Breaking Bad All Over Again
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Whoa, I fell WAY behind! I've been busy lately and never got a chance to join in on this thread.
I'll just condense my thoughts for Season 1 as a whole since you guys are apparently just over Season 1 right now:
The opening Pilot scene is a work of art--a masterpiece, really. That scene gets you acquainted with the world of Breaking Bad right off the bat. That single scene tells you all you need to know about the show from the get-go. They pull NO punches here: you've got drug dealers and gang members you've got meth, you've got action and excitement, you've got drama, you've got comedy with Walt in his underwear and his pants flying away, you've got the established family element--all right there. It's perfect. It is, without a doubt, my favorite opening scene to any show--right up there with The X-Files Pilot opening scene. Talk about hitting the ground running--wow!
As for the rest of Season 1--they were still finding their sea legs but it's the strongest first season of any show I've seen--right up there with Nip/Tuck, another favorite show of mine.
The first season is rather modest and humble compared to the rest of the show. They take their time, fleshing out the characters and overall arc. Every episode plays out like they just knew they were making television history.
I also love how we don't get "Classic Walt" until the second to last episode of the season. Heisenberg emerges in that scene with Tuco with all wrath and fury. Heisenberg's introduction is literally introduced with a BANG and we witness just how dangerous Walt can be.
The charming RV scenes are great. Pure comedy and drama. You literally feel the fear and tension--as if they could be caught at any moment even though you know they won't.
Everything is established well: Walt is bored with his life. I've discussed Walt at length so I won't get into any more detail about that here but you can see that Hank seems to be the defacto "daddy" in Walt's family and you can see how Walt resents it. Flynn seems to look up to Hank far more than he does to Walt. Hank also takes jabs at Walt and treats him a bit like a high school bully would.
Hank is definitely the "high school football, class clown, jock, school bully, frat boy extraordinaire" type and, like all bullies and "tough guys" he's really compensating for/hiding an inner feeling of weakness. This is made apparent in Season 2 when you see how he handles REAL pressure out in the field and you realize something: this is probably the first time this guy has ever seen any REAL action, ever killed anyone and ever had his life on the line. You see the tough guy facade dissolve away and see a rather weak and almost pathetic man. It's why he always has a loud, vibrant and funny personality--he HAS to. He always feels weak. Always afraid of that danger in the field. He cannot and WILL not allow anyone to see it--except Marie on occasion.
I'm not a Skyler fan at all and don't really feel like discussing her at all right now, so I'll skip this one for now.
Jesse's character is one of tragedy. To me, I've always seen his relationship with his parents as clear as day:
-They are a well-off family of overachievers. For whatever reason, Jesse didn't take to it and rebelled. Jesse was more carefree and didn't want to work as hard as his parents tried to pressure him into doing. They probably nagged him daily to work hard and do his studies. I feel that the pressure from his overachiever parents overwhelmed him and he escaped into a life of rebellion and drugs.
-Jesse inherited his parents' brains but had no drive or motivation in life.
-His parents eventually gave up when it became clear that Jesse was on a road to nowhere and they didn't wish to be dragged down with him.
-They transposed those high expectations to Jesse's younger brother who, unlike Jesse, did apply himself. However, the first signs of the brother maybe feeling overwhelmed by their parents in the same way as Jesse did became apparent when he brought the "skunk weed" home. It showed that the cycle might continue. Jesse may or may not have put a stop to that by taking the pot from his brother.
-Jesse liked his aunt much more than his parents and had a great relationship with her. The parents may have resented the aunt and perhaps even felt that she enabled Jesse's behavior by not being more firm with him. However, as we know from later in the series, Jesse's parental figures in his life that he loves are all people that understand him on a certain level that his real parents never could. They listen to him--indulge in his life. Perhaps Jesse could have turned out differently had his parents taken the time and initiative to understand this other side of Jesse and help him work through whatever pain he felt.
-Jesse loved children and I believe it falls back to his relationship with his parents--Jesse longed for stability in his life and probably felt that his childhood was one of instability. That's why he felt a desire to "rescue" children and hopefully help them escape the same fate as his own.
There's no direct stated proof of any of this, of course, but this is what I believe.
I love this show. From these earlier seasons we can see that Jesse at least at one point in time DID love Walt as a sort of father figure. Unfortunately for Jesse, Walt was too wrapped up in himself to realize that Jesse wanted a connection there.
Walt loved Jesse in his own way and, just like with his family, he hurts the ones he loves the most. He DID love Jesse--he just didn't know how to express it.
The heart and soul of this show is Walt and Jesse's relationship and how neither figure is cut out for the criminal world. It's a reverse journey where Walt finds his dark side and Jesse finds his light side.
Breaking Bad is a work of art. Simple as that.
I'll just condense my thoughts for Season 1 as a whole since you guys are apparently just over Season 1 right now:
The opening Pilot scene is a work of art--a masterpiece, really. That scene gets you acquainted with the world of Breaking Bad right off the bat. That single scene tells you all you need to know about the show from the get-go. They pull NO punches here: you've got drug dealers and gang members you've got meth, you've got action and excitement, you've got drama, you've got comedy with Walt in his underwear and his pants flying away, you've got the established family element--all right there. It's perfect. It is, without a doubt, my favorite opening scene to any show--right up there with The X-Files Pilot opening scene. Talk about hitting the ground running--wow!
As for the rest of Season 1--they were still finding their sea legs but it's the strongest first season of any show I've seen--right up there with Nip/Tuck, another favorite show of mine.
The first season is rather modest and humble compared to the rest of the show. They take their time, fleshing out the characters and overall arc. Every episode plays out like they just knew they were making television history.
I also love how we don't get "Classic Walt" until the second to last episode of the season. Heisenberg emerges in that scene with Tuco with all wrath and fury. Heisenberg's introduction is literally introduced with a BANG and we witness just how dangerous Walt can be.
The charming RV scenes are great. Pure comedy and drama. You literally feel the fear and tension--as if they could be caught at any moment even though you know they won't.
Everything is established well: Walt is bored with his life. I've discussed Walt at length so I won't get into any more detail about that here but you can see that Hank seems to be the defacto "daddy" in Walt's family and you can see how Walt resents it. Flynn seems to look up to Hank far more than he does to Walt. Hank also takes jabs at Walt and treats him a bit like a high school bully would.
Hank is definitely the "high school football, class clown, jock, school bully, frat boy extraordinaire" type and, like all bullies and "tough guys" he's really compensating for/hiding an inner feeling of weakness. This is made apparent in Season 2 when you see how he handles REAL pressure out in the field and you realize something: this is probably the first time this guy has ever seen any REAL action, ever killed anyone and ever had his life on the line. You see the tough guy facade dissolve away and see a rather weak and almost pathetic man. It's why he always has a loud, vibrant and funny personality--he HAS to. He always feels weak. Always afraid of that danger in the field. He cannot and WILL not allow anyone to see it--except Marie on occasion.
I'm not a Skyler fan at all and don't really feel like discussing her at all right now, so I'll skip this one for now.
Jesse's character is one of tragedy. To me, I've always seen his relationship with his parents as clear as day:
-They are a well-off family of overachievers. For whatever reason, Jesse didn't take to it and rebelled. Jesse was more carefree and didn't want to work as hard as his parents tried to pressure him into doing. They probably nagged him daily to work hard and do his studies. I feel that the pressure from his overachiever parents overwhelmed him and he escaped into a life of rebellion and drugs.
-Jesse inherited his parents' brains but had no drive or motivation in life.
-His parents eventually gave up when it became clear that Jesse was on a road to nowhere and they didn't wish to be dragged down with him.
-They transposed those high expectations to Jesse's younger brother who, unlike Jesse, did apply himself. However, the first signs of the brother maybe feeling overwhelmed by their parents in the same way as Jesse did became apparent when he brought the "skunk weed" home. It showed that the cycle might continue. Jesse may or may not have put a stop to that by taking the pot from his brother.
-Jesse liked his aunt much more than his parents and had a great relationship with her. The parents may have resented the aunt and perhaps even felt that she enabled Jesse's behavior by not being more firm with him. However, as we know from later in the series, Jesse's parental figures in his life that he loves are all people that understand him on a certain level that his real parents never could. They listen to him--indulge in his life. Perhaps Jesse could have turned out differently had his parents taken the time and initiative to understand this other side of Jesse and help him work through whatever pain he felt.
-Jesse loved children and I believe it falls back to his relationship with his parents--Jesse longed for stability in his life and probably felt that his childhood was one of instability. That's why he felt a desire to "rescue" children and hopefully help them escape the same fate as his own.
There's no direct stated proof of any of this, of course, but this is what I believe.
I love this show. From these earlier seasons we can see that Jesse at least at one point in time DID love Walt as a sort of father figure. Unfortunately for Jesse, Walt was too wrapped up in himself to realize that Jesse wanted a connection there.
Walt loved Jesse in his own way and, just like with his family, he hurts the ones he loves the most. He DID love Jesse--he just didn't know how to express it.
The heart and soul of this show is Walt and Jesse's relationship and how neither figure is cut out for the criminal world. It's a reverse journey where Walt finds his dark side and Jesse finds his light side.
Breaking Bad is a work of art. Simple as that.
season 4 halfway through (I think maybe ep 6)
How the hell did Tucker and his lovely meth head friend get the stolen los pollos hermanos bucket that contained the meth?
and why didnt Walt just sell Junior's car himself rather than blowing it up? Sure that wouldnt have been entertaining to watch but really, even in the midst of a midlife crisis are you going to blow a car up rather than recoup your money? Well I guess this is Walt. Great scene, though. And further cemented Sky as 'the bitch mum' for the haters. If I had been Walt I would have said - OK this car is a present to myself for the car wash business and junior can have my lil crap mobile. Problem solved.
How the hell did Tucker and his lovely meth head friend get the stolen los pollos hermanos bucket that contained the meth?
and why didnt Walt just sell Junior's car himself rather than blowing it up? Sure that wouldnt have been entertaining to watch but really, even in the midst of a midlife crisis are you going to blow a car up rather than recoup your money? Well I guess this is Walt. Great scene, though. And further cemented Sky as 'the bitch mum' for the haters. If I had been Walt I would have said - OK this car is a present to myself for the car wash business and junior can have my lil crap mobile. Problem solved.
I will talk about the three I watched this week in a couple days but I have to say I loooved Skyler giving Walt a taste of his own medicine by just leaving and not saying a word everyday. So much fun to watch Walt squirm and get irritated. The climatic scene between the two of them was fantastic. I remember thinking Walt might tell her the first time I saw that.
Since those participating are flying through I might pick up my pace.
Since those participating are flying through I might pick up my pace.
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Letterboxd
Letterboxd
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I will talk about the three I watched this week in a couple days but I have to say I loooved Skyler giving Walt a taste of his own medicine by just leaving and not saying a word everyday. So much fun to watch Walt squirm and get irritated. The climatic scene between the two of them was fantastic. I remember thinking Walt might tell her the first time I saw that.
Since those participating are flying through I might pick up my pace.
Since those participating are flying through I might pick up my pace.
Sorry for flying through. When I start rewatch bingeing I need a smack down.
LOL. I thought he was going to tell her as well. It was total Crime and Punishment.
Sorry for flying through. When I start rewatch bingeing I need a smack down.
Sorry for flying through. When I start rewatch bingeing I need a smack down.
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Favorite Movies
One for the sky is a bitch crew
409.
When she calls up Walt to discuss juniors 16th and says she thinks it's a good idea they buy him a car. At this point everything is still her way or the highway. Might have clenched my teeth hard enough to break one.
409.
When she calls up Walt to discuss juniors 16th and says she thinks it's a good idea they buy him a car. At this point everything is still her way or the highway. Might have clenched my teeth hard enough to break one.
I'm sorry I haven't been able to keep up. Seems like a year's worth of events have all decided to hit these last few months.
I'm enjoying all the commentary here though!
I'm enjoying all the commentary here though!
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Re: destroying the car. I always felt like that was his weak passive-aggressive revolt against his wife's dominance.
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Re: destroying the car. I always felt like that was his weak passive-aggressive revolt against his wife's dominance.
Rofl. I used to do that with my hair. Any time I felt like I was losing control of life, I'd dye, bleach, or shave it completely. That's back in college though. I've lost most of it with age, so with that outlet no longer a viable option, I've turned to drink!
=D
=D
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Rofl. I used to do that with my hair. Any time I felt like I was losing control of life, I'd dye, bleach, or shave it completely. That's back in college though. I've lost most of it with age, so with that outlet no longer a viable option, I've turned to drink!
=D
=D
"I'm slingin' mad volume and fast stackin' bengies, I can't be all about spellin' and $hit". Gotta love skinny Pete.
Love the beginning of 206 where there is a cockroach on the ground and Jessie picks it up and plays with it. Awesome when you are binging because we just heard Hank talk about stepping on a roach when it comes out from under the fridge. No way I caught that on my first run through the series.
Love the beginning of 206 where there is a cockroach on the ground and Jessie picks it up and plays with it. Awesome when you are binging because we just heard Hank talk about stepping on a roach when it comes out from under the fridge. No way I caught that on my first run through the series.
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206 is the type of episode that makes me thrilled I am doing this rewatch. I completely forgot about Jessie trying to recoup the money form the meth heads. The whole plot thread with the young boy and the ATM machine is amazing. There is the BB humor but also the episode has an unexpected emotional punch. This is pretty much the beginning of sympathetic Jessie for me. Also when Walter takes quite a turn in my opinion. Wanting Jessie to use violence and then the way he treats Gretchen. Fantastic episode. I know I skipped talking about a few but I am going to try and write about them as I watch. I lose whole episodes in my mind the other way.
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I skipped that but might give it a go when I finish.
Salud is my next watch (410)
Salud is my next watch (410)
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Favorite Movies
Glad I didn't skip it, I had forgotten it entirely. My first rewatch though. I know you have the series memorized.
And I;m surprised at how many tiny moments I never noticed even as a chronic rewatcher.
I just wasnt up for seeing the kid living alone in filth and you are spot on with it showing Jesse's sympathetic side which I find really heart wrenching, the behaviour of the meth heads, and the constant yelling. Also, the sound of the ATM makes me physically ill. Great episode, though.
And I;m surprised at how many tiny moments I never noticed even as a chronic rewatcher.
And I;m surprised at how many tiny moments I never noticed even as a chronic rewatcher.
Bit off topic, but is BB your favorite show all time? I love it, but I think it is battling The Wire for 4th.
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Probably a toss up between BB and BCS - I'd say equal 1st. 2nd place would be Hannibal and Westworld. All 4 shows turned me into a chronic rewatcher like even I could not believe. And they're 4 shows where I just cant watch anything else (show wise) while they're running because I am so entirely focused on them. Other shows just either dont appeal or it exhausts me thinking there's a new episode and I end up dropping them. Cnt really explain it better than that.