Note to readers–all photographs were taken by my Iphone of my television while I stood in Pajamas. Not bad, right?
1) LYDIA’S OUTFIT
Vince Gilligan famously plays a lot with color in Breaking Bad. (Think of the names Walter WHITE and Jesse PINKMAN). Colors represent certain themes and help give a subliminal depth to his most important scenes. If you noticed, Lydia was decked out in all blue which has represented Heisenberg’s blue meth the entire series. She is our link to that almost pure drug and she is the only one left trying desperately to get it back. With all the other drama, it’s actually easy to forget all about the meth but she brings us back to it with her bright blue-Smurf ensemble.
Her shoes were also a great touch. As a chick, I knew right away they were Christian Louboutin shoes because of the infamous red soles. But as she walked slowly, eyes closed, past all the carnage she created, you couldn’t help feel her blood-red soles were spreading death everywhere she went.
2) JESSE “CARAVAGGIO” PINKMAN
David and Goliath-Caravaggio, 1599.
This is one of my favorite paintings in Rome. Caravaggio, a well known drunkard with mental instabilities famously painted himself as the face of the slain Goliath seen here. A few years later, Caravaggio sent this painting to the Papal Court as a sort of painted apology for murdering his friend with a sword in a heated tennis match. Since then, this painting has become synonymous with guilt, regret and apology which is only echoed further in the jet black backgrounds he so commonly used.
Check out the similarities here. Jesse’s lit face against an all-black background. Even his outfit is all black. He stares out into the dark nothingness with absolute pain in his eyes just like Caravaggio’s David. Both men knew they had killed and both men had felt the pain and regret of their killing. This scene was masterfully lit and masterfully crafted.
3) SUNBURNT WALT IN HIS UNDIES
This shot immediately brought me back to the Walter White of Season 1 who spent his days frantically and haphazardly cooking meth in the middle of the desert, mostly in his undies. I love that we have seen Walt come full circle; from the messy meth cook/Cancer patient to the smooth head chef of a state of the art lab to right back to the messy meth cook with Cancer.
4) SKYLAR IN THE DINER
Like I said previously, color plays an important role in this series and for these past two episodes we have seen Skylar dressed solely in beige. She’s in beige tops with beige jackets and beige skirts or beige pants matching her beige hair. In the diner, she was back lit and she resembled an amorphous beige blob against the beige diner seat. At this point in her story Skylar isn’t sure where to go, stuck in the middle of all the colors, drained of any life or vibrancy. Skylar is empty.
5) THE CONFESSIONAL
I have always loved the relationship between Jesse Pinkman and Hank probably because it led to my favorite line of all: “This is my own private domicile and I will not be harassed….Bitch.” I’ve been aching to see a scene between them and they set us up for it with this shot. A man doused in light seprated by a man swimming in darkness by what looks like a Catholic confessional grate. Is this a foreshadow to Jesse’s next moves? Either way it’s a damned great shot.
6) BONUS*** THE PIETA
A dying Jesus in the arms of his Mother Mary.
A dying Walt in the arms of Skylar White.
Fucking gorgeous.
