Breaking Bad - Season 5

[sidious618]

There must be something wrong with me because while I find the show dark, I don't find it that dark. I actually get a lot of laughs out of it ("Not that Marie is the poster child for mental health." ) and genuinely look forward to the show every week.

 

[Robert Maxwell]

Yeah, none of these people are worth looking up to (except maybe Hank) but it is compelling as hell to watch.

 

[sidious618]

Yeah, none of these people are worth looking up to (except maybe Hank) but it is compelling as hell to watch.

Yeah, Hank is the only decent guy on the show and, admittedly, he is pretty decent. He cares about Walt even though Walt has always been cold to him. I do feel a lot for Jesse but I'd never look up to the guy. Marie is a good person but I don't know that anyone should look up to her.

 

[Dorian Thompson]

Oh, I enjoy it, too. I just think Walter is royally screwed no matter what happens, and deservedly so. A character can be compelling even if he isn't likable. Walt's compelling in the extreme, but he's not likable. Hank's likable. Jesse's likable. Walt.....Walt's not likable.

Hank's the only one with clean hands. I like Jesse well enough (he does have that intangible lost puppy quality) but he's not to be looked up to either. It's too easy to forget that Jesse deals drugs.

 

[gblews]

I suspect that's Mr. Gilligan's intention.

Yeah but it's to the point where I'm not enjoying it.

I need some good news soon.

Then I would advise looking elsewhere because this thing is only going to get worse -- much worse.

 

[MadOnion]

It's too easy to forget that Jesse deals drugs.

Its even easier to forget Jesse killed a guy. Arguably one of the most innocent people ever to be killed on the show. And a Star Trek fan.

 

[InklingStar]

[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wugY6HNLOCo[/yt]

Never forget.

 

[Shurik]

^ This is brilliant.

 

[sidious618]

That was such a brilliant scene in the show. So sad and yet hilarious. I love that they gave us a longer video of it.

 

[Roger Wilco]

I'm disappointed but not surprised to hear that people love Walt and hate Skylar. This is a new age and the morality which admires winners is ever more dominant. That's why I think it's very likely that Walt will win, in some fashion or other. He may have killed Jesse, Skylar, Mike, Hankd and Saul and lost Junior and Holly, so that the writers can tell themselves they're writing a tragic end. But there is an excellent chance Walt will walk into the sunset. There's even a chance there will be a wild contortion of the plot so that Walt's effort to protect someone in the flashforward is foreshadowing his makeshift redemption.

"Nothing stops the train. Nothing."

Walt said it right there in the last episode. There are only three ways for a criminal career to end - walking away, death or prison, and Walt clearly can't even entertain the thought of the first.

 

[Dorian Thompson]

There's even a chance there will be a wild contortion of the plot so that Walt's effort to protect someone in the flashforward is foreshadowing his makeshift redemption.

Jesse? He'd come back from witness protection/fleeing from a rival drug manufactuer/hiding from the law to protect Jesse, maybe? That's the only scenario I can envision that makes even the slightest bit of sense character wise. Question is, does Walter give enough of a shit about Jesse anymore? At this point, I wonder if he'd let Jesse take the fall for the whole enterprise if it would help Walter escape prosecution.

I keep thinking even Walter wouldn't stoop quite that low, but if he's keeping that ricin around behind the bedroom's electrical outlet, (possibly to use against Skyler) maybe he would. Another alternative--having killed Skyler, lost his children and having to run from the law--or his cancer has returned after all this has happened....maybe a dying Walter wants to commit one last, non heinous act and decides to get Jesse out of danger and/or trouble? Too schmaltzy, or do you buy it because of the great, twisted chemistry of Cranston and Paul? What was the point of Walt's freudian slip mumbling, "Bye, Jesse" to Walter Jr. when he left his beaten father in his bedroom? On some extremely selfish level, perhaps Walter still gives a damn about Jesse? Walter seems to evolve and mutate every week. I can't tell about him anymore.

 

[Tom]

Wow what a great episode! Lot of tension with the train. Walter is getting more evil. Poor kid on the dirt bike.

 

[Agent Richard07]

^ Yeah, a real bona fide train heist. Absolutely fantastic television. It was a well put together episode overall. We got ourselves another one of their cryptic intros that only made sense later and they wouldn't let things end without consequence. Poor kid indeed.

What happens when those devices in Hank's office are discovered? Putting a bug in the pic and a wire right on the computer seemed like a dumb move. There had to have been an easier way. And what was the computer hook-up for? I didn't notice them making use of it.

 

[sidious618]

Okay, now that was really dark. I kept thinking that Walt would try to off Todd and then... Shit.

 

[Agent Richard07]

^ I thought the same thing.

Never forget.

Never forget indeed...

[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=awwciziVmds[/yt]

 

[stj]

It's just a little bit of a cheat to have Todd to step up to the plate unasked and shoot the kid. Will Walter think Todd's a tradeup on Jesse?

Not making it necessary for Walter to give the order is at least defensible. I don't understand how Skylar could possibly think she can keep Junior/Flynn away from Walt when she won't even bother to give the kid a reason. She has to know that all she's doing is leaving Walt the opportunity to paint her as the villain. If she really wants to keep Junior away she has to say something.

The recap included Walt saying the melamine must flow. This is to my ears a blatant allusion to Dune, and Baron Harkonnen. (Ian Macniece or Kenneth MacMillan, take your pick.) Who knew Walt was an SF fan?

 

[Snaploud]

I don't think Walter would trade Jesse for Todd. Todd's a bit of a wild card, and Jesse is the one who keeps coming up with ideas. In fact, I think there's a good chance Jesse becomes kingpin (and/or kills Walt) at the end of the show.

Regarding the wiretap: I'm surprised Walt wasn't worried about fingerprints. It's at least somewhat possible that the police chief's office is checked for bugs on a regular basis.

 

[Dorian Thompson]

Walt could always revisit his good old brother-in-law at the office and take the bug out. Great episode. I can't believe I didn't see it coming with the kid. I knew Todd was going to do something awful thanks to that asshole reviewer at TV Guide who stated that Todd was going to be "pure evil" but claimed she wouldn't give spoilers. That'll teach me to read an advance preview. I'm so mad at myself for that. I thought that Todd would shoot the train's crew.

Loved that Jesse came up with the idea; I don't think Walter is looking to trade up. He knows Jesse and trusts him. There's also the arrogance that he has Jesse in the palm of his hand with his own manipulations--that satisfaction that he was able to "change Jesse's mind about him," even though it was all his bullshit lies.

Of course, Jesse went off the deep end after having to kill Gale to save good ole Walt. I wonder what the boy dying as a result of his idea is going to do to him. Even Walter had the decency to look shocked. Perhaps he was. This is going to cause ripples between Jesse, Walt, and Mike. Sooner or later Jesse's going to have to own his own responsibility in all this. Big time problems times one hundred. Also, Walter Jr. is going to be a fly in the ointment. You can't just turn a teenager's life around and give zero explanation like that. They aren't children even if they aren't financially self sufficient enough to live on their own. Yes, they need to respect their parents, but parents need to realize that having your life changed through no fault of your own brings emotional turmoil to a mind not yet fully mature. Still, Walter Jr. bugs me because he looks 30. How old is the actor now, playing a kid who's supposed to be 16? I keep thinking, "Move out of the house! You're a grown man you fool!" He looks Jesse's age. RJ Mitte is probably close to Aaron Paul's age.

In fact, I think there's a good chance Jesse becomes kingpin (and/or kills Walt) at the end of the show.

I don't think Jesse has it in him morally to be a kingpin, but this incident could be the catalyst for his eventually turning against Walter. This is going to eat Jesse alive.

 

[Guy Gardener]

i spent he whole episode thinking that Todd was an undercover cop.

Well.

That seems unlikely now.

 

[Harvey]

Still, Walter Jr. bugs me because he looks 30. How old is the actor now, playing a kid who's supposed to be 16? I keep thinking, "Move out of the house! You're a grown man you fool!" He looks Jesse's age. RJ Mitte is probably close to Aaron Paul's age.

RJ Mitte is 19, and will be turning 20 this month.

Aaron Paul is 32, and will be turning 33 this month.