1. Walt Breaks Bad Season 3, Episode 12 Half Measure
In the twelfth episode of the third season, a tipping point is reached. The painstakingly calculated piece-moving of the creative team over three seasons culminate in the final moments of Half Measure, as for the first time Walts justifications and rationalizing cant quite mask the simple truth: Walt commits murder. Jesse becomes full of rage over two of Gus's henchman murdering his girlfriend's brother, after receiving assurances that no more children would be used or killed by Gus's men. Gathering courage for his suicide mission, he snorts crystal meth before stepping from his car and the soundtrack suddenly offers a skittering horrorscape as he approaches the two dealers. He's determined to find justice and resigned to his unfavorable odds against the two as he pushes forward. The blurry foreground comes into focus. Guns are cocked, and as Jesse reaches for his piece, Walt's Pontiac Aztec flies into frame, violently decimating both men. Walt climbs from the vehicle and finds one of the dealers' gun on the ground. With one man dead, and the other meekly crawling toward the weapon, Walt rushes forward and picks it up. As he towers over the man, he pulls the trigger with no hesitation, burying a bullet in the man's skull. Jesse's look of absolute shock mirrors the audience's reaction, and a chill runs up the viewer's spine as the camera pushes in for Walt's instruction to Jesse. "Run." For many viewers, It is a defining moment in the series. No more justifications, and no more rationalizing. Just a simple truth. Walt murders a man. Walt breaks bad.
He writes half-baked novels and twitter fiction. He makes short films for contests. He plays mostly unheard music. He painted something once, and it was... okay.
A lover of all things pop culture, a master of none, Stephen nevertheless will continue his pursuit to become a modern-day renaissance man. And post it all at stephenstories.com
