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Breaking Bad - Season 5 - Page 17

post #801 of 2801
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ratty View Post

Love Marie's "It seems longer than a year."  

 

Yes Marie it sure does.

post #802 of 2801
I would complain about the timeline, but I watched Lost. Aside from the flashbacks, I think the first four seasons took place over the course of about seven hours.
post #803 of 2801

A sneak peak at my review that should be up in the morning:

 

One of the reasons Breaking Bad is TV’s best drama is how effectively the show uses quick little audio and video flourishes. “Fifty-One” has the stream of blood dripping down off Walt’s newly shaved head, the loose string on the porkpie hat and the ticking watch that closes out the episode — indelible and important images all.

 

Loved those things. Fantastic hour of television all-around. Cranston and Gunn were indeed amazing. Still hoping Jesse gets more to do soon.

post #804 of 2801

This episode really hammered home how incredibly sad this is all going to make me when it ends. Not just because I won't get to watch new episodes anymore, although that will certainly be unfortunate, but because I'm just completely invested in these characters now and I do not especially want to see what terrible fate awaits them all. Obviously Walt's death is coming, and that's fine, but there doesn't seem to be any chance of both Jesse and Hank ending up OK, and that's really going to be upsetting. Poor Skyler is looking as dead as a doornail.

 

"That's what i get for being sexist" 

post #805 of 2801
Thread Starter 

Jesus H Tap Dancing Christ that was so unbelievably good.

 

"I can promise you that Gus Fring is dead, he was the threat, he was the danger"

 

"I thought you were the danger.."

 

what a scene.  

 

And yeah, as Zak said, the unravelling thread, the flowing blood, the ticking down.

 

Words fail me at the moment.  I am in awe, and a part of me is going to die when this show ends.

post #806 of 2801
Thread Starter 

Just reading the AV club review (while listening to the BB podcast), after having watched the start of the first episode of the series again.


Anyway:

 

Because Walt’s bought into his own myth. He ditches the Aztec because a man in Heisenberg’s hat, with Heisenberg’s power, wouldn’t be caught dead in such a thing. (How quickly he forgets Gus’s sensible Volvo.) 

 

Guess what type of car Walt drives down from New Hampshire....

post #807 of 2801
Thread Starter 

1000

post #808 of 2801

If it weren't for boards like this and those at the avclub I'd really have a much different view of the people that watch BB.  So much "ug I hate skylaer she is a bitch, walt should kill her" "they are equally unsympathetic" (!), etc.  I don't really want to know what kind of show these people think they are watching, and I predict they will be really, really disappointed in the show's finale.

post #809 of 2801

My boss can't believe what a fucking bitch Skyler is. For him, it's pretty simple. She slept with another dude and then gave him Walt's six hundred thousand bucks. He'll argue this point forever, and I have to admit, removed from context, it's pretty damning. He's totally hoping Walt kills her. I'm cool with this, as it gives us an excuse to talk about Breaking Bad instead of working, often for hours.

 

It's another reason I think the Scarface ending is still a legit possibility. It serves all audiences.

post #810 of 2801

Skylar really is quite difficult to like though.

post #811 of 2801
Quote:
Originally Posted by Rando View Post

If it weren't for boards like this and those at the avclub I'd really have a much different view of the people that watch BB.  So much "ug I hate skylaer she is a bitch, walt should kill her" "they are equally unsympathetic" (!), etc.  I don't really want to know what kind of show these people think they are watching, and I predict they will be really, really disappointed in the show's finale.

 

These are the same people who think Tyler Durden is a folk hero.

post #812 of 2801
Quote:
Originally Posted by Andy Bain View Post

1000

 

Leave it to this show to find a way to make that cliched underwater shot amazing again.

post #813 of 2801

Disagree entirely with the charge of Skylar being difficult to like. She's trying to keep up with Walt, for the good of her family, but unlike Walt, all of her less-than-kosher actions have had dire, sad consequences. The bedroom scene this season, contrasted with the famous one last season is just perfect mirroring. Walt responds to Skylar's worry about his plans for the future with bravado and hubris. Skylar responds by breaking. She's trapped, knows it, and is scared shitless. All she can do is run down the clock. Walt may not beat her, but this is the place every abused housewife has seen herself in. I've never felt more sorry for that woman, even with all she's done.

 

As such, I hereby motion to henceforth dub Skylar "The One Who Waits".

post #814 of 2801
post #815 of 2801

With Hank being promoted, it's entirely possible he'll still get Walt, but bring his own career down in the process by not staying out of the day-to-day like he's supposed to.  A pyrrhic victory would be so in keeping with this show.

post #816 of 2801

This is the Skyler White (and, once and for all, it's Skyler with an "e") I've been waiting for.  As I said before, I completely understand why she is terrified after what Walt pulled off with Gus; but I was hoping they hadn't effectively sidelined her because of that terror.  Waiting until she was able to get the kids out of the house for an extended period before she attempted to assert herself at all makes perfect sense.  This way the show was able to let Walt have a few weeks of being completely full of himself, and imagine he is master of his own domain, before the cracks started to show.

post #817 of 2801

Crazy good work from Gunn this week.  If you still can't sympathize with Skyler at this point...

 

I could have done without the dubstep opening but whatever, this was a fantastic episode.

post #818 of 2801

The dubstep thing was supposed to be every bit as obnoxious as Walt has become.  I found it quite amusing.

post #819 of 2801

This show is bullshit.  Walt Jr. got hosed on his bacon.  I won't stand for it!

post #820 of 2801

Haven't seen the latest episode, but in general Gunn's an innately cold screen presence, it was exactly the same in Deadwood. That's not a criticism of her acting, but there it is. I also don't think they go out of their way to make her a figure of sympathy, especially compared to how they milk every drop of pathos from Jesse the downtrodden puppydog. I doubt any of this is accidental.

post #821 of 2801

I don't think anyone is saying you have to actively like Skyler.  But people who have no sympathy for her, and (even worse) people who think she is just an obstacle for Walt don't really get where this show is coming from.

post #822 of 2801
Quote:
Originally Posted by Paul C View Post
I also don't think they go out of their way to make her a figure of sympathy

 

I might have agreed with you before the start of season 5, but this isn't the pregnant-smoking Ted-fucking Skyler from earlier seasons.  Shes broken and powerless and terrified.

post #823 of 2801

But I think the show actively invites a degree of distance towards Skylar. They often really did position her as an obstacle for Walt, in season 2 especially, and had her do boo-hiss stuff like smoke when pregnant. They generally justify her actions to some degree or other, but they've never gone to great lengths to endear her to the audience, whereas they've always gone to great lengths to make us go 'aww poor baby' every time Walt fucks Jesse over.

post #824 of 2801
Quote:
Originally Posted by Andy Bain View Post

(while listening to the BB podcast)

 

The Insider Podcast? I've been freaking out since last night when it wasn't posted on the AMC site as soon as the episode ended as it has been the first three weeks.

 

Naturally not on iTunes either but I still don't see it on AMC's site this morning. I'm...uhh, kinda concerned, especially since Kelley had mentioned on 5.1's that they almost didn't end up happening this year (and were being recorded later than ever).

 

Edit - Doh! I found it. They moved it and also didn't update or change the location it's normally located (with 5.1-5.3 only being available). Either way I'm happy.


Edited by Menlo Park Rat - 8/6/12 at 8:22am
post #825 of 2801

I was in love with the way Gunn was smoking the cigarettes, a little bit passive a little bit malicious.  Like she's willing Walt's lung cancer into the house.

 

Mike's comments about sexism were gold.  Pretty sure Lydia didn't plant the GPS though, she seemed genuinely terrified when she noticed the bottom of the barrel.

post #826 of 2801
Quote:
Originally Posted by Naisu Baddi View Post

 

I had to laugh at Walt staring mesmerized at his stupid 'badass hat' while Mike and Jesse are having a tense, urgent, literally life and death conversation right in front of his oblivious self. Also amusing that Walt vetoes Mike taking out Lydia without even slightly acknowledging that they're talking about a person.

 

He might as well have been rejecting a proposal to shut down a building that they need for business. It's all about business with him, no value for human life. His level of self-absorption is unparalleled to a hilarious degree.

He was sitting in a corner, contemplating his life after his wife said she wished he'd die of cancer. I'm not totally with you on Walt's "hilarity" in that scene.

 

Gunn was incredible in this episode. Skyler's certainly a character whose motives are worth debating, but it seems a bit pointless if you haven't even watched the episode, which is a pivotal one for her character. Catch up, THEN complain, says I.

post #827 of 2801

The way Mike talked about Lydia like she deserved to die more than a lot of men he knows makes me think there's more to her. I loved how Hank noticed her mismatched shoes, he never stops investigating (except when he's with Walt).

post #828 of 2801

He was definitely investigating last night. "Right under my nose" is stuck in his brain now, and Skyler's behavior is hopefully going to push him toward the truth.

It's been pretty obvious that Skyler was doomed since the first episode, and there are at least three suicide foreshadows in this ep.:
-tightly wound floss around her finger
-"neck bruises"
-pool scene

Something about the light blue really freaked me out. Almost every frame this season has been over 50% black (the White house in particular is literally extremely dark), and the light blue seems to represent a light at the end of the tunnel for Skyler, which would be a way out for her children and for her in the form of her suicide. Color symbolism is major in this show.

When she says she's waiting "for the cancer to come back", it seems pretty obvious that she is actually waiting for Hank to put the pieces together. I can imagine a sequence in which Skyler hangs herself as Hank finally figures it out. She of course did not tell Walt this, probably out of fear for her life.

post #829 of 2801

I don't see Skyler killing herself while the children are still alive, unless she's found some way to permanently get them out of the home (and even if she had, she'd have to worry that Walt would be able to get them back after she were gone).  It seems pretty obvious at this point that her only goal in life is to keep their children as far away from their choices as possible.  If she kills herself she knows that Walt will have the kids back at the house instantly.

post #830 of 2801

With the Scarface clip last week and the White residence becoming darker than the fucking Batcave, I wonder what all the critics that were complaining about Mad Men beating us over the head with its theme think.

 

The show isn't quite clicking for me this season.  

post #831 of 2801

1000

post #832 of 2801
Quote:
Originally Posted by Andy Bain View Post

1000

 

Speaking of Mad Men, I've noticed a few times how they've deliberately composed shots to look like paintings (most notably Edward Hopper); whereas Breaking Bad seems more influenced by movies.  As was mentioned, the "person suspended underwater" shot is a cliche, though it was used to great effect last night.  Still, this specific part of it reminds me of something, and I can't quite put my finger on it.  Is it from a painting?  Is Walt pulling her out a visual reference to something from a movie?  It's like she's being pulled up into Hell.  Looking at it, you almost miss Walt at first, and then when you see him it is spooky as shit.

post #833 of 2801

One of the most realistic aspects of the show is Walt's pathetic attempts at being a badass. The scene this week where he finds the Heisenberg hat, and suddenly ditches the Pontiac fully captures a nerd's efforts to be cool by putting on a hipster hat and shades. Walt really has the douchey badass nerd thing down pat.

post #834 of 2801

Not surprised to see Rian Johnson is evidently a fan of Night of the Hunter.

 

Over these past four episodes, Jesse has shown himself to be more mature and competent this season than in the past, and is now much more stable than Walt. Kind of funny how those roles have switched. I got the impression Jesse was ready to retire his "Cap'n Cook" suit, until Walt insisted that they continue. And Andrea and Brock were fast becoming his family. Walt has ruined all that.

 

Jesse had the idea about the magnet, not the brilliant scientist. Jesse had the idea about the plastic tent/room to minimize meth-odors in the houses they cook in. Jesse sent Badger and Skinny Pete for the roadie-cases.

 

Walt is now the antithesis of the "cautious man" that he described himself as to Gus Fring in the beginning of their relationship. He will ruin every one around him. I think Jesse will ultimately be the one to take down Heisenberg (with some groundwork laid by Skyler and/or Hank). And I think he is the axis around which the final episodes will turn. And we all know Aaron Paul will masterfully deliver every agonizing moment.

 

(One other thing...I could watch an endless loop of Walt saying, "Nothing stops this train. Nothing." I loved that.)

post #835 of 2801

This is Gunn's second great episode.

Walt threatening to Gaslight her. She threatening to bruise herself - Acting nominations for everyone!

I've never felt sorry for Skylar before, no matter what the writer's have said in the past.

But they've finally put it on the screen for me this season. Excellent.

 

Love Mike's "sexist" line. :)

Lydia is definitely more then she seems.

She keeps reminding me of early series Walt - never knowing how close she comes to death; with people behind the scenes keeping her alive for their reasons and surviving.

 

That Ricin vial is looking too fucking tempting right now.

Last week, I was convinced Mike would not make the 8th episode mark.

Now, every time I see Skylar with a cigarette, I get palpitations. Stop smoking, Skylar!
 

post #836 of 2801
Quote:
Originally Posted by Clarence Boddicker View Post

One of the most realistic aspects of the show is Walt's pathetic attempts at being a badass. The scene this week where he finds the Heisenberg hat, and suddenly ditches the Pontiac fully captures a nerd's efforts to be cool by putting on a hipster hat and shades. Walt really has the douchey badass nerd thing down pat.

Next Walt will be dancing down the street Spider-Man 3 style. 

 

Someone on the AV club made this claim, and I can't get it out of my head: we all assumed that, should Jesse ever find out about all the terrible things Walt has secretly done to him, that Mike would be the one to tell him these things. What if it was SKYLER? I swear, after Walt brought up Jesse to her last night, I half expected her to look him up again via his season faux-Myspace page. Those two characters NEED to get together.

post #837 of 2801

Originally Posted by A-Pathetic View Post
Pretty sure Lydia didn't plant the GPS though, she seemed genuinely terrified when she noticed the bottom of the barrel.

 

It's difficult to tell, since that seems like her default expression.

post #838 of 2801

Looking forward to seeing the watch as a kind of a memento mori in the next few episodes. The number of loose-ends the new business is spawning will lead to a rapid disintegration.

It's funny, even on his birthday, Walt couldn't command the full admiration of his son, as he made sure to congratulate his hero Uncle Hank on the big promotion...twice. Jesse's watch is the last kind thing that will ever happen to Walt -- it's all downhill from here.

 

Also, I would just like to point out that AMC's now gone from the massive high (pardon pun) of Breaking Bad to the extreme low of Small-Town Security -- idiots farting, pissing their pants, and talking about bowel-movements. Literally. This is really the best AMC could think up to follow Breaking Bad? Who greenlit this epically-awful piece of crap?

 

One of the most acclaimed dramas on TV right now, and they use it as a lead-in for something completely on the other end of the spectrum in terms of tone, style, and especially quality? At the very least, The Pitch this past spring was at least somewhat connected to the fictional drama that preceded it.

post #839 of 2801

Could not agree more. Based on Facebook comments and things like this, it seems Small Town Security is unanimously, and rightfully so, despised.


 

post #840 of 2801

I checked out the first 15 minutes of Small Town Security.  What a piece of shit that show is, huh?  The promos made it seem like the show had potential as a quirky and sharply written satire of sorts, but it's just not even close to any of that.

 

Also, this is EXTREMELY nitpicky, but does anyone have a problem the way AMC cuts to commercials after a dramatic scene.  I watched seasons 1-4 on Netflix, so maybe this is why I notice now.  Anyway, on Netflix the screen cuts to black, gives you 2 or 3 seconds to absorb what you just watched, then the show continues.  With AMC, there is no time to think about tension when IMMEDIATELY after a dramatic scene, you got the voice over guy saying like "check out more scenes online for Breaking Bad" or something to that effect.  Again, not a big deal but just something I noticed.

post #841 of 2801

Last night's commercial cuts felt unusually awkward.

post #842 of 2801
Quote:
Originally Posted by Deanburger View Post

Last night's commercial cuts felt unusually awkward.

Noticed that as well...the brief shot outside their house by the pool, aimed at their window, plus the shot of Walter coming up behind Skyler underwater for a split second. Both were really abrupt.

post #843 of 2801
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bailey View Post

This is the Skyler White (and, once and for all, it's Skyler with an "e") I've been waiting for.  As I said before, I completely understand why she is terrified after what Walt pulled off with Gus; but I was hoping they hadn't effectively sidelined her because of that terror.  Waiting until she was able to get the kids out of the house for an extended period before she attempted to assert herself at all makes perfect sense.  This way the show was able to let Walt have a few weeks of being completely full of himself, and imagine he is master of his own domain, before the cracks started to show.

Totally. As I said last week...

Quote:
We know Skyler can be a tough and forceful character (enough for her to be stupidly percieved as a bitch for dealing with all the lies and craziness her husband put her through). But she's had to bite her tongue/be subdued around Walt so far this season. It definitely comes off as very unlike her, but I think it's about more than just her being scared of him. It's the implication of what it's all gonna mean to their future. The show ain't gonna end happily ever after. I think Skyler understands that now, and it's really fucking with her head.

 

I love that the thing that snaps Skyler back (finally!) into her fiery take no shit mode is Walt's insufferable rationalizations for her Benneke complicity.

 

 

 

Quote:

Walt: So that was what your pool stunt was about. Trying to protect my children from me. 

 

Skyler: Not just you. There's blood on my hands too, 

 

Walt: What blood? Benneke?

 

Skyler: He's in the hospital because of me. 

 

Walt: No

 

Skyler: Because of what I did.

 

Walt: Skyler you can't beat yourself up over this thing. Please, you didn't set out to hurt anybody. You made a mistake and things got out of control. You did what you had to do to protect your family and I'm sorry that doesn't make you a bad person. It makes you a human being.

 

Skyler: Stop it Walt Just stop. I don't need to hear any of your bullshit rationales. I'm in it now I'm compromised. But I won't...I will not have my children living in a house where dealing drugs and hurting people and killing people is shrugged off as "shit happens". We're back at it, fine. The kids stay away and that's that.

 

How can you not cheer for her in that moment?  We've all been thinking this about Walt since at least the school gym scene in season 3. I've always loved Skyler's spunk/take no shit attitude,  even as I was completely identifying with Walt during the first 3 seasons. 

 

The whole scene is amazingly acted, but also amazingly well written.So twisted when Walt goes into full Heisenberg mode as he starts demanding to know how she is going to stop him from being with his kid. Other than the "I am the Danger/I am the one who knocks" moment last season, Walt kept Heisenberg away from the home life. Always kept  his "work at work". Not anymore.

 

 

Quote:

Walt: I gave Marie diapers. They'll stop and pick up bottles on the way. I spoke with Junior on the phone and with much discussion he agreed to swing by tomorrow to pick up some clothes. And so voila the kids are out of this environment. What a coincidence. I know you're awake. What is it about? Can you explain it?

 

Skyler I don't want the children here anymore. It isn't safe. 

 

Walt: Skyler, we have talked about this repeatedly. It has never been more safe.

 

Skyler: A couple of weeks ago a man was coming to this house to kill us, to murder your entire family. You were in the crawl space screaming.

 

Walt: And I dealt with him. It's over.

 

Skyler: It's not. You're right back in the meth business again. 

 

Walt: This is different. I'm running things.

 

Skyler: So wait. Now that you're in charge, it's gonna be smooth sailing from here on out. 

 

Walt: I don't see why not. I keep the work at work, Skyler. Nothing will ever impact you or the kids.

 

Skyler: You don't know that. You can't make that promise, Walt. 

 

Walt: I can promise you that Gus Fringe is dead. And he was the threat. He was the danger,

 

Skyler: I thought you were the danger.

 

Walt: So that was what your pool stunt was about. Trying to protect my children from me. 

 

Skyler: Not just you. There's blood on my hands too.

 

Walt: What blood? Benneke?

 

Skyler: He's in the hospital because of me. 

 

Walt: No.

 

Skyler: Because of what I did.

 

Walt: Skyler, you can't beat yourself up over this thing. Please, you didn't set out to hurt anybody. You made a mistake and things got out of control. You did what you had to do to protect your family, and I'm sorry that doesn't make you a bad person. It makes you a human being.

 

Skyler: Stop it, Walt. Just stop. I don't need to hear any of your bullshit rationales. I'm in it now. I'm compromised. But I won't...I will not have my children living in a house where dealing drugs and hurting people and killing people is shrugged off as "shit happens". We're back at it, fine. The kids stay away and that's that.

 

Walt: That's that. That's what?

 

Skyler: I got them out of this house. 

 

Walt: To a sleep over at their aunt and uncles. They spend a day or two. Junior stays up late watching movies and then what happens.

 

Skyler: We'll see,

 

Walt: No, I'll tell you what happens. They come home to this house, to their parents who love them.

 

Skyler: No, I will not let our business endanger them.

 

Walt: How many times do I have to say that they are....

 

Skyler: I said No. I swear to God, I won't have them back here. 

 

Walt: What are going do to stop it?

 

Skyler: Whatever it takes. Everything in my power.

 

Walt: Like what, I mean specifically. What is you next move?

 

Skyler: My next move is maybe I hurt myself  make it clear we need more time. Let Hank and Marie see we're still struggling. 

 

Walt: No, more like you're still struggling. So maybe next time I have you commited, Put you in some in patient facility while I take care of the kids myself. Is that what you want? 

 

Skyler: So maybe I show up with bruises on my neck. Give myself a black eye. Say you beat me when you found out about my lover. 

 

Walt: I see. So you want to involve Ted. Oh wow,  that will be fun bringing the police up to speed in all of that. But not as much fun as telling your 16 year old son that his father is a wife beater. Also not a very good plan. What else you got?

 

Skyler: I could send Junior away to school.

 

Walt: Oh here's the conversation. Honey I know you only have one year left in high school but I will love it so much if you would drop everything,  leave all you friends behind and go to boarding school in Arizona. Do you have any other ideas? Because I'm not hearing a solution to your problem. How are you going to save our kids from this terrible environment?

 

Skyler: I...

 

Walt: What are you gonna do? You're gonna run off to France. Close the curtains, change the locks. This is a joke,  c'mon Skyler.  You want to take me on. You want to take away my children.What's the plan?

 

Skyler: (breaking down)I DON'T KNOW! This is best I could come up with okay. I will count every minute that the kids are away from here. Away from you as a victory. But you're right. It's a bad plan. I don't have any of your magic, Walt.  I don't know what to do. I'm a coward. I can't go to the police Can't stop laundering your money. Keep you out of this house. I can't even keep you out of my bed. All I can do is wait. That's it. That's the only good option. Hold on,  bind my time and wait. 

 

Walt: Wait for what. What are you waiting for?

 

Skyler: For the cancer to come back.


Edited by machiav - 8/6/12 at 6:50pm
post #844 of 2801

Ze Fly

 

 

 

700

post #845 of 2801
Quote:
Originally Posted by machiav View Post

Ze Fly

 

 

 

700

 

Vamanos Pest!

post #846 of 2801
Quote:
Originally Posted by fuzzy dunlop View Post

Crazy good work from Gunn this week.  If you still can't sympathize with Skyler at this point...

 

I could have done without the dubstep opening but whatever, this was a fantastic episode.

 

Last week, Walt idolizes Scarface. This week, he stars in a rap video. Circle of life.

post #847 of 2801

Skyler finally goes too far, messes with Walter Jr's breakfast.

post #848 of 2801

You didn't add the guy in the Madrigal warehouse who got arrested this episode in the 'Collateral Damage' section..

post #849 of 2801

Personally I think Walt is going to pull a Darth Vader and redeem himself with his own self sacrifice.

post #850 of 2801

I suppose that is part of the fallout from Gus's death, but people like him and Dennis going to jail for something they were already doing independent of Walt doesn't count in my system.

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