Series 4 truly cements Breaking Bad's place as the best show on TV, this series is the darkest yet with Walt on the warpath to try and bring down Gus before Gus gets him. Jesse's addiction sinks to scary new levels, until Gus uses Mike to straighten him out, and to try and turn him against Walt. Skyler is now committed to laundering Walt's money, but becomes involved with trying to save Ted from the IRS. Also Gus' war with the Cartel comes to a violent conclusion. And that's without even mentioning Hank's advances in his search for Heisenberg.
The writing and direction of the episodes are, as ever, on the rise. Each episode is beautifully crafted and plays out perfectly, drawing as much tension and emotion out of them as they can. My favourite episode this series is episode 11 "Crawl Space"... no wait episode 13 "Face Off"... or maybe episode 10 "Salud"... or it could be episode 7 "Problem Dog"... This is not to say that there is no stand out episode this series, but that there are too many stand out episodes to be able to pick a favourite.
Walt: Throughout this series Walt loses the last shreds of the good man that were there at the start of the show, he plots murder from the off and will do anything to achieve it, even poison a child. He fails to understand the trauma Jesse is going through and alienates himself from him with his demands. But despite this you still kind of root for him against the imposing force of Gus.
Jesse: Jesse goes through a hell of a lot this series, it starts with him killing a man for the first time, then he spirals into a deep drug addled depression turning his house into a crack den. Then, through the intervention of Mike he gets clean and starts to take more responsibility in his life. His new family of sorts is put in danger as a result of Walt's battle with Gus and he gets hit hard, he's come a long way from the whiny kid in series 1. A really notable scene for him is in "Problem Dog" where he confesses his attempts to sell the NA members meth.
Skyler: Skyler has made herself involved with Walt's business against his wishes and her demands and drive really grate on him, she becomes every bit as manipulative and underhanded as Walt has, but she does it for the simple reason that Walt has not thought about the consequences of his actions at all. Her presence is somewhat annoying, but played out in a way that makes sense and is essential to the story.
Hank: At the start of the series Hank is angry, he hates that he is useless and hates how Marie sees him differently now and lashes out against her because of it. It isn't until he starts working on trying to find Heisenberg again that he feels good about himself and starts to calm down. Although if he had any success in finding who he's looking for it would bring Walt down, you want him to catch Walt, but at the same time you don't want him to catch Walt, which is interesting to watch.
Gus: This is Gus' series, he goes from strength to strength, we learn his tragic past and see why he wants revenge on the cartel and the extreme lengths he will go to to achieve it. He is terrifying, killing men easily without thought and he is manipulative letting Hank go about his investigation as it poses no real threat. His relationship with Hector is a pivotal thing that provides the series climax and Gus' violent death.
Mike: Mike gets some more meat to his part this series, carrying out Gus' orders and becoming something of a mentor to Jesse, whilst also advising Gus on how to proceed with the Cartel. However the showdown with Don Eladio leads to an injured Mike staying in mexico over the last few episodes of the series.
Saul: Saul has a lot less to do with Walt and Jesse this series, spending a lot of time with Skyler working out how to save Ted from the IRS and by proxy save themselves from the IRS. He also provides his usual comic relief.
Marie: Marie, upon being verbally and mentally abused by Hank, goes back to her kleptomaniac ways, she is put under a lot of strain and has something of a slight breakdown. However in the latter part of the series she plays a considerably reduced part due to not contributing a lot to the overall plot.
Walter Jr.: Walter Jr. gets one especially good bit of emotion this series when he has to comfort an upset Walt and gets to talk frankly with him for one of the first times ever in his life. He still provides a good emotional anchor for Walt in all of the confusion he goes through.
Hector Salamanca (Mark Margolis): Hector has been a recurring character in the show since series 2 and as following the climax of the series he will no longer be in the show he deserves recognition for the wonderful character that he is. Paralysed from a stroke, Hector can only speak through ringing a bell, and yet he says more with no words than a lot of actors can say in a whole monologue, a truly wonderful performance worth mentioning.
In short, the best series (so far) of the best show on TV
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