Lacuna

"Over" was the quietest episode ever of Breaking Bad. It was so quiet it almost wasn't an episode. No shooting, no violence, no drugs. A little tequila was as bad as it got.

Everyone is decompressing. Walt isn't sure how to take the good news. He has a new lease on life after he'd gotten used to the former, limited lease. Essentially retired from drug-dealing, he doesn't know what to do with himself, so he goes on a home repair binge. He realizes cooking wasn't just a way to go out big, it was a way of life--one that didn't turn him into someone different, but turned him into who he was. By the end, he's once again his alter-ego, Heisenberg.

Skyler, meanwhile, is realizing that the diagnosis doesn't change things all that much. And Jesse thinks he may be in love, but isn't sure what she thinks.

Shows like Mad Men or The Sopranos could take time off every now and then, and let the characters just be, without worrying about the bigger arc. I think Breaking Bad has compelling enough characters to pull off this sort of thing. But next week, no doubt, back to the action. (And we now know by the end of the season there'll be body bags in Walt's driveway.)