Breaking Bad 5.9 FAQ
What’s it called?
“Blood Money.”
Who’s responsible?
Bryan Cranston directs from a teleplay by Peter Gould (“Salud,” “Hazard Pay”).
What says AMC?
“As Walt and Jesse adjust to life out of the business, Hank grapples with a troubling lead.”
Is the “troubling lead” the book of Whitman poetry Gale gave to Walter?
It is.
How does it start?
With the scene screened at Comic Con last month. Invisotext on! The future Walter White (with hair on his head) squeezes through a chain-link fence and breaks into the derelict house he once shared with his family. He’s got a cough and still has that trunk gun we saw in last summer’s first scene. It looks like the White clan fled their home in a big hurry. Somebody has spray-painted “Heisenberg” on the living room wall. Walt unscrews a wall socket and removes the ricin hidden within.
The big news?
The first act picks up precisely where the prior episode left off, with a shot of the Whites’ bathroom door. It takes a moment for Hank to open it.
What else is AMC not telling us?
“Friday Night Lights” vet Jesse Plemons’ name is in the opening credits but he’s not in the episode.
What’s great?
Series mastermind Vince Gilligan says something like 20 hours worth of story are packed in these final eight episodes, and I’d say this episode bears that out. It is gripping and funny and it flies by.
What else is great?
“You know what could happen.” “Cause he’s a doctor, bitch!” “So you and Mike have been in touch?” “I think you know that.” “Just take it.” Lavell Crawford as Huell. Laura Fraser as Lydia. Bob Odenkirk as Saul Goodman. Carol’s groceries. The reveal of the rental’s driver. Hank staring at the artist’s rendering of Heisenberg. Hank’s repeated and strategic use of his garage remote. The best paperboy ever. The shot of the Schraderbrau. The wheels turning in Walter’s head as he kneels on the towel. Walt’s hand on the filebox. Pavel’s grisly fate. The final-scene violence visited upon a series regular.
What’s not so great?
After tonight, only seven episodes left.
How does it end, spoiler boy?
“Maybe your best course would be to tread lightly.”
9 p.m. Sunday. AMC.
