Originally Posted By DDMAN26 <<Any hope that anyone gets out of this show happier than they began was gone after last night.>> Actually I plan on watching the show in reverse. That way it becomes a guy who gets his family back, beats cancer and gets out of the meth business with no strings attached. I want to give special mention to RJ Mitte this season. I won't say he was the weak link in the show because really all he was given to do was eat breakfast. And unlike a son in the last season of a great show (cough AJSoprano) everything they presented to him he's knocked it out of the park. His reaction to everything was absolutely devastating kudos to him.
Originally Posted By DDMAN26 Jessie Plemons, the actor who plays Todd ironically starred in the show I considered the best prior to Breaking Bad, Friday Night Lights even though he was saddled with one of the worst subplots in that shows otherwise stellar history.
Originally Posted By Kar2oonMan >>Actually I plan on watching the show in reverse. That way it becomes a guy who gets his family back, beats cancer and gets out of the meth business with no strings attached.<< LOL!!! Excellent idea!
Originally Posted By Kar2oonMan >>I want to give special mention to RJ Mitte this season. I won't say he was the weak link in the show because really all he was given to do was eat breakfast. And unlike a son in the last season of a great show (cough AJSoprano) everything they presented to him he's knocked it out of the park. His reaction to everything was absolutely devastating kudos to him.<< Totally agree! In a way, the whole show was building to that moment when he learned the truth about Walt, and he did indeed nail it. During the knife fight, I was certain Walt or Skyler -- or both-- would end up stabbing him accidentally. Walt's remaining fortune would just about cover the co-pay for the years of psychiatric care poor Flynn's going to need now.
Originally Posted By Dabob2 Mitte also had a great moment last week in a totally different way - when he was so goofily starstruck by Saul Goodman (of all people!). He's really showing himself to be a good actor. Vince Gilligan has said that he considers this his favorite episode. But he also says that he thinks fans will be very satisfied with the ending - it's not going to be an ambiguous Sopranos-type thing. So even if they don't "top" last night, it could still be a very satisfying end to a hell of a show.
Originally Posted By DDMAN26 Oh man I just realized something. Huell is still sitting in that motel room
Originally Posted By ecdc Well...let's see. I've spent the last two weeks binging every episode of Breaking Bad, just to get caught up. While there are some obvious disadvantages to this (it's not like a really reflected long on most episodes), there are upsides. I'm surprised at how slowly (yet not boringly) everything unfolded. It was almost as if this show was designed for Netflix and binging. If one thinks back through all of the seasons, there's only a handful of plots to follow, only a handful of antagonists and conflicts. It's a far cry from a murder-of-the-week style show, or even a Lost-type show, with whacky twists and turns every week. It unravels meticulously, with plenty of unexpected results, but never in a gimmicky or silly way. Watching it in such a short time definitely highlights Walt's transformation. In fact, as I was talking to friends about it, they all talked about how manipulative Walt is, how he's pulled the strings all along, etc. But the Walt I saw in seasons 1-3, and even a little into season 4, was a man frequently bumbling his way through and getting lucky. Even in season 4, he's often left to desperately try and talk his way out of things, though by now his nasty side grows increasingly exposed. Full on season five Walt...well. More brilliance. He starts out so sure, it's incredible. "How do we know it even worked?" "Because I said it did." I find myself getting chills when he dons the hat and demands, "Say my name." He robs a freaking train. And then, within seconds...he's a monster. He's not a victim of circumstance, he's not even a man making bad choices from bad options, just to prevent things from spinning out of control. He is a monster. That last episode, I'm still reeling. Thus concludes the random thoughts of a new Breaking Bad fan.
Originally Posted By Mr X Important note for tapers and DVR types - rumor has it the final 2 episodes will be 75 minutes long, rather than the usual 60. You have been warned.
Originally Posted By DDMAN26 My dvr has this week's episode going until 9:15 but I'm going to extend it a few minutes, even if it means I have to dip a bit into Low Winter Sun.
Originally Posted By ecdc <a target="blank" rel="nofollow" href="http://www.screenbid.com/">http://www.screenbid.com/</a> A guy could get carried away....
Originally Posted By Dabob2 <a new Breaking Bad fan.> Welcome to the dark side, ecdc. Seriously, though, some critics call BB the "most moral show on TV" and while you could argue that, what they mean is that Walt's evil always has uncomfortable consequences. Other anti-heroes like Dexter or even Tony Soprano don't generate such discomfort with the audience - in a sense, the audience is asked to identify with them. Gilligan starts out that way - starts out making you root for Walt even though you know he's cooking poison - and then makes you question why you ever rooted for him. He's asking you, essentially, NOT to identify with him. If you read comments sections on fan sites, it's amazing how many fans still DO identify with him, want him to get away with it, even claim to admire him (usually macho wannabe commentators). And those people tend to trash Jesse, Hank, or especially Skylar for "getting in Walt's way." Granted, it's a minority - I think anyone with a brain stopped rooting for Walt quite some time ago. Most people are reading BB just the way Gilligan wants us to.
Originally Posted By Kar2oonMan >>Walt's evil always has uncomfortable consequences<< Being a scientist, he should know that every action causes an opposite reaction. >>I think anyone with a brain stopped rooting for Walt quite some time ago.<< For much of the series, Walt was up against even worse people -- schemers, killers, and even Hank was obnoxious. And for a long time, his intentions were more or less pure, he was doing it all to provide for his family. I think some are rooting for Walt because they're rooting for Bryan Cranston. Week after week, (and for some of us, year after year) his performance is just astonishing. I can't think of an actor that can go from comedic to tragic to frightening in such a blink of an eye. The tiniest mannerisms and shifts in expression say so much. There's no voiceover or echoey "here's what I'm thinking" voiceover required, because often wordlessly he says so much, so clearly. I hope he wins an Emmy or something. I was rooting for Walt to somehow, someway find redemption. I think last week's episode, his reaction when he couldn't save Hank, and when he did save Skyler showed that somewhere there is the old Walt in there somewhere. But then he had to go and throw Jesse to the wolves, and inflict the ultimate pain by letting him know he watched Jane die and let it happen. Only two episodes left. No idea if Jesse will somehow break free. Walt's gone off to claim his new identity and will eventually be forced to return for some final showdown with somebody. I've neer been this invested in a TV show. Well, not since Manimal anyway. I'm going to really miss it.
Originally Posted By ecdc >>inflict the ultimate pain by letting him know he watched Jane die and let it happen.<< I can't fathom how anyone could still root for Walt after that. Even at his worst, Walt usually has some ulterior motive - even poisoning the little boy. Telling Jesse that was just cruel sadism.
Originally Posted By familyguy I am in New Mexico and from Albuquerque so all of this is filmed in my back yard. BB is a MAJOR thing here with donut shops creating the "Heisneburg Blue" donut with blue meth (rock candy) on them and breweries brewing Breaking Bad Beers (Walt's White{IPA} Lie)just to name a few of the crazy Breaking Bad mania that goes on out here, but I'm excited to see how well this series has been received outside of NM. For a while people thought we just liked it so much because it was filmed here, but there is no denying this has been a great series. It's great to see this Billboard in town now that it's just about over... <a target="blank" rel="nofollow" href="http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://main.abqjournal.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/BreakingBadoutdoorboards.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.abqjournal.com/240414/blogs/breaking-bad-billboards-thank-abq.html&h=357&w=750&sz=32&tbnid=AisgUNOBKGbYnM:&tbnh=57&tbnw=120&zoom=1&usg=__042KHeqKhtj7S6pyTuCrh4UtMh8=&docid=xU5P1T51KPadGM&sa=X&ei=udE8UsuaFai52wX0tYD4Cg&ved=0CDcQ9QEwAQ&dur=6">http://www.google.com/imgres?i...AQ&dur=6</a>
Originally Posted By DDMAN26 AMC will be running a marathon of the entire series during week of the finale <a target="blank" rel="nofollow" href="http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/tv/showtracker/la-et-st-amc-will-give-breaking-bad-a-finale-marathon-20130920,0,4269842.story">http://www.latimes.com/enterta...42.story</a>
Originally Posted By leobloom >> I am in New Mexico and from Albuquerque so all of this is filmed in my back yard. BB is a MAJOR thing here with donut shops creating the "Heisneburg Blue" donut with blue meth (rock candy) on them and breweries brewing Breaking Bad Beers (Walt's White{IPA} Lie)just to name a few of the crazy Breaking Bad mania that goes on out here, but I'm excited to see how well this series has been received outside of NM. For a while people thought we just liked it so much because it was filmed here, but there is no denying this has been a great series. << The show has done such a great job with location photography that I can't imagine the show taking place anywhere else.
Originally Posted By leobloom >> I've spent the last two weeks binging every episode of Breaking Bad, just to get caught up. << I did the same thing over summer so I could watch the last half-season in real time. I also noticed what you did about Walt's transformation. He certainly has changed over the show, although his ego has always been a force to be reckoned with. (The backstory with Gray Matter suggests he's always has Heisenberg buried somewhere inside him.)
