We are almost halfway through this season of Breaking Bad, and while it hasn't been an adrenaline-filled ride, the series is still putting out highly entertaining episodes. “Cornered” may not have seen much plot progression, but the characters' personal journeys made for compelling drama.
In recreating the opening from “Bullet Points” the episode set us up to think we already knew the outcome. If Mike handled two cartel thugs with a single pistol, than surely these two guys packing assault rifles won't have any problem dealing with a few more hijackers. But that lull was intentionally designed to impart more impact on what actually happened; which already had plenty of its own. Seeing the two guards die clawing and scratching for air as they gasp on exhaust fumes didn't quite match the level of brutality in watching Victor meet his end at the hands of Gustavo; but it wasn't far behind either. Contrasting it with the three cartel agents casually sharing the dead driver's lunch was a black humor cherry on top.
Again imitating “Bullet Points” the
episode followed the violence of the cold open with an extended scene
of dialogue between Walt and Skyler. Unlike that previous scene
though, their conversation in “Cornered” wasn't aiming for
laughs, and if anything upped the intensity of the bloodless murders
in the teaser. Walt's ego-driven rant did nothing to allay Skyler's
fears, but did everything to enliven the audience; “A guy opens
his door and gets shot and you think that of me? No. I am the one
who knocks!” An incredible
piece of dialogue that was enhanced both by Cranston's performance
and the quite literal meaning behind the line that is lost on Skyler.
But Walt is lying, and not just because he wasn't the one who
actually did the knocking on Gale's door. It may be for reasons she
doesn't understand, but Skyler is right about Walt being scared. And
with an ego the size of Walt's, he can't allow anyone to see that
anxiety; which is why he ends up showing off to avoid showing his
fear, and does so for most of the episode.
In
contrast to Walt, Jesse spent the day proving his worth rather than
proving how childish he can be. Walt correctly surmising that
Jesse's thrilling heroics were all part of Gus's play -in which Walt
will always be the central character- had Jesse more on edge than the
lack of meth pumping through his veins. Walt's accurate calculations
would have been worth a pat on the back if he didn't send Jesse off
feeling like nothing more than a pawn in a game of chess being played
between chemist and kingpin. So while Walt was off in a hilarious
scene fumbling through the Spanish language(which was Walt's most
outrageous attempt of the episode to prove he can't be bullied),
Jesse was busy showing Mike he is cut out for his new line of work.
And while it wasn't actually Jesse's goal, he also scored just as
many laughs as Walt's bilingual back-&-forth with the
laundresses.
Though this episode did almost nothing to advance the plot, the development to the characters was immense. With Gustavo putting off a war in favor of talks with the cartel, it doesn't look like we will be getting much action any time soon either. But that won't matter so long as Breaking Bad can continue to deliver darkly comedic moments and hard-hitting dramatic scenes.