Review of Breaking Bad: Thirty-Eight Snub

Episode Thirty-Eight Snub illustrates White’s his surprising stupidity fueled by his legitimate fear of Gus. The episode opens with Walter buying a 38-Special Snub revolver from an illegal gun dealer. Walter informs the surprising insightful dealer that the weapon is for “defense.” Walter says this several times as though he is convincing himself more than anything. I suppose Walt might believe in the familiar sporting maxim, “the best defense is a good offense.” He clearly has no intention of purchasing the weapon for defensive purposes; as he sees it, it’s him or Gus, pure and simple. The gun dealer (Lawson what an awesome name for an illegal gun dealer) is aware that something is amiss with the Walter’s explanation and approach. If Walter plans on being offensive, then he should opt for a different weapon. If the weapon is truly intended for self-defense, then going through legal channels makes far more sense, Lawson trenchantly points out. I really enjoyed this scene as it understands that while we, the ever-patient viewer, know Walter is a cold-blooded murder, to the rest of the world, he still looks like a chemistry teacher or something equally as innocuous.

But while Walter is clearly intelligent and seeming capable of self-effacement and reflection, he still behaves as though he has learned nothing from his experience in “drug world” and with “drug dealers.” After all, he and Jesse have had many “close calls.” So when Walter simply tries to walk up to Gus’s home, I suppose to gun him down in the doorway, I couldn’t help thinking “that is really stupid.” Can Walter really be that dumb as to think he can simply walk up to Gus’ house and simply shoot him down? His stupidity is demonstrated with banal subtly when he receives a call while walking up to Gus’s house. The voice, and I swear it was Gus, says “Go home, Walt.”

Walter’s paranoia still fuels an even more incredulous request concerning Mike the Cleaner. Walter tails Mike to a bar (not too well, Mike points out) and then attempts to recruit him. Again, Walt’s stupidity is so obvious in his recruitment pitch. Walter misreads Mike entirely. What does Walter know of the relationship between Mike and Gus? Nothing and Walter assumes, incorrectly, that Mike, after the throat-cutting scene in the prior episode, sees Gus as an unstable madman who will turn on his loyal employees without cause. Mike understands what lead to Gus killing Victor though Mike was clearly shocked, surprised and saddened by his untimely death—a death that was caused ultimately by Walter and Jesse.

The paranoia and shock still has Walter’s thinking addled and unclear. Walter’s behavior displays this, and I wonder how he can survive if he continues to brazenly threaten to kill a man, who could kill Walter without much problem whatsoever. Mike kicks his ass for suggesting he turn on his employer, and one can assume that Mike will relay this information along to Gus. Though Gus no doubt understands what Walter is up to. It seems as though Walter is no match for Gus. Walter has to be smarter than to let his emotions overrun his common sense but that’s what emotions do—overrun common sense. One wonders how the tension between Walter and Gus will be resolved. At some point, both Mike and Gus might get a little tired of Walter and his inept attempt to assassinate Gus. If some bumpkin was trying to kill you at every turn, after you made that person massively rich and after that same bumpkin has indirectly or directly caused the death of several loyal employees, how long would your patience extend? As Jesse might intone, “seriously.”

Jesse, on the other hand, deals with their predicament much differently. Constantly trying to distract himself—three-night party, booming stereo, taking drugs, etc.—Jesse also assuages his guilt by giving away a wad of cash to his erstwhile girlfriend, Andrea. The goal of the cash is more for her child, Brock, than for her. Jesse tells her to move out of the bad part of town. Jesse wants to provide the child a chance, and he knows that Brock has little chance living in the neighborhood that he lives in.

Jesse, as I have posited before, serves as the shows emotional and moral compass. So with his newfound wealth, Jesse does the noble thing—he tries to help out those in need. Jesse still maintains his sense of moral rectitude and even better acts on it. Despite being a killer and drug dealer, Jesse is a good man inside. In fact, the entire sticky situation the boys, Walter and Jesse, find themselves in finds its locus in Jesse’s sense of righteousness. It is Jesse who simply could not tolerate the idea of a child being used in to kill his friend, then as a result of his actions, actions which attempt to right the wrong, lead to the pathetic death of that child. Jesse tries upholding some semblance of moral righteousness and fails. At least fails that time, but he is determined to do the right thing.

The juxtaposition between Walter and Jesse—one perceived by society as a decent person, while the other viewed as a scourge as the show begins—demonstrates the most mundane and pedestrian of axioms: you can’t judge a book by its cover. I suspect that once we read Walter White's story, we may not like him much.

Kaelin’s comedic turn, unmitigated disaster.

Live comedy can be great. I have seen many live comics and go often. Most of the comedians I see, I have not heard of. It’s like discovering a great band that has yet to hit it big. Before moving to Vegas, I vacationed here and on one trip, I saw an up-and-coming Joe Rogan at the Rivera. Never heard of him; his Fear Factor show hadn’t aired yet. It was one of the funniest shows ever. Crying, pain-in-the-side laughing. I have many experiences like that since.

However, while there can be exciting and hilarious comedic discoveries, there can also be unmitigated disasters. Such was the case at Big Al’s Comedy Club at the Orleans. Well, let me be more specific, the “real” comics were good, but the MC/Host was a disaster. I felt sorry for the comedians following the MC given how he simply took the life and energy out of the room.

Both Jeff Richards and The Greg Wilson were funny. I thought Jeff Richards particularly uproarious, though the audience seemed mixed. His routine is odd, to say the least. Long, awkward pauses throughout the routine, which added to the comedy, I thought. His best stuff was his physical comedy—he is willing to go where many comics won’t. To wit, his Momma Butt skit was funny, gross and uncomfortable—all good things for comedy. Yanking his pants to his chest nipples and inviting he audience to notice his male camel toe is brave to say the least—and to me, fucking funny shit. He also does a great Louie Anderson impression.

The Greg Wilson was funny, but his show funniest moment occurred right way in his act. The MC totally blew the introduction and The Greg Wilson proceeded to skewer, eviscerate and demolish the MC’s introduction and more generally the MC. That was funny.

The irony is that the MC/Host was receives top billing on the flyer—one Kato Kaelin of O.J. Simpson’s guesthouse fame. Yes, that guy. He is now trying, I stress trying, to be a comedian. He was, to put it mildly, an unmitigated disaster. Truly terrible.

Now he has a few jokes that were amusing, but his delivery was off. The timing destroying several jokes, but that perhaps could be overlooked. It is not easy to get up on stage and make strangers laugh, I’d imagine. But the element of his routine that I won’t give a pass to is his “audience participation” part.

Many comedians riff off the audience to generate jokes. Vinnie Favorito does this to mild success. I have seen him twice and once is enough. A much better but lesser known comedian who does the same thing is Joe Lowers at the Alexis hotel next to the Hard Rock. Of course, few know about this show given its off-the-Strip location. For my money, he is the best “fucking-with-the-audience” comic in Vegas. Kato Kaelin is the worst one I have seen.

The conceit of interacting and embarrassing the audience as part of a comedian's routine is that it’s not personal and funny. Kaelin violates both these precepts. His interaction with the audience often began with the general statement: “What’s your story?” This seems to me a poor way to begin. The questions needs to be far more specific. What’s your story? How is someone in the audience supposed to answer? No one is going to respond. The question needs to be specific, like what do you do for a living or as Joe Lowers asked me “what kind of porn do you like?” A loaded question to be sure.

After asking his general question, Kaelin stares at the person waiting for, I suppose, a long monologue outlining his story. The key to making this work is the comic’s ability to think on his feet and come up with something funny. Kaelin did not display this extemporaneous comedic ability whatsoever. This is one example of what he thought was funny:

Kaelin: Hey, is that a tattoo on your leg?

Lady in the front row: Yes

Kaelin: That looks like a scab?

Audience: Crickets chirping, thinking that was mean and not funny.

Thus was his routine. He merely insulted and alienated the audience. If he intends to do that, he had better damn well be funny. Instead, he was an unmitigated, unfunny disaster. But go for The Gregg Wilson Show and Jeff Richards, though with Richards be prepared to look at a fat man’s camel toe. It sounds easy to look away, but truly it is not.

The lack of humanity on True Blood

Now a few espisodes into the fourth season of True Blood, I can assert confidently that I do not like the direction the show is taking. This season reminds me of the 2nd season with the that weird lady controling the good ole folks of Bon Temps. That season was simply too weird. And now we are being introduced to more wierd people--the witches--who can apparently control or brain earse the vampires--alas poor Eric, the only intersting character--save Pam--on the show. So the vampires are not the supreme badasses of the True Blood world. But this added element makes the show less grounded or more fantastical. The more the show moves away from the humans, the less interesting it becomes. Soon there may be no humans.

Within the True Blood universe, I wonder how they are even any humans around. Honestly, everything is something "else": werewolves, vampires, fairies, witches, shifters, whatever Jason is becoming and humans. One of these things is not like the others. How are there any humans left in this supernatural world?

Okay, I do concede that Tara is a cool human, but who else? Terry? And remember that

Lafayette is now a witch.

The promise that the first season offered, I thought, was that we'd see a struggle between vampires and their intergration into human culture and the strains that developed as a result. It could have been frutile grounds for exploring all types of aspects of our humanity and society. Instead, the show has opted for sensationalism. Wierdness. It unsettles, nay, overruns, the "suspension of disbelief" required to enjoy the show--and every other show.

I know that the show is modeled after a series of novels, which I have not and have no interst in reading. So perhaps my anticpation was always ill-informed. I don't know how closely the series aligns with the books. I don't much care, either. All I can do is evaluate the series and enough with the wierdness.

Also, with Eric now reduced to a little boy, which I suppose will ingratiate Sookie to him more, the show really has effectively killed off one of the best characters--Eric Northman. He may return to his confident badass self, but for now the best character on the show is gone. Me no likley.