Breaking Bad Walt Gambling
And Walt—who didn’t appear to have a legitimate source of income at the time (the gambling story wouldn’t hold up to investigation)—paid for Hank’s physical therapy, which means that. Walt paid for Hank's medical bills with so-called gambling money, a fact Hank wasn't even aware of, as a way to secretly make amends for his indirect involvement in Hank's injuries.
| 'Confessions' | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Breaking Bad episode | |||
| Episode no. | Season 5 Episode 11 | ||
| Directed by | Michael Slovis | ||
| Written by | Gennifer Hutchison | ||
| Cinematography by | Arthur Albert | ||
| Editing by | Kelley Dixon | ||
| Original air date | August 25, 2013 | ||
| Running time | 47 minutes | ||
| Guest appearance(s) | |||
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| Episode chronology | |||
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| Breaking Bad (season 5) | |||
| List of Breaking Bad episodes | |||
'Confessions' is the eleventh episode of the fifth season of the American television drama series Breaking Bad, and the 57th overall episode of the series. Written by Gennifer Hutchison and directed by Michael Slovis, it aired on AMC in the United States and Canada on August 25, 2013.
Plot[edit]
At a diner, Todd recalls how he helped steal methylaminefrom the train to his uncle Jack and one of his men, Kenny, neglecting to mention the boy he murdered. Agreeing to let Todd cook meth on his own, Jack and Kenny drive back into New Mexico. Meanwhile, Hank tells Jesse that he knows Walt is Heisenberg. Jesse refuses to cooperate, and is released after Saul shows up. Later, Walt Jr. informs his father that Marie has asked him to help repair her computer and invited him to stay for dinner. Walt manipulates his son into staying home by confessing that his cancer has returned.
Walt and Skyler invite Hank and Marie to a restaurant. The Whites try to convince the Schraders to keep their children out of the situation, but the Schraders refuse to comply; Marie even callously says that Walt should kill himself to end it all. As the Whites leave, Walt gives his in-laws a DVD of his 'confession.' Playing it at home, Hank and Marie discover it is really a form of blackmail accusing Hank of being the mastermind of the Heisenberg empire and forcing Walt to cook meth for him. A stunned Hank then learns that his surgery and physical therapy were paid at Walt's expense from Marie's unwitting receipt of his drug money, which Skyler had claimed were 'gambling winnings.' This lends credence to Walt's story and torpedoes Hank's credibility.
Walt meets with Jesse in the desert and tells him that Saul can contact someone that specializes in creating new identities. He advises Jesse to start over and have a better life. Jesse reacts angrily, asking Walt to stop trying to manipulate him, and saying 'you're acting like me leaving town is all about me and turning over a new leaf, but it's really about you ... you need me gone ... just say so ... just ask me for a favor.' In response, Walt simply embraces Jesse, who cries in his arms.
Jesse then agrees to leave, but while packing to do so, Saul scolds him for possessing marijuana for the journey. While Saul makes arrangements for Jesse's departure from Albuquerque, he has Huell take Jesse's marijuana without his knowledge. While Jesse is waiting for the van that will relocate him, he notices the pot is gone, and suddenly realizes that Huell must have pick-pocketed it as well as the ricin cigarette that he previously believed Gus used to poison Brock. Jesse returns to Saul's office and physically attacks him, holding him at gunpoint and demanding to know about his role in Brock's poisoning. Saul admits to his involvement in the plot, but insists he had no idea what Walt's intentions were. As Jesse leaves, Saul calls Walt, who returns in a hurry to the car wash to retrieve a hidden revolver from a vending machine. An enraged Jesse breaks down the door to Walt's house and begins to pour gasoline on the floor.
Production[edit]
Millard Drexler, former chairman and CEO of J.Crew Group, had a cameo appearance in this episode as a customer at the Whites' car wash to whom Skyler gives incorrect change. He stated that his scene, in which he says eight or nine words, took nine takes to film.[1]
Reception[edit]
Viewership[edit]
The episode was viewed by 4.85 million people on its original broadcast,[2] which was an increase from the 4.77 million of the previous episode.
Reviews[edit]
The episode received strongly positive reviews, with Walter's monologue particularly praised.[3]TVLine named Aaron Paul the 'Performer of the Week' for his performance in this episode.[4]
In 2019 The Ringer ranked 'Confessions' as the 24th best out of the 62 total Breaking Bad episodes.[5]
Accolades[edit]
Gennifer Hutchison won the Writers Guild of America Award for Television: Episodic Drama for this episode.[6]
Aaron Paul won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series in 2014 for his performance in this episode.[7]
References[edit]
- ^Moin, David (August 28, 2013). 'Mickey Drexler Makes Cameo on 'Breaking Bad''. wwd.com. Retrieved August 28, 2013.
- ^Kondolojy, Amanda (August 27, 2013). 'Sunday Cable Ratings: 'MTV Video Music Awards' Dominates + 'Breaking Bad', 'Real Housewives of NJ', 'Catfish', 'Dexter' & More'. TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on August 29, 2013. Retrieved July 31, 2017.
- ^'Episode Review: Breaking Bad, 'Confessions''. Metacritic. August 26, 2013. Retrieved August 26, 2013.
- ^'TVLine's Performer of the Week: Aaron Paul'. TVLine. August 31, 2013. Retrieved September 1, 2013.
- ^Haley O’Shaughnessy (September 30, 2019). 'The Ringer's Definitive 'Breaking Bad' Episodes Ranking'. The Ringer.
- ^Matt Webb Mitovich (February 1, 2014). 'Writers Guild Awards: Breaking Bad, Veep, House of Cards and Days of Our Lives Among Winners'. Retrieved July 31, 2017.
- ^'Emmys 2014: Complete List of Episode Submissions'. www.goldderby.com.
Breaking Bad Walt Gambling Quotes
External links[edit]
- 'Confessions' at the official Breaking Bad site
- 'Confessions' on IMDb
- 'Confessions' at TV.com
Money Shot analyzes the best scenes from TV and film. Today, we’re talking about Breaking Bad’s most underrated moment.
The best part about Breaking Bad was when, as an audience member, you had no earthly idea how the characters could get out of a particular situation. The show excelled at not only always being one step ahead of its viewers, but also pulling off a plausible conclusion to the downright absurd holes the characters — mostly Walt — dug for themselves. This kind of open-ended action that simultaneously gave the audience enough narrative closure but enough of a reason to want to immediately tune in to the next episode to see what happens was never pulled off with more ecstatic insanity than in “Crawl Space.”
Specifically, the final shot of the eleventh episode of the show’s fourth season represented the show in one insane nutshell. In a single, slow, cacophonous pull-back of the camera, everybody in Breaking Bad was doomed. And it was glorious.
Two specific story-beats inform the impact of the final shot of “Crawl Space.” Walt (Bryan Cranston) ferries Hank (Dean Norris) around trying to innocently lead his brother-in-law in the wrong direction because the former DEA agent wants to uncover Gus Fring’s drug operation, which Walt fuels with his potent blue meth. Hank is actually doing his by-the-books sleuthing perfectly, and has accurately pieced together the puzzle that connects the disparate points of Fring’s operation. After Walt tries to throw Hank off with a stakeout of Fring’s chicken farm, Hank unexpectedly asks Walt to drive him to the industrial laundry that secretly hides Fring’s superlab. “We’ve got one hell of a place to hide a meth lab,” Hank says, before a panicked Walt drives past the entrance and deliberately causes a car accident to neutralize the situation.
This is the first time Walt puts his immediate family in danger to save himself, a selfish flaw that would haunt the character up until the end of the series. Walt’s decisions, mistakes and all, here begin to pull his secrets apart at the seams.
Hank, recovering in his bed, informs Walt that he’s getting a “gimp mobile,” a car with hand controls so he won’t have to drive him around anymore. Walt suddenly finds himself becoming expendable to Hank, but also to Jesse (Aaron Paul). He’s been able to replicate Walt’s meth formula on his own, and also informs Walt that Fring (Giancarlo Esposito) knows he’s been bringing Hank to snoop around. Fring’s cronies then kidnap Walt and bring him to the middle of the desert for the second key story beat.
Walt, thinking he’s about to be executed, faces something far worse. In another of the episode’s iconic shots, Fring stands over a kneeling Walt in a wide open tableaux of clouds crawling above the New Mexico desert. Instead of killing Walt in cold blood, Fring fires him, demanding that he cannot interfere with the drug empire anymore or face retribution.
“I will kill your wife. I will kill your son. I will kill your infant daughter,” Fring threatens, coldly. It’s among the most chilling moments of the entire series, and forces Walt to an extreme. He calls crooked lawyer Saul Goodman to get a guy who knows how to disappear people. Once given instructions to be prepared to leave within an hour, along with about a half-million dollars for the service, Walt rushes home to gather his family and the fee only to discover that his wife Skyler (Anna Gunn) has given most of their hidden meth money to her boss, Ted Beneke. Unbeknownst to Walt, Skyler has forwarded the money to Ted so he can pay an IRS debt that could expose Skylers implication in Walt’s meth money.
Cue: the final shot.
The way that a bruised and battered Walt deals with the situation is, weirdly enough, to laugh. The pulsating music gives way to a feedback screech worth of the best Sonic Youth records, and then the shot cut to black. The camera move, performances, sound design, and music all serve the moment. Its a perfect bit of mise en scene that should be taught in film classes.
Breaking Bad Walt Gambling Show
Breaking Bad was a show defined by its tension, drama that could immediately be alleviated by a bit of black comedy. This scene, and this shot, is the show’s comedy at its bleakest. Walt is seen through the open door of the crawl space, while the camera slowly pulls up. It’s here that Walt realizes, because of the Hank and Fring incidents, he is no longer in control. He almost looks like he’s being buried alive, delaying the inevitable death that he’s caused by his manipulations of everyone around him. It’s no surprise that this shot foreshadowed the final shot of Walt’s death in the series finale.
Breaking Bad Walt Gambling Games
Its Walt’s moment of self-realization, and it’s the lowest point of his life. But he doesn’t resort to silent introspection or outwardly weeping. He can’t help but laugh at the absurdity that he’s wrought. The audience and the characters in the show don’t know how to feel except absurdly energized, and that’s what Breaking Bad did best. And while the show would continue to reach other highs, it didn’t get any better than ‘Crawl Space.”