Headwriter Vince Gilligan confirmed something about the finale that he thought ended up being more ambiguous than he intended... Spoiler: Breaking Bad Gale is dead, Jesse killed him. He's a drug addict who knows everything about their operation. I don't think they trust he'll keep his mouth shut. He could go to the DEA (as Jesse himself suggested to Walt) and get immunity.
I thought this episode was very well done. My guess is that next season will revolve around Walt working with (or being forced to work with) the cartel to take down Gus. That's not to say that Walt will necessarily side with the cartel at the very end of season four, but I could see a lot of drama as Walt figures out his best angle. Killing Gale is obviously a short-term solution at best.
I was a little curious about that as well... in the end I decided that he was just tracking the guy's head movement. Honestly it makes very little sense for him to shoot and miss intentionally. Anyway, awesome episode. Cool to see Saul be loyal to our duo. I take it when Walt said something like "I know better than to ask" or whatever, about the kid, that was him saying that he knew that it was in fact Gus who decided to liquidate the kid? That point confused me a little. Can't wait for next season... started watching a few weeks ago, and now that I'm all caught up, the painful wait starts
Now THAT'S What I call a season finale! I admit that this is escalating much faster than I thought possible. I didn't see anything ambiguous about that ending. Gale's last words were "You don't have to do this", but that's because he's the only schmuck who didn't know that, in fact, that's exactly what he had to do. The problem is, once the pawns start to fall, more pieces follow suit. Everybody is in danger now. That is going to make for some serious business next season. However, If Walt can establish a cartel connection, then he may very well be on the fast track to being a major player, or the major player, if Gus' outfit is eliminated. Weird thing is, I'm beginning to see Walt as more shrewd than I'd given him credit for. I think he knew all this was going to happen, like it did, the moment he decided to save Jesse I especially enjoyed the flashback that shows us that Walt was never a small thinker
Great finale. Although I was caught off guard by the ending because I had heard here that it was an extended episode. Gale ended up being an innocent sap and not the conniving mole that I thought he was. I suppose to remove as much justification for Walt to kill him as possible. They let us peek in to his nebbish dorky personal life just long enough for you to feel sorry for him. (Although I still remember him as the douchebag newspaper editor from the Wire, so I don't feel THAT bad.) I wonder just how bad they're going to take Walt? Before everyone that has died was some kind of violent criminal or whatever. In the case of Jesse's girlfriend he kind of just let her die rather than did anything to kill her. But Gale? He's basically like Walt, only he probably hasn't choked anyone to death with a kryptonite bicycle lock. I thought maybe Gale understood towards the end of the conversation with Gus was going to have Walt killed, but I think he was just eager to not get on Mr. Pollo's bad side. (As we saw with Walt in the lab, Gus is eager to please.) I actually thought that maybe Gus was going to tell Walt about the impending danger when they were cleaning tanks together, but in the end I'm pretty sure he just believed that Walt had cancer. I thought the plan Walt came up with on the fly at the laundromat was brilliant and fucking devious. He played the only card he had left in the world, and played it to perfection. I actually believed that Walt was so desperate that he was going to give up Pinkman just to save his own neck. Watching Pinkman in the final scene with the gun pointed at Gus... great job by the actor. I wonder if Walt would have had such a hard time pulling the trigger. Ugh, this felt more like a mid season break to me., and I cannot believe I'm going to have to wait so long to see what happens next. As amazing as it was, I felt like I only got half a story. Even worse is that they ended it right when it was getting really awesome. I imagine the idea of the cartels "probing for weakness" will be a theme that re-emerges next season.
The shift in aim should go down as a classic example of how the director is just the guy with the best chance of screwing up the script, not the auteur. The finale is amazing because the show ditches its star to concentrate on a supporting actor! I'm sort of mixed whether that is a triumph or failure of artistic integrity. Walt's story climax is when he tells Jesse, "Never the DEA." Even for Walt, taking his resentment and dislike of Hank to the point he prefers to commit murder is evil. When Walt said he would never ask Fring "such a question," I read that as provocatively ambiguous, as "I would just assume you ordered it," or "I don't believe you would answer honestly," as well as "I wouldn't insult you by such a question." Actually, Fring should have been the one who approved the hit on the kid, otherwise he would have been much more upset about the incident. Killing eleven year olds is bad business, it can get people really upset. Gus is another Walt, big on rationalizations, and his contempt for junkies and how they've earned their fates (if they're bad,) might blind him to the consequences. There is one problem in the plot, I don't believe Saul would lie to Mike. And I don't think Walt could set Saul up to deliver a lie, not reliably. For the future, Walt has to get Gus, or he's dead. He has a second ace, now, which is that Mike is doomed unless he turns on Gus. One problem with Gustavo's cold and ruthless routine is it can't win employee loyalty.
When we were first introduced to Saul, I thought he was some dirty swindler or blackmailer that they'd have to get rid of, but he's turned out to be someone they can really count on. Loved that whole scene, especially the music. It was like some corny 80s action movie.
Kickass finale! Wow! Meh, not a very good show, either. For a hoary old premise like "mind-bendingly vast conspiracy" to work, we really gotta love the characters, especially the lead, and I didn't. Turned it off after 20 minutes. I gotta wonder how they can plausibly present Walt being able to do that, as opposed to being killed in about 15 minutes? Gus has the power and the connections, and is as smart as Walt. Being able to cook great meth doesn't seem like much of a counterbalance. For starters, Walt has to send everyone who can be used against him - even Marie and Hank - into hiding. How's he gonna explain that to Marie and Hank? Since when does he hate Hank? The real problem is that Walt realizes that Hank is the legitimate authority figure and he's the outlaw. That's okay until it becomes public knowledge and Walt Jr. finds out and then Hank becomes the legit father figure in the family and Walt is the outcast. That's the prospect he finds intolerable. Even for Marie to know would probably drive him nuts.
Right now, Gus can't kill Walt without effectively commiting suicide. If he does, he won't be able to cook the meth he needs to stay in the black. The real question is who is he in debt to? It's clearly not the cartel now that he's opposing them directly. But he's clearly scared shitless of something. He's got more than enough resources to handle a few weeks of going into the red until he can find another cook who can handle the lab after all.
Yeah I wasn't sure if he was really scared of something or was trying to impress upon Gale how important it was that the cooking not stop. I wonder it's really just him wanting to be ready for a drug war. I caught a nitpicky error in the scene where Mike storms the chemical company. His gun has a silencer, and sounds like a silenced gun during the whole shootout. But when he shoots the Chinese chemical guy in the hand the gun just makes a regular gun sound.
I assume Gus acts as a distributor on our side of the border. That could mean he deals with a lot of local gangs who would not be happy (go elsewhere and/or kill him) if the drugs stopped flowing even for a short time.
I came here to say something about that. He had the gun pointed right at his head, then at the last second appeared to move the gun a few inches to the right just before he fired. As pointed out it was apparently unintentional, but I'm glad I'm not crazy in having noticed that. Walt and Jesse had reached unredeemable for me before this, now they really are just downright evil. There's just no way I can root for these two characters. I hope they crash and burn in the most horrible way in the end. Killing Gale was way over the line. Other than being a meth cooker, he seemed like much more of a good guy than 90% of the other people on the show. Marie and Walt Jr. may be the only two more admirable characters. At this rate, Walt Jr. will be dealing meth, and Marie will be turning tricks somewhere around the middle of season 4. Finale with no Hank at all. Weird. I was pretty pissed about the episode not being extended. They should have seperated that other show out on the guide, rather than having the entire 1 hr 47 min block listed as Breaking Bad. Total bullshit. Oh well. See you for season 4, and I really am going to assume it will be the final one. I can't even imagine how their going to stretch this out for another whole season, but of course that's what I said going into season 3. Honestly, I'm not sure how Walt being a drug kingpin will hold my interest. We'll see.
I'm thinking that they were able to yank Saul into this one, because Saul might not have had any real idea who Mike actually is, until push came to shove. He didn't know who he was lying to, but those days are now over It just seems like Saul might not be directly connected to Gus, & Mike's association with both is possibly coincidental, or maybe more to serve Mike's purposes Am I misreading that? Has Saul given any indication that he has ties with Gus? If he has, then he's completely screwed now, as in dead meat. I mean he mislead them as to the whereabouts of the man who just murdered a major asset to Gus' outfit. Actually, either way, Saul might want to pack some bags
It was really awesome and made the scene where Walt turned the tables on Mike all the more effective.
Nope, Saul only knows Gus through Mike. It was weird that he'd betray Mike like that, though. There hasn't been any reason for him to bond so closely with Walt let alone Jesse to the point of risking his own life, even if he's making a ton off of them. And that would be the only reason he'd consider doing it; if they were his cash cows. But he's always implied that he has his hands in a lot of lucrative pies. On the other hand, Mike seems to be as much Saul's personal go-out-and-do-dirty-shit-for-me as he is Gus's. Which is really why it makes no sense at all. Finding another cash cow is a lot easier than finding another Mike. Especially if you know Mike'll put a bullet in your brain if you betray him.
I just feel like Saul didn't know that Mike was that kind of guy, until he actually told him he was going to bust up his legs. I may be reading it wrong though It always seemed to me that the stuff Mike did for Saul might have been sleazy, but it was never violent, & perhaps he never knew that side of Mike, until push came to shove
Oh, I've thought Walt has always hated Hank for being so macho and disrespectful of Walt's discipline, manners and education. And because Hank was a blowhard, which can be pretty obnoxious. Insofar as Hank is a father figure for Walt Jr. it's because Hank is sometimes warmer and closer to Walt Jr. Which would add jealousy to Walt Sr.'s motives for hating Hank. Walt Sr. has a certain reserve with Jr. because he resents Jr. for forcing him into a life he didn't want. Namely, teaching, for the regular income and health insurance, though it hasn't been spelled out. But the scene revealing his thinking before Jr.'s birth makes it a little more obvious. Hank can be an asshole but he's not distant in his relationships. But most of all, I don't see Hank taking over as legitimate father figure unless Walt Sr. goes to jail. Taking Jr. into witness protection (a probable outcome since Skylar would probably lose the house,) would cut Hank out of Jr.'s life.