Hello Carol

Spoilers will abound in any Breaking Bad post.

Call me slow. I didn't recognize the pool. Re-watching the episode, it is marvelous how the first few shots and specifically one overhead shot of the pool and backyard quickly and efficiently establish the devastation of the White home without being flashy or at all heavy-handed. I didn't realize what was going on until Walt unscrewed the outlet cover. Then, it hit me hard. Before I could properly register this, though, we get the nice comic beat of the neighbor dropping her groceries. Well played. That little moment communicates more than ten minutes of expository dialogue could have done.

These flash forwards are tough teasers. Why is the house abandoned? Where is the rest of the White family? How long has it been? Walt's definitely done with chemo since he's grown such a gnarly beard, right? Is he a dead man walking? What the hell is he going to do with that machine gun??? Is the ricin for personal consumption? Or will there be more children to poison?

What will be interesting to watch is how the leap is made from the contemporary story to the flash forward story. The way that the action ramps up in this episode is a good indication that there will be no filler ahead. There will not be any wasted moments in the next seven episodes.

More later. Stupid work getting in the way of my Breaking Bad obsession.