Whats In Store
Walt, Hank, and Skyler are definitely the focal characters for the upcoming season. The rest of the principle cast Jesse and the crooked lawyer Saul especially will surely have roles to play, but their ends seemed to tie up fairly neatly. Unfortunately for them, when Hank starts looking into Walt, they will be dragged back in one way or another. So far, the show has respected the rule of Chekhovs gun. This makes it likely we will see Walt's ricin come into play. While the ricin has already played an enormous role in the show's narrative, it has yet to actually be deployed. We know it is still taped behind the outlet in Walt's bedroom. He could potentially use it on Hank. I hope this doesn't happen because I want to see the character on-screen as much as possible. But as far as story goes, it would make good sense. Ricin is supposed to be Walts foolproof, untraceable method of dispatching his enemies. If he ever needed to get away with any murder, it would be the murder of his brother-in-law. I dont know whether this will happen, but chances are good that at some point, someone is going to swallow the ricin. Jesse is the biggest wildcard of the upcoming season. How long he remains loyal to Walt is unknowable. Their history has been tumultuous at best and there is so much Jesse doesnt even know about the way Walt stood and watched the love of Jesses life OD, the fact that Walt poisoned Jesses nearly adopted son Brock, and Walts murder of Mike, a man Jesse had become close to and seen as a mentor. Hank also knows about the Walt and Jesse connection, believing Walt purchased weed from him, so Hank could just as easily as Walt be the person who drags Jesse back into the thick of the action. While there is no love lost between Hank and Jesse, if they put their heads together and share what they know about Walt they may be inclined to team up against his greater evil. In the fifth season, Jesse has also been introduced to Skyler and seen Walts treatment of her first-hand. The more Jesse learns, the quicker he is going to turn on Walt. He may, indeed, be the crucial element to Hanks investigation. Then again, in the promotional image above, Walt and Jesse appear to still be on the same side. One thing about Breaking Bad is that it is notoriously difficult to predict where its heading. Just about anything could happen; the show's vision does not make any detours for the sake of audience expectation. The mind swirls with possibilities of how Hank will approach Walt. He could run right out into the family get together and slap the handcuffs on him. He will probably be more subtle. Saul could fold like an umbrella at the first sign of pressure and give the whole operation away. Ted Beneke is still alive in the hospital and he has information about Skyler. Todd is a lowlife opportunist whom I think Walt was unwise to trust; he and his uncle's gang are likely still a factor. While its still fun to fantasize and imagine, the show is so magnificently done its better left to the creators to tell the story. One thing is certain: Walt must pay for his crimes. Series creator Vince Gilligan has strongly suggested that he will. We know that Walt will go on the run and purchase a black market assault rifle. We know that Hank is not going to give up his pursuit of Heisenberg and there are good reasons to believe Jesse will find out about all of Walts crimes against him. But the show makes no promise of a happy ending. Every possibility is open to the show's imaginative writers. It may even turn out in the end that Walter White is the only man left standing. All the previous episodes have built up to this point; the cataclysmic collision of all thats been wrought is coming soon. Breaking Bad begins airing August 11th on AMC and airs every Sunday for eight weeks. Check on WhatCulture.com every Monday for updated coverage and reviews of the previous nights episodes.