WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.660 Welcome back to The Deep Dive. Today, we're not 00:00:03.660 --> 00:00:05.960 just scratching the surface of the media we consume. 00:00:06.299 --> 00:00:08.820 We are grabbing a shovel and digging all the 00:00:08.820 --> 00:00:10.820 way to the bottom, literally. Right to the bottom. 00:00:10.919 --> 00:00:13.699 Yeah, we are pulling apart an hour of television 00:00:13.699 --> 00:00:17.620 that is relentless, uncomfortable, and frankly, 00:00:17.980 --> 00:00:20.539 a masterpiece of tension. We are looking at Breaking 00:00:20.539 --> 00:00:25.019 Bad Season 2, Episode 4, and the title is simply, 00:00:25.019 --> 00:00:30.780 uh, Down. Down. It is such a sparse monosyllabic 00:00:30.780 --> 00:00:32.899 title, isn't it? It just, it feels heavy just 00:00:32.899 --> 00:00:35.090 saying it. It really does. But when you look 00:00:35.090 --> 00:00:37.609 at the source material we've gathered, the production 00:00:37.609 --> 00:00:40.109 notes, the plot summaries, the critical reception, 00:00:40.509 --> 00:00:42.990 it's really the only word that fits. It serves 00:00:42.990 --> 00:00:45.250 as this literal descriptor for where the characters 00:00:45.250 --> 00:00:47.509 physically go in this hour. Right, like falling 00:00:47.509 --> 00:00:49.649 through floors. Exactly. Falling through floor 00:00:49.649 --> 00:00:52.909 is being kicked to the curb. But it is also the 00:00:52.909 --> 00:00:55.750 trajectory of their souls in this 47 minute window. 00:00:55.750 --> 00:00:58.210 Oh, absolutely. And look, if you're a fan of, 00:00:58.210 --> 00:01:00.710 you know, explosions, gunfights and the high 00:01:00.710 --> 00:01:02.689 octane science experiments, the Breaking Bad 00:01:02.759 --> 00:01:05.280 famous for, this deep dive might actually surprise 00:01:05.280 --> 00:01:07.680 you a bit. Yeah, it's a gear shift. Because down 00:01:07.680 --> 00:01:10.180 isn't about that adrenaline rush. It is about 00:01:10.180 --> 00:01:13.040 the hangover. It's the morning after the chaos. 00:01:13.219 --> 00:01:16.019 We're dealing with the immediate aftermath of 00:01:16.019 --> 00:01:18.340 the fugue state excuse from the previous episode. 00:01:18.540 --> 00:01:20.640 That was bit by a dead bee, right? Right. And 00:01:20.640 --> 00:01:22.739 we're watching the drug trade bleed right into 00:01:22.739 --> 00:01:25.400 the living room? That context is vital for you, 00:01:25.439 --> 00:01:27.920 the listener, to keep in mind. We are coming 00:01:27.920 --> 00:01:31.659 off a really high stress arc involving Tuco Salamanca. 00:01:31.780 --> 00:01:34.140 Oh, man. The kidnappings, the shootouts. Right. 00:01:34.420 --> 00:01:36.560 The audience is breathless at this point. And 00:01:36.560 --> 00:01:38.859 usually a show gives you a breather after that 00:01:38.859 --> 00:01:41.879 kind of climax. But... Down isn't a breather. 00:01:41.920 --> 00:01:44.400 It's a suffocation. That's a great way to put 00:01:44.400 --> 00:01:46.659 it. It connects the dots between the criminal 00:01:46.659 --> 00:01:49.859 act and the domestic consequence. This is a pivotal 00:01:49.859 --> 00:01:52.319 character study. It's less about the external 00:01:52.319 --> 00:01:55.239 threat of a cartel and more about the systematic 00:01:55.239 --> 00:01:58.040 dismantling of Jesse Pinkman's entire existence. 00:01:58.239 --> 00:02:00.719 And the crumbling facade of Walter White's family 00:02:00.719 --> 00:02:04.739 dynamic. It is painful to watch, but so fascinating 00:02:04.739 --> 00:02:08.060 to analyze. It really is. So here is our mission 00:02:08.060 --> 00:02:12.159 for this deep dive. unpack how the writers strip 00:02:12.159 --> 00:02:14.819 Jesse of everything he owns. I mean, they really 00:02:14.819 --> 00:02:16.979 kick him while he's down. They absolutely do. 00:02:17.159 --> 00:02:20.800 We're going to look at how Walt tries and fails 00:02:20.800 --> 00:02:24.159 miserably to manufacture normalcy to keep Skylar 00:02:24.159 --> 00:02:27.159 happy. And we're going to pinpoint the specific 00:02:27.159 --> 00:02:30.139 breaking points for Skylar White, who is quietly 00:02:30.139 --> 00:02:32.719 having a crisis of her own. And we have a lot 00:02:32.719 --> 00:02:35.219 of ground to cover from the symbolism of a porta 00:02:35.219 --> 00:02:37.960 potty to the specific direction of John Dahl. 00:02:38.240 --> 00:02:39.900 OK, let's unpack this. Let's start with the people 00:02:39.900 --> 00:02:41.620 behind the camera, because the creative team 00:02:41.620 --> 00:02:43.759 here is really interesting and sets a specific 00:02:43.759 --> 00:02:46.539 mood for this misery. The episode was written 00:02:46.539 --> 00:02:49.400 by Sam Catlin. Right. And Catlin is a key figure 00:02:49.400 --> 00:02:51.860 in the Breaking Bad writer's room. He is known 00:02:51.860 --> 00:02:54.080 for crafting these narratives of desperation. 00:02:54.080 --> 00:02:56.360 Yeah. He understands that the scariest thing 00:02:56.360 --> 00:02:59.300 isn't always a guy with a gun. Sometimes it is 00:02:59.300 --> 00:03:01.930 having nowhere to sleep. He excels at writing 00:03:01.930 --> 00:03:04.569 scenes that are emotionally excruciating, where 00:03:04.569 --> 00:03:06.750 the horror comes from social awkwardness and 00:03:06.750 --> 00:03:08.969 personal failure rather than violence. But what 00:03:08.969 --> 00:03:11.969 is even more notable to me is the director, John 00:03:11.969 --> 00:03:15.439 Dahl. John Dahl. Now here is a fascinating piece 00:03:15.439 --> 00:03:18.240 of trivia from our sources. This is the only 00:03:18.240 --> 00:03:20.560 episode of the entire Breaking Bad series that 00:03:20.560 --> 00:03:23.259 John Dahl directed. Just this one. Really? That's 00:03:23.259 --> 00:03:25.439 wild considering how memorable the visual style 00:03:25.439 --> 00:03:27.680 is here. Why is that significant? It makes down 00:03:27.680 --> 00:03:30.979 a unique artifact in the series run. Dahl has 00:03:30.979 --> 00:03:33.780 a background in neo -noir. We're talking about 00:03:33.780 --> 00:03:36.180 films like Red Rock West or The Last Seduction. 00:03:36.240 --> 00:03:38.759 Oh wow. He knows how to shoot shadows. He knows 00:03:38.759 --> 00:03:42.110 how to shoot isolation. Noir is all about characters 00:03:42.110 --> 00:03:45.189 trapped by their circumstances, usually in grim, 00:03:45.389 --> 00:03:48.069 urban, or desolate settings. That makes perfect 00:03:48.069 --> 00:03:50.710 sense for this. And when we get to the scenes 00:03:50.710 --> 00:03:53.949 of Jessie on the street or Skylar alone in her 00:03:53.949 --> 00:03:57.689 car, you can feel that noir influence. It is 00:03:57.689 --> 00:04:00.330 oppressive. The shadows feel a bit longer. The 00:04:00.330 --> 00:04:02.729 isolation feels a bit colder. It's interesting 00:04:02.729 --> 00:04:05.169 you mention that, because this episode feels 00:04:05.169 --> 00:04:08.150 visually lonelier than others. Even when characters 00:04:08.150 --> 00:04:11.129 are together, they feel separated. Exactly. helping 00:04:11.129 --> 00:04:13.370 build that oppressive atmosphere. We have the 00:04:13.370 --> 00:04:16.189 usual heavy hitters on cinematography and editing, 00:04:16.730 --> 00:04:18.810 Michael Slovis and Kelly Dixon. They are the 00:04:18.810 --> 00:04:21.550 architects of this look, grounding Doll's noir 00:04:21.550 --> 00:04:23.610 sensibilities and the established Albuquerque 00:04:23.610 --> 00:04:25.889 aesthetic. They ensure the continuity is there, 00:04:25.949 --> 00:04:29.009 but Doll brings that specific flavor of hopelessness. 00:04:29.649 --> 00:04:31.449 Now I want to talk about the soundscape for a 00:04:31.449 --> 00:04:35.129 second, because the music choices in this episode... 00:04:35.100 --> 00:04:37.980 are, well, they're ironic. They are doing a lot 00:04:37.980 --> 00:04:40.279 of heavy lifting. To say the least. The music 00:04:40.279 --> 00:04:42.899 supervision on Breaking Bad is legendary for 00:04:42.899 --> 00:04:45.519 a reason. We have Into the Night by Benny Mardon, 00:04:46.079 --> 00:04:48.399 we have Let Your Love Flow by the Bellamy Brothers, 00:04:48.899 --> 00:04:51.920 and then perhaps the most biting choice, It's 00:04:51.920 --> 00:04:54.920 Such a Pretty World Today by Nancy Sinatra. That 00:04:54.920 --> 00:04:57.540 juxtaposition is classic Breaking Bad. You play 00:04:57.540 --> 00:05:00.360 It's Such a Pretty World Today, a song that is 00:05:00.360 --> 00:05:02.959 light, airy, optimistic over a sequence where 00:05:02.959 --> 00:05:05.240 a character's life is falling apart. It creates 00:05:05.240 --> 00:05:08.120 this intense cognitive dissonance for the viewer. 00:05:08.519 --> 00:05:11.259 It does. The world is pretty for everyone else, 00:05:11.379 --> 00:05:14.560 maybe. The sun is shining. People are going to 00:05:14.560 --> 00:05:17.399 work. Birds are singing. But for Jesse and Walt, 00:05:17.639 --> 00:05:20.339 the world is closing in. It highlights the grim 00:05:20.339 --> 00:05:22.899 reality of the plot by pretending everything 00:05:22.899 --> 00:05:25.360 is sunny and bright. It's almost mocking them. 00:05:25.459 --> 00:05:27.620 It's the universe saying, look how happy everyone 00:05:27.620 --> 00:05:29.939 else is while you are miserable. Exactly. It 00:05:29.939 --> 00:05:32.420 isolates them further. If the music was dark 00:05:32.420 --> 00:05:35.740 and brooding, it would be melodramatic. But by 00:05:35.740 --> 00:05:38.079 making the music happy, the tragedy feels sharper. 00:05:38.579 --> 00:05:41.199 So let's get into that grim reality. We have 00:05:41.199 --> 00:05:42.959 to talk about Jesse Pinkman. If this episode 00:05:42.959 --> 00:05:45.800 is called Down, Jesse is the one leading the 00:05:45.800 --> 00:05:48.560 charge to the bottom. Absolutely. This is Jesse's 00:05:48.560 --> 00:05:51.100 rock bottom, or at least one of them. The writers 00:05:51.100 --> 00:05:54.060 essentially decided to play a game of how much 00:05:54.060 --> 00:05:56.779 can we take away from this kid in 45 minutes? 00:05:56.939 --> 00:05:59.339 It starts with what we can call the inciting 00:05:59.339 --> 00:06:02.689 incident of his homelessness, the eviction. Jesse 00:06:02.689 --> 00:06:05.350 meets with his attorney and his parents. Now 00:06:05.350 --> 00:06:07.449 usually when parents visit in a TV show it's 00:06:07.449 --> 00:06:09.529 stressful, maybe some bickering, but this is 00:06:09.529 --> 00:06:11.970 a whole other level. It is a legal intervention. 00:06:12.370 --> 00:06:14.569 The source material clarifies that his parents 00:06:14.569 --> 00:06:17.689 didn't just find a messy room or some drug paraphernalia. 00:06:18.149 --> 00:06:21.310 They found the meth lab in the basement. That 00:06:21.310 --> 00:06:24.730 is the nuclear option. It is. You can't talk 00:06:24.730 --> 00:06:27.800 your way out of a meth lab? The consequence is 00:06:27.800 --> 00:06:29.899 immediate eviction from his aunt's house and 00:06:29.899 --> 00:06:32.920 the timeline is brutal. They tell him legally, 00:06:33.240 --> 00:06:35.839 he has 72 hours. But that's not what happens. 00:06:36.379 --> 00:06:38.759 I mean, 72 hours is three days. You can find 00:06:38.759 --> 00:06:41.000 a motel in three days. You can rent a U -Haul. 00:06:41.139 --> 00:06:44.120 No. The reality hits harder. His mother arrives 00:06:44.120 --> 00:06:46.680 the very next morning with workmen. She isn't 00:06:46.680 --> 00:06:49.339 waiting for the 72 hours. She wants the cancer 00:06:49.339 --> 00:06:51.759 excised immediately. She wants him gone before 00:06:51.759 --> 00:06:54.100 he can dig in his heels. Let's look at the confrontation 00:06:54.100 --> 00:06:57.240 between Jesse and his mother. This scene is devastating. 00:06:57.720 --> 00:07:00.529 Jesse tries to bargain. He is scrambling. He 00:07:00.529 --> 00:07:02.389 goes through the stages of grief in about two 00:07:02.389 --> 00:07:05.250 minutes. First, he tries the I can change plea. 00:07:05.350 --> 00:07:07.290 He plays the lost little boy. Mom, I'm turning 00:07:07.290 --> 00:07:10.089 it around. I'm doing better. He tries to access 00:07:10.089 --> 00:07:12.750 that part of her that remembers him as a child. 00:07:13.149 --> 00:07:15.910 But she is walled off. She is looking at him 00:07:15.910 --> 00:07:18.769 like a stranger. Because she has been burned 00:07:18.769 --> 00:07:23.069 before. And again, meth lab. The evidence contradicts 00:07:23.069 --> 00:07:25.509 his words. So when he realizes that wall is up, 00:07:25.730 --> 00:07:28.970 he pivots. He goes from begging to anger. And 00:07:28.970 --> 00:07:31.129 this is where he makes a key argument. And I 00:07:31.129 --> 00:07:32.870 think this is one of the most interesting character 00:07:32.870 --> 00:07:36.149 beats for Jesse. He claims he earned that house. 00:07:36.389 --> 00:07:38.850 Yes. He says he was the one who took care of 00:07:38.850 --> 00:07:42.050 his cancer -stricken aunt. He was the one changing 00:07:42.050 --> 00:07:44.370 the sheets and dealing with the illness, while 00:07:44.370 --> 00:07:47.660 his mother, in his words, did nothing. That is 00:07:47.660 --> 00:07:50.199 the emotional core of the scene. And we have 00:07:50.199 --> 00:07:52.620 to ask ourselves, is he telling the truth? Probably 00:07:52.620 --> 00:07:55.040 to an extent. We know Jesse has a capacity for 00:07:55.040 --> 00:07:57.000 caregiving. Yeah, we see that later in this year. 00:07:57.079 --> 00:07:59.279 He likely was the one there day to day. Right. 00:07:59.399 --> 00:08:00.740 While the parents might have been dealing with 00:08:00.740 --> 00:08:02.959 the finances or the doctors, Jesse was holding 00:08:02.959 --> 00:08:06.360 her hand. Exactly. So in his mind, he paid for 00:08:06.360 --> 00:08:09.439 the house with sweat, equity and trauma. He feels 00:08:09.439 --> 00:08:12.379 morally entitled to it. But saying that to his 00:08:12.379 --> 00:08:15.000 mother, telling a mother she abandoned her dying 00:08:15.000 --> 00:08:18.399 sister. That is a weaponized guilt trip. It's 00:08:18.399 --> 00:08:20.879 a nuclear strike. And instead of making his mother 00:08:20.879 --> 00:08:24.160 back down, it pushes her over the edge. It leads 00:08:24.160 --> 00:08:26.220 to the physical breaking point. She slaps him. 00:08:26.379 --> 00:08:28.420 That slap is the period at the end of the sentence. 00:08:28.600 --> 00:08:31.399 It severs his last tie to legitimate stability. 00:08:32.259 --> 00:08:35.259 It is his mother saying, you are no longer my 00:08:35.259 --> 00:08:38.179 son. You are a problem to be removed. It's a 00:08:38.179 --> 00:08:40.679 physical rejection that hurts more than the eviction 00:08:40.679 --> 00:08:44.000 notice. So he is out. The workmen take his stuff 00:08:44.000 --> 00:08:47.460 to storage. He is left with almost nothing. And 00:08:47.460 --> 00:08:49.539 this is where the writers start to systematically 00:08:49.539 --> 00:08:53.059 remove every single resource Jesse has. It's 00:08:53.059 --> 00:08:55.159 like a survival game where the difficulty just 00:08:55.159 --> 00:08:57.500 ramped up to insane. It is a study in social 00:08:57.500 --> 00:09:00.320 isolation. Jesse reaches out to friends. He calls 00:09:00.320 --> 00:09:02.220 people he thinks are his crew. Hey, can I crash? 00:09:02.659 --> 00:09:04.259 Hey, looking for a place for a night. And the 00:09:04.259 --> 00:09:06.440 response is universal. Rejection. Paul tells 00:09:06.440 --> 00:09:08.320 him his wife won't allow it. Others just say 00:09:08.320 --> 00:09:11.149 no. He discovers that his friendships were largely 00:09:11.149 --> 00:09:13.649 transactional. They liked him when he had money 00:09:13.649 --> 00:09:16.610 or drugs or a house to party in. Without those 00:09:16.610 --> 00:09:19.129 resources, he was officially a pariah. And just 00:09:19.129 --> 00:09:20.690 when you think, okay, well, he still has his 00:09:20.690 --> 00:09:22.809 motorcycle. He can sleep on the bike or sell 00:09:22.809 --> 00:09:25.230 it for quick cash to get a motel room. The universe 00:09:25.230 --> 00:09:28.950 says, nope. The theft scene, this is classic, 00:09:29.190 --> 00:09:32.110 kick him while he's down. Jesse is at a gas station. 00:09:32.289 --> 00:09:34.789 And we should note, gas stations appear multiple 00:09:34.789 --> 00:09:37.309 times in this episode. There are transient spaces, 00:09:37.710 --> 00:09:39.750 places where you don't stay. He's making a call 00:09:39.750 --> 00:09:41.769 at a payphone. And while his back is turned, 00:09:41.990 --> 00:09:44.509 his motorcycle, his only remaining asset gets 00:09:44.509 --> 00:09:48.330 stolen, along with his bag, along with his last 00:09:48.330 --> 00:09:50.570 possession. It is relentless. Let's tell you 00:09:50.570 --> 00:09:53.409 the score here. Shelter, gone. Transport, gone. 00:09:53.669 --> 00:09:57.129 Friends, gone. Property, gone. The writers are 00:09:57.129 --> 00:09:59.370 stripping him naked, metaphorically. They are 00:09:59.370 --> 00:10:01.850 removing every layer of protection a human being 00:10:01.850 --> 00:10:04.809 has in modern society. He is now completely vulnerable 00:10:04.809 --> 00:10:07.129 to the elements and the world. Which leads us 00:10:07.129 --> 00:10:09.649 to the visual low point of the episode. Maybe 00:10:09.649 --> 00:10:11.809 you have this series so far for Jesse. The Porta 00:10:11.809 --> 00:10:14.049 Potty incident. Oh, this is hard to watch. Jesse 00:10:14.049 --> 00:10:16.509 breaks into the storage lot where the RV, the 00:10:16.509 --> 00:10:18.950 crystal ship, is stored. It is his last refuge. 00:10:19.509 --> 00:10:21.149 It is technically home because it has a roof. 00:10:21.509 --> 00:10:23.940 But the gate is locked. He can't drive it out 00:10:23.940 --> 00:10:25.940 yet. He just needs to get inside to sleep. So 00:10:25.940 --> 00:10:28.639 he climbs the fence. He climbs over. And to get 00:10:28.639 --> 00:10:30.840 down, he steps on the roof of a porta potty. 00:10:31.000 --> 00:10:33.360 And we all know physics. Plastic roofs are not 00:10:33.360 --> 00:10:35.740 designed for grown men. The roof gives way. He 00:10:35.740 --> 00:10:39.480 falls through. And he is drenched in that blue 00:10:39.480 --> 00:10:42.799 chemical waste. The blue fluid. We have to pause 00:10:42.799 --> 00:10:45.019 on the symbolism here, because it is not subtle, 00:10:45.039 --> 00:10:48.700 but it is powerful. He is literally drowning 00:10:48.700 --> 00:10:51.659 in blue waste. the blue representing the blue 00:10:51.659 --> 00:10:54.379 meth, the product that ruined his life. He is 00:10:54.379 --> 00:10:56.820 covered in the filth of his own industry. It's 00:10:56.820 --> 00:10:59.700 like a baptism in reverse, a baptism in filth. 00:10:59.940 --> 00:11:02.620 Precisely. It is the ultimate degradation. He 00:11:02.620 --> 00:11:05.220 is stained by his choices. And the practical 00:11:05.220 --> 00:11:08.039 reality of it is horrifying. He is wet, he is 00:11:08.039 --> 00:11:10.000 freezing, and he smells like chemical sewage. 00:11:10.100 --> 00:11:12.279 And the image of him afterwards, sleeping in 00:11:12.279 --> 00:11:16.059 the RV, he manages to get inside. but he is forced 00:11:16.059 --> 00:11:18.259 to wear a gas mask just to breathe because he 00:11:18.259 --> 00:11:20.740 smells so bad. Just picture that image. He is 00:11:20.740 --> 00:11:23.139 in a safe space, the RV, wrapped in a blanket, 00:11:23.200 --> 00:11:25.980 but he has a gas mask on his face. He is toxic 00:11:25.980 --> 00:11:28.899 to himself. He cannot even breathe the air around 00:11:28.899 --> 00:11:32.299 his own body without filtering it. It is a terrifying 00:11:32.299 --> 00:11:35.259 image of total isolation and self -loathing. 00:11:35.399 --> 00:11:37.820 And just to kick him one more time, we get introduced 00:11:37.820 --> 00:11:40.659 to Clovis, the lot owner. Played by Tom Quiche. 00:11:40.840 --> 00:11:44.000 Now Clovis isn't a villain, really. He's a businessman. 00:11:44.500 --> 00:11:46.960 He catches Jesse the next morning. He finds a 00:11:46.960 --> 00:11:50.139 blue stained kid sleeping in his RV. And he demands 00:11:50.139 --> 00:11:53.259 money. Jesse owes him for back storage. Plus 00:11:53.259 --> 00:11:55.240 now he owes him for the damages to the porta 00:11:55.240 --> 00:11:57.700 potty and the RV repairs. And Jesse has zero 00:11:57.700 --> 00:12:01.059 cash. He begs for time. He plays the pity card 00:12:01.059 --> 00:12:03.360 again. But Clovis does what his parents did. 00:12:03.500 --> 00:12:06.019 He evicts him. He says, get your junk and get 00:12:06.019 --> 00:12:08.919 out. Which forces Jesse's hand. The only action 00:12:08.919 --> 00:12:11.240 beat of this arc is Jesse breaking back in. He 00:12:11.240 --> 00:12:13.879 realizes he has nothing to lose. He breaks the 00:12:13.879 --> 00:12:16.139 gate, starts the RV, and crashes it through the 00:12:16.139 --> 00:12:18.940 fence to escape. It is a violent, desperate escape. 00:12:19.120 --> 00:12:21.830 He is running. But he has nowhere to go. He is 00:12:21.830 --> 00:12:24.289 just moving for the sake of moving. That is the 00:12:24.289 --> 00:12:26.470 end of part one. Jesse's on the run smelling 00:12:26.470 --> 00:12:29.330 terrible with a damaged RV and no money. It is 00:12:29.330 --> 00:12:32.429 rock bottom. So while Jesse is literally covered 00:12:32.429 --> 00:12:35.070 in waste and running for his life, let's pivot 00:12:35.070 --> 00:12:37.610 to the other side of town, the white family dynamic. 00:12:37.909 --> 00:12:41.350 Where things are cleaner, but arguably just as 00:12:41.350 --> 00:12:44.480 toxic. Walt is performing. That is the only word 00:12:44.480 --> 00:12:47.139 for it. He is fresh off the fugue state lie. 00:12:47.399 --> 00:12:49.600 He's trying to sell the idea that everything 00:12:49.600 --> 00:12:52.159 is fine. Right. We start with a meeting at a 00:12:52.159 --> 00:12:54.639 gas station paralleling where Jesse's bike gets 00:12:54.639 --> 00:12:57.899 stolen actually. Walt meets Jesse early on. He 00:12:57.899 --> 00:13:00.600 gives Jesse $600. Which is nothing compared to 00:13:00.600 --> 00:13:02.519 what they made. It's pocket change in the drug 00:13:02.519 --> 00:13:05.980 world. True. But Walt insists he needs time to 00:13:05.980 --> 00:13:08.159 reassure his family before he can cook again. 00:13:08.500 --> 00:13:10.679 He is prioritizing the facade of the suburban 00:13:10.679 --> 00:13:13.200 dad over the business, leaving Jesse in the lurch. 00:13:13.240 --> 00:13:16.000 Right. This is a crucial point. Walt's decision 00:13:16.000 --> 00:13:19.080 to pause operations is the direct cause of Jesse's 00:13:19.080 --> 00:13:21.379 financial crisis. If they were cooking, Jesse 00:13:21.379 --> 00:13:24.169 would have money for a motel. Walt is sacrificing 00:13:24.169 --> 00:13:26.690 Jesse for his own domestic comfort. And how does 00:13:26.690 --> 00:13:29.070 he reassure the family? The breakfast scene. 00:13:29.309 --> 00:13:31.370 The fair is breaking bad breakfast table. Walt 00:13:31.370 --> 00:13:34.110 is making breakfast, but he is doing it cheerily. 00:13:34.450 --> 00:13:36.850 It's creepy, right? The notes mention how unsettling 00:13:36.850 --> 00:13:40.110 it is. It is deeply disturbing. He is too happy. 00:13:40.250 --> 00:13:43.769 He is humming, flipping pancakes. He is overcompensating. 00:13:44.570 --> 00:13:46.450 And Skyler and Walt Jr. are sitting there, and 00:13:46.450 --> 00:13:48.029 you can see it on their faces. They are thinking, 00:13:48.169 --> 00:13:52.129 who is this alien? Yeah. The cheerfulness highlights 00:13:52.129 --> 00:13:54.789 the artificiality of the situation. They know 00:13:54.789 --> 00:13:57.350 something is wrong. He was just missing for days, 00:13:57.409 --> 00:14:00.830 and his smile is just making it worse. Skyler's 00:14:00.830 --> 00:14:03.570 reaction is my favorite part of this. She doesn't 00:14:03.570 --> 00:14:05.769 scream. She doesn't throw up a plate, she just 00:14:05.769 --> 00:14:08.610 leaves. She abruptly leaves the house. She doesn't 00:14:08.610 --> 00:14:11.029 tell him where she is going. She just walks out 00:14:11.029 --> 00:14:14.169 the door. She stays away until late. Silence 00:14:14.169 --> 00:14:16.909 is her weapon. It's effective. It is incredibly 00:14:16.909 --> 00:14:19.210 effective. Walt is performing for an audience 00:14:19.210 --> 00:14:21.009 and the audience just walked out of the theater. 00:14:21.190 --> 00:14:23.590 She is denying him the validation he desperately 00:14:23.590 --> 00:14:26.490 needs. So denied his audience with Skyler, Walt 00:14:26.490 --> 00:14:29.269 turns his attention to Walt Jr. He decides to 00:14:29.269 --> 00:14:31.740 be super dad and give him a driving lesson. He 00:14:31.740 --> 00:14:34.600 needs to feel like a father, like he is in control 00:14:34.600 --> 00:14:37.200 of something. And this scene is painful because 00:14:37.200 --> 00:14:39.759 it weaponizes Walt's need for control against 00:14:39.759 --> 00:14:42.480 his son's disability. Let's get into the technical 00:14:42.480 --> 00:14:46.059 detail here. Walt Jr. has cerebral palsy. Correct. 00:14:46.480 --> 00:14:49.539 And because of his CP, Walt Jr. has learned to 00:14:49.539 --> 00:14:52.080 drive using both feet to work the pedals. One 00:14:52.080 --> 00:14:55.720 for gas, one for brake. It is a necessary adaptation 00:14:55.720 --> 00:14:57.960 that allows him to have the reaction time he 00:14:57.960 --> 00:15:01.519 needs. But Walt... Walt cannot stand it. Walt 00:15:01.519 --> 00:15:04.159 tries to force Walt Jr. to use only the right 00:15:04.159 --> 00:15:06.870 foot. He insists on the proper way, the normal 00:15:06.870 --> 00:15:09.570 way. He is barking instructions. Right foot, 00:15:09.669 --> 00:15:12.210 use the right foot. He is micromanaging the disability. 00:15:12.250 --> 00:15:14.450 He is, and we have to ask why. Why does it matter? 00:15:14.490 --> 00:15:16.889 The car goes forward and stops either way. It's 00:15:16.889 --> 00:15:19.210 about normalcy, isn't it? Exactly. Walt wants 00:15:19.210 --> 00:15:21.409 everything to appear normal. A normal dad, a 00:15:21.409 --> 00:15:24.029 normal fugue state recovery, a normal driving 00:15:24.029 --> 00:15:26.750 son. He cannot accept the adaptation because 00:15:26.750 --> 00:15:28.669 it represents something outside of his control. 00:15:28.909 --> 00:15:31.730 And the result? Walt Jr. gets upset, he gets 00:15:31.730 --> 00:15:33.570 flustered by the shouting, and he hits a safety 00:15:33.570 --> 00:15:36.159 cone. That safety cone is such a great metaphor. 00:15:36.840 --> 00:15:39.200 Walt tries to steer the family, and he literally 00:15:39.200 --> 00:15:41.419 drives them into a crash. It connects to the 00:15:41.419 --> 00:15:44.279 bigger picture of Walt's psychology. He feels 00:15:44.279 --> 00:15:47.299 out of control in his life. Skyler is ghosting 00:15:47.299 --> 00:15:50.340 him. Tuco is a memory. But the danger is there. 00:15:50.399 --> 00:15:53.100 The cancer is there. Yeah. So he tries to exert 00:15:53.100 --> 00:15:55.379 absolute control over the one thing he thinks 00:15:55.379 --> 00:15:57.919 he can dominate, his son's driving technique. 00:15:58.320 --> 00:16:01.710 It is masking his own lack of control. So we 00:16:01.710 --> 00:16:04.629 have Jesse at rock bottom in the RV, and Walt 00:16:04.629 --> 00:16:07.730 failing to control his family. These two storylines 00:16:07.730 --> 00:16:10.470 have to crash into each other, and they do at 00:16:10.470 --> 00:16:12.669 Walt's house. The intersection. First, we have 00:16:12.669 --> 00:16:14.370 a brief moment where Skyler finally comes home. 00:16:14.409 --> 00:16:17.409 She is still stonewalling him. Walt apologizes 00:16:17.409 --> 00:16:19.389 for his recent behavior, trying to smooth it 00:16:19.389 --> 00:16:21.610 over. He gives the I'm sorry speech, but she 00:16:21.610 --> 00:16:24.190 knows. She knows he is hiding something. The 00:16:24.190 --> 00:16:26.470 vibe is off. She storms out again. And as Walt 00:16:26.470 --> 00:16:28.210 follows her, looking helpless, looking for a 00:16:28.210 --> 00:16:31.460 way to fix it, he spots it. The RV. The crystal 00:16:31.460 --> 00:16:34.379 ship parked right there on his suburban street. 00:16:34.740 --> 00:16:37.299 Talk about a violation of sanctuary. Jesse has 00:16:37.299 --> 00:16:39.740 invaded the one place Walt tries to keep separate. 00:16:39.840 --> 00:16:41.679 It's like a monster from a nightmare showing 00:16:41.679 --> 00:16:43.799 up in your driveway. So Walt storms out to the 00:16:43.799 --> 00:16:47.580 RV. And this confrontation is, well, it's intense. 00:16:47.779 --> 00:16:50.419 Jesse opens the door. And remember, Jesse is 00:16:50.419 --> 00:16:53.080 running on fumes, no sleep, covered in blue waste, 00:16:53.279 --> 00:16:55.879 though cleaned up a bit, terrified. Jesse's demand 00:16:55.879 --> 00:16:58.500 is simple. He wants his half of the money. He 00:16:58.500 --> 00:17:01.029 tells Walt, Just give me my share. I'm done. 00:17:01.169 --> 00:17:03.289 I'm disappearing. He wants to cash out. That 00:17:03.289 --> 00:17:05.410 seems reasonable, honestly. Just give the kid 00:17:05.410 --> 00:17:08.130 the money. But Walt refuses. And not only does 00:17:08.130 --> 00:17:11.130 he refuse, he launches into this verbal abuse. 00:17:11.250 --> 00:17:13.250 I have the quote here. He calls Jesse a pathetic 00:17:13.250 --> 00:17:16.190 junkie. He says he is too stupid to follow simple 00:17:16.190 --> 00:17:18.809 instructions. It is vicious. And it is projection. 00:17:19.349 --> 00:17:21.410 Walt is feeling pathetic and stupid because his 00:17:21.410 --> 00:17:23.410 wife hates him and he can't control his son. 00:17:23.829 --> 00:17:26.730 So he unloads all that self -hatred onto Jesse. 00:17:27.009 --> 00:17:29.069 He needs someone to look down on. Walt claims 00:17:29.069 --> 00:17:30.890 he did all the work while Jesse did nothing. 00:17:31.109 --> 00:17:33.940 Which is objectively false. Jesse has been the 00:17:33.940 --> 00:17:36.500 one in the trenches, but Walt rewrites history 00:17:36.500 --> 00:17:39.200 to suit his ego. And this pushes Jesse too far. 00:17:39.460 --> 00:17:42.539 It does. The physical fight ensues. Jesse snaps. 00:17:42.839 --> 00:17:45.059 He attacks Walt. And for a second, it looks like 00:17:45.059 --> 00:17:47.640 he might kill him. He is strangling him. He has 00:17:47.640 --> 00:17:49.900 him pinned. But he stops. He stops himself. He 00:17:49.900 --> 00:17:51.819 can't do it. He isn't a killer. Not like that. 00:17:52.019 --> 00:17:54.720 And this leads to the resolution, or the lack 00:17:54.720 --> 00:17:57.619 thereof. The dynamic shifts instantly. It's so 00:17:57.619 --> 00:18:01.380 weird. Walt brings Jesse inside. into the house. 00:18:01.500 --> 00:18:03.680 The very house he was trying to protect. He finally 00:18:03.680 --> 00:18:07.680 gives Jesse his half of the earnings, cash. He 00:18:07.680 --> 00:18:09.500 pays him what he owes. And then he offers him 00:18:09.500 --> 00:18:12.240 breakfast. We are back to breakfast, the leitmotif 00:18:12.240 --> 00:18:14.700 of the episode. What does this mean? He beats 00:18:14.700 --> 00:18:17.400 him down, verbally assaults him, and then makes 00:18:17.400 --> 00:18:19.920 him an omelet. It is the cycle of abuse. It is 00:18:19.920 --> 00:18:23.119 also a twisted paternal gesture. Walt sees Jesse 00:18:23.119 --> 00:18:26.740 as a tool, then a liability, then a child. Feeding 00:18:26.740 --> 00:18:29.259 him is a way to reestablish dominance and care 00:18:29.259 --> 00:18:32.279 simultaneously. Right. It is Walt saying, I am 00:18:32.279 --> 00:18:34.740 the provider, I provide the money, and I provide 00:18:34.740 --> 00:18:37.940 the food. It locks Jesse back into the dynamic 00:18:37.940 --> 00:18:40.660 just when he was trying to break free. It's a 00:18:40.660 --> 00:18:43.400 way of saying, you need me to survive. It's chilling 00:18:43.400 --> 00:18:45.140 when you put it that way. It's not kindness, 00:18:45.160 --> 00:18:48.119 it's a leash. Exactly. While the boys are eating 00:18:48.119 --> 00:18:50.920 their feelings, we have one final thread to pull. 00:18:51.970 --> 00:18:54.529 Skylar. Skylar's secret. We see her at a gas 00:18:54.529 --> 00:18:56.470 station. Again, the gas station. Everyone ends 00:18:56.470 --> 00:18:59.990 up there. Skylar is in her car. She is pregnant. 00:19:01.009 --> 00:19:03.579 Visibly pregnant. And she takes out a pack of 00:19:03.579 --> 00:19:05.319 cigarettes. This is a huge transgression for 00:19:05.319 --> 00:19:08.059 her character. She is the one usually policing 00:19:08.059 --> 00:19:10.420 Walt's health. She is the one who researches 00:19:10.420 --> 00:19:13.380 cancer treatments and healthy diets. She hesitates. 00:19:13.440 --> 00:19:16.180 She sees someone in a nearby car, a stranger, 00:19:16.400 --> 00:19:18.619 judging her. You know that look. Oh, yeah. The 00:19:18.619 --> 00:19:22.279 bad mother look. The side eye. Exactly. But she 00:19:22.279 --> 00:19:24.920 proceeds to light the cigarette anyway. She inhales. 00:19:25.279 --> 00:19:27.180 What is the implication here? Is this her Breaking 00:19:27.180 --> 00:19:30.359 Bad moment in this episode? In a way, yes. It 00:19:30.359 --> 00:19:33.220 is a self -destructive act born of stress and 00:19:33.220 --> 00:19:36.579 secrecy. She feels so out of control, so alienated 00:19:36.579 --> 00:19:39.619 by Walt's lies, that she commits the small act 00:19:39.619 --> 00:19:41.779 of rebellion. It feels like she's saying, if 00:19:41.779 --> 00:19:43.920 you're going to destroy this family with lies, 00:19:44.259 --> 00:19:46.339 I'm going to destroy it or at least damage it 00:19:46.339 --> 00:19:49.289 with this. It is a rebellion that damages her 00:19:49.289 --> 00:19:52.250 and her unborn child. It shows that the toxicity 00:19:52.250 --> 00:19:54.910 of Walt's choices is now physically poisoning 00:19:54.910 --> 00:19:58.369 the next generation. It is a tragic moment. It 00:19:58.369 --> 00:20:01.069 shows that Skyler isn't just a victim. She is 00:20:01.069 --> 00:20:03.769 starting to crack and make bad choices too. Man, 00:20:04.549 --> 00:20:07.890 heavy stuff. So looking back it down, how was 00:20:07.890 --> 00:20:10.009 it received? I mean, it's not the most fun episode 00:20:10.009 --> 00:20:13.089 to watch. It's basically 47 minutes of bad news. 00:20:13.349 --> 00:20:15.630 The critics were generally impassive, but the 00:20:15.630 --> 00:20:17.369 retrospective rankings are interesting. Seth 00:20:17.369 --> 00:20:22.009 Amitin at IGN gave it an 8 .9 out of 10. He specifically 00:20:22.009 --> 00:20:24.849 praised Anna Gunn's performance as Skyler. And 00:20:24.849 --> 00:20:27.230 the A .V. club. Donna Bowman gave it a grade 00:20:27.230 --> 00:20:30.630 A minus. So at the time, people saw the quality. 00:20:30.890 --> 00:20:32.970 They appreciated the acting and the mood. But 00:20:32.970 --> 00:20:35.529 looking at leader lists. When people rank all 00:20:35.529 --> 00:20:38.789 62 episodes. In 2019, The Ringer ranked it 53rd 00:20:38.789 --> 00:20:41.910 out of 62 episodes. Vulture ranked it 55th out 00:20:41.910 --> 00:20:44.950 of 62. That is a big drop. Why the disparity 00:20:44.950 --> 00:20:47.670 between the initial reviews and the legacy? I 00:20:47.670 --> 00:20:50.130 think it is because Down is a set up episode. 00:20:50.380 --> 00:20:52.980 It is moving pieces into place. It doesn't have 00:20:52.980 --> 00:20:56.160 the explosive payoff of a finale or a major death. 00:20:56.579 --> 00:20:59.660 And frankly, it is a bummer. It is 47 minutes 00:20:59.660 --> 00:21:02.740 of misery. It's hard to rewatch. Exactly. It 00:21:02.740 --> 00:21:04.339 isn't the one you put on to get your friends 00:21:04.339 --> 00:21:06.180 hooked on the show. But that doesn't mean it 00:21:06.180 --> 00:21:08.619 isn't brilliant. It just means it isn't fun. 00:21:08.740 --> 00:21:10.480 It does the hard work of character development 00:21:10.480 --> 00:21:12.700 that pays off later in the season. Right. It's 00:21:12.700 --> 00:21:15.519 the vegetables, not the dessert. Exactly. But 00:21:15.519 --> 00:21:17.839 you need the vegetables to be healthy. You can't 00:21:17.839 --> 00:21:19.950 understand Jesse's loyalty to Walt later. if 00:21:19.950 --> 00:21:22.029 you don't understand how broken he was here. 00:21:22.430 --> 00:21:24.430 So let's wrap this up with some key takeaways. 00:21:24.750 --> 00:21:27.349 If we look at the big picture of Down, what are 00:21:27.349 --> 00:21:31.549 we seeing? We are seeing the theme of home. Jesse 00:21:31.549 --> 00:21:34.450 loses his home. Walt fails to regain the trust 00:21:34.450 --> 00:21:37.849 of his home. And Skyler damages her home, her 00:21:37.849 --> 00:21:40.250 body, the baby's home. Everyone ends this episode 00:21:40.250 --> 00:21:42.769 alone. Yes. Even if they are in the same room, 00:21:43.230 --> 00:21:45.410 like Walt and Jesse eating breakfast, the emotional 00:21:45.410 --> 00:21:48.109 distance is vast. They are isolated by their 00:21:48.109 --> 00:21:50.529 secrets and their trauma. Here's a provocative 00:21:50.529 --> 00:21:53.069 final thought for you to chew on, listener. We 00:21:53.069 --> 00:21:55.390 spent a lot of time talking about Jesse's parents 00:21:55.390 --> 00:21:58.410 and Walt as a parent. The parallel is striking. 00:21:58.650 --> 00:22:01.450 Consider this. Jesse's mother evicts her son 00:22:01.450 --> 00:22:03.930 to protect her property and maybe her other son. 00:22:04.470 --> 00:22:06.809 She draws a hard line. She kicks him out into 00:22:06.809 --> 00:22:10.049 the cold. It is an act of abandonment. Walt, 00:22:10.069 --> 00:22:12.619 on the other hand, tries to control his son, 00:22:13.039 --> 00:22:16.119 literally forcing his foot onto a pedal to protect 00:22:16.119 --> 00:22:19.579 his own ego and sense of normalcy. He suffocates 00:22:19.579 --> 00:22:22.039 him. It raises the question, who is actually 00:22:22.039 --> 00:22:24.339 the more destructive parent in this specific 00:22:24.339 --> 00:22:27.460 47 -minute window? The one who abandons the child 00:22:27.460 --> 00:22:29.339 to the street to protect the home, or the one 00:22:29.339 --> 00:22:31.799 who suffocates the child with control to protect 00:22:31.799 --> 00:22:34.759 the lie? It's a choice between neglect and tyranny. 00:22:34.960 --> 00:22:37.339 And neither produces a happy child. Something 00:22:37.339 --> 00:22:40.660 to mull over. Thanks for listening to the Deep 00:22:40.660 --> 00:22:42.619 Dive. We hope you'll join us next time as we 00:22:42.619 --> 00:22:45.000 continue to unravel this incredible series. Goodbye. 00:22:45.380 --> 00:22:45.839 See you then.