CHOKE HOLD by Christa Faust [2011]

Choke Hold is the follow up to 2008's Money Shot (probably my favorite of the many Hard Case Crime titles I've devoured), in which we met Angel Dare -- an ex-porn star perpetually mixed up in an underworld loaded with shady lowlifes, gruesome violence and rampaging sex. That alone may sound like this is just a piece of hollow trash, but it's anything but. Faust's creation of Angel Dare is nuanced with compelling inner turmoil and surrounded by virtually non-stop action.

(Before I go any further, I implore you to check out Money Shot first; not only will it make this book more enjoyable, it is unquestionably one of the most-fun page-turners I've consumed in the past five years.)

We pick up Angel's life a couple of years after the events of the last novel, and she has been forced by those rascally Croatian sex traffickers to escape her dull witness protection existence in the wake of her testimony against them. While working as waitress to secure a high-quality fake ID in an Arizona diner, one night in walks "Thick" Vic Ventura, an old boyfriend and former co-star, for a meet-up with his long-estranged 18-year-old son. Shortly after Angel and Vic briefly reacquaint themselves, a gaggle of seemingly random punks pour into the diner and litter the joint with bullets. Vic is hit in the mayhem, and Angel and his son, Cody, jet him out of there. She and Cody enlist the help of his washed-up MMA champion and current mentor in the further adventures as they enlist the help of a host on unsavory characters and try to out-run various other murderous thugs, European mobsters and no-good wenches.

This is a bleaker novel than the first, but I don't mean that as a criticism. Gone is the glitzy (at least on the surface) porn world setting of Los Angeles. It's replacement is the underbelly of the mixed martial arts circuit, and the dilapidated Southwest and northern Mexican landscape. Angel is at a lower place throughout this novel than in much of Money Shot, and her surroundings mirror that state. Faust never gives the reader time to pause for long in Choke Hold, as any quiet moments are fastidiously dispensed with by some sort of new and unexpected danger. But those lower-paced scenes give insight to an individual seeped in insecurity and intimacy issues, making lasting relationships hard to come by. By the end, you're left wanting even more Angel Dare. Here's hoping this isn't the last we've seen of her.

By the way, in case you're unaware, Hard Case Crime is a cool publisher that debuted a few years back. Their titles are a mix of reprints of old, often-obscure pulp novels (from people such as  and new releases (like ones from Faust). All are chosen for a reason -- they're really fucking good. However, tough times in the publishing world have led to challenges for the imprint, and they went on hiatus from releasing new books for a while. Choke Hold was among the first released after they had reorganized, and some obvious changes for readers occurred, namely the book is physically larger. Admittedly, I prefer the old mass-market size and format of the books (not to mention the slightly lower cover price), but at least the trade paperback offers a larger display to show off that amazing cover art. All-in-all, they provide a really nice package for a reasonable price. Check out more of them if you dig this one as much as I did.

BREAKING BAD - "Hazard Pay"

Welcome to a roundtable discussion of this week's episode of Breaking Bad from your friendly neighborhood LowBrowMedia savants.

This is a spoiler-heavy zone. You have been warned.

Jon: Another solid installment of our favorite chefs this time out, but in terms of episode recapping, nothing enormous happened in week 3; mostly this was just table-setting for what I'm sure will be typical Breaking Bad craziness later on this season. What I mean by that is there was lots of minutia on how Walt and Jesse will be cooking their blue meth for the foreseeable future. Great to watch, but not that interesting to talk about, really. The gist of it is they're going to forgo having a traditional laboratory, and instead will employ a roving lab temporarily set up in pest-infested homes with the help of shady Terminx-type dudes. Frankly, it's a pretty ingenious plan and severely reduces the chances of their getting busted, but there does seem that it's only a matter of time before a cockroach or other vermin may contaminates a batch at some point. I'm sure hilarity will ensue if that comes to pass.

One moment of significance did occur during the cook, when Walt continued with his manipulative ways while the two were waiting for the meth to finish cooking. After seeing how close Jesse and Andrea were becoming again earlier in the episode (a scene that also contained the most awkward stare imaginable between Brock and his poisoner), Walt convinces Jesse under the guise of fatherly advice about commitment to break it off with her to further his own interests, all while making Jesse believe it was his idea in the first place. The cook turns out to be a successful one, and the two seem pleased with themselves after they leave the tented house.

Getting back into production has generated their cashflow once more, but the total is not to Walt's liking. Mike divvies up the mullah in plain sight  of all and, by the end, there is less than half left of what Walt thought he was going to get to take home. He and Jesse's product yield is lower than it was while working out of Gus' lab, plus they have tons of overhead now in paying off Saul, dug mules and "legacy" members (aka the 9 of the 11 guys left Lydia was trying to off last week), which lowers their payday considerably. Walt had not considered either of these factors when their payday arrives. After making his displeasure known, Mike responds with the line of the season thus far: "Just because you shot Jesse James, doesn't make you Jesse James." It looks as though Walt will try to find a way to usurp Mike's authority once he figures out a method of replacing what he brings to the group, which is basically everything aside from the actual product.


Meanwhile, on the homefront, Skyler continues to veer off the deep end of sanity. Just when she thinks things can't get any worse than they already are, they do. The culprit this week? Walt's moving back into the house unannounced. This leads to a scene at the car wash at Marie (hey, remember her?) where Skyler officially snaps, screaming "SHUT UP!" repeatedly. This had the rare effect of actually getting Marie to stop talking for 10 seconds. She takes Skyler home to sleep off her panic attack and waits for Walt to return from cooking. When he finally arrives, she's ready to let him have it and get to the bottom of what's going on with her sister. But Walt turns the tables on her quickly. I don't think he actually lied about anything during this exchange. He just dropped a hint here and there, and let Marie's imagination do the rest. Next thing you know, he's out of her line of sight and she'll focus her well-intentioned but ultimately misguided wrath at Skyler instead.

Of course the big news of the week was introduction of Lance... er, I mean, Landry from Friday Night Lights! Better known in the real world as Jesse Plemmons, he'll be playing Todd, who will... well, I don't know yet, but he'll do something memorable before long. And for those you unfortunate folks that have not treated yourselves to FNL, you are going to be pleased by what he's able to bring to a scene. He's one of the pest-control burglars, capable of spotting and disabling nanny cams. In other words, he could be useful to Walt.

For as long as I can remember, I've been drawn to books, movies, shows, etc., where the criminal is, if not the hero of the story, the focus of the it. It's one of the many reasons I enjoy Breaking Bad as much as I do. But one movie I have never gotten around to seeing is Brian De Palma's Scarface with Al Pacino from 1983. And even though I haven't seen it, basically everyone knows it's the story of the rise to power and thunderous collapse of a drug lord. So deep into this week's episode when an increasingly horror-stricken Skyler walks into the living room to find Walt watching the end of the movie with their two children (yes, including their little baby girl), I couldn't help but connect Walt and his big bad machine gun we saw in the season premiere's cold open to a coke-infused drug kingpin Tony Montana blowing the shit out of everything in his sight. Obviously their paths are incredibly different, but each season we've seen Walt come closer to becoming the top dog in the southwestern U.S. meth landscape. Judging by his continued displeasure with his current situation, it stands to reason he'll keep cutting through anyone in his way until he's able to call all the shots. Any guesses as to which person will Walt's little friend be saying hello to in the coming weeks?

Mike:  Here’s my take, in conveniently hyphenated bite-sized bullet thought points!

- Mike Ehrmantraut, the hardest-working man in “loss prevention,” is really hustling this entire episode.  That’s the thing about him, though.  He knows exactly what needs to happen, and he’s got a plan as to how to accomplish that.  This is, of course, due to his many years on the job doing things that required some pretty fancy footwork in order to keep everything running.  So, if I was in business with him, I would pretty much let him do his thing.   Walt’s already got a problem with letting Mike handle the business, simply because he apparently thinks that he can do better.  Well, he’s done fine so far, but only through an incredibly disproportionate dumb-luck-to-smarts ratio. If he takes Mike out, as he’s getting ready to manipulate Jesse into getting behind by the end of the episode, we’ll just have to see how smoothly this whole operation will run.

- That said, I’ve got to wonder about the whole process of making the former employees of Gus Fring “whole.”  To me at least, it seemed as if it was presented to Walt like an ongoing concern.  I can’t help but wonder if Walt might have handled the bad financial news better if they looked it as a loan that needed to pay off, and then profits would be back up to a higher level.  Now, something like $20 million in makegoods (by my calculations, there are 12 people on the list including Mike’s granddaughter, minus the two dead guys from last week, multiplied by $2 million a piece) is nothing to sneeze at.  But at least it’s a goal to move towards.  I can imagine that seeing those stacks of bills get decimated as each piper gets paid has got to hurt.

- But Walt has to keep the long view.  (OR DOES HE?)  It just doesn’t make sense that Walt wouldn’t see the wisdom in Mike’s business sense.  (OR DOES IT?)  Maybe, just maybe, Walt doesn’t really see much of a future for himself.  But then, if his cancer is back, as I honestly and truthfully do believe it is, what is he working towards?  It can’t be as “pure,” relatively speaking, as it was when he started out.  I’m sure we’ll be seeing and hearing more on this during that big 51^st birthday celebration that his wife and sister-in-law are planning for him.  We’ve all seen how Walt likes to celebrate poolside with his family -- drunk, swaggering, and belligerent.

- Man, oh, man.  Though Walt and Jesse’s plan for using a series of about-to-be-fumigated houses to cook meth is pretty brilliant, the image that has stuck with me all week is the fumes being ventilated right near the kids’ swingset.  Wasn’t Jesse in trouble a few seasons ago because, essentially, once you use a house to cook meth in, it leaves poisonous residue, and renders the house unlivable, or at the very least extremely dangerous to live in?  Just another way that Walt infests and kills everything around him.  Just think, who could have foreseen that just because he watched a young woman OD/choke to death, a devastating plane crash would occur which would affect the entire community?  The dominoes, I believe, are stacking up and are going to fall down hard.

- The series of scenes where Saul took Jesse, Mike, and Walt to all the prospective meth cooking sites was wonderful.  Poor Saul, he’s working so hard for these guys.  Would it be so bad to say “thanks” once in a while?  Just look at these knuckleheads, working together for the common good:

 - A lot of favorite incidental characters reappared for the first time this season, too.  Skinny Pete shows some business acumen, while Badger seems to have been correctly nicknamed, if badgers are lumpy, dense, and oafish.  (Actually, I’m pretty sure they’re not.)  I still haven’t mentioned the return of Saul’s bodyguard Huell!  You gotta love all the noise he makes when he breathes.  Finally, as Jon mentions above, we’ve got Jesse Plemons joining the cast this week as an up-and-coming fumigator with an eye for security systems.  I’m really looking forward to seeing what he adds to the mix.

- Also, a lot of movement this week with Jesse's personal relationship, as well as Marie and Skyler butting heads and Walt continuing his truth-telling and gameplaying.  I'm not going to get into them too deeply right now, but these are important things that are going to have huge consequences this season.  Though this was another one of those table-setting episodes in a lot of ways, I’m cool with the table-setting.  I can wait.  I know it’ll be worth it when it all blows up in Walt’s face.

See you next week!

Previous Breaking Bad season 5 roundtables: 
Week 1 - "Live Free Or Die"
Week 2 - "Madrigal"

PARKER: THE SCORE by Darwyn Cooke [2012]

Just last week, Darwyn Cooke released his third volume of his adaptation of Richard Stark's classic Parker novels. Like the first two, Parker: The Score is an illuminating and faithful look at the source material while still containing plenty of Cooke's own style.

The story of The Score is actually one of the simplest in the series. Parker, who is running low on funds, and a large crew of 12 accomplices decide to rob an entire town in North Dakota. They account for as many problems as they can, securing supplies, exit routes and hideouts, all explained in in great detail. However, in the middle of the operation, it doesn't go to plan (as usual) as other variables rise up. But that's the fun part of these stories in the first place. This one is particularly engrossing as the scale is so much grander than knocking off just an armored car, for instance. Plus, everyone finally gets to meet the pleasure that is Alan Grofield, one of the best supporting characters in Parker's world.

It should be noted that I'm a big fan of these Parker novels. Incidentally, the novel version of The Score from 1964 may be my favorite of all the ones I've read. It's the fifth book in the series of 24 from Richard Stark (one of the many pseudonyms used by the great Donald E. Westlake). Earlier this year I finished the long-hard-to-find 16th entry Butcher's Moon, which is probably the only one that I might rate higher. It's been probably five years since I burned through The Score, so I had been wondering if my stance on it being the best in the series to that point was accurate or not. Fortunately, Cooke's version has reinstated my belief that this is one of the finer entries.

As for what comes next, I read some time ago that Cooke planned on releasing five volumes of Parker graphic novels. We're now at volume three. The first covered the inaugural appearance of Parker in The Hunter, a revenge yarn of the most fanatical proportions. His second release was Parker: The Outfit, which covered Stark's second and third novels, The Man With The Getaway Face and The Outfit. This was a really brilliant decision of Cooke's part to combine the two since each is a little thin for a standalone comic. Plus, it establishes Parker as a master thief  (Getaway Face) and completely hellbent on completing his quest of revenge if he's been wronged (The Outfit). The Score is an exhilarating, bombastic heist on every level -- through planning, the execution and it's largely successful. I can't imagine he skips Slayground entirely (where Parker battles a giant force comprised of a local syndicate operatives and corrupt cops on his own while hiding out in an abandoned amusement park) or Butcher's Moon which starts out as a simple sequel to Slayground only to spin into a grand tale harking back to the ruthlessness originally displayed in The Hunter. Whatever he ends up doing, I'm definitely in.

I'd like to thank Trent and Nick over at The Violent World of Parker for creating an invaluable cache of info on these novels (and a lot of other related material). I've been a fan of their site for a long time and it made writing this review much simpler having something to refer to for these books where many of the details had escaped me. Follow their blog; it's good stuff.

BREAKING BAD - "Madrigal"

Welcome to a roundtable discussion of this week's episode of Breaking Bad from your friendly neighborhood LowBrowMedia savants.

This is a spoiler-heavy zone. You have been warned.

Jon: The second week of season 5 is still dealing with the fallout from last season's finale. We're discovering that Gus spun an incredibly intricate web of an operation and his absence is causing catastrophes for just about everyone in his world aside from Walt and Jesse. But this is one of those episodes of a series that pushes its main characters off to the stage and gives the limelight to a sideline player. This time, the honor finally goes to Mike, Gus's blunt, methodically efficient hitman who I've always found impossible not to love.

His hatred from Walt continues to be unwavering, this despite an appeal from Walt and Jesse to become an equal partner in their future dealings. As far as our two main characters are concerned, they need him as much as he needs them. But Mike disagrees. Every time he looks at Walt, the scowl we see is the result of  hearing tick, tick, tick. To Mike, he is a walking timebomb, and it's only a matter of time until he explodes. Aside from Skyler, Mike's the only one who realizes just how dangerous Walt has become.

We've never been given much of a backstory for Mike, and we don't yet get a complete one here, but it's becoming clear he was the closest thing Gus had to a right-hand man. When heat starts raining down on Gus's associates in the wake of Hank's investigation, one top executive at a company called Madrigal commits suicide in imaginative fashion at the company's headquarters in Germany instead of speaking with authorities. Turns out Madrigal is the parent company of Los Pollos Hermanos. Clearly this Mr. Shuler had, at minimum, a deep financial connection with Fring's narcotic ring, and judging by the demands of a very freaked-out Lydia later on in the episode, he wasn't the only one at Madrigal with a finger in the blue-meth pie. Speaking of Lydia, she's a stateside Madrigal exec of some importance and attempts to enlist Mike to clean up the loose ends of Los Pollos Hermanos before those threads are traced back to the two of them. He refuses and hands back her list of 11 names to her.

But this is before Hank and Gomez ask him to come in for a little talk. Overconfident that the DEA duo has nothing substantial on him, he taunts them and appears to have won the battle of one-liners before heading to the interrogation room door. Just then, Hank pulls out his trump card -- a pile of cash to the tune of $2 million in the name of Mike's granddaughter hidden away in one of those Cayman Island bank accounts listed discovered in the picture frame from Gus' office last week. Mike had mentioned a fondness for a granddaughter in a previous season, and we get to meet her in all her Hungry Hippo domination this time around. So it's not completely out of nowhere that he did this and, frankly, it's hard to blame him for allowing little Kaylee to be his lone weak spot. But with Hank and Gomez keying in on it, it tosses him back into the Madrigal shitstorm he was trying to lay low from.

Turns out Lydia didn't shake the idea of offing the 11 people on her list and lured one of the others in the group to take care of them and adding Mike to the list. But somehow this lady isn't aware that good 'ol Mikey is THE MAN and snuffs out the would-be assassin's plan first. Mike pays a visit to Lydia's home next, and I was completely convinced that that was going to be the last we saw of her. But between her pleading, her being a single mom and the realization that she could help him obtain methylamine, a suddenly scare chemical Walt and Jesse are in need of to cook again. So now Mike is reluctantly back in the fold with Walt against his better judgement.

Meanwhile, on the sideline, we learn what Walt did with the ricin shot he concocted -- he still has it, and stashed it behind an electric socket faceplate. Only a matter of time until he has a need for it at this point. Concurrently, he makes a placebo vile of salt so a panicked Jesse will calm down once he knows the poison has been disposed of and can't hurt another innocent like he believed had happened with Brock. The two tear apart Jesse's house looking for it in a very intriguingly shot montage, before Walt plants it in the path of the Roomba roaming the floors.

Jesse had little to do again this week aside from opine for the Crystal Ship's return, although Aaron Paul gave a marvelous performance in the moments after discovering the misplaced "toxic" cigarette as Jesse breaks down and apologizes to Walt for nearly killing him (which obviously he was spot on about) and solidifying his position as the conscious of Breaking Bad. The very existence of this intense friendship is completely due to Walt's manipulations at this point, but it's still hard not to enjoy just how great of a bond the two of them have right now. It won't last since I'm sure Walt will slip up at some point about Brock's poisoning, but that doesn't mean a part of me doesn't like their closeness while it lasts.

Not fooled by Walt's duplicitous sweet-talk, however, is Skyler. She's completely frozen by her fear of Walt and the monster he has become, not even able to muster the energy to get out of bed for days. And, my god, Walt even out-creeped himself past last week as he consoled her with unwanted kisses to her shoulder. It's almost impossible to root for him on any level after watching him engage in this behavior. But that also happens to be the most fascinating aspect of this show -- the steady devolution from mild mannered high school chemistry teacher to master crimelord.

The other moment from "Madrigal" that stuck out was Hank's soon-to-be ex-boss, recalling how Gus had joined his family at his home for meals and wonderful conversations, yet lamented "the whole time he was somebody else completely, right in front of me, right under my nose." Those words are likely going to mirror how Hank feels when he discovers Walt's crimes before the series comes to a close. I have no doubt about that happening, and I expect how he deals with that revelation to be especially riveting when it comes to pass.

Man. This show just doesn't stop even when it slows down, does it, fellas? Hit me up with your reactions.

Mike: Okay, then -- here is what I thought of this week’s “Breaking Bad” in quick, bite-sized format:

- Hilariously bleak cold open.  I’m actually really glad that it wasn’t another flash-forward to whatever Walt is up to in the future, what with the hair, and the guns, and the 52^nd birthday.  That will keep.  I’ll just say this, then -- “Breaking Bad” seems to have an endless vocabulary in the way of visiting indignities upon characters, and I love every minute of it.  I could really use some chicken nuggets right now, but I’ll pass on the Franch sauce.

- This was definitely Mike’s episode.  Being that pretty much any scene with Walt churns my stomach these days, it was a welcome focus.  Now, Mike's a paragon of prudence, he’s just as careful as his old boss Gus was, business-wise, and only works with people that he’s “vetted” and who can be trusted.  Not to mention that they have been well-compensated in case of any trouble.  But since Walt’s little magnetic mishap last episode simultaneously ruined a bunch of evidence (that was probably going to be inaccessible anyways) while introducing valuable, game-changing data to the tune of a dozen or so secret Caymans bank accounts, now that compensation is gone.  And the noose slips a little bit tighter.

- Well, every man has his soft spot, even one so guarded as Mike Ehrmantraut.  His is a little girl named Kaylee.  I think we first saw Mike’s granddaughter when he bought the balloons that he used to short-circuit the warehouse way back in the season three finale.  And when Hank “Columbos” Mike in the interrogation room -- you know, the whole, “one more thing…” thing -- thus threatening the monetary insurance policy for his beloved granddaughter, that’s when Mike starts to go against his own rules.  (No half measures, remember, Mike?  Damn it!)  All of the sudden, he’s getting in back in bed with Walt, and not killing Lydia when, let’s face it, it’s pretty much a given that she is going to be trouble.  I hope Mike wises up to his own wisdom sooner or later, or we’re not going to be seeing him in the back half of this season.

- Speaking of the mysterious Lydia, I hope I’m not the only dumbass watching this show who immediately thought that we’re looking at some sort of ex-trophy wife of Gus’.  I mean, I know we’re also supposed to have drawn a few conclusions from the flashback to Don Eladio and Gus’ tenderness towards the missing Pollos Hermano.  But that doesn’t mean he couldn’t have started a family after that.  Anyway, there were some mysterious children’s toys spotted in his house a while back that have always stuck in my mind.  Now, whether or not Lydia has a personal connection with Gus, she definitely has a business one.  The Internet consensus seems to be that some have spotted her in the room with the U.S. drug agents and Madrigal executives during this episode.  I’m not so sure.  One thing I am sure of, though, is that she is bad news, and is only going to add to Walt, Jesse and Mike’s woes before she ends up with that promised bullet in her head.  Or worse.

 

- And so on to Walt’s continued calculated manipulation of Jesse.  This week, here’s a classic routine for you: the old “plant the ricin cigarette in the Roomba” gambit.  Works every time.  As a result, and completely on purpose, Walt breaks Jesse’s heart yet again.  And maybe mine, too, a little bit.  At first, I thought that Jesse’s emotional outburst was just explosive relief venting, but in actuality Jesse’s reaction is proof positive that even with everything that’s happened over the past year or so, “Breaking Bad” time, Jesse still has a good heart.  And that Walt has a black one.

- When Jesse called Walt “Mr. White” yet again during his pathetic (in the best possible way) monologue, we’re reminded again, but for perhaps the first time this season, exactly where Jesse sees himself in relation to Walt.  Sure, Jesse might respect Mike, and even regard him as a friend, but it pales in comparison to the nigh paternal regard he holds for Walt.  Until something changes.  And dramatically, it makes sense for that to happen.  Knowing Vince Gilligan and staff, it’s probably just going to happen at the worst possible time.

- Man, so gross!  Speaking of Walt’s psychopathy, is every episode in this half of the season going to end with Walt uncomfortably forcing himself on Skylar, to varying degrees of intimacy?  Nah, probably just the first two.  It’s only a matter of time until she starts coming out of her stupor and facing up to the very few choices that she has: either wise up and get the hell out of there, because Walt is radioactive, or take a page from the Carmella Soprano book of selective cognition and make the best of an awful situation that is only going to continue to spiral downwards.

See you next week, a little further down the spiral!

Previous Breaking Bad season 5 roundtables: 
Week 1 - "Live Free Or Die"

BREAKING BAD - "Live Free Or Die"

Welcome to a roundtable discussion of this week's episode of Breaking Bad from your friendly neighborhood LowBrowMedia savants.

This is a spoiler-heavy zone. You have been warned.

Jon: Gatorade me, bitches! Another season of Breaking Bad is upon us, and sadly, it will be the last. At least AMC has split the 5th season into two parts, so it'll be a while until we reach the end, leaving us plenty of time to savor each glorious moment left. The Mad Men roundtables earlier this year were a lot of fun for us and, judging by the increased spike in the site's traffic, enjoyed by many of you out there as well. Thus, we're planning doing something similar for our favorite meth dealers. Let's get to it.

Is there another show with better cold opens than Breaking Bad? If this season follows the pattern of the last few, we'll continue to follow these future adventures of one Walter White as Vince Gilligan and company slowly reveal them out for us to parse over. We start out with one of the show's staples -- breakfast -- but it's immediately clear that something is amiss as Walt Jr. is nowhere to be seen anywhere in the vicinity of this plate of eggs and bacon. We quickly learn that Walt  isn't there to celebrate his 52nd birthday, but rather to covertly meet up with the black market arms dealer (played by the great Jim Beaver) who sold him that pistol in a hotel room last season. In the clandestine paradise that is a Denny's restroom, he and Walt exchange a fat envelope for a set of keys. These keys open up a new set of wheels for Mr. White, complete with ginormous rifle for who-knows-what. Clearly some length of time has past since current events, as in addition to the return of Walt's hair, he's sporting a thick beard, glasses and is using a fake New Hampshire i.d. This being this show, I'm sure we'll learn things didn't go so hot for Walt and his "current" plans, and he's now forced to take matters into his own hands in predictably extreme measures. Who knows where this will all lead, but I suspect a familiar face will staring down at the other end of that barrel soon enough.

But just as our appetites were whetted by that little tease of the future as much as the glimpses of a Denny's Grand Slam platter, we're re-winded back to the close of season 4, with Walt assuring Skyler on the phone that the war with Gus is over and that he's won (not that she actually knew that was what the security detail was for, but you get my drift). If there was any doubt left that Walt was behind poor little Brock's poisoning last year, it all evaporated as we watched him clear away all signs of his concoction of the toxin from the house, including the Lily of the Valley plant where the powder was derived from. And just as he's about to enjoy some celebratory booze for a crime well covered up, it dawns on him that even after disposing of the poison evidence, killing Gus and setting Gus' lab aflame that there's one loose end -- the security cameras recording their every move. And only one person left knows where those recordings were kept -- Mike, our favorite hitman.

If you recall, Mike had been critically wounded during the Don Eladio massacre and was left in Mexico to recover. He's mostly healed now, living a simple life of feeding chicken in a bathrobe. After getting wind that Gus has been blown to bits, his fury overcomes him and nearly takes down Walt at first sight. Unfortunately for Walt, Jesse and Mike (who are essentially the only three left with anything left to worry about in this), during his inspection of the torched meth lab Hank has also realized that there was likely a security footage feed of the inner workings of the room broadcast somewhere. Only the realization that the existence of this footage could ruin them calms him enough to put aside his murderous rage for the time being, listen to Jesse's pleas and reluctantly work with Walt.

And what's misery for them is a treat for us, as they hatch a plan to eliminate this threat. After establishing they can't just waltz into the precinct and swipe the laptop from the evidence room, an idea emerges from Jesse's infinite wisdom in the "so crazy it just may work" variety -- magnets, yo! And before you assume that a magnet couldn't possibly strike their mark behind two feet of reinforced concrete, keep in mind we live in an age of String Theory and God Particles, so really any cockamamie idea can't be ignored or realized with the power of science behind it. The solution is no mere magnet, however. It's super electro-magnet! With a scheme devised with Old Joe (our favorite junkyard man last seen in season 3) that would make Reed Richards a little jealous, the crew cobbles together a ridiculous amount of batteries to power the junkyard's giant, car-transporting magnet, store it in an old U-Haul truck and park it outside the wall of the evidence room. Let's just say hi-jinks ensue, and it's a safe bet at this point that the hard drive on that laptop is dunzo. (Would it work in real life? Experts seem skeptical, which is close enough to a "yes" for me.)

Ah, but things are never that simple, are they? As the police department re-categorizes the items in evidence room, an old framed photo of Gus and his deceased lover is revealed to have been damaged. Normally this wouldn't be much of anything to take note of, but the astute evidence room officer notices that were a series of words and numbers hidden behind it. Methinks this looks an awful lot like some offshore Cayman Island bank accounts that Mr. Fring had his excess cash tucked away. Before long, our old friend Hank will be following that lead back to Walt and company.


Can you tell I liked this episode? I haven't even mentioned Saul or Skyler yet! But they had plenty to do too (in fact, aside from Marie who didn't appear, Jesse was probably played the least key role this week out of our regulars). Saul drops in on Skyler at the carwash, warning her that the authorities may similarly pay her a visit about Ted. I for one assumed Ted's demise before Huell and Bill Burr last year was the final black comedy moment for the character, but it turns out he survived. Skyler visits him in the hospital, where he appears to have little left to live for considering most of the rest of his life was in shambles before his fall. He still has his kids, however, and pledges to Skyler that he'll never breathe a word of this to the police. It's then that Skyler realizes he's completely horrified by and frightened of her, and basically will do whatever she asks. In a flash, she turns on that same steely, calculated strength Walt channels in this situations over the very real grief she was expressing moments before and simply tells him, "Good."

Later, Walt pays a visit to Saul at his wonderfully over-the-top office (it still cracks me up every time a scene takes place there), where he learns of the Ted situation including the $600K of his money Skyler used to pay him off. A furious Walt stares down Saul into submission after he attempts to quit their business relationship, a moment that's a little hard to believe the man from season 1 would be capable of. Walt's creepy, subdued anger is also dished out on Skyler in the final scene of the episode, where he tells her, "I forgive you." But even though he tells her this in regards to giving Ted the money without his permission, that it happens during a very awkward embrace is all the more chilling. I mean, I'm pretty sure Fredo Corleone wet himself when he heard that line. Just as Saul cow-tows to Walt's wishes out of fear, Skyler is scared too. After the events of "Face Off" to close out season 4, it's not hard to envision just how far Walt would go again if they were to incur his wrath. They both know Walt is no longer a man of half measures, and should rightfully be terrified of him.

So I'm not crazy, right? This episode kicked a lot of ass even if it was chock full of exposition and table setting for the remainder of the show's run. Thoughts? Predictions!



Mike: It's my son's birthday today, and on top of that, I had Internet accessibility problems, but all excuses aside, it's going to have to be brief and to-the-point this week.  So, without any further ado, here are my thoughts on the season premiere of "Breaking Bad," season five:

- What a cold open!  Nice to see Jim Beaver again, and I love his signoff – "Good luck, I guess."  Though a little Internet magic, I was reminded that it was Walt's 50th birthday in the pilot episode.  Which makes this scene, well, exactly two years in the future – as long as Walt's fake ID birthday is the same as his real one.  (Which strikes me as a really bad idea, now that I'm thinking about it.)  We don't know the circumstances that Walt is in, though unless Vince Gilligan completely drops the ball we eventually will.  He's sick again, he's got his hair back, and a beard, and is very clearly not wearing a wedding ring.  He's not up to any good, though he does leave his waitress a very generous tip.

I notice the Heisenberg Swagger is not there in this cold open.  Walt is hunched over, defeated, not quite the "Mr. Chips" of season one, but also not the promised "Scarface" that I'm sure we'll be seeing this entire season.  Events must have taken place to really cut Walt down.  He's getting ready for something that even he isn't sure he'll see the other side of.  But not to worry -- we're seeing Heisenberg's head get just about as inflated as possible in the "present time" segments of the program.  Now, I don't expect a glimpse into the future every episode, because they've already done this in the second season of this fine program.  I wouldn't complain if it became a regular feature most weeks, though.

- I was a little taken aback by how much Jesse is on Walt's side again.  I know that in his eyes, he is has been redeemed to a large degree – mainly because he doesn't know what the audience, if they have been paying any attention at all, knows.  Especially when you take into account the standoff scene with Mike near the beginning of the episode, Jesse is the only reason that Walt doesn't have a gaping hole in his forehead.  (Thinking of that, it also applies to many of the previous seasons as well!)

- Look, Mike's not going to be able tolerate Walt for long, no matter how much he may have come to respect Jesse as a partner.

- I'll say it right now, which isn't to say that it's probably not obvious to even the most casual of "Breaking Bad" viewers: Walt's pride will be his downfall.  I could tangibly feel his blood boil as Walt Jr. glorified his uncle's crimefighting skills in the living room scene.  It's been proposed (on the Internet only, mind you) that Walt Jr.'s inevitable fate lies on the floor of a squalid meth den, ironically telegraphing the efforts of his father.  I don't think that's really going to happen, but it sure would be interesting, to say the least.

- In only the sequentially most recent instance of Walt's pride getting the better of him, he pushes the electromagnet too far, which perhaps takes care of the little laptop problem, but also unwittingly creates a new arena for Hank and his cohorts to investigate -- that of Gus' illegal holdings in a simultaneously Swiss and Cayman Island bank.  If Walt hadn't nudged the power just that much further, he might have been home free, at least for the time being.  But as usual, he is his own worst enemy, and that will ultimately be what does him in.  I don't know how it's going to happen, but I honestly can't wait to see it.



- The final image of Walt, embracing his estranged wife clearly against her will and "absolving" her of her wrongdoing, will stick with me for a while.  But even more horrifying, and nightmare-inducing, is the Ted Beneke hospital scene.  Man, did that guy look awful!  And Skylar's cold, no-nonsense response to his promise that he will not breathe a word about her shady financial dealings indicates to me that she's not so different from her husband, at least not where it really counts.  I'll really be looking forward to seeing her circle the toilet along with Walt this season.

- My prediction: it's going to be a real bloodbath!

See you next week!

Reel Low: Ironclad [2011]

Well, this post has been sitting in draft form for nearly two months as I became consumed by Mad Men posts, went on vacation and had a crazy excursion through the justice system, which culminated in coming face-to-face with a an eventually convicted child molester. All of that didn't exactly give me a lot of time to contemplate a decent but unessential medieval action flick that had the tendency to take itself a little too seriously at times, yet not enough at others.

But that's not important. What is important is that the world know Ironclad gets a simple thumbs-up from me. It's been a little too long now for me to write up a proper review without re-watching it, but I liked it. Overall, the movie is a little on the uneven side, but with these actors and mostly well-done scenes of action and bloodshed, I consider it recommendable. It's the story of a small, ill-trained and under-provisioned group of soldiers defending themselves against impossible odds, much in the spirit of Seven Samuraiand Zulu. While nowhere near as good a film as those, there's enough good material with this one to hold your attention. This is quite possibly the best medieval siege movie of the last decade. Only the Helm's Deep scenes in The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers come to mind as having exceeded what director/screenwriter Jonathan English did here (and by a wide margin, I should add).

Ironclad has been criticized for being historically inaccurate. This is generally an odd critique to me for action films inspired by landmark moments of the past. Did you really expect an education from a James Purefoy movie? No, you came for the insane violence and stayed for the great performances of top-billed cast members. Speaking of, Purefoy is predictably solid as the the gruff yet earnest knight templar leading the small band of castle defenders. Meanwhile, Brian Cox and Paul Giamatti simply outdo themselves repeatedly in this movie. They're the real reasons to watch this one. Rounding out the cast is the wonderful Derek Jacobi as a timid lord and the serviceable, if unspectacular Kate Mara as his young wife. And for those of you yearning for more Games of Thrones action, Charles Dance (Tywin Lannister) does have a small role here as the Archbishop of Canterbury.

Oh, remember how I said Ironclad is crazy-violent? Check this clip some Dutch dude obviously made from a bootleg copy of the film. (Very SPOILER-ific due to lots of kill-shots.) It's fun stuff.



Better than the real trailer, in my opinion.

MAD MEN Partners' Meeting - "The Phantom"

Welcome to the Mad Men Partners' Meeting -- a roundtable discussion of this week's episode from your friendly neighborhood LowBrowMedia savants.
This is a spoiler-heavy zone. You have been warned.

"The Phantom"

Season 5, Episode 12

airdate: June 10th, 2012

Mark: Damn. Well, Jon and Mike, I guess we have an answer for you regarding Don’s place on the spectrum of Goodness. With the final scene of season 5, Weiner seems to suggest that Don is getting back to his old tricks, and that the flashes of a compassionate, supportive and emotionally available Don Draper that we got over the last 13 episodes were not signs of an evolved cad but rather part of a larger routine of selfishness that keeps perpetuating itself over and over again. There have been suggestions here and there that Don had once been as loving and present with Betty as we have seen him with Megan, and it was only when Betty gave up her career in order to embody the picture perfect housewife stereotype that Don both demands and despises in equal measure that their relationship started to sour. Megan striking out on her own as an actress seemed to threaten Don, but when Megan lowered herself to ask Don for a part in a commercial, her dependence on him was almost a worse fate. Don doesn’t know what he wants. He wants the dream, the excitement and possibility and glamour promised by the campaigns he, Peggy, Stan and Ginsberg dream up. But life is always messy. It’s the same with Peggy as with Megan. Don wants Peggy there, he wants to mentor her and nurture her creativity, but the minute she challenges him or threatens to surpass him, she’s a stranger. Now that Megan is “just somebody’s wife”, she has compromised herself, like Joan with Mr. Jaguar, and tarnished the perfect veneer that Don craves. This is certainly not the final nail in the Don-Megan marriage, it’s more like the first trip to the hardware store to buy nails. And while I hoped Don and Megan would build something nice with those nails - like a birdhouse or a garden shed - I’m afraid it is going to be just another coffin, as the saying goes.

This was all very upsetting, but I have to say I was a little taken aback with overt nature in which a lot of this stuff was presented and explored in the script and through Weiner’s direction. Usually this show is a little more elegant in its treatment of symbolism and subtext. Many times in “The Phantom” I felt as though I was being hit over the head with Weiner’s laptop, and as a result the finale was a little dissatisfying for me. It’s fun to speculate on what is going on under the surface with Don, what impulses and fears are guiding his actions, and to be able to draw your own conclusion that there is a void within Don that can’t be filled. It’s not quite as fun to be told point black that Don has a big, rotting symbolic tooth that he tries to ignore and convince himself will go away but that is causing him incredible pain. Sounds a lot like all of those pesky emotions the characters are repressing all the time. Furthermore, I suppose leaving us on a bit of a lingering note was better than cutting straight to Don having a threesome with the two girls from the bar, but do we have to have Don go straight from the commercial set to picking up chicks? The season has been building Don up very deliberately all season, to knock it all back down so quickly felt a little uneven. However, I will say that the shot of him walking off of the soundstage and into a pitch black void of negative space was a striking image, and half-way subtle in its symbolism. Half-way.

There were some pretty on-the-nose moments, too, in the story of Pete Campbell, the saddest little boy in the world. The whole thing with Alexis Bledel and Pete’s train buddy being such an over-the-top monster is pretty brutal. I don’t doubt that things like this happened in those days, but having this guy go so far as to force his wife into electroshock therapy so that he can carry on cheating on her and keeping her as essentially an indentured servant? Villains are all well and good, even necessary in good fiction, but maybe they could have given this guy some shading. And Pete’s grand speech to an amnesiac Bledel about his “friend”, while very well-acted and certainly moving, was another case of Mad Men telling and not showing. Great dialogue, great performances, but let us do some work as viewers, you know? Am I crazy? This episode just seemed out of character for a show that pretty much shows everything and tells next to nothing. Pete getting knocked around never gets less funny/sad, though. It all just ended on such a note of defeat. Even as Sterling Cooper Draper... Campbell? expands to a new floor and new possibilities, the partners seem mostly burnt out. Even Roger’s LSD enlightenment seems to have worn off. Or has it? I know not to come to Mad Men to be uplifted, but whereas previous seasons have gone out with a big push forward (“Shut the Door. Have a Seat.”), this finale just seemed to signal decay.

What do you guys think? Am I being a crabapple? A stick in the mud? A grouchypants? A complete and utter moron who should be taken out into the street and shot? Did I miss something? Did Weiner stick the landing? Am I just grumpy because this finale featured zero Sally Draper? What’s the verdict on the season overall?

Jon: Mark, you certainly aren't alone in your displeasure of the season 5 finale among Mad Men internet fandom. And I don't blame you for feeling that way, because not a whole lot happened in this episode when it came down to it, which gave me fits when trying to assess it. Usually I try to stay away from the pundits until after having written my peace on the episode in question, but this week I couldn't. "The Phantom" was a tricky bastard to write about. However, I think expressing too much disappointment in it overlooks how much crazy shit went down in the two preceding episodes. I mean, between Joan becoming partner, Peggy's departure the SCDP and Lane's suicide, we haven't exactly been short on monumental shifts in the show's dynamic. Now, that said, big goings on in previous episodes do not make this a good finale. As finales go, it was on the weaksauce side. But I began to appreciate "The Phantom" a bit more when placed it in context of the entire fifth season, and while it's far from a season highlight, it caps off a couple of storylines we've been following over the last 13 episodes.

In my mind, "The Phantom" serves as a sly intro to season 6 as much as it was a capper to season 5. There are constant hints of Lane's void, from his empty office and conference room chair to Joan's sudden transition into the financial prude (because someone has to bloody do it). I think it was smart to tackle this now; they'd have to address it eventually, and showing us the group mourning and moving on in their individual and collective ways while the audience is still coping with a world without Lane Pryce gets that unpleasant but important business out of the way instead of months from now when the show returns. Also, they're expanding! Man, that gorgeous shot of the five partners gazing out from what will become the second floor of SCDP (or whatever they end up calling it post-Lane), does anything point to a triumphant future more than that? Gets you pumped up for next season already. But before I get too far ahead of myself, there a couple of other matters to wrap up.

Plotwise, we get the conclusion to Pete's doomed tryst with Beth and Megan's first acting job since leaving the advertising game. Mark, you totally nailed it by pointing out how overt Weiner and company was with their intentions this time around. And no moment was more explicit than Pete's admission of the chronic unhappiness of his "friend" to Beth in her hospital room, now devoid of any memory of their brief affair, so extreme that he comes to the conclusion that "life with his family was some temporary bandage on a permanent wound." I mean... damn. That's harsh, bro. I too would've preferred the show's usual elegance in delivering such a message, but at least it all let him getting his bitch-ass face decked again this year, not once but twice in a span of two minutes!

Now let's talk about Megan's latest acting defeat. Things have gotten continuously worse for her prospects at work, and we get a literal explanation from her mother for the episode's title as Megan chases the phantom of her dreams. I was a little surprised she reduced herself to stealing her friend's idea to get Don to pull strings to cast her in a commercial. We've never seen her so petty before. And his initial reaction was the appropriate one to me, but Megan really is just that desperate to take the next step in her career that she'd ask this of him. We know she can turn on the magic in a moment of inspired desperation, like the Heinz dinner when she and Don salvaged the account at the last moment, but really we have no idea if she's actually any good at acting. Every moment we've glimpsed of her acting has been part of a montage, spinning around at a casting call, or a silent film reel. But that reel did its job, because it sold Don. If his marriage to Betty disintegrated when she stopped modelling and became a suburban housewife, one has to wonder if helping Megan jumpstart her acting career will allow their marriage to strengthen or just push them to the same fate. After all, as Megan Calvet, the actress, her double life has now begun. And Don, as Nancy Sinatra reminds us, is no stranger to living twice. Can they make it work? I guess that all depends on whether or not Don decided to take up the two girls at the bar up on their offer in the closing seconds of the episode. Many online people assume he'll steal a few moments away with them, but I'm not yet convinced. Guess we'll have to wait until next season. Hopefully it won't be another 18 months like last time!

One final comment -- will this be the last we see of Ms. Olson, smiling in her Richmond hotel room in spite of the fornicating dogs outside her window? I doubt it, but I fear now that she's left SCDP, she could be regulated to guest-character status, much like Betty was this year. Sure, January Jones' real-life pregnancy may have forced Weiner's hand in that matter, but if you're not in Don Draper's inner circle in some capacity, you're not likely to get any screen time on Mad Men (unless I'm forgetting about someone). Anyway, hit us up with your thoughts, Mike!

Mike: A controversial episode, to be sure!  Like you both, I'm definitely questioning my responses a little bit to the finale here.  I've heard the "too on-the-nose" criticism about this from a bunch of different outlets, and you know what?  Sometimes a toothache is just a "hot tooth".  Sometimes seeing a vision everywhere of your brother who killed himself after being rejected by you, immediately following an arguably comparable situation with a co-worker is just... well, you get the idea.  In this case, though, could it be that Weiner and company don't trust us to figure it out?  Or are we, as fans and armchair critics, just getting too good at picking apart the stories?  Or, as a vocal minority have opined, have Weiner and the writing staff simply shifted their style to match the more loud, blatant, and unsubtle '60s?  I think that's a terrible theory myself, in that it is essentially stating that they wrote things poorly on purpose.  It couldn't be further from the truth, since in my opinion at least, "Mad Men" has been and is still a showcase for some very fine writing.

Yet, consider the opposite for a moment.  Is it possible that, despite an otherwise master-class performance this season (and, let's face it -- every season up until this point) they simply dropped the ball on this one and erred on the side of telling and not showing?  Sure, it's not outside of the realm of possibility.  But if that is the case, what happened to their quality control?  Is Matthew Weiner's hubris and white-knuckle grip on the steering wheel so great that nobody else on the staff would say something when his metaphors are getting a little too obvious on a finale, from which he's got to know that critics and viewers, detractors and fans alike, are expecting so much?

I, too, felt let down and a little disappointed at the end of this episode.  But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that the answers to its puzzles aren't quite as cut-and-dry as they first appeared. My initial response was based on expectations for some kind of huge revelation or turnaround like the third-season finale.  When I started to try to understand the episode on its own terms, outside of what I thought I wanted it to be like, I started liking it a whole lot more.

I'm still in the process of trying to find a way to look at this episode that still trusts that the series creators know what they're doing.  While I'm probably giving it a little too much credit, there's actually a lot to like about this episode.  There were all sorts of small rewards, nuances and charater revelations about every one of our favorite characters here.  The explosive scene between the widow Pryce and Don was, well, dynamite.  Even the (possible) final appearance of Peggy was heartwarming and a little sad.  The callbacks to previous seasons, what with Adam Whitman's ghostly reappearances, and Pete's outright vocalization about what's been eating him this entire time, well -- I'll be honest, I didn't have a huge problem with those scenes. What I'm trying to say here is, if this was a lesser episode of the fifth season, perhaps it's only in retrospect because of the high points so many of the other episodes reached.

Much has been made of the HBO dramatic series model (cross-reference: "The Sopranos" and "The Wire", especially) wherein episode 12 of the 13-episode season is where the climax of the season arc hits, and then traditionally the final episode is a denouement of sorts.  Since the creator of the show has that sort of pedigree, it's not surprising that, like Jon mentioned above, this finale was more of a lead-in for the next season than an exciting conclusion to the swingin'-from-the-rafters (yeah, I said it) roller-coaster ride that was Lane's final downfall and suicide in the penultimate episode.

You guys have already covered a lot of what happened in the show, and done a great job picking it apart. What I want to look at mainly is what this last episode is trying to say about Don. This whole season, I was expecting the very worst from him.  Despite some quite conspicuous flare-ups of "old Don," what we've seen until this episode is a man trying to be better than his instincts, even going against them in the name of love, and experiencing a lot of joy but also a lot of disappointment as well.  What is different between my interpretation of the final scenes in this episode and the consensus opinion seems to be that I don't believe Don has made up his mind yet about what he is going to do.  Yes, he is clearly disappointed in Megan's betrayal of his principles that he surely thought she had shared.  Yes, when he reached a kind of breaking point like this in his relationship with Betty, that is undoubtedly when the death knell for their relationship was first sounded.  But "new Don" has shown us time and time again this season that he has, at the very least, been attempting to learn from his mistakes.

As Don watched Megan's reel being projected onto the screen, I didn't feel like he was disgusted by her or what she was about to have him do.  I definitely sensed his admiration, tempered with more than a touch of sadness.  This expression, I propose, is not that of a man who has given up on his wife -- at least, not yet:

I mean, were we supposed to think Megan's rejected audition film was awful? I'm going to put myself out there and say that even though it may have lessened his regard for her a bit, Don submitted Megan's film for the audition process because he saw something there.  I did, too!  And then, it seems, so did the clients, since they ended up picking her for the part after all.  Megan's mercenary and disloyal tactics aside, she really looked the part in the tiny fragment of the commercial that we glimpsed.

Don may or may not have learned from his loss of Peggy and the slip of at least the initial iteration of his relationship with Megan through his fingers.  Seasons six and (I hope) seven are going to fill us in on that, I'm sure.  As for whether Don stays faithful to his wife when propositioned by an attractive female at the very end, I think that still remains to be seen.  As much as others have complained that they were spoon-fed information this episode and even a few before it, this episode's end did not provide a clear answer.  I think it goes without saying that Don was feeling a bit lonely, but did that mean that he truly was in fact alone?  Was that an innocent yet regretful smirk on his face, or the hum of the ol' charm engine getting started after a brief hibernation?

Dramatically, it probably makes more sense that Don would start to delve into his darker nature again. But as I've said before here, "Mad Men" for me has always been a show that swerves in another direction whenever I think it's going to head a certain way.  I'm crossing my fingers that Don doesn't take that path again, because there aren't a whole lot of terribly interesting storylines I can think of down that particular rabbit hole that haven't been explored already.  That said, I would certainly relish the opportunity to be proven wrong!

In conclusion, I'll just say this: to say I loved this season of television would be an understatement.  Nobody wants to see the quality of a favorite show go downhill, but I really think that we are all being a little over-sensitive on this one.  I'll agree that this was not my favorite episode of the season, but in the greater mosaic of what they're trying to do here, I think it will be an important piece.  Of what, only time, and the impending end of the series a few years out, will tell.

(P.S. Thanks to Jon and Mark for keeping this thing going all season long, even when I flaked out towards the end a little.  Great work, everyone involved.)

---------------------------

See you in season 6!

Previously:
Episodes 1 & 2 - "A Little Kiss"
Episode 3 - "Tea Leaves"
Episode 4 - "Mystery Date"
Episode 5 - "Signal 30"
Episode 6 - "Far Away Places"
Episode 7 - "At The Codfish Ball"
Episode 8 - "Lady Lazarus"
Episode 9 - "Dark Shadows"
Episode 10 - "Christmas Waltz"
Episodes 11 & 12 - "The Other Woman" & "Commissions and Fees"