The Orange Couch, Episode 2 of Breaking Bad: "Madrigal"

The week's Orange Couch ended up being a lot more fun than I thought it would be initially, for what was largely a table-setting episode. That's one of the reasons it's such a good show: They can do table-setting without making it boring in the slightest. Mike's journey, which we talk about extensively in this video, is the main reason why. We have to believe that he somehow gets from, well, being Mike---a guy who sees what most people don't and therefore isn't bamboozled by Walt---from the common sense position of wanting to walk away to a point where he's ready to do the unthinkable. Which is get more entangled by Walt.

There was a lot of stuff packed into this episode, and we picked up on some stuff you don't see in the first viewing and put it in the video. I was fairly certain at the end of last season that the German international corporation Madrigal is going to be a big deal. On first viewing, you really get that sense, but upon a second viewing, it's even more true. Is it possible Walt has stumbled into the international drug market? Will Walt inadvertently bring down one of the biggest drug dealing operations in the world by handing it over to Hank and the DEA? I didn't think so before this episode, but now I'm curious.

Other things discussed: Why Jesse sticks by Walt, what's happening to Skylar, and most importantly, how much this episode subtly demonstrates the extent of Walt's megalomania.