If you think about it, it's entirely logical that so many people love this episode. Simply because most of season two was talking and excluded the enthralling action and drama moments that season one had, and now that we finally get some intensity again, it has to be awesome, right? Well, I don't really think it is. Don't misunderstand me, I like "4 Days Out", especially in comparison to its two subsequent episodes, but it's just not a condign IMDb 9,2 – "The Godfather" has this rating and you can't seriously put this episode on the same level as that movie classic. Now, enough talk about other people's opinions, here's my short review for the ninth episode of Breaking Bad's second season.
Besides a short conversation between Jesse and Jane, a hilarious 30 second appearance by Saul Goodman (waaaaay too short!), and White/Schrader family talk due to some unexpected results from Walt's cancer treatment, "4 Days Out" is entirely focused on a new desert-set meth cooking process by our two protagonists. But since we've seen Walt and Jesse cooking for a couple of times already, spending so much time on this story part wasn't wise. There isn't anything really new about Jesse doing something stupid, Walt insulting him, Jesse cussing back, and the two ending up in a perilous situation. Screenwriter Sam Catlin obviously felt that it was necessary to show that Jesse doesn't have a high IQ as many times as possible, which is just unnecessary. We've seen this from the first episode on and having him making mistakes throughout the whole episode is just stupid if they want audiences to take him seriously as a character. And if that wasn't enough, the title-giving four days out in the desert disappoint with tons of stereotypes – some of them even from the show itself. For example, Walt and Jesse going from bitchy to emotional due to their desperate situation or Walt finally coming up with a solution as they're almost dying. We totally have seen this before, haven't we? Admittedly, watching Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul interact wasn't unentertaining since they're both outstanding actors, but if the writing is bad, it's hard to fully have fun with it.
As this everlasting story arc was finally over, "4 Days Out" surprises with a feel-good ending that I don't like. I just believe that the show is way better off with Walt being in a bad condition and that argument is proved as the next couple of episodes are a serious decline in quality.
Besides a short conversation between Jesse and Jane, a hilarious 30 second appearance by Saul Goodman (waaaaay too short!), and White/Schrader family talk due to some unexpected results from Walt's cancer treatment, "4 Days Out" is entirely focused on a new desert-set meth cooking process by our two protagonists. But since we've seen Walt and Jesse cooking for a couple of times already, spending so much time on this story part wasn't wise. There isn't anything really new about Jesse doing something stupid, Walt insulting him, Jesse cussing back, and the two ending up in a perilous situation. Screenwriter Sam Catlin obviously felt that it was necessary to show that Jesse doesn't have a high IQ as many times as possible, which is just unnecessary. We've seen this from the first episode on and having him making mistakes throughout the whole episode is just stupid if they want audiences to take him seriously as a character. And if that wasn't enough, the title-giving four days out in the desert disappoint with tons of stereotypes – some of them even from the show itself. For example, Walt and Jesse going from bitchy to emotional due to their desperate situation or Walt finally coming up with a solution as they're almost dying. We totally have seen this before, haven't we? Admittedly, watching Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul interact wasn't unentertaining since they're both outstanding actors, but if the writing is bad, it's hard to fully have fun with it.
As this everlasting story arc was finally over, "4 Days Out" surprises with a feel-good ending that I don't like. I just believe that the show is way better off with Walt being in a bad condition and that argument is proved as the next couple of episodes are a serious decline in quality.