The handwringing about Breaking Bad’s pacing, and the demands for more economical storytelling, are getting louder as the season progresses. Let me be clear about my position: This is awesome stuff. Withholding conventional kinds of tension relievers (action sequences, guns going off, explosions, confrontations, etc.) is one of the show’s most effective strategems. Instead of ticking off conventional causes and effects, triggers and consequences, the mechanism of the characters’ psyches -- under increasing strain from various angles -- gets wound tighter and tighter. This week Skyler’s rachet starts clicking over, and we are going to measure the tensile strength of her character in the weeks to come.