Breaking Bad

[CrimsonDeath]

Another week, another brilliant episode of Breaking Bad. When it seemed like Gus was getting more screentime, and we'd be seeing a vulnerable side, I was a bit worried. Flashes of similar mystique-crushing villain origins like the Star Wars prequels and Hannibal Rising sprang to mind. But the execution of it was brilliant. After being so powerful an off-screen presence for much of this season, Giancarlo Esposito really got to flex his acting muscles in a powerhouse performance this week.

Yes, this encouraged more sympathy for him. But though he's long been a scary character, I don't think he's ever been a downright hateable character. Gus has always come across as someone who is fair and does what's right for business, ruthlessly so. And as such, it was only the impulsive actions of Walt and Jesse that put them on his hitlist, and only our emotional connection to them that really set us against Gus as viewers.

But once again, Walt to me feels like the destructive influence ruining everything for everybody. I'd say Jesse would be better off ditching Walt and pairing with the more stable, even supportive Gus than endure Walt's self-centred belittling, but Gus may very well now be a sinking ship.

How crazy was that whole scene with Hank and Walt bugging the car at Los Pollos Hermanos? I don't think a single week of this season has passed without me shouting "Oh, F**K!" at the screen at least once, but during that sequence I found myself shouting it several times. The kind of agonisingly tense set-piece Breaking Bad has mastered.

I've seen a lot of people grumbling about this season elsewhere, saying it's too slow or boring, but I think they're missing the point. After the adrenaline-rush of the abridged first season, and the meticulous plotting of the second season, Season 3 was to me a transitional season, where you could feel a tangible sense of Vince Gilligan and co expanding the scope and gravitas of the show to make it not just the best show on TV, but a serious challenger to become a contemporary to all-time greats like The Sopranos and The Wire. Thus far, I see Season 4 as the culmination of that potential. Each week, we are being treated to something with the kind of depth and intricacy not quite like anything else we've encountered on television before. I don't think we're going to get the full scope of Gilligan's achievement with Breaking Bad until the whole series has finished. But for now, I'll say Season 4 is quite possibly emerging as the best season yet.

Great analysis and completely agree with everything.

Walt is the cancer that slowly corrupts and destroys everyone around him.
Almost all are worst off for having met him and dealt with him. I think his own family might end up paying the ultimate price eventually in the end game.

As for the people that complain about the pacing, I almost guarantee that most of them just started watching the show recently, and went through all the seasons in a very short amount of time. Had they started watching from the beginning, they would see that the pacing is almost the same, and that the show lays it out in a very deliberate, intricate manner. I see no difference from other seasons, I may be wrong. No wait, there is a difference now, my jaw hits the floor at least once per episode and I am always in the edge of my seat trying to figure out where it's going, engrossed in the intricacy and just flat out enjoying the ride. It's all been set up with depth of character to build to some great pay off. The end of the season is gonna be killer I bet.

I'm pretty sure Walt lied about being in remission. I think the cancer is back, and he doesn't have much time left.

Agreed.

 

[TLH]

As for the people that complain about the pacing, I almost guarantee that most of them just started watching the show recently, and went through all the seasons in a very short amount of time. Had they started watching from the beginning, they would see that the pacing is almost the same, and that the show lays it out in a very deliberate, intricate manner. I see no difference from other seasons, I may be wrong. No wait, there is a difference now, my jaw hits the floor at least once per episode and I am always in the edge of my seat trying to figure out where it's going, engrossed in the intricacy and just flat out enjoying the ride. It's all been set up with depth of character to build to some great pay off. The end of the season is gonna be killer I bet..

Very true. When you wait every week for an episode, it makes the pace of the show seem slower when, as you say, it's exactly the same. You need a bit of extra time to remember every little connection when you wait week-to-week opposed to a marathon where you watch all 13 episodes in two days.

There is no difference from the other seasons other than that this one so far has been based on psychological warfare and has grounded its tension and situations in its characters more than ever before. However while I expect the last few episodes will blow us away with twists and action, the first eight have been nothing short of amazing.

Hank's investigation could go in three or four different directions. Gus' war against the cartel is another question mark. Then there is Walt's tensions with Gus. Where does Jesse and his semi-divided loyalty fit into all of this? Mike probably has an important role to play in one of these plots.

God this show is amazing. t:

 

[CrimsonDeath]

This is pure speculation, but I think the end of Walt will be the cancer. I think it would be the perfect final cruel twist of fate... After all this time of tumultuous transition and unbearable, life-in-danger uncertainty, he's finally in the place he wants to be - on top of everything, the mighty Heisenberg. And then the cancer suddenly comes back with a vengeance and strikes him dead.

I think Walt himself, or rather the actions he takes in defiance of fate are the cancer....to Jesse, now a murderer, to Hank, almost murdered, to his family. It seems even Gale and Gus would have been fine on their own, without Walt, as far as they could be anyway.

Where would the story go and end?
Would the cancer kill Walt after he is on top of all, the reigning Heisenberg, but at what cost to him? He would be willing to sacrifice Hank, but Jesse? His family? At what point does Walt think that dying is better than living a corrupted life? If Walt's cancer does kill him, it might be after his own evil actions indirectly kill and corrupt those that he loved. Or he might die trying to protect them from his own consequences.

 

[TLH]

Where would the story go and end?
Would the cancer kill Walt after he is on top of all, the reigning Heisenberg, but at what cost to him? He would be willing to sacrifice Hank, but Jesse? His family? At what point does Walt think that dying is better than living a corrupted life? If Walt's cancer does kill him, it might be after his own evil actions indirectly kill and corrupt those that he loved. Or he might die trying to protect them from his own consequences.

If the series ends with Walt's death I think there has to be some degree of redemption to it. He can't be perceived as purely as the antagonist or else his death won't resonate. His character needs to stay in grey areas as to elicit conflicting emotions.

However Breaking Bad has been known to go against the grain and that's part of the reason I love it so much. The hard road for the writers to take, and the harder pill to swallow for viewers, would be for Walt to die as an undeniable villain beyond redemption. It would be a bitter end and only Jesse's story has the power to balance this bitterness with his own redemption.

 

[Keyser Soze]

If the series ends with Walt's death I think there has to be some degree of redemption to it. He can't be perceived as purely as the antagonist or else his death won't resonate. His character needs to stay in grey areas as to elicit conflicting emotions.

However Breaking Bad has been known to go against the grain and that's part of the reason I love it so much. The hard road for the writers to take, and the harder pill to swallow for viewers, would be for Walt to die as an undeniable villain beyond redemption. It would be a bitter end and only Jesse's story has the power to balance this bitterness with his own redemption.

I think that's where the writers are going. As my commentaries have shown, this season in particular has been the watermark for me where Walter White has gone from the character whose well-being I fiercely cared about in spite of all his flaws and wrongdoing to being someone I am continually horrified and disgusted by. The balance, for me, is that as Walt has cast us adridt, we've been able to build a stronger emotional tether to the supporting cast. Now it's less about us being aligned with Walt, and hoping these other characters don't kill or expose him, as it is about us being aligned with them, and hoping Walt's self-centred struggle for control doesn't f**k them up too much more than it already has. That ad slogan of "This season, Walt IS the danger" couldn't be more true.

 

[Keyser Soze]

And thanks for the kind words, CrimsonDeath. Glad you like my analysis, I'm enjoying what you have to say too. It's nice just being able to discuss this show, as for the longest time I watched it in isolation.

 

[The Demon's Head]

I think it's a fair bet bet that Gus is a goner, but I'm really hoping Mike sticks around for S5.

 

[Poeman]

This show probably has the best writers on tv...What an episode

 

[TLH]

This show probably has the best writers on tv...What an episode

Yet they've never been nominated for an Emmy. It's ridiculous the Emmy system allows multiple nominations for the same series in Writing. They nominate 3-4 Mad Men episodes every season for writing which is more than half the slots. If they could only nominate one episode per show, Breaking Bad would certainly have been recognized multiple times already.

 

[Travesty]

Hermano Max, desperately realizing that death was imminent and no forgiveness granted, says, "El es mi compañero, yo lo necesito, el es mi compañero, por favor--" BLAM!
Translated, "He is my companion (partner), I need him, he is my companion, please." If it was business partner, I think he would have used the word socio, which means business partner. I took "compañero" to mean sentimental partner in the urgency of his last pleas.

So are you saying that they were gay lovers?

 

[Travesty]

Also, I was on another forum, and someone brought up the fact that since Jesse got that text, that maybe his house was bugged, and is why the text canceled their meeting.

 

[TLH]

Also, I was on another forum, and someone brought up the fact that since Jesse got that text, that maybe his house was bugged, and is why the text canceled their meeting.

When I saw that scene I definitely thought Jesse's house was bugged. The timing of the text and what it said was too perfect unless someone was listening to the conversation, which makes sense.

 

[PWN3R]

So are you saying that they were gay lovers?

I mentioned it on another forum, and got bashed for saying it. All the terrible things Gus has done to the Cartel, his persistence to cut ties with them; it's all much more poignant if Gus and Max were in love.

Listening to the podcast, both Kelly Dixon and Vince Gilligan bring it up too. They say that in the script, they were a couple. However, the way it's presented in the show, it's entirely up to the audience - Gilligan's words. Damn good scene that has multiple interpretations. Either way, I ****ing love Gus now.

And yeah, Jesse's place has to be bugged. We've seen Mike bug houses before, and we know they were monitoring Jesse's hobo party, it's pretty much guaranteed, I think.

 

[Slick]

This is pure speculation, but I think the end of Walt will be the cancer. I think it would be the perfect final cruel twist of fate if, at the end of everything, he's eliminated Gus, neutralised the cartel, got Hank off his trail, done everything he needed to do to get himself into the position he's supposedly wanted all along, the one he's been overthinking himself out of for the past couple of seasons - being able to make a fortune cooking meth like it was a legitimate business, with no violence or unwanted interruptions. After all this time of tumultuous transition and unbearable, life-in-danger uncertainty, he's finally in the place he wants to be - on top of everything, the mighty Heisenberg. And then the cancer suddenly comes back with a vengeance and strikes him dead.

Dude I would love if the show ended like that.

 

[Slick]

I mentioned it on another forum, and got bashed for saying it. All the terrible things Gus has done to the Cartel, his persistence to cut ties with them; it's all much more poignant if Gus and Max were in love.

Listening to the podcast, both Kelly Dixon and Vince Gilligan bring it up too. They say that in the script, they were a couple. However, the way it's presented in the show, it's entirely up to the audience - Gilligan's words. Damn good scene that has multiple interpretations. Either way, I ****ing love Gus now.

And yeah, Jesse's place has to be bugged. We've seen Mike bug houses before, and we know they were monitoring Jesse's hobo party, it's pretty much guaranteed, I think.

I always thought Gus was gay also and now it makes sense why he hates the Cartel so much because he and Max were a couple.

 

[Soapy]

The possibility of Gus being gay didn't even cross my mind until the last episode. I assumed as much after that flashback scene, but I also thought I could have just been reading too much into it.

 

[Asgard]

With the way Max was pleading for Gus' life and Gus' reaction to his murder they either had to be as close as brothers or lovers.

When I watched that scene I had a feeling they mightve been lovers and to have Vince confirm thats how the two were written in the script justifies my belief.

 

[CrimsonDeath]

If the series ends with Walt's death I think there has to be some degree of redemption to it. He can't be perceived as purely as the antagonist or else his death won't resonate. His character needs to stay in grey areas as to elicit conflicting emotions.

I see it going one of two ways for now... Walt loses those he loved like Gus by the actions of his enemies, and has no other option but to go out with a bang and thus regains a half measure of redemption himself by saving those that are left or avenging the ones who fall...or Walt excises himself from his own family, sends them away, and tries to take out his enemies by aligning himself with Hank. Where and how the pieces will fall, who knows yet?

But definitely there has to be a certain sense of redemption and a realization of what Walt's actions have cost him...his soul, but "there is nothing but chemistry here."

.....Walter White has gone from the character whose well-being I fiercely cared about in spite of all his flaws and wrongdoing to being someone I am continually horrified and disgusted by.... we've been able to build a stronger emotional tether to the supporting cast. Now it's less about us being aligned with Walt, and hoping these other characters don't kill or expose him, as it is about us being aligned with them, and hoping Walt's self-centred struggle for control doesn't f**k them up too much more than it already has. That ad slogan of "This season, Walt IS the danger" couldn't be more true.

Especially for Jesse, who although sooner or later would have overdosed along with Jane had Walt saved her, the cost of living for him is being a murderer of "problem dogs" and having to deal with the guilt of his own actions. And what an amazing scene that was by Aaron, a nuanced, tortured delivery, he sure deserved his Emmy right then and there.

And thanks for the kind words, CrimsonDeath. Glad you like my analysis, I'm enjoying what you have to say too. It's nice just being able to discuss this show, as for the longest time I watched it in isolation.

It's great to able to discuss, read and mingle with others here who enjoy and see in the show what I love so much about it. Their insights and comments help me expand and challenge my own views of the characters and stories and I truly enjoy that.

So are you saying that they were gay lovers?

For me it was this side of ambivalent, that yes they were, and that Salamanca's crude taunt that they "enjoy what they see" when he defiles that pool was more than just mockery of Max and Gus.

However, I then weigh in the fact that episode is called Hermanos, and they very well might have considered each other just family or the best of friends. But if the writers wanted to convey that, perhaps Max would have pleaded with the word "hermano" instead of "compañero." I think that they wanted to leave it ambiguous enough for us to discuss it. Either way, this turns Gus' criminality and empire into a deliberately crafted revenge strategy, with the idea of eventually driving out the Mexican cartel out of the meth trade. Walter facilitated this, getting involved with Tuco and eventually the Cousins and was thus both a "godsend" and a very likely eventual ruin for Gus.

 

[TLH]

I see it going one of two ways for now... Walt loses those he loved like Gus by the actions of his enemies, and has no other option but to go out with a bang and thus regains a half measure of redemption himself by saving those that are left or avenging the ones who fall...or Walt excises himself from his own family, sends them away, and tries to take out his enemies by aligning himself with Hank. Where and how the pieces will fall, who knows yet?

But definitely there has to be a certain sense of redemption and a realization of what Walt's actions have cost him...his soul, but "there is nothing but chemistry here."

See, this is the brilliance of the show. Walt's story arc can go in three or four different directions and each one will be equally believable and awesome.

I especially like your allusion to S1E3 with the "There is nothing but chemistry here" quote. That would be an interesting parallel to bring up if Walt discovers the loss of his soul.

 

[Travesty]

 

[PWN3R]

99.1% pure refreshment! Now that is absolutely glorious.

 

[Soapy]

I... I could really go for some of that right now.

Also, I wonder if Gus has ever considered adding a little somethin' somethin' to his chicken recipe to see if drives up repeat business.

 

[Maximus One]

Meth-laced fried chicken........ I'm at a loss for words

 

[squeekness]

This was an outstanding episode. I know I like this season so much better than last season -- Skylar just seemed so whiny to me. The pacing has never bothered me at all the entire time I've watched any of the seasons. I have a new found appreciation for Gus that I didn't have before.

 

[TLH]

This was an outstanding episode. I know I like this season so much better than last season -- Skylar just seemed so whiny to me. The pacing has never bothered me at all the entire time I've watched any of the seasons. I have a new found appreciation for Gus that I didn't have before.

This season is great but I don't find it "so much better than last season" ... I'd say it's just as good but for different reasons.

I love the psychological warfare and chess game that Season 4 has going for it, mixed in with the intensity of it all, especially Hank's rogue investigation of Gus.

Season 3 was insane, full of crazy tension and a whole lot of awesomeness.

I'd say every season is pretty much perfect, and they all excel for different reasons, and under the strength of different themes.