Heat is a pretty obvious influence on this show, that's for sure.
Breaking Bad Final Half Season
- Thread starter Chuck Finley
- Start date
I'm pretty sure it was all Todd's idea to torture & then force Jesse into servitude. I have to believe that it's all Todd's idea to still be cooking at all even. I can't imagine Jack or any of his other guys would be willing to run the risks of operating a drug lab now that they are all multimillionaires. What's the point if you're already rich?
I feel like the only reason Todd is still cooking is because he cares about Lydia, & with Walt gone, Jesse is maybe the only other guy who can help him produce the product that Lydia needs
It is certainly without question that it's Jesse's burden to be utterly destroyed as a person, & made to suffer more than anyone perhaps in the history of television
The performances from the three leads of this show are quite possibly the most incredible achievements of anyone ever televised, & I'm certain that everyone, including myself, underestimated all three of them & their ability to deliver said performances. A one dimensional white ghetto punk stereotypical actor, a one dimensional stereotypical macho cop actor, & the silly doofas dad from Malcolm in The Middle. I don't think anyone on Earth could have predicted the level of excellence we've seen from these guys
Some great points being made in the posts here.
I'm not sure about that at all, I think he may just care about Jesse so far as he can enslave him to help him improve the quality of the product and impress Lydia. I think Jesse is on his own, there. ETA: Mojochi beat me to it.
Agreed, I was really hoping for that. If Walt was trying to do something to help his family, that would have been a nice thing to add.
I can see that argument, but I don't think so. I think that little girl looking for her mom finally got through to Walt. He started this whole thing for his family, and even though he screwed up and let his ego push it out of control, he can still fall back to doing something for his family. Which my still be an ego move, seeing himself as the protector, but at least it's not vanity, since no one will know.
Thanks, I'd forgotten that.
Also:
Though it seems more likely that Hank would have gone down like Gomey, it was good they gave him the scene he deserved. The contrast of Hank going out like a man to his own grovelling may have helped Walt decide to step up for Skyler with the phone call.
And speaking of stepping up, Marie has become a really strong compared to how she was at the beginning of the series. And I feel bad for her because Hank gave her that abuse and she just took it, and now she won't get to spend her life with the Hank she loved. But her insistence on doing the right thing by Flynn seems to have been crucial.
I'm not sure about that at all, I think he may just care about Jesse so far as he can enslave him to help him improve the quality of the product and impress Lydia. I think Jesse is on his own, there. ETA: Mojochi beat me to it.
Agreed, I was really hoping for that. If Walt was trying to do something to help his family, that would have been a nice thing to add.
I can see that argument, but I don't think so. I think that little girl looking for her mom finally got through to Walt. He started this whole thing for his family, and even though he screwed up and let his ego push it out of control, he can still fall back to doing something for his family. Which my still be an ego move, seeing himself as the protector, but at least it's not vanity, since no one will know.
Thanks, I'd forgotten that.
Also:
Though it seems more likely that Hank would have gone down like Gomey, it was good they gave him the scene he deserved. The contrast of Hank going out like a man to his own grovelling may have helped Walt decide to step up for Skyler with the phone call.
And speaking of stepping up, Marie has become a really strong compared to how she was at the beginning of the series. And I feel bad for her because Hank gave her that abuse and she just took it, and now she won't get to spend her life with the Hank she loved. But her insistence on doing the right thing by Flynn seems to have been crucial.
He wasn't confessing. Like the others above opined, Walt was getting Skyler off the hook. He knew the police were listening, and he never physically threatened her to get her to go along. Walt also gives Marie an out, though he couldn't have known for sure if she was there. It will be easier for Marie to believe that Walt threatened Skyler because she'll want to believe it, especially with Walt gone and her needing someone. It's an easier reality for her.
Damn, Walt twisting the knife in like that by confessing about Jane was just about the scummiest thing he's ever done. I'm not surprised Todd kept Jesse around; Todd can't make the pure meth. Jesse can. Yes, Walt must rescue Jesse. There's no way he can redeem himself, but he'll come to realize that he owes him. That would be fitting, though, for Walt to rescue Jesse and then have Jesse blow Walt's brains out anyway because of Jane.
I thought they were going to kill Jesse there for a moment.
I'd so love it if the show ended with Jesse shooting Walt, despite Walt coming to save him.
So far, a lot of the big dramas I've liked had stellar endings... Six Feet Under, Battlestar Galactica and The Shield, which I finished last week. Can this show's ending do something just as brilliant and memorable? Can't wait to find out.
Yeah, seems like everyone caught that but me.
For me I thought it was weird how Flynn was told about Walt off screen. I definitely would have liked to see more Flynn reaction.
It was kind of surprising to see him react to the knife fight the way he did. I mean Skyler slashed at Walt. It seemed like Walt just tried to subdue her and get the weapon away, and Flynn now views that as his dad attacking and trying to hurt his mom? Wow. The kid's really been hurt to have switched over so quickly.
I didn't find it surprising at all. He's a decent kid and now he's got the facts he saw the situation the way it is: Walt's the bad guy.
Chuck Finley
Commander
Yeah, seems like everyone caught that but me.
No, I didn't catch it either, I just thought he was being a dick. I noticed him crying, but I figured it was because everything was crumbling before his eyes.
You don't find it surprising for a character to do a complete 180 in a few hours? Ok.
And it's not as if he really did have the facts or have a handle on the situation. Neither he nor Skyler did. Skyler was thinking that Walt killed Hank, when that was not the case. In that instance, Walt was really only trying to protect them, even if he has his own weird, misguided reasons for doing so.
Well he just learned his dad was a drug kingpin, that he might've killed Hank, and he wouldn't leave the house despite Skylar's insistence.
So there was a lot of confusion about Walt's phone call to Skyler and I didn't immediately get it either; he's very unlike himself in the phone call and on second viewing I could see what he was up to: he's trying to get Skylar off the hook for being a willing accomplice. It's all there.
BTW, at this point given Flynn/Walt Jr's reaction against his dad, is there any chance that Skylar and Walt Jr. would even take Walt's money? Because I could easily see them both surviving, running the car wash together. Walt Jr. obviously seemed to be enjoying working there before his life exploded. I'm not sure either of them would take any measure of Walt's Kingpin $$$ after the family split up last night.
This was pretty amazing television. So looking forward to the final 2 eps being about payback from Walt to the Brotherhood. I guess Jesse and Walt are pretty much secured to have an least one more interaction. To that point: this is a tv series about meth labs. Before it, my only memeory of meth labs discussed in popular culture is that they explode when attended to poorly. Does anyone else think Jesse's exit strategy (alive or dead) may involve blowing the lab sky high? I'd sure as fuck rather blow up in a meth lab than be tortured over a long period of time.
Flash forward for the final two? I just love that Walt still has nearly two hours of things to do. Most shows blow their big wad in the final episode, not two before.
BTW, at this point given Flynn/Walt Jr's reaction against his dad, is there any chance that Skylar and Walt Jr. would even take Walt's money? Because I could easily see them both surviving, running the car wash together. Walt Jr. obviously seemed to be enjoying working there before his life exploded. I'm not sure either of them would take any measure of Walt's Kingpin $$$ after the family split up last night.
This was pretty amazing television. So looking forward to the final 2 eps being about payback from Walt to the Brotherhood. I guess Jesse and Walt are pretty much secured to have an least one more interaction. To that point: this is a tv series about meth labs. Before it, my only memeory of meth labs discussed in popular culture is that they explode when attended to poorly. Does anyone else think Jesse's exit strategy (alive or dead) may involve blowing the lab sky high? I'd sure as fuck rather blow up in a meth lab than be tortured over a long period of time.
Flash forward for the final two? I just love that Walt still has nearly two hours of things to do. Most shows blow their big wad in the final episode, not two before.
Walt Jr. was protecting his mom. It was the basic instinct that his mom was being attacked/in a scuffle with his dad. No matter how much you love your dad, when your mom is hurt/being attacked, you protect your mom. I think, in the heat of the moment, what Walt Jr. did was what anyone would do if they were thrust into that situation.
Chuck Finley
Commander
I want to have Gilligan to make the next Star Trek series. Or just about any series. I think him and Whedon could make the best television human history would ever see.
^They already have, as far as I'm concerned.
Wow, after an episode like that, you'd think we'd only have one episode left, not two! Hard to imagine would could possibly happen next. Although with Walt leaving town, it seems pretty likely the next episode will focus heavily on Jesse's current situation, with him trying to escape from Todd somehow.
And count me as another one who didn't realize (until I read some recaps afterward) the true purpose behind that phone call to Skyler at the end. I just thought Walt was lashing out in anger and being unnecessarily cruel, but it should have been obvious what was really going on there.
And count me as another one who didn't realize (until I read some recaps afterward) the true purpose behind that phone call to Skyler at the end. I just thought Walt was lashing out in anger and being unnecessarily cruel, but it should have been obvious what was really going on there.
Life-or-death knife struggles have a way of focusing the mind very quickly.
Flynn may not know all the details, but he knows the situation. Walt's guilt was all over his face, he couldn't answer about Hank, and his mother's protective intentions were clear. Plus they made a point of showing that Flynn can see through Walt's BS a couple of episodes ago.
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