TPG's Chemistry Class:Episode 6 Cornered

Sorry this one is late, I've been busy buying automobiles and ruining small business owner's dreams. Whoah, that wasn't me talking that was Walter White. So here we are again, another stellar episode of "Breaking Bad," this one titled "Cornered." Let's grab our shovels and get into it.


1. Do you think this season has been slow or underwhelming? More and more people have been telling me that they miss the craziness of previous seasons with their diabolical mexican twin assassins and intense desert sojourns. To all those people, I understand your concerns but I don't feel ya. The show has become more of a ultra-dark character study than the crime thriller it was in previous seasons, and while key moments still live on from previous seasons, this character centric approach is better in the long term.

2. You ever notice how the "villains" this season have been off screen. Twice we've had people try to jack Los Pollos Hermanos blue meth, yet we barely know anything about them. While I know we will learn more about them soon, it's fitting they are nameless, because so much of the adversity the characters on the show face is faceless. What/Who will finally do Walt in? Skyler? Hank? Gus? Jesse? Same goes with Gus, is Mike going to take him down from within? Is the DEA going to catch up with him?

3. I agree with my friends, Skylar's visit to the four corners seemed pretty damn phony. Like is she really going to leave the car-wash that she just bought, mainly by using her own savvy business/corrupt soul? It felt like they just wanted to say: SHE IS AT CROSSROADS YO. They should have just played this track!

4. Rob Sheffield wrote that "Breaking Bad" is a commentary on how we view our jobs in this excellent article, and his hypothesis was definitely proven by this episode. The husband and wife squabbles, co-worker disagreements, son wanting a car crisis, and workplace laziness would all be at home in a zany family sitcom. Speaking of laziness you know that when Tyrus said those maids were going to the "bus to Honduras" they were going to the bus to get killed.

5. This was the episode where Walter White became the bad guy. He doesn't call himself Heisenberg anymore and he doesn't wear hats, exterior transformations aren't necessary if the inside is already fixed. His whole "I AM THE DANGER, I AM THE ONE WHO KNOCKS" line was wild and accurate. This was evident in the heartbreaking way he used the Bogdan's dollar. He doesn't care anymore, he thinks he is some type of corporation. Hard work is nothing to him, just another payment when you're the boss. To steal a line from Entertainment Weekly: he thinks he is "The Godfather" (you heard him quote the film in the episode right - "Keep your friends close..."!)

6. I'm still rooting for Jesse. His arc this season has been more the easiest to root for by far and I'm hooked and Aaron Paul's acting is a big reason why. So far we saw him sacrifice his humanity at the end of last season, put himself through hell to punish himself, and now he's working his way up the criminal ladder. I wonder if soon he will be the one that has to save Walt or perhaps....he won't be saving him, he'll be killing him on Gus's orders.