Breaking Bad

Administrator

08-10-11

Still gonna post about the broad strokes of the series soon, but I just wanted to drop in to point out that, yup, just as I guessed, that at first blush everyone's assuming the lab notes mean that Gale is Heisenberg. But I also thought that wouldn't last, and it doesn't look like it will. Hank's instincts have been spot-on (except for his overlooking Walt, of course), and I don't think they've dulled.

Speaking of which, Hank's seeming increasing suspicion of Walt coincides very well with the ways Walt is revealing himself to be more of an alpha male than Hank had ever realized. I've heard some people complain about Hank's blind spot here, but I think it's totally legit, because he's always known Walt as a pushover. And why is he now starting to consider Walt (at least, from what we can tell)? Because Walt's started acting differently. Walt and Hank had that confrontation out by the pool, and now he hears this story about Walt making scads of money gambling. The more he realizes Walt isn't a pushover, the more he's realizing he might be his man. Makes perfect sense.

Austruck

The Adventure Starts Here!

08-11-11

Totally agree -- it was all very creepy and sad and funny all at the same time.

And what I loved about Walt's reaction from the point of the karaoke DVD onward was that you could see that Skylar merely thought he was playing his "rehearsed" part very very well, as she had been hoping. His reaction made his gambling story all the more plausible... and he even said the "terribly, terribly" part.

I wasn't sure how I felt about this season in the beginning, but it does seem to be going somewhere. Though everyone's still spiraling, it feels like it has a focus (from a writer's perspective).

I'm still very sad about Jesse's continued spiral, though. I so want him to be redeemed somehow.

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MovieMan8877445

Registered Film Lover

08-11-11

View Spoilers

WARNING: "Breaking Bad" spoilers below

Does anyone think they'll actually kill Jesse off?

StrongReaction

Registered User

08-11-11

"Speaking of which, Hank's seeming increasing suspicion of Walt coincides very well with the ways Walt is revealing himself to be more of an alpha male than Hank had ever realized. I've heard some people complain about Hank's blind spot here, but I think it's totally legit, because he's always known Walt as a pushover. And why is he now starting to consider Walt (at least, from what we can tell)? Because Walt's started acting differently. Walt and Hank had that confrontation out by the pool, and now he hears this story about Walt making scads of money gambling. The more he realizes Walt isn't a pushover, the more he's realizing he might be his man. Makes perfect sense."

Well put. I don�t see why anyone would complain about that. I mean why would Hank suspect his nerdy, school teacher brother-in-law of being a drug kingpin. It would be the last type of person he would suspect. But now that Walt�s true nature is beginning to emerge coupled with all this money seemingly coming out of nowhere, extensive knowledge of chemistry and the fact that he knows Walt knows Jesse it seems like Hank is putting the pieces together.

"I'm still very sad about Jesse's continued spiral, though. I so want him to be redeemed somehow."

I agree I want to see Jesse redeemed too. Though if they were going to kill him off (I don�t think they will though) that would have been a great final episode for him. To have his last scene in the car with Mike and then just have him disappear and never be seen again without anyone knowing what exactly happened would be awesome.

Austruck

The Adventure Starts Here!

08-11-11

I thought the same thing -- Jesse in the car with Mike smacked of too many scenes we saw on The Sopranos over the years. (I'm thinking mostly of Adrianna's demise mid-series.)

But Aaron Paul is such a great actor and his character is so pivotal to play off Walt as they both spiral in separate ways that I don't see them killing him off any time soon. I DO see it as possible perhaps in the final season, when they'd be more willing to wrap up character story arcs in a final way, but not this season. The series would suffer from a HUGE hole without Jesse in it for too many episodes.

Austruck

The Adventure Starts Here!

08-11-11

Oh, and am I the only one who's now totally stunned by the fact that Bryan Cranston was known for stuff like Malcolm in the Middle before this? Hardly seems like the same guy. His acting and timing and chutzpah are all absolutely, sublimely impeccable.

StrongReaction

Registered User

08-11-11

Yea all I ever knew him as was the father in Macolm in the Middle and as Tim Watley in Seinfeld and a few other minor roles. I always thought he was pretty funny but he is a much, much better actor than I ever gave him credit for.

honeykid

MoFo Whisperer

08-12-11

Thought this might be news to some of you.

'Breaking Bad' to return for two final seasons?

Breaking Bad could return for two final seasons, reports have suggested.

Earlier this week, reports claimed that negotiations between network AMC and the show's producers had stalled.

The series, which stars Bryan Cranston, was allegedly offered to three other cable networks and Deadline reports that FX expressed some interest.

However, production company Sony Pictures Television and AMC are now said to be confident that the show will remain on the same network.

Talks are thought to be ongoing as the two sides cannot agree on the episode order for a new deal. AMC has allegedly offered a 13-episode fifth season but Sony Pictures Television is asking for a higher number of instalments.

Sources have suggested that between 13 and 20 episodes will eventually be ordered, although they could be spread across two seasons.

Meanwhile, AMC is reportedly asking Sony Pictures Television to help finance the series.

Breaking Bad's creator Vince Gilligan will also have to renegotiate his contract as it expires after the end of the current run. Gilligan has previously indicated that he wants the show to end after the fifth season.

http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/ustv/s16...l-seasons.html

Yoda

Administrator

08-12-11

Thanks, hk. I'd been following this but hadn't heard this latest news.

Anyway, sounds about right. Gilligan said early on he thought it might go four seasons; then, as it picked up steam, he started talking like it might go five. Six seems reasonable, though it seems like some serious stuff is inevitably going to go down this year, in such a way that I kind of assumed five was most likely. But I won't complain about a bit more; I trust the writers to make it work. I definitely want an end date set sometime soon, though.

ash_is_the_gal

i'm SUPER GOOD at Jewel karaoke

08-12-11

So it's definitely not going to Fox, yeah?

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ash_is_the_gal

i'm SUPER GOOD at Jewel karaoke

08-12-11

about Hank's blindspot to Walt being Heisenburg - anyone else notice Hank's behavior/dismissal towards Marie being a klepto sort of making a statement? i think Hank has a hard time seeing the dysfunction of those who are closest to him. he hasn't really 'dealt' with the whole Marie-making-up-stories-and-stealing-a-spoon incident. i think Hank does subconsciously know who Heisenburg is, but can't bring himself to deal with it.

i dunno, maybe.

If you want to achieve greatness, stop asking for permission

08-12-11

Originally Posted by ash_is_the_gal

Hank is a simple-minded guy, but he's certainly not stupid. My theory is that subconsciously, he's not ruling out the possibility of Walter being Heisenberg.

When it comes to Marie, I think that Hank has become numb to her shenanigans. She's obviously been behaving this way for some time, even before the spoon incident. I think it was Season 2 (?) when she was shoplifiting in that shoe store. And when Hank got the phone call about Marie being in jail because of the spoon incident, he didn't seem all too surprised. I think it's safe to assume that Marie's behavior is nothing new to Hank.

They're certainly an interesting couple. Hank is bound to reality, and isn't the type of person who seeks a means of escape. On the other hand, Marie is obviously making concentrated efforts to keep herself from accepting that her life has turned out "ordinary." She needs an element of danger/excitement in her life in order to avoid feeling like she's a hamster in a wheel.

By the way, does anybody have a theory on Marie's obsession with purple??? I wonder if it holds any significance to the plot...?

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Yoda

Administrator

08-12-11

Yeah, purple's her color. I don't think it's significant to the plot, just a character flourish. I specifically read that most of the characters deliberately have a color associated with them, though sometimes it changes.

If you want to achieve greatness, stop asking for permission

08-12-11

Originally Posted by Yoda

I figured I was reading into that too much, haha!

ash_is_the_gal

i'm SUPER GOOD at Jewel karaoke

08-12-11

is Jesse's color yellow? he was sporting an adorable yellow hoodie/beanie combo last season.

If you want to achieve greatness, stop asking for permission

08-15-11

AMC Renews "Breaking Bad" for Fifth and Final Season

via ScreenRant

"AMC announced the renewal of its acclaimed series Breaking Bad this weekend, adding that the 5th season would be its last. Throughout its run, the show has garnered critical and viewer acclaim, and has been instrumental in AMC�s rise in the original programming scene.

Breaking Bad�s fifth season will consist of 16 episodes � three more than we saw in seasons 2 � 4 (season 1 was only 7 episodes) . The extended order should give the writers some extra room to wrap up the series. The final episodes will begin airing in mid-2012.

Creator Vince Gilligan had this to say on ending the successful series:

It�s a funny irony � I�d hate to know the date of my own last day on earth, but I�m delighted to know what Walter White�s will be (episodically speaking). This is a great gift to me and to my wonderful writers. It�s knowledge which will allow us to properly build our story to a satisfying conclusion� I�m lucky to get to work with them on sixteen more episodes, and I will always be grateful to both AMC and Sony Television, who from the beginning, believed in our show and supported me creatively and professionally. We have been able to take risks with Breaking Bad which would not have been possible on other networks.

Austruck

The Adventure Starts Here!

08-15-11

Yup, just read this this morning. Good info to have, and not TOO far off, especially since we are still in season 4 with new episodes.

Last night's episode was great. Was constantly wondering what the heck was going on with Jesse. I was a bit skeptical during the first episode of this season, but it has hit its stride and all fronts are developing very nicely, IMHO. Am loving the way Hank is sniffing around again now, and Walt's reactions to Karaoke Gabe coming up in conversation all the time are priceless.

If you want to achieve greatness, stop asking for permission

08-15-11

Quote of the Season:

"Since when do vegans eat fried chicken?" - Hank

Austruck

The Adventure Starts Here!

08-15-11

Ha ha! Yeah! I love that we are watching Hank circumnavigate the clues arrrrrrrounnnnnnnd Walt but leading to people NEAR him first -- so it'll be perhaps Jesse (though that sniffing is currently on hold, it seems) and now Gus. And I can't wait to see Skyler's reaction to Walt's inebriated mumbling at the table with Hank and Marie. She looked fit to be tied.

Yoda