‘Breaking Bad’ Retro Recap: ‘I.F.T’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

We genuinely like to believe, that our world is very black and white and incredibly morally sound. To the point where we think that major crimes only happen because the people that commit them, have more or less abandoned their moral code and have not listened to reason in the slightest. Because surely, someone, somewhere… would have said something to these parties and pointed out that their plans were morally corrupt and that a life of crime was a bad idea. But the fact of the matter is, this rosy view of our world is a silly one at best, since a great deal of people operate in a grey area in our world, where committing a crime or breaking a rule doesn’t seem like that big of a deal if the circumstances are right and what’s truly wild about that surprise aspect of our society, is how many people are fine with someone they know crossing that line. In fact, sometimes they outright encourage that act, or join in.

Simply because, for some, it’s about joining the offender in a quest to see what the other side of the moral code looks like. For others, they’re eager for retribution, because they too have beef with the world and they believe their wrong will be righted by this particular act. Or in some cases, crossing that line infects the minds of others and motivates them to let things play out in order to see how far one can push the envelope in life and it just so happens, that a lot of these elements come into play in the next episode of Breaking Bad. For ‘I.F.T.’ features quite the opportunity for Skyler White. Because with Walt back in the house and not listening to a word she says about their marriage and their future, she could put an end to Walt’s illegal activity by calling the cops on him and informing them about everything he’s involved in. 

In fact, she actually follows through on calling the police out of worry for her family. But when presented with the option to turn him in and destroy the Heisenberg empire, she surprisingly backs down. Not because she loves Walt with all of heart and believes that this is his chance at redemption, but because she envies what he’s become by bucking the system. For he really is bolder as an individual and seems to enjoy a moral freedom that she’s never known and well, if Walt can live on that other side with minimal fuss, why can’t she? Which motivates her to cross the line with her boss and tell Walt about it to stick it to him and relish in the pride of the moment and well, this really did make for some compelling television for certain. Since it really spoke to how crossing moral lines is quite intoxicating since Skyler clearly enjoyed the thrill of violating the sanctity of marriage and it truly was quite fascinating to see how easily it was for Skyler to indulge in the dark side and use it to her advantage.

Yet while that alone would have carried this particular episode, there were cartel related moments that came into play in this tale. Because while Walt chewed upon the horror of infidelity, Gus Fring was planning for Heisenberg’s future in the drug trade, by taking a tense and uncomfortable meeting with the Salamanca family. One where they demanded justice for Tuco. Justice that Gus was eager to deny them, largely because of their sorted past, but more so he genuinely believed he could pull Walter out of retirement and get him to cook again. In essence, enabling Walt to work with freedom and impunity when the time is right and really, this was quite the fascinating sequence for certain. For it spoke to how much Gus believes in Walt and how far he’s willing to go to get him to cook so he can make a fortune and enjoy unparalleled and unprecedented power.

But all of that aside, this really was another incredibly compelling episode from this series. Since we simply didn’t know, what Skyler was going to do when presented with an out, or if Gus was indeed going to let the Salamancas have Walter since there was no more Blue Sky hitting the streets. If anything, this episode helps to reinforce for the fact that Breaking Bad will forever remain a masterclass in tragedy themed storytelling. Since everything here serves as set up for the future, one where Walter White turns everything sour by way of his quest to finally be seen in a world that dealt him a few blows and sadly, it is only a matter of time before everyone in his inner circle will suffer dearly, for Walt’s decision to embrace his alter ego as Heisenberg over his family and the second chance the universe granted him. Until next time.   

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