I'm 99% certain his phone diddn't drop the call: Jesse and Hank had just gotten their confession and had his GPS on lock and knew he was at the final location: they diddn't need to lead him on anymore. By going silent they just amped up his freak-out mode.
I'm 99% certain his phone diddn't drop the call: Jesse and Hank had just gotten their confession and had his GPS on lock and knew he was at the final location: they diddn't need to lead him on anymore. By going silent they just amped up his freak-out mode.
I thought this and that they were getting a better track on him.
I like how he ended up burying the money where it all began.
Todd is pretty cool. I kinda like how he gives zero fucks and does his job. Yeah, he's cold or whatever... but he means well?
Uh... no? You do understand he is being portrayed as a sociopath, with no emotion and doesn't understand how to act in normal life as clearly shown when he is attracted to Lydia but doesn't know how to interact. When he shoots that kid on the bike with no though or remorse
Well I mean, I get that. The way I see it, he's trying to just do the job at hand and whether it means shooting someone in the face or doing laundry or cooking meth it's just all work. He just seems to want to do the job well. It's not about whether he can function in society, obviously he's not going to do well at a 'normal' life with a wife and kids. But he does just fine in the underworld of shooting people in the face and cooking meth and yet there's a certain part of him that kinda... wants to be appreciated and fit in somehow and so he tries in a sort of almost pathetic(?) way to emulate the emotions he should feel and its almost endearing in a macabre-ish way when he just comes off as awkward or void.
I'm not saying I want to be his friend, but, his character fits into the mix of emotionally charged characters well, and I like that. I guess I shouldn't say 'he's cool' but his character is a cool part of the show.
I'm not saying I want to be his friend, but, his character fits into the mix of emotionally charged characters well, and I like that. I guess I shouldn't say 'he's cool' but his character is a cool part of the show.
That's where I am with the whole thing. I'm morally opposed to most everyone involved, but that's not the point. It's about how all the character's personalities, flaws, and motivations fit together and interact. It's a beautifully written show that happens to focus on despicable people, and I am more than okay with that.
I've gotta say, after hanging out on /r/breakingbad for a while, I have a little more empathy for Dave's position. I mean, I still don't think that BB has quite so many inherent social undertones, especially racially charged ones, as Dave seems to think, but boy is there a MASSIVE chunk of the fan base who just, in my opinion, do not "get" the show.
The Reddit BB fanbase is riddled with bitter nerds powerless and trodden upon in their own lives, furiously masturbating to how badass Walter the nerdy chemist has become (meanwhile Walt is a brilliant, scheming, but terrified little pussy who wets his fucking pants and whines like a bitch every time shit gets real.)
Sure we all rooted for Walt at first, but only butthurt indignant sad sacks still are.
Walt seems like a badass to them (but if you actually pay attention to the show, he only plays at being a badass when his smarts temporarily give him the upper hand, and shits his fucking big baby diaper the rest of the time) I guess because every once in awhile despite crippling insecurity and fear he periodically manages to run somebody over with a car or injure them with explosives. The only guy he ever shot, he basically sucker punched with a surprise gut shot, over a petty argument when his ego was damaged.
The show is one long grand fall and humiliation for Walt, but power tripping, insecure nerds twist the shit out of it in order to interpret it as some sort of wish fulfillment fantasy. It's pathetic.
It's A GREAT SHOW, just not for any of the reasons that most of the post season 4 Walt cheerleaders think it is.
True all 'dat. But does that mean I can't want Walt to somehow prevail and become badass hipster Gordon Freeman Walt that is looking to fuck shit up like they imply in the previews?
Only cuz the previews imply that he is broken, on the run. no longer Heisenberg, just a rogue on the road home with a score to settle. Without that, there would be no thought in my mind that he would be anything but utterly destroyed... but now i just wanna see how he manages to get to 52.
I think he can maybe get some partial redemption in the end, and I'd like for him to, but I think it would be a severe break from the theme and arc of the entire show to this point. Maybe Vince and his team will pull off something brilliant and totally nail it. I guess we'll see. I don't think Vince wants Walt to "win", though.
So, you know, not totally a Walt hater or anything. Yeah, I know the shirt's not canon and the pose isn't well practiced enough. Also I'm too chubby in the face for Walt. Also, clean suits are HOT, man. From the waist down I looked like I'd gone swimming.
My guess is that the attack on Hank resulted in the 'brotherhood' taking Walt into their fold for a while and that the coming retribution is Walt coming to kill them.
Seriously, the fact that they're not both (Hank and Gomie) already dead really kind of pissed me off a bit.
And the reason isn't that I hate the characters, it's that this is the first punch they've pulled. I can't fathom why they did this. It's like a huge slap in the face to the fans, is what it is, after nearly 5 seasons of never, ever flinching back from showing some serious consequences of fairly realistic, believable actions taken by the key players.
This feels like a big fat cop out. I mean, I guess I can forgive this one instance, this one strike, but man...
MAN.
Those guys should have been almost immediately down, possibly missing some large chunks of their flesh. It's utterly inexcusable that they even made it to cover, let alone survived that initial volley. 7 or 8 hardened gunmen aiming down sites at two well silhouetted, unconcealed targets? Come on. The odds of them not being dead got more ludicrous with each shot fired.
I'm not saying I want to be his friend, but, his character fits into the mix of emotionally charged characters well, and I like that. I guess I shouldn't say 'he's cool' but his character is a cool part of the show.
I see what you mean now, I didn't get it from your initial post.
I think there are few people on the show who are untarnished. Junior and Gomez come to mind but Gomi might be succumbing with this off the books track down.
Haha, so when it comes to the mechanics of the drug trade no way man that's just a Macguffin, but when people are shooting guns, NO, it has to be REAL.
Yeah they probably should've been dead. At least one of them probably will be dead. They are alive for the sake of dramatic tension.
And that sense was pretty tense, before the trucks showed up. Pretty well sign posted that they're going to come anyway, Hank's cheesy phone call might as well have ended with "and after this, honey, I'm retiring." But cheesy or not, there was hella dread in it.
But Breaking Bad's pretty good at that. It's well acted, it's well written moment-to-moment, it's well paced, but god I barely care about the plot at all. All everyone bandies about is "turn Mr. Chips into Scarface," but why is that the interesting arc? Just that quote from the show runner almost suggests that he has no idea what the show is actually about, or should be about.
But even though the subtext is SUPER sub, it is extant, which is why I'll tolerate the "say my name" scene even though the internet goes "omg, badass!" about it, because I'm willing to believe the intent there was creepy, not cool, more than I'm willing to believe anything in the Sopranos's mealy mouthed moralizing.
What the show appears to be about, actually about, is that Walt did not become a monomaniacal, narcissistic coward, he always was one, he just didn't have the means to implement his will. That's considerably more interesting that "let's make scarface." Maybe "scarface" is just a sizzle line to sell the thing; the show is too well constructed with regards to scripting, acting, etc for its creators to be oblivious to the underlying themes. That's why I give Breaking Bad the benefit of the doubt where I didn't with The Sopranos.
But it's hard to make a protagonist who is not a hero, and, in my estimation, Walt has been overtly despicable since season 2. Making a protagonist who is evil, but in some ways relatable, allows us to empathize with him, but runs the risk of allowing us to empathize too much. Breaking Bad treads a thin line, a lot of the audience clearly misses the point. It feels like sometimes the show misses the point too. If, for example, the plot to the finale goes "Walt escapes and actively or passively hands over Jesse to the Aryans > Walt has crisis of conscience > Walt engages in shootout with the Aryans to rescue Jesse, dies," then that is a redemptive arc that is unearned. He lost his chance at redemption 3+ seasons ago. I think the show is probably smarter than that, but there's this occasional, unshakeable specter of "hey, isn't this guy GREAT?" that keeps popping up.
The blue meth MacGuffin was introduced early in the show and underpins the show's foundation. We accept it as an entrance assertion. The gunplay is a serious breach in the rules of the BB universe to this point.
This show's biggest problem remains about 30-40% of its fanbase, imho.
I agree that he was always that way. The show starts at a point where one could infer that he quietly resented everyone around him, and that his relations were off key. Filled with resentment and regret and facing death, he was presented with his "one chance" to "show them all."
I see no redemption for him: just rationalization and death.
I see what you mean now, I didn't get it from your initial post.
I think there are few people on the show who are untarnished. Junior and Gomez come to mind but Gomi might be succumbing with this off the books track down.
Well Gomi knows that, you know what, Hank is right damnit. And he has valid reasons for keeping it DL.
As for the shootout... again yes it would have been cleaner if they just got hosed but the more I look at the layout of the scene, the more I can almost believe that for a second they could make it to the rear of the car. BUT... that wouldn't help much.
I loved Saul and Jr's little chat. Fun times. I had totally forgotten that, hey... they have never actually met.
Saul is probably my favourite character at the moment.
What the show appears to be about, actually about, is that Walt did not become a monomaniacal, narcissistic coward, he always was one, he just didn't have the means to implement his will.
Agreed; I think this is made pretty clear throughout the show.
The main thing that annoys me with Breaking Bad's fans at the moment, is that they get really hung up when it does anything remotely traditional this season related to a familiar trope. Everyone seems to think that because Hank called Marie after winning and the Aryan Brotherhood had the accuracy of Stormtroopers, that this episode is worth hating. If it's still tense enough or has emotional resonance, then I think you can let that slide. But maybe my opinion will turn if something so irregular and coincidental happens after the shooting. I've questioned a lot of the decisions in this show, but all of them have paid off. Even Jesse being frightened by the big guy lead to the great race to the desert scene. People need to calm down.
Falling Down > Breaking Bad
I love Falling Down, but there's definitely a bit of satire in that. Breaking Bad has black humor, but it's a pretty gut-wrenching drama.
I can also, from one perspective, respect the protagonist in Falling Down. He's fighting for what he believes in. He's trying to be a good guy even as he's failing at it. The climax of the film is telling.
Walter is in no way trying to do the right thing. He's not a good guy, and he doesn't even try to pretend that he is anymore.
Walter is a dick who is angry at the world in large part because he fucked up when he was younger and bailed on the tech startup he helped found. He sold his share for $5,000 and the guys who stayed in are now worth possibly billions. However, rather than take responsibility for his action he tries to blame everyone else. Even going so far as to blame his previous girlfriend for his decision to sell out his share of the company.
Comments
I thought this and that they were getting a better track on him.
I like how he ended up burying the money where it all began.
Of course... OF COURSE HE WOULD BE
Todd is pretty cool. I kinda like how he gives zero fucks and does his job. Yeah, he's cold or whatever... but he means well?
I wonder how many Todd/Lydia ships have sailed today?
Think of him as simple Dexter with no code.
I'm not saying I want to be his friend, but, his character fits into the mix of emotionally charged characters well, and I like that. I guess I shouldn't say 'he's cool' but his character is a cool part of the show.
The Reddit BB fanbase is riddled with bitter nerds powerless and trodden upon in their own lives, furiously masturbating to how badass Walter the nerdy chemist has become (meanwhile Walt is a brilliant, scheming, but terrified little pussy who wets his fucking pants and whines like a bitch every time shit gets real.)
Sure we all rooted for Walt at first, but only butthurt indignant sad sacks still are.
Walt seems like a badass to them (but if you actually pay attention to the show, he only plays at being a badass when his smarts temporarily give him the upper hand, and shits his fucking big baby diaper the rest of the time) I guess because every once in awhile despite crippling insecurity and fear he periodically manages to run somebody over with a car or injure them with explosives. The only guy he ever shot, he basically sucker punched with a surprise gut shot, over a petty argument when his ego was damaged.
The show is one long grand fall and humiliation for Walt, but power tripping, insecure nerds twist the shit out of it in order to interpret it as some sort of wish fulfillment fantasy. It's pathetic.
It's A GREAT SHOW, just not for any of the reasons that most of the post season 4 Walt cheerleaders think it is.
Only cuz the previews imply that he is broken, on the run. no longer Heisenberg, just a rogue on the road home with a score to settle. Without that, there would be no thought in my mind that he would be anything but utterly destroyed... but now i just wanna see how he manages to get to 52.
Quasi-related, here's me at CT-Con:
http://i.imgur.com/MKVBMnL.jpg
So, you know, not totally a Walt hater or anything. Yeah, I know the shirt's not canon and the pose isn't well practiced enough. Also I'm too chubby in the face for Walt. Also, clean suits are HOT, man. From the waist down I looked like I'd gone swimming.
And the reason isn't that I hate the characters, it's that this is the first punch they've pulled. I can't fathom why they did this. It's like a huge slap in the face to the fans, is what it is, after nearly 5 seasons of never, ever flinching back from showing some serious consequences of fairly realistic, believable actions taken by the key players.
This feels like a big fat cop out. I mean, I guess I can forgive this one instance, this one strike, but man...
MAN.
Those guys should have been almost immediately down, possibly missing some large chunks of their flesh. It's utterly inexcusable that they even made it to cover, let alone survived that initial volley. 7 or 8 hardened gunmen aiming down sites at two well silhouetted, unconcealed targets? Come on. The odds of them not being dead got more ludicrous with each shot fired.
I think there are few people on the show who are untarnished. Junior and Gomez come to mind but Gomi might be succumbing with this off the books track down.
Yeah they probably should've been dead. At least one of them probably will be dead. They are alive for the sake of dramatic tension.
And that sense was pretty tense, before the trucks showed up. Pretty well sign posted that they're going to come anyway, Hank's cheesy phone call might as well have ended with "and after this, honey, I'm retiring." But cheesy or not, there was hella dread in it.
But Breaking Bad's pretty good at that. It's well acted, it's well written moment-to-moment, it's well paced, but god I barely care about the plot at all. All everyone bandies about is "turn Mr. Chips into Scarface," but why is that the interesting arc? Just that quote from the show runner almost suggests that he has no idea what the show is actually about, or should be about.
But even though the subtext is SUPER sub, it is extant, which is why I'll tolerate the "say my name" scene even though the internet goes "omg, badass!" about it, because I'm willing to believe the intent there was creepy, not cool, more than I'm willing to believe anything in the Sopranos's mealy mouthed moralizing.
What the show appears to be about, actually about, is that Walt did not become a monomaniacal, narcissistic coward, he always was one, he just didn't have the means to implement his will. That's considerably more interesting that "let's make scarface." Maybe "scarface" is just a sizzle line to sell the thing; the show is too well constructed with regards to scripting, acting, etc for its creators to be oblivious to the underlying themes. That's why I give Breaking Bad the benefit of the doubt where I didn't with The Sopranos.
But it's hard to make a protagonist who is not a hero, and, in my estimation, Walt has been overtly despicable since season 2. Making a protagonist who is evil, but in some ways relatable, allows us to empathize with him, but runs the risk of allowing us to empathize too much. Breaking Bad treads a thin line, a lot of the audience clearly misses the point. It feels like sometimes the show misses the point too. If, for example, the plot to the finale goes "Walt escapes and actively or passively hands over Jesse to the Aryans > Walt has crisis of conscience > Walt engages in shootout with the Aryans to rescue Jesse, dies," then that is a redemptive arc that is unearned. He lost his chance at redemption 3+ seasons ago. I think the show is probably smarter than that, but there's this occasional, unshakeable specter of "hey, isn't this guy GREAT?" that keeps popping up.
This show's biggest problem remains about 30-40% of its fanbase, imho.
I agree that he was always that way. The show starts at a point where one could infer that he quietly resented everyone around him, and that his relations were off key.
Filled with resentment and regret and facing death, he was presented with his "one chance" to "show them all."
I see no redemption for him: just rationalization and death.
As for the shootout... again yes it would have been cleaner if they just got hosed but the more I look at the layout of the scene, the more I can almost believe that for a second they could make it to the rear of the car. BUT... that wouldn't help much.
I loved Saul and Jr's little chat. Fun times. I had totally forgotten that, hey... they have never actually met.
Walter is in no way trying to do the right thing. He's not a good guy, and he doesn't even try to pretend that he is anymore.