The opening sequence follows a minor character named Wendy (Julie Mineschi), a worn out prostitute whose beauty was probably squandered in a haze of drugs. But through an expertly chosen musical montage — set to “Windy” by The Association — we see Wendy sexually service a number of desperate men just to get enough money to buy meth from Jesse’s hated rivals. And as Jesse watches Wendy trade burgers for a discount, it gives him an idea.
Looking back, I think that this may have been the birth of Jesse as a brilliant out of the box thinker. In the fifth season, Jesse came up with the non-lethal plans to erase evidence in police custody and conceived of a way to rob a train without hurting anyone. Here, Jesse figures out that if he can get Wendy to serve the dealers a few burgers laced with ricin then none of this will blow back on him.
But for that, Jesse needs Walt’s help. In the subsequent bar scene, Cranston and Paul are at the top of their game as Jesse lays out his agenda to avenge his friend and Walt shoots down his plans by reminding his young partner that neither of them are murderers. However, neither man can back down without betraying who they really are.
And in a sense, Walt does betray Jesse by taking the matter directly to Gus (Giancarlo Esposito), after coming up with an amusingly stupid plan alongside slimebag lawyer, Saul Goodman (Bob Odenkirk). Jesse is strong-armed into attending a meeting between himself and the dealers, with Walt and Gus acting as the peacemakers.
It’s here that we get our first glimpse of the monster beneath Gus’ calm demeanor. Gus states in no uncertain terms that Jesse’s survival is only due to the respect that Gus has for Walt. He demands that Jesse back down… and he won’t! Jesse stands up to Gus, much to the shock of everyone. And Jesse even shames Gus about the dealers using kids to peddle their drugs; which Gus orders the dealers to stop.
Of course, this backfires on Jesse. The dealers simply murder Tomas, leaving Andrea heartbroken and Jesse out for revenge. These a**holes deserved to die. The dealers have no dialogue in this episode, but the implication appears to be that they killed Tomas either out of expediency or because they knew that Jesse would be angered by it. Either way, it’s a major dick move.
Prior to that point, Jonathan Banks’ Mike has a great scene with Walt in which Mike recounts his time as a beat cop. Through the power of Banks’ delivery, we feel Mike’s frustration and anger as he tells the story about how he once threatened to kill a serial wife beater, only for the man to kill his wife weeks later. According to Mike, the mistake he made was using a half measure when he should have gone full measure and killed the man when he had a chance. In theory, Mike is sharing this story to convince Walt to cut Jesse loose. However, Walt has a different interpretation about what the advice meant.
Thus, in Jesse’s moment of truth, right before his almost certain death at the hands of the two dealers, Walt mows down the dealers with his car… killing one instantly. Then Walt gets out of his car, picks up one of the dropped guns and he blows away the other dealer. A stunned Jesse can only look on as Walt tells him to “run.”
Keep in mind, Walt ran out on a family dinner to find and save Jesse. Their relationship has a lot of ups and downs, but Walt crossed a major line just to save Jesse. Walt had killed before this episode, but he wasn’t a murderer. And Walt’s favor forced Jesse to commit his first murder in the subsequent episode.
These are not heroes. Or even anti-heroes. Walt and Jesse are men who have made horrifying decisions in the name of greed, revenge and even a misguided sense of love. But their story is captivating in a way that few series can match. “Half Measures” marked a major turning point in their relationship and “Breaking Bad” has never been the same since.
This is the Best Episode Ever. But I know this won’t be a universal choice among the “Breaking Bad” fans. So, I invite all of you to share your choice for the best episode of “Breaking Bad” in the comment section below.
And consider this: Vince Gilligan and his team of writers are so good that they may change all of our minds with the seven episodes remaining in the series.
