BREAKING BAD 1.2 - "Cat's In The Bag..."

Writer: Vince Gilligan
Director: Adam Bernstein

Cast: Bryan Cranston (Walter White), RJ Mitte (Walter White Jr), Aaron Paul (Jesse Pinkman), Anna Gunn (Skyler White), Jason Byrd (Ben), Shane Marinson (Ob Gyn), John Koyama (Emilio), Max Arciniega (Krazy-8) & Anthony Wamego (Backhoe Operator)

"I haven't been myself lately, but I love you. Nothing
about that has changed, nothing ever will. So right now,
what I need, is for you to climb down out of my ass. Can
you do that? Will you do that for me, honey? Will you
please, just once, get off my ass, you know.
I'd appreciate it, I really would."

-- Walter White (Bryan Cranston)

Continuing from last week's premiere, "Cat's In The Bag..." finds Walter (Bryan Cranston) and Jesse (Aaron Paul) arguing over what to do with the two drug-dealers unconscious in their RV meth lab. Emilio (John Koyama) has since died, but Krazy-8 (Max Arciniega) is still alive and posing a major problem. Walter decides it's only fair they go 50/50 in cleaning up the mess; and a coin toss results in Jesse procuring a plastic tub to melt Emilio's body in acid, while Walter has to commit murder…

The intriguing thing about Breaking Bad is trying to guess where it's all going. Obviously Walter's limited mortality is the driving force behind (and assumed final word) on the series, but can writer Vince Gilligan sustain the premise of a milquetoast teacher becoming a criminal for the greater good? The pilot was near-perfect, but left me with the vague suspicion Breaking Bad would be more effective as a movie. Would Joel Schumacher's similarly-minded Falling Down have worked as a weekly drama series?

"The Cat's In The Bag..." is an enjoyable continuation of the frothier, crazier start, as blacker-than-black comedy begins to takeover. There's a Shallow Grave-style trip to a hardware store for chemicals and equipment to dispose of a corpse, but the meat comes from Walter's moral dilemma: should he commit murder to cover his tracks? This episode gives Cranston and Paul more time together, although their unlikely double-act is in its embryonic stage; meaning both characters are equally scared and overwhelmed by events, with no mutual foundation of trust or friendship to pull them through.

As before, the performances are superb and the scenario ghoulishly riveting. There's already a very unpredictable nature to Breaking Bad, which should hold it in good stead as audiences are taken on this wild ride towards Walter's death. So far, everything is so well-crafted that you feel content to be taken wherever the story takes you -- due in no small part to Cranston's amazing performance and Vince Gilligan's smart writing.


5 October 2008
FX, 10pm