{"id":2497,"date":"2012-07-24T12:39:48","date_gmt":"2012-07-24T18:39:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tinseltalk\/?p=2497"},"modified":"2012-08-01T07:57:31","modified_gmt":"2012-08-01T13:57:31","slug":"breaking-bad-madrigal-money-and-metanoia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tinseltalk\/2012\/07\/breaking-bad-madrigal-money-and-metanoia\/","title":{"rendered":"Breaking Bad: Madrigal, Money, and Metanoia"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Episode 2, Season 5 by Samantha Curley<\/em><\/p>\n

Breaking Bad<\/em> creator Vince Gilligan dropped another prophetic bomb at the end of the second episode of Breaking Bad\u2019s final season when Walt says:<\/p>\n

\u201cYou know it gets\u00a0easier. I promise you that it does. What we do is for good reasons. There\u2019s nothing to worry about. <\/em>There\u2019s no better reason than family.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Excuse me, Walt, did I hear you correctly? Did you say family?<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Walt (Bryan Cranston) continues to deceive himself into thinking he is making the right choices \u2013 good choices \u2013 for the sake of his family. But this episode, more than any other of the season, begs the question, \u201cWalt, what family are you talking about?\u201d Your terrified wife (Anna Gunn) who couldn\u2019t get out of bed and didn\u2019t speak a word to you (or anyone) the entire episode? Your son (R.J. Mitte) who has been abandoned by every adult figure in his life? Your infant daughter who will grow up having to confront her monster of a father? Your brother-in-law (Dean Norris) that you\u2019ve used and deceived to build your drug empire?<\/p>\n

Walt has no family left. Yet, the fantasy of family continues to motivate his downward spiral. \u201cMadrigal\u201d forces each character to confront the question: Why do you do what you do? A question that seems to boil down to either money or family. And let\u2019s be honest, Mike (Jonathan Banks) might be the only one choosing family.<\/p>\n

It was eery and unsettling to watch Walt in his cocky attempt to become Gus (Giancarlo Esposito). His calm, yet demanding demeanor; his relational manipulating, flat affect, and plotted confidence. (It physically hurt to watch him cover his tracks in the cigarette and salt scenes with Jesse.) Walt\u2019s every move reeks of Gus, even as he extends a handshake to Mike after their first meeting of the episode. While the new mantra is, \u201cIf Gus can manage it, so can we,\u201d<\/em> let\u2019s just remember where Gus ended up\u2026
\n
\n\"\"<\/a>As Walt\u2019s storyline becomes, well, pure evil, we continue to hope for the redemption of characters like Jesse (Aaron Paul), Mike, Hank, even Saul (Bob Odenkirk) to some extent. These characters have become the wise sages of the show; the ones who have eyes that see. Jesse\u2019s genuine, yet unknowingly misplaced repentance in the show\u2019s opening scene as he apologizes to Walt, \u201cHow could I have been so stupid.\u201d<\/em> Mike\u2019s warning to Walt about being a ticking time bomb and his ironic, punchy wisdom in the diner: \u201cHere in the real world we don\u2019t kill eleven people as some kind of prophylactic measure.\u201d<\/em> Hank continues to sense there is something beyond the surface, while remaining unable to exactly put his finger on it. I wonder (with a sense of foreboding) where his good questions and intuition will take him. Even Saul comes through with the lottery analogy pleading with Walt and Jesse to get out while they\u2019re still alive.
\n<\/a><\/p>\n

Where will these characters be when the bomb finally does explode? When bad is officially broken? We can only hope as far away from Walt as possible. Sadly, there are few avenues of metanoia<\/em> (deep repentance, change of heart) left as viable ways out.<\/p>\n

Join us each week as we blog through the epic final season of Breaking Bad:\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Episode 1: Is Redemption Possible for Walter White?<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Episode 2:\u00a0Madrigal, Money, and Metanoia<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Episode 3: Breaking Bad Made Whole?<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Walt does it for his family. Wait…what?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1138,"featured_media":2498,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[161,14],"tags":[568,562,564,569,565,563],"class_list":["post-2497","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-television","tag-aaron-paul","tag-breaking-bad","tag-bryan-cranston","tag-jesse","tag-redemption","tag-walter-white"],"yoast_head":"\nBreaking Bad: Madrigal, Money, and Metanoia - Tinsel<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Walt does it for his family. 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