By Matt Ern

Breaking Bad- “Bug”

Grade: A

In an episode where so subplots came to a head and almost every character was left in an unpleasant situation, I’m not sure where to begin talking, especially considering how physically shaken I was by the episode.  The best place to start is probably the beginning.

In true Breaking Bad fashion, there was a brilliant cold open promising bloodshed later in the episode.  Foreshadowing is routinely one of the strongest and most successful devices used throughout the show.  This time we see broken glasses (possibly belonging to Gus or Walt) and drops of blood falling on a pair of shoes.  The first time we see Walt in the episode there is a shot of his shoes, the same pair of loafers from the cold open.

 Moving on to the main action, Gus is at the end of his rope with the cartel, and agrees to their demand for their own source of Walt’s signature blue meth.  Gus asks Jesse if he can cook the formula on his own, and tells him that he needs to go to Mexico to teach the formula to cartel chemists.  A panicked Jesse calls on Walt for chemistry advice lest he make some mistake when teaching the cartel (“What if the machines are all in Mexican?”).  But Walt’s mistrust of Jesse has grown throughout the last few episodes because Jesse hasn’t made good on his promise to kill Gus.

What ensues is a scene that is truly hard to watch as someone so invested in the show and the relationship between Walt and Jesse.  The two grapple and wrestle across Jesse’s living room.  “Can you walk?” Jesse asks after the fight.  “Then get the fuck out of here and never come back. ” 

The fight was especially painful after the diner scene at Gus’ place. The way Jesse defends Walt makes us think there’s hope for their relationship yet, only to have those hopes brutally dashed.

If Jesse goes to Mexico to teach the cartel he is essentially signing Walt’s death sentence since he will no longer be an essential part of the organization. 

The Walt/Jesse relationship has changed so much throughout the course of the show, going from unwilling partners to an almost father/son dynamic, even killing to save each other’s lives.  But after this week’s episode, their relationship has never been more damaged and it’s not exactly clear what direction the writers are going to take us. 

Walt has certainly taken on a diminished role this season, while characters like Gus, Jesse and Hank make the power plays and advance the action.  “Bug” sums up the shift in dynamic perfectly; Walt impotently chauffeurs Hank to and fro while Gus walks through sniper fire, looking like a total bad ass.  As Hank builds his case against Gus he sends Walt into a panic to protect both his own criminal dealings from Hank and to prove his loyalty to Gus.  Jesse meanwhile continues to climb higher in Gus’ organization, while Walt and Gus struggle to control his loyalty.

This battle for Jesse’s soul will most likely be the focus of the remaining episodes of the season.

Curb Your Enthusiasm- “Larry vs. Michael J. Fox”

Grade: B+

This week Curb Your Enthusiasm wrapped up its eighth season although it’s been more than a decade since the show’s inception.   And in that time little about the show’s formula has changed, Larry will encounter another celebrity, perceive a slight against him, and spend the rest of the episode trying to convince friends and acquaintances that they are out to get him.  It’s impressive though that after all this time the tried and true formula can still result in big laughs.

This week, as the title suggests, Larry has a run in with Michal J. Fox, but there’s no way to see the climax of their conflict coming: Larry being publicly denounced by Mayor Bloomberg at a rally for Fox’s Parkinson’s charity. 

However funny the Michael J. Fox storyline was, the show was stolen by Greg, the flamboyant (“He’s pre-gay!”) seven-year-old son of Larry’s girlfriend.  Early on in the episode Greg discovers Larry drawing Hitler mustaches on people on magazine covers and quickly engages Larry in a discussion of fashion and how much he loves the design of a swastika (“The lines go straight! And then up! And then down!”).  Larry gets the boy a sewing machine for his birthday, which he promptly uses to make a pillow sham with a swastika on it.   

Back in the main storyline, after shushing Fox at a bar Larry thinks he sees him make an angry head shake as he leaves, which of course spawns a debate how to tell a Parkinson’s shake from a pissed off shake.  When Larry goes to Fox’s apartment to apologize, he offers Larry a soda that explodes.  This is all the proof Larry needs that Fox is out to get him, but no one else seems to get on board with the idea that Fox is torturing Larry under the guise of his Parkinson’s.  As Larry attempts to build his case against Fox he only manages to get people mad at himself.

The storyline is fairly typical for the show, but Fox’s good sense of humor about his condition makes for a particularly funny episode.  While there’s nothing mind-blowingly creative happening here Fox gives a great performance and even Mayor Bloomberg pulls of his cameo nicely.  It’s a nice way to end what’s been a very enjoyable season of the show.