Breaking Bad 4x03 Review

Episode Title: Open House
Overall Season Rating: A-
Episode Rating: B+

This week was an interesting episode. I'm going to call it a "Walter/Jesse Light" episode. The two are not the focus of the story this week, and the two appear only very briefly in a scene together. The episode follows Skylar and Marie mainly this week as each of them deals with their current situations in very different ways. The rating for this week is not due to either of them, but rather Walter. I will get to that later. Marie's story brings back an old idea from season one that allows her to actually do something for once. Skylar on the other hand continues her bad ass attitude from last week, and adds a little more evil genius.

I'm surprised how little actually happened in this episode, and if you're a fan of the arc involving Walter and Gus, we get only small(and understandable) change on that front. This may be shocking to some, but I think this was a very weak episode for Bryan Cranston. There are several scenes where I don't buy his attitude, and feel it's either his acting, or the writing. More specifics later in the episode recap.

The episode begins with Walt in the lab. He seems quite jolly at first as he sips his morning coffee. Then, he notices a camera has been placed in the lab. He's very upset about this, and later tells Jesse that it's a "violation of the workplace". I loved that line, but can you blame them? He just told Mike that he's planning on killing Gus. I would argue that Mike should be fired if he didn't put in some kind of surveillance. I do understand Walter's issue though. We know he likes his privacy, and his plotting.

We then jump to Walter's apartment, and Skylar is ringing the bell demanding he talk to her about the Car Wash. He finally opens the door, and she sees his bruise on his eye. He says things are complicated, and that he has more on his mind than buying a Car Wash. She interprets this to mean he's in danger, and suggests going to the police. Like I said above, I think Skylar has been behaving pretty cool for a while now, but she should leave the drug stuff to him. He managed to survive, and become a millionaire all on his own without her poking and questioning his every move.

Marie's story this week is interesting, but simple. I'll cover it all here so I don't have to jump back and forth. During the episode we see her at several open houses. It's clear after the first one that something very strange is happening. It's then even more clear that she's going to these simply to steal items when we see a small pig figure after a conversation with Hank. If you don't recall, Marie had a problem with kleptomania back in season one, and Hank said she was working on it. This goes beyond kleptomania though, she's going to these houses with the sole intention of stealing. I also would say it serves as something to break the monotony of her day. She is found out of course, and is arrested. One of Hank's cop buddies consoles her, but Hank is not so forgiving. He has been pretty mean to her, and I was happy that she finally got rid of the always happy attitude and snapped at him a bit.

Jesse continues his story too. Aaron Paul is such a powerful actor, I think the only reason I was less impressed this week was because he wasn't in it as much. I love when he asks Walt if he wants to "do something". Jesse needs to occupy his mind at all times. Walt does ask if he's okay, and I was impressed that it seemed very genuine. We know Jesse still looks up to Walt, and it seems like Walt's need to protect Jesse is real as well. Jesse's chilling comment about getting used to beatings was hard to hear. We see Jesse at a go-carts track, and at his home which now looks like a crack house. Jesse is at the point where he would rather total madness and destruction over being alone. I really wonder where this is going, and how Jesse will eventually deal with it.

The saga of the Car Wash is the main focus this week though. After last week's failed attempt to purchase Bogdon's place, Saul suggests they buy a nail salon. He likes that nail salon quite a bit. Skylar says it must be this Car Wash, but wants an "Attitude Adjustment" for Bogdon to be the cause. She wants no violence, and nothing suspicious, which kind of handcuffs Saul. Later she comes up with a very clever plan. She gets Saul to send in a fake environmental agent to tell Bogdon that the soil is all toxic, and that he must shut down immediately in order to clean it. I loved seeing her tell him what to say verbatim. She should leave the drug stuff to Walt, but everything else should be her area. She can be quite villainous when she puts her mind to it.

We then get the scene that is the cause my comments about Walter. We see them waiting by the phone, and Walter says it's been a whole five hours, and that they are not getting the call. I was so confused by this. Five hours? That's nothing. I'm sure he had to call several people to see if he could get a loan, or how much money they had available. If it had been a couple days, then sure. But a few hours? Then, after Skylar's clever and well done negotiating down of the price, Walt again is upset and says they won't be getting a call back. Of course he does call back, and accepts the offer. I thought this was a very poorly written scene. Walt's negativity can only be explained by him wanting her to fail. That doesn't fly though because once she told him what Bogdon said about him, he was all about going to the mattresses too. As I said, it was also obvious that he would call and accept the offer. If not, then some of Walt's negativity might be seen as experiential knowledge, but no dice. This story ends with them celebrating over a very expensive bottle of champagne. Skylar once again is upset about his spending, but at least she lets him finish the drink.

Hank's story is finally about to get interesting, so hooray! After the encounter with Marie, Hank's friend brings over a suspicious notebook that was found. He wants Hank to take a look at it because it details a Meth SuperLab. It of course is Gale's notebook, and details how to make the Blue Meth that Hank has been searching for. I'm sure Gale didn't put any information in it that would lead Hank directly to the lab, or to Walter, but Hank is such a brilliant detective I'm sure he'll make a lot of connections in the coming weeks.

So yeah, a less than amazing episode in some parts in my opinion. If Hank is on the case again then maybe the show will start to get back to some basics, and since the Car Wash deal is done I expect it to be talked about less.

What are you thoughts?