Breaking Bad : Gliding Over It (Another Look Into The Review Process)

1.  Series to be critiqued:

Breaking Bad

2:  Name of episode and its writer:

Gliding Over It by Moria Walley-Beckett

1.  Creator of the show:

Vince Gilligan

1.  Brief character descriptions for major and supporting characters (like 4 or 5 chars, should be a page or more):

Walter White is the min character of the show.  He was a high school science teacher who was extremely over qualified for his job.  He is also a husband and a father of one wih another one to come.  However his relationship with his wife slowly deteriorates, especially once she learns of his meth activities.  When Walt was diagnosed with cancer it was believed to be to advanced for treatment.  Upon this news Walt decides to set up his family for his death by cooking meth.  Walt grows from a low level chef to take over the largest meth enterprise in the country.  He eventually beats the cancer but by this point it is not about the money for his family anymore, it is all about building his empire.

Jesse Pinkman is a former student of Walt’s turned low level meth dealer and addict.  Walt enlisted him from the beginning to help him move the meth and stay with him mostly for the whole show although it is not always a smooth ride.  He has loyalty to Walt and is the one who usually has the rational approach to things towards then end.

Gus Fring is the largest meth distributer for almost twenty years.  He owns a resturant chain called Los Hermanos Pollos which is a front for his drug smuggling and money laundering.    He is a mystery when it comes to his past and how he came to power.  He was origionally from Chili but that is all we know since he has paid to erase his past.  He hires Walt and Jesse to cook for him but it does not go so smooth.  Gus doesn’t trust Jesse in the beginning then has an altercation with Walt.  Walt eventually feels threatened by Gus and kills him taking over his throne at the top of the meth game.

Mike Ehrmantraut was Gus’s head of security.  He would handle any problem that popped up for Gus and his organization and had a team of nine men who worked for him.  Mike became good friends with Jesse when Gus had Mike baby sit Jesse on a few drops to keep him from shooting up.  However Mike dies in the episode previous to the one I am doing the critique on.

1.  Logline for the show:

A high school chemistry teacher learns he has cancer and turns to making meth to set his family up for the worst.

1.  Logline for the episode:

Walt ties up his loose ends in prision, but has Hank finally figured it out?

1.  Episode synopsis (should take around a whole page if double spaced):

The episode begins with Walt talking with Todd about the removal of the car.  Walt informs Jesse that Mike is gone,  he also tells him that he will handle everything now cause he is the only one whose vote matters.  Mikes men in jail have the pressure turned on by Hank and Walt fears they will snitch.  Walt sets up a meeting with Olivia to get the nine names of Mike’s workers.  At the meeting Olivia offers Walt the chance to ship his product internationally and he accepts. Walt asks Todd to meet his uncle with connections in prison, he asks him to kill the nine men of Mike’s at one time.  They say it is hard but can be done and they pull it off tying up most of the lose ends.  Walt gets back to cooking but this time not with Jesse, with Todd.  Skyler and Marie have a conversation about how Skyler is unhappy and things are not  good with Walt.  Marie suggests that they take the kids for a while so they can work on themselves, and she accepts.  Skyler then talks to Walt about how she can not launder the money because it is too much, she also makes a plea saying she wants her kids back.  Walt goes over to Jesse’s house, Jesse says he knows what he had done to mikes men and that he is not going back.  They reminisce and then Walt leave and gives Jesse a duffle bag full of money.  Then it cuts to Walter telling his wife Skyler that he is out.  Walt, Hank, Marie, and Skyler are having lunch outside at Walts when Hank goes into the bathroom, and sees the same writing that he saw in Gale Bettikers diary that Walt helped him discover the meaning to and it clicks with him then cuts to black.

1.  What network is this on?  What studio produces this show?

AMC, Sony Pictures Television

1.  What is the A plot or A story to the show?

Walter White finds out he has cancer and that it has progressed passed the point of survival.  He has to get his life in order while he still can.  However it turns out he beats the cancer, but he can not leave the meth business behind.

1. What is the B plot or B story to the show?

In order to help his family after his death he begins to cook the highest quality meth to distribute.  He moves up from petty cook to running his own lab.  However he becomes addicted to creating this empire and is plagued by the need for expansion.

10a.  C plot?  D plot?

Walt’s brother-in-law is the head DEA agent on his case.  During the beginning he was not close to finding the meth chef but he has become more and more suspicious as the series progressed.

1.  Write a paragraph (or more) as a TV critic as to what you thought of this episode.  Identify its strengths and weaknesses.

I thought this was one of the best episodes of the series.  It is a culmination of everything that has happened.  Jesse has finally quit, Hank is on to Walt, it is the climax so far of the series.  To go along with how important of an episode this was they planed it out perfectly.  The conversation between Walt and Hank, a few minutes before Hank finds out, about Hanks old job just gives insight into  both characters at that point.  Also the confrontation with Jesse and Walt is written brilliantly showing Jesses growth and Walt’s demise.

1.  Anything interesting about this show’s inception (how it came to be)?

Vince Gilligan wanted to make a new type of show where the protagonist becomes the antagonist.  He did this with Walt White who starts off as this guy we pull for because he is doing it for a good purpose.  However he grows to surpass that point of supporting for his family and is fueled by pure greed which causes the viewer to change their view of him.  Towards the end Walt would go as far as to poison a kid for his own good.

1.  What (type of) ads were played during the show?

I watched it on demand so there were not as many commercials but still had a decent amount, especially for on demand.  They played a good portion of the commercials that were other AMC shows.  They showed coming attractions for new seasons of Into the west new season, walking dead which are both coming on in October.  They also had commercials for Internet Explorer with The Avengers theme, and Geico,

1.  Considering its ads, what kind of audience watches this show?

The ads would indicate the middle age males mostly watch this show.  The walking dead is a gory zombie show and into the west looks like an old western.  The Avengers commercial was good and really made me want to see the Avengers more than get Internet Explorer.

Denzel Freeman