By Ian Rapoport
Staff Writer
Recently, The American Movie Channel (AMC) aired the “Breaking Bad” midseason finale, before taking a hiatus before the second half of its fifth season, which will air next summer. The episode, “Gliding over all,” was a simple yet thrilling episode that successfully concluded the first half of the engaging season.
The episode perfectly captured and summarized the themes of not only this season, but the show as a whole. The episode had little of the action the show is known for, but provided excellent moments of development between many interesting characters.
“Breaking Bad” is the story of a New Mexico chemistry teacher, Walter White (Bryan Cranston), who is diagnosed with severe lung cancer. In order to leave money for his family after his death, he teams up with one of his former students, Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul), to make and sell methamphetamine with his extensive knowledge of chemistry.
This season, Jesse and Walt begin to develop their own drug empire after a violent disconnect with their former gang. As they delve deeper into the drug underworld, they find their lives in ruins and their partnership on the verge of destruction.
This season has had many elaborate action scenes, and there is a standout montage of prison riots in “Gliding All Over.” However, the episode is lacking in the thrill department, as it focuses on character development and the relationships at the foundation of the series rather than the chaos related to the drug trade.
The time given to Bryan Cranston to flesh out his character proves beneficial. The recent episodes, up to this point, have portrayed Walter as a rather evil person. This makes it more interesting in the seldom moments when Walt shows that he still has some humanity left.
One scene that particularly stands out is when Walt meets with Jesse to give him his payment. This scene is emotional and truly emphasizes how the relationship between the two men has changed throughout the show. Walt shows brief moments of understanding and compassion, which reflects the bond that he and Jessie have created and demonstrates that he still does have a good side to him, despite his moral regression.
Another relationship that is strong this season is the one between Walt and his wife Skylar (Anna Gunn). Their moments together show that even after their struggles, they still have feelings for each other. It creates an outstanding image of why Walt became involved in the meth business in the first place and leads to an important decision that he must make later down the road.
“Gliding Over All” does an outstanding job of focusing on the relationships that have formed between the show’s characters and the ways in which Walter White has developed as a character. Though this is one of the slower episodes of the season, “Gliding over all” succeeds in engaging the viewer with a satisfying and enjoyable ending.
“Breaking Bad’s” final season returns 2013 on AMC.
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