# Breaking Bad: The Final 8



## g5000

This Sunday, the final half-season of Breaking Bad begins.   I just wanted to remind the fans of this.  You know you would cry if you missed it.

Only 8 episodes left.  Dammit!

When we last left Walt, Mr. Chips turned Scarface, he had a pallet of cash and was telling his nerve-wracked wife he was getting out of the meth business. 

Hank Schraeder, DEA agent extraordinaire, was sitting on the toilet contemplating the initials W.W. and experiencing an epiphany about his brother-in-law.



What a long, strange trip it's been.  Unbelievably well done.  The character transformation of a mild-mannered schoolteacher into an evil criminal mastermind has been one of the finest runs of screenwriting I have ever seen outside of _The Wire_.

Somehow, we have managed to like Walt, and cheer him on, the whole way.  But if our first encounter with a Walter White was as he is right now, we would be demanding a life sentence at hard labor for such an evil bastard.  


The showdown between Walter and Hank should be epic.  Part of me hopes we end up hating Walter, because we should hate people who put poison on our streets and into our children's veins.

Did we ever really forgive him for the kid on the bike?  



If you have not seen the series, go thee now and get it.  From Netflix, Blockbuster, or pirates.  Just get it.


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## Snookie

I  have been watching it today on amc.  There is a marathon.  Badass meth party.


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## g5000

Sweet!  

I had my own Breaking Bad marathon with Netflix a couple weeks ago.  Commercial free.  Nyah-nyah-nyah!


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## Trajan

me too, the wife and I have them all on dvd, we just finished last week....there is plenty of loose ends to catch up with him laying around.

example-  I think jesse is somehow going to figure out he was at the house when whats her face puked and died on the spot, walter let it slip once and I said to my wife, jesse will come back to that some time somewhere and put 2 and 2 together...plus the kid getting poisoned...


and hank? god knows how hes going to tackle this.....



so, who's walt going to use that M-60 on?


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## Snookie

I hope it has a happy ending.


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## Trajan

Ha! 

you know whats funny is, for a while , too long actually, I was still rooting for Walt, but hes turned into such a total shit, he deserves to die ( maybe the cancer comes back?).....hopefully it will end better than the sopranos did


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## g5000

Yeah.  Been thinking about that M-60 since I started this topic.  

He said it won't be leaving town.


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## Trajan

g5000 said:


> Yeah.  Been thinking about that M-60 since I started this topic.
> 
> He said it won't be leaving town.



but what town where they in again


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## g5000

Trajan said:


> g5000 said:
> 
> 
> 
> Yeah.  Been thinking about that M-60 since I started this topic.
> 
> He said it won't be leaving town.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> but what town where they in again
Click to expand...


They guy who sold him the M60 is the same guy who sold him the revolver way back when.

And I think Walter tells the waitress he is home after being out of town for a while.

So this is Albuquerque.


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## Trajan

Oh and please, lets use spoiler alerts. I get up before 4 am, so I don't watch when its broadcast.I tivo it and watch Monday evening.




***SPOILER ALERT***












verbiage


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## Snookie

Walter's wife is really hot.


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## Trajan

g5000 said:


> Trajan said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> g5000 said:
> 
> 
> 
> Yeah.  Been thinking about that M-60 since I started this topic.
> 
> He said it won't be leaving town.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> but what town where they in again
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> 
> They guy who sold him the M60 is the same guy who sold him the revolver way back when.
> 
> And I think Walter tells the waitress he is home after being out of town for a while.
> 
> So this is Albuquerque.
Click to expand...


right yea,  I remember its the same guy ( the crooked sheriff from Justified too).....ok Albuquerque...thx.


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## g5000

Justified!  Another great show.

That's not the Sheriff from Justified, though.

http://justified.wikia.com/wiki/Hunter_Mosley

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Breaking_Bad_characters#Lawson


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## Snookie

I ate at a restaurant recommended by Duncan Hines while traveling through Albuquerque via route 66 in the fifties. Beautiful place.


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## Trajan

g5000 said:


> Justified!  Another great show.
> 
> That's not the Sheriff from Justified, though.
> 
> Hunter Mosley - Justified Wiki
> 
> List of Breaking Bad characters - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia



yea it is, hes the one that tried to run with elle mae....he was really someone with another name  everyone was after etc...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Beaver


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## Trajan

lots of crooked sheriffs


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## MikeK

Snookie said:


> Walter's wife is really hot.


Skyler is the perfect woman.


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## Snookie

It wont be long now.

It's just a tweak away, a tweak away, a tweak away, yay, yay, yay, yay.


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## Smilodonfatalis

I'm not buying the Jesse Pinkman storyline.  It's just not realistic.

Nobody would throw away $5 million because they felt guiltyl

Anybody who had $5 million would get over their guilt or make some excuse in their mind to justify what happened.


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## Snookie

Smilodonfatalis said:


> I'm not buying the Jesse Pinkman storyline.  It's just not realistic.
> 
> Nobody would throw away $5 million because they felt guiltyl
> 
> Anybody who had $5 million would get over their guilt or make some excuse in their mind to justify what happened.



Especially now days.


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## MikeK

Smilodonfatalis said:


> I'm not buying the Jesse Pinkman storyline.  It's just not realistic.
> 
> Nobody would throw away $5 million because they felt guiltyl
> 
> Anybody who had $5 million would get over their guilt or make some excuse in their mind to justify what happened.


While this series is a fantastic expansion on reality it is still enjoyable.  But you're right about Pinkman's totally incredible guilt trip.  

I'm curious about what Walt is going to do with that ricin.  I hope he manages to drop it in Hank's coffee.  I can't stand that egomaniacal creep.


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## Trajan

Smilodonfatalis said:


> I'm not buying the Jesse Pinkman storyline.  It's just not realistic.
> 
> Nobody would throw away $5 million because they felt guiltyl
> 
> Anybody who had $5 million would get over their guilt or make some excuse in their mind to justify what happened.



I think it does, and I'd say then, you have never thankfully had something to feel that guilty about......as to the storyline, if you recall from season 3 I think it was, jesse had to go get dried out and wrestle with his conscience after his girlfriend died of an OD ( which Walter witnessed).


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## Trajan

MikeK said:


> Smilodonfatalis said:
> 
> 
> 
> I'm not buying the Jesse Pinkman storyline.  It's just not realistic.
> 
> Nobody would throw away $5 million because they felt guiltyl
> 
> Anybody who had $5 million would get over their guilt or make some excuse in their mind to justify what happened.
> 
> 
> 
> While this series is a fantastic expansion on reality it is still enjoyable.  But you're right about Pinkman's totally incredible guilt trip.
> 
> I'm curious about what Walt is going to do with that ricin.  I hope he manages to drop it in Hank's coffee.  I can't stand that egomaniacal creep.
Click to expand...


wow, who's the bad guy here?


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## Trajan

******SPOILER ALERT****

 we decided to watch it live and not tivo it  
















____________

I am surprised at how fast they moved to the hank and walt confrontation, walt and hank are well aware of each other now...I thought they'd play with that for an episode at least,  but with 8 total and  7 left I guess they felt they had to get right to it.


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## g5000

Smilodonfatalis said:


> I'm not buying the Jesse Pinkman storyline.  It's just not realistic.
> 
> Nobody would throw away $5 million because they felt guiltyl
> 
> Anybody who had $5 million would get over their guilt or make some excuse in their mind to justify what happened.



There is a child-like quality to Jesse.  After all, he still calls Walter, "Mr. White" after all this time.

His guilt trip is plausible.


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## g5000

Trajan said:


> ******SPOILER ALERT****
> 
> we decided to watch it live and not tivo it
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> ____________
> 
> I am surprised at how fast they moved to the hank and walt confrontation, walt and hank are well aware of each other now...I thought they'd play with that for an episode at least,  but with 8 total and  7 left I guess they felt they had to get right to it.


******SPOILER ALERT****





















I was also surprised by this.  But perhaps Hank's ignorance of Skylar's level of involvement will become a critical factor at some point, and consequently the confrontation between the two men had to be arrived at early.


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## MikeK

Trajan said:


> wow, who's the bad guy here?


I dislike narcs and vice cops and Hank Schraeder is the quintessence of that mentality.

While I admire and respect police officers who help and defend those who depend on them for protection, narcs help no one but themselves and those whose political, business, or personal interests they serve.  In fact, if you study the numbers and circumstances you'll find the drug war is wholly counterproductive.  It is massively wasteful economically and it does infinitely more harm than good.  And the Schraeder character is the ultimate narc, a contemporary personification of _Inspector Javert,_ the despicable, ego-driven, self-righteous pursuer of _Jean Valjean_ in _Les Miserables._

Walter White is not a good guy but he wears no deceptive veil.  And what he does is for money -- not ego-gratification.


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## MikeK

g5000 said:


> Smilodonfatalis said:
> 
> 
> 
> I'm not buying the Jesse Pinkman storyline.  It's just not realistic.
> 
> Nobody would throw away $5 million because they felt guiltyl
> 
> Anybody who had $5 million would get over their guilt or make some excuse in their mind to justify what happened.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> There is a child-like quality to Jesse.  After all, he still calls Walter, "Mr. White" after all this time.
> 
> His guilt trip is plausible.
Click to expand...

While his guilt trip is plausible his obsessively self-punishing way of dealing with it is not.  It is theatrically excessive.  If his essential nature were so fundamentally moral as to impose such tormenting regret it would have prevented him from doing such regrettable things to begin with.  The fact is Jesse Pinkman is fundamentally immoral.  And while he might be capable of feeling remorse for his actions, the guilt would not impose the level of self-punishment we've seen.     

The writers are portraying Jesse as a basically decent lost boy who is vulnerably receptive to such father figures as Walt and Mike -- but they blew it when they had him choose to let Hank, the brutal narc, off the hook in exchange for money.


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## Snookie

MikeK said:


> g5000 said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Smilodonfatalis said:
> 
> 
> 
> I'm not buying the Jesse Pinkman storyline.  It's just not realistic.
> 
> Nobody would throw away $5 million because they felt guiltyl
> 
> Anybody who had $5 million would get over their guilt or make some excuse in their mind to justify what happened.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> There is a child-like quality to Jesse.  After all, he still calls Walter, "Mr. White" after all this time.
> 
> His guilt trip is plausible.
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> While his guilt trip is plausible his obsessively self-punishing way of dealing with it is not.  It is theatrically excessive.  If his essential nature were so fundamentally moral as to impose such tormenting regret it would have prevented him from doing such regrettable things to begin with.  The fact is Jesse Pinkman is fundamentally immoral.  And while he might be capable of feeling remorse for his actions, the guilt would not impose the level of self-punishment we've seen.
> 
> The writers are portraying Jesse as a basically decent lost boy who is vulnerably receptive to such father figures as Walt and Mike -- but they blew it when they had him choose to let Hank, the brutal narc, off the hook in exchange for money.
Click to expand...


Jessie throws great parties.  Pizza, crank, booze, but not so healthy.


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## Smilodonfatalis

MikeK said:


> Trajan said:
> 
> 
> 
> wow, who's the bad guy here?
> 
> 
> 
> I dislike narcs and vice cops and Hank Schraeder is the quintessence of that mentality.
> 
> While I admire and respect police officers who help and defend those who depend on them for protection, narcs help no one but themselves and those whose political, business, or personal interests they serve.  In fact, if you study the numbers and circumstances you'll find the drug war is wholly counterproductive.  It is massively wasteful economically and it does infinitely more harm than good.  And the Schraeder character is the ultimate narc, a contemporary personification of _Inspector Javert,_ the despicable, ego-driven, self-righteous pursuer of _Jean Valjean_ in _Les Miserables._
> 
> Walter White is not a good guy but he wears no deceptive veil.  And what he does is for money -- not ego-gratification.
Click to expand...


I agree.  The DEA are bad guys.

All drugs should be legal.


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## Snookie

Smilodonfatalis said:


> MikeK said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Trajan said:
> 
> 
> 
> wow, who's the bad guy here?
> 
> 
> 
> I dislike narcs and vice cops and Hank Schraeder is the quintessence of that mentality.
> 
> While I admire and respect police officers who help and defend those who depend on them for protection, narcs help no one but themselves and those whose political, business, or personal interests they serve.  In fact, if you study the numbers and circumstances you'll find the drug war is wholly counterproductive.  It is massively wasteful economically and it does infinitely more harm than good.  And the Schraeder character is the ultimate narc, a contemporary personification of _Inspector Javert,_ the despicable, ego-driven, self-righteous pursuer of _Jean Valjean_ in _Les Miserables._
> 
> Walter White is not a good guy but he wears no deceptive veil.  And what he does is for money -- not ego-gratification.
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> 
> I agree.  The DEA are bad guys.
> 
> All drugs should be legal.
Click to expand...


They are rotten doctors, too.


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## g5000

MikeK said:


> Walter White is not a good guy but he wears no deceptive veil.  And what he does is for money -- not ego-gratification.



You must be watching a different show.  The Walter White in _Breaking Bad_ is all about ego.  That's the whole point of the show.  He made all the money he needed several seasons ago.


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## Trajan

g5000 said:


> Trajan said:
> 
> 
> 
> ******SPOILER ALERT****
> 
> we decided to watch it live and not tivo it
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> ____________
> 
> I am surprised at how fast they moved to the hank and walt confrontation, walt and hank are well aware of each other now...I thought they'd play with that for an episode at least,  but with 8 total and  7 left I guess they felt they had to get right to it.
> 
> 
> 
> ******SPOILER ALERT****
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I was also surprised by this.  But perhaps Hank's ignorance of Skylar's level of involvement will become a critical factor at some point, and consequently the confrontation between the two men had to be arrived at early.
Click to expand...





***SPOILER ALERT***












yes, make sense. 


I think you have a good point in that when hank discovers or figures out skylar had to at the very least be aware, he (walt) would have been better served if he had waited till hank figured this out, he may have had some leverage via the family connection etc. ...instead, walter went right to threat mode. Hanks gotta take him  down now.


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## Trajan

g5000 said:


> MikeK said:
> 
> 
> 
> Walter White is not a good guy but he wears no deceptive veil.  And what he does is for money -- not ego-gratification.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> You must be watching a different show.  The Walter White in _Breaking Bad_ is all about ego.  That's the whole point of the show.  He made all the money he needed several seasons ago.
Click to expand...


yup...he turned the corner when he kept on after making some good cash and then going into remission...hes fighting a battle for 'respect' he think he lost as to Gray Matter...they made that pretty plain I think.


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## Zona

Snookie said:


> I hope it has a happy ending.



There is no way in the world it will end well.  Entertaining but not good for Walter.  Oh and I cheered when Walt punched him in the mouth, but when Walter said...tred lightly......wow.  pimp!


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## MikeK

Trajan said:


> I think you have a good point in that when hank discovers or figures out skylar had to at the very least be aware, he (walt) would have been better served if he had waited till hank figured this out, he may have had some leverage via the family connection etc. ...instead, walter went right to threat mode. Hanks gotta take him  down now.


You're forgetting that Hank's hospital bill was paid with Walt's drug money.  

I'm expecting to see a confrontation in which Walt tells Hank to go ahead and try to take him down.  If it becomes a question of whether Walt and[/i] Skyler go to jail I don't think Sylker or Junior will side with Hank.  They will threaten to paint him as a willing accomplice and let him try saying he didn't know.  

Or maybe Walt will just slip Hank the ricin.


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## Snookie

MikeK said:


> Trajan said:
> 
> 
> 
> I think you have a good point in that when hank discovers or figures out skylar had to at the very least be aware, he (walt) would have been better served if he had waited till hank figured this out, he may have had some leverage via the family connection etc. ...instead, walter went right to threat mode. Hanks gotta take him  down now.
> 
> 
> 
> You're forgetting that Hank's hospital bill was paid with Walt's drug money.
> 
> I'm expecting to see a confrontation in which Walt tells Hank to go ahead and try to take him down.  If it becomes a question of whether Walt and[/i] Skyler go to jail I don't think Sylker or Junior will side with Hank.  They will threaten to paint him as a willing accomplice and let him try saying he didn't know.
> 
> Or maybe Walt will just slip Hank the ricin.
Click to expand...


Or make it more realistic and make hank a partner.  Just make hi an offer he can't refuse.


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## MikeK

g5000 said:


> MikeK said:
> 
> 
> 
> Walter White is not a good guy but he wears no deceptive veil.  And what he does is for money -- not ego-gratification.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> You must be watching a different show.  The Walter White in _Breaking Bad_ is all about ego.  That's the whole point of the show.  He made all the money he needed several seasons ago.
Click to expand...

I think you're right and I haven't been paying attention.


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## Trajan

MikeK said:


> Trajan said:
> 
> 
> 
> I think you have a good point in that when hank discovers or figures out skylar had to at the very least be aware, he (walt) would have been better served if he had waited till hank figured this out, he may have had some leverage via the family connection etc. ...instead, walter went right to threat mode. Hanks gotta take him  down now.
> 
> 
> 
> You're forgetting that Hank's hospital bill was paid with Walt's drug money.
> 
> I'm expecting to see a confrontation in which Walt tells Hank to go ahead and try to take him down.  If it becomes a question of whether Walt and[/i] Skyler go to jail I don't think Sylker or Junior will side with Hank.  They will threaten to paint him as a willing accomplice and let him try saying he didn't know.
> 
> Or maybe Walt will just slip Hank the ricin.
Click to expand...



excellent point, didn't think of that 

the ricin? well, at the very beginning of this last 8 walt was at the house and took it out from behind the outlet plate...so, if its there then, he didn't use it before

I just don't see hank laying down....


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## PixieStix

Best show on TV. I will miss this show when it is over. 

I think Skyler is an ass for not turning on her monster husband. Maybe she likes all the drama and money.

Someone is gonna get hurt real soon, I am thinking the writers may write in one of Walts family members getting killed or hurt. Hopefully not his son.,


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## Snookie

PixieStix said:


> Best show on TV. I will miss this show when it is over.
> 
> I think Skyler is an ass for not turning on her monster husband. Maybe she likes all the drama and money.
> 
> Someone is gonna get hurt real soon, I am thinking the writers may write in one of Walts family members getting killed or hurt. Hopefully not his son.,



Skyler is like Tammy Wynette.


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## PixieStix

Snookie said:


> PixieStix said:
> 
> 
> 
> Best show on TV. I will miss this show when it is over.
> 
> I think Skyler is an ass for not turning on her monster husband. Maybe she likes all the drama and money.
> 
> Someone is gonna get hurt real soon, I am thinking the writers may write in one of Walts family members getting killed or hurt. Hopefully not his son.,
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Skyler is like Tammy Wynette.
Click to expand...


I think she has been introduced to power and her evil side and likes it


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## IlarMeilyr

Trajan said:


> me too, the wife and I have them all on dvd, we just finished last week....there is plenty of loose ends to catch up with him laying around.
> 
> example-  I think jesse is somehow going to figure out he was at the house when whats her face puked and died on the spot, walter let it slip once and I said to my wife, jesse will come back to that some time somewhere and put 2 and 2 together...plus the kid getting poisoned...
> 
> 
> and hank? god knows how hes going to tackle this.....
> 
> 
> 
> so, who's walt going to use that M-60 on?



After Jane aspirated on her own vomit, they had one of those flashback moments in a later episode where Jess sat with Jane in the car after visiting a museum.  (painted vagina reference goes --- here).

Jess said some sweet shit to Jane who then said, "I think I just threw up in my mouth a little bit."  My 16 year old son (who is the one who got me hooked on Breaking Bad via a Netflix mini-marathon while we were on vacation), promptly noted the significance of that line.

Excellent writing.  The show is dark as hell.

I AM THE DANGER.

SAY MY NAME.

Great show.


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## PixieStix

IlarMeilyr said:


> Trajan said:
> 
> 
> 
> me too, the wife and I have them all on dvd, we just finished last week....there is plenty of loose ends to catch up with him laying around.
> 
> example-  I think jesse is somehow going to figure out he was at the house when whats her face puked and died on the spot, walter let it slip once and I said to my wife, jesse will come back to that some time somewhere and put 2 and 2 together...plus the kid getting poisoned...
> 
> 
> and hank? god knows how hes going to tackle this.....
> 
> 
> 
> so, who's walt going to use that M-60 on?
> 
> 
> 
> 
> After Jane aspirated on her own vomit, they had one of those flashback moments in a later episode where Jess sat with Jane in the car after visiting a museum.  (painted vagina reference goes --- here).
> 
> Jess said some sweet shit to Jane who then said, "I think I just threw up in my mouth a little bit."  My 16 year old son (who is the one who got me hooked on Breaking Bad via a Netflix mini-marathon while we were on vacation), promptly noted the significance of that line.
> 
> Excellent writing.  The show is dark as hell.
> 
> I AM THE DANGER.
> 
> SAY MY NAME.
> 
> Great show.
Click to expand...


And another good line in the show was recent

"tread |lightly"

One of the greatest&#65279; scenes in TV-show history

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1DSiPhJ_pGk]'Tread Lightly' (Full Version) - Hank Vs Heisenberg - Hank Confronts Walter White - Breaking Bad - YouTube[/ame]


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## g5000

Walter went fully evil last night.  If there were any people out there who believed he had any decency left in him, his "confession" blew that misperception away.

He's the devil.


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## MikeK

g5000 said:


> Walter went fully evil last night.  If there were any people out there who believed he had any decency left in him, his "confession" blew that misperception away.
> 
> He's the devil.


Why?  What choice did he have?  It isn't as if he did that for fun.  

I disagree with you.  I think Walter acts out of necessity.  Hank's obsessive authoritarian compulsion represents the true essence of evil in this game.  What Walt did to check Hank was a masterpiece of poetic justice.  In fact I would like to see the series end with Hank sitting in a cell at Leavenworth and thinking about how and why he got there.

Let's not forget Walt chose to participate in a very dangerous game in which he was confronted by a lot of insidiously devious and vicious players, including a pathologically driven, egeomaniacal brother-in-law.  He had to survive against all odds and it was never his intention to harm or to compromise anyone who didn't threaten him or those he cares for, including the masochistic little loose cannon, Pinkman -- who, for the good of all concerned, including himself, should be put out of his misery asap.  

Don't forget, Walt is dying of cancer.  He isn't living like a playboy and enjoying his money.  The most extravagant thing he's done is buy his son a sports car.  The the bottom line to all he's doing is his will to provide for Skyler and their kids when he's gone.  That is the very core of his ego.  

Last -- one character I hope to see get what is coming to her is Skyler's ungrateful moralist, kleptomaniacal bitch sister, Marie.  If anyone deserves to suffer, it's her.  What Skyler did for her and Hank was done out of love and goodness of heart.  Now she can't wait to see Skyler and Walt suffer.  

This series is turning out to be a classic morality play with almost spiritual complexity.  Where does the real evil lie?


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## IlarMeilyr

Holy shit.  Hank is a cop.  Walter is the criminal.  The "confession" by Walter is further proof that Walter is a criminal.  That effort was blackmail, pure and simple.  And it was blackmail predicated on an evil lie.  Doesn't make it any less powerful.  But still, it was a lie and it not only was blackmail, but intended as blackmail.

On the scales of justice, Hank is as pure as the new driven snow on this score.

But there's more.

Look what just happened to Jesse.  What was "going" to happen to him? What was it that he grasped JUST before it was almost too late?  And, WHO do we imagine set the guy up?

Damn.

It is beyond ANY petty quibble.   Walter has become the antithesis of the person he started out as being in this series.  He is not just a criminal, but he IS now evil.

Jesse is a criminal too, clearly, but of a very different kind than Walter.

Hank has his faults, no doubt.  But his actions have all been designed to bring a violent murderous law-breaker to justice.  

The writers are great.  The plot is solid.  The characters are generally well crafted and three dimensional.  Hank is the good guy, but the genius of the story is that we are still fascinated by (and somehow still kind of rooting for) the truly bad guy, Walter.

It helps that the actors are really quite good.


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## Snookie

g5000 said:


> Walter went fully evil last night.  If there were any people out there who believed he had any decency left in him, his "confession" blew that misperception away.
> 
> He's the devil.



Voltaire once said , "Men who do evil brilliantly, are often admired".


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## Moonglow

I do not care to watch on TV that which I have witnessed with cooks and users over the last 25 years that I have known.


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## MikeK

Snookie said:


> g5000 said:
> 
> 
> 
> Walter went fully evil last night.  If there were any people out there who believed he had any decency left in him, his "confession" blew that misperception away.
> 
> He's the devil.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Voltaire once said , "Men who do evil brilliantly, are often admired".
Click to expand...

To Voltaire I would say, _Some men who appear to do good are often the most evil._ 

And we both would be right.


----------



## g5000

Moonglow said:


> I do not care to watch on TV that which I have witnessed with cooks and users over the last 25 years that I have known.



I did volunteer work in jails and prisons for many years, and by far the sickest, most twisted individuals were the meth heads.

Bank robbers were damn near gentlemen next to the meth heads.


----------



## g5000

Hank and his wife were written as unlikable people. This was obviously deliberate.  It makes it harder to grow into a dislike for Walt if he is counterpointed by a couple of uptight assholes.

But Walt has become evil, pure and simple.  If your opinion of him has not evolved commensurately with his greater and greater transgressions, then you are the kind of person whose biases get frozen in place and are not swayed by new information or facts.

He poisoned a child, for chrissakes.  And another is dead because of his over-the-top greed.

Now he is threatening to send an innocent man to prison to take the fall for his misdeeds.

You have to be pretty confused to paint him as anything other than evil.


----------



## dblack

[SPOILER ALERT] Not sure if these are necessary in this thread, but ....[/SPOILER ALERT]


This show is really brilliant stuff. I totally love how, rather than falling into some kind of stupid 'procedural' pattern, with Hank tracking down all the clues to corner Walt, it's really focusing more on the fallout for each of the characters. They basically just layed all the cards out on the table and now we get to see how each character handles it.

It's cool too because, so far at least, each seems to be making a fatal mistake that will seal their fate. Walt - made his long ago, but in this season we've seen both Skyler and Hank each making crucial and decisions - Schuyler should have listened to Hank and given up everything on Walt, but she chose not too. Hank, likewise, should be turning to all the resources he can muster - namely his department. But his pride won't let him. If he has to admit he's been a chump all this time, unwittingly supporting his greatest nemesis, he wants to be the lone 'hero' who takes him down. The flakey Marie is turning out to be the sole voice of sanity.

And speaking of Marie - the fracturing of the relationship with her sister was handled perfectly. Intense, and tragic. The way Skyler admitted everything to her, without saying a word. Only the kind of thing that can happen between sisters. Fucking amazing writing and acting.


----------



## dblack

g5000 said:


> Hank and his wife were written as unlikable people. This was obviously deliberate.  It makes it harder to grow into a dislike for Walt if he is counterpointed by a couple of uptight assholes.
> 
> But Walt has become evil, pure and simple.  If your opinion of him has not evolved commensurately with his greater and greater transgressions, then you are the kind of person whose biases get frozen in place and are not swayed by new information or facts.
> 
> He poisoned a child, for chrissakes.  And another is dead because of his over-the-top greed.
> 
> Now he is threatening to send an innocent man to prison to take the fall for his misdeeds.
> 
> You have to be pretty confused to paint him as anything other than evil.



Yeah. I love it when a writer can take you through a transition toward really appreciating an initially unlikable character. For what it's worth, this is the first television series in a long time (since Barney Miller in fact, ) that has me unabashedly cheering for a macho cop character. Whodathunkit?


----------



## Snookie

I like the show but they should show some of the real horrors of meth addiction.

They are zombies.


----------



## MikeK

IlarMeilyr said:


> Holy shit.  Hank is a cop.  Walter is the criminal.


Hank is the kind of cop whose actions serve no interests other than his own and those who profit from the drug war.  He is a narc.  Narcs (and vice cops) are the _scumbags_ of law enforcement.  They protect and help no one.  

Walter is the kind of criminal whose actions are no more insidious or harmful to society than are those of the producers and marketers of cigarettes and beverage alcohol, both of which are lethally harmful recreational substances.  



> The "confession" by Walter is further proof that Walter is a criminal.  That effort was blackmail, pure and simple.  And it was blackmail predicated on an evil lie.  Doesn't make it any less powerful.  But still, it was a lie and it not only was blackmail, but intended as blackmail.


Blackmail is an aggressive action.  What Walter has done is defend himself against a pathologically obsessive egomaniac.  

If Hank wasn't engaged in an ego-driven pursuit, upon realizing that Walter is the elusive _Heisenburg_ he would have immediately reported what he knows to his superior and recused himself from the case.  But he had the smell of blood and it didn't matter that pursuing the prey would destroy a component of his own family and deeply injure two innocent children.  He wanted to make the kill.  His bestial nature was made apparent in the way he brutalized Pinkman.  

So much for "cops" and "criminals."    



> On the scales of justice, Hank is as pure as the new driven snow on this score.


That is a one-dimensional perception.  The reality is Hank chose to play the game by his own rules and he's been checkmated.  



> But there's more.
> 
> Look what just happened to Jesse.  What was "going" to happen to him? What was it that he grasped JUST before it was almost too late?  And, WHO do we imagine set the guy up?


Actually, that move got past me.  I honestly don't know why Jesse beat the hell out of Saul, or what the cigarette pack was about.  But I do know Jesse is not only his own worst enemy but represents a threat to everyone he comes in contact with because of his self-destructive, self-pitying, self-absorbed nature.  Putting him to sleep is best for all concerned -- including him.



> It is beyond ANY petty quibble.   Walter has become the antithesis of the person he started out as being in this series.  He is not just a criminal, but he IS now evil.


Walter is capable of extremely cunning, cold-bloodedly brutal behavior -- but only when he is backed into a corner.  "Evil" is an aggressive concept.  Walter's controversial actions are purely defensive.



> Jesse is a criminal too, clearly, but of a very different kind than Walter.


Jesse is a disaster looking for a place to happen.  He is a "boat rocker" who won't sit down.  And there is only one way to deal with him.  



> Hank has his faults, no doubt.  But his actions have all been designed to bring a violent murderous law-breaker to justice.


Justice?  If you mean justice in the true sense of the word, Hank would have gone to prison for what he did to Jesse Pinkman.  He was spared that destructive ordeal but it hasn't given him the slightest pause.  



> The writers are great.  The plot is solid.  The characters are generally well crafted and three dimensional.  Hank is the good guy, but the genius of the story is that we are still fascinated by (and somehow still kind of rooting for) the truly bad guy, Walter.


The entire story is three-dimensional but you seem to have a one-dimensional perception of it.


----------



## PixieStix

A 9  minute rundown on the best  TV series ever

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ovlK-WXJ-pQ]9 MINUTE BREAKING BAD: The Epic Refresher [bettingbad.com] - YouTube[/ame]


----------



## MikeK

Snookie said:


> I like the show but they should show some of the real horrors of meth addiction.
> 
> They are zombies.


You are quite right about that.  In fact the absence of any form of public education is evidence that government has no real interest in reducing drug use but is interested only in perpetuating and expanding the wholly counterproductive drug war.  

Public education managed to reduce the use of cigarettes by more than fifty percent in less than ten years without arresting a single individual.  I smoked cigarettes for 35 years but I quit in 1985 because of a public education program, without which I would not have been motivated.  

In 1985 I attended a publicized lecture at Queens College in New York, during which we were shown laboratory jars containing bisected cancerous lungs from corpses of long-term smokers.  These were compared with bisected healthy lungs from non-smoking accident victims.  That was enough for me.  It took me three months but I managed to quit with the aid of Nicorette gum and lollipops.  

I wasn't the only one who was motivated to quit by that lecture and similar public education efforts.


----------



## MikeK

g5000 said:


> Hank and his wife were written as unlikable people. This was obviously deliberate.  It makes it harder to grow into a dislike for Walt if he is counterpointed by a couple of uptight assholes.
> 
> But Walt has become evil, pure and simple.  If your opinion of him has not evolved commensurately with his greater and greater transgressions, then you are the kind of person whose biases get frozen in place and are not swayed by new information or facts.
> 
> He poisoned a child, for chrissakes.  And another is dead because of his over-the-top greed.
> 
> Now he is threatening to send an innocent man to prison to take the fall for his misdeeds.
> 
> You have to be pretty confused to paint him as anything other than evil.


The only thing I can't excuse Walter for is poisoning Brock.  That was over the top.  

As far as his checkmating Hank, I say _Bravo!_  Why should he not have done exactly that?  Hank is an egomaniacal bastard who deserves exactly that -- and more.  It was a masterful move.


----------



## Smilodonfatalis

Jesse Pinkman has become like a rabid dog.

He needs to be put down.


----------



## g5000

Smilodonfatalis said:


> Jesse Pinkman has become like a rabid dog.
> 
> He needs to be put down.



Jesse is the only character in the entire show who has expressed guilt for his actions.  And now, rather than take the exit and save himself, he is on a righteous crusade to avenge the poisoned child.

That's far from rabid.


----------



## Snookie

Smilodonfatalis said:


> Jesse Pinkman has become like a rabid dog.
> 
> He needs to be put down.



No, no, then there will be no more parties.


----------



## Trajan

so the wife and I watched it last night, we could not make the Sunday showing


so, yes the writers are just to effing good, walts confession checkmates Hank, fucking classic.... never saw that coming not like that.... 


some things to think about;

-walt didn't use ricin to poison brock, he used a derivative from Lily of the Valley....... that plant he threw away last year when he cleaned up the house...the ricin is still there behind the outlet...


- theres no fire damage in the flash forward form the first episode yet....

- Todd and his aryan DB's have moved the meth operation to...New Mexico from AZ.......


----------



## MikeK

g5000 said:


> Smilodonfatalis said:
> 
> 
> 
> Jesse Pinkman has become like a rabid dog.
> 
> He needs to be put down.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Jesse is the only character in the entire show who has expressed guilt for his actions.  And now, rather than take the exit and save himself, he is on a righteous crusade to avenge the poisoned child.
> 
> That's far from rabid.
Click to expand...

 This issue depends on whose perspective it's viewed from.  I so despise Hank and all he stands for I can't help being on the side of Walt and Skyler.  So your earlier observation about being rooted in bias is correct in my case.  I do identify with Walt for a variety of reasons.

Where Jesse is concerned, he's not a child.  And because he's unhappy with the way his life has turned out he's chosen to behave like a spoiled little brat, destroying his toys, shitting his pants, and setting the house on fire.  He could have dealt with his guilt by using the money he tossed away to do good things for countless deserving people, but he chose to act out and jeopardize everyone, blaming everyone but himself for things he's done.  

I'm sure Walt will somehow pay for his sins, because that seems to be the rule in popular American literature and theater.  He can't be allowed to get away with poisoning Brock.  I expect some classic retribution, and knowing it will happen is why I'm able to ignore his negative aspect.  My focus is on Hank, because there is nothing good about him.  I want to see that egomaniacal bastard suffer -- along with his malicious, moralistic, kleptomaniac wife.  

I just hope Skyler is able to get away clean and enjoy all that money in ways she is inclined to, which is helping a lot of deserving others.  But I wonder who she will get to help her dig it up.


----------



## g5000

Trajan said:


> - theres no fire damage in the flash forward form the first episode yet....



Watch this past Sunday's show.


----------



## g5000

MikeK said:


> I just hope Skyler is able to get away clean and enjoy all that money in ways she is inclined to, which is helping a lot of deserving others.  But I wonder who she will get to help her dig it up.



She was not with Walt when he buried it.  She probably doesn't know where it is.

Perhaps she and the lawyer will elope.


----------



## MikeK

g5000 said:


> MikeK said:
> 
> 
> 
> I just hope Skyler is able to get away clean and enjoy all that money in ways she is inclined to, which is helping a lot of deserving others.  But I wonder who she will get to help her dig it up.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> She was not with Walt when he buried it.  She probably doesn't know where it is.
> 
> Perhaps she and the lawyer will elope.
Click to expand...

If you recall the end of the scene in which Walt finished burying the drums and took a numerical reading from an electronic device, that was a navigational GPS and the digits he committed to memory were the grid coordinates of that exact spot.  Those numbers will allow anyone with a similar device to precisely pinpoint that location.  I predict Walt will somehow provide Skyler with that information in some simple encrypted form.

But re: Skyler and Saul the lawyer, I don't think he's Skyler's type.  He's too shifty and she would be looking for someone who wouldn't dream of breaking a traffic law.  She's had more than enough trauma with Walt.


----------



## PixieStix

MikeK said:


> g5000 said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Smilodonfatalis said:
> 
> 
> 
> Jesse Pinkman has become like a rabid dog.
> 
> He needs to be put down.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Jesse is the only character in the entire show who has expressed guilt for his actions.  And now, rather than take the exit and save himself, he is on a righteous crusade to avenge the poisoned child.
> 
> That's far from rabid.
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> This issue depends on whose perspective it's viewed from.  I so despise Hank and all he stands for I can't help being on the side of Walt and Skyler.  So your earlier observation about being rooted in bias is correct in my case.  I do identify with Walt for a variety of reasons.
> 
> Where Jesse is concerned, he's not a child.  And because he's unhappy with the way his life has turned out he's chosen to behave like a spoiled little brat, destroying his toys, shitting his pants, and setting the house on fire.  He could have dealt with his guilt by using the money he tossed away to do good things for countless deserving people, but he chose to act out and jeopardize everyone, blaming everyone but himself for things he's done.
> 
> I'm sure Walt will somehow pay for his sins, because that seems to be the rule in popular American literature and theater.  He can't be allowed to get away with poisoning Brock.  I expect some classic retribution, and knowing it will happen is why I'm able to ignore his negative aspect.  My focus is on Hank, because there is nothing good about him.  I want to see that egomaniacal bastard suffer -- along with his malicious, moralistic, kleptomaniac wife.
> 
> I just hope Skyler is able to get away clean and enjoy all that money in ways she is inclined to, which is helping a lot of deserving others.  But I wonder who she will get to help her dig it up.
Click to expand...


Skyler is just as bad as the monster that is her husband. She was way cool with Walt making the so called confession. I now officially despise her


----------



## PixieStix

g5000 said:


> Smilodonfatalis said:
> 
> 
> 
> Jesse Pinkman has become like a rabid dog.
> 
> He needs to be put down.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Jesse is the only character in the entire show who has expressed guilt for his actions.  And now, rather than take the exit and save himself, he is on a righteous crusade to avenge the poisoned child.
> 
> That's far from rabid.
Click to expand...


Jesse and Walter Jr, are the only 2, that I now root for. I hope those 2 make it


----------



## PixieStix

Smilodonfatalis said:


> Jesse Pinkman has become like a rabid dog.
> 
> He needs to be put down.



Thank you Saul Goodman


----------



## Zona

Snookie said:


> Smilodonfatalis said:
> 
> 
> 
> Jesse Pinkman has become like a rabid dog.
> 
> He needs to be put down.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> No, no, then there will be no more parties.
Click to expand...


That's science bitch.


----------



## Smilodonfatalis

g5000 said:


> Smilodonfatalis said:
> 
> 
> 
> Jesse Pinkman has become like a rabid dog.
> 
> He needs to be put down.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Jesse is the only character in the entire show who has expressed guilt for his actions.  And now, rather than take the exit and save himself, he is on a righteous crusade to avenge the poisoned child.
> 
> That's far from rabid.
Click to expand...


Guilt is for losers.  Pinkman is a loser.


----------



## MikeK

g5000 said:


> Jesse is the only character in the entire show who has expressed guilt for his actions.


There are rational and productive ways of dealing with guilt, the most positive being benevolent acts of self-sacrifice such as typified by many examples in Christian history and its basic theology.   An excellent, animated example of sacrificial absolution would be the Robert DiNiro movie, _The Mission._



> And now, rather than take the exit and save himself, he is on a righteous crusade to avenge the poisoned child.
> 
> That's far from rabid.


Not really.  Pinkman's "righteous crusade" is best described as a violent tantrum in which he truly is behaving like a rabid dog.  

As previously mentioned, Pinkman could gradually and constructively absolve his guilt by finding deserving people who are suffering from the torments of poverty and give them relief.  Instead he dealt with it by tossing money out his car window in a selfishly infantile gesture of temperamental self-flagellation.  

This is why I believe the most objectively constructive way to deal with him is put him out of his misery.


----------



## MikeK

PixieStix said:


> Skyler is just as bad as the monster that is her husband. She was way cool with Walt making the so called confession. I now officially despise her


I think she's the perfect woman; smart, beautiful, amazingly resourceful, basically decent, and emotionallty stronger than most men.  As a wife, she is a treasure.


----------



## IlarMeilyr

MikeK said:


> PixieStix said:
> 
> 
> 
> Skyler is just as bad as the monster that is her husband. She was way cool with Walt making the so called confession. I now officially despise her
> 
> 
> 
> I think she's the perfect woman; smart, beautiful, amazingly resourceful, basically decent, and emotionallty stronger than most men.  As a wife, she is a treasure.
Click to expand...


In other words, Mike would fuck her.

Of course, he'd fuck the crack of dawn or the hole in a donut, too.  So, his adoration proves nothing.


----------



## MikeK

I know better than to casually anticipate the outcome of _any_ element in the _Breaking Bad_ script because the writers are indeed a clever and capable lot -- as evidenced most recently by the absolutely brilliant way Walt checkmated Hank Schraeder.  But I know I'm not the only one who can't help speculating on what the next moves will be and how the series will end.  So I'd like to know what ideas others are having in the way of plot predictions.

I've been contemplating some past events for their potential value in solidifying a case against Schraeder if Walt's _confession_ disc should fall into the DEA's hands.  Even if that doesn't happen, I'm wondering how Hank and Marie (a known petty thief) will account for the $177,000 worth of therapy, paid for with cash, if DEA Internal Affairs should conduct an _Integrity Audit,_ which they do if an agent appears to be spending more than he earns.  That would make for an interesting episode. 

I'm also wondering if these world class writers will adhere to the tradition of all bad guys being punished in the end, or if they will break from that mundanely moral unwritten rule and show Walt, Skyler, and the kids living comfortably and peacefully in a nice little beach villa somewhere in Mexico -- kind of like the rare and gratifying ending of the superb Quentin Tarantino masterpiece, _True Romance._ 

What are your thoughts?


----------



## IlarMeilyr

MikeK said:


> I know better than to try anticipating the outcome of _any_ element in the _Breaking Bad_ script because the writers are indeed a clever and capable bunch -- as evidenced most recently by the absolutely brilliant way Walt checkmated Hank Schraeder.  But I know I'm not the only one who can't help speculating on what the next moves will be and how the series will end.  So I'd like to know what ideas others are having in the way of plot predictions.
> 
> I've been contemplating some past events for their potential value in solidifying a case against Schraeder if Walt's _confession_ disc should fall into the DEA's hands.  Even if that doesn't happen, I'm wondering how Hank and Marie (a known petty thief) will account for the $177,000 worth of therapy, paid for with cash, if DEA Internal Affairs should conduct an _Integrity Audit,_ which they do if an agent appears to be spending more than he earns.  That would make for an interesting episode.
> 
> I'm also wondering if these world class writers will adhere to the tradition of all bad guys being punished in the final episode, or if they will break from that mundanely moral unwritten rule and show Hank, Skyler, and the kids living comfortably and peacefully in a nice little beach villa somewhere in Mexico -- kind of like the rare and pleasing ending in that superb Quentin Tarantino movie, _True Romance._
> 
> What are your thoughts?




Walt is going to die.  The gun he takes out of the trunk will turn out to be a suicide weapon.

Schulyer may survive.  But she will go to prison for a stint.

Walter Junior will raise his kid sister while mom's away.  

Hank will get crushed, albeit unfairly.  

Marie will escape almost unscathed except for the impact of what happens to her husband.  Then she will be Michael J. Fox's wife.

Jesse will die.  Maybe in the next episode.  It will be due to accidental ricin poisoning.

And Congress will pass some legislation which the President will sign legalizing blue meth.


----------



## MikeK

One event that could put a nail in Hank's coffin is his brutal beating of Jesse Pinkman and Pinkman's surprisingly mysterious dropping of the charges.  That situation could  easily be woven into spurious charges of some interaction between an uncooperative drug dealer and a corrupt DEA Agent.  

One thing working against Hank is his habit and history of autonomous activity, i.e., not keeping his superiors apprised of his movements and methods.  He's also given his former partner and friend cause to suspect his actions and behavior.  

And there is the matter of those two high-level assassins the cartel sent to kill Hank.  _Why?_ 

And there is the police detective who visited Hank with leads on _Heisenburg,_ who Hank did his best to convince that he wasn't interested and politely refused to assist.  

I'm trying to assign some significance to Hank's peculiar interest in geology and his ordering all those rocks but I can't.


----------



## PixieStix

IlarMeilyr said:


> MikeK said:
> 
> 
> 
> I know better than to try anticipating the outcome of _any_ element in the _Breaking Bad_ script because the writers are indeed a clever and capable bunch -- as evidenced most recently by the absolutely brilliant way Walt checkmated Hank Schraeder.  But I know I'm not the only one who can't help speculating on what the next moves will be and how the series will end.  So I'd like to know what ideas others are having in the way of plot predictions.
> 
> I've been contemplating some past events for their potential value in solidifying a case against Schraeder if Walt's _confession_ disc should fall into the DEA's hands.  Even if that doesn't happen, I'm wondering how Hank and Marie (a known petty thief) will account for the $177,000 worth of therapy, paid for with cash, if DEA Internal Affairs should conduct an _Integrity Audit,_ which they do if an agent appears to be spending more than he earns.  That would make for an interesting episode.
> 
> I'm also wondering if these world class writers will adhere to the tradition of all bad guys being punished in the final episode, or if they will break from that mundanely moral unwritten rule and show Hank, Skyler, and the kids living comfortably and peacefully in a nice little beach villa somewhere in Mexico -- kind of like the rare and pleasing ending in that superb Quentin Tarantino movie, _True Romance._
> 
> What are your thoughts?
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Walt is going to die.  The gun he takes out of the trunk will turn out to be a suicide weapon.
> 
> Schulyer may survive.  But she will go to prison for a stint.
> 
> Walter Junior will raise his kid sister while mom's away.
> 
> Hank will get crushed, albeit unfairly.
> 
> Marie will escape almost unscathed except for the impact of what happens to her husband.  Then she will be Michael J. Fox's wife.
> 
> Jesse will die.  Maybe in the next episode.  It will be due to accidental ricin poisoning.
> 
> And Congress will pass some legislation which the President will sign legalizing blue meth.
Click to expand...




And President Obama will go to war with Mexico


----------



## MikeK

Sunday, 9/1:

Anyone care to speculate on the outcome of this amazing plot twist?

Things aren't looking very good for Walt but one thing is certain; if Walt learns Jesse is living with Hank and plotting against him Walt's horns will pop out and his most diabolical aspect will surface.  And one way for him to find out is if Junior stops by to visit Uncle Hank and Aunt Marie, notices something peculiar and mentions it to Walt and Skyler.  

Another thought I have is Jesse overhears Hank badmouthing him to Gomez, causing him to re-evaluate his situation and recall how many times Walt has saved his bacon, which brings about a change of heart.  But should that happen I'm not so sure Walt would abandon his realization that Jesse is an unpredictable loose cannon who must be eliminated.  

Also, I'm not forgetting the vial of Ricin Walt removed from behind a switch-plate hiding place about six episodes back.  That element is still in play and maybe this is its time and place.  

Anyway, there are five episodes to go and Walt has always managed to amaze us.  So I can't wait to see how he deals with this menacing situation.


----------



## candycorn

MikeK said:


> Sunday, 9/1:
> 
> Anyone care to speculate on the outcome of this amazing plot twist?
> 
> Things aren't looking very good for Walt but one thing is certain; if Walt learns Jesse is living with Hank and plotting against him Walt's horns will pop out and his most diabolical aspect will surface.  And one way for him to find out is if Junior stops by to visit Uncle Hank and Aunt Marie, notices something peculiar and mentions it to Walt and Skyler.
> 
> Another thought I have is Jesse overhears Hank badmouthing him to Gomez, causing him to re-evaluate his situation and recall how many times Walt has saved his bacon, which brings about a change of heart.  But should that happen I'm not so sure Walt would abandon his realization that Jesse is an unpredictable loose cannon who must be eliminated.
> 
> Also, I'm not forgetting the vial of Ricin Walt removed from behind a switch-plate hiding place about six episodes back.  That element is still in play and maybe this is its time and place.
> 
> Anyway, there are five episodes to go and Walt has always managed to amaze us.  So I can't wait to see how he deals with this menacing situation.



It will be a long time before a show this well written comes our way again.  I'll take a swing.  

This is All speculation; I apologize for any spoilers that may come out of this.  

*******Possible Spoiler Alert Below*************

Hank eventually arrests Walt but the one thing tying Walt to Gale Boettecher besides Jesse's unofficial deposition was the _Leaves of Grass_ message.  It will turn out that it was sent to Walt by Gretchen Black who was a one time love interest of Walt.  Otherwise, why have that scene in Gray Matter and those scenes during the clean-up of the blood in the hallway of Jesse's old house?  Seems like they had to have been there for a reason.  Also when he finds _Leaves of Grass_, Walt smiled.  I doubt he'd be smiling at something given to him by Gale.  So the arrest is done but they can't hold him since the "official" evidence is now gone.  Hank doesn't bring up the "confession" because it makes him look culpable too--especially since we've gone 5 episodes now without him going to the DEA himself and telling his superiors what he knows.  

Jesse turns State's evidence.  However, they don't get Walt so Jesse is the only one who ends up in jail.  Walt still needs to off Jesse because it will be a matter of time before he starts remembering possible ties such as Hanks' fingerprints on Jesse's money, his DNA at the house from the fight they had etc...  That is what the M60 is for.  

The "gang" Walt used to off the legacy expenses turns of Walt and can't reach Jesse since he is in Federal Custody so Walt undertakes one marathon cooking session to pay off his "debt" to them.  

Skyler poison's Marie and Hank in a shock that nobody sees coming.

Walt Jr. is seen smoking the blue stuff at some point and Walt realizes that he's really a monster and kills himself.

Walt also doesn't have cancer.

****************End Spoilers***************














If I'm right about 10% of that, I'll be stunned.


----------



## candycorn

MikeK said:


> One event that could put a nail in Hank's coffin is his brutal beating of Jesse Pinkman and Pinkman's surprisingly mysterious dropping of the charges.  That situation could  easily be woven into spurious charges of some interaction between an uncooperative drug dealer and a corrupt DEA Agent.
> 
> One thing working against Hank is his habit and history of autonomous activity, i.e., not keeping his superiors apprised of his movements and methods.  He's also given his former partner and friend cause to suspect his actions and behavior.
> 
> And there is the matter of those two high-level assassins the cartel sent to kill Hank.  _Why?_
> 
> And there is the police detective who visited Hank with leads on _Heisenburg,_ who Hank did his best to convince that he wasn't interested and politely refused to assist.
> 
> I'm trying to assign some significance to Hank's peculiar interest in geology and his ordering all those rocks but I can't.



Geology...hmmm...hadn't thought of that.  Now that is going to bother me...


----------



## candycorn

MikeK said:


> g5000 said:
> 
> 
> 
> Jesse is the only character in the entire show who has expressed guilt for his actions.
> 
> 
> 
> There are rational and productive ways of dealing with guilt, the most positive being benevolent acts of self-sacrifice such as typified by many examples in Christian history and its basic theology.   An excellent, animated example of sacrificial absolution would be the Robert DiNiro movie, _The Mission._
> 
> 
> 
> 
> And now, rather than take the exit and save himself, he is on a righteous crusade to avenge the poisoned child.
> 
> That's far from rabid.
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> Not really.  Pinkman's "righteous crusade" is best described as a violent tantrum in which he truly is behaving like a rabid dog.
> 
> As previously mentioned, Pinkman could gradually and constructively absolve his guilt by finding deserving people who are suffering from the torments of poverty and give them relief.  Instead he dealt with it by tossing money out his car window in a selfishly infantile gesture of temperamental self-flagellation.
> 
> This is why I believe the most objectively constructive way to deal with him is put him out of his misery.
Click to expand...


Skyler authorized the hit on him...I think you're on to something.  

What do you make of the teaser about the woman from Madrigal and the salmon?  

Can't wait for Sunday...football all day, Breaking Bad all night.


----------



## MikeK

candycorn said:


> Skyler authorized the hit on him...I think you're on to something.


Skyler authorized a hit?  



> What do you make of the teaser about the woman from Madrigal and the salmon?


I am completely in the dark about this.  Who is the _woman from Madrigal?_  And what _salmon?_  It appears I've missed something.   



> Can't wait for Sunday...football all day, Breaking Bad all night.


I look forward to Sundays, too.  I'm not interested in football but there is a lot of good tv on Sunday nights.  The new season of _Boardwalk Empire_ is starting on the 8th.  It's not as captivating as _Breaking Bad_ (no other tv drama is), but it is very well done.

If you're a tv buff, and if you haven't already watched the current movie version of _Les Miserables,_ with Russel Crowe, Hugh Jackman and Amanda Seyfried, I watched it last night and it is excellent.


----------



## dblack

MikeK said:


> candycorn said:
> 
> 
> 
> Skyler authorized the hit on him...I think you're on to something.
> 
> 
> 
> Skyler authorized a hit?
Click to expand...


Yup. She was drunk at the time, but basically was calling Walt a pussy for not doing it. "We've come this far" - I think was here comment to him balking on the idea.


----------



## candycorn

MikeK said:


> I am completely in the dark about this.  Who is the _woman from Madrigal?_  And what _salmon?_  It appears I've missed something.


Vince Gilligan is giving very cryptic clues each evening on _Talking Bad_ which comes on after _Breaking Bad._  The lady from Madrigal who sat up Walt sending meth to Czech Republic--don't recall her name.  Anyway, Gilligan said something along the lines that she'll get to appreciate salmon....  

Just to be on the safe side, I'm going with tuna purchases for the next 6 months and staying away from the Salmon.

Also, just occurred to me; the neighbor's reaction to seeing Walt come back to the house.  It looks as though maybe he could have faked his own death == she seemed so shocked.



MikeK said:


> Can't wait for Sunday...football all day, Breaking Bad all night.
> 
> 
> 
> I look forward to Sundays, too.  I'm not interested in football but there is a lot of good tv on Sunday nights.  The new season of _Boardwalk Empire_ is starting on the 8th.  It's not as captivating as _Breaking Bad_ (no other tv drama is), but it is very well done.
> 
> If you're a tv buff, and if you haven't already watched the current movie version of _Les Miserables,_ with Russel Crowe, Hugh Jackman and Amanda Seyfried, I watched it last night and it is excellent.
Click to expand...


Thanks for the tips.


----------



## Snookie

Walt and Skyler become born again christians, start a ministry, quit dealing when they discover there is more money to be made in religion than selling dope, although it is similar in nature but with no risks.

Walter and Skyler are pardoned after making a ten million political  contribution to the governor.


----------



## MikeK

Tonight's episode (9/8) was a major disappointment from beginning to end, mainly because I hate to see Hank outsmarting Walt so gracefully and Walt falling into the trap so clumsily.  And the closing scene is as absurd as it would be if one of them took off and flew away like Superman:  Eight supposedly experienced shooters, each holding a tight aim at less than a dozen yards with good quality weapons, about a hundred shots fired and nobody is hit?  This is insultingly ridiculous.  The first shots fired, even by mediocre shooters, would easily have taken out Hank and Gomez.

My loathing for Hank and Jesse is frustrating.  I hope the writers have some relief planned for next Sunday, because today's episode inhabits the same category as zombie or vampire junk.  

They could do a lot better.


----------



## Billo_Really

MikeK said:


> Tonight's episode (9/8) was a major disappointment from beginning to end, mainly because I hate to see Hank outsmarting Walt so gracefully and Walt falling into the trap so clumsily.  And the closing scene is as absurd as it would be if one of them took off and flew away like Superman:  Eight supposedly experienced shooters, each holding a tight aim at less than a dozen yards with good quality weapons, about a hundred shots fired and nobody is hit?  This is insultingly ridiculous.  The first shots fired, even by mediocre shooters, would easily have taken out Hank and Gomez.
> 
> My loathing for Hank and Jesse is frustrating.  I hope the writers have some relief planned for next Sunday, because today's episode inhabits the same category as zombie or vampire junk.
> 
> They could do a lot better.


How can you hit a car that many times and have Walt not end up like swiss cheese?


----------



## Billo_Really

Snookie said:


> Walt and Skyler become born again christians, start a ministry, quit dealing when they discover there is more money to be made in religion than selling dope, although it is similar in nature but with no risks.
> 
> Walter and Skyler are pardoned after making a ten million political  contribution to the governor.


I thought he was going to use his meth money to become an arms dealer for the CIA and sell weapons to al Qaeda cells all over the world?

At least they have a better track record of carrying out sanctioned hits, than the losers Walt hired in the episode tonight.


----------



## Politico

Billo_Really said:


> How can you hit a car that many times and have Walt not end up like swiss cheese?



Angles. Doesn't matter. Any gunfight like that wouldn't last more than 30 seconds in the real world.


----------



## IlarMeilyr

A trained FBI agent once had a gun battle with a bank robber, standing face to face and at effectively point blank range.  MULTIPLE shots were fired from EACH combatant's weapon.  Nobody got hurt.  EVERY shot missed.

While the gun fight in the desert was admittedly implausible (I agree Hank and his side-kick would have likely been blown away), it is not impossible.  And shooting and missing is maybe a bit more accurate than the usual fare of tv shooting we see where one shot from 100 yards with a handgun blows out the bad guy's brains.

Quibble aside, if the writers had not gone for the gun fight, there was no longer ANY way out for Walter: and that would have made the final three episodes mighty suckatrocious.


----------



## candycorn

Billo_Really said:


> MikeK said:
> 
> 
> 
> Tonight's episode (9/8) was a major disappointment from beginning to end, mainly because I hate to see Hank outsmarting Walt so gracefully and Walt falling into the trap so clumsily.  And the closing scene is as absurd as it would be if one of them took off and flew away like Superman:  Eight supposedly experienced shooters, each holding a tight aim at less than a dozen yards with good quality weapons, about a hundred shots fired and nobody is hit?  This is insultingly ridiculous.  The first shots fired, even by mediocre shooters, would easily have taken out Hank and Gomez.
> 
> My loathing for Hank and Jesse is frustrating.  I hope the writers have some relief planned for next Sunday, because today's episode inhabits the same category as zombie or vampire junk.
> 
> They could do a lot better.
> 
> 
> 
> How can you hit a car that many times and have Walt not end up like swiss cheese?
Click to expand...


I think the bullet proof vest will make an appearance on Walt's body.  Strange that he and Saul were talking about it just before the gunfire started.  

I thought the episode was fantastic.  The gunfire doesn't bother me that much.  I was more surpised none of them drew down on Jesse since that was Walt's primary target.  

It sets up, beautifully, what I think is going to happen.  Somehow Jesse and Walt both get away.  Walt fakes his own death.  Meanwhile, Jesse is dragooned into cooking for the family.  Walt is going to go save Jesse once more.


----------



## PixieStix

I soooo wanted Walt to go down. I hope Hank and Jesse live. I am afraid that at least Hank is dead. 

As for Skyler,. She is as bad as Walt


----------



## PixieStix

candycorn said:


> Billo_Really said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> MikeK said:
> 
> 
> 
> Tonight's episode (9/8) was a major disappointment from beginning to end, mainly because I hate to see Hank outsmarting Walt so gracefully and Walt falling into the trap so clumsily.  And the closing scene is as absurd as it would be if one of them took off and flew away like Superman:  Eight supposedly experienced shooters, each holding a tight aim at less than a dozen yards with good quality weapons, about a hundred shots fired and nobody is hit?  This is insultingly ridiculous.  The first shots fired, even by mediocre shooters, would easily have taken out Hank and Gomez.
> 
> My loathing for Hank and Jesse is frustrating.  I hope the writers have some relief planned for next Sunday, because today's episode inhabits the same category as zombie or vampire junk.
> 
> They could do a lot better.
> 
> 
> 
> How can you hit a car that many times and have Walt not end up like swiss cheese?
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> 
> I think the bullet proof vest will make an appearance on Walt's body.  Strange that he and Saul were talking about it just before the gunfire started.
> 
> I thought the episode was fantastic.  The gunfire doesn't bother me that much.  I was more surpised none of them drew down on Jesse since that was Walt's primary target.
> 
> It sets up, beautifully, what I think is going to happen.  Somehow Jesse and Walt both get away.  Walt fakes his own death.  Meanwhile, Jesse is dragooned into cooking for the family.  Walt is going to go save Jesse once more.
Click to expand...


The writers are genius'

Best show ever


----------



## MikeK

PixieStix said:


> I soooo wanted Walt to go down. I hope Hank and Jesse live. I am afraid that at least Hank is dead.
> 
> As for Skyler,. She is as bad as Walt


Skyler is conspicuously absent from this critical conflict -- but Hank's phone call has made Marie a prominent part of it.  If Skyler threatens to testify that Marie was fully aware of the source of the $177,000, that would make Marie an accessory and subject her to a long prison sentence.  And her background as a petty thief would not aid her denial.  

If Hank survives the (absurd) gunfight, that threat to Marie could serve as a powerful influence over his actions.

And if Gomez (the only living witness to Hank's legitimacy) is killed, Walt's confession disc is back in play, the gunfight with apparent _rival_ meth distributors occuring in support of it.  Again, Hank's failure to advise his superiors of his actions in such a high-level operation is a very critical component of this development.  It strongly supports Walt's "confession" and imparts strong suspicion to Hank's motives.


----------



## MikeK

PixieStix said:


> The writers are genius'
> 
> Best show ever


I agree.  These writers are exceptional, mainly because they adhere to the simple rule of credibility, even in some of the more improbable situations they contrive.  But in this episode they take things into the realm of fantasy -- beginning with the ease by which Hank was able to outsmart Walt and ending with the utterly fantastic, wholly incredible gunfight.  

While most of the _teaser_ situations in this series have been far-fetched but credible, this entire episode has gone completely off the deep end.  I can't imagine what the writers have in mind for next week but it had better be good to make up for this weeks virtual comedy.


----------



## MikeK

Politico said:


> Billo_Really said:
> 
> 
> 
> How can you hit a car that many times and have Walt not end up like swiss cheese?
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Angles. Doesn't matter. Any gunfight like that wouldn't last more than 30 seconds in the real world.
Click to expand...

More like two or three at the very most.  Based on what they've shown us in terms of weaponry and shooter confidence, the opening volley would immediately have taken out Hank and Gomez.  Immediately.   

This episode is about as credible as a zombie movie.  Absurd.  Juvenile.


----------



## Samson

Trajan said:


> ...hopefully it will end better than the sopranos did





Could anything be worse?


----------



## MikeK

Samson said:


> Trajan said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...hopefully it will end better than the sopranos did
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Could anything be worse?
Click to expand...

That was a dirty trick, which I believe was done to leave the door open for another season.


----------



## Trajan

MikeK said:


> Samson said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Trajan said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...hopefully it will end better than the sopranos did
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Could anything be worse?
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> That was a dirty trick, which I believe was done to leave the door open for another season.
Click to expand...


tonys dead so, they're fugged


I will watch latest  BB later tonight, I was out of town....


----------



## MikeK

PixieStix said:


> I soooo wanted Walt to go down. I hope Hank and Jesse live. I am afraid that at least Hank is dead.
> 
> As for Skyler,. She is as bad as Walt


This series is a kind of morality play in which I regard Hank and Marie as far more villainous and fundamentally evil than Walt and Skyler.  

If you've read Victor Hugo's classic novel, _Les Miserables,_ it seems clear the writers of this series have patterned Hank after _Inspector Javert,_ a fixated, self-righteous policeman, who is best described in contemporary terms as an obsessive, egomaniacal, authoritarian personality.  And Marie, a compulsive kleptomaniac, so slavishly subservient to her brutishly contemptuous, egomaniacal husband she has assimilated his perverse need to punish -- even though it will destroy the lives of her sister, Skyler, who generously aided Hank in his time of need, and Skyler's children, not to mention Walt who never harmed Marie or Hank in any way.  

If you were Marie, would you behave as she is behaving?  

One of the imbedded _hooks_ in this developing plot is the fact that, while it hasn't even been hinted at yet, Hank would have gone to prison and been subjected to a ruinous lawsuit if Jesse hadn't decided to withdraw criminal and civil charges against him.  I'm sure the writers haven't forgotten this, even though Hank along with everyone else apparently has.  

More significant is the fact that Jesse would not have withdrawn those charges had Walt not gone well out of his way to encourage him to do it.  And I'm not aware of any motivation for Walt's effort to do that other than unselfish familial concern.  But Hank couldn't be happier now that he's about to put Walt in prison for life.  

_"I got him!"_


----------



## Smilodonfatalis

MikeK said:


> Tonight's episode (9/8) was a major disappointment from beginning to end, mainly because I hate to see Hank outsmarting Walt so gracefully and Walt falling into the trap so clumsily.  And the closing scene is as absurd as it would be if one of them took off and flew away like Superman:  Eight supposedly experienced shooters, each holding a tight aim at less than a dozen yards with good quality weapons, about a hundred shots fired and nobody is hit?  This is insultingly ridiculous.  The first shots fired, even by mediocre shooters, would easily have taken out Hank and Gomez.
> 
> My loathing for Hank and Jesse is frustrating.  I hope the writers have some relief planned for next Sunday, because today's episode inhabits the same category as zombie or vampire junk.
> 
> They could do a lot better.



You are wrong about this episode--it's the best of the season so far and very realistic.

DEA agents, as much as I hate them in real life, run brilliant reverse stings.  Walt may be very smart, but he's human and nobody is invincible.  He had no way of knowing Jesse was working for the DEA.  It was realistic for the writers to show that Walt could be outsmarted.

The shootout left us with a stunning cliffhanger.  You do realize they left us in the middle of the shootout...it's not over yet.  The scenes from next week hinted that Hank may have bit the big one...you know, the audio of his wife's phone call that she hadn't heard from him in a while.

This sets up the dilemma for how Walt is going to explain Hank's death to Skyler.  He is supposed to be telling her the truth now.  She'll never believe that it was all an accident.  Very interesting development.


----------



## MikeK

Smilodonfatalis said:


> [You are wrong about this episode--it's the best of the season so far and very realistic.
> 
> DEA agents, as much as I hate them in real life, run brilliant reverse stings.  Walt may be very smart, but he's human and nobody is invincible.  He had no way of knowing Jesse was working for the DEA.  It was realistic for the writers to show that Walt could be outsmarted.
> 
> The shootout left us with a stunning cliffhanger.  You do realize they left us in the middle of the shootout...it's not over yet.  The scenes from next week hinted that Hank may have bit the big one...you know, the audio of his wife's phone call that she hadn't heard from him in a while.
> 
> This sets up the dilemma for how Walt is going to explain Hank's death to Skyler.  He is supposed to be telling her the truth now.  She'll never believe that it was all an accident.  Very interesting development.


I _hope_ you are wrong about Hank because I don't want this despicable character terminated so quickly and easily.  Walt's _confession_ was a brilliant surprise which strongly suggested the possibility of poetic justice.  But this episode (9/8) has rudely burst that happy bubble.  

As for the shoot-out; if those guys are still standing after what we've already seen I expect to see all of them out of ammo, clubbing, kicking, and biting each other next week.


----------



## Billo_Really

Politico said:


> Angles. Doesn't matter. Any gunfight like that wouldn't last more than 30 seconds in the real world.


Except a bank robbery in Los Angeles.


----------



## MikeK

Billo_Really said:


> Politico said:
> 
> 
> 
> Angles. Doesn't matter. Any gunfight like that wouldn't last more than 30 seconds in the real world.
> 
> 
> 
> Except a bank robbery in Los Angeles.
Click to expand...

That was one hell of an engagement, obviously inspired by the excellent movie, _Heat,_ but it hardly compares in any way with the annoyingly incredible nonsense shown in last week's (9/8) closing scene.  

At a distance of ten yards or less, six men armed with military-grade weapons, protected behind vehicle doors and demonstrating well-practiced point-blank aim at Hank and Gomez, both of whom are standing in the open, armed with a 9mm handgun and a shotgun, neither of which can fully penetrate a vehicle door.  While I'm not surprised at Hank's stupidly authoritarian command to _"Drop your weapons!"_ what happened next is about as credible as having _Batman_ swoop down and save the day.  Because if those six barricaded shooters had opened fire at those two exposed, close-range targets in any vaguely realistic scenario, Hank and Gomez might have gotten off one reflexive shot and that would have been it.  Instead we were shown an _O.K. Corral_ gunfight with, so far, no winners and no losers.  Just a lot of noise and brass piling up.


----------



## Snookie

MikeK said:


> Billo_Really said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Politico said:
> 
> 
> 
> Angles. Doesn't matter. Any gunfight like that wouldn't last more than 30 seconds in the real world.
> 
> 
> 
> Except a bank robbery in Los Angeles.
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> That was one hell of an engagement, obviously inspired by the excellent movie, _Heat,_ but it hardly compares in any way with the annoyingly incredible nonsense shown in last week's (9/8) closing scene.
> 
> At a distance of ten yards or less, six men armed with military-grade weapons, protected behind vehicle doors and demonstrating well-practiced point-blank aim at Hank and Gomez, both of whom are standing in the open, armed with a 9mm handgun and a shotgun, neither of which can fully penetrate a vehicle door.  While I'm not surprised at Hank's stupidly authoritarian command to _"Drop your weapons!"_ what happened next is about as credible as having _Batman_ swoop down and save the day.  Because if those six barricaded shooters had opened fire at those two exposed, close-range targets in any vaguely realistic scenario, Hank and Gomez might have gotten off one reflexive shot and that would have been it.  Instead we were shown an _O.K. Corral_ gunfight with, so far, no winners and no losers.  Just a lot of noise and brass piling up.
Click to expand...

I remember that.  It was awesome.


----------



## Smilodonfatalis

Turns out they didn't miss.  Hank wounded, his partner killed.

Another excellent episode last night, but I believe it was the climax of the series.

I don't see how the final 2 episodes can be anything other than an aftermath epilogue.


----------



## Nosmo King

Smilodonfatalis said:


> Turns out they didn't miss.  Hank wounded, his partner killed.
> 
> Another excellent episode last night, but I believe it was the climax of the series.
> 
> I don't see how the final 2 episodes can be anything other than an aftermath epilogue.


So we know that you're NOT Vince Gilligan!  With two episodes left, expect anything and everything!


----------



## PixieStix

Smilodonfatalis said:


> Turns out they didn't miss.  Hank wounded, his partner killed.
> 
> Another excellent episode last night, but I believe it was the climax of the series.
> 
> I don't see how the final 2 episodes can be anything other than an aftermath epilogue.



Hank was killed, not wounded. Jesse is gonna be the hero in the end.


----------



## Nosmo King

PixieStix said:


> Smilodonfatalis said:
> 
> 
> 
> Turns out they didn't miss.  Hank wounded, his partner killed.
> 
> Another excellent episode last night, but I believe it was the climax of the series.
> 
> I don't see how the final 2 episodes can be anything other than an aftermath epilogue.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Hank was killed, not wounded. Jesse is gonna be the hero in the end.
Click to expand...

I sure hope so.  Jesse is the last sympathetic character on the show.


----------



## MikeK

Nosmo King said:


> PixieStix said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Smilodonfatalis said:
> 
> 
> 
> Turns out they didn't miss.  Hank wounded, his partner killed.
> 
> Another excellent episode last night, but I believe it was the climax of the series.
> 
> I don't see how the final 2 episodes can be anything other than an aftermath epilogue.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Hank was killed, not wounded. Jesse is gonna be the hero in the end.
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> I sure hope so.  Jesse is the last sympathetic character on the show.
Click to expand...

I would say pathetic, not sympathetic.  

Jesse is a self-pitying, self-absorbed little weasel who should have been put to sleep three episodes ago.


----------



## MikeK

Smilodonfatalis said:


> Turns out they didn't miss.  Hank wounded, his partner killed.


I suppose it's a matter of individual perception, probably influenced by one's familiarity with and interest in guns.  My perception, based on the closing scene of last week's episode, is they missed.  But in this week's opening scene the writers are saying, _Okay, Gomez is dead and Hank is shot in the leg, so let's take it from there.  Never mind the absurdity we left you with last week.  Forget it.  They really didn't miss._

I like good fiction, which this series has been.  But I don't like fantasy, and what I saw last week is as fantastic as someone putting the muzzle of a pistol in his mouth, pulling the trigger six times -- and missing.  

I don't like zombie movies, because there are no zombies.  Same with vampires and werewolves.  

But that's just me.


----------



## Samson

Nosmo King said:


> PixieStix said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Smilodonfatalis said:
> 
> 
> 
> Turns out they didn't miss.  Hank wounded, his partner killed.
> 
> Another excellent episode last night, but I believe it was the climax of the series.
> 
> I don't see how the final 2 episodes can be anything other than an aftermath epilogue.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Hank was killed, not wounded. Jesse is gonna be the hero in the end.
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> I sure hope so.  Jesse is the last sympathetic character on the show.
Click to expand...


While I wouldn't characterize Jesse as Sympathetic, he is at least, human, a line Walt crossed long ago (reminding us, that he let Jesse's GF choke on her own vomit). Jesse's humanity is haunted by the killing of the Boy. Now he suffer's (did anyone else see shades of a crown of thorns on his brow as he was chained, enslaved to produce high quality crack for White Supremists). 

He will Rise Again.

The question is, what "stuff" does Walt still have to do? Why does he return home out of hiding....he thinks Jesse will be tortured and killed, so he's not on a rescue mission.... He does need the risen cigarette.

The only chain smoker among the characters is the Head of the White Supremist Gang.

Of course, the plot has made it clear that Skylar enjoys a puff now and then.....

So my guess is that Walt has returned to murder Skylar, but learns Jesse is alive, and recues him instead to find salvation.


----------



## MikeK

The personality they've assigned to Walt is about as bizarre as it gets.  While logically he should be wishing to see Hank die the death of a thousand cuts he is tearfully begging for his life to be spared because, _". . . He's family!"_  And now he's gone completely off the deep end in a tirade of hatred for Skyler, who is the best thing ever happened to him.  

He has become a fully manifest _Jekyll and Hyde,_ so I won't even venture a guess on what's coming.  

I wish to say I'm completely disappointed that Walt's confession disc didn't end up putting Hank in prison.  That would have been a brilliantly poetic element.  Too bad things are going in the opposite direction.  Poor Skyler can't avoid doing time and her bitch of a sister will end up with a sweet little girl to raise as her own.

Sad.


----------



## dblack

MikeK said:


> The personality they've assigned to Walt is about as bizarre as it gets.  While logically he should be wishing to see Hank die the death of a thousand cuts he is tearfully begging for his life to be spared -- because, _". . . He's family!"_  And now he's gone completely off the deep end in a tirade of hatred for Skyler, who is the best thing ever happened to him.
> 
> He has become a fully manifest _Jekyll and Hyde,_ so I won't even venture a guess on what's coming.
> 
> I wish to say I'm completely disappointed that Walt's confession disc didn't end up putting Hank in prison.  That would have been a brilliantly poetic element.  Too bad things are going in the opposite direction.  Poor Skyler can't avoid doing time and her bitch of a sister will end up with a sweet little girl to raise as her own.
> 
> Sad.



Nah, you should watch again. Walt's tirade on Skyler was more of his scheming - all in the name of family. He knew the phone would be bugged, and deliberately made himself out to be the bully and "mastermind" to  cover up her complicity.

And his personality has changed, but his core motivations have remained utterly consistent. His sin is pride, his insatiable ego. But his justification is always family. It's what he uses to rationalize everything he does. I think it's some pretty remarkable screenwriting myself.


----------



## Samson

MikeK said:


> The personality they've assigned to Walt is about as bizarre as it gets.  While logically he should be wishing to see Hank die the death of a thousand cuts he is tearfully begging for his life to be spared -- because, _". . . He's family!"_  And now he's gone completely off the deep end in a tirade of hatred for Skyler, who is the best thing ever happened to him.
> 
> He has become a fully manifest _Jekyll and Hyde,_ so I won't even venture a guess on what's coming.
> 
> I wish to say I'm completely disappointed that Walt's confession disc didn't end up putting Hank in prison.  That would have been a brilliantly poetic element.  Too bad things are going in the opposite direction.  Poor Skyler can't avoid doing time and her bitch of a sister will end up with a sweet little girl to raise as her own.
> 
> Sad.



Walt snapped after Jesse sent him the fake photo of the drum-o-money. He continues to babble away over the phone to Skylar, even though he implicated himself exactly the same way on the phone with Jesse less than 24 hours before.


----------



## MikeK

dblack said:


> Nah, you should watch again. Walt's tirade on Skyler was more of his scheming - all in the name of family. He knew the phone would be bugged, and deliberately made himself out to be the bully and "mastermind" to  cover up her complicity.
> 
> And his personality has changed, but his core motivations have remained utterly consistent. His sin is pride, his insatiable ego. But his justification is always family. It's what he uses to rationalize everything he does. I think it's some pretty remarkable screenwriting myself.


Ya know, I think you're right.  He did say a several things which plainly take a lot of weight off her.  That hadn't occurred to me.  I thought Walt's demon had taken control, but what you've said makes perfect sense and rescues my positive impression of Walt.  I should have looked more closely, but didn't.  

Compliments on your sharp insight.


----------



## Nosmo King

Jesse will remember the effects of red phosphorous and hot liquid and kill anyone who is not masked up in the Aryan meth lab.  Todd, of course will be masked.

Walt will use the ricin against Todd and Jesse.  Then he and Skylar and Flynn will ride off into the sunset.

Saul will get his own spin off show.


----------



## Smilodonfatalis

PixieStix said:


> Smilodonfatalis said:
> 
> 
> 
> Turns out they didn't miss.  Hank wounded, his partner killed.
> 
> Another excellent episode last night, but I believe it was the climax of the series.
> 
> I don't see how the final 2 episodes can be anything other than an aftermath epilogue.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Hank was killed, not wounded. Jesse is gonna be the hero in the end.
Click to expand...


I was referring to the shootout, you idiot.

He wasn't killed til after the shootout was over.


----------



## dblack

I'm still puzzled by what Walt is up to re: Jesse.

I suspect his 'family' motif is still driving his actions - that somewhere in his twisted rationalizations he believes what he did/is doing to Jesse was the only way to 'save' him. But I'm not sure how.


----------



## Samson

dblack said:


> MikeK said:
> 
> 
> 
> The personality they've assigned to Walt is about as bizarre as it gets.  While logically he should be wishing to see Hank die the death of a thousand cuts he is tearfully begging for his life to be spared -- because, _". . . He's family!"_  And now he's gone completely off the deep end in a tirade of hatred for Skyler, who is the best thing ever happened to him.
> 
> He has become a fully manifest _Jekyll and Hyde,_ so I won't even venture a guess on what's coming.
> 
> I wish to say I'm completely disappointed that Walt's confession disc didn't end up putting Hank in prison.  That would have been a brilliantly poetic element.  Too bad things are going in the opposite direction.  Poor Skyler can't avoid doing time and her bitch of a sister will end up with a sweet little girl to raise as her own.
> 
> Sad.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Nah, you should watch again. Walt's tirade on Skyler was more of his scheming - all in the name of family. He knew the phone would be bugged, and deliberately made himself out to be the bully and "mastermind" to  cover up her complicity.
> 
> And his personality has changed, but his core motivations have remained utterly consistent. His sin is pride, his insatiable ego. But his justification is always family. It's what he uses to rationalize everything he does. I think it's some pretty remarkable screenwriting myself.
Click to expand...


OK, I like this theory better than my "Walt has Snapped" version. It was difficult to believe he'd make the same mistake twice in less than 24 hours.


----------



## MikeK

dblack said:


> I'm still puzzled by what Walt is up to re: Jesse.
> 
> I suspect his 'family' motif is still driving his actions - that somewhere in his twisted rationalizations he believes what he did/is doing to Jesse was the only way to 'save' him. But I'm not sure how.


I am still puzzled by Walt's apparent concern for Hank.  I believe it's because I'm blinded by emotion -- my loathing for Hank's persona, which is that of the classic ultimate authoritarian.  I would like to see Hank bound and set afire and i was hoping to at least see him sitting in a cell at Leavenworth.  So Walt's disposition toward the bastard has me baffled.

No attention has been paid to the passionate loathing for Hank expressed (brilliantly) by Jesse from his hospital bed after being beaten by Hank.  Jesse seems to have totally forgotten that inspired state of smoldering rage.  And no issue is made of the fact that Jesse could have torn Hanks metaphorical balls off if Walt hadn't intervened.  

Also (as _Samson_ has pointed out) the vial of ricin is still in play.  

And what reason could Walt have for telling Jesse about Jane's preventable death?    

What are your thoughts.


----------



## MikeK

Samson said:


> dblack said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> MikeK said:
> 
> 
> 
> The personality they've assigned to Walt is about as bizarre as it gets.  While logically he should be wishing to see Hank die the death of a thousand cuts he is tearfully begging for his life to be spared -- because, _". . . He's family!"_  And now he's gone completely off the deep end in a tirade of hatred for Skyler, who is the best thing ever happened to him.
> 
> He has become a fully manifest _Jekyll and Hyde,_ so I won't even venture a guess on what's coming.
> 
> I wish to say I'm completely disappointed that Walt's confession disc didn't end up putting Hank in prison.  That would have been a brilliantly poetic element.  Too bad things are going in the opposite direction.  Poor Skyler can't avoid doing time and her bitch of a sister will end up with a sweet little girl to raise as her own.
> 
> Sad.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Nah, you should watch again. Walt's tirade on Skyler was more of his scheming - all in the name of family. He knew the phone would be bugged, and deliberately made himself out to be the bully and "mastermind" to  cover up her complicity.
> 
> And his personality has changed, but his core motivations have remained utterly consistent. His sin is pride, his insatiable ego. But his justification is always family. It's what he uses to rationalize everything he does. I think it's some pretty remarkable screenwriting myself.
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> 
> OK, I like this theory better than my "Walt has Snapped" version. It was difficult to believe he'd make the same mistake twice in less than 24 hours.
Click to expand...

Agreed.


----------



## Trajan

Nosmo King said:


> Jesse will remember the effects of red phosphorous and hot liquid and kill anyone who is not masked up in the Aryan meth lab.  Todd, of course will be masked.
> 
> Walt will use the ricin against Todd and Jesse.  Then he and Skylar and Flynn will ride off into the sunset.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *Saul will get his own spin off show*.


----------



## Trajan

Smilodonfatalis said:


> PixieStix said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Smilodonfatalis said:
> 
> 
> 
> Turns out they didn't miss.  Hank wounded, his partner killed.
> 
> Another excellent episode last night, but I believe it was the climax of the series.
> 
> I don't see how the final 2 episodes can be anything other than an aftermath epilogue.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Hank was killed, not wounded. Jesse is gonna be the hero in the end.
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> 
> I was referring to the shootout, you idiot.
> 
> He wasn't killed til after the shootout was over.
Click to expand...


relax dude, its a friggin TV show....


----------



## dblack

Trajan said:


> Nosmo King said:
> 
> 
> 
> Jesse will remember the effects of red phosphorous and hot liquid and kill anyone who is not masked up in the Aryan meth lab.  Todd, of course will be masked.
> 
> Walt will use the ricin against Todd and Jesse.  Then he and Skylar and Flynn will ride off into the sunset.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *Saul will get his own spin off show*.
Click to expand...


You're laughing, but did you know this is actually true?


----------



## Trajan

dblack said:


> MikeK said:
> 
> 
> 
> The personality they've assigned to Walt is about as bizarre as it gets.  While logically he should be wishing to see Hank die the death of a thousand cuts he is tearfully begging for his life to be spared -- because, _". . . He's family!"_  And now he's gone completely off the deep end in a tirade of hatred for Skyler, who is the best thing ever happened to him.
> 
> He has become a fully manifest _Jekyll and Hyde,_ so I won't even venture a guess on what's coming.
> 
> I wish to say I'm completely disappointed that Walt's confession disc didn't end up putting Hank in prison.  That would have been a brilliantly poetic element.  Too bad things are going in the opposite direction.  Poor Skyler can't avoid doing time and her bitch of a sister will end up with a sweet little girl to raise as her own.
> 
> Sad.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Nah, you should watch again. Walt's tirade on Skyler was more of his scheming - all in the name of family. He knew the phone would be bugged, and deliberately made himself out to be the bully and "mastermind" to  cover up her complicity.
> 
> And his personality has changed, but his core motivations have remained utterly consistent. His sin is pride, his insatiable ego. But his justification is always family. It's what he uses to rationalize everything he does. I think it's some pretty remarkable screenwriting myself.
Click to expand...




Samson said:


> MikeK said:
> 
> 
> 
> The personality they've assigned to Walt is about as bizarre as it gets.  While logically he should be wishing to see Hank die the death of a thousand cuts he is tearfully begging for his life to be spared -- because, _". . . He's family!"_  And now he's gone completely off the deep end in a tirade of hatred for Skyler, who is the best thing ever happened to him.
> 
> He has become a fully manifest _Jekyll and Hyde,_ so I won't even venture a guess on what's coming.
> 
> I wish to say I'm completely disappointed that Walt's confession disc didn't end up putting Hank in prison.  That would have been a brilliantly poetic element.  Too bad things are going in the opposite direction.  Poor Skyler can't avoid doing time and her bitch of a sister will end up with a sweet little girl to raise as her own.
> 
> Sad.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Walt snapped after Jesse sent him the fake photo of the drum-o-money. He continues to babble away over the phone to Skylar, even though he implicated himself exactly the same way on the phone with Jesse less than 24 hours before.
Click to expand...


I don't know what to think......it APPEARS to me he snapped....he basically confessed on the phone, if he knew they were recording that,  he gave them what they need,  and he also implicated Sky....


remember, with 2 episodes left, we have yet to see the house get torched and someone scrawl Heisenberg in spray paint on the wall and his retrieving the ricin and when he did , he had hair...


so his getting in that van tells me ; a) he knows he has crossed a bridge he cannot recross,  he knows he gave them evidence via the phone call, b) he'll be gone 'a while' c) he comes back to take out  the nazi crowd, and rescue Jesse,  thats why he has the M-60 machine gun....d) the ricin? beats me how that plays unless he takes it himself...thats my 'suppose' for the last 2 episodes...


----------



## Trajan

dblack said:


> Trajan said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Nosmo King said:
> 
> 
> 
> Jesse will remember the effects of red phosphorous and hot liquid and kill anyone who is not masked up in the Aryan meth lab.  Todd, of course will be masked.
> 
> Walt will use the ricin against Todd and Jesse.  Then he and Skylar and Flynn will ride off into the sunset.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *Saul will get his own spin off show*.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> 
> You're laughing, but did you know this is actually true?
Click to expand...


get outta town......


really


----------



## Samson

Trajan said:


> dblack said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Trajan said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> You're laughing, but did you know this is actually true?
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> 
> get outta town......
> 
> 
> really
Click to expand...


Really:

AMC has signed up for a Breaking Bad spinoff.
_Better Call Saul, in discussions for months, will be a one-hour "prequel" to the acclaimed drama that will "focus on the evolution of the popular Saul Goodman character before he ever became Walter White's lawyer," the network said in a joint statement with Sony Pictures Television. The show's title is the cheesy attorney's ad slogan._


----------



## Trajan




----------



## MikeK

It's starting to get stupid now and appears to be headed for a disappointing conclusion.  

With a barrel full of money are those accomodations the best the _disappearance maven_ can provide for Walt?  What Walt needs is a few hundred dollars worth of theatrical makeup and a modestly comfortable apartment to hole up in right smack in the middle of a crowded working class neighborhood in New York City -- where nobody pays attention to strangers and where Osama bin Laden could have lived without being noticed.  Seriously.

What the _disappearance maven_ really should be able to provide is a conveniently immediate alternate identity, not just a barren, remote cabin with next to nothing to pass the time.  Couldn't he provide some entertaining diversions to keep Walt occupied and reasonably comfortable for a few months?  And are we expected to believe the idea of just disposing of Walt and walking away with that barrel of money hasn't occurred to him?  

And what is Walt up to now?  It's getting weak.  The last few episodes have drifted between highly improbable and utterly fantastic.  It could have been much better if the writers were not so preoccupied with presenting two opposing sides of Walt's personality.  I can't come to terms with his concern for the killing of that evil bastard, Hank, who is the cause of all his misery and who was eagerly predisposed to destroying his family -- just so he could make a big arrest.  That character is true to the model of Victor Hugo's _Javert_ and his demise was far too merciful.


----------



## Snookie

I missed the episode.  Did Walt kill hank?


----------



## Samson

Snookie said:


> I missed the episode.  Did Walt kill hank?



No, The neo-Nazi Aryan Gangleader kills Hank.

Walt strenuosly objected, offering up his money barrels in exchange for Hank's life because "Hank is _FAMILY_."

Later Hank's wife blackmails Skyer into telling Walt Jr. the Truth. This results in Skyler slashing Walt, and Walt Jr. calling the cops.

Yep, Hank was very damn helpful in his dogged pursuit.


----------



## Smilodonfatalis

MikeK said:


> It's starting to get stupid now and appears to be headed for a disappointing conclusion.
> 
> With a barrel full of money are those accomodations the best the _disappearance maven_ can provide for Walt?  What Walt needs is a few hundred dollars worth of theatrical makeup and a modestly comfortable apartment to hole up in right smack in the middle of a crowded working class neighborhood in New York City -- where nobody pays attention to strangers and where Osama bin Laden could have lived without being noticed.  Seriously.
> 
> What the _disappearance maven_ really should be able to provide is a conveniently immediate alternate identity, not just a barren, remote cabin with next to nothing to pass the time.  Couldn't he provide some entertaining diversions to keep Walt occupied and reasonably comfortable for a few months?  And are we expected to believe the idea of just disposing of Walt and walking away with that barrel of money hasn't occurred to him?
> 
> And what is Walt up to now?  It's getting weak.  The last few episodes have drifted between highly improbable and utterly fantastic.  It could have been much better if the writers were not so preoccupied with presenting two opposing sides of Walt's personality.  I can't come to terms with his concern for the killing of that evil bastard, Hank, who is the cause of all his misery and who was eagerly predisposed to destroying his family -- just so he could make a big arrest.  That character is true to the model of Victor Hugo's _Javert_ and his demise was far too merciful.




You are wrong again.

Money can not always buy connections.  Walt has run out of connections.  All he's got left is his money.  How ironic.

Not everyone is a homicidal maniac.  In fact, most people are not. It's not unrealistic that the guy hiding him would not kill him.

Walt doesn't view Hank the same way you do.  It's his brother-in-law who he has known and cared about for 20 years.

Anyway, like I said last week, the episode where Hank gets killed and Walt loses control was the climax.  These last 2 episodes are an epilogue.


----------



## Snookie

Samson said:


> Snookie said:
> 
> 
> 
> I missed the episode.  Did Walt kill hank?
> 
> 
> 
> 
> No, The neo-Nazi Aryan Gangleader kills Hank.
> 
> Walt strenuosly objected, offering up his money barrels in exchange for Hank's life because "Hank is _FAMILY_."
> 
> Later Hank's wife blackmails Skyer into telling Walt Jr. the Truth. This results in Skyler slashing Walt, and Walt Jr. calling the cops.
> 
> Yep, Hank was very damn helpful in his dogged pursuit.
Click to expand...

thanks.  I saw the episode where hank's wife made her tell the son.  Hank said he didn't kill hank so I am glad he was telling the truth.

That was a weird scene where they turned hank's old partner into a meth cook zombie.  His name is Jesse, right?


----------



## Samson

Snookie said:


> Samson said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Snookie said:
> 
> 
> 
> I missed the episode.  Did Walt kill hank?
> 
> 
> 
> 
> No, The neo-Nazi Aryan Gangleader kills Hank.
> 
> Walt strenuosly objected, offering up his money barrels in exchange for Hank's life because "Hank is _FAMILY_."
> 
> Later Hank's wife blackmails Skyer into telling Walt Jr. the Truth. This results in Skyler slashing Walt, and Walt Jr. calling the cops.
> 
> Yep, Hank was very damn helpful in his dogged pursuit.
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> thanks.  I saw the episode where hank's wife made her tell the son.  Hank said he didn't kill hank so I am glad he was telling the truth.
> 
> That was a weird scene where they turned hank's old partner into a meth cook zombie.  His name is Jesse, right?
Click to expand...


Yes, Jesse is now the Meth-cook-slave.

Walt thinks he's dead.


----------



## MikeK

Smilodonfatalis said:


> MikeK said:
> 
> 
> 
> It's starting to get stupid now and appears to be headed for a disappointing conclusion.
> 
> With a barrel full of money are those accomodations the best the _disappearance maven_ can provide for Walt?  What Walt needs is a few hundred dollars worth of theatrical makeup and a modestly comfortable apartment to hole up in right smack in the middle of a crowded working class neighborhood in New York City -- where nobody pays attention to strangers and where Osama bin Laden could have lived without being noticed.  Seriously.
> 
> What the _disappearance maven_ really should be able to provide is a conveniently immediate alternate identity, not just a barren, remote cabin with next to nothing to pass the time.  Couldn't he provide some entertaining diversions to keep Walt occupied and reasonably comfortable for a few months?  And are we expected to believe the idea of just disposing of Walt and walking away with that barrel of money hasn't occurred to him?
> 
> And what is Walt up to now?  It's getting weak.  The last few episodes have drifted between highly improbable and utterly fantastic.  It could have been much better if the writers were not so preoccupied with presenting two opposing sides of Walt's personality.  I can't come to terms with his concern for the killing of that evil bastard, Hank, who is the cause of all his misery and who was eagerly predisposed to destroying his family -- just so he could make a big arrest.  That character is true to the model of Victor Hugo's _Javert_ and his demise was far too merciful.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> You are wrong again.
> 
> Money can not always buy connections.  Walt has run out of connections.  All he's got left is his money.  How ironic.
Click to expand...

The difference between good fiction and bad fiction is the factor of credibility, which has been the strength of this series -- until now.  Beginning with the wholly incredible "gunfight" this long series of well crafted fiction is devolving into poorly conceived fantasy, acceptable only to hyper-romantic spinsters and men who simply don't get out much. 

A far more realistic scenario would be the _Disappearance Maven_ renting a suitable apartment in New York City under a fake name, paying three months rent in advance, and Walt moving in -- not with a barrel but with some strong cardboard boxes.  That would be a much better place to hide than a remote New Hampshire cabin, which is vulnerable to hunters, hikers, and curious local police.  Walt would have physical comfort, cable tv,  and by using a wig and beard he could order in foods and an occasional outcall hooker if he chose to.

Wouldn't that be more credible and interesting fiction?  Or don't you think the best place to hide is in a crowd?  



> Not everyone is a homicidal maniac.  In fact, most people are not. It's not unrealistic that the guy hiding him would not kill him.


It's not unrealistic but it is extremely improbable.  While this fellow might not be a homicidal maniac he is an outlaw who takes extreme risks for money.  Here is an opportunity to walk away with a barrel full of money and all he has to do is dispose of an unpleasant guy who talks down to him and could turn out to be a problem.  While he's not a homicidal maniac he also is not a model of Christian morality.  

But I can accept that he's simply not inclined to dispose of Walt and let it go at that.  



> Walt doesn't view Hank the same way you do.  It's his brother-in-law who he has known and cared about for 20 years.


Hank is an egomaniacal authoritarian brute who is likable only to slavishly masochistic freaks like his kleptomaniacal wife and his submissively Chauvinistic partner, Gomez.  Walt is the diametic opposite of those personalities and there never has been the slightest indication that he especially likes Hank.  All I've ever seen is Hank as the guy who is married to Walt's wife's sister and who Walt is dragged off to visit now and then.

More recently, Hank is the guy who has immensely benefited from Walt and Skyler's generosity but wholly ignores that fact while diligently endeavoring to destroy Walt and Skyler's lives, not to mention those of their children.  Yet Walt is shown to be grievously offended by seeing that miserable beast executed.  

Meanwhile, Todd's uncle, the head Nazi, who logically was expected to put Walt in the same hole with Hank and Gomez, demonstrated what may be described as an amazingly good-natured gesture of spontaneous decency by allowing Walt to live and get away with a barrel of money.   But Walt hates that fellow and is determined to kill him.  

He loves the man who wanted to destroy his family but he hates the man who spared his life.  Actually he has no logical reason for either emotional disposition, which are factors that serve to further complicate what already is a confusing approach to the conclusion of an otherwise entertaining and well crafted tale.  

I hope they don't intend to spring a _Sopranos_-type ending on  us.


----------



## Zona

Ok..my prediction for the last show..

Jessie and Walt now have someone personal who was killed by that Aryans.  They are so going to team up again.

I think in the end, Jessie dies.  Of course eventually Walt dies, but of the cancer, not a bullet.  Walt gets his money back...all of it.  His son eventually forgives his memory and fade to black.


----------



## candycorn

Zona said:


> Ok..my prediction for the last show..
> 
> Jessie and Walt now have someone personal who was killed by that Aryans.  They are so going to team up again.
> 
> I think in the end, Jessie dies.  Of course eventually Walt dies, but of the cancer, not a bullet.  Walt gets his money back...all of it.  His son eventually forgives his memory and fade to black.



It does occur to me that nobody is looking for Pinkman and nobody knows about the meth precursor...  I wonder about a scenario where either Hank or Jesse go back into the business.  

I have an inkling that the last words of the series will be "Wanna cook?"


----------



## MikeK

There is a tradition in American fiction which holds that "bad guys" are always punished in the end.  This tradition is the product of hypocritical observation of Christian ideology.   Quentin Tarantino's very excellent movie, _True Romance,_ was a notable exception and I'm hoping _Breaking Bad_ will be another.

I don't think Pinkman should get away clean, mainly because he cold-bloodedly murdered Gayle Boettinger -- and because I don't like the whining, self-pitying little weasel.  I would think Walt deserves to get away clean, which would include full remission of his cancer, because all of the people he killed had it coming.  That includes Mike, who beat Walt up in the bar with no justifiable provocation and was fully prepared to kill him on Gus' orders.  But Walt poisoned a little boy and he let Jesse's girl, Jane, choke to death on her vomit, two unpardonable sins which call for retribution.  

Skyler deserves no punishment at all and I hope she ends up profitably operating her car wash, happily raising her children, and finally understanding that Walt was above all, and in spite of his obsessive and egotistical pathology, a devoted husband and father.    

Based on what I've seen so far I'm afraid the final curtain will be as disappointing (to me) as the past two episodes have been.


----------



## Smilodonfatalis

MikeK said:


> Smilodonfatalis said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> MikeK said:
> 
> 
> 
> It's starting to get stupid now and appears to be headed for a disappointing conclusion.
> 
> With a barrel full of money are those accomodations the best the _disappearance maven_ can provide for Walt?  What Walt needs is a few hundred dollars worth of theatrical makeup and a modestly comfortable apartment to hole up in right smack in the middle of a crowded working class neighborhood in New York City -- where nobody pays attention to strangers and where Osama bin Laden could have lived without being noticed.  Seriously.
> 
> What the _disappearance maven_ really should be able to provide is a conveniently immediate alternate identity, not just a barren, remote cabin with next to nothing to pass the time.  Couldn't he provide some entertaining diversions to keep Walt occupied and reasonably comfortable for a few months?  And are we expected to believe the idea of just disposing of Walt and walking away with that barrel of money hasn't occurred to him?
> 
> And what is Walt up to now?  It's getting weak.  The last few episodes have drifted between highly improbable and utterly fantastic.  It could have been much better if the writers were not so preoccupied with presenting two opposing sides of Walt's personality.  I can't come to terms with his concern for the killing of that evil bastard, Hank, who is the cause of all his misery and who was eagerly predisposed to destroying his family -- just so he could make a big arrest.  That character is true to the model of Victor Hugo's _Javert_ and his demise was far too merciful.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> You are wrong again.
> 
> Money can not always buy connections.  Walt has run out of connections.  All he's got left is his money.  How ironic.
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> The difference between good fiction and bad fiction is the factor of credibility, which has been the strength of this series -- until now.  Beginning with the wholly incredible "gunfight" this long series of well crafted fiction is devolving into poorly conceived fantasy, acceptable only to hyper-romantic spinsters and men who simply don't get out much.
> 
> A far more realistic scenario would be the _Disappearance Maven_ renting a suitable apartment in New York City under a fake name, paying three months rent in advance, and Walt moving in -- not with a barrel but with some strong cardboard boxes.  That would be a much better place to hide than a remote New Hampshire cabin, which is vulnerable to hunters, hikers, and curious local police.  Walt would have physical comfort, cable tv,  and by using a wig and beard he could order in foods and an occasional outcall hooker if he chose to.
> 
> Wouldn't that be more credible and interesting fiction?  Or don't you think the best place to hide is in a crowd?
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Not everyone is a homicidal maniac.  In fact, most people are not. It's not unrealistic that the guy hiding him would not kill him.
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> It's not unrealistic but it is extremely improbable.  While this fellow might not be a homicidal maniac he is an outlaw who takes extreme risks for money.  Here is an opportunity to walk away with a barrel full of money and all he has to do is dispose of an unpleasant guy who talks down to him and could turn out to be a problem.  While he's not a homicidal maniac he also is not a model of Christian morality.
> 
> But I can accept that he's simply not inclined to dispose of Walt and let it go at that.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Walt doesn't view Hank the same way you do.  It's his brother-in-law who he has known and cared about for 20 years.
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> Hank is an egomaniacal authoritarian brute who is likable only to slavishly masochistic freaks like his kleptomaniacal wife and his submissively Chauvinistic partner, Gomez.  Walt is the diametic opposite of those personalities and there never has been the slightest indication that he especially likes Hank.  All I've ever seen is Hank as the guy who is married to Walt's wife's sister and who Walt is dragged off to visit now and then.
> 
> More recently, Hank is the guy who has immensely benefited from Walt and Skyler's generosity but wholly ignores that fact while diligently endeavoring to destroy Walt and Skyler's lives, not to mention those of their children.  Yet Walt is shown to be grievously offended by seeing that miserable beast executed.
> 
> Meanwhile, Todd's uncle, the head Nazi, who logically was expected to put Walt in the same hole with Hank and Gomez, demonstrated what may be described as an amazingly good-natured gesture of spontaneous decency by allowing Walt to live and get away with a barrel of money.   But Walt hates that fellow and is determined to kill him.
> 
> He loves the man who wanted to destroy his family but he hates the man who spared his life.  Actually he has no logical reason for either emotional disposition, which are factors that serve to further complicate what already is a confusing approach to the conclusion of an otherwise entertaining and well crafted tale.
> 
> I hope they don't intend to spring a _Sopranos_-type ending on  us.
Click to expand...


Good fiction does not depend on credibility.  Stephen King, Dean Koontz, Elmore Leonard and many others made millions writing far fetched stories with ridiculous plots.

Breaking Bad has never been credible.  A high school chemistry teacher wiping out organized criminals and becoming a drug kingpin himself?  The whole premise is absurd.

I think it is realistic that his connection could not find a better place to live.  It is hard to get a nice apartment in New York City without references.  Just because he's an expert at making people disappear doesn't mean he can work miracles or chooses the best hideout.

The final episode of the Sopranos has been unfairly criticized.  The actual climax of the series was in the next to last episode.  We know what was going to happen to Tony Soprano.  He was going to go to prison because he was about to be federally indicted.  There was no need to show that.


----------



## Nosmo King

Credible, incredible.  Probable, Improbable.

Breaking Bad is one of a handful of television series that never "jumped the shark".  the writing has maintained a supremely high level of quality, the production has never failed in its quest for the spectacular.  The arch of the characters has been meticulously built.

I'm wondering if Gretchen and Elliot made Walt's hit list.  Pride goeth before the fall.


----------



## Snookie

MikeK said:


> Smilodonfatalis said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> MikeK said:
> 
> 
> 
> It's starting to get stupid now and appears to be headed for a disappointing conclusion.
> 
> With a barrel full of money are those accomodations the best the _disappearance maven_ can provide for Walt?  What Walt needs is a few hundred dollars worth of theatrical makeup and a modestly comfortable apartment to hole up in right smack in the middle of a crowded working class neighborhood in New York City -- where nobody pays attention to strangers and where Osama bin Laden could have lived without being noticed.  Seriously.
> 
> What the _disappearance maven_ really should be able to provide is a conveniently immediate alternate identity, not just a barren, remote cabin with next to nothing to pass the time.  Couldn't he provide some entertaining diversions to keep Walt occupied and reasonably comfortable for a few months?  And are we expected to believe the idea of just disposing of Walt and walking away with that barrel of money hasn't occurred to him?
> 
> And what is Walt up to now?  It's getting weak.  The last few episodes have drifted between highly improbable and utterly fantastic.  It could have been much better if the writers were not so preoccupied with presenting two opposing sides of Walt's personality.  I can't come to terms with his concern for the killing of that evil bastard, Hank, who is the cause of all his misery and who was eagerly predisposed to destroying his family -- just so he could make a big arrest.  That character is true to the model of Victor Hugo's _Javert_ and his demise was far too merciful.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> You are wrong again.
> 
> Money can not always buy connections.  Walt has run out of connections.  All he's got left is his money.  How ironic.
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> The difference between good fiction and bad fiction is the factor of credibility, which has been the strength of this series -- until now.  Beginning with the wholly incredible "gunfight" this long series of well crafted fiction is devolving into poorly conceived fantasy, acceptable only to hyper-romantic spinsters and men who simply don't get out much.
> 
> A far more realistic scenario would be the _Disappearance Maven_ renting a suitable apartment in New York City under a fake name, paying three months rent in advance, and Walt moving in -- not with a barrel but with some strong cardboard boxes.  That would be a much better place to hide than a remote New Hampshire cabin, which is vulnerable to hunters, hikers, and curious local police.  Walt would have physical comfort, cable tv,  and by using a wig and beard he could order in foods and an occasional outcall hooker if he chose to.
> 
> Wouldn't that be more credible and interesting fiction?  Or don't you think the best place to hide is in a crowd?
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Not everyone is a homicidal maniac.  In fact, most people are not. It's not unrealistic that the guy hiding him would not kill him.
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> It's not unrealistic but it is extremely improbable.  While this fellow might not be a homicidal maniac he is an outlaw who takes extreme risks for money.  Here is an opportunity to walk away with a barrel full of money and all he has to do is dispose of an unpleasant guy who talks down to him and could turn out to be a problem.  While he's not a homicidal maniac he also is not a model of Christian morality.
> 
> But I can accept that he's simply not inclined to dispose of Walt and let it go at that.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Walt doesn't view Hank the same way you do.  It's his brother-in-law who he has known and cared about for 20 years.
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> Hank is an egomaniacal authoritarian brute who is likable only to slavishly masochistic freaks like his kleptomaniacal wife and his submissively Chauvinistic partner, Gomez.  Walt is the diametic opposite of those personalities and there never has been the slightest indication that he especially likes Hank.  All I've ever seen is Hank as the guy who is married to Walt's wife's sister and who Walt is dragged off to visit now and then.
> 
> More recently, Hank is the guy who has immensely benefited from Walt and Skyler's generosity but wholly ignores that fact while diligently endeavoring to destroy Walt and Skyler's lives, not to mention those of their children.  Yet Walt is shown to be grievously offended by seeing that miserable beast executed.
> 
> Meanwhile, Todd's uncle, the head Nazi, who logically was expected to put Walt in the same hole with Hank and Gomez, demonstrated what may be described as an amazingly good-natured gesture of spontaneous decency by allowing Walt to live and get away with a barrel of money.   But Walt hates that fellow and is determined to kill him.
> 
> He loves the man who wanted to destroy his family but he hates the man who spared his life.  Actually he has no logical reason for either emotional disposition, which are factors that serve to further complicate what already is a confusing approach to the conclusion of an otherwise entertaining and well crafted tale.
> 
> I hope they don't intend to spring a _Sopranos_-type ending on  us.
Click to expand...


The way big brother is now Hank would get caught in a place like NY.  There are tv cameras everywhere, stores elevators, etc, especially since 9-11.


----------



## Snookie

Smilodonfatalis said:


> MikeK said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Smilodonfatalis said:
> 
> 
> 
> You are wrong again.
> 
> Money can not always buy connections.  Walt has run out of connections.  All he's got left is his money.  How ironic.
> 
> 
> 
> The difference between good fiction and bad fiction is the factor of credibility, which has been the strength of this series -- until now.  Beginning with the wholly incredible "gunfight" this long series of well crafted fiction is devolving into poorly conceived fantasy, acceptable only to hyper-romantic spinsters and men who simply don't get out much.
> 
> A far more realistic scenario would be the _Disappearance Maven_ renting a suitable apartment in New York City under a fake name, paying three months rent in advance, and Walt moving in -- not with a barrel but with some strong cardboard boxes.  That would be a much better place to hide than a remote New Hampshire cabin, which is vulnerable to hunters, hikers, and curious local police.  Walt would have physical comfort, cable tv,  and by using a wig and beard he could order in foods and an occasional outcall hooker if he chose to.
> 
> Wouldn't that be more credible and interesting fiction?  Or don't you think the best place to hide is in a crowd?
> 
> 
> It's not unrealistic but it is extremely improbable.  While this fellow might not be a homicidal maniac he is an outlaw who takes extreme risks for money.  Here is an opportunity to walk away with a barrel full of money and all he has to do is dispose of an unpleasant guy who talks down to him and could turn out to be a problem.  While he's not a homicidal maniac he also is not a model of Christian morality.
> 
> But I can accept that he's simply not inclined to dispose of Walt and let it go at that.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Walt doesn't view Hank the same way you do.  It's his brother-in-law who he has known and cared about for 20 years.
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> Hank is an egomaniacal authoritarian brute who is likable only to slavishly masochistic freaks like his kleptomaniacal wife and his submissively Chauvinistic partner, Gomez.  Walt is the diametic opposite of those personalities and there never has been the slightest indication that he especially likes Hank.  All I've ever seen is Hank as the guy who is married to Walt's wife's sister and who Walt is dragged off to visit now and then.
> 
> More recently, Hank is the guy who has immensely benefited from Walt and Skyler's generosity but wholly ignores that fact while diligently endeavoring to destroy Walt and Skyler's lives, not to mention those of their children.  Yet Walt is shown to be grievously offended by seeing that miserable beast executed.
> 
> Meanwhile, Todd's uncle, the head Nazi, who logically was expected to put Walt in the same hole with Hank and Gomez, demonstrated what may be described as an amazingly good-natured gesture of spontaneous decency by allowing Walt to live and get away with a barrel of money.   But Walt hates that fellow and is determined to kill him.
> 
> He loves the man who wanted to destroy his family but he hates the man who spared his life.  Actually he has no logical reason for either emotional disposition, which are factors that serve to further complicate what already is a confusing approach to the conclusion of an otherwise entertaining and well crafted tale.
> 
> I hope they don't intend to spring a _Sopranos_-type ending on  us.
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> 
> Good fiction does not depend on credibility.  Stephen King, Dean Koontz, Elmore Leonard and many others made millions writing far fetched stories with ridiculous plots.
> 
> Breaking Bad has never been credible.  A high school chemistry teacher wiping out organized criminals and becoming a drug kingpin himself?  The whole premise is absurd.
> 
> I think it is realistic that his connection could not find a better place to live.  It is hard to get a nice apartment in New York City without references.  Just because he's an expert at making people disappear doesn't mean he can work miracles or chooses the best hideout.
> 
> The final episode of the Sopranos has been unfairly criticized.  The actual climax of the series was in the next to last episode.  We know what was going to happen to Tony Soprano.  He was going to go to prison because he was about to be federally indicted.  There was no need to show that.
Click to expand...


In my opinion fact os pftem stramger than fiction.  Today I saw in the news that a mother had killed her baby in a microwave oven, ugh.

Abraham Lincoln was raised in a log cabin and Davie Crockett killed himself a bear when he was only three.


----------



## MikeK

Smilodonfatalis said:


> Good fiction does not depend on credibility.  Stephen King, Dean Koontz, Elmore Leonard and many others made millions writing far fetched stories with ridiculous plots.


If you wish to think of Stephen King's creations as _fiction_ you are free to do that.  But a rose is a rose and the supernatural is correctly catgegorized as fantasy.  Not fiction.



> Breaking Bad has never been credible.  A high school chemistry teacher wiping out organized criminals and becoming a drug kingpin himself?  The whole premise is absurd.


Improbable and unlikely, but certainly not fantastic.  The fact that such an unlikely contingency is entirely possible makes it credible.  And cleverly entertaining expansion on a credible concept is what makes for good fiction.  



> I think it is realistic that his connection could not find a better place to live.


Of course it's realistic.  But it is disappointing in terms of conceptual continuity.  

Saul Goodman introduced this Disappearance Maven as a high-priced expert -- who eventually transports Walt to a place where he is subject to visits by hunters, hikers, and curious local cops, and who provides no more than a wood stove and nothing in the way of basic comforts and pastimes.  How much would a load of batteries and some electronic diversions, a few boxfuls of books, and some good food instead of a boxful of _Ensure_ cost?  This highly unusual plot segment interrupts the conceptual flow, much in the way of that ridiculous shootout at the burial site.      



> It is hard to get a nice apartment in New York City without references.


That's right.  But an expert knows how to do it.  And doing it could have vastly improved the continuity of this otherwise brilliant fiction.

The way to rent a decent apartment for the _Maven's_ purposes is to rent a mail drop under the name of "Respectable Realty Associates" and run a classified ad in the New York Times: _"3-1/2 rooms, renovated, quiet Brooklyn neighborhood, $750 month.  Available in six weeks.  Reply with references."_  Within a few days there will be dozens of useful identities, complete with genuine references, with which to rent a "nice" apartment in a suitable neighborhood for Walt to lay low in.  And that process would make for a much more interesting, entertaining, and acceptable concept than this potential trap in remote New Hampshire.      



> Just because he's an expert at making people disappear doesn't mean he can work miracles or chooses the best hideout.


There is absolutely nothing about what he's done so far that qualifies as expertise.  There is a way of doing it which is in line with the continuity of this otherwise supremely entertaining fiction.  And it doesn't involve anything miraculous.  Just a bit of expertise.  



> The final episode of the Sopranos has been unfairly criticized.  The actual climax of the series was in the next to last episode.  We know what was going to happen to Tony Soprano.  He was going to go to prison because he was about to be federally indicted.  There was no need to show that.


What do you mean, "We?"  

I, and everyone I've ever read or heard comment on the ending of the Sopranos, was wholly disappointed with the ending of that otherwise superb series.  The hypothesis you've chosen to believe is nothing but a presumption on your part.  I had no such impression.

What I saw was Tony and Carmela enjoying a quiet meal in a favorite spot when a fellow whom the camera's focus suggests might be a _button-man_ appears and . . . fade to black.  

The fact is we were left hanging.  Nobody knows for sure what happens next.  

Not even you.


----------



## Zona

Nosmo King said:


> Credible, incredible.  Probable, Improbable.
> 
> Breaking Bad is one of a handful of television series that never "jumped the shark".  the writing has maintained a supremely high level of quality, the production has never failed in its quest for the spectacular.  The arch of the characters has been meticulously built.
> 
> I'm wondering if Gretchen and Elliot made Walt's hit list.  Pride goeth before the fall.



I think that is why they are going to end it this season.  It went as far as it could and be plausible.

Just like The Shield.


----------



## Zona

MikeK said:


> Smilodonfatalis said:
> 
> 
> 
> Good fiction does not depend on credibility.  Stephen King, Dean Koontz, Elmore Leonard and many others made millions writing far fetched stories with ridiculous plots.
> 
> 
> 
> If you wish to think of Stephen King's creations as _fiction_ you are free to do that.  But a rose is a rose and the supernatural is correctly catgegorized as fantasy.  Not fiction.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Breaking Bad has never been credible.  A high school chemistry teacher wiping out organized criminals and becoming a drug kingpin himself?  The whole premise is absurd.
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> Improbable and unlikely, but certainly not fantastic.  The fact that such an unlikely contingency is entirely possible makes it credible.  And cleverly entertaining expansion on a credible concept is what makes for good fiction.
> 
> 
> Of course it's realistic.  But it is disappointing in terms of conceptual continuity.
> 
> Saul Goodman introduced this Disappearance Maven as a high-priced expert -- who eventually transports Walt to a place where he is subject to visits by hunters, hikers, and curious local cops, and who provides no more than a wood stove and nothing in the way of basic comforts and pastimes.  How much would a load of batteries and some electronic diversions, a few boxfuls of books, and some good food instead of a boxful of _Ensure_ cost?  This highly unusual plot segment interrupts the conceptual flow, much in the way of that ridiculous shootout at the burial site.
> 
> 
> That's right.  But an expert knows how to do it.  And doing it could have vastly improved the continuity of this otherwise brilliant fiction.
> 
> The way to rent a decent apartment for the _Maven's_ purposes is to rent a mail drop under the name of "Respectable Realty Associates" and run a classified ad in the New York Times: _"3-1/2 rooms, renovated, quiet Brooklyn neighborhood, $750 month.  Available in six weeks.  Reply with references."_  Within a few days there will be dozens of useful identities, complete with genuine references, with which to rent a "nice" apartment in a suitable neighborhood for Walt to lay low in.  And that process would make for a much more interesting, entertaining, and acceptable concept than this potential trap in remote New Hampshire.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Just because he's an expert at making people disappear doesn't mean he can work miracles or chooses the best hideout.
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> There is absolutely nothing about what he's done so far that qualifies as expertise.  There is a way of doing it which is in line with the continuity of this otherwise supremely entertaining fiction.  And it doesn't involve anything miraculous.  Just a bit of expertise.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> The final episode of the Sopranos has been unfairly criticized.  The actual climax of the series was in the next to last episode.  We know what was going to happen to Tony Soprano.  He was going to go to prison because he was about to be federally indicted.  There was no need to show that.
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> What do you mean, "We?"
> 
> I, and everyone I've ever read or heard comment on the ending of the Sopranos was wholly disappointed with the ending of that otherwise superb series.  The hypothesis you've chosen to believe is nothing but a presumption on your part.  I had no such impression.
> 
> What I saw was Tony and Carmela enjoying a quiet meal in a favorite spot when a fellow whom the camera's focus suggests might be a _button-man_ appears and . . . fade to black.
> 
> The fact is we were left hanging.  Nobody knows for sure what happens next.
> 
> Not even you.
Click to expand...


Tony's life ended.  He faded to black and so did the show.  At least that is how I took it.  Personally, I liked the way it ended.  Just like that.  Dead.  No drama, no light..nothing..just black.


----------



## Samson

If I were to write an article about Breaking Bad, I would entitle it "Walt's Hat."

I'd need to do more research, but there seems to be a strong connection to when Walt puts on the hat, and how the plot develops. I'm sorry to have only recently noticed this foreshadowing tool.

The Bollman 1940's Pork Pie Hat is part of Walt's Hiesenberg, alter-ego costume. When he wears it, you know that Evil Walt is preparing to appear. Some may have noted that special attention to the scene was paid in the latest episode, _The Granite State_, where Walt finds the hat, and puts it on.

I'm predicting an extrememly bloody finale; the shock value will exceed that which the show achieved when Gustavo Fring walked out of the nusing home room after the bomb went off....and calmly straightened his tie.


----------



## Trajan

well, first todd offing andrea was, just brutal, , it was gratuitous violence and in my opinion and something  I think they did a good job of stating away from , till now. ............. the shock effect they wished to invoke, well, they got it......I am not sure why they had to do it ( the writers, I know why they had to do it to keep jesse in line) that is why they had to write it that way. 

Its a piece of senseless brutality that, well, for me at least jumped the shark, I am glad it ends next week. 

Walt has now got to get himself from the middle of no where to...? with what? he hot wires a car? 

I have to say, I have loved every season of BB, but the last couple of episodes  remind me of The Wire, the writers were told they only had 9 episodes for their last season and they had to accelerate the story..... and they had to add some semi fantastic moves to get the story where they wanted to end it......

We know from fore views-  a) walt gets back to New Mexcio,b) gets the ricin, c) the house is torched  d)  someone  scrawls Heisenberg  in spray-paint on the living room wall, e) hes got an M-60 machine gun.....

I will stick with my original thoughts-  he goes back with the MG to get all his cash from the nazis, the ricin? god knows, maybe hes going to take it himself just before OR in case he is losing a final wild bunch shootout, he dies happy knowing he got his cash even if he cannot give it away, something of a last grab for glory Heisenberg moment .......... he gives it to jesse ( who he finds there) , as he cannot give it to his family, his last act of atonement(?).Fade to black.....


----------



## MikeK

Nosmo King said:


> Credible, incredible.  Probable, Improbable.
> 
> Breaking Bad is one of a handful of television series that never "jumped the shark".  the writing has maintained a supremely high level of quality, the production has never failed in its quest for the spectacular.  The arch of the characters has been meticulously built.


I don't know what "jumped the shark" means.  But I will agree that the _Breakinbg Bad_ script has been first class -- until last episode (my opinion).  It appears to me the writers have gotten tired and are reaching.  Things are not nearly as cleverly done as they could be.  

I was disappointed that Walt's confession disc didn't end up putting Hank in federal prison, which would have been a brilliantly poetic stroke.  As it is he was mercifully disposed of.  And I'm hoping that miserable little rodent, Marie, isn't spared some appropriate pain.  As it is she'll get Hank's insurance and survivor's pension and will go on happily shoplifting.  



> I'm wondering if Gretchen and Elliot made Walt's hit list.  Pride goeth before the fall.


I'd forgotten about them.


----------



## MikeK

Trajan said:


> [...]
> 
> I have to say, I have loved every season of BB, but the last couple of episodes  remind me of The Wire, the writers were told they only had 9 episodes for their last season and they had to accelerate the story..... and they had to add some semi fantastic moves to get the story where they wanted to end it......
> 
> [...]


I agree completely with that.  The quality of these final episodes is analogous to a painter running out of paint near the end of a job and thinning it out.   Considering the excellence of the previous episodes it all seems to be weakening.  Nothing unique, surprising, or especially clever about it.


----------



## Smilodonfatalis

The way big brother is now Hank would get caught in a place like NY.  There are tv cameras everywhere, stores elevators, etc, especially since 9-11.[/QUOTE]

You are getting the names of the characters mixed up.

You are referring to Walt as Hank.


----------



## Smilodonfatalis

[If you wish to think of Stephen King's creations as _fiction_ you are free to do that.  But a rose is a rose and the supernatural is correctly catgegorized as fantasy.  Not fiction.)

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

*Fantasy is a category of fiction.  I never heard anyone classify fantasy as anything other than fiction.  Elmore Leonard is a writer who had great success telling stories that were less than credible.  All  film noire plots are less than credible but for a time was very popular*.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

"Improbable and unlikely, but certainly not fantastic.  The fact that such an unlikely contingency is entirely possible makes it credible.  And cleverly entertaining expansion on a credible concept is what makes for good fiction.  "
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

*Yes, it's fantastic*.      


"There is absolutely nothing about what he's done so far that qualifies as expertise.  There is a way of doing it which is in line with the continuity of this otherwise supremely entertaining fiction.  And it doesn't involve anything miraculous.  Just a bit of expertise. " 

*He just wasn't that good an expert.  I like that because that is definitely like real life.*"What do you mean, "We?"  

I, and everyone I've ever read or heard comment on the ending of the Sopranos, was wholly disappointed with the ending of that otherwise superb series.  The hypothesis you've chosen to believe is nothing but a presumption on your part.  I had no such impression.

What I saw was Tony and Carmela enjoying a quiet meal in a favorite spot when a fellow whom the camera's focus suggests might be a _button-man_ appears and . . . fade to black.  

The fact is we were left hanging.  Nobody knows for sure what happens next.  

Not even you."

*Watch the final episode again.  In the next to the last scene, Tony's lawyer tells him he's about to be federally indicted.  The federal government has a 90% conviction rate.  The audience can assume Tony would soon be sent to prison (where he would die of a heart attack).*
*People who were disappointed with that episode just wanted a bloody final shootout that wiped Tony and his family out.  David Chase probably tested that scene and didn't like it.  I'm sure he chose the best final scene because he shot several endings.  He wanted to show that the Sopranos were like a normal family, despite their father's criminality.  The scene that people wanted to see was just too cheap and shallow and predictable.*


----------



## Nosmo King

MikeK said:


> Nosmo King said:
> 
> 
> 
> Credible, incredible.  Probable, Improbable.
> 
> Breaking Bad is one of a handful of television series that never "jumped the shark".  the writing has maintained a supremely high level of quality, the production has never failed in its quest for the spectacular.  The arch of the characters has been meticulously built.
> 
> 
> 
> I don't know what "jumped the shark" means.  But I will agree that the _Breakinbg Bad_ script has been first class -- until last episode (my opinion).  It appears to me the writers have gotten tired and are reaching.  Things are not nearly as cleverly done as they could be.
> 
> I was disappointed that Walt's confession disc didn't end up putting Hank in federal prison, which would have been a brilliantly poetic stroke.  As it is he was mercifully disposed of.  And I'm hoping that miserable little rodent, Marie, isn't spared some appropriate pain.  As it is she'll get Hank's insurance and survivor's pension and will go on happily shoplifting.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I'm wondering if Gretchen and Elliot made Walt's hit list.  Pride goeth before the fall.
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> I'd forgotten about them.
Click to expand...

"Jumped the shark" is a cliché that originated with the show Happy Days.  It seems the viewing public was entirely satisfied with the writing, premise and arc of the show until the episode in which Fonzi jumped a tank of sharks with his motorcycle.  The audience and critics alike agreed that after that episode, the show went downhill fast.  Since then, "jumping the shark" refers to the point at which a television program loses it's panache. 

And I figure Marie still has a card up her sleeve that will backfire and ruin her.  I also look for some redemptive action from Flynn.  It would not be surprising to see Walt and Jesse unite to kill off the Aryans.


----------



## Samson

Nosmo King said:


> "Jumped the shark" is a cliché that originated with the show Happy Days.  It seems the viewing public was entirely satisfied with the writing, premise and arc of the show until the episode in which Fonzi jumped a tank of sharks with his motorcycle.
> 
> The audience and critics alike agreed that after that episode, the show went downhill fast.  Since then, "jumping the shark" refers to the point at which a television program loses it's panache.



Whether the decline had anything to do with the episode that is now referenced and coined the phrase, I have no clue.

However I do have a strong opinion regarding the change in tone contributing to what appears to be the natural decline of every series: The gradual elimination of humor.

This happens not just with comedy sitcoms (M.A.S.H., All In The Family, Happy Days, etc.), but also with drama, e.g. Breaking Bad (hell, even a show as dark as American Horror Story has some humor infused). 

Everyone can recall the humorous scenes between bumbling Jesse and Walt in the show's beginnings, and even the dark humor of Gus straightening his tie after half his face was blown off: But when was the last time we laughed while watching BB?

Answer: We laugh at Saul and his huge "Body Guard" (laying on the pile of money).

It is no coincidence that the spinoff to BB will be about Saul: He amuses us.


----------



## MikeK

Smilodonfatalis said:


> The way big brother is now Hank would get caught in a place like NY.  There are tv cameras everywhere, stores elevators, etc, especially since 9-11.


Rest assured if Walt were hiding in an apartment in New York he would not be going out, and if he did he would be wearing a disguise.  I would recommend he disguise himself as an Hassidic Jew because they all look the same and walk fast while looking down -- and no one ever suspects them of anything.    



> You are getting the names of the characters mixed up.
> 
> You are referring to Walt as Hank.


So are you (as above).  But it's easy to do and as long as it is obvious and we all know it it's not a problem.


----------



## MikeK

Nosmo King said:


> [...]
> 
> "Jumped the shark" is a cliché that originated with the show Happy Days.  It seems the viewing public was entirely satisfied with the writing, premise and arc of the show until the episode in which Fonzi jumped a tank of sharks with his motorcycle.  The audience and critics alike agreed that after that episode, the show went downhill fast.  Since then, "jumping the shark" refers to the point at which a television program loses it's panache.


Thanks. 



> And I figure Marie still has a card up her sleeve that will backfire and ruin her.  I also look for some redemptive action from Flynn.  It would not be surprising to see Walt and Jesse unite to kill off the Aryans.


I hope you're right.  Because Marie's clearly malicious eagerness to see her sister's family tossed into hell reveals her to be just as evil as her perversely egomaniacal husband.  Worse in fact because Skyler's unnecessary (and risky) generosity in Hank's time of need isn't even vaguely mentioned and Marie is carrying on as if Skyler and Walt had done something selfishly hurtful to her and Hank.  

This is a significant moral issue and If Marie is allowed to slide away untouched it will be obvious to me the writing was somehow compromised during the final episodes.


----------



## Snookie

Skyler could wash my car any time day or night 24/7 [oh my, my, I would love to see her washing my hub caps].


----------



## Snookie

Smilodonfatalis said:


> The way big brother is now Hank would get caught in a place like NY.  There are tv cameras everywhere, stores elevators, etc, especially since 9-11.



You are getting the names of the characters mixed up.

You are referring to Walt as Hank.[/QUOTE]

Sorry, I picked the wrong week to give up drugs.


----------



## MikeK

Snookie said:


> Skyler could wash my car any time day or night 24/7 [oh my, my, I would love to see her washing my hub caps].


Why?


----------



## MikeK

Snookie said:


> Skyler could wash my car any time day or night 24/7 [oh my, my, I would love to see her washing my hub caps].


I'm hoping Skyler didn't turn over every copy of Walt's confession disc to Marie.  I hope  she sends one anonymously to the DEA.  It could cause Hank to be indicted in absentia and cause Marie to be indicted and convicted as an accessory and imprisoned.  

That would be nice.  She deserves it.


----------



## Snookie

MikeK said:


> Snookie said:
> 
> 
> 
> Skyler could wash my car any time day or night 24/7 [oh my, my, I would love to see her washing my hub caps].
> 
> 
> 
> Why?
Click to expand...


A gentleman never tells.


----------



## Toro

AMC is showing all Breaking Bad episodes starting tonight up until the finale.

I've got my DVR ready.


----------



## Nosmo King

MikeK said:


> Snookie said:
> 
> 
> 
> Skyler could wash my car any time day or night 24/7 [oh my, my, I would love to see her washing my hub caps].
> 
> 
> 
> I'm hoping Skyler didn't turn over every copy of Walt's confession disc to Marie.  I hope  she sends one anonomously to the DEA.  It could cause Hank to be indicted in absentia and cause Marie to be indicted and convicted as an accessory and imprisoned.
> 
> That would be nice.  She deserves it.
Click to expand...

Was Marie mentioned in Walt's video?  Can she be convicted on the word of Walter White?


----------



## Nosmo King

A Marie/Lydia confrontation would drive any male absolutely ape shit crazy!  Those two are wrapped too tight to be considered anything other than nervous, skiddish chicks.


----------



## MikeK

Snookie said:


> MikeK said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Snookie said:
> 
> 
> 
> Skyler could wash my car any time day or night 24/7 [oh my, my, I would love to see her washing my hub caps].
> 
> 
> 
> Why?
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> 
> A gentleman never tells.
Click to expand...

Aha!  I didn't realize you are a guy.


----------



## Trajan

I'll share what I thought of last night as an interesting miss- sklyer had to know the ring was going to close around her ( them, the baby, walt Jr.) , she never ever thought of skimming some of the cash for her own exit strategy? ever?


----------



## MikeK

Nosmo King said:


> Was Marie mentioned in Walt's video?  Can she be convicted on the word of Walter White?


I don't remember if she was mentioned.  But Walt's statement is convincingly condemning of Hank, and considering Marie was the recipient of a lot of cash from Walt (via Skyler) I think Marie would have a hard time convincing a jury she didn't know anything -- and her  record as a petty thief wouldn't help her case.  

I believe Marie's fate would depend on what Skyler might say.  Considering the way Marie treated her who could blame Skyler for letting the worm turn.  And because Marie would vigorously deny everything the prosecutor would be pissed off and seek to bury her.


----------



## Trajan

MikeK said:


> Nosmo King said:
> 
> 
> 
> Was Marie mentioned in Walt's video?  Can she be convicted on the word of Walter White?
> 
> 
> 
> I don't remember if she was mentioned.  But Walt's statement is convincingly condemning of Hank, and considering Marie was the recipient of a lot of cash from Walt (via Skyler) I think Marie would have a hard time convincing a jury she didn't know anything -- and her  record as a petty thief wouldn't help her case.
> 
> I believe Marie's fate would depend on what Skyler might say.  Considering the way Marie treated her who could blame Skyler for letting the worm turn.  And because Marie would vigorously deny everything the prosecutor would be pissed off and seek to bury her.
Click to expand...


she was doing all of the banking and writing checks to the rehab folks, she wouldn't have a leg to stand on


----------



## MikeK

Trajan said:


> I'll share what I thought of last night as an interesting miss- sklyer had to know the ring was going to close around her ( them, the baby, walt Jr.) , she never ever thought of skimming some of the cash for her own exit strategy? ever?


I never thought of that.  But it's a good angle.  I hope she did and she's certainly smart enough to have done exactly that.


----------



## MikeK

Nosmo King said:


> [...]I also look for some redemptive action from Flynn.[...]


I would hope so.  Because there is something very wrong about the way that ungrateful kid so readily turned on the father who lovingly and faithfully helped to raise him.  Also, the way "Flynn" seems so devoted to "Uncle Hank" is offensive -- and marks him as a shallow moron.  

Apparently his "Aunt Marie" hasn't told him if it were not for his father "Uncle Hank" would still be lying on his back, playing with rocks and using a bedpan.  

These factors have shaped our anticipation but have thus far been ignored.  With only one more episode to go I don't see how so many important but ignored _set-ups_ can be addressed.  It is as if the original writing staff has been replaced.


----------



## Snookie

MikeK said:


> Snookie said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> MikeK said:
> 
> 
> 
> Why?
> 
> 
> 
> 
> A gentleman never tells.
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> Aha!  I didn't realize you are a guy.
Click to expand...


I've been told that many times here.


----------



## MikeK

Snookie said:


> MikeK said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Snookie said:
> 
> 
> 
> A gentleman never tells.
> 
> 
> 
> Aha!  I didn't realize you are a guy.
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> 
> I've been told that many times here.
Click to expand...

It's the nickname, _Snookie._


----------



## Snookie

MikeK said:


> Snookie said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> MikeK said:
> 
> 
> 
> Aha!  I didn't realize you are a guy.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I've been told that many times here.
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> It's the nickname, _Snookie._
Click to expand...


this is snookie


----------



## Samson

MikeK said:


> Nosmo King said:
> 
> 
> 
> Was Marie mentioned in Walt's video?  Can she be convicted on the word of Walter White?
> 
> 
> 
> I don't remember if she was mentioned.  But Walt's statement is convincingly condemning of Hank, and considering Marie was the recipient of a lot of cash from Walt (via Skyler) I think Marie would have a hard time convincing a jury she didn't know anything -- and her  record as a petty thief wouldn't help her case.
> 
> I believe Marie's fate would depend on what Skyler might say.  Considering the way Marie treated her who could blame Skyler for letting the worm turn.  And because Marie would vigorously deny everything the prosecutor would be pissed off and seek to bury her.
Click to expand...


Who puts the last bullet into Walter White?

My bet is on Marie.

But I will give odds on Skyler or Walt Jr.


----------



## Snookie

Wait, wait, isn't there supposed to be another season?


----------



## Nosmo King

Samson said:


> MikeK said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Nosmo King said:
> 
> 
> 
> Was Marie mentioned in Walt's video?  Can she be convicted on the word of Walter White?
> 
> 
> 
> I don't remember if she was mentioned.  But Walt's statement is convincingly condemning of Hank, and considering Marie was the recipient of a lot of cash from Walt (via Skyler) I think Marie would have a hard time convincing a jury she didn't know anything -- and her  record as a petty thief wouldn't help her case.
> 
> I believe Marie's fate would depend on what Skyler might say.  Considering the way Marie treated her who could blame Skyler for letting the worm turn.  And because Marie would vigorously deny everything the prosecutor would be pissed off and seek to bury her.
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> 
> Who puts the last bullet into Walter White?
> 
> My bet is on Marie.
> 
> But I will give odds on Skyler or Walt Jr.
Click to expand...

I'm thinking Jesse.  Walt is intent on killing Jack and the Aryans, as is Jesse.  I can see them collaborating on the hit and Jesse keeping two rounds.  One for Walt and one for himself.


----------



## Samson

Nosmo King said:


> Samson said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> MikeK said:
> 
> 
> 
> I don't remember if she was mentioned.  But Walt's statement is convincingly condemning of Hank, and considering Marie was the recipient of a lot of cash from Walt (via Skyler) I think Marie would have a hard time convincing a jury she didn't know anything -- and her  record as a petty thief wouldn't help her case.
> 
> I believe Marie's fate would depend on what Skyler might say.  Considering the way Marie treated her who could blame Skyler for letting the worm turn.  And because Marie would vigorously deny everything the prosecutor would be pissed off and seek to bury her.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Who puts the last bullet into Walter White?
> 
> My bet is on Marie.
> 
> But I will give odds on Skyler or Walt Jr.
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> I'm thinking Jesse.  Walt is intent on killing Jack and the Aryans, as is Jesse.  I can see them collaborating on the hit and Jesse keeping two rounds.  One for Walt and one for himself.
Click to expand...


You could be right, but its too obvious for me to bet on it.

I'd like to bet Walt and Jesse, trailed by an AFT/DEA army, run out of gas just before they cross the Mexican Border, and die in the Chuhuahuan dessert.


----------



## MikeK

Snookie said:


> MikeK said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Snookie said:
> 
> 
> 
> I've been told that many times here.
> 
> 
> 
> It's the nickname, _Snookie._
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> 
> this is snookie
Click to expand...


----------



## Samson

MikeK said:


> Snookie said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> MikeK said:
> 
> 
> 
> It's the nickname, _Snookie._
> 
> 
> 
> 
> this is snookie
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Click to expand...
Click to expand...


You guys need to get a room, or start your own thread.


----------



## MikeK

Samson said:


> Nosmo King said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Samson said:
> 
> 
> 
> Who puts the last bullet into Walter White?
> 
> My bet is on Marie.
> 
> But I will give odds on Skyler or Walt Jr.
> 
> 
> 
> I'm thinking Jesse.  Walt is intent on killing Jack and the Aryans, as is Jesse.  I can see them collaborating on the hit and Jesse keeping two rounds.  One for Walt and one for himself.
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> 
> You could be right, but its too obvious for me to bet on it.
> 
> I'd like to bet Walt and Jesse, trailed by an AFT/DEA army, run out of gas just before they cross the Mexican Border, and die in the Chuhuahuan dessert.
Click to expand...

Ever since the ridiculous events at the burial site and all that's happened afterward, especially the disappointingly merciful disposal of Hank and the redundantly cruel murder of Pinkman's girlfriend, my interest in the outcome of this series has declined.  

I wanted to see Walt's confession disc put Hank in Leavenworth, which would have been a master-stroke in keeping with the admirably imaginative plot twists we've come to expect.  Instead it appears the writing staff has grown tired and is anxious to wrap it up and go home.


----------



## candycorn

Ya know...

It occurs to me that the DEA doesn't seem to know anything about Pinkman who could end up with 30 gallons of metheline (sp), no heat on him, the entire "market" to himself thanks to Todd's family and Fring taking out the cartel.  

Once a gangster always a gangster...

I think it would be a fitting ending.

But something bad has to happen to Grechen and Doug (was that his name)?  It's too much of an elephant in the room not to.


----------



## MikeK

Samson said:


> MikeK said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Snookie said:
> 
> 
> 
> this is snookie
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> 
> You guys need to get a room, or start your own thread.
Click to expand...


----------



## Snookie

MikeK said:


> Samson said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> MikeK said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> You guys need to get a room, or start your own thread.
> 
> Click to expand...
Click to expand...


Are you jealous?  Tee, hee, hee.


----------



## dblack

so.... the discussion of 'realism' strikes me as silly. Nothing about this series is realistic. Except for the motivations of the characters, which is poignantly on target.

For my money, though Gilligan has never indicated such, the entire series is a treatise on mid-life crisis.


----------



## MikeK

dblack said:


> so.... the discussion of 'realism' strikes me as silly.


While most of the sequences and actions are extremely unlikely, improbable, and certainly  uncommon, all but a few are entirely possible, and some are quite realistic.   



> Nothing about this series is realistic. Except for the motivations of the characters, which is poignantly on target.


Clandestine methamphetamine (and other drug) production, sometimes under elaborate conditions, is not realistic?  Multi-million dollar accumulations of cash are not realistic?  Crooked lawyers like Saul Goodman on the payroll of drug dealers is not a realistic concept?  Assassins assigned by Mexican cartels are not realistic?  

I will agree that most of what we've seen in the _Breaking Bad_ series is highly stylized and exaggeratedly dramatized, but it most certainly is a reflection of reality.  However, one thing which is absolutely unrealistic was the gunfight scene at the burial site.  That scene was strictly grade-B hype except to those who have no familiarity with firearms.  Also, I laughed at the notion of Walt pushing around that barrel of money.  In fact, quite a bit of the final three or four episodes has drifted into fantasy.  But most of the series has been an artful though fanciful reflection of a modern-day reality and you may rest assured the writing staff had access to consultants who lived in the life.  



> For my money, though Gilligan has never indicated such, the entire series is a treatise on mid-life crisis.


Who is Gilligan?

And, again, are you talking about _Breaking Bad_ as a "treatise on mid-life crisis?"  If so, whose?  If you mean Walter White, how about a treatise on an _emerging psychopathic alter-ego_ rather than ordinary middle-age male frustration?  A mid-life crisis typically involves a sports car, a new wardrobe, and boner pills.  Walt has ventured quite a bit beyond that level of diversion, but I think the series is for the most part well-crafted fiction.


----------



## IlarMeilyr

MikeK said:


> dblack said:
> 
> 
> 
> * * * *
> 
> For my money, though Gilligan has never indicated such, the entire series is a treatise on mid-life crisis.
> 
> 
> 
> Who is Gilligan? * * * *
Click to expand...


WTF?

Damn.  Have you ever read the damn credits?



> Vince Gilligan is an American writer, director, and producer. He is best known as the creator of the highly acclaimed television series Breaking Bad. He has also worked on the hit series The X-Files and . . . .


-- https://www.google.com/#q=breaking+bad+creator&safe=off


----------



## Zona

It ended perfectly.


----------



## Zona

Whats my name....

Heisenberg...

You god damn right!

Best lines of the show.


----------



## Moonglow

I enjoy shows that show you how to make drugs, kill and torture people, and yet have decency to bleep out the word fuck.


----------



## Billo_Really

Moonglow said:


> I enjoy shows that show you how to make drugs, kill and torture people, and yet have decency to bleep out the word fuck.


That show doesn't teach you how to make drugs.

Anyone who has done meth, knows if it turns blue, you bought bunk!

There's no such thing as_* "good blue meth"!*_


----------



## dblack

Zona said:


> It ended perfectly.



It was really done, that's for sure. And in the end, Walt gets everything he wanted (sort of).


----------



## TheOldSchool

Thanks for a FANTASTIC story Breaking Bad!

Last episode = Masterpiece


----------



## Politico

With the exception of Ricining that spineless bitch it was kinda lame.


----------



## TheOldSchool

Politico said:


> With the exception of Ricining that spineless bitch it was kinda lame.



Ricining her was the best part.  But every loose end was tied up, and the whole thing was wonderfully cheesy.  That's what people want in a last goodbye


----------



## bayoubill

just now finished watching the final episode a second time...

nearly perfect...

one li'l thing bothers me, though...

I don't think it would realistically be possible to drive a stolen Volvo two thousand miles across a dozen states with an APB bulletin alerting all the various state law enforcement agencies to be on the lookout for it...

but hey... a small quibble, right...?


----------



## bayoubill

I love the way the writers worked in the two duffuses (making like hired assassins) for a li'l bit of comic relief...


----------



## dblack

bayoubill said:


> just now finished watching the final episode a second time...
> 
> nearly perfect...
> 
> one li'l thing bothers me, though...
> 
> I don't think it would realistically be possible to drive a stolen Volvo two thousand miles across a dozen states with an APB bulletin alerting all the various state law enforcement agencies to be on the lookout for it...
> 
> but hey... a small quibble, right...?



Oh, well technically it was all implausible as hell... but very satisfying. Even though he 'got what he deserved', he still managed to find some peace in the end.


----------



## dblack

Been thinking about this more. The finale was, indeed, a masterpiece. And a sublime gift to the fans of the show. It's amazing they were able to squeeze a viable, life-affirming, ending out of so much tragedy and suffering. And to do it without cheapening the journey. I can't imagine how it could have been better.


----------



## Snookie

Billo_Really said:


> Moonglow said:
> 
> 
> 
> I enjoy shows that show you how to make drugs, kill and torture people, and yet have decency to bleep out the word fuck.
> 
> 
> 
> That show doesn't teach you how to make drugs.
> 
> Anyone who has done meth, knows if it turns blue, you bought bunk!
> 
> There's no such thing as_* "good blue meth"!*_
Click to expand...

There are plenty of recipes for making meth on the www..


----------



## Snookie

i love a happy ending.


----------



## dblack

Snookie said:


> i love a happy ending.



Heh.. well, 'happy' might be pushing it. But they managed to come as close as possible without throwing the integrity of the story in the toilet.


----------



## PixieStix

Walt redeemed himself. He took out all the bad guys and helped to save the good. 

One great ending.

Not like Dexter. That ending sucked real bad


----------



## dblack

PixieStix said:


> Walt redeemed himself. He took out all the bad guys and helped to save the good.
> 
> One great ending.



And could that final song have been any more perfect? Even down to the name of the band (Badfinger) and their own tragic story (they got ripped off by their manager and half the band committed suicide).


----------



## PixieStix

au revoir To the greatest show ever. 

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CMmqvI1Jh-M]Breaking Bad 5x16 Promo | "Felina" (HD) Series Finale - YouTube[/ame]

Vince Gilligan is brilliant. I do not think this could ever be done again, Although I am sure many will try. TNT turned this series down and AMC picked it up. 

Point and laugh at TNT


----------



## MikeK

This series was extremely well conceived -- right up to the episode at the burial site where the Aryans killed Hank and his partner.  Beginning with the absurd "gunfight" the series has devolved from the ridiculous to the sublimely incredible.   While stretched credibility is an acceptable component of good fiction one tends to lose interest when fiction borders on fantasy as it has done throughout the final three episodes of _Breaking Bad,_ which could have been done much better.  As it is, what could have ended up as memorably good fiction has slid into the category of onanistic fantasy.  

One excellent example of good tv series fiction is the currently ongoing, _Homeland,_ which stretches credibility but never drifts toward fantasy.  Another good one was, _The Wire._  And while _Boardwalk Empire_ is based on real people and vaguely factual circumstances it is a highly fanciful example of extremely well-done fiction.  

In my opinion, _Breaking Bad_ got off to an admirable start but has ended as an increasingly silly disappointment in the vampires and zombies category.


----------



## Smilodonfatalis

MikeK said:


> This series was extremely well conceived -- right up to the episode at the burial site where the Aryans killed Hank and his partner.  Beginning with the absurd "gunfight" the series has devolved from the ridiculous to the sublimely incredible.   While stretched credibility is an acceptable component of good fiction one tends to lose interest when fiction borders on fantasy as it has done throughout the final three episodes of _Breaking Bad,_ which could have been done much better.  As it is, what could have ended up as memorably good fiction has slid into the category of onanistic fantasy.
> 
> One excellent example of good tv series fiction is the currently ongoing, _Homeland,_ which stretches credibility but never drifts toward fantasy.  Another good one was, _The Wire._  And while _Boardwalk Empire_ is based on real people and vaguely factual circumstances it is a highly fanciful example of extremely well-done fiction.
> 
> In my opinion, _Breaking Bad_ got off to an admirable start but has ended as an increasingly silly disappointment in the vampires and zombies category.



You are the only one I've ever heard from who didn't like the ending.


----------



## MikeK

Smilodonfatalis said:


> MikeK said:
> 
> 
> 
> This series was extremely well conceived -- right up to the episode at the burial site where the Aryans killed Hank and his partner.  Beginning with the absurd "gunfight" the series has devolved from the ridiculous to the sublimely incredible.   While stretched credibility is an acceptable component of good fiction one tends to lose interest when fiction borders on fantasy as it has done throughout the final three episodes of _Breaking Bad,_ which could have been done much better.  As it is, what could have ended up as memorably good fiction has slid into the category of onanistic fantasy.
> 
> One excellent example of good tv series fiction is the currently ongoing, _Homeland,_ which stretches credibility but never drifts toward fantasy.  Another good one was, _The Wire._  And while _Boardwalk Empire_ is based on real people and vaguely factual circumstances it is a highly fanciful example of extremely well-done fiction.
> 
> In my opinion, _Breaking Bad_ got off to an admirable start but has ended as an increasingly silly disappointment in the vampires and zombies category.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> You are the only one I've ever heard from who didn't like the ending.
Click to expand...

There were just so many things about the final episodes that simply make no sense to me.  Such as Walt's affection for Hank while Hank, the archetypal authoritarian brute who benefited from Walt and Skyler's generosity, was eagerly disposed to putting Walt in prison and destroying his family.  But in spite of the fact that the boss Aryan rather generously spared Walt's life and let him get away with eleven million dollars, Walt was vindictively hateful of that Aryan for killing a loathsome bastard like Hank.  That is comparable to loving one's cancer and hating the doctor who excises it.  

That's just one element of the story that throws my thinking completely off balance because it makes no sense.


----------



## George Costanza

Smilodonfatalis said:


> MikeK said:
> 
> 
> 
> This series was extremely well conceived -- right up to the episode at the burial site where the Aryans killed Hank and his partner.  Beginning with the absurd "gunfight" the series has devolved from the ridiculous to the sublimely incredible.   While stretched credibility is an acceptable component of good fiction one tends to lose interest when fiction borders on fantasy as it has done throughout the final three episodes of _Breaking Bad,_ which could have been done much better.  As it is, what could have ended up as memorably good fiction has slid into the category of onanistic fantasy.
> 
> One excellent example of good tv series fiction is the currently ongoing, _Homeland,_ which stretches credibility but never drifts toward fantasy.  Another good one was, _The Wire._  And while _Boardwalk Empire_ is based on real people and vaguely factual circumstances it is a highly fanciful example of extremely well-done fiction.
> 
> In my opinion, _Breaking Bad_ got off to an admirable start but has ended as an increasingly silly disappointment in the vampires and zombies category.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> You are the only one I've ever heard from who didn't like the ending.
Click to expand...


Well, here's another one.  It isn't that I didn't like it - I was mildly disappointed by it.  I expected more.  I sat there, waiting for something to REALLY happen, and it never did.  I found the automatic rifle in the trunk of the car not believeable.  I just don't think it would have (or could have) happened that way.  

I found Walt's last contact with Skyler unfulfilling at best.  The forcing the money on the couple to give to Walt's son and the laser sighting-in on their chests to make the point that they should follow through was clever, but, once again, not very believeable.

I don't know - I really liked this show.  I have seen every episode and will probably go through it all again on Netflix.  But, somehow, I felt vaguely let down by the final episode.  What the hell, I felt the same way about the final edpisode of The Sopranos as well.


----------



## George Costanza

MikeK said:


> Samson said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Nosmo King said:
> 
> 
> 
> I'm thinking Jesse.  Walt is intent on killing Jack and the Aryans, as is Jesse.  I can see them collaborating on the hit and Jesse keeping two rounds.  One for Walt and one for himself.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> You could be right, but its too obvious for me to bet on it.
> 
> I'd like to bet Walt and Jesse, trailed by an AFT/DEA army, run out of gas just before they cross the Mexican Border, and die in the Chuhuahuan dessert.
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> Ever since the ridiculous events at the burial site and all that's happened afterward, especially the disappointingly merciful disposal of Hank and the redundantly cruel murder of Pinkman's girlfriend, my interest in the outcome of this series has declined.
> 
> I wanted to see Walt's confession disc put Hank in Leavenworth, which would have been a master-stroke in keeping with the admirably imaginative plot twists we've come to expect.  Instead it appears the writing staff has grown tired and is anxious to wrap it up and go home.
Click to expand...


Take me back to the time Walt was negotiating with evil drug kingpins or shooting it out with them in deserted, desert cabins.  Now THERE was some action.  And I agree completely about Hank.  What a jerk he was - I would have liked to have seen the Aryian Brotherhood guys string him up for a little torture session before setting fire to him or some such.


----------



## Michelle420

I kinda felt sorry for Walt, I know that not's popular but he tried to make amends at the end.


----------



## Billo_Really

Politico said:


> With the exception of Ricining that spineless bitch it was kinda lame.


Hey, I masterbated to that spineless bitch!

The scene in the desert where she's walking across all the dead bodies and say's something to the affect of,
_ "I don't want to look!" "I don't want to see anything!"_

I thought that would be the perfect time!


----------



## Billo_Really

George Costanza said:


> Take me back to the time Walt was negotiating with evil drug kingpins or shooting it out with them in deserted, desert cabins.  Now THERE was some action.  And I agree completely about Hank.  What a jerk he was - I would have liked to have seen the Aryian Brotherhood guys string him up for a little torture session before setting fire to him or some such.


Like the old south?

You're so evil, Mr Costanza.


----------



## MikeK

drifter said:


> I kinda felt sorry for Walt, I know that not's popular but he tried to make amends at the end.


Your feelings are understandable because Walt was either intentionally or unintentionally portrayed as being a _Jekyll & Hyde_ (disassociative disorder) personality and you are responding to the _good Walt,_ the gentle chem teacher, loving husband and father.  But as the series progressed we are shown more and more of the alter-ego.  Walt's demon side.  

This element of the tale, combined with some of the best acting I've seen in a tv series, could have been the basis for a truly sophisticated and extraordinary production.  But they spoiled it by tossing in a lot of clumsy comic-book sequences, such as the ridiculously improbable, remotely activated, robotic machine-gun contraption used to wipe out the Aryan gang.  That and several other absurdities spoil what could have been a true masterpiece.    

_Breaking Bad_ could have been much, much better if the writing staff had managed to maintain plot and sequence integrity and not drift off into simplistic fantasy.


----------



## MikeK

bayoubill said:


> just now finished watching the final episode a second time...
> 
> nearly perfect...
> 
> one li'l thing bothers me, though...
> 
> I don't think it would realistically be possible to drive a stolen Volvo two thousand miles across a dozen states with an APB bulletin alerting all the various state law enforcement agencies to be on the lookout for it...
> 
> but hey... a small quibble, right...?


That is but one of many "small quibbles" which add up to one great big "quibble" in the end.


----------



## MikeK

bayoubill said:


> I love the way the writers worked in the two duffuses (making like hired assassins) for a li'l bit of comic relief...


And that is another.


----------



## Michelle420

MikeK said:


> drifter said:
> 
> 
> 
> I kinda felt sorry for Walt, I know that not's popular but he tried to make amends at the end.
> 
> 
> 
> Your feelings are understandable because Walt was either intentionally or unintentionally portrayed as being a _Jekyll & Hyde_ (disassociative disorder) personality and you are responding to the _good Walt,_ the gentle chem teacher, loving husband and father.  But as the series progressed we are shown more and more of the alter-ego.  Walt's demon side.
> 
> This element of the tale, combined with some of the best acting I've seen in a tv series, could have been the basis for a truly sophisticated and extraordinary production.  But they spoiled it by tossing in a lot of clumsy comic-book sequences, such as the ridiculously improbable, remotely activated, robotic machine-gun contraption used to wipe out the Aryan gang.  That and several other absurdities spoil what could have been a true masterpiece.
> 
> _Breaking Bad_ could have been much, much better if the writing staff had managed to maintain plot and sequence integrity and not drift off into simplistic fantasy.
Click to expand...


How would you have ended it ?

I was also glad Jessie got away


----------



## bayoubill

folks who wanna tiresomely quibble 'bout this 'n that in the final episode can stick it where the sun don't shine...

everything worked out nearly perfectly...

and, as I said previously, the only quibble I have is the absolute improbability of the DEA's most-wanted guy quietly making a cross-country trip in a stolen Volvo with New Hampshire plates...

'course, Walt getting stopped before his final destination wouldn't have allowed for the grand finale'...


anyhow... meantime, I wanna hear this tune again...

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0pwc0klMRSQ]Baby Blue - Badfinger - YouTube[/ame]


----------



## bayoubill

btw, the idea of the anti-hero on a quest getting stopped short of his final destination reminded me of this flick from more'n 40 years ago...

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QQbSrGSoyos]Vanishing Point - Traffic (Dear Mr. Fantasy) - YouTube[/ame]


----------



## MikeK

drifter said:


> How would you have ended it ?


Start with Walt's confession disc causing Hank to be convicted of criminal conspiracy and imprisoned along with Marie as an accessory.  That would have been poetic justice and an extremely satisfying closing scene.  



> I was also glad Jessie got away


I always found Jessie to be rather annoying.  His essential nature was manifest in the way he chose to deal with his guilt feelings -- by tossing money out the window of his car.  If he were other than a whining, self-pitying little weasel he could have atoned for his sins by using that money to relieve a lot of deserving people of their crushing financial problems.  

So I never had any sympathy for Jessie.  Instead I felt the demon side of Walt should have put Jessie to sleep when it became clear he was a loose cannon.  That would have been doing the constantly suffering Jessie a favor.


----------



## Billo_Really

bayoubill said:


> btw, the idea of the anti-hero on a quest getting stopped short of his final destination reminded me of this flick from more'n 40 years ago...
> 
> Vanishing Point - Traffic (Dear Mr. Fantasy) - YouTube


My favorite part in that movie was when he put the mini-bike (with the flashing brake light) on top of his car and ran the road block.

The naked chick on the Honda was pretty cool too.


----------



## Billo_Really

bayoubill said:


> folks who wanna tiresomely quibble 'bout this 'n that in the final episode can stick it where the sun don't shine...
> 
> everything worked out nearly perfectly...
> 
> and, as I said previously, the only quibble I have is the absolute improbability of the DEA's most-wanted guy quietly making a cross-country trip in a stolen Volvo with New Hampshire plates...
> 
> 'course, Walt getting stopped before his final destination wouldn't have allowed for the grand finale'...
> 
> 
> anyhow... meantime, I wanna hear this tune again...
> 
> Baby Blue - Badfinger - YouTube


Somebody pulled a mean trick on me when that song first came out.

They called me up and said, _*"Hey, did you hear the new Beatle song?"*_

That's a pretty mean trick to play on a 14 year old.


----------



## MikeK

George Costanza said:


> Well, here's another one.  It isn't that I didn't like it - I was mildly disappointed by it.  I expected more.  I sat there, waiting for something to REALLY happen, and it never did.  I found the automatic rifle in the trunk of the car not believeable.  I just don't think it would have (or could have) happened that way.
> 
> I found Walt's last contact with Skyler unfulfilling at best.  The forcing the money on the couple to give to Walt's son and the laser sighting-in on their chests to make the point that they should follow through was clever, but, once again, not very believeable.
> 
> I don't know - I really liked this show.  I have seen every episode and will probably go through it all again on Netflix.  But, somehow, I felt vaguely let down by the final episode.  What the hell, I felt the same way about the final edpisode of The Sopranos as well.


George,

It looks like you and I are the oddballs, the literary malcontents.  So it seems the creators of _Breaking Bad_ knew exactly what they were doing.

No hope for us, George.


----------



## bayoubill

Billo_Really said:


> bayoubill said:
> 
> 
> 
> btw, the idea of the anti-hero on a quest getting stopped short of his final destination reminded me of this flick from more'n 40 years ago...
> 
> Vanishing Point - Traffic (Dear Mr. Fantasy) - YouTube
> 
> 
> 
> My favorite part in that movie was when he put the mini-bike (with the flashing brake light) on top of his car and ran the road block.
> 
> The naked chick on the Honda was pretty cool too.
Click to expand...


yep... those scenes were pretty cool...

the flick was, of course, a money-hungry-producer-driven rip-off of Easy Rider... 

there were a lot of those back in the early 70's...

most of 'em sucked...

this one wasn't half bad...


----------



## bayoubill

Billo_Really said:


> bayoubill said:
> 
> 
> 
> folks who wanna tiresomely quibble 'bout this 'n that in the final episode can stick it where the sun don't shine...
> 
> everything worked out nearly perfectly...
> 
> and, as I said previously, the only quibble I have is the absolute improbability of the DEA's most-wanted guy quietly making a cross-country trip in a stolen Volvo with New Hampshire plates...
> 
> 'course, Walt getting stopped before his final destination wouldn't have allowed for the grand finale'...
> 
> 
> anyhow... meantime, I wanna hear this tune again...
> 
> Baby Blue - Badfinger - YouTube
> 
> 
> 
> Somebody pulled a mean trick on me when that song first came out.
> 
> They called me up and said, _*"Hey, did you hear the new Beatle song?"*_
> 
> That's a pretty mean trick to play on a 14 year old.
Click to expand...


awww... poor li'l feller... 

but hey... at that time, Badfinger was puttin' out great stuff (and on the Apple label, no less)... and better'n the lame stuff the various ex-Beatles were doing...


----------



## bayoubill

MikeK said:


> George Costanza said:
> 
> 
> 
> Well, here's another one.  It isn't that I didn't like it - I was mildly disappointed by it.  I expected more.  I sat there, waiting for something to REALLY happen, and it never did.  I found the automatic rifle in the trunk of the car not believeable.  I just don't think it would have (or could have) happened that way.
> 
> I found Walt's last contact with Skyler unfulfilling at best.  The forcing the money on the couple to give to Walt's son and the laser sighting-in on their chests to make the point that they should follow through was clever, but, once again, not very believeable.
> 
> I don't know - I really liked this show.  I have seen every episode and will probably go through it all again on Netflix.  But, somehow, I felt vaguely let down by the final episode.  What the hell, I felt the same way about the final edpisode of The Sopranos as well.
> 
> 
> 
> George,
> 
> It looks like you and I are the oddballs, the literary malcontents.  So it seems the creators of _Breaking Bad_ knew exactly what they were doing.
> 
> No hope for us, George.
Click to expand...


you 'n George sound like y'all 'r insufferable assholes when it comes to certain things...

I 'spect you both are young enough to be my children...

'n, btw, I used to be just like you...


----------



## MikeK

bayoubill said:


> MikeK said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> George Costanza said:
> 
> 
> 
> Well, here's another one.  It isn't that I didn't like it - I was mildly disappointed by it.  I expected more.  I sat there, waiting for something to REALLY happen, and it never did.  I found the automatic rifle in the trunk of the car not believeable.  I just don't think it would have (or could have) happened that way.
> 
> I found Walt's last contact with Skyler unfulfilling at best.  The forcing the money on the couple to give to Walt's son and the laser sighting-in on their chests to make the point that they should follow through was clever, but, once again, not very believeable.
> 
> I don't know - I really liked this show.  I have seen every episode and will probably go through it all again on Netflix.  But, somehow, I felt vaguely let down by the final episode.  What the hell, I felt the same way about the final edpisode of The Sopranos as well.
> 
> 
> 
> George,
> 
> It looks like you and I are the oddballs, the literary malcontents.  So it seems the creators of _Breaking Bad_ knew exactly what they were doing.
> 
> No hope for us, George.
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> 
> you 'n George sound like y'all 'r insufferable assholes when it comes to certain things...
> 
> I 'spect you both are young enough to be my children...
> 
> 'n, btw, I used to be just like you...
Click to expand...

Congratulations.  You just qualified for my Ignore list.

Bye.


----------



## bayoubill

MikeK said:


> bayoubill said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> MikeK said:
> 
> 
> 
> George,
> 
> It looks like you and I are the oddballs, the literary malcontents.  So it seems the creators of _Breaking Bad_ knew exactly what they were doing.
> 
> No hope for us, George.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> you 'n George sound like y'all 'r insufferable assholes when it comes to certain things...
> 
> I 'spect you both are young enough to be my children...
> 
> 'n, btw, I used to be just like you...
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> 
> Congratulations.  You just qualified for my Ignore list.
> 
> Bye.
Click to expand...


geez... you're one prickly thin-skinned motherfucker, Mike...

I pity your wife/girlfriend/boyfriend/fuckbuddy... that is, if you happen to have one... which I sorta doubt...


----------



## bayoubill

MikeK said:


> bayoubill said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> MikeK said:
> 
> 
> 
> George,
> 
> It looks like you and I are the oddballs, the literary malcontents.  So it seems the creators of _Breaking Bad_ knew exactly what they were doing.
> 
> No hope for us, George.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> you 'n George sound like y'all 'r insufferable assholes when it comes to certain things...
> 
> I 'spect you both are young enough to be my children...
> 
> 'n, btw, I used to be just like you...
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> 
> Congratulations.  You just qualified for my Ignore list.
> 
> Bye.
Click to expand...


btw... if you're such a jerk that you'd put me on your ignore list for such a trivial reason, I consider it the highest of honors to be placed on your ignore list...


----------



## TheOldSchool

MikeK said:


> Congratulations.  You just qualified for my Ignore list.
> 
> Bye.



Oh no!  Not your ignore list!!!  The horrooooooorrrrrr!!!!!


----------



## bayoubill

TheOldSchool said:


> MikeK said:
> 
> 
> 
> Congratulations.  You just qualified for my Ignore list.
> 
> Bye.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Oh no!  Not your ignore list!!!  The horrooooooorrrrrr!!!!!
Click to expand...


so... how does this ignore thing work...?

does it mean that the dumb fucker won't see any of the stuff we say about him in the threads...?


----------



## g5000

All the right people died (except one innocent, which added a bit of reality to a show about drug dealers), and all the right people lived.  And those that died did so in fitting ways.  Excellent outcome.

The only negative was the scene where the Aryan uncle is about to put a bullet in Walt's head but then stops to have Jesse summoned to prove he wasn't a liar.  That scene was weak.  Very, very weak.  It almost destroyed the whole finale.

Jesse Pinkman is going straight and will be a great dad to his dead girlfriend's kid.


----------



## Snookie

g5000 said:


> All the right people died (except one innocent, which added a bit of reality to a show about drug dealers), and all the right people lived.  And those that died did so in fitting ways.  Excellent outcome.
> 
> The only negative was the scene where the Aryan uncle is about to put a bullet in Walt's head but then stops to have Jesse summoned to prove he wasn't a liar.  That scene was weak.  Very, very weak.  It almost destroyed the whole finale.
> 
> Jesse Pinkman is going straight and will be a great dad to his dead girlfriend's kid.



I will be looking forward to Jesse's next party.


----------



## Snookie

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RDKJWISyois"]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RDKJWISyois[/ame]


----------



## Snookie

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hBiwMT77Csg"]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hBiwMT77Csg[/ame]


----------



## bayoubill

g5000 said:


> All the right people died (except one innocent, which added a bit of reality to a show about drug dealers), and all the right people lived.  And those that died did so in fitting ways.  Excellent outcome.
> 
> The only negative was the scene where the Aryan uncle is about to put a bullet in Walt's head but then stops to have Jesse summoned to prove he wasn't a liar.  That scene was weak.  Very, very weak.  It almost destroyed the whole finale.
> 
> Jesse Pinkman is going straight and will be a great dad to his dead girlfriend's kid.



so... which of those who died do you consider innocent...?

Lydia...?  

Todd...?

the fat fuck on the recliner...?

the Cadillac...?


----------



## dblack

bayoubill said:


> g5000 said:
> 
> 
> 
> All the right people died (except one innocent, which added a bit of reality to a show about drug dealers), and all the right people lived.  And those that died did so in fitting ways.  Excellent outcome.
> 
> The only negative was the scene where the Aryan uncle is about to put a bullet in Walt's head but then stops to have Jesse summoned to prove he wasn't a liar.  That scene was weak.  Very, very weak.  It almost destroyed the whole finale.
> 
> Jesse Pinkman is going straight and will be a great dad to his dead girlfriend's kid.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> so... which of those who died do you consider innocent...?
> 
> Lydia...?
> 
> Todd...?
> 
> the fat fuck on the recliner...?
> 
> the Cadillac...?
Click to expand...


I assume he was referring to Andrea. Or a bit further back the little kid that witnessed the train job.


----------



## bayoubill

dblack said:


> bayoubill said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> g5000 said:
> 
> 
> 
> All the right people died (except one innocent, which added a bit of reality to a show about drug dealers), and all the right people lived.  And those that died did so in fitting ways.  Excellent outcome.
> 
> The only negative was the scene where the Aryan uncle is about to put a bullet in Walt's head but then stops to have Jesse summoned to prove he wasn't a liar.  That scene was weak.  Very, very weak.  It almost destroyed the whole finale.
> 
> Jesse Pinkman is going straight and will be a great dad to his dead girlfriend's kid.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> so... which of those who died do you consider innocent...?
> 
> Lydia...?
> 
> Todd...?
> 
> the fat fuck on the recliner...?
> 
> the Cadillac...?
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> 
> I assume he was referring to Andrea. Or a bit further back the little kid that witnessed the train job.
Click to expand...


those, among several others, would definitely qualify as innocent victims...

but I thought he was referring specifically to the action in the final episode...


----------



## dblack

Just had to have a talk with a friend warning her off of watching any more Breaking Bad for awhile. She did a season and a half over the weekend and I think it really kind of shook her up.

There should be a warning label on the show or something. Breaking Bad is like a fine whiskey. As good as it is, if you chug a whole bottle in one night, you're going to end up on the floor.


----------



## g5000

bayoubill said:


> dblack said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> bayoubill said:
> 
> 
> 
> so... which of those who died do you consider innocent...?
> 
> Lydia...?
> 
> Todd...?
> 
> the fat fuck on the recliner...?
> 
> the Cadillac...?
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I assume he was referring to Andrea. Or a bit further back the little kid that witnessed the train job.
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> 
> those, among several others, would definitely qualify as innocent victims...
> 
> but I thought he was referring specifically to the action in the final episode...
Click to expand...


I was referring to Jesse's girlfriend who was killed since I last posted to this topic.


----------



## Zona

Those guys had close to.70 million....they are all still there?  All of them?  Other than that, loved the ending.


----------



## bayoubill

there was something about the way Skylar looked at Walter in the final episode, with heartbreaking sorrow and love, that reminded me of something I'd seen somewhere's else... 

couldn't remember what it was 'til now...

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zrigaQbUvZQ]The five point palm exploding heart technique - YouTube[/ame]


----------



## Smilodonfatalis

MikeK said:


> Smilodonfatalis said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> MikeK said:
> 
> 
> 
> This series was extremely well conceived -- right up to the episode at the burial site where the Aryans killed Hank and his partner.  Beginning with the absurd "gunfight" the series has devolved from the ridiculous to the sublimely incredible.   While stretched credibility is an acceptable component of good fiction one tends to lose interest when fiction borders on fantasy as it has done throughout the final three episodes of _Breaking Bad,_ which could have been done much better.  As it is, what could have ended up as memorably good fiction has slid into the category of onanistic fantasy.
> 
> One excellent example of good tv series fiction is the currently ongoing, _Homeland,_ which stretches credibility but never drifts toward fantasy.  Another good one was, _The Wire._  And while _Boardwalk Empire_ is based on real people and vaguely factual circumstances it is a highly fanciful example of extremely well-done fiction.
> 
> In my opinion, _Breaking Bad_ got off to an admirable start but has ended as an increasingly silly disappointment in the vampires and zombies category.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> You are the only one I've ever heard from who didn't like the ending.
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> There were just so many things about the final episodes that simply make no sense to me.  Such as Walt's affection for Hank while Hank, the archetypal authoritarian brute who benefited from Walt and Skyler's generosity, was eagerly disposed to putting Walt in prison and destroying his family.  But in spite of the fact that the boss Aryan rather generously spared Walt's life and let him get away with eleven million dollars, Walt was vindictively hateful of that Aryan for killing a loathsome bastard like Hank.  That is comparable to loving one's cancer and hating the doctor who excises it.
> 
> That's just one element of the story that throws my thinking completely off balance because it makes no sense.
Click to expand...


I've already explained how it made perfect sense that, of course, Walt would love a family member more than a gangster.

You just don't like the ending because they didn't end the show the way you wanted them to.

Well guess what?  You can try writing your own tv show.  Good luck with that.


----------



## Smilodonfatalis

George Costanza said:


> Smilodonfatalis said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> MikeK said:
> 
> 
> 
> This series was extremely well conceived -- right up to the episode at the burial site where the Aryans killed Hank and his partner.  Beginning with the absurd "gunfight" the series has devolved from the ridiculous to the sublimely incredible.   While stretched credibility is an acceptable component of good fiction one tends to lose interest when fiction borders on fantasy as it has done throughout the final three episodes of _Breaking Bad,_ which could have been done much better.  As it is, what could have ended up as memorably good fiction has slid into the category of onanistic fantasy.
> 
> One excellent example of good tv series fiction is the currently ongoing, _Homeland,_ which stretches credibility but never drifts toward fantasy.  Another good one was, _The Wire._  And while _Boardwalk Empire_ is based on real people and vaguely factual circumstances it is a highly fanciful example of extremely well-done fiction.
> 
> In my opinion, _Breaking Bad_ got off to an admirable start but has ended as an increasingly silly disappointment in the vampires and zombies category.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> You are the only one I've ever heard from who didn't like the ending.
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> 
> Well, here's another one.  It isn't that I didn't like it - I was mildly disappointed by it.  I expected more.  I sat there, waiting for something to REALLY happen, and it never did.  I found the automatic rifle in the trunk of the car not believeable.  I just don't think it would have (or could have) happened that way.
> 
> I found Walt's last contact with Skyler unfulfilling at best.  The forcing the money on the couple to give to Walt's son and the laser sighting-in on their chests to make the point that they should follow through was clever, but, once again, not very believeable.
> 
> I don't know - I really liked this show.  I have seen every episode and will probably go through it all again on Netflix.  But, somehow, I felt vaguely let down by the final episode.  What the hell, I felt the same way about the final edpisode of The Sopranos as well.
Click to expand...


You were waiting for something to happen?

The whole finale was action packed from start to finish and they tied up every single loose end.


----------



## MikeK

dblack said:


> Just had to have a talk with a friend warning her off of watching any more Breaking Bad for awhile. She did a season and a half over the weekend and I think it really kind of shook her up.
> 
> There should be a warning label on the show or something. Breaking Bad is like a fine whiskey. As good as it is, if you chug a whole bottle in one night, you're going to end up on the floor.


_Breaking Bad_ is television fiction.  When you say your friend was "shook up" by it please be more specific.  What effect does it have on her?


----------



## MikeK

Smilodonfatalis said:


> I've already explained how it made perfect sense that, of course, Walt would love a family member more than a gangster.


You've explained how it makes perfect sense _to you._ 

In terms of Hank being a family member, he wasn't a blood relative, such as a brother, an uncle, or a first cousin.  He was an obnoxious, egomaniacal cop who was married to Skyler's ditzy sister and was "family" only in terms of marital tradition.  I have a so-called brother-in-law whom I was forced to associate with while my wife was alive but whom I've had absolutely nothing to do with since her funeral -- and he isn't nearly as obnoxious as Hank Schraeder. 

Have you considered that, in spite of the source of the money, were it not for Walt and Skyler's generosity Hank would still be confined to bed, playing with rocks and shitting in a bedpan?  In spite of that, and in spite of the "family" factor you've cited, Hank punched Walt in the mouth when he learned the truth and has assiduously been trying to put Walt in prison and destroy his family -- even though Walt is, in the logically moral sense, no worse than a 1920s whiskey bootlegger?  

If Hank were not a compulsively driven, perversely authoritarian brute, he would not be conducting an autonomous investigation of his brother-in-law.  In fact he is obliged by rules to inform his superior of what he's doing, and why.  Yet you say you can relate to Walt's apparent affection for this degenerate power freak.

Pardon me if I cannot.



> You just don't like the ending because they didn't end the show the way you wanted them to.


That's true.  I was hoping for poetic justice in the form of Hank and Marie ending up in prison, which Walt's brilliant "confession" disc could easily have facilitated -- mainly because Hank saw fit to conduct the investigation without notifying his superiors of his progress.



> Well guess what?  You can try writing your own tv show.  Good luck with that.


I might try that if I were capable.  But I'm not.  I don't have the capacity for _retained continuity,_ which is an essential requirement for creating fiction.  But my appreciation of good fiction is predicated on common sense expectation.  And Walt's concern for Hank simply made no sense to me.  

Try putting yourself in Walt's position.  Would you be willing to trade your buried fortune to save the life of a pathological predator like Hank?  

Put yourself in Hank's position.  Would you be so compulsively eager to put your brother-in-law in prison and destroy his family if you learned he was bootlegging methamphetamine -- even though his generosity is the reason why you are walking again?  Or would you at the very most inform your superior of what you've learned and ask to be recused from the case?  

And let's continue this discussion in an adult, civil manner.  There is no need for hostility.


----------



## Billo_Really

bayoubill said:


> there was something about the way Skylar looked at Walter in the final episode, with heartbreaking sorrow and love, that reminded me of something I'd seen somewhere's else...
> 
> couldn't remember what it was 'til now...
> 
> The five point palm exploding heart technique - YouTube


I loved the episode where Skylar told Walt, _*"I can't even keep you out of my bed!"*_

Which just proves, _*"Women love danger boy!"*_


----------



## Billo_Really

Snookie said:


> There are plenty of recipes for making meth on the http://www.usmessageboard.com/tv-forum/www..


But none of them turn good meth, blue.

They might make it more chalky; more milky; more clear; more phetti (bubbly); but not blue.  To be quite honest, meth hasn't been really any good since the mid-80's.  Ever since they got P2P off the market.  "Lemon Drops" were the bomb!

_I mean, so I've been told..._


----------



## MikeK

Smilodonfatalis said:


> You were waiting for something to happen?
> 
> The whole finale was action packed from start to finish and they tied up every single loose end.


They could have tied up those loose ends just as easily, and just as sensibly and credibly, by having _Batman_ or _Captain Marvel_ swoop in and make everything right.


----------



## candycorn

Smilodonfatalis said:


> George Costanza said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Smilodonfatalis said:
> 
> 
> 
> You are the only one I've ever heard from who didn't like the ending.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Well, here's another one.  It isn't that I didn't like it - I was mildly disappointed by it.  I expected more.  I sat there, waiting for something to REALLY happen, and it never did.  I found the automatic rifle in the trunk of the car not believeable.  I just don't think it would have (or could have) happened that way.
> 
> I found Walt's last contact with Skyler unfulfilling at best.  The forcing the money on the couple to give to Walt's son and the laser sighting-in on their chests to make the point that they should follow through was clever, but, once again, not very believeable.
> 
> I don't know - I really liked this show.  I have seen every episode and will probably go through it all again on Netflix.  But, somehow, I felt vaguely let down by the final episode.  What the hell, I felt the same way about the final edpisode of The Sopranos as well.
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> 
> You were waiting for something to happen?
> 
> The whole finale was action packed from start to finish and they tied up every single loose end.
Click to expand...


Agreed.  

I think some tend to expect too much from the final episodes of series.  I can't think of a different way it _should_ have went.

Was Skyler supposed to tell Walt she loved him?  No.  
Was Walt and Jesse supposed to kiss and make up after Walt watched Jane (sp?) die, poisoned Brock, dimed on his location to Todd's family?  No.
Was Grechen and Elliot supposed to be killed?  Walt is using them the same way he used everyone except Walt Jr. at some point or the other.

I can't think of anything that didn't make sense in the last episode.  Somehow, I kept expecting Ted to get some of Walt's rage (it's hard to connect the dots but it was in this season that Saul told Walt that Skyler had given him some money as I recall.  That was a loose end that didn't get tied up I don't think.  But it's a very minor thing.

I can say that I don't have a problem with people not being fulfilled by Walt's demise; he died with a smile on his face instead of in a miserable snail infested hole like he should have died.  I am happy that Skyler didn't get off.  I kept expecting her to come out with "I put away some of your money for Holly, Walt Jr. and I".  

One thing I didn't buy was the whole false identity thing.  I mean, what was the point of getting a new identity if you're never going to interact with anyone?  He could have just as easily been in that Native American's ranch house in New Mexico (the guy he brought the truck from 2 episodes before the finale) than that ranch house in New Hampshire. 

Again, a minor thing since I don't have much interaction with those who have been disappeared.  

Loved the final episode; at it's worst BB was much better than a lot of what was on TV.  I am watching re-runs and came across this opening..

I would suggest this was the low-point:


----------



## Billo_Really

MikeK said:


> They could have tied up those loose ends just as easily, and just as sensibly and credibly, by having _Batman_ or _Captain Marvel_ swoop in and make everything right.


I was kind of hoping for G. Gordan Liddy?


----------



## dblack

Billo_Really said:


> MikeK said:
> 
> 
> 
> They could have tied up those loose ends just as easily, and just as sensibly and credibly, by having _Batman_ or _Captain Marvel_ swoop in and make everything right.
> 
> 
> 
> I was kind of hoping for G. Gordan Liddy?
Click to expand...


You would have been a great cameo in BB.


----------



## MikeK

candycorn said:


> Agreed.
> 
> I think some tend to expect too much from the final episodes of series.  I can't think of a different way it _should_ have went.


That's because you are receptive to fantasy -- and there is nothing wrong with that.  Some are and some aren't.  I'm not, so I tend to be disappointed by and critical of contrived situations that make no sense to me.  

But that should not suggest I found the entire _Breaking Bad_ series disappointing because I didn't.  My criticisms began with the episode in which Hank lured Walt to the burial site.  Mainly because one of the most powerful bits of acting in that entire series was Jesse's virulent loathing for Hank, expressed from a hospital bed after the vicious beating inflicted by Hank.  

Were it not for Walt's concern for Hank, Jesse could easily have Hank sent to prison for aggravated assault.  So not only is it extremely questionable that Hank, thoroughly devoid of gratitude, would have the stupid audacity to approach Jesse, but for Jesse to forgive and forget and conspire to hurt Walt when he ultimately would be digging his own grave by doing so.  There were better ways for Jesse to get even with Walt other than dealing with the devil.  One such way is to simply kill him.  

Jesse was being held by those local cops on suspicion.  He had not yet been charged or visited by Saul, who probably would have gotten him released.  So it makes sense for him to tell Hank to get lost or he would have his lawyer re-file charges, which would have been the end for Hank.  It's just hard to believe Hank would have been brazenly and stupidly suicidal enough to approach Jesse that way.


----------



## MikeK

candycorn said:


> Was Walt and Jesse supposed to kiss and make up after Walt watched Jane (sp?) die, poisoned Brock, dimed on his location to Todd's family?


Considering the absolutely ruthless nature of Walt's demon side _(Heisenberg)_, I would expect Walt to euthanize Jesse upon realizing what a self-loathing loose cannon Jesse had become.  Heisenberg is far too calculating to allow such a time-bomb to just keep on ticking.


----------



## dblack

MikeK said:


> candycorn said:
> 
> 
> 
> Was Walt and Jesse supposed to kiss and make up after Walt watched Jane (sp?) die, poisoned Brock, dimed on his location to Todd's family?
> 
> 
> 
> Considering the absolutely ruthless nature of Walt's demon side _(Heisenberg)_, I would expect Walt to euthanize Jesse upon realizing what a self-loathing loose cannon Jesse had become.  Heisenberg is far too calculating to allow such a time-bomb to just keep on ticking.
Click to expand...


That's exactly why this series was so brilliant. The writers never allowed things to be so predictable and black and white. That's why, despite some of the obviously implausible technical details you've been pointing out, I consider it to be one of the most realistic character studies ever aired on television. Real people, even those 'breaking bad', are conflicted. It's that tension that makes characters interesting and it's why I kept watching all the way through.


----------



## candycorn

dblack said:


> MikeK said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> candycorn said:
> 
> 
> 
> Was Walt and Jesse supposed to kiss and make up after Walt watched Jane (sp?) die, poisoned Brock, dimed on his location to Todd's family?
> 
> 
> 
> Considering the absolutely ruthless nature of Walt's demon side _(Heisenberg)_, I would expect Walt to euthanize Jesse upon realizing what a self-loathing loose cannon Jesse had become.  Heisenberg is far too calculating to allow such a time-bomb to just keep on ticking.
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> 
> That's exactly why this series was so brilliant. The writers never allowed things to be so predictable and black and white. That's why, despite some of the obviously implausible technical details you've been pointing out, I consider it to be one of the most realistic character studies ever aired on television. Real people, even those 'breaking bad', are conflicted. It's that tension that makes characters interesting and it's why I kept watching all the way through.
Click to expand...


I think Mike makes some good points.  But I think you sum it up very well; there is good and bad in all of us.  We say things on the Internet we would never say in person.


----------



## MikeK

candycorn said:


> I can't think of anything that didn't make sense in the last episode.


Okay.  Let's consider one component of that episode -- the machine-gun in the trunk.   

You are a girl, so it's not likely you are interested in or familiar with either firearms or the level of advanced and experienced mechanical expertise it would take to produce such a contraption.  These are guy things so it follows that guys will be more concerned with such details.  Even if it were possible to produce it the odds of it functioning reliably are far less than good.  And presuming it would function as intended, what are the odds of getting it properly positioned and having all the ducks in a row?  I would suggest those odds are about equal to having _Batman_ crash through a window and save the day.  

Aside from that single consideration, the idea that the weakened-and-dying-from-cancer Walt is riding around with a trunkful of money in a stolen car for as long as it takes to achieve all the things we're seeing in this final episode reaches significantly beyond being simply _far-fetched._  I would say it crosses the border from fiction into fantasy.   It appears to me the writers ran up against time constraints and were forced to expediently wrap it up.


----------



## MikeK

candycorn said:


> [...]at it's worst BB was much better than a lot of what was on TV.[...]


I agree.  And I should tell you I thoroughly enjoyed _Breaking Bad_ and eagerly looked forward to each episode -- until the stretch from fiction to fantasy began.

PS:  Thanks for posting the _Heisenberg Song._  I like good Mariachi, and that is a good one.


----------



## Smilodonfatalis

MikeK said:


> Smilodonfatalis said:
> 
> 
> 
> I've already explained how it made perfect sense that, of course, Walt would love a family member more than a gangster.
> 
> 
> 
> You've explained how it makes perfect sense _to you._
> 
> In terms of Hank being a family member, he wasn't a blood relative, such as a brother, an uncle, or a first cousin.  He was an obnoxious, egomaniacal cop who was married to Skyler's ditzy sister and was "family" only in terms of marital tradition.  I have a so-called brother-in-law whom I was forced to associate with while my wife was alive but whom I've had absolutely nothing to do with since her funeral -- and he isn't nearly as obnoxious as Hank Schraeder.
> 
> Have you considered that, in spite of the source of the money, were it not for Walt and Skyler's generosity Hank would still be confined to bed, playing with rocks and shitting in a bedpan?  In spite of that, and in spite of the "family" factor you've cited, Hank punched Walt in the mouth when he learned the truth and has assiduously been trying to put Walt in prison and destroy his family -- even though Walt is, in the logically moral sense, no worse than a 1920s whiskey bootlegger?
> 
> If Hank were not a compulsively driven, perversely authoritarian brute, he would not be conducting an autonomous investigation of his brother-in-law.  In fact he is obliged by rules to inform his superior of what he's doing, and why.  Yet you say you can relate to Walt's apparent affection for this degenerate power freak.
> 
> Pardon me if I cannot.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> You just don't like the ending because they didn't end the show the way you wanted them to.
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> That's true.  I was hoping for poetic justice in the form of Hank and Marie ending up in prison, which Walt's brilliant "confession" disc could easily have facilitated -- mainly because Hank saw fit to conduct the investigation without notifying his superiors of his progress.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Well guess what?  You can try writing your own tv show.  Good luck with that.
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> I might try that if I were capable.  But I'm not.  I don't have the capacity for _retained continuity,_ which is an essential requirement for creating fiction.  But my appreciation of good fiction is predicated on common sense expectation.  And Walt's concern for Hank simply made no sense to me.
> 
> Try putting yourself in Walt's position.  Would you be willing to trade your buried fortune to save the life of a pathological predator like Hank?
> 
> Put yourself in Hank's position.  Would you be so compulsively eager to put your brother-in-law in prison and destroy his family if you learned he was bootlegging methamphetamine -- even though his generosity is the reason why you are walking again?  Or would you at the very most inform your superior of what you've learned and ask to be recused from the case?
> 
> And let's continue this discussion in an adult, civil manner.  There is no need for hostility.
Click to expand...


Just because YOU hate Hank doesn't mean Walt did.  Hank was just doing his job.

Marie didn't deserve to go to prison.  That would have been a bad ending.  An innocent woman going to jail?  That's the ending you were hoping for? How sick.


----------



## MikeK

Smilodonfatalis said:


> Just because YOU hate Hank doesn't mean Walt did.  Hank was just doing his job.


I believe it is the natural impulse of any psychologically healthy individual to despise Hank because of what he represents, which is brutal authoritarian sadism.  He derives intense pleasure from hunting and imprisoning others -- and it doesn't matter to him in the end if the quarry turns out to be his own brother-in-law whose generosity has enabled him to walk again.  His instinct is to hurt.  If you have read Victor Hugo's _Les Miserables,_ or seen the play, you will recognize Hank as the embodiment of _Inspector Javert._  Only another authoritarian personality will fail to respond to the Hank character with revulsion.  

Also, it's not quite correct to say Hank was just "doing his job," which is the typical rationalization offered by his kind.  If he were interested in doing his job, per se, and in accordance with the rules, he would not have been conducting the _Heisenberg_ investigation autonomously.  Instead he would have kept his superiors apprised of his activities in his weekly report and he would immediately have notified his superior upon realizing his own brother-in-law was a prime suspect, which would have recused him from the case.  And while you might not be aware of it, what Hank failed to do is a serious violation of the rules in any law-enforcement investigative capacity.  

So he wasn't just "doing his job."  He was _using_ his job to facilitate his perverse personal pathology.



> Marie didn't deserve to go to prison.  That would have been a bad ending.  An innocent woman going to jail?  That's the ending you were hoping for? How sick.


Put yourself in Marie's place.  Consider the generosity Skyler and Walt demonstrated by paying for the physical therapy that enabled Hank to walk again.  Marie totally ignored that and maliciously turned against Skyler and Walt, immersing herself in Hank's perverse authoritarian preoccupation, knowing the harm it will do to her sister.   How would you have dealt with the same situation?  

I think imprisoning Marie as an accessory would have been poetic justice.  She more than deserves it.  And if you are oblivious to the glaringly malicious pathology in her behavior you really shouldn't be tossing around inuendoes about" what is or isn't "sick" but should be looking more closely at your own values and reasoning.


----------



## Trajan

So, I watched it last night, we had it tivoed and I stayed away from anyone and anything that would spoil it. 

I thought it was well done. ..the 2 dummies he had use the laser pointers, he had me fooled, I am sure he fooled Elliot and his wife too. Classic, great move. 

So to was a great move, getting the Ricin into Lydias sugar substitute.  Fuck her. 

He appeared to tie up a loose end for Skylar with hanks grave site.the result left to our imaginations. 

I had the nazi part right, although I thought he would get the money and give it to jesse, but then that would have taken jesse out of character that he had  worn over the last episodes  if had taken it, he just didnt give a shit, he just wanted to be free.glad he offed Todd too.


He died pretty much where it began, in a lab, a moment to self-reminiscefade to black.


----------



## bayoubill

MikeK said:


> Smilodonfatalis said:
> 
> 
> 
> Just because YOU hate Hank doesn't mean Walt did.  Hank was just doing his job.
> 
> 
> 
> I believe it is the natural impulse of any psychologically healthy individual to despise Hank because of what he represents, which is brutal authoritarian sadism.  He derives intense pleasure from hunting and imprisoning others -- and it doesn't matter to him in the end if the quarry turns out to be his own brother-in-law whose generosity has enabled him to walk again.  His instinct is to hurt.  If you have read Victor Hugo's _Les Miserables,_ or seen the play, you will recognize Hank as the embodiment of _Inspector Javert._  Only another authoritarian personality will fail to respond to the Hank character with revulsion.
> 
> Also, it's not quite correct to say Hank was just "doing his job," which is the typical rationalization offered by his kind.  If he were interested in doing his job, per se, and in accordance with the rules, he would not have been conducting the _Heisenberg_ investigation autonomously.  Instead he would have kept his superiors apprised of his activities in his weekly report and he would immediately have notified his superior upon realizing his own brother-in-law was a prime suspect, which would have recused him from the case.  And while you might not be aware of it, what Hank failed to do is a serious violation of the rules in any law-enforcement investigative capacity.
> 
> So he wasn't just "doing his job."  He was _using_ his job to facilitate his perverse personal pathology.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Marie didn't deserve to go to prison.  That would have been a bad ending.  An innocent woman going to jail?  That's the ending you were hoping for? How sick.
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> Put yourself in Marie's place.  Consider the generosity Skyler and Walt demonstrated by paying for the physical therapy that enabled Hank to walk again.  Marie totally ignored that and maliciously turned against Skyler and Walt, immersing herself in Hank's perverse authoritarian preoccupation, knowing the harm it will do to her sister.   How would you have dealt with the same situation?
> 
> I think imprisoning Marie as an accessory would have been poetic justice.  She more than deserves it.  And if you are oblivious to the glaringly malicious pathology in her behavior you really shouldn't be tossing around inuendoes about" what is or isn't "sick" but should be looking more closely at your own values and reasoning.
Click to expand...


Has anyone ever told you that you're a long-winded, self-important sumbitch who's full of shit, Mike...?

this last post of yours, as well as many others, certainly proves it...


----------



## Politico

Speaking of saying stuff on the internets.


----------



## bayoubill

I fuckin' love the pleased look on Walt's face as, just before he dies of his bullet wound, he surveys the state-of-the-art meth lab that nobody but him could have conceived of... 

'n also love the way he took out the bad guys... 

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=twSfxmpXVZY]Breaking Bad Final Ending Full Scene HD (Felina) - YouTube[/ame]


----------



## bayoubill

[MENTION=23819]MikeK[/MENTION]

regarding your disbelief that Walt could have rigged the machine gun in the trunk of the Cadillac...

Walt was a true engineer... 

he thought things through and came up with solutions...

I too am an engineer... with an advanced degree... and I'm in awe of Walt's engineering prowess...

and, from an engineering standpoint, his gun-in-the-trunk idea is completely believable... and brilliant...

and if you can't see that, well then that's your problem, you small-minded piece of shit...


----------



## Billo_Really

bayoubill said:


> [MENTION=23819]MikeK[/MENTION]
> 
> regarding your disbelief that Walt could have rigged the machine gun in the trunk of the Cadillac...
> 
> Walt was a true engineer...
> 
> he thought things through and came up with solutions...
> 
> I too am an engineer... with an advanced degree... and I'm in awe of Walt's engineering prowess...
> 
> and, from an engineering standpoint, his gun-in-the-trunk idea is completely believable... and brilliant...
> 
> and if you can't see that, well then that's your problem, you small-minded piece of shit...


What kind of engineer?

I've been an Electrical Engineer for the last 30 years.


----------



## bayoubill

Billo_Really said:


> bayoubill said:
> 
> 
> 
> [MENTION=23819]MikeK[/MENTION]
> 
> regarding your disbelief that Walt could have rigged the machine gun in the trunk of the Cadillac...
> 
> Walt was a true engineer...
> 
> he thought things through and came up with solutions...
> 
> I too am an engineer... with an advanced degree... and I'm in awe of Walt's engineering prowess...
> 
> and, from an engineering standpoint, his gun-in-the-trunk idea is completely believable... and brilliant...
> 
> and if you can't see that, well then that's your problem, you small-minded piece of shit...
> 
> 
> 
> What kind of engineer?
> 
> I've been an Electrical Engineer for the last 30 years.
Click to expand...


26 years ago, following the breakup with my first wife,  I was wondering what to do with myself... I'd been a self-employed electrical contractor for more'n a dozen years up to this point...

an artist friend of mine, at an art show opening, told me about his nephew who was doing well as a computer engineer...

I said to myself "I can do that"...

so I went back to college part-time to pursue a degree in computer/telecomm engineering...

I'll tell the rest of the story later...


----------



## bayoubill

I love watching this again...

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=twSfxmpXVZY]Breaking Bad Final Ending Full Scene HD (Felina) - YouTube[/ame]


----------



## Mr. Sauerkraut

bayoubill said:


> I love watching this again...
> 
> Breaking Bad Final Ending Full Scene HD (Felina) - YouTube



i just wanted to post the same. 

YEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAHHHH EAT THIS DAMMNED ......


But if you like scenes like this, maybe this is something 4 u. 

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CuGvVJhhedE]Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels Shooting Scene - YouTube[/ame]


----------



## candycorn

MikeK said:


> candycorn said:
> 
> 
> 
> I can't think of anything that didn't make sense in the last episode.
> 
> 
> 
> Okay.  Let's consider one component of that episode -- the machine-gun in the trunk.
> 
> You are a girl, so it's not likely you are interested in or familiar with either firearms or the level of advanced and experienced mechanical expertise it would take to produce such a contraption.  These are guy things so it follows that guys will be more concerned with such details.  Even if it were possible to produce it the odds of it functioning reliably are far less than good.  And presuming it would function as intended, what are the odds of getting it properly positioned and having all the ducks in a row?  I would suggest those odds are about equal to having _Batman_ crash through a window and save the day.
> 
> Aside from that single consideration, the idea that the weakened-and-dying-from-cancer Walt is riding around with a trunkful of money in a stolen car for as long as it takes to achieve all the things we're seeing in this final episode reaches significantly beyond being simply _far-fetched._  I would say it crosses the border from fiction into fantasy.   It appears to me the writers ran up against time constraints and were forced to expediently wrap it up.
Click to expand...


If that is your threshold; you probably should have been disgusted with the entire series.  I know of no wife that would have put up with Walt's excuses for five minutes.  It's your business but you seem to be engaging in selective outrage.

As for the "ducks in the row", Todd survived; so did Uncle Jack (sp?)?


----------



## Snookie

*In guns and blood we trust!*


----------



## MikeK

candycorn said:


> If that is your threshold; you probably should have been disgusted with the entire series.  I know of no wife that would have put up with Walt's excuses for five minutes.  It's your business but you seem to be engaging in selective outrage.
> 
> As for the "ducks in the row", Todd survived; so did Uncle Jack (sp?)?


As I've repeatedly explained, I was able to enjoy the series, much of which tended to stretch credibility but remained within the realm of perceptible possibility and may be thought of as high-anxiety fiction.  But for the reasons I've already laid out I lost interest in the series when the final few episodes shifted from fiction to fantasy by stretching credibility further and further as it approached the end.  In fact, it became nonsensical.  A video comic book.

As for Skyler's putting up with Walt's excuses, I would agree with you except for one thing -- the stacks of money Walt was bringing home.  I'm sure you could find a few (quite a few) wives who might be induced to stick around by that.

I'm not being paid to criticize the _Breaking Bad_ series.  I'm simply and candidly expressing my individual opinion of it.  I realize there are many who enjoy watching tv series about zombies and vampires, but I'm not among them for approximately the same reason why I'm critical of the conclusion of _Breaking Bad._  It could have been done much better.


----------



## YWN666

I've never seen the show but have heard so many people say they are addicted to it, I'm going to start watching it with my cable "On Demand" feature.


----------



## candycorn

MikeK said:


> candycorn said:
> 
> 
> 
> If that is your threshold; you probably should have been disgusted with the entire series.  I know of no wife that would have put up with Walt's excuses for five minutes.  It's your business but you seem to be engaging in selective outrage.
> 
> As for the "ducks in the row", Todd survived; so did Uncle Jack (sp?)?
> 
> 
> 
> As I've repeatedly explained, I was able to enjoy the series, much of which tended to stretch credibility but remained within the realm of perceptible possibility and may be thought of as high-anxiety fiction.  But for the reasons I've already laid out I lost interest in the series when the final few episodes shifted from fiction to fantasy by stretching credibility further and further as it approached the end.  In fact, it became nonsensical.  A video comic book.
> 
> *As for Skyler's putting up with Walt's excuses, I would agree with you except for one thing -- the stacks of money Walt was bringing home.  I'm sure you could find a few (quite a few) wives who might be induced to stick around by that.*
> 
> I'm not being paid to criticize the _Breaking Bad_ series.  I'm simply and candidly expressing my individual opinion of it.  I realize there are many who enjoy watching tv series about zombies and vampires, but I'm not among them for approximately the same reason why I'm critical of the conclusion of _Breaking Bad._  It could have been done much better.
Click to expand...


Okay.

The lies preceded the fat stacks by several episodes however.


----------



## Trajan




----------



## Samson

MikeK said:


> candycorn said:
> 
> 
> 
> If that is your threshold; you probably should have been disgusted with the entire series.  I know of no wife that would have put up with Walt's excuses for five minutes.  It's your business but you seem to be engaging in selective outrage.
> 
> As for the "ducks in the row", Todd survived; so did Uncle Jack (sp?)?
> 
> 
> 
> As I've repeatedly explained, I was able to enjoy the series, much of which tended to stretch credibility but remained within the realm of perceptible possibility and may be thought of as high-anxiety fiction.  But for the reasons I've already laid out I lost interest in the series when the final few episodes shifted from fiction to fantasy by stretching credibility further and further as it approached the end.  In fact, it became nonsensical.  A video comic book.
> 
> As for Skyler's putting up with Walt's excuses, I would agree with you except for one thing -- the stacks of money Walt was bringing home.  I'm sure you could find a few (quite a few) wives who might be induced to stick around by that.
> 
> I'm not being paid to criticize the _Breaking Bad_ series.  I'm simply and candidly expressing my individual opinion of it.  I realize there are many who enjoy watching tv series about zombies and vampires, but I'm not among them for approximately the same reason why I'm critical of the conclusion of _Breaking Bad._  It could have been done much better.
Click to expand...


Clearly Skyler's interest in the money was simply stacking it out of sight.

Her main concern was for the kids, who Walt held hostage, predicting (rightly so, as it turned out) that Walt Jr., would be emotionally scarred by the reality.

I'm curious how you may have done much better with the series?


----------



## MikeK

Samson said:


> MikeK said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> candycorn said:
> 
> 
> 
> If that is your threshold; you probably should have been disgusted with the entire series.  I know of no wife that would have put up with Walt's excuses for five minutes.  It's your business but you seem to be engaging in selective outrage.
> 
> As for the "ducks in the row", Todd survived; so did Uncle Jack (sp?)?
> 
> 
> 
> As I've repeatedly explained, I was able to enjoy the series, much of which tended to stretch credibility but remained within the realm of perceptible possibility and may be thought of as high-anxiety fiction.  But for the reasons I've already laid out I lost interest in the series when the final few episodes shifted from fiction to fantasy by stretching credibility further and further as it approached the end.  In fact, it became nonsensical.  A video comic book.
> 
> As for Skyler's putting up with Walt's excuses, I would agree with you except for one thing -- the stacks of money Walt was bringing home.  I'm sure you could find a few (quite a few) wives who might be induced to stick around by that.
> 
> I'm not being paid to criticize the _Breaking Bad_ series.  I'm simply and candidly expressing my individual opinion of it.  I realize there are many who enjoy watching tv series about zombies and vampires, but I'm not among them for approximately the same reason why I'm critical of the conclusion of _Breaking Bad._  It could have been done much better.
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> 
> Clearly Skyler's interest in the money was simply stacking it out of sight.
> 
> Her main concern was for the kids, who Walt held hostage, predicting (rightly so, as it turned out) that Walt Jr., would be emotionally scarred by the reality.
> 
> I'm curious how you may have done much better with the series?
Click to expand...

In spite of a number of hyper-imaginative events and circumstances, such as the elaborate underground setup in a laundry where dozens of employees would unavoidably notice the tilting access doorway to a _secret_ place, the very redundancy of such a lab setup for simply cooking meth (which is not necessary), and the need for a second cook (which is not necessary), I was able to accept such stretches as being improbable but possible and therefore residing within the realm of high-anxiety fiction.  

I was able to live with such routine excesses for one important reason, which I believe accounts for the broad popularity of _Breaking Bad,_ that being the exceptionally good acting by the entire cast. Those people brought that story off so captivatingly well their performances were worth the price of ignoring the more questionable elements of the tale.  

But you've asked what I would have done differently and I'll begin by saying I would have used Walt's confession disc to eventually send Hank to Leavenworth, because that little surprise was a master stroke that erased all the troubling little excesses from my mind.  But instead they allowed Hank to meet a much too merciful end in the concluding scene, which was a totally incredible gunfight.  And if you are fairly well acquainted with firearms you know what I mean.  Neither Gomez nor Hank could possibly have survived the volley they showed in that closing scene -- which snapped me right back to my prior state of disappointment with all the incredible excesses.  For me, that was when _Breaking Bad_ took on a video comic book aura.

Something else I found a bit off the wall was that rural New Hampshire cabin the so-called disappearance expert stashed Walt in with nothing but a wood stove and a case of diet drink.  That made no sense at all.  I outlined a much more interesting and credible way for Walt to hide in Message #138 if you'd care to read it.

And that famous final scene with the machine-gun-in-the-trunk contraption, conceived and constructed in a desert sand-pit by a man with no mentioned mechanical experience, was the cherry on the charlotte-russe for me.  That shoved _Breaking Bad_ right into the _Spider Man_ category.  Don't you think Walt could have taken out that gang in a much more credible manner by simply ambushing them with the M-60?  

Again, it was the acting, not the script, that made _Breaking Bad_ so popular.


----------



## dblack

MikeK said:


> Again, it was the acting, not the script, that made _Breaking Bad_ so popular.



Only if you're preoccupied with the technical aspects of the plot. The writing was outstanding where it mattered most. I actually appreciated the fact that they never seemed to care about trivial technical issues. Take the last several scenes where Walt is saying his 'goodbyes'. How did Walt drive all the way across the country in a stolen car? How did he walk right into Grechen and Elliot's estate? How did he walk in and out of his wife's apartment under the nose of a manhunt aimed at catching him?

Who cares? I'd even go so far as to say that the implausibility of these scenes was itself a deliberate choice, underlining the ghost-like nature of Walt's state of mind. He 'died' when his son finally rejected him. The rest was simply epilogue.


----------



## MikeK

dblack said:


> MikeK said:
> 
> 
> 
> Again, it was the acting, not the script, that made _Breaking Bad_ so popular.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Only if you're preoccupied with the technical aspects of the plot. The writing was outstanding where it mattered most. I actually appreciated the fact that they never seemed to care about trivial technical issues. Take the last several scenes where Walt is saying his 'goodbyes'. How did Walt drive all the way across the country in a stolen car? How did he walk right into Grechen and Elliot's estate? How did he walk in and out of his wife's apartment under the nose of a manhunt aimed at catching him?
> 
> Who cares? I'd even go so far as to say that the implausibility of these scenes was itself a deliberate choice, underlining the ghost-like nature of Walt's state of mind. He 'died' when his son finally rejected him. The rest was simply epilogue.
Click to expand...

I have no argument against what you've said here.  

What you've presented is an argument in favor of the capacity to accept and enjoy fantasy -- which some have and some do not.  I do not.  And there is nothing _wrong_ with either status.  

The only point I've tried to make here is _Breaking Bad_ began as well-crafted fiction but gradually resorted to fantasy to work its way through some hard spots in the tale.  This is why I do not share the enthusiasm many (most?) have expressed for this production.


----------



## Samson

MikeK said:


> But you've asked what I would have done differently and I'll begin by saying I would have used Walt's confession disc to eventually send Hank to Leavenworth, because that little surprise was a master stroke that erased all the troubling little excesses from my mind.  ...  I outlined a much more interesting and credible way for Walt to hide in Message #138 if you'd care to read it.
> 
> ... Don't you think Walt could have taken out that gang in a much more credible manner by simply ambushing them with the M-60?
> 
> Again, it was the acting, not the script, that made _Breaking Bad_ so popular.



I'm not aware of any series in which only the acting made it popular, thus I cannot agree that the script did not have as much to do with the show's success.

Sending Hank to Leavenworth (in any credible fashion) would have expended an enormous amount of the plot on Hank. If the show was about Hank, then this would make sense. I've seen this sort of weird plot device used, mainly in British Drama, which tends to trail down such rabbit-holes, or often worse, contrive some amazingly convenient way to speed through what would have been realistically a very long drawn-out process.

As far as the hiding process was concerned, it seemed to be a minor plot device in which the details were irrelevant; Walt needed to be removed from the setting. New Hampshire seems as good a place as any.

Finally, the killing of the Aryans, could have been done any number of ways, however, it had to be done in a unique way. Simply walking through the door, or ambusing, and blowing them away would not be suitable for Walt's character. You may notice that throughout the series, Walt does not actually kill many people, but when he does it is always with a certain scientific flair reminicent of Dr. Phibes, a fascinating character played by Vincent Price in two movies that I'm certain you would find abominable.


----------



## MikeK

Samson said:


> [...]
> 
> Sending Hank to Leavenworth (in any credible fashion) would have expended an enormous amount of the plot on Hank. If the show was about Hank, then this would make sense. I've seen this sort of weird plot device used, mainly in British Drama, which tends to trail down such rabbit-holes, or often worse, contrive some amazingly convenient way to speed through what would have been realistically a very long drawn-out process.
> 
> [...]


I strongly disagree with that.

Walt's confession disc was one of the most brilliant and, for me, gratifying elements of the entire series, mainly because it was absolutely and flawlessly credible.  Best of all, Hank, the brutish authoritarian egomaniac, deserved to be pulled into the trap.  

Walt's confession was supported by a lot of very strong items of condemning evidence, mainly the money that paid for Hank's physical therapy.  Who would believe Marie's version of the story after her record as a systematic petty thief is revealed? And Hank's brutal beating of Jesse Pinkman could easily be attributed to some conflict between drug dealers.  All of the many little elements contained in Walt's naming of Hank as a dominant accomplice would be corroborated by the fact that Hank had been operating autonomously rather than following a strict rule which requires him to keep his superiors informed of his activities -- and the little matter that he knew his own brother-in-law was the primary suspect in the highest priority case but he kept it to himself.

I think the final scene of _Breaking Bad_ should have been Hank being processed in the Leavenworth Receiving Room.

But they tossed it aside and chose to drift into fantasy.


----------



## Toro

For the better part of the last six weeks, my wife and I have been watching two episodes a night of Breaking Bad.

We finished the final episode tonight. It is IMHO the best television show I've ever seen, probably the best TV show or movie I've ever seen.

It was unbelievable.


----------



## Trajan

Toro said:


> For the better part of the last six weeks, my wife and I have been watching two episodes a night of Breaking Bad.
> 
> We finished the final episode tonight. It is IMHO the best television show I've ever seen, probably the best TV show or movie I've ever seen.
> 
> It was unbelievable.










 [MENTION=2926]Toro[/MENTION]


----------



## TwistedSuze13

There's no need to get this whole discussion going again so I'm not going to comment on a lot of things.
 I just watched a great deal of the Breaking Bad marathon that ended Monday night on AMC and I have a few questions.
I've read thru all the pages in this thread cause I just wanted to read some other opinions about the series.

What happened to the other barrels of money ?
The aryans took them out of the ground, replacing them with Hank and his DEA partner.
So what did they do with the barrels of money ?....wasn't it 6 barrels ?
Did Jesse know where they were simply because they had taken him with them ?

I missed the first two seasons in this last marathon, so I missed them totally.

I don't think they advertised Breaking Bad very well Before it ever started.
I remember the ads just pissed me off cause all I could think was Who the hell wants to watch a series about a loser who manufactures Meth ?
NOT ME.....and I forgot about it.
I couldn't imagine how that could be worthy of watching.
There was one thing in the news that piqued my interest cause I have a morbid curiosity and Breaking Bad was mentioned by name in it, but I still didn't start watching it even then.
This is what was in the news:
Japan gigolo-club boss dissolved in toxic chemicals - Latest news around the world and developments close to home - MSN Philippines News

*
What kind of petty thief was Marie ?...a shoplifter ?
Just curious.

I have looked all over the imdb site for Breaking Bad and cannot find the little bastard's name that shot the kid on the bicycle at the train tracks and also lured Jesse's girlfriend out on her sidewalk so he could shoot her. He looked like he was 20 and had reddish blonde hair.  Anyway, I found it very satisfying to see Jesse strangle him with a chain in that last episode......

Although he was a loudmouthed smartass, I had no problem with Hank.
I liked what he did to the 2 cartel assassins. Those 2 had no consciences or souls left. They were like robots and I had zero sympathy for them.

An FYI: The Ensure  (a case) taken to Walt when he was in NH is a nutrition supplement for people whose diets are lacking in enough nutrition...It is not a "diet drink" as I noticed someone here said it was.

Someone questioned why was Hank the hit for those 2 robot assassins.
Originally Walt was the intended hit, but Gus (IMO) needed Walt too much and the hit was changed to Hank.

Anyway...my questions:

What happened to the money in the barrels the asshole aryans took out of the ground ?
Since Jesse was with them (by force) are we to assume he knew where it was ?

What happened to Ted ?...Skylar's boss/fling.
How did he end up in the hospital bed with his head fixed in that "halo" thing ?
Sorry, I missed a few episodes re: that.

And what kind of petty thief was Marie ?
Was she an habitual shoplifter ?

Thanks to anyone who wants to reply.


----------



## Moonglow

I am so excited!
I got a home version _Breaking Bad_ chemistry set. I hope to turn a profit soon.


----------



## dblack

Moonglow said:


> I am so excited!
> I got a home version _Breaking Bad_ chemistry set. I hope to turn a profit soon.



Talk about a powerful brand marketing! Does it come with blue dye?

Hasbro has really outdone itself now!


----------



## dblack

TwistedSuze13 said:


> There's no need to get this whole discussion going again so I'm not going to comment on a lot of things.
> I just watched a great deal of the Breaking Bad marathon that ended Monday night on AMC and I have a few questions.
> I've read thru all the pages in this thread cause I just wanted to read some other opinions about the series.
> 
> What happened to the other barrels of money ?
> The aryans took them out of the ground, replacing them with Hank and his DEA partner.
> So what did they do with the barrels of money ?....wasn't it 6 barrels ?
> Did Jesse know where they were simply because they had taken him with them ?
> 
> I missed the first two seasons in this last marathon, so I missed them totally.
> 
> I don't think they advertised Breaking Bad very well Before it ever started.
> I remember the ads just pissed me off cause all I could think was Who the hell wants to watch a series about a loser who manufactures Meth ?
> NOT ME.....and I forgot about it.
> I couldn't imagine how that could be worthy of watching.
> There was one thing in the news that piqued my interest cause I have a morbid curiosity and Breaking Bad was mentioned by name in it, but I still didn't start watching it even then.
> This is what was in the news:
> Japan gigolo-club boss dissolved in toxic chemicals - Latest news around the world and developments close to home - MSN Philippines News
> 
> *
> What kind of petty thief was Marie ?...a shoplifter ?
> Just curious.



Yep. She got caught a couple of times. Skyler and Hank knew - not sure if anyone else did. I think that's why she started seeing a therapist initially.



> I have looked all over the imdb site for Breaking Bad and cannot find the little bastard's name that shot the kid on the bicycle at the train tracks and also lured Jesse's girlfriend out on her sidewalk so he could shoot her. He looked like he was 20 and had reddish blonde hair.  Anyway, I found it very satisfying to see Jesse strangle him with a chain in that last episode......



That was 'Todd'. Creepy motherfucker. Total sociopath.



> Although he was a loudmouthed smartass, I had no problem with Hank.
> I liked what he did to the 2 cartel assassins. Those 2 had no consciences or souls left. They were like robots and I had zero sympathy for them.



Yeah, I wouldn't want to get a 'certain poster' fired up on this, but I ended up liking Hank quite a bit myself, despite my general aversion to macho, authoritarian types. More than any other character, he had something like a consistent morality. "At least it was an ethos" (* bonus points if you know what that quote is from)




> Anyway...my questions:
> 
> What happened to the money in the barrels the asshole aryans took out of the ground ?



dunno. I assume they spent a chunk of it setting up their new lab.



> Since Jesse was with them (by force) are we to assume he knew where it was ?



Maybe. Maybe he goes back and gets the money, and Brock, and lives large in Alaska for the rest of his life.



> What happened to Ted ?...Skylar's boss/fling.
> How did he end up in the hospital bed with his head fixed in that "halo" thing ?
> Sorry, I missed a few episodes re: that.



Ted Beneke - Breaking Bad Wiki


----------



## TwistedSuze13

Thanks, dblack.

And thanks to PixieStix for that 9 minute refresher video !
(post # 57)

I just found out the episode in which they dissolved a body in chemicals was in the 3rd episode of the first season.

Yeah, I've Gotta have this series on dvd.


----------



## MikeK

Moonglow said:


> I am so excited!
> I got a home version _Breaking Bad_ chemistry set. I hope to turn a profit soon.


If you ever decide to branch out into growing hydroponic marijuana -- call me.


----------



## Toro

I got all six seasons on DVD for Christmas.

Probably the greatest show, movie or TV, I've ever seen.

[youtube]twSfxmpXVZY[/youtube]


----------



## boedicca

Oh For Frelling's Sake I am now totally addicted to Breaking Bad.

I binge watched the first season on Sunday while mr. boe watched the StooperBowl with his comrades.

Now.Must.Watch.All.Of.It

Thank the goddess for streaming Netflix.


----------



## Toro

[youtube]3avhU0N5lJI[/youtube]


----------



## PixieStix

Toro said:


> I got all six seasons on DVD for Christmas.
> 
> Probably the greatest show, movie or TV, I've ever seen.
> 
> [youtube]twSfxmpXVZY[/youtube]



I agree, it is THE absolute best show I have ever seen. I own it too, and will watch it again. And again!

I miss my Sunday's with Breaking Bad


----------



## Sallow

PixieStix said:


> Toro said:
> 
> 
> 
> I got all six seasons on DVD for Christmas.
> 
> Probably the greatest show, movie or TV, I've ever seen.
> 
> [youtube]twSfxmpXVZY[/youtube]
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I agree, it is THE absolute best show I have ever seen. I own it too, and will watch it again. And again!
> 
> I miss my Sunday's with Breaking Bad
Click to expand...


I was sick with the flu and saw all of it.

Most excellent.


----------



## PixieStix

Sallow said:


> PixieStix said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Toro said:
> 
> 
> 
> I got all six seasons on DVD for Christmas.
> 
> Probably the greatest show, movie or TV, I've ever seen.
> 
> [youtube]twSfxmpXVZY[/youtube]
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I agree, it is THE absolute best show I have ever seen. I own it too, and will watch it again. And again!
> 
> I miss my Sunday's with Breaking Bad
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> 
> I was sick with the flu and saw all of it.
> 
> Most excellent.
Click to expand...


Nothing better than a great show to bring people together.


----------



## Toro

Especially a show about meth!


----------



## NoNukes

I watched the entire series, and I am not even sure if I liked it or not. It sure was compelling though, and I kept watching it.


----------



## Borillar

I just finished watching the series. I  must say it was probably the best TV series I ever watched. Very intense scenes and great acting.


----------



## boedicca

Toro said:


> Especially a show about meth!





Especially a show about meth, biatches!

There, I fixed it for you.


----------



## veeder

Great show. I also like walking dead too

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk


----------



## Samson

Or will Heisenberg return on The Walking Dead.....


'Breaking Bad': Is Bryan Cranston Really Done With Walter White? - MTV


----------



## Mr. H.

So... and I'm in the middle of the final season... Walter cuts a deal with Mike's connections, but later he hooks up with mysterious lady to ship overseas.

Is he supplying them both? 

I'm to the point of fast-forwarding through the monotonous dialogue between Walter and his family, Walter and his "wife", Walter and his son... blah blah blah...

His DEA brother in law is really cool. But I skip through the dialogue between him and his wife. 

Saul the lawyer is a trip. The kid on crutches is lame. Always was.


----------



## Mr. H.

And yes- I know that he had MS in real life.


----------



## Toro

Greatest.  Show. Ever.


----------



## PixieStix

Toro said:


> Greatest.  Show. Ever.



I tell everyone the same thing. I told a coworker about it, she claimed she tried to watch it, and she didn't like any of the characters. I told her she wasn't suppose to  And why would she cheat herself out of the greatest show ever? 

Finally a year later she is admitting that it is indeed the greatest show ever


----------



## Iceweasel

I passed up watching the show when I had the chance with my program package. It didn't look interesting to me. However, I recently got a Roku and installed Netfix and watched the first episode. I was hooked. I watched the entire series to the end. If I had the TV on it's what I was watching. Very well written and acted, totally unpredictable and great type casting.


----------



## Sgt_Gath

*Great* show; well written, well cast, and well acted.

Even more impressive, the show-runners knew well enough to quite while they were ahead so that they could go out on a high-note.


----------



## Mr. H.

Just finished it. 

Four words.

Wow.

Damn.

Shit.

Fuck.


----------



## Mr. H.

Whore.

Couldn't resist.


----------



## bayoubill

Mr. H. said:


> Whore.
> 
> Couldn't resist.



you forgot

"yo"...

'n "bitch"...


----------



## bayoubill

after the series ended last fall, I rewatched the last 15 minutes of the last episode so many times that I could recite it by heart... sound effects 'n all... 

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=twSfxmpXVZY"]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=twSfxmpXVZY[/ame]


----------



## Toro

I've rewatched the last 15 minutes about 100 times on YouTube.


----------



## Mr. H.

That was sad.


----------



## PredFan

My costume for Halloween:


----------



## Iceweasel

PredFan said:


> My costume for Halloween:


Here comes Walter the candy man.


----------



## PredFan

Iceweasel said:


> PredFan said:
> 
> 
> 
> My costume for Halloween:
> 
> 
> 
> Here comes Walter the candy man.
Click to expand...

I am not in danger, I am the danger!


----------



## Iceweasel

"What's my name? You KNOW who I am!"


----------



## PredFan

I am the one who knocks!


----------



## MikeK

g5000 said:


> [...]
> 
> The showdown between Walter and Hank should be epic.  Part of me hopes we end up hating Walter, because we should hate people who put poison on our streets and into our children's veins.
> 
> [...]


The main reason kids use dangerous drugs is _ignorance._   Their own ignorance and the ignorance of parents who ignore the wasteful ineffectiveness of the drug war, which serves no purpose other than the bottom lines of the dealers and the corrupt officials and politicians who maintain and enforce the utterly failed prohibitions.

If only half the money and effort invested in the drug war folly were invested in a well-organized public education program the effect would be a substantial reduction in the use of dangerous drugs by both minors and adults.  Supportive evidence of this claim is the fact that public education has resulted in a greater than fifty percent reduction in the use of cigarettes, the most addictive _drug_ of all, without arresting anyone. 

So hate the politicians who promote and perpetuate the drug war.  Because they are more responsible for substance abuse than are the dealers -- who exist only because of a demand which could be dramatically reduced by effective public education.


----------



## Iceweasel

Someone has been dipping into the candy bag.


----------



## MikeK

Smilodonfatalis said:


> I'm not buying the Jesse Pinkman storyline.  It's just not realistic.
> 
> Nobody would throw away $5 million because they felt guiltyl
> 
> Anybody who had $5 million would get over their guilt or make some excuse in their mind to justify what happened.


I fully agree.  But that was only one of many avoidable flaws in what could have been a much better overall production.  

Some flaws in a fictional production are allowable for the sake of dramatic effect.  But when a flaw occurs at the level of avoidable absurdity the effect is disappointment.  And while the _Breaking Bad_ series went along just fine for the most part it began falling short in the final episodes.  

In my opinion, _Breaking Bad_ did very well as a fictional series but the writers resorted to circumstantial fantasy in much of the final episodes.  

The difference between fiction and fantasy is fiction is credible, fantasy is not.  And much of what went on in the final episodes of _Breaking Bad_ was simply incredible.  The bottom line is the writers could have done much better.


----------



## MikeK

Trajan said:


> Ha!
> 
> you know whats funny is, for a while , too long actually, I was still rooting for Walt, but hes turned into such a total shit, he deserves to die ( maybe the cancer comes back?).....hopefully it will end better than the sopranos did


Actually _The Sopranos_ series didn't end.  It stopped.  If Gandolfini had lived it could have gone on.


----------

