Breaking Bad- Season 2 Review

...Or how I stop worrying and learned to love Hank

Breaking Bad's old friend, the cold open,welcomes us to season two-some black and white shots of, what is it? the back yard of the White's house? if you want to find out,you're in for a very, very long wait. 

Walt and Jesse, after the royal cluster fuck that was working with Tuco soon ends, are left with a bigger mess than before- Walt (played by Bryan Cranston) as always is trying to keep his crystal meth making under wraps from his pregnant wife Skylar, and with the bills for cancer treatment coming in thick and fast,it's becoming more and more difficult.

Jesse meanwhile finally settles into a small house after, in essence getting kicked out of his aunts house after his parents decide to sell, his new land lord Jane some becomes a romantic interest which flourishes throughout the season. A third into the season sees them branching out their operation and hiring a few dealers to move that now famous blue crystal, cue Jesse's good friend Badger and two of his others, Skinny and Combo which are a welcome addition to the cast of the show.

The relationship between Walt and Jesse is the centrifugal force of the show, and this is showcased in the seasons best episode, 'Four Days out'. The pair head out t the desert to cook up as much of the blue crystal as they can, and after a mishap with the fuel supplies with the caravan, they are stuck, literally deserted with nothing but themselves (and a caravan full of high quality crystal meth) for company. This 'bottle' episode is just what the show needed for anyone who was in doubt about the shows calibre of writing or acting, once again Bryan Cranston won an Emmy for his performance and Aaron Paul deservedly nominated. It is intensely dramatic, humorous and poignant throughout, and in no other episode has the father/son/business partner/friend dynamic been so intensely been put under the microscope 

Hank. Hank, Hank, Hank.In the first season you'd be forgiven for thinking that he was just another one of  those run of the mill douche-bag cops that is nothing more than a smarmy git who always has a smart alec approach to everything, but this is Breaking Bad and Hank is AWESOME. Dean Norris's performance of the DEA agent is one of the best of the show, and seems to relish in the vast amount of screen time that he has in the second season. After successfully bringing  an end to the reign of Tuco, promotion looms for Hank in the border control unit but has trouble fitting into his new role, and the events of the episode 'Negro Y Azul' affects him profoundly. His overall lookout and behaviour, especially towards Walt (after he helps him overcome the events in  Juarez) develops for the better and is slowly becoming the most important character in the show after Walt and Jesse, and from what is to be believed, for fans of him, it just gets better and better as the seasons go on...(yuss). 

Overall, season two moves the show forward with excellent plot and character development. Cranston once again acts everyone else under the table.Aaron Paul is utterly convincing as the troubled Jesse and Dean Norris stepping up to the plate as Hank. The season has made sure I will never listen to 'DLZ' by TV On The Radio the same way again, and we finally see Walt 'Break Bad'.The seasons writers, especially John Shiban, Sam Catlin along with its creator Vince Gilligan keep the shows level at the highest quality with some air tight episodes. Roll on season 3!