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<\/a><\/p>\n\u201cYou are the devil.\u201d<\/p>\n
This line is uttered only a few minutes into \u201cBlood Money,\u201d the first episode of the final half-season of Breaking Bad<\/em>, which kicked off the final eight episodes of the series last night. It\u2019s something fans of the show have known for a long time yet the characters onscreen are only now beginning to grasp (and the person who says it doesn\u2019t even mean it). With his bald head and goatee, Walter White even looks like a prototypical cartoon Lucifer<\/a>, just without the horns and pitchfork.<\/p>\n There have been, and will continue to be, debates among fans about when Walt fully became his villainous alter-ego, Heisenberg. Was it when he let Jane die? Or was it at some point along the chain of lies to Skyler? I\u2019ve always felt that Walter White died pretty early on, in the fifth episode of the first season, when he rejects Elliot\u2019s offer to pay for his chemotherapy. Even though his early attempts at cooking meth led to murder, he still refused to set aside his pride, and it\u2019s that self-centeredness masquerading as bold confidence that set him down this ever-widening path of destruction. At this point in the series, that selfishness has consumed him, and all traces of Walter White are gone. Only Heisenberg\u2014the devil, in a sense\u2014remains.<\/p>\n When we last saw Walt, he had finally found a way out. He trained Todd to be his successor and left his meth business in the hands of Lydia to continue running things overseas. All he had to do was keep running the car wash with Skyler for the sake of appearances and they could live off their millions of dollars in savings. But in the universe of Breaking Bad<\/em>, there is a God who punishes the wicked. Or at least, there\u2019s poetic justice. This episode picks up right where the mid-season finale left off, with Hank realizing Walt\u2019s true identity as Heisenberg from the comfort of a toilet seat, a posthumous last laugh from Gale Boetticher. He\u2019s so stunned he can barely drive home, but he\u2019s a good cop, and he doesn\u2019t hesitate to start having boxes of evidence delivered so he can put all the pieces together.<\/p>\n At first it might seem remarkable that Hank doesn\u2019t even question what to do\u2014after all, his entire family will be ruined if he sends Walt to jail\u2014but that\u2019s only because we\u2019re so used to seeing characters in film and television bend their morals in the name of family. He\u2019s the antithesis of Walt, a man who won\u2019t use the people around him as an excuse to do wrong or let it go unpunished because he recognizes that it\u2019s better to hurt those he loves than to lose his soul. Despite all his flaws and the inevitable fallout, he\u2019s the guy we all should<\/em> want to emulate. The final scene in the garage at last finds both men revealing their true selves: Hank, the man who\u2019s committed to stopping Walt without compromising himself, and Walt-slash-Heisenberg, the guy who will do anything to keep from reaping what he\u2019s sown.<\/p>\n It\u2019s here that we finally learn what\u2019s been hinted at for a while now: Walt\u2019s cancer has returned. For most of the series\u2019 run, he was <\/em>the cancer, infecting everyone around him with lies and violence. Now that he\u2019s no longer playing the meth game, he\u2019ll die, and he doesn\u2019t even seem to care. This isn\u2019t a defeat, it\u2019s a victory. If he dies now, he\u2019ll die on top of the world, having escaped judgment for all his sins. His family will be secure. He\u2019ll have won. That\u2019s what\u2019s at stake when he confronts Hank in the garage, and it\u2019s why Hank still has a tough job ahead of him. The battle lines have been drawn, and as Walt reminds him, even though he knows the truth the odds are against him.<\/p>\n It\u2019s a gripping moment that has already become another meme (though I doubt \u201cTread Lightly\u201d will have the same staying power as \u201cI Am The One Who Knocks\u201d), but it pales in comparison to Walt\u2019s meeting with Jesse, who\u2019s so desperate for forgiveness that by the end of the episode he\u2019s trying to buy it, tossing wads of cash at strangers\u2019 houses. Becoming the Robin Hood of Albuquerque won\u2019t erase what he\u2019s done, but he at least seems closer to redemption than Walt, who can\u2019t even admit that he killed Mike. Cranston delivers an incredibly nuanced performance in this scene, somehow managing to make Walt seem sympathetic even as he spouts one lie after another. It\u2019s as if Walt isn\u2019t just trying to persuade Jesse of his innocence, but himself as well. He\u2019s so trapped by his own ego, so lost, that he only views himself as guilty as the people around him do\u2014if Jesse (or Skyler, or Hank, or the audience) thinks he\u2019s innocent, then he is, at least practically speaking. Were Jesse to fight back, to claim he still believes Mike is dead, Walt would be forced to come to grips with the monster inside, and he might not like what he discovers.<\/p>\n Denial can only take him so far, though. Lydia isn\u2019t happy with the quality of product her partners are distributing, and she wants Walt to come show them how it\u2019s done. He refuses, but that won\u2019t be enough. His deeds have become chains tying him to other people, and he\u2019ll likely never be able to fully break them. He might be able to deal with Hank or Lydia individually, but the pressure from both could prove too much.<\/p>\n After all, we already know things probably don\u2019t go his way. This mid-season premiere repeats the same technique from the beginning of Season 5, opening with a flash-forward of Walt, disheveled and alone, his outward appearance finally reflecting his spiritual malaise. He visits the dilapidated remains of his home and grabs the vial of ricin he hid there. Maybe he\u2019ll poison an enemy. Maybe he\u2019ll poison himself. Can even Walt be redeemed? It seems unlikely, but I hope it\u2019s not impossible. Maybe the real devils are those of us watching at home, assuming (or maybe even wishing) that there is no hope.<\/p>\n Patheos loves Breaking Bad. And we love to write about it!<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n For more recaps, reviews, and discussion, visit our Breaking Bad page.<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n \u2014<\/p>\n What did you think of this episode of\u00a0Breaking Bad<\/em>? Let us know in the comments below!<\/strong><\/p>\n \u2014<\/p>\n Read More:<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n Breaking Bad Season 6 Episode 2:\u00a0Buried<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n Breaking Bad Season 6 Episode 3:\u00a0Confessions<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n Breaking Bad Season 6 Episode 4:\u00a0Rabid Dog<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n Breaking Bad Season 6 Episode 5:\u00a0To\u2019hajiilee<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n Breaking Bad Season 6 Episode 6:\u00a0Ozymandias<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n