This review only covers the first episode of season 4 but Breaking Bad is my personal favorite TV show currently on the air right now (not so stiff competition as the heyday of The Sopranos, The Shield, The Wire, Deadwood, Damages, Rome, and Lost are over) so I feel I had to weigh in sooner rather than later. Usually I review a show during the middle of its run or very close to the last episode of the season, but I’m sure I’ll put out another review for Breaking Bad 12 short weeks from now to cover the season finale.
Season 4 picks up right where season 3 left off: with a riveting cliffhanger that was literally a matter of life or death. Well, in the first five minutes of this episode we learn what happened when Jesse pulled the trigger and–in typical Breaking Bad fashion–there were consequences. [Wasn’t it cruel to make us wait over a year to see what happens? At least it’s back now.] I won’t say exactly what happens in the first episode of season 4, only that the tension hangs in the air all during the episode and even carries over into the commercial breaks. Even the fact that Walt and Jesse are offscreen for most of the episode–which has probably a few too many scenes of Skylar (Anna Gun’s excellent housewife turned co-conspirator) and Marie–doesn’t take away from the mood of slow building dread Breaking Bad has become famous for.
By now the original plot of cancer stricken, under appreciated high school chemistry teacher Walter White deciding to cook meth in order to pay for his outrageous medical bills and leave his family with enough money after he dies has given way to something far more complex and interesting. Walter has discovered a taste for adrenaline and is now fully owning his dark side with his cancer currently in remission. Unlike the first three seasons (which saw him battle dangerous but simple villains) this season’s main struggle appears to be between genius meth cook Walter and his boss Gus, the distributor that might be even smarter than Walt. These two will be locked into a death match all season long and watching them try to outmaneuver each other should be as exciting as any plot line the show has had. We’re just lucky we get to watch.
Supporting Scene Stealers: A lot of people really single out Aaron Paul’s Jesse but I have to admit, I can’t stand him. He’s dumb, cocky, weak, and completely realistic of a lot of low level criminals. He’s more “sympathetic” than Walt because he’s more stupid but I still prefer Bryan Cranston’s pragmatic, layered performance which is as scared as it is scary. He’s one of the few actors that can show you how out of his mind with fear he is even when doing something badass. And Bob Odenkirk’s sleazy lawyer Saul Goodman makes off with every scene he’s allowed to speak in. Add in Giancarlo Esposito’s icy Gus (a deceptively “nice” drug kingpin hiding in plain sight showing new dimensions of ruthlessness that will keep you awake at night this season) and it’s hard to pick just one performance that really stands out on this show.