Breaking Bad - Season 5 - Page 10

Yeah, his lighting up would be a very clever ending but not a particularly suitable one.

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Originally Posted by zak chase 

Go easy on me, gents. 

No need, you did a great job. Looking forward to more. 

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Originally Posted by Jacob Singer 

 

No need, you did a great job. Looking forward to more. 

Thanks, Jacob. Appreciated. Next one should be a bit longer, as this one was written under very short notice (though I thought it turned out well enough).

I think this was touched on earlier in the thread, but once Hank figures out that someone's still pulling the strings *and* realizes that the big magnet had to have come from the junkyard, he's going to be on old Joe like white on rice.  He was a serious pain in Hank's ass in season 3 and was a pivotal part of Hank's subsequent misfortune (not really, but I'm sure Hank will have it out for him).  I'm really anxious to see where that's going to go.  I don't know if they're trying to replace Walt as the protagonist, but I'm starting to hope Hank comes out on top when all is said and done.

Walt talked about how everything, magnet included, was untraceable salvage.  Even if they ask Horace Shapiro, Landfill Attorney, he'll just claim it was stolen.  He doesn't seem the type to incriminate himself when the cops don't have anything solid on him, or to have overlooked such a giant potential problem when hooking up Walt.

Good take on the season premiere, Zak! The Mike quote was a great way to start it. My favorite line of the night just edging out "YEAH, BITCH! MAGNETS!"

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Originally Posted by Rene (Mr.Eko) 

Good take on the season premiere, Zak! The Mike quote was a great way to start it. My favorite line of the night just edging out "YEAH, BITCH! MAGNETS!"

Thanks! It's hard to top any Pinkman line that includes the word "bitch," but Mike was up to the task on Sunday. I think I'm going to lead off all of these reviews with my favorite quote of the night.

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Originally Posted by Schwartz 

Walt talked about how everything, magnet included, was untraceable salvage.  Even if they ask Horace Shapiro, Landfill Attorney, he'll just claim it was stolen.  He doesn't seem the type to incriminate himself when the cops don't have anything solid on him, or to have overlooked such a giant potential problem when hooking up Walt.

Yeah, Joe is obviously an individual who has taken special care to understand the specifics of his rights.  Hank might make a run at him but between Walt and Joe I'm fairly sure that base is covered.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Schwartz 

Walt talked about how everything, magnet included, was untraceable salvage.  Even if they ask Horace Shapiro, Landfill Attorney, he'll just claim it was stolen.  He doesn't seem the type to incriminate himself when the cops don't have anything solid on him, or to have overlooked such a giant potential problem when hooking up Walt.

Because Schwartz says so.

Glad to have this back on the air. So much fun packed into that hour. Can't wait for next week.

I've actually tried that "Franch" combination before.  Only slightly healthier than meth.

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Originally Posted by Bailey 

Maybe Walt Jr. will have Ricin Bran one morning for breakfast.

Notice the breakfast table?  Getting warmer!

That was some intense shit with Mike. Wow. 

Great episode, mostly because it was about 90% Mike oriented. The opening segment was also great. Love how Mike schooled Hank and his partner.

So the magnet heist leads to Mike losing his granddaughter's trust fund. Classic Breaking Bad.

I'm a bit unsure of the Lydia character. She'll come into sharper focus soon, but after years of TV watching, I tend to balk at new major characters introduced during a show's final stretch. Hopefully her arc will be satisfying; if any show can do that, it's this one.

Refresh my memory: Do they still have the Laser Tag place, or was all of that money moved to the car wash? If not, I was thinking the Laser Tag place could be the new meth lab.

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Originally Posted by Mangy 

So the magnet heist leads to Mike losing his granddaughter's trust fund. Classic Breaking Bad.

 

I'm a bit unsure of the Lydia character. She'll come into sharper focus soon, but after years of TV watching, I tend to balk at new major characters introduced during a show's final stretch. Hopefully her arc will be satisfying; if any show can do that, it's this one.

 

Refresh my memory: Do they still have the Laser Tag place, or was all of that money moved to the car wash? If not, I was thinking the Laser Tag place could be the new meth lab.

I honestly don't know how they could even go forward after season 4 without introducing new characters.  I think it would be fairly unrealistic not to see some of Fring's connections come into focus one way or another after  his death.  

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Originally Posted by Kevin Macken 

I honestly don't know how they could even go forward after season 4 without introducing new characters.  I think it would be fairly unrealistic not to see some of Fring's connections come into focus one way or another after  his death.  

Absolutely, and like I said, if any show can do it, it's this. I just know that, traditionally, bringing new characters into the late stages of the game haven't worked out very well.

(And by "traditionally", I mean "The Wire and Lost, and I'll think of other examples later.")

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Originally Posted by Mangy 

So the magnet heist leads to Mike losing his granddaughter's trust fund. Classic Breaking Bad.

 

I'm a bit unsure of the Lydia character. She'll come into sharper focus soon, but after years of TV watching, I tend to balk at new major characters introduced during a show's final stretch. Hopefully her arc will be satisfying; if any show can do that, it's this one.

 

Refresh my memory: Do they still have the Laser Tag place, or was all of that money moved to the car wash? If not, I was thinking the Laser Tag place could be the new meth lab.

As I recall, the Laser Tag business was abandoned when they decided on the car wash instead. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mangy 

 

Refresh my memory: Do they still have the Laser Tag place, or was all of that money moved to the car wash? If not, I was thinking the Laser Tag place could be the new meth lab.

That would be the worst place for a lab!  If I'm the police, I would have to assume any fully functional Laser Tag place still in existence would have to have some strong connections to meth heads.

Just finished my ep review that should be posted in the morning. Two things that didn't make the cut:

1. I crush on Laura Fraser, who's playing Lydia here, every single time I watch A Knight's Tale. (Which is a lot. Don't judge me, ya bastards!) It's nice to finally see her in something else.

2. Was anyone else but me entertained by the way Mike was sitting during his powwow with Walt and Jesse? With his knees kind of propped up on the end of the table? That cracked me up for some reason.

One of the best episodes of the series IMO. 

Walt reached a new low tonight: framing DJ Roomba!

Mike's "dramatic exit" from Philly got me thinking to a past commentary in which Johnathan Banks speculated that his granddaughter's mother was not in fact his daughter (wow, was that a complicated sentence or what?) in which case I pondered, well, where's his son? Perhaps Mike's son was murdered by some scumbags and he went apeshit, taking a bunch of them out? And maybe...just maybe...he reveals this hidden backstory to a grieving, out for revenge Walt, and the two bond over shared pain of losing a child? (For some reason, Walter Jr. having YET ANOTHER breakfast scene made me think he's going to die.) 

I think I held my breath during the entire scene between Mike and Lydia- just the little girl walking off with the nanny, saying "Love you!" and then Lydia starting to freak about about "she has to find me, I can't just disappear." Oh, this show.
 

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Originally Posted by Syd 

Walt reached a new low tonight: framing DJ Roomba!

Part of the brilliance of Walt was that he spent SO MUCH time helping Jesse toss the place, then essentially let Jesse figure that out on his own.  So much patience to get Jesse where he wanted him to be.

God bless this show for the slow focus on Hank while his boss is talking about Gus being somebody completely different than he thought, and hiding right under his nose.

Im a sucker for good interrogation scenes.  Had a shiteating grin on my face as Mike exited the room.

Plus, his socks/slippers combo and drinking a thing on Ensure at the beginning was aces.

No love for the end scene? Because that end scene deserves love. Is it going to be a running thing now that every episode ends with poor Skyler being creeped on?

Don't know if it was intentional (it probably was), but Walt's kisses (*shiver*) sounded like the ticks of a clock.

I was indeed completely skeeved out by that final scene and basically horrified for Skyler.

THUD REVIEW: BREAKING BAD 502 -- "MADRIGAL"

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Originally Posted by A-Pathetic 

God bless this show for the slow focus on Hank while his boss is talking about Gus being somebody completely different than he thought, and hiding right under his nose.

The look in his eyes, and the extra couple of seconds held on his face, sent a genuine shiver down my spine.

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Originally Posted by The Closer 

Plus, his socks/slippers combo and drinking a thing on Ensure at the beginning was aces.

Beer and Ensure, the cocktail of retirees, you know it. It's the little things this show does so well. Such as: The German CEO actually wearing a black turtleneck cracked me up to the point I may have missed a line of dialogue. So, do we think he's being truthful, and that Lydia and (forgot his name) the opening suicide were rogue within Madrigal?

Yeah, we need more about Skyler.  I am really curious to see how her attitudes evolve.  I would assume that in order to live with Walt, and in their ongoing power struggle take some of it back, she's going to have to embrace even more corruption and dirty deeds herself.

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Originally Posted by Trav McGee 

So, do we think he's being truthful, and that Lydia and (forgot his name) the opening suicide were rogue within Madrigal?

Hell naw.

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Originally Posted by Trav McGee 

So, do we think he's being truthful, and that Lydia and (forgot his name) the opening suicide were rogue within Madrigal?

I was thinking the answer to that question was "no" the whole time. However, I suppose it would explain why Lydia seemed so damn nervous and out-of-sorts at the diner. (She would have lost her one and only accomplice.) Although, while watching, I just assumed she was shitty at subterfuge and being overly cautious.

I was tore up over the scene where Lydia was begging Mike to leave her body so her daughter wouldn't think she ran out on her. Maybe because I've got two daughters of my own at home.

Great episode, apart from the ridiculousness with the defibrillator at the beginning. Such devices are designed to sense whether a shock is actually required, and will not fire otherwise.

Love the DEA chief's story about Gus:

"Somebody else completely. Right under my nose."

Wonder how much of that sunk into Hank. It will be interesting to see how sparing the woman's life is gonna come back to bite Mike in the ass, now that he has to work for the ticking time-bomb in order to get his granddaughter's trust-fund back.

Also, I'm assuming that keeping the Ricin will be a massive error on Walt's part, and is a key to how Walt ends up so messed up in the flashforward. But the fact that it's no longer in the cigarette makes it hard to imagine how it could circle back to him, even if Jesse were to find it. It's not out of the realm of possibility that Walt would have a "stash" of the stuff in a vial somewhere.

That's the second mention of that scene with Hank, and I have to say those "let's contrive phrases which hint at Walter's guilt, and make Hank furrow his brow for a moment as if something might be dawning on him, only to find in the next scene he's back to being completely ignorant" moments have always kind of bugged me a tiny bit.

Poor Chow.

Jonathan Banks ruled this episode. Loved the interrogation scene, Vince Gilligan is a self proclaimed Wiseguy fanboy, He must be having a ball writing Banks in such a cool role.

The Skyler Walt scene at the end totally felt like rape. Skyler is repulsed by Walter, and show doesn't flinch having us feel the ickiness about it's protagonist. Balls.

Cause and effect to the very end. How many deaths have continued to accumulate, and it all began with one decision by one man. I love how taking out the laptop is actually what domino effected the events of this episode. 

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Originally Posted by Bailey 

That's the second mention of that scene with Hank, and I have to say those "let's contrive phrases which hint at Walter's guilt, and make Hank furrow his brow for a moment as if something might be dawning on him, only to find in the next scene he's back to being completely ignorant" moments have always kind of bugged me a tiny bit.

I didn't for a moment think something was dawning on Hank. I saw the shot more as a bit of irony for the audience to enjoy.

No, obviously it's not going to dawn on Hank at that moment.  I don't mean "in the next scene he's back to being completely ignorant" like it's some kind of continuity error... just that the scenes (and they've done them a few times over the course of the series) to me feel less like cleverly ironic moments for the audience to enjoy, and more like really obvious "wink wink, nudge nudges."

Where can I get some "Franch"? Or at least a little Cajun Kick-Ass? (Also: THE CRYSTAL SHIP!)

This episode didn't have an awesome scene with a giant magnet, but I liked it even more than last week's ep. Anyone who watches the show knows how good Jonathan Banks is, but having his own episode really gave him a chance to shine. Mike and Hank need to cross paths again; I wouldn't know who to root for. The interrogation scene was excellent, and the scene with Jesse breaking down, and Walt fake-comforting him was great, too.

I think Saul is the weak-link in the whole thing, since he knows about the plan, and was involved along with Huell in taking the Ricin cigarette. Anyway, I don't think it was that Jesse still thought it was Walt who poisoned Brock, and that's why he had the breakdown, but that finding it just triggered how guilty he felt at that time. I mean, it's only been a couple days on the show since it happened. It's not unreasonable to me.

Mike's granddaughter will be the new Heisenberg when the series ends. She will export meth through those pigs. Brilliant.

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Originally Posted by machiav 

The Skyler Walt scene at the end totally felt like rape. Skyler is repulsed by Walter, and show doesn't flinch having us feel the ickiness about it's protagonist. Balls.

Skyler is pretty full-on evil herself at this point. She craves the power and the money just as much as Walt does, but she also wants to think of herself as a "good person." She's very hypocritical, and at this point frankly deserves Walt.

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Originally Posted by Leto II 

 

Also, I'm assuming that keeping the Ricin will be a massive error on Walt's part, and is a key to how Walt ends up so messed up in the flashforward. But the fact that it's no longer in the cigarette makes it hard to imagine how it could circle back to him, even if Jesse were to find it. It's not out of the realm of possibility that Walt would have a "stash" of the stuff in a vial somewhere.

Considering ricin is most dangerous through inhalation... perhaps a small electrical fire = fumes?

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Originally Posted by Whiteboy Jones 

 

Don't know if it was intentional (it probably was), but Walt's kisses (*shiver*) sounded like the ticks of a clock.

Walt's kisses are the bomb!

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Originally Posted by Leto II 

 

 

 

 

Skyler is pretty full-on evil herself at this point. She craves the power and the money just as much as Walt does, but she also wants to think of herself as a "good person." She's very hypocritical, and at this point frankly deserves Walt.

No she's not. Even Walt isn't full on evil (he's close) and it's taken the whole series (and plenty of murder and nefarious scenarios)  to get to this point.

Skyler does not crave power/money like Walt. WTF?!  And she's not a murderer. They are not equivalent here.

I'm not saying the show isn't playing with the parallel that Skyler got sucked into Walt's life for similar (conscious) reasons (FAMILY!). And the slippery slope of this path. And who knows where that path will continue to lead. But up until this season, Skyler is clearly miles away from Walt. Heck, she's only beginning to realize that Walt's secret life entails more than being a drug manufacturer. And that's why she is repulsed /unattracted to her husband. And that's why that sex scene felt gross.

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Originally Posted by machiav 

No she's not. Even Walt isn't full on evil (he's close) and it's taken the whole series (and plenty of murder and nefarious scenarios)  to get to this point.

 

Skyler does not crave power/money like Walt. WTF?!  And she's not a murderer. They are not equivalent here.

 

Good point.   Especially since the show has taken such careful measures to make Walt's slide gradual, and utterly convincing.  Painting everyone with a broad brush is a disservice to that level of narrative craftsmanship.

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Originally Posted by machiav 

 

Skyler does not crave power/money like Walt. WTF?!  And she's not a murderer. They are not equivalent here.

Perhaps "evil" was too stong a term, but it's been shown pretty clearly that she's more than eager to help Walt obtain cash for their family by any means necessary -- and if it means conveniently looking the other way from time to time while Walt conducts his business (often in very bloody, horrific ways), Skyler has been quite accommodating up to this point.

I'd probably call that at least a moral "evil" of sorts (in air-quotes) -- as long as the car-wash keeps the drug-money nice and laundered and flowing, she's more than happy to spread it around to people like Ted, even though it's coming out of her own daughter's financial future in the process.

Granted, she might be having a change of heart now (as last night's episode seemed to indicate), but up until this moment, she was more than willing to play ball with Walt and his associates (including being the one to push Walt deeper into the whole laundering-process with Saul, covering up Walt's finances from Hank and Marie with the "gambling winnings" story, etc.).

Morality and her resentment of Walt's lies and criminality aside -- not to mention her suspicion that he was involved somehow in Hank's assault -- you'd think the simple risk to herself and her children in directly abetting Walt's criminal career would put her off. On the other hand, there's the fact that she "never actually got around" to filing for divorce, either.

Whether this is a good idea, and I can't see how it ends well, Gunn does sell the complexity of Skyler's feelings, to be sure, as she draws Walt in closer while still keeping him at arm's length. (Although Skyler has clearly studied at the Adriana La Cerva School of Jurisprudence™, when she suggests to Walt that married couples cannot be compelled to testify against each other.)

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Originally Posted by Evi 

 

I didn't for a moment think something was dawning on Hank. I saw the shot more as a bit of irony for the audience to enjoy.

They held it long enough for him to give a look, but I've never taken it as something actually dawning on him, and more like the cogs slowly starting to turn in that direction. 

I outright hate Walt. I cannot even stand the sight of him right now. I hope he falls down and he falls hard.

Skylar right now is just suffering from the reality of the situation.  It's one thing for your husband to inform you that he's the one that knocks (and she had issues enough with that), it's another thing to know with certainty that your husband has taken life and has no remorse over it.  Like most human beings she can deal in the abstract quite well, but dealing in reality is something altogether different.

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Originally Posted by Leto II 

 

Perhaps "evil" was too stong a term, but it's been shown pretty clearly that she's more than eager to help Walt obtain cash for their family by any means necessary -- and if it means conveniently looking the other way from time to time while Walt conducts his business (often in very bloody, horrific ways), Skyler has been quite accommodating up to this point.

 

I'd probably call that at least a moral "evil" of sorts (in air-quotes) -- as long as the car-wash keeps the drug-money nice and laundered and flowing, she's more than happy to spread it around to people like Ted, even though it's coming out of her own daughter's financial future in the process.

 

Granted, she might be having a change of heart now (as last night's episode seemed to indicate), but up until this moment, she was more than willing to play ball with Walt and his associates (including being the one to push Walt deeper into the whole laundering-process with Saul, covering up Walt's finances from Hank and Marie with the "gambling winnings" story, etc.).

 

This is almost all completely inaccurate.  The end of last season was the first time Skyler had been clued in on how violent Walter's ride had been, and she is reacting to it now.  She didn't give the money to Ted for giggles, it was to avoid being the subject of an IRS investigation that would expose the whole operation.  The whole thing was botched, but it's not like they would've had a choice but to help him even if she had gone to Walt.  And of course money laundering is the least of the crimes of the Heisenpire, and she didn't have a ton of choice in getting involved.  Exposing him would not only leave her and her children humiliated and destitute, but ruin Hank's career.  Even if helping to cover up a crime was just exactly as bad as committing the crime and covering it up, she was in a much tighter spot when she started down this path.

Anyone who begins to classify Skylar as a willful participant is coming at her character from a really, really fucked up place. She had one out on her husband's plans, which she didn't take to save Junior from having his world crash down around him. After that, she's screwed and she knows it. But she didn't know how far down this rabbit hole really went, and is trying to keep the whole thing from blowing up in everyone's faces--including the faces of her sister and children. Walt talks about providing and protecting his family, but has really only ever been about providing for and protecting himself. His constant reminders to Jesse that killing Gus was the right move that saved both their lives is a huge, manipulative misnomer; Jesse was truly in the clear with Gus, it was only Walt who was in danger (and then created a false danger to get Jesse on his side.) Walt has one priority: himself.Skylar is truly trying to protect those she loves most, and is currently dealing with the realization that the man she's spent her life with has turned into a truly unrecognizable monster.

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Originally Posted by A-Pathetic 

Skylar right now is just suffering from the reality of the situation.  It's one thing for your husband to inform you that he's the one that knocks (and she had issues enough with that), it's another thing to know with certainty that your husband has taken life and has no remorse over it.  Like most human beings she can deal in the abstract quite well, but dealing in reality is something altogether different.

This. If anything, Skylar is really only guilty of being a bit niave when it came to Walt's drug dealings. Walt never really let her in on just how involved he was, and the horrible things he had done. Knowing for a fact that Walt was responsible for the bomb that took out Gus really brought the horror crashing down for Skylar.

Edit: Or pretty much what Greg and Schwartz said.

Not bad for a DVD supplement, not great for an episode of Breaking Bad.