Breaking Bad - Season Three

I've been waiting a long time, but finally here we are at the third season of the most flawless show on television. Season two (and season one, for that matter) didn't really end on too much of a cliffhanger, but this show is so addicting that it didn't need to in order for me to keep watching. But boy did they kick it up a notch in round three.

This season we had several episodes that opened with flashbacks, which ingeniously served to not only remind us of key elements from the first two seasons, but to give us a hint of character back story/development that would play a role in the rest of the episode. Some were fun, like the reveal of what Jesse did with Walt's life savings in the pilot, and some were very dark, like when the old man nearly drowned the kid to provoke his brother into saving him. The one with Danny Trejo's second appearance nicely raised the stakes by showing that the assassin brothers took him down.

But yeah, it seemed like everything was bigger and badder this year. Walt goes "pro" by cooking in a large, sterile lab, Saul and Skylar become much more involved as it takes more work to cover Walt's criminal lifestyle, Hank comes within inches of discovering his brother in-law, and everything culminates in full blown conflict with the drug bosses. The wonderful irony of all this is that at the beginning of the season, Walt was attempting to get out of the business, but by the finale he's in deeper than ever. Walter White is one of the most fascinating characters on television, and also one of the most badass. Clearly you don't want to mess with him. But what always amazes me most is the performances of both Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul. These are the kind of intense, seamless performances that make you forget you're watching actors because they're just so believable as their characters. It may get a little tiring for Cranston to win the Emmy every year (though he's not eligible this year since the show has been on hiatus that long), but damn if he doesn't deserve it every time. Fun fact from a DVD extra (awesomely titled "Pizza of Destiny"): when Walt threw the pizza on the roof, he did it perfectly on the first take. Is there anything Cranston is not good at?

Best episode: Up until the finale I would have said "Fly", a "bottle episode" of sorts where Walt and Jesse lock themselves in the lab until they can catch an annoying fly, but it was then outshined by the finale episode, "Full Measure", in which Walt and Jesse plan a murder in an attempt to ensure their safety from the bosses who turned against them. I love tension, and that episode was full of it. The only thing I hate about this show is that I'll probably have to wait another whole year for the season four DVD. But it will be worth it.