Breaking Bad: Rabid Dog Review- By Michael Carlisle

 Series: Breaking Bad 
Title: Rabid Dog
Season: 5
Episode: 12
Year: 2013

Though I have reviewed the entire television series of Creator Vince Gilligan's Breaking Bad, I have not recapped an episode of it. It seems a little strange to have an overview in the middle of the last season, but I feel that the latest episode Rabid Dog is perhaps the greatest episode of the show so far. This seems like an impossibility considering Face Off, Phoenix and Crawl Space are both technically and emotionally creative dynamite, but it just doesn't compare to Season 5 Episode 12.

Rabid Dog opens to a distraught Walt (Bryan Cranston) searching his house for a crazed Jesse (Aaron Paul) who, in the last episode titled Confessions, was attempting to burn Walt's house down after learning that Walt had poisoned a child Jesse loved in order to use him to kill another meth dealer. Puzzled he walks through his gasoline soaked house and isn't able to find Jesse. The majority of the episode is about trying to find him, as well as Walt struggling with the decision of what to do when he finds him.

Considering the entire episode revolves around Jesse Pinkman and the episode is called Rabid Dog, one would think Jesse is the rabid dog. Sleezy lawyer Saul Goodman (Bob Odenkirk) makes reference to this as he compares Jesse to Old Yeller, suggesting that Walt might have to put him down. However almost every character in the series is a "Rabid Dog". Walt's irrational and quick decisions have hurt everyone he loves, he has murdered men like Mike (Jonathon Banks) because of a small arguement. Todd (Jesse Plemons) kills without thought, hesitation or remorse. Skylar (Anna Gunn) has become a lady Macbeth like figure; when Walt wants to do the "right thing" such as talk to Jesse, she snaps and orders that Jesse be killed. Hank (Dean Norris) , Gomez (Steven Quezarta) and Marie (Betsy Brandt) are so obsessed with catching Heisenberg/Walt that they are unable to think straight.

At the start of the episode we are drawn to Hank, who has temporarily become a father figure to Jesse. Jesse been abandoned by every father figure he has ever had and seems to desperately need. Hank's eyes show innocence and trust, he is incredibly careful of how he presents himself in the pretense of Jesse. However the minute Jesse's back is turned, we hear Hank tell Gomez that he doesn't really care for the murderer/drug dealer. It's shocking; a great attempt by the writers to make the audience distrust Hank. Meanwhile it seems that Walt is showing his more human side; despite the fact that everybody is suggesting that he should send "Jesse to Belize", Walt honestly wants to talk things out. However Walt is such a shady guy that nobody could honestly know what he's up to, and we can't blame Jesse for leaving due to suspicion. There's great irony in the last scene; even though Jesse wants to be seen as a good person, and doesn't want to be judged because of how he looks, he sees a scruffy looking guy and turns the other way, even though it seems the scruffy guy would be a guy Jesse really could connect with as he was at the place to have fun with his daughter.

In conclusion, Rabid Dog ends on a really sad note; it seems that Jesse has lost Walt,  the only father figure in his life. Walt calls Todd and now there is a legitimate threat to Jesse's life. Jesse tells Hank that he has an even better plan, whether that's true or not remains to be seen. Throughout this episode Vince Gilligan has given us a reason to not like any character on Breaking Bad, except Jesse. Jesse is the saint of this show. Praise it! 4.5/5 (the marie/therapist scene was a little poor)