Breaking Bad Final Half Season

[Dorian Thompson]

Anybody else actually feel kind of sorry for Lydia at the end?

No, not in the slightest.

 

[doubleohfive]

I disagree entirely. But to further explain why, I'd need you to give me some specific examples of what things you are referring to.

I think at this point it's probably a disservice to keep discussing the particulars Lost in this Breaking Bad thread. I feel like we're sidetracking here a bit too much and that this kind of thing could go on forever. I think we can just agree that it was shitty of those people to heckle Lindelof over those things and leave it at that.

Missed this earlier. Fair enough. We will have to agree to disagree about the finale of LOST but definitely agree that it was shitty of those Twitter followers to use this as another reason to harangue and heckle Lindelof all over again.

 

[doubleohfive]

Anybody else actually feel kind of sorry for Lydia at the end?

I was thinking about her daughter. What will happen to her?

What will happen to Brock? What will happen to Flynn and Holly?

I know she was threatening Skyler's life and had ordered Walt to be killed, but still... having her be poisoned with Ricin just felt unnecessarily cruel to me somehow.

It did seem unnecessary but the writers had to find some use for the ricin, which hadn't actually been used until that point.

I mean it was pretty clear that she wasn't some evil, sadistic mastermind or anything; she was just a fearful and nervous woman who was constantly scared about getting caught. I would think it would be enough for Walt to simply point the DEA in her direction and have her arrested.

Tie up all loose ends. And now that we know what she was planning, it seems that Walt was right to get her out of the way.

Lydia's fate was sealed the minute she sent Todd after Skyler and the kids. No way Walt was going to let that slide once he heard about it. And even still if he hadn't, she was still someone who posed a threat to his family and the finale was about closing out his debts and finishing his business before he died. She was irrevocably a part of that business and got exactly what she deserved.

As for the ricin, one of the Entertainment Weekly interviews with Vince Gilligan confirmed that they knew they had to use it, and spent hours upon hours trying to beat out the story for the finale and that the use of the ricin on Lydia was just as much fan service to those of us paying attention as it was a means to eliminate her.

Here's that interview, that covers just about everything about the finale, with the Lydia bit included here:

On how Lydia became the ricin target
“The writers and I all subscribe to the dramatic philosophy of playwright Chekhov, who said that if you establish a gun in Act 1, you better have it get fired at somebody by Act 3. We knew that ricin was still out there and we knew it was hidden behind the wall outlet in the old White house bedroom. I guess we could have let it slide, but we thought to ourselves, ‘The audience has been real good to us, they’ve paid very close attention, we want to reward them by not leaving any loose ends here.’ And also, honestly, the actress who plays Lydia [Laura Fraser] is a wonderful, warm, sweet person but the chatacter of Lydia — we were all champing at the bit to see her get her just desserts much more than Todd even. Todd is so likable, you almost have these ambivalent feelings when he’s being choked to death. But Lydia? We were all of one mind when we were saying, ‘Oh man, she’s got to go.’ So we figured, ‘What’s the best way to do that?’ And we thought somehow she could be there when the M60 goes off, but then we thought, ‘She’d never be around for that kind of stuff.’ She’s just not that person. And then we thought, ‘Can we use the ricin?’ So we were very proud of ourselves when we figured out a way to hang it all together and have her get her just desserts as well. It was very hard-fought, trying to figure out how to plot all this stuff out so that everyone got theirs. Everyone had their final moment in the episode, and it caused a lot of headaches and a lot of stress trying to get all the stuff worked into the final hour of TV [laughs], but I feel real good about it that we did it.”

'Breaking Bad': Creator Vince Gilligan explains series finale

 

[Agent Richard07]

^ Yep.

What will happen to Brock? What will happen to Flynn and Holly?

Flynn and Holly have their mother and $10 million coming. As for Brock, maybe Jesse will find him and be there for him.

 

[Jonas Grumby]

Anybody else actually feel kind of sorry for Lydia...?

Only very slightly. I think Lydia originally "broke bad" out of sheer greed without realizing the reality of what she was getting into. I think she would gladly get out if she weren't terrified by what her "business associates" would do to her if she tried. Add to that her constant dread of being caught by the law and I don't think that adds up to a very enjoyable lifestyle.

Incidentally, if they hadn't been running out of episodes, I would have been tempted to bet on Todd being the one to kill her. The first time he made his move on her, I don't think it would have gone well.

 

[doubleohfive]

^ Yep.

What will happen to Brock? What will happen to Flynn and Holly?

Flynn and Holly have their mother and $10 million coming. As for Brock, maybe Jesse will find him and be there for him.

My (implied) point was that Lydia's daughter was just another innocent victim of the circumstances Walt, Jesse, and Lydia put themselves in.

 

[Agent Richard07]

^ That's what I thought.

 

[OdoWanKenobi]

So how perfect was "Baby Blue" playing over the final scene. Seriously, the lyrics could have been Walt singing to his true love, his meth, as he lovingly carreses the equipment

 

[Snaploud]

Anybody else feel sorry for Bryan Cranston now?

Cause he's NEVER getting a role this good again. Just never.

Maybe not, but it looks like Breaking Bad gave him a career boost and I don't think he'll be known as Walter White the way Hugh Laurie is known as Dr. House.

Certainly Breaking Bad has upped Cranston's reputation as a dramatic actor, but he never needed a career "boost." He's been acting since at least the early '90s in everything. The X-Files (where Vince Gilligan first met him), Malcolm in the Middle, Murder, She Wrote, The Simpsons, Babylon 5, John Carter, Argo, How I Met Your Mother, Power Rangers, Seinfeld... the man is the very definition of "versatile actor."

He was also good as Buzz Aldrin in From the Earth to the Moon.

 

[Robert Maxwell]

Anybody else actually feel kind of sorry for Lydia at the end? I know she was threatening Skyler's life and had ordered Walt to be killed, but still... having her be poisoned with Ricin just felt unnecessarily cruel to me somehow. Especially given the rather contrite mood we'd seen from Walt through the rest of the hour.

I mean it was pretty clear that she wasn't some evil, sadistic mastermind or anything; she was just a fearful and nervous woman who was constantly scared about getting caught. I would think it would be enough for Walt to simply point the DEA in her direction and have her be arrested-- which for her would still be a pretty damn terrifying fate.

Mike had it right: thinking Lydia was somehow innocent or even "less guilty" is just sexist. The minute Gus Fring bought it, she hired a hitman to start murdering all of their old associates. Mike wanted to kill her for it. She was willing to play ball with Mike, Jesse, and Walt just to save her own skin (and make a few bucks for herself.) She was always, always, always in it for herself, and just as ruthless as any of the others. Fear never drove her to leave the business, it simply got her to make rash decisions and have people killed. Not to mention, it was her brilliant idea to start shipping the blue to the Czech Republic and ensure countless more lives got ruined by it. Softballing her own heinous behavior is nothing but sexism. She deserved to die as much as any of 'em.

 

[sidious618]

Lydia is definitely a bad person. I mean, I kinda had a crush on her but I wouldn't want to actually meet her.

Edit: And, yes, I fully expect you all to judge me for having a crush on Lydia.

 

[Borgminister]

What the heck kind of weird ring tone was that on Tom's phone toward the end?

Never mind, it's a Grouch Marx tune...

 

[Agent Richard07]

Lydia is definitely a bad person. I mean, I kinda had a crush on her but I wouldn't want to actually meet her.

Edit: And, yes, I fully expect you all to judge me for having a crush on Lydia.

Not me.

What the heck kind of weird ring tone was that on Tom's phone toward the end?

Never mind, it's a Grouch Marx tune...

I'll bet most of those hits are because of Breaking Bad.

The part he chose made the ringtone sound rather creepy.

 

[sidious618]

Oddly enough, my like of her comes from thinking we'd relate really well due to our shared neuroses.

 

[doubleohfive]

Have you ever heard her real voice/accent? Lydia was a horrendous, awful person. Reprehensible. Laura Fraser though? Stunning.

 

[sidious618]

I haven't, no. There was something about her eccentricities and anxiety that reminded me of myself when I suffered when I was younger. Of course, there was the evil side, too, but I still found her neuroses endearing just like how I found Mike's exasperation and no BS lifestyle awesome even though the dude was a stone cold killer.

 

[doubleohfive]

Here you go:

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/breaking-bad-final-season-star-602871

 

[Agent Richard07]

Halloween is coming. Looking for some costume ideas?

 

[Dorian Thompson]

Have you ever heard her real voice/accent? Lydia was a horrendous, awful person. Reprehensible. Laura Fraser though? Stunning.

Doesn't Ms. Fraser hail from Scotland? If she sounds anything like Ewan McGregor I don't doubt that her voice is intoxicating in its sex appeal.

Lydia, however, was fucking annoying with her soy milk chamomile tea and her Stevia. I'm glad it was her downfall. Enjoy that tea, babe.

 

[Sephiroth]

I loathed Lydia, everything she did got under my skin, if I find a pictue of that look on her face i will have a new avatar