Breaking Bad

[wuapinmon]

There's definitely been some great stuff, but just not a lot has been happening in terms of advancing the story up until this last episode. It's been more about dealing with the repercussions of last season than moving anything this season. Also,

Spoiler for Spoilers:

Hank not making more of a connection to Walt at this point is right on the verge of silly. If they go much longer, and I think they have to since my impression has always been that Hank finding out will be more or less the climax of the series, it's going to get to the point where the show loses some credibility. For now they're still getting away with it, but I don't know for how much longer.

Spoiler for wuap's crazy theories full of spoilers:

I agree with your assertion, but I've been considering how they will deal with the notion of Hank getting to walk again, having his life back, realizing the futility of fighting it, knowing that it all is for naught, and yet, it healed him and his relationship with his wife, how then will a disgraced DEA agent accuse his own brother-in-law? Especially after the stuff went missing from the high school lab and Hank "knows" that Walt bought "pot" from Pinkman during chemo, how then can he admit that he couldn't see it all along? I think the show, ultimately, will be as much as about Hank and his change from good/bad to whatever he becomes, as it is about Walter White's fall from honest, moral, and upright citizen to murdering drug lord.

I also think Heisenberg's going to take out Gus with his own two hands the way that Gus killed the other guy in front of Walt. Gus will die in the lab, the same place that he wanted Walt to die. Walt will have to kill him once he catches wind that the DEA is on to him. If Gus goes down, Walt goes down.

[BoylenOver]

[Jeff Lebowski]

Now the season is really starting to roll.

[MarkGrace]

Sure is. Last season felt like it started out with a bang, lulled in the middle, and then ended on a high again. This season has felt more like a consistently slow build that is now starting to head toward its high.

[old_gregg]

i hope we get more of gus's story before he gets a bullet in the dome

[MarkGrace]

i hope we get more of gus's story before he gets a bullet in the dome

We're finally getting his backstory now that he's about to get a bullet in the dome. That's one of the things that's always bothered me about the show.

[RobinFinderson]

We're finally getting his backstory now that he's about to get a bullet in the dome. That's one of the things that's always bothered me about the show.

Yep. The show is very good, but I think it could be much better. It moves way too slowly considering how many great characters there are. The Sopranos demonstrated how a show could still develop a large cast of characters while keeping things moving. Vince Gilligan just hasn't figured out how to do that, and for at least two seasons now, the show has felt overly tied up in resolving the fallout from the previous season's cliffhanger. It is a slow burn that I think is one of the show's flaws. When it all comes to an end next season, or after two abbreviated seasons, I think the final verdict will be -- great show, lots of missed opportunity.

[MarkGrace]

Yep. The show is very good, but I think it could be much better. It moves way too slowly considering how many great characters there are. The Sopranos demonstrated how a show could still develop a large cast of characters while keeping things moving. Vince Carter just hasn't figured out how to do that, and for at least two seasons now, the show has felt overly tied up in resolving the fallout from the previous season's cliffhanger. It is a slow burn that I think is one of the show's flaws. When it all comes to an end next season, or after two abbreviated seasons, I think the final verdict will be -- great show, lots of missed opportunity.

I don't think it's a very large cast of characters. In fact, the cast of characters seems small to me, which I think has highlighted another weakness. There are basically only six core characters: Hank, Marie, Walt, Skyler, Hank Jr, Jesse. The rest are just ancillary players. These are the characters with real value in the show, and in order to push the stakes and tension the way they want to, they need to prove they are willing to off a character with value. However, the core group of characters is so small that it's tough for them to remove even one. I think this has always been a Catch .22 for the show.

[wuapinmon]

I don't think it's a very large cast of characters. In fact, the cast of characters seems small to me, which I think has highlighted another weakness. There are basically only six core characters: Hank, Marie, Walt, Skyler, Hank Jr, Jesse. The rest are just ancillary players. These are the characters with real value in the show, and in order to push the stakes and tension the way they want to, they need to prove they are willing to off a character with value. However, the core group of characters is so small that it's tough for them to remove even one. I think this has always been a Catch .22 for the show.

Walt Jr. is going to get it. Meth always hurts the innocent.

[RobinFinderson]

I don't think it's a very large cast of characters. In fact, the cast of characters seems small to me, which I think has highlighted another weakness. There are basically only six core characters: Hank, Marie, Walt, Skyler, Hank Jr, Jesse. The rest are just ancillary players. These are the characters with real value in the show, and in order to push the stakes and tension the way they want to, they need to prove they are willing to off a character with value. However, the core group of characters is so small that it's tough for them to remove even one. I think this has always been a Catch .22 for the show.

True. And Walt Jr. has been totally wasted. The show should have pivoted, at some point, on Walt Jr. learning about his father's business, and either wanting in on the action in a way that brings Walt's moral failings clear to him, or that he gets drawn into the business by necessity, like Michael Corleone protecting his incapacitated father in The Godfather.

And what is the symbolic meaning of Hank's rocks? The season has spent way too much time on the rocks for it to mean nothing, but I don't get it.

But I bet they are going to kill off someone important this seasons...

Spoiler for RobinFinderson's guess for where things are going:

The show is setting up conflict between Walt and Jesse in order to highlight a moral choice that Walt will have to make in the finale -- he will have to choose between saving the life of Hank or Jesse. He will choose to protect Jesse. Gus will also die, as will Mike, and next season will have Walt dealing with the Mexican mafia, with Jesse stepping into a Mike-like-role for which he is totally unprepared and unfit.

[MarkGrace]

Walt Jr. is going to get it. Meth always hurts the innocent.

He should have in season 2. I've basically never recovered from that cop out. He has no point in the show these days other than to show up for meals (and I guess maybe as a pawn in the struggle between Walt and Skylar).

[MarkGrace]

True. And Walt Jr. has been totally wasted. The show should have pivoted, at some point, on Walt Jr. learning about his father's business, and either wanting in on the action in a way that brings Walt's moral failings clear to him, or that he gets drawn into the business by necessity, like Michael Corleone protecting his incapacitated father in The Godfather.

And what is the symbolic meaning of Hank's rocks? The season has spent way too much time on the rocks for it to mean nothing, but I don't get it.

But I bet they are going to kill off someone important this seasons...

Spoiler for RobinFinderson's guess for where things are going:

The show is setting up conflict between Walt and Jesse in order to highlight a moral choice that Walt will have to make in the finale -- he will have to choose between saving the life of Hank or Jesse. He will choose to protect Jesse. Gus will also die, as will Mike, and next season will have Walt dealing with the Mexican mafia, with Jesse stepping into a Mike-like-role for which he is totally unprepared and unfit.

I always assumed the blue rocks (minerals!) had something to do with his fascination with the blue meth. But really I have no idea what is going on there -- I'm sure we'll find out soon enough.

[wuapinmon]

I always assumed the blue rocks (minerals!) had something to do with his fascination with the blue meth. But really I have no idea what is going on there -- I'm sure we'll find out soon enough.

I'm not so sure that the rocks are any thing other than his new obsession since his old one (police work) was unavailable. We get lots of obsessions that are pointless in the show (everything purple). The point is, people obsess about certain things, why not rocks?

As for Walt Jr., the pawn thing is important, but as soon as we get an episode that's all about their relationship, Death will come knocking.

[RobinFinderson]

Another revelation I read... probably on Salon. This is just the author's guess, but it makes sense to me:

Spoiler for A guess about Gus.:

Gus is gay. The chemist he was working with in the flashbacks to Mexico was his lover. Take a look at his big gay bachelor pad, and what he eats and how he dresses... stereotypes for sure, but there you have it. What might this say about his special interest in Jesse?

[MarkGrace]

Someone we were watching it with mentioned that immediately when we saw the flashback to mexico scene, and there was a big discussion on it in the comments to sepinwalls review. Fwiw, I read that gilligan said that interpretation wasn't specifically intended, but there wasn't really anything intended and it was just one of those things they were going to kind of leave to the viewer. But I didn't read that comment first-hand, so who knows.