The fourth season of AMC‘s Breaking Bad came to an end with “Face Off”. But did the episode meet our Seriable expectations? Read our review to find out.
THE GOOD
- Humor a-plenty amid high-drama.
- The episode kept me on my toes throughout. There were so many diversions and elements in play, but they all had a purpose. Walt’s convoluted plan was part ingenious, part lucky. His baser survival instincts revealing themselves at new depths.
- Gus. A great arc comes to an end. Ultimately he had one too many loose ends to take care of. He could have killed Tio much earlier but his ego got the better of him. Likewise, his moral code was offended by Tio’s apparent DEA tattling, rocking Gus’ perspective. Walt used every inch to his advantage, including Gus’ past and his own opportunism. Gus’ death walk was well crafted (I even felt a twinge of regret), while his final moments were incredibly shocking. They faked us out for a moment, only to bring literal meaning to the episode’s title.
- Interwoven storytelling. This season took a while to get going, but by the end of “Face Off” so many season and series-long plots and arcs had been interwoven, boiled together to produce a truly combustible end product. Every detail matters in this show, to praise just the finale would not be giving rightful recognition to all of the many seeded elements that are followed-through.
- Character development. If he wasn’t already, this episode made it absolutely crystal meth-clear that Jess is the show’s protagonist. He’s done some terrible things but he remains sympathetic. As for Walt, his defining words “I won” confirm the path this man is on. He sees his life as a video game, and in some respects that’s not the worst outlook to have in his situation. But he continues to lose touch with his humanity and only truly cares about himself and his own. The question continues to be asked — what happens when you break bad?
THE BAD
- My main disappointment is that we don’t seem to have a springboard into season 5. Last season we had Jesse murdering Gale to launch season 4, but that sort of drama appears to be missing this time round. That’s not to say this is a bad thing (I’m actually intrigued by which direction the freight train will hit us from next), but I was hoping for the next chapter to continue directly from “Face Off”. I guess it still could. We’ll see.
- Some of Gus’ decisions felt a bit un-Gus-like, as though he suddenly lost all of what he’d learned over the years to satisfy the fact that he had to die. That being said, I’m willing to overlook most of this aspect because of my earlier point about Gus feeling affronted over Tio’s DEA tattling. The ‘Chicken Man’ had lost his focus.
QUESTIONS
- Why didn’t Gus’s spidey-sense kick-in this time?
- Why didn’t Tyrus do another sweep prior to giving Gus the all-clear?
- How did Walt get the poison into Brock’s food — there was certainly a window of opportunity, but how did he do it without raising suspicion?
ANSWERS
- Walt poisoned Brock after all. I had a feeling that it was too far-stretched to be Gus (props to Seriable reader Aria for figuring that it was indeed Walt.)
- The title refers to the both the encounters between Gus and Tio, the battle between Walt and Gus, and most physically to Gus getting half his face removed by Walt’s incendiary.
- Walt believes he’s “won”.
BREAKING THOUGHTS / SEASON 5
- If ever we needed an example of just how far Walt has sunk, it came early in the episode when he asked his neighbor Becky to ‘check that the stove was off’. He intentionally put her in harms way, purely for his own self-preservation. Certainly justifying his hero-turned-villain status. Though to be fair, the transformation happened a long time ago.
- “What kind of man talks to the DEA? No man. No man at all”. A primary driver in his decision to belatedly kill Tio was the breach of code — Gus was affronted. They were enemies, but only now did Gus consider him to be not be a man at all.
- Tio finally looked Gus in the eye moments before he blew them both the smithereens. Such a great character device to bookend their journey. And how fitting that they should go out together.
- Interesting that Gus had resorted to forcing Jesse to cook. In another reality, that might have been interesting to see play out a bit longer. I found it funny that the goon tasked with watching Jesse almost said more words than Tyrus has throughout the entire season! Speaking of Tyrus, like Victor before him, he shall be missed.
- Jesse to Walt, questioning: “he had to die, right?” Words that retain his innocence, though I do wonder whether a part of him knows (and twistedly accepts?) that Walt poisoned Brock? Right now there’s too much going on inside his head, but when the meth settles, he’ll surely have questions.
- There’s an ever-growing list of all the heinous ‘Walt acts’ (and non acts) that Jesse doesn’t yet know about. I have to think that Brock’s poisoning and some of the other crimes will be revealed to Jesse before the show is out.
- There are still some interesting pieces in play, namely Hank, Mike and Saul. Looks like the super lab has been taken care of though (wont any of the now unemployed employees identify Walt and Jesse as being responsible for the fire?)
- I’m curious to see if and how they are going to redeem Walt before the show is over. At this point it looks unlikely (and I don’t think it would be wise), though I can also see room for sympathy depending on what occurs in the final 16 episodes.
- The Cartel is gone and Gus defeated — what will be the overarching story drivers for season 5?
- Best Moment: Gus T-1000 walking out of Tio’s room and fixing his suit, before collapsing to the ground. Dead. That man was regal to very the end. One of Seriabledom’s best ever ‘villains’.
Rating: 9.5/10 Seriable Stars
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FRINGE OBSERVATIONS: 4.22 Brave New World: Part 2
ONCE UPON A TIME OBSERVATIONS: 1.21 An Apple Red As Blood
FRINGE OBSERVATIONS: 4.21 Brave New World: Part 1
ONCE UPON A TIME OBSERVATIONS: 1.20 The Stranger
FRINGE OBSERVATIONS: 4.20 Worlds Apart
{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
I like Gus’ subtle plug for the Walking Dead
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Indeed.
When I saw Gus walking out of the room I was like “Wait, there was an explotion and he still walking?”.And then, when I saw his face, it was like “Wait, he doesn’t have half of his face and he still walking??”.You know, the “WTF” moment – Pure gold.
And then “I won” by Walt.That’s just an amazing moment.Considering what has done to Jesse’s life.
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Thank you for the great review, Roco, as always,
and for giving me credit. Afterall, I just happened to be among the many Breaking Bad fans who had the same idea about the poisoning, and they’re certainly better watchers than I’ll ever be.
I’ve been an avid fan of your reviews, catching up with them since the 2nd season of Fringe; And after watching the great “Face off” , I feel a small, but significant connection between Breaking Bad and Fringe.
One of the pivotal aspects of Fringe, according to you, is the Cyclical nature of events, which present themselves in certain moments. Just to give an example, we have Walter who saved his son only to become the “Destroyer of worlds”, and finally he agrees upon sacrificing his son (via Boom Boom Machine!) only for Peter to become the “Healer of worlds” –
To me, Breaking Bad is about life’s checkpoints, if you will. You compared Walt’s “I won” dialogue to a (end of level) video game reward (Think Street fighter – K.O! YOU WON!), correctly.
I think if we think of Walt, as the protagonist of a Role Playing video the game, then it all make sense – the only difference is that, Walt isn’t given the option of Saving/Loading, so he’s got to act In the moment – Little time for planning – unlike “Face off” –
I think what Gilligan’s trying to say, by depicting the amazing journey and transformation of a school teacher into a merciless drug lord, is that, what would “we” the viewers do if we were in his shoes?
Does moralities matter when it comes to survival?
And more precisely:
In a role playing game, do you care for Karma, or Achievements?
And the cyclical nature of Walt’s “spiritual” journey for “being in charge” (as Gilligan has suggested on one of his Inside Breaking Bad videos, that Walt’s excuse for protecting his family is a lie – and he’s more about having Control over his life)
is that, Walt and Jesse’s partnership has resulted in Walt going from a decent, kind-hearted loser to a great but despicable powerlord, and in Jesse transforming from a decent, confused loser to a Great hero, on whom we can rely.
Again, thanks for the review.
I’d be glad if there was another means to communicate with you. E-mails perhaps.
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Wonderful analysis, Aria!
Excellent stuff all round. You hit the nail on the head: what matters most to the protagonist/villain (or anyone)? Is it morality/good deeds, or tangible results? Add the fact that Walt has this ‘death sentance’ hanging over his head for a while now and his desire to take control can at least be understood. But again, it’s about choices within circumstances. Walt’s a fascinating character study.
I’m always happy to discuss more. If you want me to email just use the contact form and it will come right through. (I try to reply to emails as soon as I can, though sometimes it takes a while).
Thanks again for the great read!
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Gus’s tie straightening moment is a perfect visualization of a character’s persona. Much like Spock’s tunic straighten at the end of The Wrath Of Khan.
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@Roco:
Thank you.
Indeed Walt is a great complext character. And a huge part of that is due to Cranston’s uber-realistic amazing acting.
Most of the time while watching Breaking Bad, I’m wondering how Walt will manage to get out of the mess this time around. And there’s always a trade-off between moralities and tangible results. I believe, Gus manged to keep the balance; for instance he carefully removed Walt from the business, while tutoring Jesse to become a great meth cook (and leader).
While for Walt, it’s most likely to happen in the extremes; either he screws up or walks out winner. Like the video game symbolism you mentioned. In most video games, due to faulty AI of the bots, it’s not about how “good” or “human-replicant” you try to play (this method, is like stopping at every Red light in a GTA game, which sounds ridiculous, but it is the Logical thing to do), in fact the winner is the one who plays more “effectively”.
I’ll e-mail you right away, thanks again for the amazing reviews; Fringe and Breaking Bad.
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