Flash ahead to Walter's 52nd birthday: he's at a Denny's, disheveled, hair and beard unkempt, using a false name and a New Hampshire driver's license, paying a guy for a car with weapons in the trunk. Back to the immediate aftermath of Gus's death: Skyler is dazed at Walt's murderous success, Walt and Jesse make peace, and Hank visits the burned-out lab. Walt remembers the surveillance cameras Gus used at the lab, so they turn to an angry Mike for help. Can they get rid of the digital evidence in police custody? Is hubris going to trip up Walt?
After season four's phenomenal finale, there's a lot of cleaning up to do for the surviving Breaking Bad characters. But who says that can't be thrilling?

After a rather difficult reacquaintance between Walt and Jesse and Mike, creator and screenwriter Vince Gilligan comes up with yet another insane, but totally believable dodge to solve the situation that these three are in and it's quite fun to watch. Reason for that is also the weird yet amazing script that suddenly shifts the conversation's focus on "why some men put a metal ring through the end of their prick" as Larry Hankin's guest starring junkyard owner so eloquently puts it. This series has always had a talent for fantastic dialogue and "Live Free or Die" proves that once again, with the dead-pan hilariousness of the acting cast increasing the entertainment value.

The plot of this episode didn't leave out more serious territory though and can get quite intense in some, as of now, unresolved arcs, which also include the ambiguous flash-forward pre-credits sequence. Tension for the succeeding episodes is definitely secured and "Live Free or Die" did a great job at establishing the premise and already creating gripping scenes in one go. It's not big-time story-wise and through that, the series' slow side becomes sensible here and there, but these 42 minutes were well-made television in all aspects and I very much enjoyed watching them.
Duration: 3 Discs HD DVD-9 Plastic Bag Packing Ver. ( 16 Episodes Complete Series )