Breaking Bad Season 4: Premier Box Cutter Message From Gus

Creator: Vince Gilligan
Stars: Bryan Cranston, Anna Gunn and Aaron Paul

* This review contains spoilers!I am impressed with Breaking Bad’s continued use of color. The greens, blues, yellows, and reds popped to remind us of how primal everything is. Is red the color of violence? Jesse was wearing red when he shot Gale, Gus was wearing red when he slit Victor’s throat. And of course, red is the color of both blood and the floor of the lab, the foundation of Gus’ Drug Ring.

Is blue the color of intelligence? Walter’s wardrobe is full of it. Is green the color of power? The box cutter was green, as was some of the lab equipment out of the box. And don’t forget about cold, hard cash. And is yellow the show’s neutral color? Gus wore yellow for much of last season, before he became such a danger to Walter.

THR chief TV critic Tim Goodman says the show is darker than ever thanks to the “genius” of creator Vince Gilligan.

[sws_blockquote_endquote align=”” cite=”” quotestyle=”style03″] Audacious doesn’t even begin to cover what this man is doing. Gilligan is attempting (and has succeeded over the course of three brilliant seasons) a kind of confrontational transformation that should, using conventional logic, alienate his core audience and not only slay the golden goose but light it on fire as well. You don’t take your main character and make him unlikable. You just don’t. Nobody does that. Nobody has ever really done that to this extent. [/sws_blockquote_endquote]

With each drop of blood spattered, Walter takes trudging steps closer to becoming a ruthless drug kingpin. So far, the deaths by Walter have resulted from his self-preservation or his protection of his business. How long until Walter pulls the trigger just for the thrill of it? That’s the direction in which Breaking Bad appears to be headed, and it’s all the more interesting for the money.

It is not surprising that Breaking Bad kicked off its fourth season with Gale in awe of a sample of Walter’s 99-percent pure blue meth. It’s only ironic that Gale’s idolization of a bag of crystal clear narcotics was the reason Walter was hired by Gus. And in it’s fitting eventuality, in this tale of morality and consequences, it was Gale’s own admiration of Walter that eventually leads to Gale’s death.

Gale was an innocent casualty on Walter’s path of destruction. Just like Jane. Just like Combo. Just like all those passengers of the plane that exploded over Walt’s house. But as the bodies continue to pile up (and there will be many more), they get closer and closer to Walt. How much longer would it take?