Breaking Bad

[Narz]

Hmm, different strokes I guess, I found it dull & cliche.

 

[warpus]

narz, fair enough if you dont want to watch a series where the protagonist is an unlikable arse, but that hardly says something about the quality of the show, does it?

My ex-roommate came to the conclusion that nobody on the show is likeable at all, back in season 2. Loved the show anyway, wasn't sure why.

I see you guys were discussing the fly episode.. that was a weird one. I hated it and loved it at the same time.

 

[dannyshenanigan]

Sometimes when I talk to people about the show they seem to think it would be better if it was just like a dumb action movie where none of the characters had families and there were no female characters. I appreciate the drama in the program just as much as the action.
I never got the extreme Skylar hatred. She's hardly perfect but for the most part I find her decisions to be rational and sympathetic. Maybe some people don't like her because she's an obstacle in everyone's adolescent action movie fantasies. I absolutely hate when I hear people criticize her physical appearance. Do some people think she should have been played by Megan Fox or something? And how could anyone dislike Walter Jr.?

Spoiler :

I also liked how they handled Jesse dealing with his guilt over shooting a (fairly) innocent man in the face. I would have been kind of inconsistent with Jesse's character to ignore it. Jesse is a non-sociopath trying to make it in a world of sociopaths.

 

[Narz]

I just find Skyler kind of cold & dull I guess, I don't see any real chemistry between her & Walt (the sex scenes all seem a bit unnatural & forced and adding a sex scene is a cheap way to fake chemistry). It's not like I dislike drama, many of my favorite movies are pretty dramatic (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind for instance is pretty much 100% drama). The family relations are just so strained & awkward I don't enjoy them. Marie isn't all that likable either (pampered rich ***** who doesn't seem to have any life outside of stealing). The son is a boring character & a bad actor "Can I have a car dad, can I have a car dad?". He's a token character & just doesn't add much (just a step up from prop-baby), only fills time.

Spoiler :

I really disliked how much bitterness & disdain Skyler had for eyebrows (carwash owner) who had every reason to be rude & reject her offer. She seemed to feel no remorse about using underhanded tactics to acquire his business, thinking only of herself & he well being.

Like Warpus's buddy, I still think the show is great, it's just hard to like anybody on it. Except Saul, Saul is very likable, perhaps the least depressed/repressed, most lively guy on the show.

Spoiler :

I guess it was "in character" for Jesse to deal with the shooting the way he did, I guess I just don't have much respect for his particular choice & don't find it intense or interesting at all. Maybe because I had a couple of drunk/go-nowhere losers sleeping on my coach/floor for a couple of years & it only made me lonelier in the end (and the got another friend of mine deep into alcoholism & he later died). It's nobler to be depressed alone rather than helping other people screw up their lives just because you don't give a crap. Really that's one thing I despise about the characters. They are full of "principles" and yet they sell Meth & are responsible for hundreds of deaths. Of course shooting someone in the head must be rough emotionally. I liked Gail ok too come to think of it. Too bad it had to come to that.

 

[dannyshenanigan]

Spoiler :

I guess it was "in character" for Jesse to deal with the shooting the way he did, I guess I just don't have much respect for his particular choice & don't find it intense or interesting at all. Maybe because I had a couple of drunk/go-nowhere losers sleeping on my coach/floor for a couple of years & it only made me lonelier in the end (and the got another friend of mine deep into alcoholism & he later died). It's nobler to be depressed alone rather than helping other people screw up their lives just because you don't give a crap. Really that's one thing I despise about the characters. They are full of "principles" and yet they sell Meth & are responsible for hundreds of deaths. Of course shooting someone in the head must be rough emotionally. I liked Gail ok too come to think of it. Too bad it had to come to that.

Spoiler :

I think Jesse's way of dealing with it deserves tremendous respect when you consider the alternative way he could have dealt with it. You have to remember Jesse is a recovering meth addict and it would have been all too easy for him to completely relapse in that situation.

 

[Narz]

Spoiler :

I don't think it deserves respect at all. So what, instead of him doing meth & going down a dark path he basically has a bunch of other junkies do it for him, treating them like animals, manipulating them with money & drugs for his bitter entertainment. He actually begrudges his friends when they leave his pity-party to try to straighten out. Sorry man, I'm not seeing anything valorous about it.

 

[Narz]

Season 4, epsiode 6

Spoiler :

Walt : I see, it's all about me!
Jesse : *storms off*



Felt bad for those cleaning ladies.

 

[Narz]

Rest of season four

Spoiler :

Last few episodes were EPIC! Finale of season 4 was excellent. Only thing that left a bit of a bad taste in my mouth was the close-up of Walt's lily of the valley plant towards the end but who knows what that even really means. Can't wait for season 5 and really curious to see how they extend this.

 

[dannyshenanigan]

Rest of season four

Spoiler :

Last few episodes were EPIC! Finale of season 4 was excellent. Only thing that left a bit of a bad taste in my mouth was the close-up of Walt's lily of the valley plant towards the end but who knows what that even really means. Can't wait for season 5 and really curious to see how they extend this.

Spoiler :

The lilly of the valley close up was to make it clear that Walt used that plant to poison Brock.

 

[holy king]

indeed. or it's a red herring. but it would be the first in the series, so it makes sense to regard it as proof of what walt did.

whatever it takes...

edit: well, i was right.

Spoiler :

http://www.hitfix.com/blogs/whats-alan-watching/posts/interview-breaking-bad-creator-vince-gilligan-post-mortems-season-4

We have to start at the ending, with that shot of the Lily of the Valley plants in Walt's backyard. This is a very, very bad thing he's done, isn't it?

Yes it is. Walt has come a long way in 46 episodes, that is for sure. But he had a reason for doing it. As bad as it is, my personal take on it is that it was not about murdering a child. It was about making a child very sick

 

[jtb1127]

Spoiler :

It seems Walt broke bad once and for all in that episode. He poisoned a kid, shot two people, blew up a meth lab, and blew up Gus and his stone wall henchman. How many people has he killed in all? I can't remember them all.

 

[Narz]

Spoiler :

Well, being a chemist I'd like to think he knew just the right dose to put the kid out of commission for a day or two but not enough to kill him. I suppose in the grand scheme of things it could be called the "right" thing. I mean Gustavo wasn't exactly a humanitarian.

 

[Annex]

Like Warpus's buddy, I still think the show is great, it's just hard to like anybody on it. Except Saul, Saul is very likable, perhaps the least depressed/repressed, most lively guy on the show.

Yeah Saul is definitely the best character. I like Mike and Gail too.

The fly episode sucked IMO. Only episode so far I thought wasnt good.

 

[jtb1127]

Saul is awesome.

Spoiler :

Link to video.

 

[_random_]

I got through the first season this weekend. Loving it so far.

 

[SuperBeaverInc.]

Saul is awesome.

Spoiler :

Link to video.

I love Saul. Better Call Saul!

 

[jtb1127]

I got through the first season this weekend. Loving it so far.

I hated how short it was though. It just ended for no particular reason. It was actually because of the writer's strike wasn't it?

 

[_random_]

I believe that was the case.

 

[Narz]

I hated how short it was though. It just ended for no particular reason. It was actually because of the writer's strike wasn't it?

In an interview the director said that the writer's strike actually saved Jesse (who they originally planned to kill off).

 

[jtb1127]

In an interview the director said that the writer's strike actually saved Jesse (who they originally planned to kill off).

How is that? And who in their right mind would want to kill him?