Breaking Bad - Season 3

[Snaploud]

I think Hank is actually in a better place now. He needs to stay where he is.

Just curious if you still see Hank that way. He seems to be tip-toeing ever further into the deep end to me.

I think Jesse has officially become downright unlikeable to me. I'd always been able to find a little bit of something salvageable in him, but not so much anymore.

The big question mark is what his reaction will be (assuming the writers follow television convention and let him learn the truth) to his not being responsible for his girlfriend's death. It could really throw him for a loop (as this "I'm the bad guy" persona is based mostly around that incident).

Jesse is obviously the weak link in any police investigation (both for how Walt treated him lately and for the part Walt played in his girlfriend's death (of which he is not yet aware)).

Skylar has been breaking bad for a while now. She covered up for her boss in an embezzlement scheme, and now she's covering up for Walt as an accomplice after the fact.

I wonder if they'll try to get Walt Jr. to break bad. He's probably the only one who hasn't done anything yet. Though, Hank's wife seems limited to shop-lifting at the moment, and Hank's indiscretions are mainly due to abuse of power (taking the opportunity to beat the crap out of some guys at a bar and invading some family's privacy without a warrant (the RV incident)).

 

[Joeman]

Yeah I really hope that they don't take Walt Jr. down a bad road. If they go into another season, I could see him finding out about Walt and turning to drugs himself or some crazy shit like that. I really hope not.


Just for the record, and not that it's any big deal, but I can't help but notice that everyone on here spells it "Skylar", when it's actually "Skyler".

 

[Snaploud]

Just for the record, and not that it's any big deal, but I can't help but notice that everyone on here spells it "Skylar", when it's actually "Skyler".

I just assumed it was spelled Skylar. I can be really bad with names, so it could have been that I just followed whatever another poster did... Hey, at least I didn't call her Heather or something really outlandish...

I think Riker on TNG might have been referred to as Ryker in an early draft of the pilot script. I guess the "Riker" spelling stuck, though.

 

[Joeman]

^^ Hehe yeah I hear ya. I only pointed it out because I figured everyone was just running with it, and I wanted to stop it from becoming an epidemic.

I have been seeing promos on AMC describing season 3 as "Disturbing, Hilarious, and Touching"...

Now, I like to think of myself as having a pretty decent sense of humor, but could someone please point out the "hilarious" moments in this show that I am missing? Maybe the show is so intense that I just tend to forget the funny parts, but I honestly do not recall laughing at much of anything in this show. Thanks.

 

[Snaploud]

Does the pizza landing (intact and rightside up) on the roof count? I guess the show is kind of funny in an absurd sort of way (like the two axe murderers waiting quietly on the bed for Walt to get out of the shower). I don't know if I'd go so far as to call it "hilarious," though.

 

[Checkmate]

Saul Goodman is pretty much a joke in and of himself.

 

[Joeman]

The pizza and Saul Goodman are both good points. No doubt there are some light comic elements, but I'm with you Snaploud, I think calling it "hilarious" is a bit much.

 

[Agent Richard07]

The latest episode? Brilliant! Just Brilliant. I haven't been on the edge of my seat like that in a long time.

I have been seeing promos on AMC describing season 3 as "Disturbing, Hilarious, and Touching"...

Now, I like to think of myself as having a pretty decent sense of humor, but could someone please point out the "hilarious" moments in this show that I am missing?

Saul Goodman is pretty much a joke in and of himself.

Exactly. He brings in the kind of humor that only a slimy lawyer could. I thought of him when I read your post, Joeman.

 

[Joeman]

I loved Saul's line, "The Starship Enterprise had a self-destruct button. I'm just sayin'".

Man that was intense when Hank had them trapped in the RV. I'm surprised Hank fell for that ploy so easily, without at least trying to call Marie first. Lucky for Jesse and Walt.

Really a tremendous episode. Great scenes in the new lab. Can't wait for next week, and I hope Hank lives through it.

 

[Snaploud]

Man that was intense when Hank had them trapped in the RV. I'm surprised Hank fell for that ploy so easily, without at least trying to call Marie first. Lucky for Jesse and Walt.

I don't think it was luck. 99.99999% of people would never think they were being played by some young uneducated drug-addict in an RV. It's extremely unlikely Jesse would have the connections to find Hank's name, wife, and cellphone number with so little information (maybe the plate number on his car?), and his first priority has got to be getting to the hospital quickly (in case it's her last moments alive or the doctor needs some crucial piece of information only a husband would have). Nobody wants to be the guy who keeps working while his wife is in the hospital dying. It's a matter of self-respect.

I actually figured Walt would go the wife dying route, but it was really quick thinking to get somebody else involved in the lie (rather than call himself, which would have created many more problems). Regardless, Hank is going to make Jesse's life miserable (for using Hank's wife--making Hank think she was dying--and for indicating that he must have some major connections to get the lie accomplished). That's, of course, if Hank lives long enough to do anything to Jesse.

 

[Capt. Vulcan]

Best episode of the season so far. Really intense stand off there with both trapped on the RV, and some nice humor with the two like minded nerds on the lab. Although obviously his new buddy is just trying to get the recipe in case Walt has to die. I was surprised that Walt seemed nostalgic at the old RV and how quickly Jesse reverted to his student role to walt once Hank showed up. It did kind of irk me that they just stood there and watched the RV get crunched. For all they knew Hank could have called his wife on the road and already found out the ruse. I understand the dramatic purpose of having the two characters watch a symbol of their past lives getting destroyed, but they could have set it up better.

I liked how they're handling Saul Goodman this season, who started off as kind of a cock-sure sleazy uber-lawyer caricature. You realize that he's actually pretty low on the ladder, and how much all this stuff really gets to him. Just his expression after he broke the phone said it all. I'm curious where they're going to take the character now.

They're really going to see how bad they can take Walt before everyone hates him aren't they? Making Hank think his wife was dead? Wow... just wow. Hank is probably about ready to go psycho cop on Jesse isn't he? And now, unbeknown to him the crazy brothers are after him. I honestly don't like the characters of the two brothers that much, but I guess they serve their purpose as the impending blade of hte guillotine, but they're kind of stupid. They want to go incognito... so they blow up a truck? They're interesting with how weird they are, but they just seem to mythical for the show.

This is the one drawback to not waiting for a show to be on dvd, I can't wait till the next episode comes up. Which sucks even more for me because I'll be out of the country next sunday and won't even be able to watch it.

 

[Joeman]

Man that was intense when Hank had them trapped in the RV. I'm surprised Hank fell for that ploy so easily, without at least trying to call Marie first. Lucky for Jesse and Walt.

I don't think it was luck. 99.99999% of people would never think they were being played by some young uneducated drug-addict in an RV.

Well I can't really put myself in that situation to know what I would actually do, but I'd like to think that it would at least cross my mind that "wow, this is some awfully convenient timing for these guys". Plus he should know that the "uneducated drug-addict" in the RV is not the only one involved, as in the guy standing outside the RV who is talking to him and is obviously also in on it. He also knows full well that Heisenberg is no slouch at being elusive, so nothing should be taken for granted. He should also be under the assumption that who he is after knows who he is, and that they likely have information about him.

Oh well, no big deal. Just something I immediately thought as it was happening. I have so few criticisms of this show, I really have to nitpick at practically nothing to find anything at all.

 

[Joeman]

This is the one drawback to not waiting for a show to be on dvd, I can't wait till the next episode comes up.

No kidding. I really can't recall being this anxious to see the continuation of a show since some of the Trek season ending cliffhangers. And in this case I only have to wait a week!

Even though I'll know what's going to happen, I'm really looking forward to, when it's all said and done, getting the DVD's and just watching the whole thing start to finish.

 

[stj]

If Walt had bothered to explain to the kid who asked "What about Jesse?" most of the episode wouldn't have happened.
Jesse wasn't even told he was being surveilled. Walt's commitment to being callous led him to make a gross error. He will of course blame Jesse.

We had the proper amount of Skylar this week. Curiously, she was acting the way a rational woman would have acted weeks ago, as in talking about Walt Jr. and the problem of being an accessory. But it was her discovery that the old partner wasn't paying the medical bills that led her to realize Walt was dealing in the first place! How could she be so stupid as to forget that?

The Whitman poem is best construed as antiscience, at least insofar as appreciating nature goes. Watching pH levels is lots more like the astronomer's numbers that made Whitman feel sick. Cooking meth may be a technically skilled procedure (though the idea doesn't seem to fit well with the number of amateur meth labs.) But it isn't new chemistry, it isn't research. Walt doing a production job, not surveying the chemical wonders of nature. I'm not sure the writers understand this or it's supposed to be more of Walt kidding himself.

They've finally got the season under way. Everything is cohering. There's narrative flow instead of floundering.

 

[sidious618]

I'm not seeing Hank coming out of this on top.

 

[Checkmate]

At least Hank has a shot of defending himself against them. And if the events of this episode make him as paranoid as it should, he might actually see them coming, too.

 

[Snaploud]

I'm picturing some version of the end of the Terminator (Hank escaping through a factory as machinery crushes the brothers).

 

[Temis the Vorta]

OH...MY...GOD!

THAT ROCKED!



Well, it's been a while since I reviewed a show in ALL CAPS. One of the flat-out best the series has ever done.

I loved Saul's line, "The Starship Enterprise had a self-destruct button. I'm just sayin'".

That was great. And "Why are we making meth?"

Man that was intense when Hank had them trapped in the RV. I'm surprised Hank fell for that ploy so easily, without at least trying to call Marie first. Lucky for Jesse and Walt.

I think that ploy worked only because Walt knew that Hank deeply loves Marie (despite all appearances) and is a knee-jerk, gut-reaction type of guy. What if Hank hated his wife? What if he was a calm, steely type who would remember to verify that the caller did, in fact, work for the cops? Even if Jesse knew Hank's name and his wife's name, it was pretty convenient that he hit on just the right ploy that would push Hank's buttons.

The interesting thing is: will Hank realize that Jesse either got really lucky, or knew a lot more about Hank than he should? And then start to remember who he was chatting with just before that incident...

 

[sidious618]

I have to say that Dean Norris is doing some fantastic work as Hank. The range of emotions that he displayed in the hospital was heartbreaking and beautiful all at once. He's an immensely talented actor. After that scene they just need to ship the Emmy right to his house.

 

[Temis the Vorta]

The shower scene where he was talking to Marie was great, too. Words say one thing, body language says the opposite.

I also love Giancarlo Esposito as the fried-chicken-kingpin-druglord.