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Lilly of the Valley: This Week on Breaking Bad (Episode 1 / July 15, 2012)

Jul. 16, 2012by: J.A. Hamilton

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NOTE: Join us every MONDAY as we review the latest episode...

EPISODE 1: Live Free or Die

THE HOOK:

There's a gaping hole in the Meth distribution market. Walter White has crowned himself king, but this kingdom comes with a cost and those close to Walt are starting to realize a dark change is coming.

THE LOWDOWN:

There are very few shows that could survive such controversial source material and still have you root for the protagonist the way we do for Walter White. Dude's making one of the dirtiest drugs on the planet, but we love him for it. He's killing people (some of whom deserve to die and some of whom don't) and we love him for it. The guy poisoned a little boy...yep, we still love him. How does this happen? Sometimes you roll the dice and the stars just align. Sometimes a writer does enough drugs, drinks enough Red Bull or hammers back enough shots to produce a brilliant epiphany. The how or why are irrelevant, because BREAKING BAD broke all the contrived molds and came out on top, just like Walter White. Hail to the king baby, hail to the king.

The first season was a little slow, mainly because the theme of cancer is nothing to celebrate. Thankfully Walt beats it and the plot began to thicken until it became molasses. The characters are what sells this story for me. Bryan Cranston gave us a 180 from MALCOLM IN THE MIDDLE much like Katey Sagal did in her journey from MARRIED WITH CHILDREN to SONS OF ANARCHY. Personally I feel blessed to be around for this wondrous turn of events in TV history, because make no mistake folks that's exactly what we've been witnessing here. These actors have taken character 101 and upped the ante like nothing I've ever seen. It's like a steroid cocktail laced with Bruce Banner's Super Soldier Serum only these "Hulks" are smashing ratings season after season. Gus was a crafty villain and we needed him to level out Walt's sharp wit, but I can handle losing him because we got to keep Mike, a far more interesting character with deeper more sophisticated layers. He and the boys reluctantly team up tonight, but you can tell it's not going to end well.

I'm not so sure what Skyler and the family are bringing to the table this season, but anything's better than the Lori Grimes (THE WALKING DEAD) attitude Skyler was walking around with for far too long. Damn did I ever hate her. Walt Jr. is a superb character, I think he adds much needed humanity and boundaries to Walter's path (the newborn's also a nice touch). That said, this season's theme seems to point to Walt's ego becoming the antagonist which is a shame, but not altogether hard to imagine. I'm pumped to see where Hank fits into it all, his presence was relatively low key tonight, but he does make an appearance. And on that note, without spoiling anything, I can only say this: Magnets were always cool, but now they're epically badass.

BREAKING BAD SEASON 5's premier is intense, thought provoking and just as dark a look into the face of brewing evil as you can get. We know trouble's coming for the boys and we know they're (like Mike says) a ticking time bomb just waiting to go off and for me that's the appeal, that's the force driving us to hold our breath and not blink, THE reason of reasons to watch any show. The opening scene is also interesting (and sports a guest appearance by SUPERNTURAL's Jim Beaver) featuring a scene with what I can only assume is Walt much later in the season in a mountain of trouble. It's definitely a great question scene to keep us guessing and involved though, not that you need it at this point, as BREAKING BAD is without a doubt one of the best shows on TV. This first episode is a slow burn, but as we've come to know, it's always leading us to places we can't wait to be.

DRUG RELATED PROTIP:

Extreme heat will make your teeth "pop" like popcorn, a great way to avoid having your dead bodies identified by the police. And blowing off half their face is always fun.

BEST LINE:

Mike's reunion with the boys is volatile to say the least and although I love nearly everything he has to say, this was the best, "Well...you know how they say it's been a pleasure?...It hasn't."

BITCH-O-METER:

It's always fun to keep tabs on how many times Jesse says "Bitch" per episode. He's off to a slow start with only 1 tonight. I have no doubt that number will grow as things progress.

COOLEST SCENE:

I definitely have a new found love for magnets, but for my money (which sadly is given away in trailers) the best scene is Walter White calmly getting up from his chair and going behind Saul's desk to get intimately close to him and deliver the line, "It's over when I say it's over," which comes from Saul freaking out and saying he wants nothing more to do with any of them (oh, and www.bettercallsaul.com = Best website ever).

FINAL VERDICT:

TELL US WHAT YOU THOUGHT OF THIS EPISODE BELOW!

Extra Tidbit:	I just got back from ThrillerFest in New York where I was seducing agents with my novel. I was having drinks with one such agent and two of her clients when the writing of this column came up in conversation. Jill (who has a particular fondness for unicorns) says, "I've never watched the show, but I went to school and made out with one of the actors. He died last season, I think he got half his face blown off in an explosion."

Extra Tidbit:

I just got back from ThrillerFest in New York where I was seducing agents with my novel. I was having drinks with one such agent and two of her clients when the writing of this column came up in conversation. Jill (who has a particular fondness for unicorns) says, "I've never watched the show, but I went to school and made out with one of the actors. He died last season, I think he got half his face blown off in an explosion."

Source:	JoBlo.com

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Pimpdog

11:34PM on 07/18/2012

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Keep the TV columns coming guys, awesome!

Pimpdog

11:33PM on 07/18/2012

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Keep the TV columns coming guys, awesome!

Sweetness

3:11PM on 07/18/2012

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Walt going the dark road is mixed bag, we've been rooting for him through thick and thin like you mentioned because he was a good guy doing things for the right reasons, but now that's gone and it's all about ego and a god complex. I love the show but I'm scared about how thing will turn out for Walt and his family.

Sweetness

3:09PM on 07/18/2012

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Freeden

7:18AM on 07/18/2012

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Spoilers Ahead, You've Been Warned

Fantastic episode. There was a review that stated that Walter White was becoming like the Godfather, and it's not terribly far off. The man is, as Skyler puts it, scary. He can seemingly get away with anything now. But, I am getting to that point where it's hard to root for him. He's not a guy I really like anymore, and am waiting out his downfall this season. I have to disagree about the best lines, however. They all belong to Walt. Particularly, right after their big deal with the magnet, when Mike asks how Walt knows it worked, he simply says "because I say so". That line is just so loaded with what we're seeing happen now and just who Walt has truly become. But, by far the best and most chilling line of the entire episode was when Walt hugs Skyler and tells her "I forgive you". That sent a chill down my spine and was the perfect finish to the episode.

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Freeden

7:17AM on 07/18/2012

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Spoilers Ahead, You've Been Warned

[+] Full Comment

Rubberboy

5:56AM on 07/18/2012

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Does anyone know where I can watch it. I live in Australia and don't have AMC.dying to see my fav show.

> 1 Reply

Sweetness

3:11PM on 07/18/2012

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At this point I'd just download it (http://torrentz.eu/) is one of the best.

Chaditude

12:27AM on 07/18/2012

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BITCH-O-METER...that's priceless.

Boomix

10:18PM on 07/17/2012

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13 episodes

The first episode was awesome and that clip for next week's is killer, it just sucks there's only 12 more episodes left until this fantastic show is done. Lovin the PROTIP, made me think of the GAMEPRO days.

> 2 Replies

Rubberboy

5:54AM on 07/18/2012

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16 all up not 13. But that still sucks.

Freeden

7:18AM on 07/18/2012

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Not to mention that the season is split into two, and we will have to wait until summer 2013 for the second half of the season.

solidsnake58

8:33PM on 07/17/2012

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There's a gaping hole in the Meth distribution market.

: ) Nice edit.

> 1 Reply

J.A_Hamilton

10:14PM on 07/17/2012

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You're right man, I woudln't want to be THE GUY who ruined that surprise, I guess I just figured nobody who wasn't caught up would read this, but just in case :)

Goddess

2:00PM on 07/17/2012

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The best part for me was Skyler's reaction to all this, what a turn it is for her character to see fear, but I can't say I blame her as things in her life are getting pretty scary.

Movie Master

11:43AM on 07/17/2012

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The dark side

I hate that they're making Walt turn evil because we all know how that will end, but this is hands down the best show on TV. Nice work on the column, the lilly of the valley was the greatest thing about last season's ups and downs.

sparkholiday

5:09AM on 07/17/2012

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Have to agree with solidsnake58, absolutely wonderful article, no complains whatsoever in that department, but you gotta fix the preview for it ASAP, it would very difficult to skim through the articles on the homepage and not catch that spoiler, and that's such a great thing for viewers to discover on their own. I realize it's an honest mistake, but fix fix fix.

sparkholiday

5:05AM on 07/17/2012

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MacBoom

1:47AM on 07/17/2012

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That was a big damn gun!

DeejayForte

5:15PM on 07/16/2012

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The real best line

Best Line: YEOHHH BITCH! MAGNETS! OWWW
[link]

subxcess

4:23PM on 07/16/2012

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P.M.A.

had a good laugh when Old Joe did the pump fist at the PMA right before they cut the scene

solidsnake58

4:15PM on 07/16/2012

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I hate to keep harping on this but

You might not want to have "Gus Fring is dead" in the preview of your article. I don't know if it's a pain to format but "NOTE: Join us every MONDAY as we review the latest episode" is all you need. This is a great website and that was a fun review (Love the Bitch-O-METER) but you may be inadvertently spoiling the best season finale of the series.

> 1 Reply

Movie Master

11:45AM on 07/17/2012

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I disagree about Gus, this is the fifth and final season so why would anyone be reading this far ahead about something they know nothing about. It doesn't make sense to me. His death was a hot subject so I'm sure most people have heard about it if they have any interest in the show.