TV Review: BREAKING BAD: Season 4, Episode 13: Face Off

Breaking Bad Season 4 Episode 13 Face Off. Breaking Bad: Season 4, Episode 13: Face Off ended one of the greatest seasons of the series, possibly the best. Season 3 may have equally have been as good. Throughout the episode, Walter White (Bryan Cranston) showed an increasing amount of shrewd decision making, a byproduct of his time always being in Gustavo ‘Gus’ Fring (Giancarlo Esposito)’s wake, always behind, never in front of Gus’ three-steps-ahead mind.

All throughout Face Off it was a chess match, pawns being moved around by two kings.

I had no idea what Walter was cooking up with his alliance with Tio Salamanca (Mark Margolis) until Gus showed up at the retirement home. Then I knew and it was ingenious, as ingenious as any plan Gus could have thought up.

I also did not realize Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul) was Walter’s pawn until the very end of the episode. When Jessie and Walter were talking in the parking garage, I knew it was Walter who had poisoned the boy. Walter has become more like Gus then I realized, even worse it would seem. He killed over a child being killed by Gus’ men, initiating the degradation of their relationship, now he uses one to his own end. He crossed his own line just to save himself.

There is the one outlier that Walter White and Jesse Pinkman have forgotten about: Mike (Jonathan Banks). He is still alive and in Mexico. He was Gus’ go-to guy, extremely loyal. Walter White and Jesse Pinkman might have cut the head off of the snake and covered their tracks but the snake’s main appendage still lives. His detective’s mind might be able to piece together what has happened.

Now that the super meth lab is destroyed, I wonder if Walter will try to go back to teaching chemistry. What will Jessie do? No more meth money then again, he barely spent the money he has already made.

Breaking Bad this season was far more compiling than True Blood and Entourage, both of whom seem to be following the same formula over and over again, especially True Blood.

Vince Gilligan has created a gem and its sad there is only one more season.

What did you think of the season finale of Breaking Bad: Season 4?