Grey Matter is an interesting title for this episode of Breaking Bad, it not only reflects the company that Walt was apart of bringing into existence but the issue of what is going on in the secret life that Walt has seemingly walked away from. In this episode, both Jesse and Walter are trying to live life without cooking Meth together. It seems to be difficult for both of them to pick up the pieces after the mass chaos that they have experienced together. Jesse tries to find a "real job" (only to go back to cooking with a new partner) and Walter tries to go on living out the rest of his life with his family. Both seem to be completely unsatisfied with life the way that it has become. For Jesse, he has seen what it is like to do well and to produce a good product and won't settle for less, however his new partner does not share the same attitude. This conflict leads to Jesse leaving his new found partner in the desert. Walter is just trying to decide how to live his life with cancer and deal with his family. In the end, the stress of choosing to do treatment leads alter back to Jesse and cooking Meth despite an easier way to pay for the treatment. In this episode, that Walter enjoys cooking Meth and this is what he wants.
The most important moment for me in this episode is the very end when Walter decides to start cooking Meth with Jesse again. This has huge implications for Walter's character. He has turned from the timid chemistry teacher who just needs to survive to make money for his family. This shows the audience that Walter missed cooking meth. He missed being in control, powerful, successful, and wealthy. His desire for success comes out when he goes to his college friend's birthday party. He wants what he has so badly and his pride keeps him from accepting the gift that his friend offers him. There is a shift from the beginning of the season to know and it will be interesting to see how this develops in the next episodes.
The implications of this in ministry are how do we deal with this dichotomy of wanting to have a loving and stable home but still be in control. How do the implications of this episode change the way I see ministry? I think that in all honesty, it shows me the importance of being able to get down into the dirty places to meet with people. We have to get away from the clean places and the safe places to meet people where they really are!
No comments:
Post a Comment