Blood Money

Blood Money is a brilliant follow up to the events of Gliding Over All with several classic Breaking Bad moments.

The opening pre-credit sequence is not just intriguing but also very funny. When I first saw it on its original release it kicked off the only major "binge watch" of a show I have ever done. It sets up the remaining episodes in a way that you have to know the final outcome as soon as possible. Rewatching it years later it does not quite have the same effect but it's still incredibly compelling.

I will not mention plot specifics but what stands out are the quality of several character exchanges. One involving Skyler at the car wash is excellent. Walt and Jesse likewise. However, nothing is quite as memorable as the final face off between two individuals.

All characters are presented wonderfully by the writers, filmmakers and actors. Jesse's struggles are brilliantly portrayed by Aaron Paul. It was a wise choice not to communicate this with him ranting and raving, but just behaviour and tortured body language.

Walt being depicted so much like Gus Fring works well in certain moments, but showing the classic Walt pride rise to the surface is character defining.

I will not say too much about Hank except that the scenes with this character are brilliant and so is Dean Norris.

Visually it is excellent as always.

Usually you will Walts character outshine everyone in an episode and in any scene featuring him, Bryan Cranston will steal the scene giving off the best performance! In this episode however, Dean Norris manages to outshine Bryan Cranston!

When Hank starts to actually piece things together, Dean Norris expertly captures a character in shock and disbelief! Some powerfull scenes! The final scene with Hank and Walt, Dean Norris commands the scene! He is in complete control getting the upper hand with a powerfull performance!

The episode also shows that Jesse is struggling to move on, knowing what he and Walt did together and the innocent lives yhat were taken and ruined in the process! Can he accept the money knowing what they did to make them?

Overall a great episode that sets up the second half of the final season that will leave you with emotional scars!

'Breaking Bad' is one of the most popular rated shows on IMDb, is one of those rarities where every season has either been very positively received or near-universally acclaimed critically and where all of my friends have said nothing but great things about.

Very few shows in recent memory had me so hooked from the very start that before the week was over the whole show had been watched, especially when for a lot of shows now airing watching one episode all the way through can be an endeavour. 'Breaking Bad' had that effect on me, and its reputation as one of the best, consistently brilliant and most addictive shows in many years (maybe even ever) is more than deserved in my eyes. Its weakest season is perhaps the first season, understandable as any show's first season is the one where things are still settling.

Actually everything is established remarkably from the very start, but once the writing and characterisation becomes even meatier the show reaches even higher levels.

"Blood Money" is another incredible 'Breaking Bad' episode, one of the best of Season 5. The sizzling tension and emotional impact are only a couple of truly great things and even more the rich subtlety and a story-advancing revelation that will leave one reeling.

Visually, "Blood Money" is both stylish and beautiful, with photography and editing that are cinematic quality and put a lot of films today to shame, where there are a lot of visually beautiful ones but also some painfully amateurish looking ones. The music always has the appropriate mood, never too intrusive, never too muted.

The writing in "Blood Money" is a fine example of how to have a lot of style but also to have a lot of substance. The dialogue throughout is thought-provoking and tense, while also have a darkly wicked sense of humour, nail-biting tension and heart-tugging pathos. The story is texturally rich, intimate, tense and layered, with the pace of it consistently deliberate but taut.

Can't say anything bad about the acting. Bryan Cranston is phenomenal as one of the most fascinating anti-heroes, or even of any kind of character, in either film or television. Aaron Paul has never been better and Anna Gunn is affecting. The supporting cast are both intriguing and entertaining, Dean Norris giving his best performance perhaps of the show. The characters are compelling in their realism, likewise with their chemistry (particularly between Walt and Hank), and the episode is superbly directed.

All in all, another episode that is difficult to find fault with. 10/10 Bethany Cox

So Breaking Bad finally returns after what has been an agonizingly long wait, but not for nothing. Without any spoilers, this review is meant to assure you that BB has returned to squat on the pole position in all of television, with brilliant direction, a story that moves fast and gives you just what you expect - Pure adrenalin rush. It jumps right on to the tracks, promising entertainment that will make us wait with bated breath. But be advised, take Hank or Walt lightly at your own peril, neither would go down without a fight and I wouldn't wanna bet my money on anyone of them yet.

Give yourself a little less than one hour completely free from everything else and watch what has taken a year to finally enthrall one and all.

Expectations have always been a great hindrance when it comes to enjoying anything in life. think of a restaurant with the best reputation --> if you liked the meal, you will keep spreading the word. if you hated it, you will simply speak mud of the place.

This episode had that little hindrance. we have been expecting (waiting, gagging) for this episode. not only because it's the beginning of the second half of the season finale of BB, but also because you want more. you need to know more about it. the expectation was simply gigantic.

But I only needed the first two minutes of the episode to know that that expectation has been fulfilled. so let us approach this episode from two angles: our reality and the show's reality.

angle 1 --> man, these actors and actresses definitely deliver. the great problem is usually having actors or actresses who get fat, who fail to act as they usually do, who can keep us attached to the series. believe you me, these people do keep you there. Attached. Even more, DEA agent Hank (Mr Norris) is getting the place he deserves.

angle 2 --> tension is growing. you can feel it. it is there and there is nothing you can do as a spectator.

favourite scene? last few seconds of the episode.