way if needed. I'm not expert, but that seemed to me like she was throwing out hints.
I am even more curious as to how Walter and Skylar met after seeing Walter and Gretchen interact. Last season, it was implied that she had dumped Walter to be with Elliot, and not able to deal with it, Walter left Grey Matters, and his shot at being uber-rich. But, now we have Gretchen saying that for no reason she has ever been able to discern, Walter walked out on her in the middle of a visit to her family. I am very intrigued.

Episode 7: Negro y Azul
We got a show-themed music video to start the episode. I think it's pretty cool that the producers don't feel tied down to a formula and I think that provides the freshness that makes this show so appealing, well that and the good acting.
I love that Walter gets off on being a bad-ass. And after a fashion, so does Jesse. Together they have the shared delusion that there bad-assness will get them the city and a corner on the meth market.
We also get to see Hank off in El Paso making himself look like a total idiot, even though when his machismo finally caves at the sight of an informant's severed head on the back of a turtle and he has to go to the car to keep from throwing up, he proves heroic when the bomb goes off and he gets right in putting a tourniquet on the guys leg to keep him from bleeding out. You would think that someone in the DEA in the Southwest would at least know basic Spanish.

Breaking Bad Season 2 Disk 1

Episode 1: Seven-thirty-seven
Damn. That Bryan Cranston is impressive. Not only does he act the crap out of his character, Walter, but he directs the episode too. We get closer to a big reveal, but you know, it's only the first episode of the new season, so they're going to make us suffer. Suffer is perhaps not the best term, though some of the characters, actually everyone except Marie and Hank are suffering.
Quite an interesting twist, the way Gonzo turns out to have died. Tuco may be the bad guy in all of this, but he's not as bas as Walter and Jesse think that he is, regardless of how the episode ends.

Episode 2: Grilled
Oh they do like to drag things out for us. Things really heated up, except for the chili powder kind of heat. It's nice to see that they're keeping leit motifs running into the second season. This show is actually quite good about reminding us of things from earlier episodes, which I really like and wish more shows would do. So many American television series have throw away episodes so that they can hook new viewers mid-season, or more likely keep viewers who may have missed an episode here or there. It is kind of ridiculous to expect someone to be able to catch each and every episode of a 22 to 26 episode season that airs weekly over a seven or eight month season. But, that's just part of the problem, the audience is treated for most shows like we are incapable of following a story arc that last most of the year. Sure, some series, I am thinking mostly of procedurals here, introduce a story in the second episode which is touched on two or three times throughout the season only to be wrapped up in a season finale which has some parts that won't be wrapped up until the start of the next season. The exceptions seem to be the shows following the model of British television which airs multiple seasons thorughout the year, each series being six to ten episodes if an hour or shorter and perhaps three or four if the show is in the 90 or 120 minute format. You can cut out all of the crap and follow a show over a month or two and get a good series arc as well as an arc per episode.
They say so much in this episode without uttering a word. The Theo character who can only communicate by ringing the bell is pure brilliant. When Tuco figures out that something is going on, and by asking not necessarily the right questions but still going on the right track, you wonder how Walter is going to get himself out of this one. Hank being just smart enough and just competent enough to track down the lowjacked car, only to end up in a shoot out is a brilliant outcome in this comedy of errors that is Breaking Bad.

Episode 3: Bit by a Dead Bee
Naked in the super market? I didn't see that one coming. And neither did anyone else. Walter is like scary smart and I don't think anyone realizes it. It really gets brought home when he asks the psychiatrist about doctor-patient confidentiality. Layers upon layers of stories and lies, all of which Walter remembers perfectly. He makes a comment about being surpassed by all of his peers, and it was clear he didn't mean the other teachers at the high school, to wit he had said that he was greatly overqualified. We know that his former grad school buddy is super rich based on work that they both did. I am wondering if there is more to that story, and I hope that they show it.
They finally brought us back up from the depths of despair, just so they can drive us back down as Walter and Jesse are each more estranged from their perspective families than they ever have been before. They bring us up, so they can take us down, so they can bring us up. You get the idea.
I was a little creeped out by the DEA agents in Hank's office giving him the grill of Tuco as a souvenir of his kill.

Episode 4: Down
Somehow, it seems that Walter and Jesse's lives were better when they were cooking meth and running from drug dealers who wanted to kill them than it is with their own families. Walter and Skylar's relationship has reached a new low, but I predict with Skylar's secret, well at least one of them, revealed at the end, there is some more down to go. I wonder how Walter and Skylar hooked up to begin with? There was the flashback sequence during an episode in season one where we see Walter working on equations in what looked to be a university setting, and a young woman looks on. Was that Skylar? Just the young her represented by a different actor? I had assumed this until right now, but there was the partner who had made all the money and the woman he was with had very close ties to Walter, too. I bet she was the young woman. Oh snap! Now I don't know anything about how Walter and Skylar got together. She has go to know that he's a major league brainiac, right? I know that she and her sister seem pretty self-absorbed, but she would have noticed something like that, wouldn't she.
Walter's life is great compared to Jesse's life, discounting the whole terminal cancer thing. Mr. and Mrs. Pinkman evict Jesse from his own house which they actually own and not without due cause. Jesse then ends up realizing he doesn't have any friends, and then his motorcycle and the last of his possessions gets stolen. He then descends even further when he falls into a chemical toilet and gets stained blue.