Breaking Bad: At Full Attention for "Half Measures"

Breaking Bad, I love you.

I love your face.  I want to kiss it.  I want to stay home and bake chimichangas for you while you go about your business, and I hope to one day hear the pitter-patter of little Breaking Evens and Breaking Mediocres in my home.

"Half Measures" is the perfect reminder of why Breaking Bad remains quite likely the best show on television.  Beyond all the deeply layered characters, richly thematic imagery and subtle writing, there are precious few shows that can deliver such jaw-dropping moments of bad-assery from unexpected places.  I mentioned last week that season three seemed to lack a bit of the direction that made its predecessor so engaging to watch, and while that remains true, Walt's stunning decision to murder two drug dealers in Jesse's place will clearly go down as one the defining moments of the series' direction, especially since the only ramification we had time to witness was Walter's bone-chilling plea to "Run."

And its not just the incredible final minutes that make "Half Measures" such an instant classic, but its also wonderfully representative of the way the show blends humor into these macabre situations.  I dont know if we really needed to watch a day in the life of recurring hooker Wendy, or Marie dipping below the belt to prove a point that Hank's "point" can still point, but they each add their own distinct flavor to this particulalrly dark blend.  And I especially enjoyed the very subtle reference where as the conditions of their bet, he told her "you have one minute," evoking the very words that put him in the hospital in the first place.

Elsewhere, there's so much to read into it's almost impossible to know where to begin, but "Half Measures" plays almost like a Breaking Bad scavenger hunt for fans.  There are callbacks to much earlier episodes in Walt's driving lessons with his son, with whom he's grown to accept the use of both feet on pedals after his philosophy has shifted to "well, if it gets you from point A to point B, who am I to judge?" 

There's the green light that bathes Jesse as he coaxes Wendy the hooker into delivering the poison hamburgers, clearly traumatized by being used for something worse than whoring.  Walter fiddling with tipping the scales in Saul's office.  Marie humming "Danny Boy."  Rysin.  The gambling motif reprised throughout the episode.  Or all the death that stems from Walter and Jesse's actions, Walter in a way almost redeeming himself for letting Jane die by episode's end. 

Assuming he'd ever tell Jesse about that.  But then again, Walter is going for "Full Measure" these days.

And Another Thing...

• Performance wise, this entire episode knocks it out of the park, giving Gus, Jesse, and even the cleaner Mike wonderful moments to shine.
• Breaking Bad opening act breaks with disclaimers not once, but twice always bodes well for mayhem.
  
• My spider-sense is usually pretty accurate, having seen Tomas' death from the instant the camera lingered on him riding away, but the lack of direction this season means that any number of horrible tragedies could befall the Whites next week.  Once Tomas was dead, and Walt was trying to reach Jesse in the bathroom, I wouldn't have been surprised if Jesse came after Walter Jr. as a twisted payback.