I was really nervous about stepping into Season 5 just because of what went down in Season 4. There is just no way that this season could top what is arguable the greatest season of TV. Not just for Breaking Bad, but for any series. In the time Season 4 ended up till the time I finally got around to watching this season, I kept wondering and asking myself: How do you rebound from the loss of Gus Fring (Giancarlo Esposito) who is probably hands down the greatest TV villain ever. Once I started in on Season 5, I started to worry that this one would be a bust, by Breaking Bad standards.

Fear not, the series is alive and well in this first half of the season. I will admit that it took me a few episodes to get over the fact that Gus is gone, which sets up this season nicely. Up till now, Walt White has been nothing more than an employee. But with Gus out of the way, he is now calling the shots and looking to build an empire. With that, it comes with the viewer no longer being sympathetic with the character. Before, he was always looking for a way to survive under hard condition. He was for all intents and purposes the underdog, along with Jesse. Well, not that he is the King, all of his flaws really come out and he is a very unsympathetic character with no redeeming qualities, Well, he never really had that to start with, it's just now we, more specifically me, don't like him all that much, if at all.

Hated to see Jonathan Banks as Mike go the way he did, but it was inevitable. The story dictated what his arc would be and he had to go. Great actor and a great character. He was just as important to the legacy of the series as any of the other stars carrying the show on their backs. I'd like to see him get an Emmy for his role, if he hasn't already done so.

One last thing, great cliffhanger to end Part 1 with Hank finally discovering who W.W. is. That would be Walt White. Now he knows who Heisenberg is and that leads us into Part 2, which started 2 weeks ago. I'm glad I have those episodes saved on my DVR because there is no way I'd be able to avoid spoilers of what is sure to come. Anyway, I highly recommend Season 5 Part 1 as a Buy.

Current Breaking Bad marathon continues. 

So in your epic revisitation of Breaking Bad, have you gone back to the X-Files episode "Drive?"  Bryan Cranston has said it's what proved to Vince Gilligan that Bryan Cranston can be awesome in drama.

Turned on AMC and the episode where they're stranded out in the desert is on.  All right!