Breaking Bad S06E02 Review: "Buried"
"It's not filthy. It's dimly lit." - Declan
Excuses, excuses. At this late stage in the ongoing saga of Walter White, the major characters are running out of them. The lies they've told each other over the years, the illusions and self-deceptions that have been piling up for five seasons? They're starting to break down. To erode and dissolve with time, and pressure, and constant scrutiny and shame.
And what's more, it's becoming clearer and clearer that those who continue to hide behind excuses are in for a rude awakening. Just look at what happens to Declan this week. He's been churning out inferior crystal for the past few months, but when the Czech mob's representative Lydia comes looking for an explanation, Declan can only shrug his shoulders and throw out a few fumbling excuses. But ultimately, he's no Heisenberg. Lydia, along with Todd and his merry band of Nazi heavies, take advantage of this by swooping in and wiping out Declan's crew, freeing them up to take over the cooking operation. Sorry Declan, but your lab was pretty filthy--just like the business you've been wrapped up in for years. You knew it could end this way, but you were just too blinded by your own bullshit to see clearly.
The parallels to Walter's story should be pretty evident here. Declan's brutal execution at the hands of Lydia and Fuhrer Todd serves as a dark harbinger of what lies in store for Walt if he doesn't stop making excuses for himself and start facing things head on--like he once did in the pilot, standing in the desert with nothing but a pistol and a pair of tightie-whities. With Skyler's desperate complicity, Marie's newfound Heisenberg revelation, and Jesse in Hank's custody, the noose is tightening, and Walt's running out of room to maneuver.
His one major concern this episode is to get rid of the massive (and massively incriminating) pile of money hidden in his storage shed. So he has Saul's lovable lackeys Kuby and Huell scoop the cash up into chemical barrels and take it to Walt, who drives those barrels out into the middle of the desert, picks up a shovel, and starts digging.
Beyond the obvious parallel to the burying of dead bodies, there's a broader theme at work here involving Walter's constant compulsion to bury his problems instead of dealing with them more directly. Walt's burial strategy is merely a stall tactic, a half-measure, if you will. He doesn't burn it, he doesn't give it away like Jesse likes to do, and he doesn't surrender it. He just finds another, slightly better hiding spot for it, even buying a Chekhov's Lottery Ticket with the money's coordinates on it so he can find the cash later. Walt's not solving any of his problems, he's just deferring them, trying to keep them at bay long enough to think of a Gus-pipe-bomb-sized magic trick to pull out of his ass. This isn't forward progress so much as a lateral move.
Jesse, too, finds it difficult to move forward. The most obvious indication of this is the neat visual of him spinning around on the carousel. He's trapped in an endless circle, unable to escape the guilt and the weight of his past mistakes. His excuses are stamped on his face like a brand. His paralysis is also suggested by his wooden face throughout the episode, as well as the more notable observation that Aaron Paul doesn't speak a word of dialogue throughout his two major scenes this week.
Unsurprisingly, we get some more great showcasing from Dean Norris as Hank this episode. Betsy Brandt, as his wife Marie, also gets a rare opportunity to step up with a great, tense confrontation with her sister Skyler, who Marie now knows is an accomplice to the great and terrible Heisenberg. As with Hank's montage last week when he pores over every detail from the last five seasons in light of his new knowledge about Walt's secret, Marie going over Skyler's erratic behavior over the last year was a thrilling payoff to a long-simmering buildup of deceit and situational irony.
I thought it was great, and absolutely fitting with his character, that Hank ultimately chooses to bring his knowledge of Heisenberg's identity to his DEA bosses. Hank's always been about self-sacrifice in the name of pure justice; think back to the last time he willingly gave up his badge, back in "One Minute," for beating Jesse. Marie tries to convince him to sit on what he knows for the sake of his career, but Hank's never been all that interested in excuses, or turning away from the bald truth. "I can be the one who catches him, at least," he explains lamely.
Unlike his egotistical arch-enemy, Hank can keep his pride in check during this twisted chess match. This may end up hurting him in the end, but he's willing to take his licks since it comes with the trade-off of being able to see the road ahead of him clearly. For Heisenberg, though, his world's too clouded by uncertainty, just like the scientist from whom he takes his name. The more truth Hank uncovers, the more Walt's evasions and excuses begin to buckle, threatening to destabilize his hard-earned throne made of nothing but lies and thin air.
Written by Modern Sin
Very intense scene.