Fulminated Mercury

Reactions, changes, and explosions are the catalysts that drive plot and action in S1:Ep6 of Breaking Bad.  In the opening of the episode, we see Walt talking to Jesse about their new operation and his desire to be the “silent partner” who doesn’t interact with the customers.  In the next few seconds we come to realize that Walt will not be the silent partner for long.  As a voiceover of Walt saying “No more violence, no more bloodshed” plays, we hear sirens and see a transformed Walter White walking away from what we can only assume to be a crime scene.  As the Breaking Bad opening credit plays, the open form of this scene leaves us asking questions.  What did Walt do?  Where is he?  What’s in the bag?  When does he go bald?

Then, after a brief look into Walt’s cancer treatment, the concept of explosions is revisited while Walt is teaching his chemistry class about chemical reactions.  Walt explains to his students that chemical reactions must require a change in matter and energy.  Re-watching this episode several months after the first time I viewed it, I found this lecture to be very interesting in terms of change not only throughout Season 1 but in subsequent seasons as well.  In my favorite part of the lecture, Walt elaborated on the effects of the speed of change on how violent a reaction is.  He explains that the faster things change, the more violent an explosion is, and “If a change happens too quickly, otherwise harmless substances can interact in a way that generates enormous bursts of energy.”  He then provides an example of one of these otherwise harmless substances, fulminated Mercury, and lucky for us, this isn’t the last we hear of this substance in Episode 6. 

In the rest of the episode we see Walt’s perceived character change rapidly from a quiet, reserved Mr. White to a more powerful, fear-inducing Heisenberg.  The speed of his character change culminates in a huge burst of energy at Tuco’s hideout, when we see fulminated Mercury in action.  With this simple substance, Walt uses his knowledge to place him in a position of power and induce fear in all of those around him, a position quite different from how we’d seen him in earlier scenes.  The reveal of the dominant Heisenberg in this episode leaves the audience wondering how this change will affect plotlines and the development of other characters in future episodes.