Either way, it was still nice to see the warm glow of recognition in Giancarlo Esposito’s eyes when I came up to him at the Television Critics Association press tour this summer. I mean, it’s certainly better to see that than the steely anger we came to expect from him in his final appearances as Gustavo Fring, right? Sadly, it was a short chat, so we didn’t even get a chance to talk about Gus’s last days (except in passing reference) or even his Best Supporting Actor Emmy nod, but you can still look back at the far lengthier conversation we had a few years ago to get a bit more insight into his feelings about Gus and his career as it stood prior to “Breaking Bad.” For now, though, Esposito is all about looking forward…really, really intensely.

Giancarlo Esposito: Hi, Will! Oh, my goodness, I remember that evening in Albuquerque. I totally remember that evening!

Bullz-Eye: I’m glad I’m not the only one!

GE: How are you? It’s good to see you again.

BE: It’s mutual, of course. So I’m curious: with “Revolution,” you’ve taken on another supporting role. Not that you don’t do them well, but do you have an active desire to kick it up to leading-man status, or do you just enjoy the challenge of making the most out of a smaller part.

GE: You know what? I always have a desire to make it to the big time. [Laughs.] But the more I’m able to put my heart and soul into a role and the fuller that character that is, then the more screen time it has, and for me that’s a plus. But I love doing what I do as a character actor, and I think that’s also important, because that enables me to strengthen my craft. And in this case, that supporting role is with some of the best folks in television. So to me, it’s a journey. I feel like there is a moment in time when there’ll be that moment to step up into films where I’m doing the lead and carrying everything, but right now I think that all is well.

I’m coming off this time with “Breaking Bad” and that’s been very special for me, and it’s a nice way to decompress and play a character that’s a heavy but probably a little more of a loose cannon, a little more psychotic. He’d love to think he’s always in control, but he does lose it. And he’s a guy who’s a little bit different than the last guy, but…audiences just love the bad guy! [Laughs.] And they love the character actor that can play him in a fuller way. So I’m all in. I’m all in with this “Revolution.” I think the show itself is about evolution of human beings, and on a grand scale. I mean, this is an epic show. I don’t know what people expect, but some seem to think that they may be seeing something they’ve seen before. They’re not. It’s a big show to do, a big show to produce…it’s a big, wide canvas of a show, but I think it’s not only a grand action/adventure series but it’s also a very dramatic, character-driven show as well.

BE: When I talked with Billy (Burke) earlier today, he said that he’d effectively said “yes” to “Revolution” before he’d even read the script, just based on who was affiliated with the show. Was that more or less the case for you as well?

GE: Well, I did actually read the script. [Laughs.] I’m always very interested in what the whole thing says. I’ve always loved Jon Favreau, and I’m fascinated with the way J.J. Abrams runs his family of filmmakers. I think he’s quite brilliant at that. Also, I hear about him from my children all the time, with “Super 8” and all that. They just love his work. But also there’s Eric Kripke, who I did not know but who I find to be a sharp mind and a really engaging writer. Smart. And to me, that’s high on the list. Did I want to be involved in something that was a little more commercial across the board? I didn’t think I did. But I realized once I said “yes” and we started working that I absolutely did. I want to work with people at the top of their game. Because, after all, I don’t want to do many more TV shows. I want this one to run a long time, and then I want to some major work…some more major work, because I’ve done some already…in feature films. But I want to be at home, I want to feel at home, and this is the right place to accomplish that.

BE: The last time I talked to you, you’d already made your directorial debut with “Gospel Hill,” but you were looking toward directing another film. Has that moved forward at all?

GE: Ah, I always think I’m moving forward. But sometimes I feel like I’m treading water. Or doing the moonwalk. [Laughs.] Unfortunately. Yes, it’s still alive, with two other projects I’d like to do, but…it’s funny: my career has changed, I’m at the precipice of a new day in my work, and I’m looking at everything in a new way. So the possibility that I would be cleaning the slate now truly exists, because new things are coming my way that are just of a higher caliber…and it breaks my heart. I want to tell films that are consciously driven, but I’m waking up to realize that a message has to be somewhat hidden for people to find rather than overt, and I feel as if there’s new projects coming my way, and I’m being encouraged to look at them seriously. The other part of it is, how do you get a film made today as somewhat of a neophyte director? I’ve directed one film. I hate that word to be in the same sentence with me, but I’ve gotta be humble, you know? I’ve been acting 47 years, and I’ve only directed one film, and that was three years ago. I used all of my acting ability to inform my directing, but I’m a newer director, which now…when I accept it, it excites me.

I looked at Jon Favreau today, and I said, “Favreau, I want you to talk to me. I think maybe I’d like you to be my mentor as a filmmaker.” Because I feel like I have that ability to be on his level as a filmmaker, of films that are big, monster films that people get a great amount of enjoyment out of. And there is some mythology in those films, too. And he looked at me and winked and said, “We will talk. It would be my honor.” So everything is new now. And redefined. Because people…I may have a little access than I had before. Am I still committed to doing socially driven films that have some kind of message? Absolutely. But here I am at “Revolution,” which has that message tailor-made in it while also being great entertainment. Does it have a lot of sword fighting and shooting and violence and all that? Yes. But for a reason. So if I just let go and surrender, I realize that I’ve been in the right place for awhile now. I’m just blown away that it could all come around like this.

The Cold Open

The cold open for “Dead Freight,” the latest episode of “Breaking Bad,” was a strange one at first glance. It showed a young boy riding a dirt bike through the desert before stopping to scoop a tarantula into a glass jar. Then bam! All of a sudden, well, that was it. At first glance. It was a surprising and seemingly dull way to begin an episode that had been the subject of a great deal of hype, including Aaron Paul (who plays Jesse) tweeting that “On tonight’s episode of Breaking Bad shit gets crazy.”

Of course, by now we all know that “dull” opening set up the first real “whoa” moment of the show’s fifth and final season, but we’ll get to that later. For now, let’s consider that just before cutting to the title sequence, a train whistle could be heard in the background, foreshadowing the arrival of the episode’s all-important locomotive. Not to mention that the scene included point of view shots of the dirt bike’s handlebars, later echoed by similar shots of the oncoming train just prior to the robbery (like the one seen above). That’s just damn good directing. And how crazy is it that “Breaking Bad” has so warped my mind that as soon as I saw that innocent child I was positive he would die or be the victim of some horrible fate? I know I’m not alone in that.

Say What You Will Mike, Walt (and Jesse) Might Just be Jesse James

When the commercial break ended, the first scene of the episode showed Walt strolling into DEA headquarters, ostensibly to discuss his marital troubles with Hank. Of course, the truth is that the man we knew as Walter White (you know, this guy) is all but dead. The criminal mastermind Heisenberg is now occupying his body, and it was he who took a page out of Gus Fring’s playbook by walking into the office of the very man hell-bent on finding him out.

Mike may not be giving Heisenberg enough credit. Walt knew that if he shed a few fake tears, Hank would duck out to avoid the perceived awkwardness of a man displaying outward emotion. As soon as he’s out of the room, Walt’s pushing wires into Hank’s computer. Then, in another moment of foreshadowing, he’s still struggling to plant a bug behind a photograph as Hank’s walking through the doorway, completing the task just in time to make it look as if he’s studying the picture—a symbol of Hank’s “perfect” marriage—and yearning for better days with his own wife. Heisenberg is a man who refuses to let the unforeseen hiccups of reality disturb his perfectly thought out plans, whether that means planting the bug in the nick of time or refusing to stop the train robbery before he gets exactly the 1,000 gallons he set out to obtain. Ah yes, the 1,000 gallons of methylamine, that whole train robbery thing, let’s talk about that.

We’ve heard the name Jesse James thrown around more than a few times this season. So when our favorite meth-making trio make the decision to rob a train, it’s almost expected. Almost. I mean, of course that’s what Heisenberg would do. After all, he fancies himself quite the criminal mastermind. He’s Don Vito, Jesse James, and a Nobel-level chemist all wrapped into one. He’s invincible, or so he thinks. Last week, he made it clear that nothing would stop the train that is their production and distribution of methamphetamine, and this week, we found out that meant not even literally stopping a train.

But this time, it’s one Jesse Pinkman who perfects the plan for the Great Train Robbery of the 21st century. Jesse might be the only one who’s thinking clearly at this point, and he’s the closest thing to a moral center “Breaking Bad” has left. He’s got more cash than he knows what to do with, while Mike needs the money to keep flowing so he can pay off his “guys” and maybe even have a few dollars left for his beloved granddaughter. And Walt, as we find out in the promo for next week’s episode, is “in the empire business.”

Mike insists that there are only two kind of heists: “those where the guys get away with it, and those that leave witnesses.” Not wanting to kill two innocent men, he suggests switching back to cooking with pseudophedrine. Walt shuts that plan, and though he doesn’t come out and say it, we already know he isn’t afraid to sacrifice a life or seven. It’s Jesse who finds a way for them to have their cake and eat it too.

The plan is this: take just one of the 24 thousand gallons of methylamine in the train’s tank and replace it with a slightly smaller amount of water (because it’s heavier). No one at the train depot will be any the wiser, because the weight will be the same. When the folks at Madrigal do eventually notice the chemical is diluted by 4 percent, they’ll blame their Chinese suppliers. The prospect of the train having been robbed will never even cross their minds. As Todd points out “you guys thought of everything.”

It all goes almost perfectly. There’s just one problem that couldn’t possibly have been planned for, a nice man with a pick-up truck rolling up and offering to bump the truck they’ve got blocking the tracks out of the way. As mentioned, Walt refuses to let something as fickle as reality interfere with his plans, so Jesse ends up lying below the tracks as the train passes overhead, and Todd is forced to jump off as it moves. It’s all very close, but the team pulls it off and Jesse lets out a triumphant “yeah, bitch.”

Everything’s perfect. That is, until the Chekov’s Gun that is the boy from the cold open reappears, and Todd well, Todd follows orders. Recall what Jesse said when he explained the plan, “Boosting methylamine from a train is like a major rap. The point is no one other than us can ever know that this robbery went down. Nobody. You got it?” Todd responds in the affirmative, and when Walt asks if he’s sure, Todd responds “Yes sir.” And let’s not forget Mike’s orders when the insect guys first got involved in the meth game, speak only when spoken to and say only “yes sir” or ” no sir.” It seems Todd’s something of an upstart. He’s the guy who noticed and shut off the nanny cam the first time Walt and Jesse cooked inside a fumigated house. When that kid showed up, he probably thought he’d get a pat on the back for his quick thinking. That won’t be the case.

Children have always been Jesse’s biggest weak spot. He freaked out when Gus had kids involved in street level dealing. He freaked out when he figured out that Walt poisoned Brock, although Walt convinced him otherwise, because “everybody sounds like Meryl Streep with a gun to their head.” And now, Todd’s gone and shot an innocent child who just so happened to witness the gang celebrating a successful robbery. Oh, and it’s no coincidence that innocent child bore a striking resemblance to Jesse’s younger brother.

Since Mike decided he wanted in on the new enterprise, he and Walt have been at odds. That whole time, Jesse’s been caught in the middle, trying (and usually succeeding) to get his two father figures to coexist. Now they’ve got blood on their hands—a child’s blood. Next week, Walt and Mike will keep arguing, they’ll all try to figure out what to do about Todd (and the body), and Jesse’s likely to have another one of his breakdowns, which is unfortunate given that up to this point he’s been the most composed member of the team. As Aaron Paul says in the “Inside the Episode” clip below, “next episode, shit hits the fan.”

I can’t wait.

Watch the cast and crew go inside “Dead Freight” below and follow the writer on Twitter @NateKreichman.