Breaking Bad

[jtran10]

You need your own BB blog yo - nice write up...

seconded. nice post.

[DougW]

You forget that walt and the prison gang have a history together. ...



... If Walt's character arc has any redemption left, it will be to return to ABQ to try and end the evils he has created and loosed upon his community. There is no other atonement left to him. ....., just a nod to the classics of tragic literature.

totally agree on Nazis position ... but is he going back for atonement or to be the wrath of Walt? On Jesse because he's alive ( blue meth) or on Gretchen and Elliot for publicly belittling his part in company or Jack and the Nazis for taking his money ( of course forgetting that without Jack he would have no money and be in prison).

[FrankZappa]

I partied with Walter White on Saturday night!



... in Villa Grove. Dude was a complete look-alike. But... had absolutely no idea who Bryan Cranston is & had never heard of Breaking Bad.
- no need to touch me.[/useless almost unrelated sidenote]

[Meadow Skipper]

You forget that walt and the prison gang have a history together. They killed 10 guys for him. He taught Todd how to cook and Todd likes him. Todd has been their cash cow. And walt is white and a big time criminal, which actually means something in the white power prison gang world. Walt made them rich and never fucked them over, so yeah, he earned "respect" of a sort.

Todd is the anti-Jesse. Jesse is tortured by his conscience but is a sloppy, ineffective, disruptive character. Todd, by comparison, has no conscience but is neat, polite and efficient. When Walt goes fully over to the darkside, his warped father-son relationship with Jesse ends and Walt replaces him with Todd. Now, for those of you not familiar with symbolism, "Tod" is the german word for death.

If Walt died in the desert with Hank, he would not have witnessed the total undoing of his work and his reduction to a prisoner in a cell of his own making. Walt always thought death was waiting for him around the corner, right?...so how is his death a fitting punishment for his deeds? Tragedy demands that the tragic hero be brought low as he realizes his tragic flaw in the last act. Walt is driven by pride. Walt has desperately needed to prove that he's always the smartest guy in the room even though people will get killed to prove it. Walt has always been about family, money, control and respect but its all centered on his pride, mostly. Having lost all of them, essentially, with a family that hates him, money he can't spend, trapped in a shitty cabin and dependent on the disappear guy for everything, publically disgraced and disavowed by everyone who ever knew him....now Walt has died in every way but physically. There is real dramatic meaning there when Walter jr. shouts "why don't you just die already?" Because the question remaning is whether Walt understands these consequences were all brought upon himself or if he continues to always see himself as the guy who got cheated by life. Is he still driven by his pride now that it has been totally taken from him? If Walt's character arc has any redemption left, it will be to return to ABQ to try and end the evils he has created and loosed upon his community. There is no other atonement left to him. He must finally assume responsibility for what he has done and make sure it ends with him. Heisenberg destroyed everything good Walter White had done. Will Walter White return in the finale to destroy Heisenberg in turn? Not a "hole in the writing" in my opinion, just a nod to the classics of tragic literature.

Whoa, were you a comp lit major, yo?

[Two06]

You forget that walt and the prison gang have a history together. They killed 10 guys for him. He taught Todd how to cook and Todd likes him. Todd has been their cash cow. And walt is white and a big time criminal, which actually means something in the white power prison gang world. Walt made them rich and never fucked them over, so yeah, he earned "respect" of a sort.

Todd is the anti-Jesse. Jesse is tortured by his conscience but is a sloppy, ineffective, disruptive character. Todd, by comparison, has no conscience but is neat, polite and efficient. When Walt goes fully over to the darkside, his warped father-son relationship with Jesse ends and Walt replaces him with Todd. Now, for those of you not familiar with symbolism, "Tod" is the german word for death.

If Walt died in the desert with Hank, he would not have witnessed the total undoing of his work and his reduction to a prisoner in a cell of his own making. Walt always thought death was waiting for him around the corner, right?...so how is his death a fitting punishment for his deeds? Tragedy demands that the tragic hero be brought low as he realizes his tragic flaw in the last act. Walt is driven by pride. Walt has desperately needed to prove that he's always the smartest guy in the room even though people will get killed to prove it. Walt has always been about family, money, control and respect but its all centered on his pride, mostly. Having lost all of them, essentially, with a family that hates him, money he can't spend, trapped in a shitty cabin and dependent on the disappear guy for everything, publically disgraced and disavowed by everyone who ever knew him....now Walt has died in every way but physically. There is real dramatic meaning there when Walter jr. shouts "why don't you just die already?" Because the question remaning is whether Walt understands these consequences were all brought upon himself or if he continues to always see himself as the guy who got cheated by life. Is he still driven by his pride now that it has been totally taken from him? If Walt's character arc has any redemption left, it will be to return to ABQ to try and end the evils he has created and loosed upon his community. There is no other atonement left to him. He must finally assume responsibility for what he has done and make sure it ends with him. Heisenberg destroyed everything good Walter White had done. Will Walter White return in the finale to destroy Heisenberg in turn? Not a "hole in the writing" in my opinion, just a nod to the classics of tragic literature.

Yeah I just thought the scene where they let Walt go with his barrel of cash was too Hollywood. Not saying the whole show is completely realistic to begin with, but nothing had ever stood out as completely unbelievable until this happened.

Maybe I don't completely understand the whole White Power gang dynamic, but I do understand the criminal underworld mentality. To any gang involved in serious criminal activity, when 80 million in cash presents itself after the killing of 2 DEA agents, there's only one logical option. Kill anyone else that witnessed it, take the 80 million, and get the fuck out of dodge. Respect doesn't enter the equation, it's just too much risk to leave Walt or Jesse alive for that matter. 4 dead bodies in the desert, that is the safest option. We're talking about people that do hits for cash here... I think you're giving them too much credit for a moral code.

[Benny Profane]

Agreed, but, I thought that all logic went out the window when those guys managed to kill eight prisoners in different prisons within a two minute time frame. Really. Only on TV.

[nogophers]

Agreed, but, I thought that all logic went out the window when those guys managed to kill eight prisoners in different prisons within a two minute time frame. Really. Only on TV.

Maybe a bit unrealistic, but I thought the prison killing montage was one of the best in the series.

[nogophers]

A reader speculates in today's Wall Street Journal on the ending:

“Walt stops in a diner in New Jersey and interrupts a Soprano meal to team with Tony to stop the Nazis (also fixing the Sopranos ending)”

[neckdeep]

totally agree on Nazis position ... but is he going back for atonement or to be the wrath of Walt? On Jesse because he's alive ( blue meth) or on Gretchen and Elliot for publicly belittling his part in company or Jack and the Nazis for taking his money ( of course forgetting that without Jack he would have no money and be in prison).

I just watched the ep again and noticed something interesting about the final scene. Walt is at the bar after calling the DEA and the TV announcer in the background says the word "turnovers" like three or four times, then there is a screeching accelerating sound, Walt visably flinches, and then the channel changes to gretchen and elliot on the charlie rose show. And yes they do deny Walt's importance in their company history but its Gretchen's statement at the end, about Walt's transformation and how he was once a sweet, wonderful friend, that seems to land the gut punch in Walt's expression. There's a cue there, some sort of narrative shift. It's the writer's deliberate choice to have the disembodied voice repeating "turnover" right as Walt totally hits bottom that got my attention. Reminds me of the accusing disembodied eye that was used several episodes in season two as Walt slides deeper. He is angry for a moment but then it looks like the wind goes out of his sails there because Gretchen's statement basically reminds him that he once knew right from wrong and had people who cared about him. The Walt we saw buying the M60 and retrieving the ricin capsule didn't seem to be raging. More like a sad resignation to a task ahead. There's a number of scenes in this ep that seem to symbolize Heisenberg is dying. Delusional, frantic plans to hire a team of hitmen and then a total physical collapse when he tries to intimidate Saul. The scenes with the hat. The realization that his money is not power and it now costs $10,000 an hour to buy a "friend". His pathetic scheme to get money to his family fails; he no longer has any charm over walt jr. And the final shot is that the drink and napkin are still there but the man (Heisenberg?) has vanished.

Any predictions?

If I wrote it, I'd have Walt prove his deviousness one last time at Todd and Uncle Jack's expense, shoot up the gang and destroy the lab and methylamine tank. He'd discover what was left of Jesse and in his shame he'd free him expecting Jesse to kill him but Jesse just limps away. Then Walt drag's his broken, dying self out to Hank's grave, apologizes to Hank and talks to the sky about what a fool he's been(you know, get in a good King Lear moment). Then he calls the DEA with the grave's location but takes the ricin because, even at the end, he's still to proud to let the DEA haul him in to face the music and too needful of control to lie around and wait to die from his cancer.

[Meadow Skipper]

[...].

Any predictions?

If I wrote it, I'd have Walt prove his deviousness one last time at Todd and Uncle Jack's expense, shoot up the gang and destroy the lab and methylamine tank. He'd discover what was left of Jesse and in his shame he'd free him expecting Jesse to kill him but Jesse just limps away. Then Walt drag's his broken, dying self out to Hank's grave, apologizes to Hank and talks to the sky about what a fool he's been(you know, get in a good King Lear moment). Then he calls the DEA with the grave's location but takes the ricin because, even at the end, he's still to proud to let the DEA haul him in to face the music and too needful of control to lie around and wait to die from his cancer.

Give it up for neckdeep - dude's on a roll.

[Jer]

...and Todd kills Lydia.

[oftpiste]

^^^after he has his way with her?

[Meadow Skipper]

^^^after he has his way with her?

Or before. I wouldn't put it past him.

[nogophers]

Neckdeep has stimulated my wife's interest. Great analysis.

[Vt-Freeheel]

Enough speculating 12 hours to find out what really happens!

[Meadow Skipper]

You're gonna need a bigger knife.

[splat]

I'll make my prediction - Walt saves Jesse but Walt dies Tony Montana style, Jesse takes care of Walt's family.

[Vt-Freeheel]

Well done

[Soups]

Yes/no? Not a gun guy. Realistic to some degree?

Awesome end. Pretty much perfect. "Baby Blue" Badfinger, nice touch

[Hott Butt Mud]

Is this the Low Winter Sun thread?

[mnflyfish]

That's how to end a series! Wish the Dexter writers could watch this and get a do-over.

[nogophers]

Way to tie up those loose ends in just 75 minutes. Well done.

[neckdeep]

Yes/no? Not a gun guy. Realistic to some degree?

C'mon, it's Walt...you knew when it was time to "say hello to my little friend", there had to be a trick worthy of Don Tio's booby trapped wheelchair. An M60 fires big ol' .308 slugs so yeah it could totally chop a flimsy house in half. Recoil tearing up the bot would be the real issue.

Satisfying end. About what I expected. Didn't think they'd send Walt out as a full on Macbeth/Richard III and his character was always too proud to go out with a wimper. He confessed (he didn't break bad, circumstances didn't make him do evil things, it was always there in him) but he didn't apologize.

[stalefish3169]

Solid. Fucking. Ending.

I just loved the part when Lydia put the Stevia in her tea and shit got all artistic. You just knew she was a goner right there. It got even better when Walt told her she was hosed.

[Benny Profane]

Where the fuck did all of that money come from? He left the bar with a large shoebox of cash, and suddenly an entire stack is on the table?