breaking bad

[PhilsFan]

Ahhhhhhhhhh.

 

[DRay9911]

: pours one out :

 

[bonocomet]

Goddammit.

 

[DRay9911]

You just knew when he opened up the bag at the airport.

Really thought he was going to shoot him in the back as he was walking to his car.

 

[corianderstem]

Walter White, I hope you die a horrible, disgusting death, you miserable jackass.




Also, Goin' Down by The Monkees???? HOT DAMN!

 

[Imperor]

Ugh.

 

[Irvine511]

Just when I start to think the show is starting to show some wear and tear, that the writing is getting a little too on the nose, that there's a bit too much expository "here's how the heist will go down," or that Walter is getting a bit too MacGuyver, that major plot developments are a result of Downtown Abbey-esque overheard conversations, womp, turns on a dime and gives us the second most memorable exit of the series.

And from the moment I saw the girl n the swing my BB anxiety kicked into overdrive, i start wringing my hands and whispering "oh no, oh no," and I'm left wondering how the F am I going to fall asleep.

I also was kind of hoping we were going to get some "Pine Barrens" excitement and he was going to pull a Sopranos Russian soldier who killed 10 czechoslovakians.

Alas. May your droopy murder eyes RIP.

 

[Irvine511]

Walter White, I hope you die a horrible, disgusting death, you miserable jackass.

There was a time when I was still quietly rooting for Walter White. But after this we are never ever ever getting back together.

Like, ever.

 

[No spoken words]

I don't/can't really root for anyone on this show, I think that's why I admire it so much. I'm hooked despite there being not one truly redeeming character.

The second Hank decided to tail the lawyer, I knew Mike was a dead man.

This has been a nice stretch of episodes, from the fantastic train heist right up to a fairly poetic death. Looking forward to next week.

 

[cobl04]

There was a time when I was still quietly rooting for Walter White. But after this we are never ever ever getting back together.

Like, ever.

And from the moment I saw the girl n the swing my BB anxiety kicked into overdrive, i start wringing my hands and whispering "oh no, oh no," and I'm left wondering how the F am I going to fall asleep.

Walter White, I hope you die a horrible, disgusting death, you miserable jackass.

You just knew when he opened up the bag at the airport.

Really thought he was going to shoot him in the back as he was walking to his car.

Goddammit.

All of this and then some.

 

[cobl04]

Alan Sepinwall wrote in his review (yes, the thing I do immediately after watching Breaking Bad is read the AV Club review and then Sepinwall's, though his have begun to annoy me, due to the lame "a review of tonight's episode just as soon as I..." things at the start of all of them and his heavy subjectivity) that this episode was a failure for him because he couldn't believe that Mike would let Walter pick up the bag instead of Jesse or Saul, who both like him to some degree. He said it was lazy writing... thoughts? I don't really agree, I still thought it was pretty fucking devastating, the way it all played out.

I don't/can't really root for anyone on this show, I think that's why I admire it so much. I'm hooked despite there being not one truly redeeming character.

Not even Hank? Or Jesse on some level? Huell?

 

[lazarus]

Once again, have to "defend" Walter here. Mike saying that Walter should have "known his place" was rather ridiculous. Gus treated them like shit for a long time, and tried to kill Walt on multiple occasions. His value to the company was never fairly recognized or paid for.

 

[Irvine511]

Gus also knew he could replace Walt with Jesse after Jesse cooked for the cartels and came up with a batch that was 97% pure, I think.

 

[DRay9911]

getting landry to help cook doesn't seem like a good idea

 

[djerdap]

I have to say, I always emphasize that this show is not about the plot and the more you think about how ridiculous the plot devices can be, you tend to forget what makes the show great. Walt finding about the lawyer was horribly lazy. Especially with Hank's clumsy exposition when mentioning "Ehrmantraut". The lawyer thing came out of the blue, and I do believe this show is starting to suffer a bit because of this awkward 2x8 setup. Both of these elements felt very, very rushed.

Mike putting way too much trust into Walt was a stupid move that I really don't think he'd go through at this stage. Moment of panic? Maybe. Clumsily tying him to a radiator is one thing, but giving Walter a bag with a fucking gun on top of it has to bring out some caution. Like at least pull a gun on the guy with whom you had unbearable tension this whole season and for whom you know is a back-stabber. Unfortunately, the entire setup to such an important moment for the show didn't work for me. Dumbing down the characters so they can reach their inevitable fate is something that can be very annoying. And I think it could have been written so much better so easily.

On the positive side of things, Jonathan Banks was incredible and it is sad to see him go. The moment where he can't get to his granddaughter was easily the highlight. I also loved the intense Walt/Jesse showdown and how Jesse is finally refusing to be manipulated by him.

Anyway, in the end, a mixed bag. It seemed a bit too predictable for a show that does like to take left-turns as much as it can. Or maybe I'm just pissed to see my favourite character go, heh.

 

[corianderstem]

I liked Walt's "oh my god what have I done" look on his face after he'd shot Mike. There wasn't anyone around for him to act for, so I can only assume that was genuine.

 

[bonocomet]

getting landry to help cook doesn't seem like a good idea

He now has a million-dollar notebook.....

I have to say, I always emphasize that this show is not about the plot and the more you think about how ridiculous the plot devices can be, you tend to forget what makes the show great. Walt finding about the lawyer was horribly lazy. Especially with Hank's clumsy exposition when mentioning "Ehrmantraut". The lawyer thing came out of the blue, and I do believe this show is starting to suffer a bit because of this awkward 2x8 setup. Both of these elements felt very, very rushed.

Mike putting way too much trust into Walt was a stupid move that I really don't think he'd go through at this stage. Moment of panic? Maybe. Clumsily tying him to a radiator is one thing, but giving Walter a bag with a fucking gun on top of it has to bring out some caution. Like at least pull a gun on the guy with whom you had unbearable tension this whole season and for whom you know is a back-stabber. Unfortunately, the entire setup to such an important moment for the show didn't work for me. Dumbing down the characters so they can reach their inevitable fate is something that can be very annoying. And I think it could have been written so much better so easily.

On the positive side of things, Jonathan Banks was incredible and it is sad to see him go. The moment where he can't get to his granddaughter was easily the highlight. I also loved the intense Walt/Jesse showdown and how Jesse is finally refusing to be manipulated by him.

Anyway, in the end, a mixed bag. It seemed a bit too predictable for a show that does like to take left-turns as much as it can. Or maybe I'm just pissed to see my favourite character go, heh.

Totally agree with all of this.

And that: "The moment where he can't get to his granddaughter was easily the highlight."

Absolutely.

 

[Irvine511]

They had Walt get the bag because Mike wanted to protect Jesse, and Jesse is known to Hank, whereas Walt isn't. It's a bit weak, but plausible in the situation.

I bet Lydia's earlier wish to have Mike shoot her and not just disappear so that her daughter would find the body and know that she didn't abandon her was going through Mike's head.

 

[djerdap]

They had Walt get the bag because Mike wanted to protect Jesse, and Jesse is known to Hank, whereas Walt isn't. It's a bit weak, but plausible in the situation.

That wasn't my main issue. I think the main problem is that Mike is so annoyingly nonchalant with Walt during their final meeting, when he should have known better. And after three seasons of the show making him a very intelligent and cautious guy, it just wasn't believable to me. It's such a shame that the build-up is so naive for a moment so poignant.

 

[No spoken words]

I'm forced to agree. I thought the chaining him to the radiator was excusable due to several factors, but, here, at the end, with all of their history, to just take the bag and turn your back on Walt, especially after yet another verbal altercation was hard to believe and I have to admit it took me out of the moment for a bit.....once Walt found Mike bleeding out by the river I snapped back to, but, yeah....and trust me, I hate being nit picky towards such a beloved show but in a show so rich with well thought out detail, this was very hard to swallow.

Still liked the episode over all and I still look forward to next week.

 

[deep]

they got eight episodes left, so Mike got a good run

now we have a dynamic where Jesse can really hates Walt, because Walt promised him there would be no more killing. And now it looks like Walt is going on a killing spree with 'the nine'. The final show down could be Walt vs Jesse.

 

[bonocomet]

There could be a team Jesse/Skylar thing in the making....




And there were sure a lot of notes being taken by Walt's new assistant. And that guy would probably have no problem selling it and disappearing from the face of Walt's planet... could be the end of Walt's empire right there.

 

[deep]

I think the notes thing is over thinking, Gale had notes, one could get information from the Internet


unless it is someting real stupid like he drops it in one the houses they are cooking in, which is really bad writing, don't know why they set that up. they obviously could be cooking at the pest control site, they set the equipment up there to clean it, no one is ever around.
In real life they could never cook is a person's home. When people have their house tented, they have to board their animals and go stay in a hotel or someplace else. The time frame is 72 hours. It can easily costs $200 - $300 bucks a day to be out of one's house. They could not stretch that an extra day or two.
In a vacant house, a bank owned house, sure. the writing this season has really slipped.

so why the notebook, why the occupied houses? and why is Todd being set up as someone that could fuck up?

 

[Irvine511]

I think the notes thing is over thinking,




In real life they could never cook is a persons home. When people have their house tented, they have to board their animals and go stay ina hotel or someplace else. The time frame is 72 hours. It can easily costs $200 - $300 bucks a day to be out of one's house. They could not strech that an extra day or two.
In a vacant house, a bank owned house, sure. the writing this season has really slipped.

Really?

 

[deep]

absolutely, 100 %

For the last 30 years I have been having people sign off on those pest control clearnesses and releases. People with kids, often stay and watch the tents go on. They want to know the minute the tents are off so they can get inside to all of their crap. A Gas Co employee has to come out and disconnect the gas line and put a plug in it. If a pilot went out or if a gas line broke the house could blow up. they ask the neighbors to watch the place to make sure no one tries to crawl under the tent and rob the place. or some kid or homeless person sneaks in and dies.

Most of these issues would not exist if they only went for all the foreclosed homes that are vacant. Bank owned homes do sometimes get pest control work done. And even more likely they could just go to a vacant house and tent it without waiting for an order, who would care? They could cook the full three days, and if they went over a day, no one would care.

 

[DRay9911]

I wasn't thinking of Landry's notebook. He just seems to be too dumb to be able to handle it. Like if he was left to do it alone, he'd blow up the house they are cooking in or make a bad batch and kill a bunch of people.

On the preview for next week, was it the laundry manager who wants to flip? Is it because Walt gets Landry's friends/relatives in prison to start knocking off the guys on the list?

 

[Irvine511]

absolutely, 100 %

For the last 30 years I have been having people sign off on those pest control clearnesses and releases. People with kids, often stay and watch the tents go on. They want to know the minute the tents are off so they can get inside to all of their crap. A Gas Co employee has to come out and disconnect the gas line and put a plug in it. If a pilot went out or if a gas line broke the house could blow up. they ask the neighbors to watch the place to make sure no one tries to crawl under the tent and rob the place. or some kid or homeless person sneaks in and dies.

Most of these issues would not exist if they only went for all the foreclosed homes that are vacant. Bank owned homes do sometimes get pest control work done. And even more likely they could just go to a vacant house and tent it without waiting for an order, who would care? They could cook the full three days, and if they went over a day, no one would care.

I ca get behind nitpicking when characters act out of character for plot purposes.

This seems a bit much.

 

[PhilsFan]

I wasn't as in disbelief with the Mike situation at the end because I think he was really thrown off of his game. He was only thinking of himself and those he wanted to protect (his granddaughter, Jesse). He did not see that coming. He thought he was in the clear, at peace. It was the first time he had been taken that off guard by someone other than Walt.

 

[Lancemc]

Perfection

 

[deep]

yes, those are all great shots, others have mentioned the production values. They are still holding up, better than the writing. I expect this season 5a and 5b not to be their best. Still very good tv, worth watching and looking forward to.
But, I can not rate this the best t v series ever, certainly on my best list, though.