Breaking Bad Season 5 - Official Discussion Thread

[Lifted]

- The "I just realized that Lydia has the names - I can get them from her" discussion at the end was great, classic BB. Truly funny, and kind of made us feel for Walt despite his awful behavior and killing of the heroic Mike.

That made me laugh, and I felt evil laughing at it. I actually sat there and thought "What kind of person laughs at that?". Truly the mark of a great show and great writing.

Not sure how that could make you feel for Walt though. I thought that was the most asshole thing somebody could have possibly said in that moment.

 

[Booty]

While I hated to see Mike's character go, I don't agree with anyone completely taking his side... he blamed Walter for the whole (previous) operation's problems, but it was far from that simple.

Walt had to protect Jesse from Gus (and the DEA) early on. I'd have to re-watch to remember the exact details, but Walt did what he did to try to keep Jesse, Hank, and himself alive. Yes, his ego was always a factor, but there was more to it than that... and Gus had an ego himself. I recall him saying something to the effect of, "the cook continues". He didn't want to stop producing despite pressure from the DEA and cartel.

Had Walt not acted the way he did, Hank and/or Jesse would definitely be dead, and there's a good chance (IMO) the DEA or the cartel would have busted Gus's operation anyway.

Of course, the big link (for Hank) was the restaurant bag in Gale's apartment, so maybe things would have been fine for the operation if Jesse (under Walt's influence) hadn't killed Gale. Then again, they wouldn't have had to kill Gale if there wasn't a threat to Jesse and/or Hank and/or Walt, so...

...like I said, it's not as simple as Mike implied... Walt didn't just F it all up. And he really doesn't get enough credit for supplying the market with the purest/most potent meth around. Evil or not, part of me is still rooting for Walt.

 

[Balt]

While I hated to see Mike's character go, I don't agree with anyone completely taking his side... he blamed Walter for the whole (previous) operation's problems, but it was far from that simple.

Walt had to protect Jesse from Gus (and the DEA) early on. I'd have to re-watch to remember the exact details, but Walt did what he did to try to keep Jesse, Hank, and himself alive. Yes, his ego was always a factor, but there was more to it than that... and Gus had an ego himself. I recall him saying something to the effect of, "the cook continues". He didn't want to stop producing despite pressure from the DEA and cartel.

Had Walt not acted the way he did, Hank and/or Jesse would definitely be dead, and there's a good chance (IMO) the DEA or the cartel would have busted Gus's operation anyway.

Of course, the big link (for Hank) was the restaurant bag in Gale's apartment, so maybe things would have been fine for the operation if Jesse (under Walt's influence) hadn't killed Gale. Then again, they wouldn't have had to kill Gale if there wasn't a threat to Jesse and/or Hank and/or Walt, so...

...like I said, it's not as simple as Mike implied... Walt didn't just F it all up. And he really doesn't get enough credit for supplying the market with the purest/most potent meth around. Evil or not, part of me is still rooting for Walt.

Good post. This should be kept in mind. One of the main things that really got Walt on Gus' shitlist was killing those two drug dealers with the Aztek, which he did only because of Jesse. Mike was going to execute Walt on Gus' behalf for doing that.

Of course, that was back in the time when Walt was still looking after Jesse almost as a father would. He (Walt) was much more sympathetic back then.

Even so, it hurt to see Mike go. He seemed like the last person who had a chance to keep Walt grounded. Jesse doesn't stand up enough to Walt (yet) to keep him from continuing down his path of egomania.

 

[Don Vito Corleone]

That made me laugh, and I felt evil laughing at it. I actually sat there and thought "What kind of person laughs at that?". Truly the mark of a great show and great writing.

Not sure how that could make you feel for Walt though. I thought that was the most asshole thing somebody could have possibly said in that moment.

I just thought it was a funny Walt-ism. He's always been somewhat socially challenged. You're absolutely right that it was a shitty thing to say, but it was a typically unfiltered Walt moment, and I see no reason to doubt that he was sincere in regretting having killed Mike unnecessarily.

 

[anyusername]

Say my name.

i love you vince gilligan

 

[davmat787]

She hired a member of Mike's crew after Mike said no. The guy Mike killed (who was trying to kill Mike) was a member of Mike's former crew.

Ahhh, got it. My mistake and I thank you and DVC for the correction. :thumbsup:

 

[Newbian]

after last nights show I am just going to continue watch to see who ends up killing Walt. It will probably be Walt Jr.

Will he poison him while they eat breakfast? 😛

 

[Colt45]

I feel walt's ... progression? Is a little too speedy this season.

 

[Zeze]

I feel walt's ... progression? Is a little too speedy this season.

You're not the only one. My friends and I said the same thing.

The show is amazing, but it would've been perfect if they spent this season showcasing his slow corruption and next season do what's happening now.

 

[purbeast0]

I feel walt's ... progression? Is a little too speedy this season.

i agree, and it is probably one of my main gripes about this season. it's so fast that it is almost not believable to me. he turned into scarface overnight.

still love the show though and am going to be sad to see it go next year 🙁

 

[Balt]

I feel walt's ... progression? Is a little too speedy this season.

You're not the only one. My friends and I said the same thing.

The show is amazing, but it would've been perfect if they spent this season showcasing his slow corruption and next season do what's happening now.

i agree, and it is probably one of my main gripes about this season. it's so fast that it is almost not believable to me. he turned into scarface overnight.

still love the show though and am going to be sad to see it go next year 🙁

Agreed, and I think it's definitely related to either the way this season is split in two or the fact that it is the last season or both. The season has been far more fast-paced than is the usual style of Vince Gilligan.

After the last season I actually kind of wondered if the series would be able to carry another whole season. Now I'm thinking it could have carried another 2 and been better. As far as the domestic discord between Sky and Walt, I think that's reached the end of what it can do. But for Walt's hubris and eventual downfall? It certainly does feel rushed.

 

[oznerol]

I don't understand the complaints about Walt "breaking bad" too quickly this season.

It's been building up to this since season 1. Last season, he finally took down the people who stood between him and his drug empire. Now that they are gone, he realizes that he is no longer doing this to support his family - but for himself. He's jumped the cliff.

I feel like the same thing would happen in reality. He's come to terms with his current situation, and has just chosen to embrace it. The gradual progression you're looking for were all previous seasons.

 

[Balt]

I don't understand the complaints about Walt "breaking bad" too quickly this season.

It's been building up to this since season 1. Last season, he finally took down the people who stood between him and his drug empire. Now that they are gone, he realizes that he is no longer doing this to support his family - but for himself. He's jumped the cliff.

I feel like the same thing would happen in reality. He's come to terms with his current situation, and has just chosen to embrace it. The gradual progression you're looking for were all previous seasons.

I can definitely see where you're coming from, it's just that it feels like he went from being terrified (because of Gus) to being 100% Heisenberg all the time pretty damn quickly (notice how he didn't even need the hat in this episode to be Heisenberg anymore? although that may have just been a choice of the particular director for that episode). In previous seasons, Walter had moments of extremely high confidence followed by moments of being smacked back down to Earth (like when he talked trash to the cop after being pulled over and then got maced).

It certainly appears that he's on that revolving path again, since his 52nd birthday seems less than ideal. The ramp-up has been pretty rapid, though.

 

[BrokenVisage]

I don't understand the complaints about Walt "breaking bad" too quickly this season.

It's been building up to this since season 1. Last season, he finally took down the people who stood between him and his drug empire. Now that they are gone, he realizes that he is no longer doing this to support his family - but for himself. He's jumped the cliff.

I feel like the same thing would happen in reality. He's come to terms with his current situation, and has just chosen to embrace it. The gradual progression you're looking for were all previous seasons.

Thank you! I was typing a response just like this, read your reply, then immediately deleted my thoughts which were 5x as long and said basically the same thing. More than any other show we can't take each of these seasons on their own. Remember only a few months (show time) ago Jesse was a junkie piece of shit, always getting into trouble and needing Walt to do something to save his ass, but no one talks about his fast progression to being nice and grounded. He went from arrogant junkie to lazy/uncaring to reliable in 3 seasons, now everyone feels for him and hates Walt, forgetting that Jesse basically put Walt in the situation he's in by stupidly going after Gus's dealers in a fit of rage. At least with Walt we can point to Grey Matter and his struggle to use his skills/knowledge for something bigger then teaching high school kids.

 

[GagHalfrunt]

I feel walt's ... progression? Is a little too speedy this season.

I don't think that's out of character. Each success Walt has, each foe he beats, each near-death or near arrest he evades he gets more egotistic and more bold. Walt had a great deal of respect for Gus as a criminal mastermind. He viewed him as a genius who always saw the big picture and always stayed ahead of his enemies and the law be being smarter than they were. And Walt beat him.

Remember the line mike used "Just because you killed Jesse James that doesn't make you Jesse James"? Walt thinks he's Jesse James. And Pablo Escobar. And Albert Einstein. And DaVinci, Socrates, Oppenheimer, Newton and Capone all rolled into one. At this point Walt thinks that no force on earth can stand against his will.

 

[Phokus]

I actually hope Jesse doesn't kill Walt because now that would be WAY too obvious. In a way, i actually hope all of Walt's secrets don't spill out to Jesse either for the same reason.

 

[MTDEW]

I actually hope Jesse doesn't kill Walt because now that would be WAY too obvious. In a way, i actually hope all of Walt's secrets don't spill out to Jesse either for the same reason.

I don't see Jesse doing it unless Walt is directly threatening someone Jesse cares about in front of Jesse at the time.
Otherwise Jesse would have already snapped and killed Todd for shooting the motorcycle boy.

I'm guessing its going to be someone Walt doesn't consider a threat, like Todd or Skyler or even Marie.

 

[Phokus]

Also, i'm wondering about Todd's 'connections' that he hinted at before after he killed that kid. Maybe Walt's going to use them to kill the 9 possible snitches.

 

[PottedMeat]

ah i knew i saw Cradock Marine Bank somewhere before - on the XFiles.

 

[BrokenVisage]

Also, i'm wondering about Todd's 'connections' that he hinted at before after he killed that kid. Maybe Walt's going to use them to kill the 9 possible snitches.

If you watched the very end of the previews for next week's episode I think you already know the answer to that. The logistics of it will make things tricky though, unless his uncle is head of the Aryan brotherhood or something it will be impossible for them all to be eliminated.

 

[MTDEW]

Also, i'm wondering about Todd's 'connections' that he hinted at before after he killed that kid. Maybe Walt's going to use them to kill the 9 possible snitches.

Agreed, that is most likely how he'll get to Mikes men in prison.
After that and Todd learning how to cook, i can see him getting a swelled head and eliminating Walt.

But then that M60 should come into play somewhere.
Maybe Walt dies in a shootout with DEA agents?

 

[Miramonti]

I agree with the speedy progression issue, which is similar in nature to a previous reply I made. It doesn't feel realistic to me given Walt's makeup. In addition to his new ring-leader persona, now he simply tells his wife the way it is and that's that, oblivious and/or unconcerned where she's at. For someone that's tiptoed his whole life, that probably sticks out like a sore thumb the most.

 

[Miramonti]

Agreed, that is most likely how he'll get to Mikes men in prison.
After that and Todd learning how to cook, i can see him getting a swelled head and eliminating Walt.

But then that M60 should come into play somewhere.
Maybe Walt dies in a shootout with DEA agents?

I'm thinking the ultimate showdown is Walter vs. Hank. Hank has been the one to keep this investigation going, and the only one who has progressed it, and that taking him out is the only chance Walt has at walking. So he does it right before Hank closes in on him. /Breaking Bad

 

[MTDEW]

I'm thinking the ultimate showdown is Walter vs. Hank. Hank has been the one to keep this investigation going, and the only one who has progressed it, and that taking him out is the only chance Walt has at walking. So he does it right before Hank closes in on him. /Breaking Bad

I guess I'm just hoping that it is more of a "surprise" than that.
I don't wanna see it coming. :biggrin:

 

[Miramonti]

I guess I'm just hoping that it is more of a "surprise" than that.
I don't wanna see it coming. :biggrin:

One consolation you have is that I'm rarely right with show predictions and doubt I will be here, lol. :$

But imho, they can't 'disrespect' this conflict either...it's been a main driver in the show to this point.