Prompt: Evaluate the extent to which rulers of Indian states could exercise power independently from the British in the period 1750–1900.
Docs: note i didnt use doc 2 it was a pic
Doc 1:
Source: Muhammad Ali Khan Wallajah, ruler of the southeast Indian state of Arcot, letter to the Court of Directors of the British East India Company, 1777.
Sirs, it has been five years since the Company gave me positive orders to take the neighboring state of Tanjore and lent me its troops for that purpose. It has been almost three years since, keeping my promise, I took Tanjore and expelled its ruler.
Since then, I have been paying, out of my state coffers, all the debts that the prince of Tanjore had accumulated, much of it to Europeans of other nations. He had mortgaged parts of his territory to the Dutch; I paid them off. I also paid the troops of his army the back wages that he owed them and took care to suppress the banditry in the Tanjore country that he had allowed to fester. I have also been preventing the Marathas* from attacking this country, by buying them off with large sums of money. I have made great advances to the prosperity of the inhabitants of Tanjore by giving them bulls and rice from my domains.
Sirs, it is well known that Tanjore lies in the Carnatic lowlands and that I am, by the blessing of God, the ruler of that part of India. It is only by your favor and assistance, Gentlemen, that I got possession of my right, and I am thankful to you day and night. Nonetheless, I cannot conclude this letter without noting that, by changing your mind and now insisting that the prince of Tanjore be restored to his throne, you are opening this region to your enemies. Reinstating the prince of Tanjore is just the same as inviting the French in this country, because, when they bring their forces here and start hostilities against you, he is certain to ally with them and supply them with everything they need. Give him back the revenues of Tanjore and you might as well be giving them to the French or to the Marathas. Whereas, should they remain in my hands, I will make sure that no part of the wealth of the country falls into the hands of our common enemies.
*an alliance of states in west-central India which were, at the time, at war with the British
Doc 3:
Source: Tipu Sultan, ruler of Mysore, letter to the Mughal emperor Shah Alam II, 1785.
Your Majesty,
Receiving Your letter and gifts, which You sent to me by Your special emissary, has honored me boundlessly. In acknowledgment of Your letter and gifts I respectfully offer You my most humble allegiance and obedience.
As a steadfast believer, and desiring, like You, to always support the noble religion of Muhammad, I have taken it upon myself in recent years to chastise and drive away the adherents of Christianity and especially the wicked English from these parts of India. Unable to continue fighting me in that war,* the English begged me for peace in the most abject manner. This is such a well-known fact that it hardly needs to be mentioned. With the divine aid and the blessing of God, I am now again firmly committed to the total destruction of the enemies of the faith and their extirpation from India.
*the Second Anglo-Mysore War (1780–1784), which ended with the East India Company recognizing the independence of Mysore
Doc 4 :
Source: John Malcolm, official of the East India Company and former governor of Bombay, response to a survey by the company’s Court of Directors on the political situation in India, 1832.
I am decidedly of the opinion that the tranquility and indeed the security of our vast Indian territories depends on our preserving and protecting those native Indian principalities that have allied with us and rely on us for their security. Not only are these states incapable, in their present condition, of forming any dangerous alliances against us, but they also absorb many elements of sedition or rebellion, which might otherwise have been directed at our rule.
The other great benefit we derive from maintaining these native states is that their continued existence mitigates to some extent the bad general impression that our sovereignty produces in the eyes of many Indians. It helps us dispel the accusation that we make alliances in India only to serve our short-term goals and discard our former allies when they have served our purposes. While this accusation is in many cases untrue or exaggerated, it is one of the most common objections to our power.
It is further to be observed that the native princes, as men of high birth, are greatly respected by their subjects. As such they afford an example to their countrymen of submission to the rule of foreigners and, by doing so, they contribute greatly to the preservation of the general peace. I am convinced that any attempt of ours to annex their territories, while it may temporarily increase our revenues, will be a hazard to the permanence of our rule in India.
Doc 5:
Source: Laxmi Bai, queen of the north Indian state of Jhansi, proclamation to the people of Jhansi and to fellow Indian rulers, announcing her support for the Sepoy Rebellion, 1858.
To God only belongs the World, and the command of it rests with Him!
Indian Princes! May you always be religious, virtuous, benevolent and brave, and the protectors of your own and of the religion of others. God has created you for the destruction of those who seek to destroy your faith.
It has now become evident to all men that the English are the enemies of all our religions. From time immemorial have they been trying to contaminate the Hindu and Muslim religions by the production and circulation of religious books through the medium of missionaries, and by destroying our own religious books that try to put forth arguments against them. The English have shown their efforts to contaminate our religion and traditions in various ways. First, by forcing Hindu widows to remarry; second, by abolishing our ancient customs; and third, by favoring and promoting those Indians who embrace the Christian faith. The English have also wrongfully held that the succession to the thrones of Indian princes is only permitted to natural sons and have insisted that rulers’ adopted sons are prohibited from succession. This is something that is contrary to Hindu scriptures, in which adopted sons are given the same privileges as natural heirs.
These are the ploys by which the English deprive us of our thrones and wealth—as seen in their recent actions in Nagpur and Oudh.* Now, in their latest outrage, they have given their [Indian] Sepoy troops a new rifle to use that requires the Sepoys to bite through bullet cartridges greased with animal fat** and have begun executing those Sepoys who refused to use the cartridges. I implore the Hindus in the name of the holy river Ganges and the God Vishnu, and I implore the Muslims in the name of Allah and the Holy Qur’an, to join us in destroying the English and in protecting our mutual welfare. Know, oh people, that you would never have another opportunity like this to drive the English away!
*former Indian states taken over by the British in 1853 and 1856, respectively
**The 1857 adoption of the Enfield rifle by the British Indian army was one of the immediate causes of the Sepoy Rebellion.
Doc 6:
Source: Ranbir Singh, ruler of the north Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir, letter to the ruler of Afghanistan, 1879. The letter was intercepted by the British colonial authorities.
The practical difference between the British and the Russian empires, assuming one or the other is to be our master, is that, if we fall to the Russians, we would at least be spared the intrusion of having a Resident Political Officer.* It is my understanding that the Russians may put troop garrisons in their Asiatic provinces to give themselves military and political control, but, to the native princes of those provinces, Russian rule basically involves only the payment of tribute, the amount of which, if left to their own devices, the princes can always wring out of their subjects. The British, on the other hand, come upon us with all these preconceived ideas about good governance, administrative propriety, the duties of rulers towards their subjects, etc. They hold these ideas almost religiously (and, like religious ideas, they are not subject to discussion) but to us they are not only unnatural, but absolutely incomprehensible.
The presence of the British Political Officer exposes our weakness to our subjects; and the moment that happens, it is goodbye to our independence. If we do not act in precise conformity with the foreign notions of governance that the Political Officer—a junior representative of a distant European power, ignorant of the practical conditions of our Eastern life—demands of us, he immediately reports this fact to the British Imperial authorities in Calcutta, and his Empire then comes down on us with a heavy hand in the name of “humanity” or “civilization,” or some other such absurdity unheard of in our philosophy. If we were to fall under Russian rule, we shall no doubt be vassals, but vassals free at least to do as we please in our own backyard. We have no such luxury under the intolerable nuisance of the British Political Officer.
*After the mid-1840s, the British colonial government in India began appointing “Resident Political Officers” to oversee the actions of nominally independent Indian rulers.
Doc 7:
Source: Mahbub Ali Khan, ruler of the central Indian state of Hyderabad, letter to the British Resident Political Officer in Hyderabad, 1898.
Regarding the education of my eldest son, you had proposed several fine gentlemen as potential tutors, including Mr. Brian Egerton, previously tutor to the prince of Bikaner, Captain Colvin of the Political Department, tutor of the prince of Rampur, Mr. J. W. D. Johnstone of the Education Department, tutor to the prince of Gwalior and professor Theodore Morrison of Aligarh College. I have chosen to appoint Mr. Egerton, subject to the following conditions:
He shall be considered strictly as a private servant in my household, and as such shall be subject to all restrictions which ancient customs and my personal habits have imposed on that service. He shall in no way meddle with the political and administrative affairs of my state of Hyderabad. Nor should he, without my permission, visit, receive, or have any contact with any Hyderabadi official or nobleman whatsoever. Violation of these conditions will entail his immediate dismissal at my discretion.
Essay:
British colonization of India was direct at first and then indirect and economically focused. Although the British held power over the Indian people at the start of its reign, the Sepoy Rebellion, and the Mughal Empire challenged the British and the Indian people challenged the East India Company economically which led to its gradual downfall and loss of power. During the period of Indian colonization, many countries and powers in Africa were also colonized by England and its neighboring European countries. The main reason for the colonization by England was for economical reasons. Diamonds and precious metals in Africa and tea and spices in India hence the East India Company.
British Colonization was politically dominant at first as well as economically dominant. Document 1 is written by an Indian ruler during the start of colonization. The leader is begging the British in a very respectful manner using "sirs" which shows the might of the British Empire at that time. The document was written at the time where Britain controlled Indian trade and the economical scene of India. British goods were sold in India and for a higher price while England exported resources for itself. Document 4 is written by an East India Company official who claims that the Indians rely on them for security while 20 years later, the Sepoy rebellion was announced and gained the favor of the natives which contradicts the English official and his claim that Indians relied on them for security which undermines British control to the extent that it claimed to have. The use of the surveys could have been used as intimidation and may have been exaggerated to show dominance in India. Religious reasons were also a reason for the Sepoy Rebellion. Document 5 claims that the English were enemies of God. The fact that the Mughals were involved showed how much the Mughals valued religion as a factor for war, in fact, could also be proven due to the fact that when the Mughals and Safavids had a quarrel, it was due to religion while the Safavids had a fight with the Ottomans over resources which shows that the Mughals were prepared to fight invaders with a different religion. Document 3 also uses religion as a unifying factor against the British. The document also shows the fact that England could not fight the war by the claims of Tipu Sultan because they allegedly "begged him" which could be false at the same time due to the fact that he was writing to the Mughal ruler and he could not afford to be shown as weak while in an alliance with the Mughal ruler. The extent of English domination was far less than it had expected. Indirect rule was used by Queen Victoria by the establishment of the Princely States also shows that England was not as powerful as it had been when it invaded India. During the 1500s, Portugal had attempted to control India for trading purposes, however, the extent of Its rule spanned over a few city ports and was also beaten by Indian merchants because of their knowledge of the Indian Ocean. The Portuguese expansion also was also a symbol of weakness to Portugal as they did not achieve what they wanted. British domination, however, was prominent at the start of the colonization. The East India Company controlled trade and exported spices and other goods such as tea which was very valuable during that time. The indirect rule by England in its later years was also controlled by the East India Company as it was not only economical, it was also political. Towards the end of its reign, England was outmaneuvered economically as it had drained India's resources and it had suffered financial difficulty as many Indians under Mohandas Gandhi boycotted British goods and started making their own goods such as clothes and tea which brought the downfall of Britain and the East India Company which made it fall politically as the Company had control over politics as well.
The British empire did have power at the start of its reign over India however like Portugal 400 years before, it failed to hold control over it and kept gradually declining as the recourses were drained and the Sepoy rebellion drained its military and the East India Company which led to the loss of power in India.
submitted by This is just a smattering of my thoughts on the topic, in no way comprehensive of the issue. I'd welcome any critiques or comments on relating to the question or what I've written here.
Assumptions
I make the following assumptions for simplicity's sake:
- The setting closely approximates Medieval Western Europe (to not get into how the endless varieties of magic or invented histories might or might not interact with the setting in general or winged horses in particular)
- Winged horses closely correspond to analogous types of horses in capabilities and cost, i.e. a winged pack horse can carry the same weights the same distances and consume the same amount of feed while doing it
- Winged horses fly in windless conditions at the same speed that normal horses move a given distance over open steppe, both in short sprints and in long distance travel
The Aristocracy Ascendant
I think that the main beneficiaries of flying mounts would be the warrior aristocracy i.e. magnates in Early Medieval analogues and knights and nobles in High and Late Medieval settings. This is an obvious conclusion, but I hope to add to this by explaining how and why this happens.
Horses are expensive to maintain, and by assumption winged horses are exactly as expensive to maintain. Bureaucratized societies can levy sufficient taxes to train and sustain public armies of cavalry recruited from commoners who have never ridden any horses and must learn in the service, but the economic and social simplification that follows the fall of the overarching imperial state in the post-Imperial Period of a generic Medieval European Fantasy setting would remove this option for most societies outside of the obligatory Byzantine Empire analogue. In agricultural societies without significant bureaucracies, this confines horse ownership and use to those with the private wealth to maintain horses and set aside the time to learn to ride from a young age or those who are very well connected to the such people i.e. landed aristocrats and their probably aristocratic retainers.
Bureacratized societies can collect the taxes needed to train and maintain professional infantry, and professionalism is key to helping infantry survive cavalry charges. The main danger cavalry poses to infantry is when mounted warriors can ride through disordered or routing infantry using their imposing size, height advantage, and likely training advantages to terrorize and slaughter the infantry. The main way infantry can prevent this outcome is by maintaining a close order formation, but this is immensely challenging for
all the reasons noted in this essay. The low level of bureaucratization in the common societies that populate generic Medieval European Fantasy settings would make armies more reliant on their cavalry than their infantry.
Kings may have claims to lots of land, but their lack of literate bureaucrats forces them to give over management of said lands to warrior aristocrats who can use their retinues to collect taxes (often in-kind) for the kings enforce law and order upon the lands they preside over, and maintain armed forces or the money to raise such forces which they promise to provide the king as needed within agreed upon limits of custom or contract, in exchange for which these aristocrats can sustain themselves off of the land, royal patronage, plunder from war, etc. This siphons off much potential royal revenue to magnates who can use the warriors they sustain off of the lands to resist royal influence or make war upon each other to gain land, plunder, prestige, etc.
Magnates can use winged horses to govern larger tracts of lands and raid more widely than they could with normal horses. Though by assumption winged horses are no quicker in flight than ordinary horses are on the ground in ideal conditions, the unmaintained and thus decaying road infrastructure produced by the lack of centralization, bureaucracy, and tax revenues of such a setting would take less time to navigate by flight than by riding with an ordinary horse. Areas with rough terrain are the most affected compared to the no-winged-horses scenario, as magnates project their mounted warriors faster and with lessened logistical limits into mountains, dense forests, etc. They can also move their mounted forces and slowly communicate foot soldiers and supplies over obstacles such as rivers and cliffs, making such terrain features ineffective at slowly mounted forces though only somewhat less effective at slowly armies with both horse and foot soldiers. This relative mobility increase of horse over foot soldiers makes it easier for mounted warrior aristocrats to
catch foot soldiers in widely spaced marching formations and cut them to pieces, unless scouting parties are set out and can warn the columns in time to form up in close order to not be overrun (scouting would be quite prevalent in the more centralized and bureacratized High and Late Medieval analogues, but more difficult to manage with the low state capacity of Early Medieval settings). Scouting itself would be easier as each warrior aristocrat would have a bird's eye view of the field, but some places such as mountains, hills, valleys, etc. would provide opportunities for rapid aerial ambushes. Magnates and their retinues could access more areas with greater ease via flight, allowing them to personally visit corners of their large estates that would be too difficult to access without flight to dispense justice, collect taxes, and generally reinforce ties to their person, allowing for somewhat more centralization than would otherwise occur (which also applies to peripatetic monarchies such as what might prevail in a Holy Roman Empire analogue).
The large size and fragility of wings would make it so that the riders of winged horses probably wouldn't fight while flying. An arrow, a quarrel, a lance, or a spear to the wing could easily bring down a winged horse and would likely cause significant injury or death to the rider at any height, as normal horses falling on their riders already pose such hazards and greater height would only magnify them. Flying cavalry would mainly fly to move around any terrain that isn't open grassland and then land and fold up their wings out of the way to minimize chances of injury while in combat. Flight would give cavalry more opportunities to flank forces and make it harder for infantry to get terrain that guards its flanks, making it far easier for cavalry to disorder and ride down infantry.
I also think that the common refrain that cavalry could just toss rocks at infantry formations would probably be impractical or ineffectual in most cases. Most forces would have some flying cavalry which could carry light lances and armor to screen infantry from such "bombing" attacks, and even if once side has cavalry dominance it would be risky to fly at lower altitudes and risk being shot at with arrows, quarrels, etc. Higher altitude gives greater energy to the rocks but also reduces accuracy. Meanwhile, flying cavalry that stays close to the infantry can move to outflank the opposing infantry forces and thus generate a rout, allowing for quick and decisive battle compared to plinking with stones. Raiding parties are likely small and composed of soldiers themselves mounted on winged horses and thus very hard to "bomb", while fortresses present their own problems as will be detailed below.
Castles and Urban Fortifications
I do not think that castles or fortifications would be useless, because there are various practical ways to counter flying cavalry given the time and effort that was often invested in medieval fortifications. Spikes can planted into the grounds and various traps can be laid all over the walls of smaller castles to make landing anywhere hazardous. Crossbows allow the garrison to shoot at the large wings of approaching flying cavalry to devastating effect.
Hoardings can be fortified with said spikes or just made to uneven or fragile to support the weight of the landed horses. Castles would likely be made more compact to minimize the area that needs to be so trapped and prepared, and unprepared castles would still be taken, but unmaintained castles often fell to assaults or surrendered anyways even without winged horses yet people still built and used castles.
Larger castles as well as fortified cities and towns probably cannot be trapped or reduced in size to fully mitigate flying assaults, but at the outbreak of war such positions were often garrisoned with large forces of men-at-arms in the Middle Ages to present the constant threat of the mounted
sortie in the rear of the opposing army to prevent it from simply bypassing the fortification. Such a force composed of men-at-arms mounted atop winged horses combined with crossbowmen would pose a formidable challenge to attack both directly or to "bomb", as the men-at-arms in the garrison could carry light loads of lances and swords to outfly and strike down the slower, rock-laden "bombers" flying outside of bowshot.
Castles and fortified settlements might even be more important than they were in the Medieval Period since one of their main functions was to project power into the countryside and nearby areas. Fortresses provide a place for soldiers to be quartered in relative safety and kept at high readiness to move out as needed. Winged horses would allow men-at-arms to go more places at a quicker pace at a lower cost, particularly in rough terrain. The credible threat of them launching mounted raids from the sky would allow castle garrisons to collect more taxes from wider areas, to threaten armies on the march from areas inaccessible by land, and to more reliably suppress peasant revolts by outflanking and routing large masses of angry but untrained infantry. Because the tax revenues that fortifications could generate would be increased, it's also likely that the amount that kings, magnates, and towns and cities would be willing and able to invest more into their fortifications and garrisons to protect their revenue streams, making it possible that fortresses would be larger, sturdier, with bigger and better garrisons particularly in rough country.
The prominence of the mounted warrior aristocracy would probably still decline in a Late Medieval / Early Renaissance setting as centralizing monarchies leverage increased tax revenues to support
armies of (semi-)professional infantry that are more likely to withstand cavalry charges, but the heightened mobility of winged horses would likely put the gentry / aristocracy / social elites in more prominent military position than happened in the actual period. While sudden flying attacks during the march or otherwise disordered would be mitigated with the comprehensive and effective scouting that would be common to standing armies of professional soldiers, the increased ability of cavalry to mount such attacks would be an ever present concern given the great amount of time armies spend marching. Placing fortresses in rough terrain that flying cavalry could sortie out from or communicate supplies to but infantry cannot approach or siege easily might increase the ability of the nobility to resist monarchic standing armies of professional infantry and massive siege cannons, and thus allow noblies to negotiate more power for themselves at the expense of the monarchs.
Trade and Travel
The lack of state capacity to maintain roads and secure paths from banditry made trade and travel more difficult, dangerous, and costly in the Middle Ages than it was to be in the preceding or following periods, thus making it so that long-distance trade of both elite luxuries and common pottery declined in favor or household production or local and regional trade. This decaying physical infrastructure also made it so that wagons, reliant upon good roads to make good time smooth riding given the poor suspension technologies available, were oftentimes passed over in favor of pack horses.
Winged pack horses would help bypass both physical and social obstacles to trade and travel. Rough terrain could of course be flown over, as could many bandits. However,
robber knights and the like would remain an issue as they could of course take to the skies to threaten the heavily laden pack horses of merchants and travelers unless they give in to their demanded tolls and fees. This, of course, would mostly affect more affluent travelers given that they must first be able to afford a horse to have the option of flying away from some of their troubles. Winged horses might also make being a robber knight more lucrative as such an aristocrat could prey upon more trade routes and many ground-bound travelers and merchants in rough terrain, as well as making it easier for one to have a castle in rough country which in itself is harder to siege given the necessity of infantry for siegeworks.
The above would mean that many "frontier" areas such as Ireland or Basque country analogues would be more connected to more urbanized parts of the setting. Elites would be even more capable of traveling all over the place, and likely bringing with them or being able to purchase similar types of goods and having more similar culture than would prevail with normal horses. Shared values such as chivalry and exchanges such marriage would be reinforced or made more widespread, and one might expect to see "frontier" elites being very similar to elites in the urban core and perhaps even being more accepted by core elites.
Varying Assumptions
- What if winged horses are much rarer / more expensive than ordinary horses?
Winged horse then become the practical mounts and status symbols of magnates, kings, and other very important people. This probably centralizes power more and creates greater hierarchy and stratification among the elites as the top of the hierarchy equip their favorite retainers with these expensive mounts to make them both more militarily potent and more prestigious than ordinary knights and men-at-arms. The military and social effects are more limited the more expensive and rare winged horses are.
- What if winged horses can fly much faster than ordinary horses can travel on the ground?
This would probably allow for much more centralization of government and consolidation of monarchic and magnate power, as they would be better able to travel their lands to collect taxes and put down rebellions, send and receive messengers, move large forces of mounted warriors, etc. Expect larger kingdoms and states that could engage in larger and more frequent wars. It would generally magnify the effects already discussed, particularly in making the aristocracy more powerful and important vis-a-vis the peasantry by being able to put down peasant revolts and administrate larger kingdoms. It would likely increase the prominence of merchants and tradesmen as goods flow to other places at lower costs and quicker rates, expanding demand and providing more profits which could be plowed into private fortunes and into expanding the size and military strength of cities to give them a better bargaining position for urban rights and privileges. The clergy is heavily based in urban areas, and thus the increase in affluence would likely be a boon for the coffers of a church analogue which would of course allow it to have more influence on lay elites and the wider world.
I love ranking things. As soon as I decided to rewatch this show, I knew I wanted to do an episodes ranking. What I didn't know is that I'd end up with a post so long that I'd have to trim it down to meet Reddit's 40,000 character limit.
I've tried to find something noteworthy in each episode that hasn't been discussed a lot, and then write something interesting about it. If you've already explored lots of Breaking Bad analysis, a lot of what I've written will probably be familiar to you. But I hope you still find some themes, symbols, visual details, etc. that you hadn't noticed before.
I do have some unpopular opinions about the show, particularly in my lower-ranked episodes. Please keep in mind that this ranking is largely based on my personal level of enjoyment with each episode, and you are more than welcome to voice your disagreements in the comments. If you tire of reading my criticisms, skip ahead to around #45, at which point I have almost nothing but positive things to say about the show.
Okay, with that out of the way, I hope you enjoy reading this!
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62: "Box Cutter" (S4:E1)
I like to think that I can handle some pretty gruesome stuff – I can even make it through Skyler singing happy birthday to Ted without fast-forwarding. But the box cutter scene is just too much for me. It feels like needlessly extreme violence, and turns Gus into a Tuco-like figure when I’d thought the point of his character was that Walt and Jessie had moved on from working with psychopathic murderers.
Nothing new is revealed about any of the other characters in this episode, and outside of the one big event, the rest of the episode is pretty boring.
61: "Thirty-Eight Snub" (S4:E2)
One of the few episodes where the show feels like it's stalling. Jesse doesn't get much to do other than show how depressed he is. Hank's mineral obsession is probably the least interesting plot in the entire show. And we get one scene after another of Walt's pathetic attempts at hunting down Gus.
60: "End Times" (S4:E12)
I have a couple issues with this one. First, Walt's insanely good gaslighting of Jesse regarding Brock's poisoning. It feels out of character for Walt to be that good when he's consistently shown to be a bad liar. Secondly, the anticlimactic ending, which is just Gus getting suspicious of his car and walking away. Few other episodes end with something as simple as "welp, that failed."
59: "Rabid Dog" (S5:E12)
Skyler going full homicidal and planting the idea of Walt killing Jesse feels like a plot necessity that isn't supported by Skyler's character. Then there's some real on-the-nose dialogue: Marie bluntly asking "is this bad for Walt?", and Jesse's "Mr. White is the devil" speech, which both feel jarringly clunky in a show that usually has such elegant dialogue. Finally, another anticlimactic ending, though this one is partially saved by the final shot of Walt calling up Todd to put out the hit on Jesse.
58: "Down" (S2:E4)
Nothing really wrong with this episode. The painful misfortunes of Jesse just doesn't measure up to the greatness of other episodes.
57: "Ozymandias" (S5:E14)
I get why this episode is held in such high regard: it is unquestionably the most intense hour of television I've ever watched. But the question I ask is whether incredibly high stakes and incredibly shocking moments automatically equate to incredibly high quality. I personally don't they do.
I find several things in this episode (particularly the knife fight and the baby kidnapping) to be a bit excessive. These events weren't necessary to advance the plot, and seem to exist only to inflict the maximum amount of emotional devastation. The writers seem so intent on doing this that they don't pause to ask whether this is actually the right move. So what we end up with is an episode that is so utterly depressing that it feels incongruous with the rest of the series.
Again, you're more than welcome to tell me how wrong I am in the comments.
56: "Confessions" (S5:E11)
Walt's fake confession is great, but the last 10 minutes of this episode are rough. First we're supposed to believe that Jesse suddenly figures out Walt's Brock plan just by noticing that Huell lifted weed off him – I don't buy it. Then we end the episode with Jesse preparing to set Walt's house on fire, but there's no real tension here because the last flash-forward has already revealed the White residence intact.
I know they had to unequivocally turn Jesse against Walt for the final storylines to progress the way they did, but the way they did it feels contrived.
55: "ABQ" (S2:E13)
I've never really liked the plane crash storyline – a coincidental cause-and-effect plot feels like a cheap way to exponentially increase the amount of blood on Walt's hands.
54: "Cornered" (S4:E6)
Opens really strong with "I am the one who knocks." The rest of the episode is largely just the crazy antics of Walt and Jesse: Walt buying a soda with Bogdan's first dollar, Jesse fooling a methhead with his shovel stunt, and Walt bribing the laundry ladies to clean the lab. It's fun stuff, but coming after the rather slow "Shotgun", I wish it pushed the plot forward a little more.
53: "Bug" (S4:E9)
A setup episode for the big events in the final episodes of season 4. Skyler's "play the bimbo for the IRS" plan is very clever, and Gus walking straight through a field of sniper gunfire is a great character moment for him. Nothing wrong with this episode, but also nothing extraordinary.
52: "Seven Thirty-Seven" (S2:E1)
Nothing wrong with this episode either, aside from the fact that due to the unplanned, abrupt ending to season 1, it doesn't feel a lot like a season premiere. Tuco displays more psychopathic insanity by expressing shock that the henchman he beat to death "can't take an ass-beating". Walt and Jesse decide it's time to cut ties with him and prepare the ricin plan. And Skyler decides to tell Hank all about her "spoiled, kleptomaniac, bitch sister" as he goes for the most awkward hug attempt of all-time.
51: "I.F.T." (S3:E3)
I Fucked Ted is not one of the show's better storylines – it's just Skyler taking a cop-out solution to her issues with Walt. Maybe that was the point of it, but it still feels a little cheap.
The tense meeting between Gus and the cartel keeps this episode out of my Bottom 10.
50: "Abiquiu" (S3:E11)
A somewhat lackluster episode compared to the amazing episodes it's surrounded by, but it still has some strong scenes – most notably the Jesse-Andrea moment when she asks him for meth. "What kind of mother are you?" asks the guy who intentionally sells to people trying to get clean. It's interesting how getting to know Andrea intimately totally changes Jesse's moral boundaries.
49: "Shotgun" (S4:E5)
The actual "shotgun" plot isn't the most interesting – it's really just a necessary move to get Jesse back in action. What is really interesting is the dinner scene at the end of the episode, when Walt has a few too many glasses of wine and reveals that Gale was not the Heisenberg that Hank is after. It seems that Walt's indignation toward anyone who won't give him credit for his work is so enormous that it trumps his instincts to not get caught by the DEA.
48: "Bit by a Dead Bee" (S2:E3)
Walt's speech to the psychiatrist about why he left home is a great summary of his general motivations. And Hector suddenly taking a dump on the DEA floor, followed by Gomez's "oh man...", is hilarious. Outside of those 2 scenes, there's not a whole lot here.
47: "Breakage" (S2:E5)
An episode that's primarily setup for greater things to come. Highlights include Hank's exploding beer bottles as a metaphor for his bottled up PTSD, and Walt's breakage speech to Jessie: "You think Tuco had breakage? He broke bones!" Sounds like Walt doesn't detest the homicidal maniacs in the drug world as much as he thinks he does.
46: "Fifty-One" (S5:E4)
Let's talk about Skyler. First of all, anyone who thinks that any of her actions are even in the same universe of awful as Walt's doesn't understand the show. Secondly, Anna Gunn does a great job playing her character.
Now with that out of the way, I can say that I find Skyler to be the least interesting main character in the series. She gets a couple great moments when she's working for Walt, but mostly she just acts as a lifestyle obstacle and rarely drives the kinds of moral conundrums that characters like Jesse and Hank do. So even her strongest episode – an episode that's all about the emotional suffering she endures as a hostage of Walt's drug empire – I can't say that it's one of the show's better episodes (which is to say that it's still pretty great. Just not as great as 45 other episodes.)
45: "Open House" (S4:E3)
Marie's recurring kleptomania tends to get a lot of flak as a pointless subplot. While I mostly agree, I like how this episode extends it into her creating entirely fictional lives for herself. She's sort of a lesser Walt in some ways: her obsessive tendencies, poor coping mechanisms, and desire to lead a double life. It's interesting to see a character who could've easily been forgotten about get developed like this.
44: "Mas" (S3:E5)
"Facing death, it changes a person. It has to, don't you think?" Marie asks Skyler. More specifically, it changes the men in this show. Walt and Hank are drastically different people, yet they similarly refuse to let their wives in on their internal struggles, thinking that exposing their insecurities would be unmanly.
Just when it seems Walt may have a change of heart, Gus gives him the "a man provides" speech. "He does it even when he's not appreciated, or respected, or even loved. He simply bears. He does it because he's a man." This toxic attitude about masculinity is what destroys the lives of Walt, of other men like him, and of all their families.
43: "Caballo Sin Nombre" (S3:E2)
Walt's most pathetic episode. First he gets himself pepper sprayed by a cop, then he wastes a perfectly good pizza on roof decoration. He ends the day by getting drunk and falling asleep in a pile of popcorn, and wakes himself the next morning by slamming his head into a countertop.
42: "Phoenix" (S2:E12)
Walt running into Jane's dad and getting a relevant moral lesson is an obvious plot contrivance that I'm not a big fan of. Other than that, I love how true-to-life this episode feels. The rising tension between Jane and her dad as she hides her relapse from him is palpable. And the explosion of mayhem when he finally catches her, but then can't bring himself to give her the punishment she needs, is one of the most powerful moments of the season.
41: Negro y Azul (S2:E7)
"Blowfishin' this up!" has to be one of the funniest scenes in the entire series. It's such a great representation of what a bizarre yet effective teacher Walt is.
40: "Hermanos" (S4:E8)
We finally see the human side of Gus in this episode, first with the shot of him looking terrified after his interrogation with the DEA, and then in the long flashback that ends with the murder of his partner. A horrified, enraged Gus is forced to stare into the eyes of his partner's corpse, as blood drips from his head and into the pool. It's a difficult scene to watch, but it's easily worth it for the payoff 2 episodes later.
39: "Mandala" (S2:E11)
Jesse, not wanting Jane to risk relapsing, insists that she leaves before he smokes his meth. She's about to do so, but right when she reaches the door, she decides to turn around and join him. In their next scene, they're already shooting up heroin. This fast, hard, and unplanned relapse feels shocking, but also realistic. The fact that her (Walt-assisted) overdose death is in the very next episode further accentuates the effectively fast pacing of this storyline.
38: "Say My Name" (S5:E7)
We feel awful for Mike when Walt kills him out of pure spitefulness. But the worst thing imaginable had already happened to him: he was forced to either surrender to the police, or escape by abandoning his granddaughter. According to Lydia, having a child think you abandoned them is even worse than having them find your dead body. But Mike nonetheless chooses the escape.
37: "Live Free or Die" (S5:E1)
"YEAH BITCH! MAGNETS!" I know some people find this episode to be a little cheesy for a show like Breaking Bad, but I love the return to the fun misadventures of Walt and Jesse. It's a nice bit of levity after the incredibly intense Season 4.
36: "Pilot" (S1:E1)
With so much stuff to setup, pilot episodes are difficult to write. This one does a solid job, and it already provides some fantastic Walt moments (humiliating the kid bullying Jr, using explosive chemistry to escape from Emilio and Krazy-8). But because this episode is filled to the brim with plot exposition, the tone and pacing isn't as consistent as it is in the rest of the show.
35: "Granite State" (S5:E15)
My favorite thing about this episode is the snow. It's the polar opposite climate of the sand-filled Albuquerque desert, yet it's portrayed with the same sense of vastness, desolation, and blinding brightness. There's a palpable sense of the frigid temperatures, and of Walt's emotional disintegration as his sickly figure rests inside the tiny cabin. Totally different from the usual Breaking Bad environments, but the cinematography is just as stunning.
34: "Gliding Over All" (S5:E8)
First the beautifully harrowing prison shanking montage. Then the equally impressive "crystal blue persuasion" montage, which opens with a perfect match cut that dons the meth-making suit on Hank's innocuous-looking brother-in-law, and closes with the pest tents popping up all over town as Walt's empire reaches its peak. The show hereby solidifies its status as a masterpiece of visual storytelling.
33: "Better Call Saul" (S2:E8)
Hank, having just narrowly escaped death by exploding tortoise, has fearfully retreated into his bedroom. On the other hand, Walt has now accepted that he will die soon and shed the fear that shackled him in the past. That leads to him being the one to give Hank a great motivational speech.
Only 15 episodes into the show, the writers already managed to create a total switch in their characters. And when Hank does get out of bed and get back to chasing Heisenberg, it's of course Walt that foils his plan. Such good writing.
32: "A No-Rough-Stuff-Type-Deal" (S1:E7)
Out of all the places Walt and Jesse end up cooking meth, the one I always forget about is Jesse's basement. There they are, mixing their chemicals and their toxic fumes, while oblivious house shoppers explore the rest of the property. The realtor nervously sprays a perfume to cover up the smell, and then there's an immediate cut to a similar-looking vapor pouring out of one of Walt's flasks. Similarly great "chemicals are everywhere" match cuts appear in other episodes as well.
31: "Green Light" (S3:E4)
Kudos to Gus for knowing that making a deal with Jesse would get Walt cooking again. But little does he know that most of the psychological groundwork for this plan's success had already been laid decades ago by Walt's departure from Gray Matter. "This is my product," Walt insists when Jesse shows up with a sample of his latest batch. "This is my formula. This is MINE!" Even with a 50% cut off of Jesse's earnings, selling out his brilliant chemistry is something Walt will never do again.
30: "Buried" (S5:E10)
Here we see Marie realizing all the lies Skyler has told her to cover for Walt. There's something uniquely heartbreaking about seeing a sibling relationship crumble like this. It's a reversal of the early tiara plot, when Skyler was scolding Marie for her minor crime and begging for her old sister to come back. Now Skyler has fallen so far that Marie doesn't seem to believe her old sister exists anymore. She leaves the scene not with a beg, but with a vicious slap to the face.
29: "Problem Dog" (S4:E7)
Jesse confronting the therapy leader on his self-acceptance bullshit is my favorite Jesse moment. It's a perfect representation of Jesse's character, which is that somehow, the guy in therapy who's there to sell other people meth is the only one with a proper moral outlook. Moreover, it underscores what I think is the show's core philosophy: Bad deeds always have bad consequences, and the pretense of self-acceptance is only a cover for immorality.
28: "Hazard Pay" (S5:E3)
What I love about this episode is that, even in the show's incredibly dark final season, they still make so much time for comedy. Jesse stealing a tortilla off the conveyor belt. Badger's horrific guitar accompaniment of Skinny Pete's piano solo. And the poor houseowner's reaction when he sees the giant Vamanos Pest boxes being wheeled inside: "Holy crap! How much poison are you using?" Wrong question sir – the real question is how much poison they'll be making.
27: "Crawl Space" (S4:E11)
This is lower than where most people would rank this episode, so I have to admit that I'm not a huge fan of the way the ending is constructed. Walt's verbal spat with Jesse feels repetitive of the big fight they had in Bug. The final scene is jaw-dropping acting from Cranston, but I've never liked the way it's intercut with Marie's phone call – I would've saved that for the next episode.
These are of course relatively minor complaints in an otherwise great episode.
26: "Blood Money" (S5:E9)
The look in Hank's face when he says "I don't even know who I'm talking to" says it all. It's the realization that the man who stands six inches in front of him has completely destroyed his perception of his family, his career, and really his entire worldview. The big monster he's been chasing has been his seemingly pathetic, emasculated brother-in-law. Even having spent the past week putting together all the evidence, and having just punched him in the head, he still can't quite believe it, until Walt's voice suddenly drops and utters the most terrifying words of the entire series: "tread lightly."
25: "Buyout" (S5:E6)
We're shown very clearly in Season 1 the importance of Walt's bitterness toward Gretchen and Elliot. But it's still shocking to find out that a year later, after everything that's happened, Walt takes a moment out of every Friday to check on Gray Matter's stock price, and scold himself for taking a $5K buyout on what is now worth over $700M.
The $5M he's being offered now would be more than enough to provide for him and his family indefinitely. But to Walt, $5M is essentially the same as $5K – it's selling out his potential. Walt's not in the meth business, or the money business; he's in the empire business.
24: "One Minute" (S3:E7)
When we were first getting to know macho, arrogant Hank in season 1, there was no anticipation that he would get as much great character development as he does. We see the culmination of that in this episode when he lets his emotions get the best of him in his beating of Jesse, ruining his career and his desire to be a cop. But just when he accepts that he's done with the world of the DEA, that world isn't done with him, and we end the episode with the most brutally intense action sequence yet.
23: "Madrigal" (S5:E2)
The ultimate Mike episode. He's absolutely unflinching under Hank's intense interrogation. He's two steps ahead of Lydia's plan to kill off his guys, sneaking up on the one in cahoots with her using one of Kaylee's toys as a distraction. But we finally see his achilles heel when he can't bring himself to kill Lydia after seeing that she too has a wonderful daughter. That's the beginning of the end for Mike, as he instead decides to use her for methylamine and partner back up with Walt. Great downfall story.
22: "Face Off" (S4:E13)
Gus getting half his face blown off isn't actually the end of Walt's troubles in this episode. The last step is reassuring Jesse of his innocence when the doctors discover that Brock was actually poisoned by Lily of the Valley. With this completed, Walt can finally breathe a deep sigh of relief. He and Jesse are back on the same team.
But what kind of team will it be? The answer is obviously foreshadowed in the final shot – the confirmation that the reuniting is rooted in an evil lie. But it's also foreshadowed in the previous shot, which is a close-up of the Pollos Hermanos logo in front of a mischievously smiling Walt. Walt and Jesse are the new meth hermanos, and it's going to end just as badly for them as it did for Gus and his partner.
21: "Dead Freight" (S5:E5)
I love trains. As a kid, my dad and I used to walk to the local commuter rail tracks and hide in the bushes as the train flew by. (One time we also shot a video of me pretending to get run over.)
This episode feels like the Breaking Bad version of my fond train memories. I love how unabashedly fun it is (at least until the final scene). It's unlike any of the other crimes in Breaking Bad, but it's worked perfectly into the story and setting.
20: "Half Measures" (S3:E12)
Mike gives Walt the "no half measures" speech and he takes it to a heart in a very unexpected way. But what really takes this episode to another level is how all its events mirror the story that Mike tells. Gus intimidatingly demands that the dealers stop using kids, just as Mike threatened the wifebeater to end his abuse, and once again the half-measure doesn't work. So Walt's "full measure" is exactly what Mike wishes his had been: a driving detour that ends in the murder of the bad guys. Perfectly written episode.
19: "I See You" (S3:E8)
I often see this episode ranked low, and coming right after the action-packed "One Minute," it's easy to see why. But as with many of the big moments in Breaking Bad, I think the aftermath of Hank's big showdown is actually the most interesting part. Here we see Walt begin to understand the level of impact his actions have had. We see how smoothly Gus controls every facet of his operation, from his food sponsorship of the DEA, to Mike's swift killing of the legless cartel cousin, to his gleeful phone call with Juan Bolsa as he's machine-gunned down by the Mexican government.
We also see Jesse fill up his lab suit with air and dance around like an adorable lunatic. What's not to love about this episode?
18: "To'hajiilee" (S5:E13)
Hank's final phone call with Marie perfectly mirrors his call with her before the cousins attacked him. In both instances, as soon as he's seemingly reached a point of resolution in his career as a cop, the murderous violence of the criminal world suddenly arrives. It seems as if the show is saying that there can never be resolution for a guy like Hank – the bad guys are always one step ahead. The only resolution he ever really gets comes in the next episode when he accepts his imminent death. What a fantastic character arc.
17: "Over" (S2:E10)
"I guess... I'm done," Walt reluctantly says at the beginning of this episode. He's then reminded of all the reasons why he shouldn't be done. Skyler announcing to everyone that Gretchen and Elliot are the ones to thank for Walt's survival. Cool Uncle Hank telling Jr more tall tales, reminding Walt how little control and respect he has in his family life. Then a brief re-appearance of Heisenberg when Hank tries to stop Walt from having his son drink till he pukes. ("I don't know who that was, but it wasn't me," Walt later tells Skyler.) Finally, Walt putting his scientific knowledge to use on house maintenance, which might be the only thing less rewarding than using it to teach dead-eyed high school students the periodic table.
A run-in with an amateurish meth cook at the hardware store is all it takes. The White paint is left behind as Heisenberg emerges from the store. "Stay out of my territory!"
16: "And the Bag's in the River" (S1:E3)
Krazy-8 is locked in the basement, ready to kill Walt and his entire family is he's freed, and Walt has to decide whether or not to kill him first. What should be a simple decision turns into a profound moral exercise for Walt. He looks for any reason he can find as to why he shouldn't do it, listing out things like "won't be able to live with yourself" and "sanctity of life". He even heads downstairs to have a personal conversation with Domingo, and finds out that they have more in common than he would've guessed. But just when he's deluded himself into thinking that this situation can be redeemed, he cleverly uncovers the truth, and proceeds to tearfully commit one of the most gruesome murders in the entire show. It's a perfectly told story that provides crucial character development for Walt and also raises deep questions about the permanence of human evil.
15: "Cancer Man" (S1:E4)
Fantastic character work for Jesse in this episode. I made
this post last year about how well his backstory is established. The gist of it is that the show takes remarkable care to develop him as a complex character by exploring his past and current relationship with his family, as well as his past relationship with schoolteacher Walt, all without resorting to flashbacks or explicit dialogue about past events.
14: "Gray Matter" (S1:E5)
A family argument about whether Walt should get cancer treatment somehow becomes one the funniest scenes of the first season. It's also one of the most philosophical, with a frank discussion about not just cancer treatment, but also what is and isn't worth living for. Every character is written so perfectly, from Hank's ill-conceived sports analogies, to Jr's blunt accusations and Skyler's desperate desire for control. Then comes Walt's speech about his lack of life choices, how he wants to be remembered, and his purpose for existence, which is my favorite monologue of the entire show.
13: "Bullet Points" (S4:E4)
The opening shot (a Pollos truck being bombarded with bullets) and the closing shot (Mike driving Jesse down an endless desert road) are some of my favorite shots in the entire series. But what really makes this episode worthy of such a high ranking is the perfectly written scene of Walt and Skyler planning their elaborate gambling tale. I'm not a big fan of a lot of the Walt/Skyler scenes, but this one is hilarious and provides great insights into their present mindsets. Then there's the sarcastic "you got me scene" with Hank, which is the closest Walt ever gets to spilling the beans.
Great dialogue, great suspense, and amazing cinematography – this is just an all-around excellent episode.
12: "Fly" (S3:E10)
Not much I need to say about this one, since I'm sure everyone reading this is already aware of the great symbolism and character development here. This episode also has some of Cranston's best acting, especially toward the end as Walt really starts unraveling.
I do think the first half has a bit too much slapstick, and for that reason, this doesn't quite make my Top 10.
11: "Full Measure" (S3:E13)
Putting aside the main story (Walt saving himself at the expense of Gale), Mike steals the show here. First, him getting Walt out of his car by saying "I assure you I could kill you from here." Then his trip to Chow's compound, where he effortlessly disposes of the bad guys with the most hilariously effective tools: Kaylee's balloons to destroy the security system, a shoe as a makeshift grenade, and the position of Chow's hands as an alignment guide for a through-the-wall headshot. It's all of this badassery that makes Walt ultimately outwitting him an even more shocking and great conclusion to the season.
10: "Peekaboo" (S2:E6)
It was important for the show to dedicate an episode to showing the real effects of meth addiction. It did an excellent job of this with a story of Jesse confronting the junkies who robbed Skinny Pete, and ultimately saving their young son form the horrors of that household.
The other plot – Gretchen confronting Walt on lying about taking her money – is equally great. "This isn't you," she says, to which Walt chillingly replies, "What would you know about me, Gretchen?" She realizes in horror that Walt is correct: she does not recognize the angry, resentful man sits in front of her. The cute guy she dated decades ago is now filled with anger and resentment toward her about something she hadn't even though about. The entire scene is stunning character work for Walt, perfectly written and perfectly acted for both characters.
9: "No Mas" (S3:E1)
"You either run from things, or you face them, Mr. White."
Mr. White is running as fast as he can. His speech to the student body (in what he describes in the script as a "goddamn emo-porn assembly") is not just about looking on the bright side of a tragedy – it's about rationalizing it away altogether. "We will move on... because that is what human beings do. We survive, and we overcome."
Jesse is presented with the same logic from the therapy leader, who says that healing is all about self-acceptance. But the only thing Jesse is ready to accept is that he's "the bad guy". Here we see a great contrast in Walt and Jesse, and what ultimately makes Jesse the only decent person of the two: Jesse is honest with himself about who he is and what he's done. Meanwhile, Walt, who has already committed countless crimes and will go on to commit more crimes than any other character in the show, declines Gus's offer because he's "not a criminal".
This episode is an incredibly rich, philosophical portrayal of the different ways to respond to tragedies and moral failures. It also introduces us to the cartel twins, with gorgeous and terrifying scenes of their journey toward the border. Everything here perfectly sets up the rest of Season 3 and creates one of the most well-rounded episodes of the entire show.
8: "Kafkaesque" (S3:E9)
One of the things I love most about Breaking Bad is the immersive world that it creates. Every location, every character, and every new storyline feels connected not just to the main story, but also to the show's carefully crafted disintegration of classic Western life.
This episode is one of the best examples of this. It opens with a nostalgic montage of the once-authentic Los Pollos Hermanos transforming into a meth factory. It then goes after the healthcare system, showing how the wife of a gravely wounded hero needs to choose between staying in-network or paying bills into the six figures. Meanwhile, even the criminal drug world has become bureaucratic and unfair, leading Jesse and his gang to try to sell to recovering addicts, which corrupts the very institution that's designed to help them.
Hank's recovery is soon to be paid for by Walt's illicit "gambling" money, and he's only alive thanks to the selfish actions of a ruthless drug lord. Every institution of wholesomeness has been swallowed up by greed and corruption, and the only way out is to join in.
7: "Sunset" (S3:E6)
Out of all the big suspenseful moments, one that I don't see discussed as often is Hank literally stepping within inches of Walt and Jesse as they're inside the RV. Everything about how they get out of this one, from the fake car accident call, to "this is my private domicile and I will not be harassed... BITCH!", is brilliant. So is what is probably my favorite scene in the laundry lab: Walt bonding with Gale over his coffee contraption and their mutual love of chemistry. And I'd be remiss to not also mention the stunning closing shot: Gus telling the cousins to go after Hank – "May his death satisfy you" – underneath a gorgeous Arizonian sunset.
6: "The Cat's in the Bag" (S1:E2)
Season 1 doesn't get enough praise. It's not as action-packed or as instantly memorable as a lot of the later seasons, but I find that it has the most consistently great writing out of all the seasons. The plots are much simpler, and that allows the writers to absolutely nail the dialogue, humor, and character development.
The second episode is a perfect example of all of this, as the task of disposing a corpse perfectly establishes the arrogant teacher / clumsy student relationship of Walt and Jesse. Any chance of that relationship soon being successful quickly comes crashing down in the form of a disintegrated Emilio plunging through the bathroom floor.
5: "Felina" (S5:E16)
On my first watch, I sort of agreed with the complaints that Walt got too good of an ending. It seemed that he got everything he wanted: he killed off everyone who was against him, ensured that over $10 million dollars will be sent to his son, and died peacefully inside a meth lab. Is the show really saying that this diabolical mass-murderer won? That in the end, it was all worth it?
No, definitely not. Walt doesn't even come close to winning at what he ostensibly set out to do, which was to earn the respect of his family by providing for them monetarily. When Jr turns 18 and that money comes in from Gray Matter, nobody's going to be giving Walt any credit. And with the admission of "I did it for me," even Walt no longer pretends that his family should be thankful for him.
The only thing Walt ultimately achieves is self-awareness. He accepts, as Jesse did a long time ago, that he is the bad guy. That the opportunity to deny this or ask for forgiveness is long over, and the only thing left to do is right as many wrongs as possible. And that's exactly what he does, in glorious fashion.
The little nods he and Jesse exchange as they part ways say it all. For the first time, they are both at peace with what's about to happen. Jesse will finally escape from the physical and emotional torture Walt inflicted upon him, and Walt will undergo his well-deserved death.
Walt spends his final moments inspecting the equipment Jesse cooked with, noticing that everything is spotless, that the gauges are set just right. Jesse truly applied himself, and Walt dies knowing that the one thing he did with unmitigated success was become a great chemistry teacher.
What a perfect ending.
4: "Salud" (S4:E10)
The mass poisoning of the cartel and thrilling escape from their compound is my favorite sequence in the entire series. It's packed with so many brilliant shots: the slo-mo cigar drop, Gus's wordless stare-down with Don Eladio, Jesse suddenly going full action hero and shooting down the final bad guy. Most thrilling scene I've ever seen in a TV show.
In contrast with the craziness happening down in Mexico, Walt has the most heartfelt discussion he's ever had with his son when he talks about what he remembers of his own father. But in asking Jr not to remember him in a similar way, he misses the point of his own story: "maybe that wouldn't be so bad." It's better to remember someone for their true faults than their illusory achievements. Sure enough, by the end of the series, Jr will only remember Walt as the evil drug dealer who got Uncle Hank killed.
3: "Crazy Handful of Nothin'" (S1:E6)
"Explosions are the result of chemical reactions happening almost instantaneously. The faster they undergo change, the more violent the explosion." Sure enough, a violent explosion occurs only seconds after Walt teaches his class about them, as his chemo-induced vomit erupts into the toilet.
Walt is now officially a sick man. But rather than try to fight this reality, he embraces it. He uses the chemo as inspiration to fully shave his head. He uses the shaved head to create a new persona named Heisenberg. And by the end of the episode, we're not seeing violent vomit explosions – we're seeing an evil drug lord on the receiving end of the violent explosion Walt taught to his students. "Fulminated mercury – a little tweak of chemistry." Cue what may be the most fun and the most stunningly choreographed action set-piece of the entire series.
2: "Grilled" (S2:E2)
This episode doesn't have much of anything that I've praised about the show so far – deeply developed villains, strong philosophical underpinnings, complex character arcs, etc. So how could it be the second best episode? The answer is one word:
DING!
The sequence of Tuco deducing that he's being tricked, via Hector ringing his bell, is the most suspenseful scene I've ever seen in my life. It's immediately followed up by an insane action extravaganza: Jesse's big struggle with Tuco, ending in him shooting him in the stomach and satisfyingly kicking him into a hole. And just when he and Walt are about to escape, the Mexican cousins arrive, and they're forced to flee.
Except it's not the cousins; it's Hank! "Jesse Pinkman, hard man to find," he mutters, only for the bloodied Tuco to slowly reveal himself, disturbingly crack his neck, and begin an exhilarating gun battle.
This episode is pure, thrilling action done so incredibly well that I can rank it above all the more substantive episodes. Well, all of them except for one...
1: "Four Days Out" (S2:E9)
After countless hours spent cranking a generator in the blistering desert sun, Walt and Jesse stumble back into the RV, desperate for their grueling work to be rewarded in the form of survival. Jesse sticks the key in the ignition, gives it a turn, and the engine roars to life. Seconds later, Walt begins violently coughing, and the engine follows suit as it sputters to its death.
The death of that engine quite literally represents the impending death of Walt. As he lies on his cot and comes to terms with this, we glimpse a rare moment of self-honesty. With Jesse repeating the "you did this for your family" mantra, it's Walt who says "all I ever managed to do was worry and disappoint them." Cancer and dehydration may be eating away at his body, but his mind is finally free of the delusion that this isn't his fault.
But then he does what he always does: he uses his brilliant chemistry skills to cheat death. His makeshift battery gets the RV fired back up, and as Walt again lets out that dreaded cough, the engine stays running this time. Walt may still be sick, but his meth mobile has roared back to life.
It turns out Walt isn't even as sick as he thought: his cancer is actually in remission, and his end is now nowhere in sight. Walt not only cheated death – he cheated his way out of the excuse of being a desperate, terminally ill father using his final months to provide for his family. As he stares into his seemingly innocent reflection in a paper towel dispenser, he's faced with his greatest fear: the fact that the man he's looking at is about to return to the pathetically mediocre life he had before he got cancer. That's all it takes for the punches to start flying, and a few seconds later, his mirrored image is instead of a bloody, twisted face. This is the life that the now cancer-free Walt will choose to live.
Four Days Out is one scene after another of unparalleled visual storytelling, breathtaking cinematography, perfect characterization, and unrelenting tension. For me, it's the quintessential episode of Breaking Bad.
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The WHMIS Pictograms/ Symbols are graphic images that immediately show you what type of hazard a hazardous product presents. With a quick glance, you can see, for example, that the product is flammable, or if it might be a health hazard. Most pictograms have a distinctive red, diamond-shaped border. Hazardous Household Products Symbols. Hazardous Household Products Symbols (HHPS) are found on many household cleaners and on containers in the science laboratory. They alert the user to the potential dangers of that particular product. In recent years the symbols have changed. There used to be three shapes but now there are only two: Household Hazardous Waste Symbols; Household Hazardous Waste Symbols How are products hazardous? Learn what the hazard signs are and what they mean. Corrosive Can burn or destroy living tissue. Acids and bases (caustic) Most cleaning agents are mildly corrosive. What does HHPS mean? HHPS stands for Hazardous Household Product Symbols. If you are visiting our non-English version and want to see the English version of Hazardous Household Product Symbols, please scroll down to the bottom and you will see the meaning of Hazardous Household Product Symbols in English language. Two TYPES of Safety Symbols HHPS 2) WHMIS ANSWER KEY Product Symbols flammable Products (mostly cleaners) used in the workplace. Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System used in the household. poisonous 4 12 explosive corrosive 3 caution warning danger orange border red border three sides four sides eight sides Hazardous Household Product Symbols 2. Please match the symbol on the left with the appropriate description on the right. i. F a. Indicates explosive such as an aerosol can. ii. A b. Indicates corrosive, contains material that will burn skin, eyes, throat and stomach such as oven cleaner. iii. Hazardous Household Product Symbols. Miscellaneous » Unclassified. Add to My List Edit this Entry Rate it: (3.00 / 2 votes) Translation Find a translation for Hazardous Household Product Symbols in other languages: Select another language: - Select - 简体中文 (Chinese - Simplified) There is something that informs us about the household hazardous chemicals we use, called HHPS, which is something very important to learn. The border of this symbol means caution/dangerous. The symbol with the hand means it is corrosive, in other words it will burn your skin on contact. Hazardous household products have words that identify their specific hazard level and hazard category. Preparation Ask each student to choose a hazardous product (one that says CAUTION, WARNING, DANGER or POI-SON) from their piles and determine which hazard category their hazardous product fits into. So we’ve been putting our household cleaners to work big-time and we’re sure you have too. And the more we use some of these products, the more we notice hazard symbols on the packaging, and we realized we don't know all their meanings . So just to be safe, we reached out to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission to learn more.
ExplosiveUnstable explosive.ReplacesFlammableFlammable gas, liquid or solid. Catches fire easily.OxidisingProvides oxygen, can cause fire or explosion.Compre... There are literally thousands of different substances used in the workplace. Cleaners, adhesives, paints, solvents, pesticides, inks, lubricants and fuels ar... Can you identify the safety symbols placed around universities, office buildings, theaters, and other public places? This video will help you understand the ... Poison Prevention Safety Information for Children developed by the New York State Poison Control Centers Eugene , Gagandeep Bhatia, Mandeep Let's learn about Safety at Home.For More Updates, Subscribe to;For Best Nursery Rhymes:https://www.youtube.com/user/venuskidsworldFor Hit & Latest Music:htt... From uncooked meat to dangerous gas that can put you in a coma, we count fifty poisonous household items Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheDDGuides Twitt... Watch a video that demonstrates how to teach Lesson 1: Household Hazardous Products from the Hazards on the Homefront teacher guide for grades 4-6. #pharmadigest #Pharmatorials ☠☢☢ Hazard symbols and meaning in just 3 Minutes 📖 📖 👉 In this video, we will learn about various Symbols used for hazard and... Learn what to do with household hazardous materials that are no longer needed. Don't just throw them away, be sure to handle them responsibly. The Cedar Rapids Linn County Solid Waste Agency is ...
