Note: I wrote this before any of the fifth season had aired, and I would definitely add “Ozymandias” and “Gliding Over All” to this list. This is meant to be a helpful list for those that want to catch up on the series while AMC is doing a marathon (they’re airing all episodes between now and the series finale on Sunday).
When I went about selecting episodes, I tried to focus on ones that are very important to the plot (which rules out more psychologically-driven episodes that I love like “Fly” and “Open House”), and ones that we know have a big impact in later seasons. As a result, season 4 is seriously under-represented, but it isn’t from lack of quality. Season 4 is arguably “the best” season, but its consistency also makes it hard to handpick single episodes. I mean, “End Times” or “Cornered” or “Salud” or really any single episode from that season could be on this list, but it’s very hard to single any of them out. Anyway, that’s my reasoning and now for the list…
Honorable Mention: “Hermanos” The most we’ve ever found out about Gustavo Fring came in this episode.
15. “Crawl Space” Season 4, Episode 11: I’m not in love with this episode the way some people are and I think that’s because the first 4/5ths of it are good but not incredible. Sure, the ending is chilling and that final shot is one of the best I’ve ever seen on television, so it definitely deserves to be on here, just not in the top spot as some have ranked it.
14. “Sunset” Season 3, Episode 6: Not THE most significant episode but a masterwork from start to finish. You get that great, suspenseful opening on the Indian reservation, Hank’s dogged pursuit of Jesse, Walter saying “I think things are looking up” right as the Cousins insist on killing him, that terrifically tense RV scene (still the closest Hank has come to catching Walter), and the great final scene at sunset. Just beautiful. If I were going by my personal preferences only, this would be in the top ten…there’s not a bad or wasted scene in it.
13. “ABQ” Season 2, Episode 13: A very significant episode (Walt’s cancer surgery, second cell phone slip-up, Jesse’s downward spiral after Jane’s death, Mike’s introduction) that is legendary for that final shot of the two planes…Problem is, something about this episode kept me at arm’s length and I actually think the one right before it is stronger as a whole.
12. “Grilled” Season 2, Episode 2: A terrific episode, tense, funny, exciting, and dramatic. It says something about this show that this episode isn’t ranked higher, and many users would rank it higher. Must watch to understand the Salamanca family in later seasons.
11. “Phoenix” Season 2, Episode 12: Many important developments in this episode, not least of which is Walter’s decision to let Jane die in the final minute (influenced, in a wrenching twist of irony, by her own father who Walter met in a great, quiet bar scene right before it). Arguably Cranston’s best acting moment, the agonized look on his face shows you why he’s won three Emmys and deserves to win three more.
10. “No Mas” Season 3, Episode 1: a very important episode (aftermath of the plane crash, Skylar finding out exactly what Walt is up to, Jesse deciding to be the bad guy while Walt says he can no longer be, Gus’s initial offer) that is perhaps best remembered for introducing the Cousins and that phenomenally beautiful and terrifying ending out in the desert. Only this show could make a mass murder look so gorgeous, cinematic in a way movies aren’t doing anymore.
9. “Better Call Saul” Season 2, Episode 8: A fantastic intro to the series main source of comedy (and a crucial ally for Walter) Saul Goodman. Hilarious and just plain interesting from start to finish. Plus, explored Hank’s PTSD, and Walter’s great speech to him about how he can finally sleep knowing the worst is here.
8. “Half Measures” Season 3, Episode 12: “Run.” I remember I literally could not wait for the next week’s episode once this one was over. About all I could think about for a week. Also, the very first time Jesse meets Gus, and the first time Walter sees the less pleasant side of him face-to-face.
7. “Mandala” Season 2, Episode 11: A very important, often overlooked episode. It was the episode where Jane relapsed AND got Jesse on heroin, where Combo got killed AND Tomas was introduced, where Skylar gave birth AND discovered Ted’s embezzlement (a huge plot line later on), where Walter had to make a choice between the birth of his daughter or the drug deal of his life (Cranston’s face at the news is a terrific acting moment, going from sorrow to determination), and last but not least, the introduction of Gus Fring, the series best villain and the mirror image of Walter (a dangerous meth lord hiding as a mild-mannered suburbanite).
6. “A Crazy Handful of Nothing” Season 1, Episode 6: Another criminally underrated episode that’s very significant for the overall plot. This is not only where we met Tuco, but where we meet “Heisenberg,” Walt’s alter-ego that has really driven the plot more than anything else. This is the dangerous, vengeful ego of a man constantly undervalued and ripped-off (whether by drug dealers like Tuco or legitimate business like Gray Matters or just life in general) and is finally ready to do something about it. Bookended by great scenes where Walter says there can be “no violence” and our understanding all along of how little he means (or even wants) that.
5. “…And the Bag’s in the River” Season 1, Episode 3: Just contrast that last episode with this one and we can see how much the character’s changed in only three episodes. Anyway, this one episode actually isn’t perfect (there’s too much filler) but the last fifteen minutes are brilliant. Walter making a pros and cons list about killing a man lol, bonding with him, but, ultimately, having to do the unthinkable. Arguably, Cranston’s finest acting moment is in that basement where his body may still be alive but his soul is a goner. A nice scene in the beginning explaining the “soul” and him later telling Skylar “There’s something I need to tell you” ready to admit to his cancer now that he already feels dead.
4. “One Minute” Season 3, Episode 7: A perfect episode. It’s the kind of “middle episode” that most shows would take for granted but Breaking Bad uses it to spin ALL characters off into a totally new direction while also staying faithful to everything that came before it, something most shows could never do. Hank beating Jesse up and losing his job, Jesse raging at Walter but ultimately agreeing to work with him, Walter trying to outmaneuver many different pieces while also managing his guilt, and those symbols of dread (the Cousins) looming in the background while even THEY begin to become full characters with that cold open explaining “Family is All.” The ending shootout is incredible but what’s even more incredible is how it’s thoroughly based not only in the plot, but in the characters as well.
3. “Full Measures” Season 3, Episode 13: For my money, season 3 has the most number of “perfect” episodes (roughly 5) and this one is the best of them all. A tense, riveting ride from beginning to end where you can feel the dread hanging over Walter…that perfect beginning scene showing the carefree Walter of old (before he knows his son will have palsy) filled with ironies about where his future is really headed (notice they mention the high school Walter will work at) saying “We have nowhere to go up” and we see where he’s really headed: nowhere but down. The cliffhanger of this episode/season is the best I’ve ever seen.
1 (a tie) “Pilot” episode and “Face Off”: Perfect bookends so far. It’s like you’re barely watching the same person, except you realize you have been all along. More riveting than any of the other excellent anti-hero dramas who have just shown fully made criminals at their peak (The Sopranos, The Shield), we’re seeing a man discover who he was all along. This is the furious incarnation of a screwed-over America, one that has played by the rules their whole lives, and are determined to go out on their own terms. You can’t see how perfect one of these episodes is without the other.
WOW! What a breakdown of Breaking BAD!