Breaking Bad - - Part 11

[Shawn Wayne]

After watching the episode, it occurred to me that the one sure way to get Jack and his crew would be to

Spoiler

taint the remaining barrel of cash with the ricen

 

[jimbob]

Love the show, but the writing this season and towards the end of last has been a little weak. Gilligan clearly had some good things in mind that he wanted to get to, but the characters seemed to suddenly almost all become much dumber to get to those situations. Hopefully we'll get a great finale, and not the predictable ending of Walt being killed by Jesse or Skyler.

 

[A Necessary Evil]

In honor of the final episode, I grew a goatee and shaved my head bald.

 

[Tron Bonne]

Love the show, but the writing this season and towards the end of last has been a little weak. Gilligan clearly had some good things in mind that he wanted to get to, but the characters seemed to suddenly almost all become much dumber to get to those situations. Hopefully we'll get a great finale, and not the predictable ending of Walt being killed by Jesse or Skyler.

Such as?

 

[jimbob]

Walt leaving the Whitman book on the toilet, burying ALL SEVEN barrels in the same place, falling for the fake can/phone call thing and driving out himself instead of just telling Jesse that know that he knows where he is he'll be sending a crew out to kill him and everyone he knows if he burns one dollar, failing to realize Hank had to die, offering all his money to save Hank, etc. Jesse suddenly having a Ebeneezer Scrooge personality shift, teaming up with the cop who beat him up with no hard feelings at all and then basically being his ***** when Hank has no real power over him, going out to the middle of the desert with no gun and only two DEA agents.

 

[jimbob]

Hank going after Walt blindly without realizing the consequences for himself and his family, basically quitting his job to do so(yet somehow his bosses do nothing), trusting a junkie, bringing only one other gun to take down Walt and thinking nobody else would show up, the cocky premature touchdown dance phone call to Marie. Skyler going along with Marie, refusing to go with Walt, actually letting Jr. call the police. It goes on with Marie, Saul, Huell, Meth Damon, Jack, Lydia, Mike, and Gomez. It's like they all went on meth instead of just being on a show about it. The acting has been spectacular, but the writing has gotten lazy.

 

[Brain Damage]

Walt leaving the Whitman book on the toilet

Hubris. Walt became so comfortable in his life as Heisenberg after Gus's death that he overlooked such a simple detail. Yes, it's a stupid thing to do, but it's a stupid thing the character WOULD do, which he even admits to Skyler.

burying ALL SEVEN barrels in the same place,

Seriously?

falling for the fake can/phone call thing and driving out himself instead of just telling Jesse that know that he knows where he is he'll be sending a crew out to kill him and everyone he knows if he burns one dollar

He fell for it because of his greed. Just like Hank says, the dirt didn't match in the photo, but he knew Walt would be seeing far too much green to catch something like that. Think about it, this was EVERYTHING Walt had worked for. When he thought all of that was about to be burned to ashes, instinct and greed took over.

failing to realize Hank had to die, offering all his money to save Hank, etc.

What was he supposed to do? Just let them kill him without question? If Hank died, Walt knew that this would be the point of no return. Once this business hit his family, that would be it. Walt knew that, and he tried to do ANYTHING to prevent it.

Jesse suddenly having a Ebeneezer Scrooge personality shift

What? What does that even mean? That he was grumpy? He wasn't grumpy, he was depressed and wrought with guilt over Drew Sharpe, Gale, having 5 million in blood money, etc.

teaming up with the cop who beat him up with no hard feelings at all

Did you even watch the episodes? Jesse refused to work with Hank for that very reason, but when he found out Walt poisoned Brock, all bets were off.

and then basically being his ***** when Hank has no real power over him

Sure. Which is exactly why Jesse didn't go through with Hank's plan to bug Walter and instead opted to take him down with his own plan

going out to the middle of the desert with no gun and only two DEA agents.

Gomez was the only one Hank could tell until he had enough evidence to bring Walt down. And if you're saying that he could have brought in the DEA once Walt confessed on the phone, that wouldn't work. They need Walt's money as physical evidence, and he wasn't going to hang around waiting for them while they explained the situation to the rest of the DEA.

 

[Brain Damage]

I have to leave, but I'm sure others will be able to explain to you how wrong you are

 

[A Necessary Evil]

Uhhhh, no Jesse never liked Hank, nor vice versa. Yeah he teamed up with him, but if only to take Walter down, after that there would be no friendship. Also, you forget, up until Jesse found out about the ricin, he refused to even so much as blink an eye at Hank.

 

[Dugath]

Most of the things you talk about is just nit picking and not a result of "characters becoming dumber"

Hank never "trusted" Jesse

Of course he would bring only one gun- This is not the Expendables. Hank is supposed to be a "real" DEA agent.. they do not go loading up on multiple guns.

Why would he think Walt would have other people, clearly on the phone he did not when he was talking to Jesse.

The "Touchdown" is not because he was "dumber" he Had Walt in Cuffs. There is no reason not to give one's self a good high five.

I could go on, but most of your points as I said are just nit picking.

The only one I agree with is burying all 7 barrels in one location. Perhaps I am paranoid but I would have 7 different locations. That is a lot of money to lose if someone accidentally finds it.

 

[jimbob]

Brain Damage, what you're basically arguing is that yes, they did stupid things, but that's what happened so they weren't stupid things. Evil, how does Jesse think he would survive this? And if he doesn't, why bother with Hank? To be honest, it would be easier just to show up at Walt's house, pull a gun on his family, then explain to them all why Walt has to die. Hell, he could probably get Skyler to pull the trigger. Also, he's going off the reservation after basing the idea that Walt poisoned Brock on having his weed swiped and a semi-admission at gunpoint by Saul? Weak.

 

[Rowsdower!]

I'm going to be going through BB withdrawal after next week but to fill the void, these are the shows that come close to it in quality (IMO):

Game of Thrones
Homeland
Justified
Mad Men (though I've admittedly lost interest somewhat)
The Walking Dead

Other shows that aren't in the same class as BB but are still awesome in their own right:

Always Sunny
The League
The Big Bang Theory (waits to to incur the Wrath of Sawyer for mentioning it here)
Franklin & Bash
American Horror Story
The Newsroom

And while it's still early, these shows have been pretty good so far:

The Blacklist
Low Winter Sun
Agents of SHIELD
The Bridge

 

[Hyde]

Not really BB-related, but the trailer for the Need for Speed movie with Aaron Paul just went up on iTunes. http://trailers.apple.com/trailers/dreamworks/needforspeed/#videos-large Looks pretty neat

 

[FCEEVIPER]

In honor of the final episode, I grew a goatee and shaved my head bald.

Same here, I always had the bottom portion of the beard so now I am growing in my mustache for the look and this week I'll be getting a buzz cut.

My co-workers are calling me evil Frank because they never seen me with a full on goatee.

 

[Drizzle]

After watching the episode, it occurred to me that the one sure way to get Jack and his crew would be to

Spoiler

taint the remaining barrel of cash with the ricen

That would be so anticlimactic. Those guys need to go out in a way that's so violent it'll make Gus's death look like something out of a Disney movie. At least I hope they do. I think the ricin is for [BLACKOUT]Lydia[/BLACKOUT].

 

[A Necessary Evil]

Same here, I always had the bottom portion of the beard so now I am growing in my mustache for the look and this week I'll be getting a buzz cut.

My co-workers are calling me evil Frank because they never seen me with a full on goatee.

Yeah, my friends said I looked threatening with a shaved head and goatee LOL.

 

[TheNextNolan22]

The Nazis have to be put down BADLY. They deserve nothing, but the worst. Like Drizzle said, they need to go out in such a way that'll make Gus Fring's death "look like something out of a Disney".

 

[BatLobster]

I will admit that as the show has gotten more epic and Shakespearean, the logic has gotten a bit softer. But that's totally fine with me. It kind of fits with the chaotic nature of everything that's happening. And the show has never been SUPER realistic to begin with, just more going for a generally realistic tone.

 

[jimbob]

Most of the things you talk about is just nit picking and not a result of "characters becoming dumber"

Hank never "trusted" Jesse

Of course he would bring only one gun- This is not the Expendables. Hank is supposed to be a "real" DEA agent.. they do not go loading up on multiple guns.
I mean Gomez, not actual guns.
Why would he think Walt would have other people, clearly on the phone he did not when he was talking to Jesse.
Let's get this straight: he's assuming that the brilliant drug kingpin who offed Gus, and all his men in prison in a two minute window, hid right under his nose for years, has done all the stuff that Jesse told him about; THIS GUY is gonna come alone to the middle of the desert to go after Jesse and his money. Like he couldn't possibly have a second phone he could contact someone with or be sitting behind a rock with an AK or just take off when Jesse isn't there. Okay...
The "Touchdown" is not because he was "dumber" he Had Walt in Cuffs. There is no reason not to give one's self a good high five.
He was in cuffs, but would you really feel safe after all the things you knew about him? After the prison thing alone, you'd never believe Walt would just walk over and give up. Yet he did. "Yes, I'm one of the smartest, most dangerous criminals around, but if it' a choice between my family losing everything while I spend my last few days in jail and harming my *****ebag brother in law, I gotta keep dear old Hank safe."
I could go on, but most of your points as I said are just nit picking.

The only one I agree with is burying all 7 barrels in one location. Perhaps I am paranoid but I would have 7 different locations. That is a lot of money to lose if someone accidentally finds it.

You're darn skippy it is! It's a big desert, and he's already had a tracer on his car. Is it impossible to believe that van would have a GPS, OnStar or LoJack? I personally would be a wee bit more careful with $80 million.

 

[Tron Bonne]

I have to leave, but I'm sure others will be able to explain to you how wrong you are

Nah, it's more subtle than usual, but I'm smelling a troll. Not to say all dissenting opinions are trolling, but he's off base (and just plainly wrong) on some points, that makes me think he's just trying to get a rise out of people here.

 

[FCEEVIPER]

I'm going to be going through BB withdrawal after next week but to fill the void, these are the shows that come close to it in quality (IMO):

Game of Thrones
Homeland
Justified
Mad Men (though I've admittedly lost interest somewhat)
The Walking Dead

Other shows that aren't in the same class as BB but are still awesome in their own right:

Always Sunny
The League
The Big Bang Theory (waits to to incur the Wrath of Sawyer for mentioning it here)
Franklin & Bash
American Horror Story
The Newsroom

And while it's still early, these shows have been pretty good so far:

The Blacklist
Low Winter Sun
Agents of SHIELD
The Bridge

Shows in bold for I.

Also would like to add:

Boardwalk Empire
Arrow (yeah it's growing on me)
Person of Interest
Magic City (good but got cancelled after 2 seasons)
Defiance (getting better)

But yeah nothing will compare to BB.

 

[Drizzle]

The Nazis have to be put down BADLY. They deserve nothing, but the worst. Like Drizzle said, they need to go out in such a way that'll make Gus Fring's death "look like something out of a Disney".

I'm talking full on Tarantino style.

 

[jimbob]

Nah, it's more subtle than usual, but I'm smelling a troll. Not to say all dissenting opinions are trolling, but he's off base (and just plainly wrong) on some points, that makes me think he's just trying to get a rise out of people here.

Sorry, but just my opinion. I found the show in the third season, and have watched all the episodes multiple times since then. It's one of the best shows ever on television, and while I'm still enjoying the final season, I just wish that the writing was up to previous standards. This happens a lot with shows and movie franchises; the writers get a little complacent. Heck, it even happened to Stephen King in the Dark Tower series. You know how you want the story to end, but you sort of have to fudge your way there. If you don't see it that way, that's cool too. Enjoy.

 

[Maximus One]

Ya know what, I kind of agree with Jimbob. Everybody this season acted like ****ing idiots. Jesse in particular. I don't care how much guilt and pain he felt the money paperboy thing was monumentally STUPID. I understand that this show tries to be realistic with the character complexity and how they should act in certain situations but some of the choices they've made this year have been pretty out there. And never in a million years did I ever believe it'd be a buncha redneck nazis that were the main cause of the fall of Heisenberg. There's definitely more positives than negatives but there definitely are a couple negatives in where they decided to take things. Doesn't mean it isn't the most amazing piece of television ever. Just that its not perfect and that its all played out in a way I few of us ever would e guessed

 

[jimbob]

Thanks, Eklypze. You actually said it better than I did. There's a lot of stuff I love, but I'm not too blind to see it may have a few warts.