Breaking Bad

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Just finished watching second episode of the season here....

Random thoughts: Walter's getting more calculating and fixed in his plan of action, while Jesse continues to show he's the one of the two with anything of his conscience left. I love that about Jesse -- the constant, underlying turmoil and his struggle to do good and be good. While Walter is just the opposite -- shutting down his conscience and trying to practice being bad.

And I'm pretty sure that Hank ordering all those rocks -- I mean, MINERALS -- online means something. He's not just loopy. It has something to do with the meth and his still tracking down Heisenberg in his mind. Just not sure what's going on in Hank's mind but he's the cleverest lawman in the show by far. I'm not enjoying his pushing Marie away, but I figure it's mostly because she's distracting him and making him lose his focus.

Part of me is loving this series as usual, but another big part of me isn't liking just how off the deep end Walt and Jesse are. I mean, there's no turning back now, and this is the same man I was rooting for in season 1 to just beat cancer. Part of me is having real trouble rooting for him anymore. I'm rooting for Skylar, Walt Jr. and Marie/Hank and even Jesse... but Walt? Not so much.

Yoda, I know that's part of what that article you mentioned talks about...

Side note: I loved seeing Jim Beaver in this episode, who acted with Anna Gunn (Skylar) in Deadwood. He plays essentially the same type of character everywhere, but I love it.



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this season has been hard to watch so far. i just can't really related to the two main characters anymore. they are both so unreachable to me. i keep assuming something drastic will happen, like something ground-breaking, and i'll be able to feel something other than total confusion for either of them.

especially Jesse.

the Hank and Marie storyline is really intriguing. Hank's storyline has always been great, and i had been looking forward to seeing how it'd develop since the end of season 3. i remember i kept thinking he might put more of the puzzle pieces together about Heisenberg now that he'll have a lot of time on his hands. also, i wonder when he's going to start becoming suspicious about how Marie is paying for his hospital bills...

the preview for the next episode looks interesting and i can't wait until next Sunday, when i'll be snuggled in bed with my boyfriend in England, to watch it.



The Adventure Starts Here!
Ash, when my daughter and I were in London a little over two years ago, we found that they DON'T play our shows when we get them. And a few British friends I have often lament that they have to wait to see things that are new for us here.

Not sure you'll get to watch Breaking Bad while you're in England... but do enjoy the trip! We loved England!



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oh, sorry. i meant we'll watch it the following evening. my boyfriend streams it, i think. and that Sunday night we'll be in London at the Somerset film festival for the summer line-up, anyway. priorities.



See, I know you two are far more typical of most viewers than I am, but when I hear that someone can't "relate" to a character any more, I always instinctively think "so what?" I don't mean that in a smartass way--there aren't many wrong ways to watch a TV show--but merely to explain how I approach this show and others. I like having characters I can root for, but I'm completely fine for a show that explores messed up people that I have waning levels of sympathy for, if that's what the show wants to be and can do it in interesting ways.

Jesse definitely passed a crucial point. But the fact that he's distraught over it saves him for me, anyway. Not only in that I can still sympathize with him, but in that it's how his character ought to act given what we've seen so far.

One thing to keep in mind is that, early in the series, Vince Gilligan often said he only envisioned maybe four seasons, and it sounds reasonably likely this'll only end up going five. So they might not be counting on people to "like" the characters much, because they're not going to try to hold your attention for a decade or anything. This is the kind of story that has to end, and probably sooner rather than later.

More very soon.



If you want to achieve greatness, stop asking for permission
Does anyone else get the feeling that Hank is finally going to find out about Walter this season? I've been waiting for this to happen, and Hank is in a vulnerable spot without a badge - perfect time for him to discover the truth...
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The Adventure Starts Here!
Yoda, I get what you mean, but I think what bugs me about not caring about Walt is that I USED TO care about him. He's gone so "gangsta" that he's no longer even fighting for his family anymore. Or at least, not in these first two episodes.

I don't mind if a two-hour movie shows us someone's downward spiral and we end up caring less for the person... but a lengthy, drawn-out TV series with hours upon hours of subjecting us to the person's spiral (which is totally his own fault in this case) has its frustrating moments for me.

However, having said that, I'm so invested in the characters (all the other ones, plus Walt from a curiosity-perspective) that I'm not going anywhere till this thing is over for good. I gotta find out how this all ends!

I guess I just won't be as sad (at this point) if it ends very badly for Walt. He seems so much less redeemable than he was. Jesse, OTOH, seems redeemable. Oh sure, he still drowns his sorrows in addictions, but to me that just shows how much his conscience is still working. He's giving money to single mothers and is the only voice of reason left to Walt, really.

The odd thing right now is that Walt is/was willing to fight to the death for Jesse ... but he seems to have given up on Skylar and Walt Jr. and their daughter. It's like his only family is Jesse now.



The Adventure Starts Here!
filmgirl ... yeah, I think you might be right. And that'll cause struggles all its own for Hank and perhaps even Marie -- do they tell Skylar (not knowing she already knows)? Do they turn Walt in? Do they talk to Walt at ALL about this? So many great ways that could play out....



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Yoda, i wasn't trying to say that this was a negative against the show, so if it seems like that's what i was saying, i retract the statement. actually I was trying to explain how queer this season has made me feel (so far, anyway). i think i'm still dealing with the aftermath of Season 3 much like Jesse and Walt are, so maybe i am relating to them more than i think.
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It's funny you said Walt has gone so gangsta, when in my eyes, i marvel at every lame brain move he makes in the "gangsta" department. I know he's come miles since Season 1,but he's still so, so inept. It's like there's a little spark of human left in there somewhere.



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filmgirl ... yeah, I think you might be right. And that'll cause struggles all its own for Hank and perhaps even Marie -- do they tell Skylar (not knowing she already knows)? Do they turn Walt in? Do they talk to Walt at ALL about this? So many great ways that could play out....
I can't help but think Marie is going to find out before Hank does, and then she'll have to keep lieing to him (which started at the end of season 3 with the "counting cards" scheme).

It almost looks like the writers are trying to do some kind of parallel with Hank/Marie but this time with the wife living a double life.



The Adventure Starts Here!
It's funny you said Walt has gone so gangsta, when in my eyes, i marvel at every lame brain move he makes in the "gangsta" department. I know he's come miles since Season 1,but he's still so, so inept. It's like there's a little spark of human left in there somewhere.
This is very true -- that Walt, although mentally gangsta, just doesn't seem very good at the actual outworkings yet. I mean, him practicing that quick-draw was kinda funny in its own way. And of course, with the gun dealer at the beginning, we could see that he still smells like an amateur to that guy. But, Walt seems to KNOW this about himself (since he kept brushing off the guy's questions about concealing the weapon by insisting casually it was for self-defense ... just KNOWING he didn't look gangsta to the dealer)... and he uses that self-knowledge to his own advantage every so often.

And of course, when he totally WANTS to be gangsta, as toward the end of last night's episode when he was in his car outside Gus's house... he puts on the "Heisenberg" hat... (but he's still driving the Aztek, LOL).



Just to be clear, I wasn't suggesting either of you were wrong or bashing the show or anything. It's just interesting to me that so many people approach TV shows that way at all. I can sort of get it, but I'm more one or the other. I expected Walt to go bad (I mean, it's in the title) from the beginning, so perhaps I never really had any hopes that it would be otherwise. I guess if I really loved a character (Hurley!) I could definitely find myself disillusioned if they took a turn for the worst. But I'm totally cool with Breaking Bad not being populated by any real good guys.

Marie finding out before Hank would be very interesting. Mainly because she'd probably assume it would hurt his career (any chance of a comeback in that regard, I mean) terribly if it were found out that someone so close to him was a drug kingpin, and she might feel obligated to keep it from everyone. Amusingly, even Skyler, because she'd have no way of knowing she knows.



The Adventure Starts Here!
Well, not necessarily NO way of knowing if Skylar knows. After all, she's hounded Skylar a lot about why she kicked out Walt in the first place and Skylar's never given her a straight answer.

She might just put two and two together and figure that was the reason.



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I actually only approached this show with a "i must watch this because my boyfriend insists that i do" at least until i started to love it.

i love the way Walt seems to constantly hover between gangsta and smart Chemistry genius guy. for example, he used the "i'm a smart, business like adult professional" act to get the contract with Gus, and he always keeps up this front in all of their dealings.

but then he flies off the handle and does things like his persona Heisenburg - running drug dealers over with his car, getting all up in other meth cooks faces at Home Depot ("stay. out. of my. neighborhood.")

so it's like Walt is smart enough to know when to be whom.

Jesse, on the other hand, knows who he is and is always that guy. BITCH.

so it's like Jesse, with all his ways of escaping, lives more in reality than Walt.

about Walt not having a conscience... remember the bottle episode, The Fly? if that wasn't Walt's conscience, what was it, exactly?



The Adventure Starts Here!
Don't remember that episode.... refresh?

As for Walt having no conscience ...well, nobody has NO conscience, I suppose. But compared to that first season, yeah, I'd say it's conspicuously absent. And when you now have Jesse telling Walt to ease up and not do stuff, then you know something has drastically changed. We've seen bits and pieces of this along the way (such as Walt talking Jesse through the acid episode in the bathtub), but now it seems to be how Walt operates most of the time.

I guess that's what I'm noticing. That it'll take some serious stuff to bring Walt back from where he is now, if that even happens at this point.

Jesse, I think, could go either way still. But it's always been that way with Jesse. Even when he's with his druggie friends, you can tell he knows there's more to life than this... and they don't.



If you want to achieve greatness, stop asking for permission
about Walt not having a conscience... remember the bottle episode, The Fly? if that wasn't Walt's conscience, what was it, exactly?
During this episode, Walt has a monologue where he mentions that he should have died months ago, and that he was supposed to remembered as a caring family man. Walt even toys with the idea of winning Skylar back, that if he could explain his activities in "one certain way" then maybe she would come back to him. "If only I could catch that damn fly..."

As Jesse climbs the ladder and gets closer to killing the pest, Walter nearly spills the beans about Jane. But instead, he simply says "I'm sorry" although he never explicitly says what for (even though we know he's talking about Jane).

My interpretation of the fly was that it was meant to represent every character, in a way:

Jesse is buzzing around Walt, bothering him and threatening his operation.
Walt and Jesse are buzzing around Gus, giving him grief.
Skylar is buzzing around Walt, asking questions.
Jane's death is a sort of 'contaminant' for Walt and Jesse. One that they both need to be cleansed of...

Just an interpretation...



My interpretation of the fly was that it represents two things. The first is that as much as Walt is a perfectionist, nothing is ever perfect. There will always be some "contaminant," in the lab or in life. We see other examples of this, like Walt going out of his way to skim the public pool he never uses.

But more than that, it is simply death. Flies symbolize death in older paintings (you'll see them alongside fruit very often, for contrast), so it's probably not for nothing that "The Fly" is an episode where Walt talks about his hypothetical death.

Being married to an Art History major (magna cum laude) does have its benefits.



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something about the Fly episode that always struck me was the timing of it - it happens right after Hank's nearly fatal encounter with the cousins. do you think these chronicles hold significance?

Sorry to keep coming into this thread like a pretentious lit professor or something (only to ask more questions without giving much insight), it's only because i'm typing on my phone.

More very soon.



I don’t know about everyone else but I thought this week’s episode was the best of the season so far. The opening scene with Mike waiting in the back of the truck and then gunning down the two attackers was amazing. The conversation between Walt and Hank was pretty intense. Even though Walt gave a good explanation for the initials W.W. being in the notebook it still seemed like Hank is starting to suspect Walt. I'm really interested to see where that goes. Also that video of Gale managed to be both hilarious and sad at the same time. How creepy must it have been for Walt to have to sit there and watch that?