Breaking Bad returns this weekend

Originally Posted By DDMAN26

So any thoughts? Spoilers

-Great performances still from everyone involved.

-Great to see the show will still have its sense of humor, loved the scene in the junkyard.

-The pre-credit sequence, intriguing, I wonder if this is from the finale of this first half, kind of like how the teddy bear kept popping up in season two.

-YEAH-Insert Jesse's favorite word-MAGNETS!!!

 

Originally Posted By Dabob2

Still great.

I'm guessing this season will show Walt no longer "breaking" but "done broken" bad. Of course, you could say that after last season's finale with the revelation of the poison plant, but this year he's already showing the inflated ego and willingness (even eagerness) to intimidate, particularly with Saul. Skylar was right when she said she was afraid of him. And Walt seemed fine with that.

If Walt simply becomes just like the brutal drug lord(s) he has replaced, it will be a tricky (but intriguing) dance for Gilligan - will we keep rooting for Walt? Jesse's already become the moral center of the show; will he remain loyal, or will he finally balk at selling poison to people and maybe even have to be the one to kill Walt? Or will Walt get away with it at the end?

 

Originally Posted By Kar2oonMan

The opening scene seems an early build up to a final battle down the road. That Walt is alone is interesting, will he be going up against Jesse?

Walt's final "I forgive you" from this episode was really chilling.

No way does this series end without Hank finally connecting the dots back to Walt, that's been percolating since Season 1, Episode 1. You could see the annoyance on Walt's face when his son was talking about how Uncle hank will be a bigger hero than ever. That's eating at Walt more than anything -- he wants the recognition and respect, not just the money anymore.

*Is it just me, or did it seem like the hour was at least 30 minutes of commercials? It seemed like 5 minutes of show = 5 minutes of commercials. Take it easy there, AMC!

 

Originally Posted By Dabob2

<*Is it just me, or did it seem like the hour was at least 30 minutes of commercials? It seemed like 5 minutes of show = 5 minutes of commercials. Take it easy there, AMC!>

Oh yeah, big time. I DVR'd it, and zapped through the ads, and it was easy to tell that way just how many spots they were packing into the breaks.

 

Originally Posted By DDMAN26

I didn't think there where that many com.. hey Small Town Security, but the comm, hey look a Total Recall remake, with Bryan Cranston, who will now be in every movie...It was a little much last night.

 

Originally Posted By DDMAN26

BTW if we're getting more Mike this season then that's just a win in my book. I loved the line, I can see this ending a lot of ways and it doesn't involve Miller Time.

That's one of those actors who's been around forever and it's great to see him offered a role like this.

 

Originally Posted By Dabob2

Last night they did that thing BB loves to do: plop you down with characters you've never seen before and let you slowly piece together how they all fit in. They did that with the cousins, for instance, and last night they did it with the Germans. PLUS the Lydia character.

And Mike was essentially the central character this week, which ought to make DDman happy. I didn't remember if they'd established him as an ex-cop before, but it certainly didn't shock me. I love this character, though this was the first week I can remember seeing him sweat, even a little bit. The cat and mouse in the interrogation scene was great.

Note that Walt DIDN'T sweat, either when Mike told him "no," nor later when he told him "okay, I'm in." He just took it in stride and continued to wash the dishes. Just like Gus used to do (!). I'm pretty sure they had a scene like that with Gus washing the dishes, taking a call, making a big decision about who lived or died, and then going back to washing the dishes.

I also liked that after last week when Skyler said she was afraid of Walt, they continued with that. They didn't have her suddenly getting turned on by his bad-assness, which has become kind of a TV cliche a la Carmella Soprano (much as Tony drove her crazy) and others. Skyler at this point really is afraid of him as she sees how much he's changed (as does Mike, who's not afraid per se, but meant it when he said he didn't want to get involved with that ticking time bomb.)

Loved this episode, as usual.

 

Originally Posted By Dabob2

Oh, and I almost forgot that great moment when the police chief says of Gus: "He was somebody else than I thought. And he was right in front of me, right under my nose" (or something like that)... did we see a glimmer in Hank's eyes that said "hey, what about... nahhhhh, couldn't be..." ??

 

Originally Posted By DDMAN26

Yeah I think they did mention in a past episode that he was an ex-cop.

 

Originally Posted By DDMAN26

BTW why isn't Franch on store shelves?

 

Originally Posted By DDMAN26

Yay, Badger and Skinny Pete.

This is weird to say, but there's always something cool about seeing Walt and Jesse cook again.

Boy Walt really played some mind games this week, especially with Jesse and Marie.

Oh and hey kids it's movie night what should we watch. The Lion King? Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory? Scarface? Yeah yeah Scarface!!!!

 

Originally Posted By Kar2oonMan

>>Oh and hey kids it's movie night what should we watch. The Lion King? Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory? Scarface? Yeah yeah Scarface!!!!<<

LOL!!!

If Mike had popped in, he'd have said "Just because you rent Scarface doesn't mean your are Scarface."

 

Originally Posted By Kar2oonMan

I was a little taken aback when Marie mentioned that everything we've seen thus far, from Walt's diagnosis to now, has been only a year. That's a helluva year. The writers are very careful on this show, so nothing is accidental, but that's a lot of stuff to have happened in 12 months: Walt's diagnosis/chemo, make and lose three fortunes, the business with Tuco, the cousins, Gus Fring, the ambush of Hank, his recovery, etc. Maybe I misheard it?

 

Originally Posted By Dabob2

Maybe. That would seem very compressed to me too. It seems more like maybe three years. How old is the baby supposed to be now?

 

Originally Posted By DDMAN26

I'm thinking the baby is at least 12-15 months. Because remember the first scene was Walt celebrating his 52nd birthday which was sometime in the future but I have to imagine not that far.

 

Originally Posted By Kar2oonMan

>>How old is the baby supposed to be now?<<

Old enough to watch Scarface.

 

Originally Posted By Dabob2

In the preview I saw of next week, I'm pretty sure Walt is having his 51st birthday, so from there to that first flash-forward scene I guess is a year. And I think we've seen him celebrating his 50th at some point too.

Skyler was only a few months pregnant when the show started, so if the baby is 15 months now, that's about two years. Even that seems compressed based on everything that's happened, but better than one year.

 

Originally Posted By Kar2oonMan

Maybe she meant it's been one year since Walt has been in remission? That would make more sense.

 

Originally Posted By DDMAN26

Wasn't the first episode Walt celebrating his 50th?

 

Originally Posted By Kar2oonMan

I can't remember anything. I just celebrated my 50th.