Walter lashes out at Skyler, insisting that he is still in control of his own life. Meanwhile, Jesse is spending less time in the laboratory and more time working with Mike.

This episode contains perhaps the most famous moment in all of Breaking Bad. Walter, tired of his wife constantly worrying about his safety, explodes at Skyler and demands that she see him as the criminal he has become. Walt isn’t stealing bread in order to survive – breaking the law is making him fabulously wealthy, he is going to keep doing it and he will use violence if necessary. Cranston has spoken about how this scene represents a key step in Walter’s transformation, with the “Heisenberg” persona starting to dominate his character’s personality.1When Gilligan was first pitching Breaking Bad to executives, he famously described it as “a man who transforms himself from Mr. Chips into Scarface.” Some fans interpret the show as if Heisenberg is a separate personality (akin to Mr. Hyde) but I see it more as a role Walt likes to play that eventually consumes him. Fans loved it and to this day, many will point to this scene as an example of how much of a badass Walter White really is.

This adulation makes less sense when you go back and watch the entire episode. This is not a story about being a badass – it’s a story about men being pathetic. Let’s consider for a moment why Walt started shouting at Skyler. She worked out that her husband was afraid for his life in the voicemail message she received and asked that he go to the police if there was any threat to the family’s safety. Rather than admit that Gus tried to kill him, Walt instead berates Skyler and lies about how people actually fear him.2The “I am the one who knocks” line becomes ridiculous when you remember that Jesse was actually the one who knocked on Gale’s door! Unable to intimidate Gus, he settles for bullying his wife into submission.

This childish behaviour continues into the subsequent scene at the car wash. Bogdan is still bitter about having to sell his business so he keeps trying to get under Walter’s skin, questioning his work ethic and mocking him for being too dependent on Skyler.3The old-fashioned way of saying that a man is subservient to his wife is “uxorious” – people said this of Charles I, if you want to know how long men have been insulting each other using misogynistic tropes. Instead of rising above the taunts or calling out this behaviour, Walt gets revenge by demanding that Bogdan surrender the sentimental “first dollar” he displayed outside his office – after all, they are buying the place “as is”. Walter then spends that dollar on a coke and while he clearly thinks he’s won some massive victory over his old boss, the camera reveals just how empty that victory truly is.

Bogdan acting in such a pathetic manner isn’t a random choice by the writers – this episode revolves around men making petty and irresponsible decisions, listening to their emotions rather than doing what is logical. This is how I interpret the conflict that takes place between Gus and Walt in the laboratory. Gus is not physically present for these scenes so his motives are hard to discern but I get the impression that forcing Walter to clean the equipment by himself was a spiteful act of revenge, not some grand strategic ploy.4I don’t think Jesse was actually needed on the stakeout – he saved Mike some time by luring one of the men out of the house, but that’s it. This then blows up in Gus’ face when Walt bribes some women from the laundry upstairs to clean for him, requiring the unfortunate workers be sent back to Honduras. Even if Gus is infuriated by this, he cannot harm Walter without jeopardising his entire supply of methamphetamine – so what exactly was antagonising Walt supposed to achieve?

The final example I want to discuss is the Dodge Challenger that Walt gets for his son. It’s obviously a cliché for a man to buy a powerful car in order to compensate for his personal failings, but I like that Breaking Bad does something slightly different with the trope. Right before they go to the dealership, Walt Jr. asks his father whether or not he is moving back into the family home. Watching your parents’ marriage fall apart is a difficult thing to witness, and Walter has an opportunity here to reassure his son and talk through his feelings with him. Instead, he runs away from it, offering up the prospect of a new car so he doesn’t have to perform any emotional labour for Walt Jr.5My partner would like me to point out that Walt deciding to cook crystal meth in the first place could be interpreted as him running away from his terminal cancer diagnosis.

When Skyler returns home, she demands that Walt send the car back because as far as the IRS is concerned, the family have no money. In one of his most despicable moments so far, Walter tries to guilt-trip Skyler into changing her mind:

“I just worry that he’ll blame you for this.”6“He” meaning Walt Jr.

Walt, the one who knocks, is reduced to pleading with his wife in an attempt to keep his shiny new trophy. We then realise that this is Skyler’s role now. She doesn’t get to Break Bad – instead, she is shackled to a man who refuses to consider the consequences of his actions. Walter’s patriarchial power fantasy is dependent on Skyler cleaning up the mess – he is not the all-conquering hero of this story.

Odds and Ends

• Michael Slovis took a break from his usual role as cinematographer in order to be the director of this episode – it was his idea to place a camera on Jesse’s shovel.
• I’m not asking for this show to be one-hundred-percent realistic but Los Pollos Hermanos has now had two of its drivers murdered over the span of a few weeks. Combined with the trucks that are absolutely riddled with bullet holes, you’d think that the Albuquerque police department might be investigating this?!7The writers seem to think that any plot point involving the cartel doesn’t have to be realistic because they are just so damn cool – see also the scene in I.F.T. (Series 3, Episode 3) where Tuco’s cousins walk up to a disabled woman and steal her minivan, rather than be discreet about it.
• I like that Mike gives his meal to Jesse when he notices that he is struggling with withdrawal symptoms. It’s a small thing but it makes you realise that Walt has not done anything that kind and supportive for Jesse in a while.
• Anna Gunn did not actually go to the Four Corners Monument – the person you can see in the wide shots is her stand-in.
• When Jesse knocks on the addicts’ door and asks to buy a teenth, he says that his name is “Diesel” – this is the same alias he used back in Peekaboo (Series 2, Episode 6).
• I’ve criticised this show before for the way it depicts drug addiction but I don’t have too many complaints about the men in the dilapidated house. They are a potential threat to Mike and Jesse but it is clear that the biggest danger they pose is to themselves.

Please use spoiler tags in the comments, as some Avocadians are watching Breaking Bad for the first time