Here we are with only eight episodes left of Breaking Bad, arguably one of the best shows that's ever been on television. After five seasons, Walter White has definitely lived up to the title of the show, transforming from a high school chemistry teacher diagnosed with inoperable lung cancer deciding to make meth to provide for his family into an absolute monster. We still have about two months left until the final episodes begin, so before moving forward I thought it would be fun to look back and pick the best episode from each season. Honestly the show is excellent, so almost any episode from any season could be listed, but the episodes I've picked are the ones that stand out to me the most.
SPOILER ALERT for any of you who want to experience the series for yourself, which I highly recommend.
Season 1: Crazy Handful of Nothin'
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| "This is not meth." |
This was the episode that saw Walt's physical transformation. Heisenberg is born! After beginning to lose his hair to chemotherapy, he decided to shave his head. This is also when we were introduced to Tuco Salamanca, a truly intimidating character that was ultimately responsible for the birth of Heisenberg. Using a chemistry lesson early on in Walt's class to foreshadow his use of fulminated mercury to deceive Tuco was fantastic. And who could forget the wonderful teaser before the opening credits, with a voice over of Walt assuring Jesse there would be no more bloodshed undercut with shots of a man walking through scenes of turmoil and destruction, only for us to discover that that man is a newly shaved Walt?
Season 2: Phoenix
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| "Daddy did that for you." |
At the end of the previous episode, Walt had to choose between his biggest meth deal so far and rushing to the hospital for the birth of his daughter. He chose the former, and because of that, he missed her birth. So much for family coming first, Walt. All the way through, this episode is excellent, but what really pushes it to the top of the list is the ending. After Jane had blackmailed Walt, he ultimately chose to let her choke to death on her own vomit while she and Jesse were passed out a fun night of heroin. Bryan Cranston's acting in that scene blew me away; you can see every emotion on his face, from relief that his problems would be over if she were to die to horrible guilt over his failure to act. The kicker is that if Walt hadn't arrived and tried to shake Jesse awake, Jane wouldn't have rolled onto her back and started choking in the first place. Of course this was also foreshadowed earlier in the episode when Jane warned Jesse to lie on his side in case he threw up. Simply awesome.
That image kind of says it all. The end of this episode was a big one, with a huge shootout in that parking lot between Hank and the cousins. The one minute between the phone call warning Hank that someone was coming for him and the appearance of the cousins was extremely tense, and then that final shootout was great. And of course there was some great stuff earlier in the episode too, from Hank viciously beating up Jesse for the fake phone call in the previous episode saying his wife was in the hospital (which was actually Walt's idea) to Jesse's speech in the hospital. Aaron Paul is awesome as Jesse, and scenes like the speech really get to show that.
Season 4: Crawl Space
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| "WHERE IS THE MONEY?!" |
This was the most difficult season for me. There are SO MANY outstanding episodes, from the two episodes that really showcase Gus Fring's back story to the explosive finale- entitled Face Off for a reason- and others, but Crawl Space crawled to the top for me. (See what I did there?) Once this episode reaches the desert scene, everything just gets cranked up to 11. Gus is after Hank now due to his investigation, and his threat to Walt in case he decided to interfere is fantastic. "I will kill your wife, I will kill your son, I will kill your infant daughter" was delivered in the most perfect way by Giancarlo Esposito. Then there's the titular scene at the end of this episode. I can't even describe it in a way that does it justice, but the acting from every person in that scene is phenomenal. Bryan Cranston is the true MVP though, and I am still so surprised that he didn't win the Emmy for this episode, but I guess three Best Actor Emmys in the previous three years is nothing to frown about. This one is one of my favorite episodes overall, but I think season five's episode slightly edges it out. Speaking of which...
Season 5: Dead Freight
As opposed to season four, this was the easiest season for me. There are tons of wonderful moments in other episodes, but from beginning to end, this is the most perfectly crafted episode in season five. Starting with that teaser with the boy on his dirt bike, we just know something bad will happen to him or he'll be involved in something. However, the rest of the episode is so great that over time the audience forgets about him. Everything is wonderfully tense right on up through the train heist. That alone is enough to shoot this episode to the top of the list, and even though I've seen this episode numerous times since it aired last summer, it still keeps me on the edge of my seat. Then it's over, and it seems like Dead Freight could go out on a triumphant note...until that boy reappears and we suddenly remember he exists. Everyone stares at him for a moment until Todd pulls out a gun and shoots the poor, innocent boy dead. For a show filled with brutal violence, this is one of the most hard-hitting moments in the entire series. It's also why I love watching this episode with people who've never seen it before, just to see their reaction. Then the events of this episode really push the rest of the mini-season forward, right on up to that cliffhanger...
And there you have it. These are my picks from each season, so what do you guys think? Agree with me? Think I'm an idiot? Sound off in the comments while we all eagerly wait for what should be an astounding eight episodes of television.
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