With only four more episodes to go, things were going to have to be rushed a little in the run up to the series finale of AMC's Breaking Bad, and on Sunday (1 September) night's episode, 'Rabid Dog,' that is pretty much what we got. Although a little haphazard at times, the episode by no means was a disappointment - Vince Gilligan doesn't know the meaning of the word - as it was still every bit the edge-of-your-seat drama that we have come to love. In case you missed it, here's what happened during 'Rabid Dog.' (The rest of this article obviously contains spoilers)

Bryan Cranston Aaron Paul
Stars Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul attend the premiere of the new season

Beginning where we left off; Jesse's off-the-rails response to discovering that Walt was behind Brock's poisoning, we find Walt arrive home with Saul's call still pulled up in the drive. Knowing from experience that the back door is probably the best mode of entry at a time like this, Walt carefully enters his home to find the front room completely empty. Calling out Jesse he investigates further, gun in hand, only to find that the house is completely empty, bar the few litres of gasoline strewn across his carpet. Going outside to check Saul's still-running car, he finds a CD with some white substance on it (probably not sugar), seemingly indicating that Jesse has fallen off the wagon once again, although with fairly good reason to be fair. As we find out in a later flashback, this is exactly what's happened, but we'll get to this flashback shortly.

With Saul in the know and his cronies Huell (perhaps season five's best character, if not just for this scene) and Kuby looking for Jesse, Walt tries to fix things back home so Skylar and Walt Jr. don't find out, trouble is gasoline stinks and so does Walt's lie he tells Skylar to explain the odour that is dominating their home. Despite the best efforts of the carpet cleaning crew, who inform him that the gas has soaked all the way through, the smell just wont budge and so Walt hatches a story so absurd that even Walt Jr. doesn't believe it.

Walt clearly has too much on his plate, because if he ever though Skylar was going to fall for; "I was getting gas and the lever got stuck, and it ended up squirting all over me," then he clearly isn't as much of a genius as we've come to believe. Walt Jr. knows the story is bogus, but he thinks that because his dad is covering for 'another' collapse, but Skylar goes along with it anyway so as not to arouse suspicion and the family head to a hotel to stop at while the ordeal hopefully blows over. Probably the best idea given Jesse's murderous intentions.

Cut to Walt getting in the back seat of Saul's car outside the hotel, where Walt is informed that Jesse has seemingly fallen off the grid. Desperate to find him, but for reconciliation only, Walt reverts to his Heisenberg persona when Saul's "colourful metaphor" of the week is to suggest an "Old Yella type situation" for Jesse when he does show up. Like with Hank in the seasons before, Walt won't kill those he is closest to, even if that person is trying to kill him. At least Walt won't kill one of the people he's closest to yet. Backin the swanky hotel room, where Skylar is pouring herself a glass of vodka and being fed another cock and bull story by Walt (this time about why he took so long with the ice), Skylar asks how Saul is and eventually gets a full explanation from Walt. Like Saul, she wants Jesse 'sent to Belize,' and as she reverts to Walt's Lady MacBeth, she wimpers "we've come this far for us, what's one more?"

Back to Jesse's pyromania then, and as he hold his lighter in his hand ready to engulf the White family home in flames, in bursts Hank, gun in hand telling Jesse to stop. Promising that they can "burn him together," Jesse goes with Hank, who also reveals that he's been trailing him since he left Saul's, back to the Schrader home; the safest place for him at this time. This is an arrangement that Marie wouldn't be happy with at any other time, but upon learning that this is bad news for Walt she's in on the plan, and the Pinkman/Schrader alliance is born. Enter Steve Gomez, who comes round the next day to watch over the filming of Jesse's confession, in which he tells them everything (that's EVERYTHING) that the two have been through together, but as Jesse points out, it's his word against a cancer suffering "Mr Rogers."

While this was all happening, and while Walt was stopping in the hotel, he rings Jesse to tell him that should they want to reconcile, they can meet in the open, unarmed at the city plaza to talk. This good news for Hank, who comes up with the idea to put a wire on Jesse and record the whole thing, catching Walt out. But there's a problem for Jesse, because what if Walt just kills him there and then? Assuring Jesse that he and Gomez will be keeping watch, Hank talks Jesse into doing it anyway, but as Gomez later points out, there is a good chance that Jesse is right. They may be working together but that clearly doesn't mean that Hank is Jesse's friend now, as he doesn't care one bit, safe in the knowledge that should that happen "then, we will get it all on tape."

Aaron Paul
What does Jesse (Aaron Paul) have planned for Mr White

The conclusive scene of the episode see's us at a packed out plaza, with Jesse getting rigged up by Hank and Walt in plain sight sat in waiting. Weary, Jesse steps out of the van and proceeds to walk towards Walt from behind, when all of a sudden, who the heck is that mean-looking bald guy (and did anyone else think that he looked just like Mike a first glance?). Jesse knows something is up. He runs off course, towards a pay phone and rings Walt, telling him that he knows exactly whats up and now he's bringing him down for good, storming off without an explanation. Hank, chasing after him in the car, is pissed and wants to know just what Jesse is doing, but Jesse knows exactly what he's doing (we don't yet, so hold on tight for next week). As for Walt, well maybe it is time to put down Old Yella after all, as he calls up Todd to ask for another job from his uncle. So is Jesse after Walt's family, or is there something unbeknownst to us that Jesse will be able to use against Walt? And will he have enough time to go through with his plans in the first place? Even when the episode wasn't the most expertly crafted, it sure is damn good!