The season of broken relationships. This season picks up with a growing divide happening between Walt (Bryan Cranston) and his family, and Jesse (Aaron Paul). I would say this is the biggest character and relationship growth season because there are a lot of subplots that along with the main plot force everyone to choose a side. I feel like the general consensus of Walt’s actions is that they are wrong, but the intent behind them is good, but this season really starts to make you question at what point is too far, too far.
Season 2 starts with Walt and Jesse still doing business with Tuco (Raymond Cruz), until Tuco kidnaps them and after several close calls, Hank (Dean Norris) saves them, unbeknownst to him of course. This adventure is the big catalyst for the entire season, it leads into Hank’s promotion and development of PTSD, and Walt’s growing divide between him and Skyler (Anna Gunn), and then eventually into Walt and Jesse’s need for a new distributor and them reaching out to Gus Fring (Giancarlo Esposito).
I think we see a lot of character for Hank this season. We see how human he really is and how much he wants to keep up his macho man appearance, even with Marie (Betsy Brandt), when he doesn’t even want to talk to her about what happened in El Paso and gets angry with her for thinking that he can’t handle something like that. I don’t think it is as severe as other forms of PTSD that you hear about, but I do think Hank suffers from some PTSD, between his shootout with Tuco and then the bombing that happened in El Paso I think it’s natural for someone to develop that disorder. However, I will say that it feels like he “got over it” kind of quickly, I think it is more so that his character got put on the back burner for other plotlines. Another character that I feel was given a little bit of a B plot, that fell a little short for me is Skyler. I don’t like Ted (Christopher Cousins). I don’t know what it is, I just don’t enjoy his character or his storyline, and a lot of it crosses over with Skyler’s storyline, so in turn her storyline just feels kind of cheap then for such an important character. The serenade of happy birthday might be the most uncomfortable scene I have ever watched, like could you imagine being in the office watching that and how uncomfortable you would feel watching this married pregnant woman seductively sing happy birthday to your boss. The best part about Skyler this season however is that she is 100% correct in the finale for kicking Walt out and taking the kids. She has figured out that her husband has been lying to her for who knows how long, he might be cheating, he might be doing something illegal, she doesn’t know specifically what, but she knows he is not being truthful and the best thing she can do for her family is leave him.
Jane (Krysten Ritter) is the most important person to come into Jesse’s life. Jesse has never had someone who loves him willingly. It appears to me that his parents have always been rather pompous and never felt like home to Jesse. Jane is who Jesse assimilates home with. I think this really shows in episode 6 “Peekaboo,” where if you look a little deeper than face value at Jesse helping a kid, I think Jesse sees himself. A kid who in most accounts is a lost cause, and Jesse refuses to let this kid become like his parents. It’s almost the opposite of Jesse’s parents, where Spooge (David Ury) and his wife (Dale Dickey) are so out of the picture that this kid has no future, while Jesse’s parents have such high expectations that when they aren’t reached it seems like Jesse has no future. But Jane sees Jesse for who he truly is. She is the only person we see actually give an interest into Jesse’s life, they bond over drawings and their hard parents. Jane being interested in Jesse’s artwork is the only time we have seen someone truly be interested in something Jesse has done. Last season, when Jesse was back at home his artwork was in a trunk in his room. I know that if I drew something as good as what he drew, my mom would still have that artwork on the fridge 20 years after I drew it or at least in a special place of hers, not stuffed away in my old room. I think it is also a possibility that Jesse never showed his parents, because he never felt like what he did could be good enough for them. I wouldn’t be surprised if they thought art was a waste of time. It feels like creativity is not praised in that household and that is why they are just his parents, and not his home. Jane is his home because she understands Jesse and she makes him think. Especially in later seasons, we get flashbacks of them and she is always questioning Jesse’s perspective on life, and honestly without it I don't think we get the endings that we do.
Probably my least favorite season of Walter White, mostly because I don’t feel it gives as much to his character as other seasons do. I think it’s in an odd place where they set up his wants and values and traits, but now what do we do? I think this season was more to show how controlling Walt is and that’s why it focused more on Jesse than it did him. Walt let Jane die because he wanted control over Jesse again. He killed her because she was an obstacle to him and nothing more, and that is because Jesse is nothing more than a means to an end for Walt. Walt needed an in into the meth business, Jesse, now he needs a distributor, Jesse, now he needs a partner, Jesse, now he needs a puppet, Jesse. Jesse has never and will never be anything more to Walt than a means to an end. The only reason Walt has ever been loyal to Jesse is because he knows it will make Jesse loyal to him.
A show is only as good as its villain. Again, there isn’t really a main villain for this show, Tuco definitely did a lot of damage in the beginning, but he was only alive for two episodes, so I can’t really consider him the big villain. From Walt’s point of view, Hank is a villain because he can’t stand to let another man be a hero to his son. Skyler is another person who could be a villain in Walt’s eyes, especially at the end because she can’t grasp what he’s having to put up with and just keeps getting in his way. You could say Jane turns out to be a villain because of her influence on Jesse and then how she too gets in Walt’s way. On the flip side, Walt is more of a villain towards Jesse because he kills his girlfriend and controls Jesse as much as possible.
I think season 2 is probably my least favorite, although I can acknowledge its relevance to the entire show. Season 2 just isn’t the amazing introduction that season 1 is and it’s not as funny, and then it’s also not as plot driven and stake filled as the later seasons. It does its part as a set up season and looking at how a regular story goes, this season would be the rising action and that usually is the most boring part because all it is is setup. There aren’t resolutions to problems because those problems are meant to last longer and build up for greater resolutions than if they were to be resolved right then and there. It is funny though because this season is my favorite Jesse and I absolutely love Jane, but it’s my least favorite season, and then season 4 is my favorite season, but season 4 Jesse is my least favorite Jesse.
8.8.10☆
8.7/10😁
This season does have some of my favorite moments, it’s just altogether it doesn’t stand up to the next 3 seasons. Jane and Jesse is my favorite couple from the show and it is just so great seeing Jesse happy and it makes the plot more fun, although I would say less riveting. In the grand scheme of shows, it is obviously amazing and this season stacks up fairly well against a lot of seasons and a lot of shows, it is just in context of this show, which is arguably the greatest show ever, I would say it is less enjoyable than the others.
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