"Live Free or Die" | Breaking Bad | S05E01

"Live Free or Die" | Breaking Bad | S05E01

by Jonathan Hekmatian

Taking another cue from another great television series, The Sopranos, "Live Free or Die" has an opening you won't forget. In The Sopranos, their episode entitled "Live Free or Die" is drastically different than the one we saw tonight. For the HBO show, which I won't get into details since many of you haven't seen it, a mobster is forced to go on the run after he is outed at a gay bar. The captain, unsure of what to do and in a state of panic, drives north, leaving his life of leisure and healthy diet behind as he ventures on to New Hampshire. The state motto of that state which is "Live Free or Die". For him though, it was a testament as to a life in the open he could now live. Safe and away from everyone, he has the chance to start over and truly be happy. Wether it's the work that gets him, or living life out in the open after being closeted for many years, he ends up leaving the state and going back to Jersey with a hope that he can buy his freedom in New Jersey. That's not the way it works with the mafia. Unable to find a way to control his destiny, his corpse is found with a billiards cue stuck up his ass. This is not the same with Walter White.

Unlike this unnamed captain, Walter is entirely in control of the situation at all times or so we're led to believe. When the control is taken away, such as last season, Walter got it back and despite the repercussions, he found a way to maintain the upper hand. Even in tonight's episode, after successfully pulling off what many viewers, including myself, did not think Walt was capable of doing last season, he still found himself one piece away from getting caught. However, unlike Mike's response, Walt found a way, through the means of science, to solve his problem. Are we out of the woods? Well, for now, the answer is yes. 

Let's start with the beginning. Walt is at a Denny's, ordering a grand slam on his birthday. If most of you will recall, the first episode of the series was Walt's birthday, and (according to Aaron Paul and the draft of the script that I read) it's been one year since the beginning of the show. For me, it's been a long four years but for some of you it hasn't even been one year. Written with cut up bacon across the plate, it's been a long year for Walter White. Washing your student's car on your birthday one year, purchasing an assault rifle (correct me if I'm wrong) the next, it's a long way down from the top. I suspect that we will have two timelines going, as season two did with the cold opens, as the season progresses. Smash cut to credits. 

All is good back in ABQ present day. Walter killed the king, bought insurance for his partner in crime for the foreseeable future, and nobody will suspect a thing. After cleaning up his 'crib', as Jesse would say, of all the material that will exonerate him from the police and from Jesse, Walt can finally take a breath of fresh air and enjoy the scotch or whiskey he poured for himself to celebrate. The rest of the White's enter with news of a prominent business man's death, which just so happens to be the man their brother-in-law / uncle was after the whole time. "Just like I got my eye on you, like that" as Flynn would say. In the other room, Walt embraces his daughter and his wife informs him that she's scared. Not fearful of the situation Walter has gotten them in but of Heisenberg himself. And just like that, it comes back to him, Walter is reminded of the tapes. In the lab, Hank stumbles, literally, around, looking for something, anything, that will give them proof of Hank's theory. They find the camera. Fast forward to Mexico, or wherever Mike is held, and the three amigos are reunited again. If it wasn't for Jesse and Mike's relationship which was built last season, Walter would be a dead man. Saved by Jesse, Walter informs them that Gus had video evidence of them breaking the law and their new mission is to find the laptop, which Mike educates the duo is where the evidence is stored, and destroy the footage. Well, next scene is the cops bagging and taping the laptop. We now have a season ladies and gentlemen. 

But, we don't. In that very episode, the amigos not only break into a police facility, but actually destroy the laptop itself and it was Jesse's idea. When this was introduced, I felt like it would take awhile for them to do the plan. However, like everything in this universe, Breaking Bad moves fast and if it hasn't been one year since Walt got cancer, figured out how to make the best meth anyone on the show has ever seen, beaten cancer, made millions of dollars, spent millions of dollars (a lump sum of which went to the man Walt's wife fucked) and killed the drug king this side of the border, it seems only fitting it would take 24 hours to break into a police station and destroy evidence. However, every action has an equal and opposite reaction as the cops now found Gus's bank accounts in the Cayman Islands hidden on the corner of a picture covered by a picture frame. This is the only open door the show has given us as to what will happen in the next 15 episodes. 

Alls well that ends well for Walt, but Skylar has gotten herself in a bit of trouble. I, like the rest of you, thought that Ted was dead. The dude fell hard on the ground, and he was a greedy guy so it made sense for him to go. But, he didn't die, he woke up. Somehow he ended up bald but he won't talk. He has kids and wants to protect them. Hopefully he'll pay the IRS this time. Walt is reminded of this fact by Saul, and found out where the $622,000 from the crawl space went. Walt reminds Saul "it's done when I say it's done" and among other things is given back the poison which Saul had one of his goons feed the kid. The last shot is a chilling one, just as the previous season ended with Walt telling Skylar "I won", this one ends with an "I forgive you" with the look on Skylar's face that is as haunting as is sad. This is a woman who is scared of the man she once used to get mad at for buying paper on the wrong credit card. Now, she is forced to live with not only a drug distributor but a murderer as well. Not only that, this drug chef forgives her. Forgives her for spending the blood money to save another man, forgives her for committing a lesser sin of adultery, but the question is does she forgive him. The expression on the face leads me to think otherwise.

I am currently reading the fifth script of the show, the last one I have, but I will try not to let any material I've read that hasn't happened yet come into these reviews. They're first drafts and as I saw tonight, are exponentially different. The first script, while had the same gist, had a few surprises. I try to write from what was going in my head when I read the script and not just say that I saw it coming because I read it. The fifth script, so far, has been the best and I feel like it will be a turning point for the show but I am hesitant to say that is sure because I feel like such a crucial scene will not happen this early on and definitely not where they say it is going to happen. We'll see. Aaron Paul has said in a spoiler-free interview with GQ that this season is a bloodbath, contrary to what Bryan Cranston has said on the AVClub. I am siding with Cranston that this season is more of a calm before the storm as season three was compared to season four. I also apologize for this review, I spent a lot less time on this one that I normally do but I just wanted to get it out there. I will not be in town for the next two airings of this season to expect my review to come on Mon. Jul 30. Also with Weeds, I am currently waiting for more episodes to air and will watch them all in one sitting, because as any Weeds fan knows, it's incredibly frustrating to watch the show week by week. 

Grade: B+ (Is this considered an A episode of Breaking Bad?)

Stray Observations

- Actually the 52 was to symbolize Walt's 52nd birthday. Its been a year since the show started and the events that happened in "Live Free or Die" but the cold open takes one more year from that in the future. I was wrong but not entirely. 

- Walt's hair also comes back so maybe his cancer doesn't come back?

- From what I've read in the scripts so far and not to spoil it for anyone but it looks like Albuquerque won't be the only destination this season. 

- Did anyone actually have DISH and have to download the show?

- Last but not least, I respect everyone's opinion. If you have a problem with my blog, or the way I'm writing, feel free to comment and I would appreciate it if you let me know what issues you had. Don't just call me a pussy and say my writing sucks without backing up with any of your own commentary. Thanks. 

- Madrigal Electromotive will be the setting for the next episode. 

- See you guys back on Jul. 30, sorry for the lackluster review. I was sick and I wasn't on top of my game.