‘Breaking Bad’ Recap (Season 5, Episode 5): “Dead Freight”

The boys somehow pull off the great train robbery in AMC’s Breaking Bad

Holy shit. Breathe in, breathe out, breathe in, breathe out. I was waiting for something bad to happen this whole episode but I didn’t expect that something to be THAT bad. After that kid Jesse rescues from the junkies, and Andrea’s brother, and Brock, and now this… I’m starting to think Vince Gilligan really doesn’t like kids.

The cold open with the young boy riding around on a dirt bike and playing with a tarantula? I didn’t think anything of it apart from “huh.” I’ve become accustomed to Breaking Bad’s bizarre openings. Despite the sound of the train in the background, I completely forgot about the kid after the opening because the heist was so intense and so exciting I couldn’t think of anything else. I was surprised that the whole plan had gone so well and was actually shocked that nothing bad had happened… until the kid showed up again. And then I knew what was going to happen. Kids and Breaking Bad just don’t play well together.

Anyway, I’m getting ahead of myself. Two weeks ago Mike told Walt that just because he shot Jesse James it didn’t mean he was Jesse James. Walt decides to become a literal Jesse James in “Dead Freight” by robbing a train. Surprisingly, it’s not Walt or Mike who comes up with the plan but Lydia and Jesse – Lydia, who has to give the boys another source of methylamine to save her neck after it turns out the DEA (a rather incompetent branch, according to Hank) did in fact put a tracker on the barrel, tells them about a freight train carrying a whole tank full of the stuff, and Jesse, who figures out a way to steal it without alerting anyone to the heist or having to kill any witnesses.

After Walt and Jesse told Todd (who they have brought in for help, alongside Saul’s actor (Bill Burr) from last season as the distraction) about leaving no witnesses, I presumed that Walt was going to kill Todd after the heist was done. But no, after the heist is done and Walt, Jesse and Todd are celebrating, it is Todd who does the killing: the kid on his dirt bike with his tarantula from the beginning of the episode, who is simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. While the kid may not realise what it is exactly the three men have done, Todd doesn’t want to take any chances and shoots him in the chest, presumably in some attempt to impress Walt and Jesse. Jesse responds by screaming but Walt is silent: we all know that Walt has no problem harming children now, so I wouldn’t be surprised if Todd is now his new favourite student.

When Jesse Plemons’ casting as Todd was announced, it seemed like he was going to be an important character but I didn’t realise why until now. This incident is going to create a rift in the group: Walt will presumably justify Todd’s actions and Jesse will realise that Walt has no problem harming children and then he will remember pointing a gun at Walt’s head and Walt rambling about Gus and poisoning children. I wouldn’t be surprised if Todd shooting that kid was responsible for unravelling the entire Walt/Jesse “relationship” (which is mostly based on lies and manipulation anyway). Regardless, a lot of people aren’t going to be happy about what Todd has done and I can’t wait to see how it all plays out in these next three episodes. Shit hit the fan in this episode; now things are going to get even worse.

Image credit: AMC

Comments