Breaking Bad: The Final Countdown

[Phelia]

I didn't want to keep bumping KRC's thread, so I'm making my own because I'm nerding out on this show hard. Assume that this thread will be full of spoilers, so if you aren't caught up, then get out of here, because you don't even register to me as a human being, what are you still doing here, go watch the show.

The anti-hero thing is really wild. Sometimes I catch myself wanting Walt to get away with it, rooting for him. Part of me wonders if he can possibly get any worse and part of me wants him to. He used his cancer diagnosis to lie to and manipulate his son. It's so repugnant. Anna Gunn wrote an Op-Ed for the NYT (looks like their site is down, though) about people HATING Skyler and by extension, her. I never hated Skyler. I've always thought her character was smart, and I sympathized with her as she's been completely manipulated by Walt. She attributes the ire people are feeling to misogyny and traditional gender roles. I don't know if I'm sold on that, but it's an interesting read.

That confession video. Shivers. I'm glad Jesse finally hit his breaking point. Todd creeps me out. Five more episodes!

 

[Killswitch]

.............

 

[Phelia]

Todd's guys in the beginning: "When I see a kid with a bicycle helmet on, I wanna smack the shit out of him. Like for his own good."

Hilarious. But they are creepy looking.

.............

Haha, it's like you're on your period! But really, thank you.

 

[Killswitch]

Todd's guys in the beginning: "When I see a kid with a bicycle helmet on, I wanna smack the shit out of him. Like for his own good."

Hilarious. But they are creepy looking.



Haha, it's like you're on your period! But really, thank you.

I said something about you being KRC before I actually read the post.

 

[Phelia]

I said something about you being KRC before I actually read the post.

Oh, okay! I thought you were just dropping off breadcrumbs to feed the birds or something.

Of course I'm not KRC. I'm Cade.

 

[Killswitch]

Oh, okay! I thought you were just dropping off breadcrumbs to feed the birds or something.

Of course I'm not KRC. I'm Cade.

Robdownsouth is blackleggings I hear.

 

[Lorilei]

I've never hated Skyler, so I don't get that. How the hell would anyone deal with what she's had dumped on her? It would be difficult to be graceful under pressure in her circumstances.

And I fear for Jesse. HE'S the one I'm rooting for, not Walt.

I also have an odd soft spot for Saul. I want him to get his own show.

 

[Phelia]

Robdownsouth is blackleggings I hear.

I can't tell if you're kidding, so I'll just say that I very much doubt that, and I very much don't care. Talk about Breaking Bad or go feed the birds!

I've never hated Skyler, so I don't get that. How the hell would anyone deal with what she's had dumped on her? It would be difficult to be graceful under pressure in her circumstances.

And I fear for Jesse. HE'S the one I'm rooting for, not Walt.

I also have an odd soft spot for Saul. I want him to get his own show.

I was actually surprised to see her write about it. I had no idea anyone hated Skyler. Some people were drawing parallels to Carmella in the Sopranos. I loved her, too, and I think she was much more complicit in Tony's crimes than Skyler was in Walt's. Skyler was completely lied to and manipulated and sucked up in hurricane Walt.

I fear for Jesse, too Walt has deliberately isolated him and taken away everyone he's cared about. He has nothing to lose - he'll burn if he can take Walt down with him.

I love Bob Odenkirk! I have my doubts about whether a Saul spinoff would work, but if anyone could pull it off, it's these guys. Heh. I think Huell is great, as well.

 

[Killswitch]

I can't tell if you're kidding, so I'll just say that I very much doubt that, and I very much don't care. Talk about Breaking Bad or go feed the birds!

 

[Lorilei]

I can't tell if you're kidding, so I'll just say that I very much doubt that, and I very much don't care. Talk about Breaking Bad or go feed the birds!



I was actually surprised to see her write about it. I had no idea anyone hated Skyler. Some people were drawing parallels to Carmella in the Sopranos. I loved her, too, and I think she was much more complicit in Tony's crimes than Skyler was in Walt's. Skyler was completely lied to and manipulated and sucked up in hurricane Walt.

I fear for Jesse, too Walt has deliberately isolated him and taken away everyone he's cared about. He has nothing to lose - he'll burn if he can take Walt down with him.

I love Bob Odenkirk! I have my doubts about whether a Saul spinoff would work, but if anyone could pull it off, it's these guys. Heh. I think Huell is great, as well.

And I feel like there has to be more to come for Lydia.

And Hank! OMG, Hank.

 

[Phelia]

And I feel like there has to be more to come for Lydia.

And Hank! OMG, Hank.

OMG, Hank. My friends hate Marie - I don't really understand why. They just think she's sort of pointless, and that the shoplifting thing was weird. But yeah, Hank. It feels like the next episodes will be train wreck after train wreck.

I agree about Lydia. She's an interesting kind of villain. So calculated, but so jumpy about violence. Having her walk through a field of dead bodies with her hand over her eyes. Dark. I don't know if you saw what I posted in the other thread, but there's apparently a lot of significance to the colors the characters wear, so her royal blue jacket might have meant something. It may just have been to foreshadow the shooting in that episode. Interesting, though! I find myself paying a lot more attention to the costumes.

 

[Lorilei]

OMG, Hank. My friends hate Marie - I don't really understand why. They just think she's sort of pointless, and that the shoplifting thing was weird. But yeah, Hank. It feels like the next episodes will be train wreck after train wreck.

I agree about Lydia. She's an interesting kind of villain. So calculated, but so jumpy about violence. Having her walk through a field of dead bodies with her hand over her eyes. Dark. I don't know if you saw what I posted in the other thread, but there's apparently a lot of significance to the colors the characters wear, so her royal blue jacket might have meant something. It may just have been to foreshadow the shooting in that episode. Interesting, though! I find myself paying a lot more attention to the costumes.

Oooh, no, I didn't see that. But I think pretty much every detail is important for this show! Hmmmm...

 

[Phelia]

Oooh, no, I didn't see that. But I think pretty much every detail is important for this show! Hmmmm...

It's cool - take a look!

 

[Lorilei]

It's cool - take a look!

Dayum. *bookmarks*

 

[Byron In Exile]

Better Call Saul!

 

[Not Normal]

I've never hated Skyler, so I don't get that. How the hell would anyone deal with what she's had dumped on her? It would be difficult to be graceful under pressure in her circumstances.

I don't hate Skyler, but I don't like her either. Bluey just hates her, HATES. Skyler is a hypocrite, being all indignant about sending the kids off, and fucking Ted Beneky because she was sooooooo hurt and offended by Walt's doing. That is until she figured out how to get her hands on the money, and how to take charge (or so she believes). Anna Gunn's NYT article was really interesting. People are crazy. I tweeted last season that she's a great actress, because I wanted to smack Skyler. Yet, there are people who are acting violent towards HER, that's fucking nuts.

And I fear for Jesse. HE'S the one I'm rooting for, not Walt.

Yes. I just wanted him to get in the van and disappear. I wanted the last episode to have a flash forward to Jessee having a family, and being happy.

I also have an odd soft spot for Saul. I want him to get his own show.

Saul is awesome. He's the only honest person on the show (now that Mike is dead).

 

[Wrong Element]

I think the Skyler hate mostly dates back to the earlier part of Season 3, when she had kicked Walter out of the house and he sort of wormed his way back in. Even though he was well on his way to being totally evil by then, many viewers were going, "Come on, he only wants to provide for his family, and he has people who seriously want him dead. Would it kill Skyler to give him the loving support a spouse is due?"

She's become a more interesting character because she's become corrupt in her own way, but on a scale I think more people can relate to. It reminds me of the plot of A Simple Plan, where one moral compromise fueled by greed leads to another, until you actually find yourself committing major crimes.

My own thinking -- and this isn't based on a spoiler, but on the overall rapid pace of these last few weeks -- is that someone important is going to die in this next episode, possibly even Jesse himself.

 

[Not Normal]

I think the Skyler hate mostly dates back to the earlier part of Season 3, when she had kicked Walter out of the house and he sort of wormed his way back in. Even though he was well on his way to being totally evil by then, many viewers were going, "Come on, he only wants to provide for his family, and he has people who seriously want him dead. Would it kill Skyler to give him the loving support a spouse is due?"

She's become a more interesting character because she's become corrupt in her own way, but on a scale I think more people can relate to. It reminds me of the plot of A Simple Plan, where one moral compromise fueled by greed leads to another, until you actually find yourself committing major crimes.

My own thinking -- and this isn't based on a spoiler, but on the overall rapid pace of these last few weeks -- is that someone important is going to die in this next episode, possibly even Jesse himself.

I think if Jesse dies it will be by his own hand.

 

[Wrong Element]

I didn't want to keep bumping KRC's thread, so I'm making my own because I'm nerding out on this show hard. Assume that this thread will be full of spoilers, so if you aren't caught up, then get out of here, because you don't even register to me as a human being, what are you still doing here, go watch the show.

The anti-hero thing is really wild. Sometimes I catch myself wanting Walt to get away with it, rooting for him. Part of me wonders if he can possibly get any worse and part of me wants him to. He used his cancer diagnosis to lie to and manipulate his son. It's so repugnant. Anna Gunn wrote an Op-Ed for the NYT (looks like their site is down, though) about people HATING Skyler and by extension, her. I never hated Skyler. I've always thought her character was smart, and I sympathized with her as she's been completely manipulated by Walt. She attributes the ire people are feeling to misogyny and traditional gender roles. I don't know if I'm sold on that, but it's an interesting read.

That confession video. Shivers. I'm glad Jesse finally hit his breaking point. Todd creeps me out. Five more episodes!

I felt that way watching the confession. Only someone without any moral compass could have even conceived of it -- but omigod, it was so shocking and entertaining. It's incredible how well that blizzard of bullshit could actually account for everything that has really happened, even something like the White kids staying with the Schraders now being reimagined as a quasi-kidnapping. I found myself rooting for Walt in that moment, cheering on his audacity, while at the same time hating myself for that fact -- and I'm sure that's exactly how they wanted me to feel.

Thing is, I believe Walter is sincere in not wanting to hurt Hank. He's proposing mutually assured destruction: just let bygones be bygones, preserve your own career, and let me live out my remaining days as a car wash owner -- but come after me, and I bust you as, at best, the idiot who didn't know his own brother-in-law was Heisenberg; and at worst, as someone who did know. As pissed off as he was at the restaurant, Hank has to find that prospect tempting now (even though we know from the flash forward that Walt does get outed eventually).

The little loose thread at the end of Sunday's episode was what Hank did after he stormed out of the office. Maybe he's on his way to Walt's house, and he's the one who surprises Jesse?

 

[Not Normal]

The confession was pure evil genius! Like you I loved it even though I knew how maniacal it was.

 

[Wrong Element]

The confession was pure evil genius! Like you I loved it even though I knew how maniacal it was.

He's become a peerless liar.

Re the mentions of Lydia above, she's sort of the opposite: not a cool customer for the most part (I'm thinking of her looking like a fool in the diner with Mike, or the time she wore mismatched shoes), but amazingly resourceful when she's literally under the gun. I think there have been 3 separate occasions where she's been seconds away from being killed, and come up with the just the right thing to keep herself alive in that moment.

Figuring out how Lydia, Todd, and Todd's asshole army fit into the endgame is interesting. On the surface, it would seem anticlimactic for these relatively new players to be involved in how everything washes out, and yet we're spending too much time on that thread for it to be a waste.

My guess is that it's these cretins who end up taking out Hank (he will certainly notice before long that blue meth is back on the street), and that might be what brings a dying Walt back to Albuquerque. Again, I don't have spoilers.

 

[Phelia]

The episodes are so tense! Gah! By the end of the cold opens I'm hyperventilating and feeling like my chakras need re-aligning. I'm really noticing the colors the characters are wearing now that it's been pointed out, but I can't say I'm getting great insights from it. I see pink and I know something bad is going to happen, but on the other hand, something bad is ALWAYS going to happen. Still interesting. One recap I read mentioned the baby always wearing pink.

I'm glad we're seeing how smart Jesse can be; everyone underestimates him, but sometimes I think it is at the expense of the plot. I thought his piecing together the ricin cigarette thing was a bit of a stretch. I still find it interesting that Walt draws the line so vehemently at killing Hank on the grounds that he's family. Crazy to see Skyler pushing Walt to kill Jesse last week. I bet that got Anna Gunn tons of hatemail.

Todd + the neo-Nazis + Lydia make for some pretty unsettling super-villains.

Better Call Saul!

"Scientists love lasers."

Saul is the best! I'm still not sold on the concept of a Saul Goodman spin-off, but I will watch anything with Bob Odenkirk. I would rather the character just became a staple part of the greater TV universe and popped up randomly in other shows. Law & Order, Dexter, Here Comes Honey Boo Boo, etc.

 

[Phelia]

I don't hate Skyler, but I don't like her either. Bluey just hates her, HATES. Skyler is a hypocrite, being all indignant about sending the kids off, and fucking Ted Beneky because she was sooooooo hurt and offended by Walt's doing. That is until she figured out how to get her hands on the money, and how to take charge (or so she believes). Anna Gunn's NYT article was really interesting. People are crazy. I tweeted last season that she's a great actress, because I wanted to smack Skyler. Yet, there are people who are acting violent towards HER, that's fucking nuts.

Yes. I just wanted him to get in the van and disappear. I wanted the last episode to have a flash forward to Jessee having a family, and being happy.

Saul is awesome. He's the only honest person on the show (now that Mike is dead).

I absolutely agree that she's a great actress, but it's interesting that there are so many interpretations of her character. I see her almost exclusively as a victim of Walt's, and I think her financial motivations have more to do with her family than with greed.

I don't know if Jesse even had the capacity to be happy anymore, if he'd just left. Walt had taken everything from him. I wanted him to get out, too, but we knew it wasn't gonna happen. Man oh man.

I felt that way watching the confession. Only someone without any moral compass could have even conceived of it -- but omigod, it was so shocking and entertaining. It's incredible how well that blizzard of bullshit could actually account for everything that has really happened, even something like the White kids staying with the Schraders now being reimagined as a quasi-kidnapping. I found myself rooting for Walt in that moment, cheering on his audacity, while at the same time hating myself for that fact -- and I'm sure that's exactly how they wanted me to feel.

Thing is, I believe Walter is sincere in not wanting to hurt Hank. He's proposing mutually assured destruction: just let bygones be bygones, preserve your own career, and let me live out my remaining days as a car wash owner -- but come after me, and I bust you as, at best, the idiot who didn't know his own brother-in-law was Heisenberg; and at worst, as someone who did know. As pissed off as he was at the restaurant, Hank has to find that prospect tempting now (even though we know from the flash forward that Walt does get outed eventually).

The little loose thread at the end of Sunday's episode was what Hank did after he stormed out of the office. Maybe he's on his way to Walt's house, and he's the one who surprises Jesse?

You nailed it! I was expecting them to make a big move last episode, too, and some of the recaps I read (I am seriously and unabashedly nerding out on this show) actually seemed a little preemptively defensive about the relative lack of confrontation, but I still loved it. This entire season feels like navigating a minefield.

Mutually assured destruction is Walt's specialty, and that was what I found so interesting about Jesse hitting rock bottom - that his own destruction wasn't even a deterrent anymore. Getting him involved with Hank and Gomie was really interesting, though, and I have no idea what could possibly be coming next.

 

[Disgustipated]

Burn Notice is ending, I might have to get caught up on this.

 

[Phelia]

Burn Notice is ending, I might have to get caught up on this.

Oh, you should! I think it is one of the best shows ever. I'm also having a lot of fun reading the articles written about the episodes each week; almost every major media outlet has a staff member covering it. The authors make a lot of guesses about what little things mean/what's going to happen next, and there's a pretentious douchebaggery about it that's actually more enjoyable than annoying.

Careful of this thread, though! Spoilers!

Spoiler alert: this show is awesome.