Meth Monday: 5.10 - "Buried"

Hello Readers Mine, and welcome to another Meth Monday. After the jump, I'll be talking about Breaking Bad episode 5.10 "Buried" which aired last night on AMC, so if you haven't watched it yet, beware: HERE THERE BE SPOILERS!!!!!! On another note, despite the final 16 episodes of Breaking Bad being broken up to air, season-like, over the course of two years, AMC and IMDb both continue to number the episodes as part of a single, long season 5, and I am choosing to go with their system.

Kuby (Bill Burr) and Huell (Lavell Crawford) in 5.10 "Buried."

Okay, first things first. Both "Buried" and last week's "Blood Money" are doing some really interesting things with eyes/vision/seeing/not-seeing. Note the shot of Walt in the cold open to 5.09 "Blood Money" in the cracked bedroom mirror in the abandoned White house. The cracks in the glass make Walt appear eye-less, though the rest of his face, and the frames of his glasses, are mostly visible. Later in the same episode, Jesse refuses to look at Walt except briefly, and his eyes close when Walt reminds him that he has "earned" the blood money. Lydia's eyes are also almost always hidden under Jackie-O sunglasses, except when she is trying to convince Walt to come back and cook.

Cut to "Buried" and the motif continues. Hank talks about his career being over when he goes in and tells his pals at the DEA that the guy he has been looking for was his brother-in-law. Hank's been looking hard, but has been blind to the truth. Lydia shows up literally blindfolded, and ends her scene with eyes tightly shut so she won't see the results of her actions against Declan and his gang. Meanwhile, the core of Jesse's problem is that he can't "un-see" the things that he has seen and done, while Walt is a master at seeing things the way he wants to, as necessary, unavoidable, or done in service of a higher purpose. In these two episodes, at least, what people see or don't see, what they will and won't see is vitally important. If Lydia doesn't see the result of her calling down Todd and his Neo-Nazi relatives down upon Declan, then she doesn't have to live with the consequences of her action. If Hank can make up for his blindness towards Walt/Heisenberg by being the guy to bring him in, then he can redeem himself in his own "eyes." And, as always, if Walt can just get everyone to see things the way he does, then all will be well. Keep an eye (pun intended) out for this theme going forward. I think we'll see more of it.

Now then. "Buried" is all about relationships and family. Skyler and Walt are big here, as Sky apparently has decided to stand by her man either out of love, fear that if he goes down she will too, or because she's become used to having a three-foot high pallet of money to spend. Skyler and Marie's relationship may well be irrevocably damaged. Anna Gunn and Betsy Brant have said that their characters are the only family they have left, come from a not too wonderful family, and have no contact with their parents. Skyler's betrayal of Marie, and Marie's roundhouse smack therefore represent a truly tragic break between them. Yet both have chosen to draw their lines with their husbands. One gets the sense that Marie's fury comes from the thought that, somehow, Walt had something to do with Hank being shot (an accurate conclusion, and one that Skyler herself reached in season 3), and if there is one thing we've learned is that Marie and Hank are totally loyal to and fiercely protective of, each other.

Hank's relationships with Walt and Sky have radically shifted, but the most interesting relationship that may be about to change is the one the episode ends on: Hank and Jesse. For Jesse is the weak link in the Heisenberg case, the one person who can give Hank the evidence he needs to put Walt away. Though Jesse has a true hate-on for Hank, what might happen if Hank apologizes to him, tells him he knows now that it was Walt, not Jesse who called and told him Marie was in the hospital, that he knows Walt is the bad guy? I don't think it'll happen so quickly, but with Breaking Bad, you never know. One thing I'm sure of: if Jesse ever finds out about Brock, or - worse - Jane, then Walt is well and truly done for. We'll see next week.

That's it for today, but you can keep up with all the latest BrBa news and info that comes across my screen by following #WannaCook or me on Twitter or Facebook. Also don't miss my co-author's weekly "Walter White Wednesday" posts over on her blog, Unfettered Brilliance, and follow her too. See you next week!