Breaking Bad [SPOILERS!]

[RabidAlpaca]

For everyone who's caught up with Breaking Bad, who do you think is going to survive the shootout?

I feel like it's pretty obvious that Hank and Ramirez aren't going to make it. I'm guessing Walter, Todd, the goons, and maybe Jesse will survive. We have seen flash forwards of Walt with hair and visiting the run down house, so I would imagine Walt can't die.

What do you guys think?

 

[Ben K.]

Jesse has yet to find out about Walt's greatest crime against him, letting Jane die so there's more storytelling reason to keep him alive. I think the confrontation between Jesse and Walt will be the climax of the show.

Hank and Gomi have completed their character arcs. There's no better time than now to bite the dust. Also, it would be one hell of a deus ex machina to get them out of that, at least Jesse has cooking skillz that are valuable to the Nazi's.

I reckon Walt fakes his own death (burns down his house, writes the "Heisenberg" grafitti) and releases the tape implicating Hank. The majority of his money goes to his 'surviving' family. I have no idea what brings him back to want to kill more peeps.

But the most important question is, will Huell ever leave his house if Hank and Gomi are caput?

 

[RabidAlpaca]

Jesse has yet to find out about Walt's greatest crime against him, letting Jane die so there's more storytelling reason to keep him alive. I think the confrontation between Jesse and Walt will be the climax of the show.

Hank and Gomi have completed their character arcs. There's no better time than now to bite the dust. Also, it would be one hell of a deus ex machina to get them out of that, at least Jesse has cooking skillz that are valuable to the Nazi's.

I reckon Walt fakes his own death (burns down his house, writes the "Heisenberg" grafitti) and releases the tape implicating Hank. The majority of his money goes to his 'surviving' family. I have no idea what brings him back to want to kill more peeps.

But the most important question is, will Huell ever leave his house if Hank and Gomi are caput?

Gomez! That's what it was. I don't know why I was thinking Ramirez.

And good analysis; I think that sounds likely.

 

[Ben K.]

Damn dude, having seen the ep in question, you may aswell expand the poll again to who will die next episode and include the whole cast.

I went from "damn dude, Walter is worse than Hitler" to "what a way to save your family". No questions asked, this is a piece of art we'll be discussing for decades.

 

[LowDown]

For everyone who's caught up with Breaking Bad, who do you think is going to survive the shootout?

I feel like it's pretty obvious that Hank and Ramirez aren't going to make it. I'm guessing Walter, Todd, the goons, and maybe Jesse will survive. We have seen flash forwards of Walt with hair and visiting the run down house, so I would imagine Walt can't die.

What do you guys think?

My theory of the show is that there are 2 types of viewers: Those who figured out that the protagonist is a worthless, sorry, pos narcissist upon watching the pilot and those who had to wait to season 5 to find that out.

 

[Kermz]

This episode was the best, and most depressing. The whole family just falls apart in front of you. I really wonder what he plans to do next.

 

[RabidAlpaca]

My theory of the show is that there are 2 types of viewers: Those who figured out that the protagonist is a worthless, sorry, pos narcissist upon watching the pilot and those who had to wait to season 5 to find that out.

For me the moment he became a giant piece of **** is when he stood there and watched jesse's GF die.

Though I'd say there's no doubt now that his journey to the dark side is complete.

 

[Ben K.]

There is a type of viewer around who still root for Walt.

 

[Gathomas88]

My theory of the show is that there are 2 types of viewers: Those who figured out that the protagonist is a worthless, sorry, pos narcissist upon watching the pilot and those who had to wait to season 5 to find that out.

I wouldn't say that he's a completely terrible person by nature. He simply happens to possess certain human flaws.

That's exactly what makes the show so compelling. Minus the whole "impossibly lucky genius chemist" bit, almost anyone could be Walter White.

He didn't start out irredeemably evil, but as what was essentially an unassuming "everyman" character. Instead, he "baby stepped" his way to darkness over the course of five seasons, following what he believed to be essentially "noble" intentions most, if not necessarily all, of the way there.

It's a "cautionary tale" in the truest sense of word.

For me the moment he became a giant piece of **** is when he stood there and watched jesse's GF die.

Though I'd say there's no doubt now that his journey to the dark side is complete.

The fact that, even in the early seasons, Walter was able to casually stroll through dens of dying meth addicts, without ever seeming to make the connection that it was his own product that was largely responsible for leaving them in that condition in the first place, sent some pretty major red flags up for me.

It exposed an underlying lack of empathy and moral character in his thought processes, IMO.

 

[LowDown]

I wouldn't say that he's a completely terrible person by nature. He simply happens to possess certain human flaws.

That's exactly what makes the show so compelling. Minus the whole "impossibly lucky genius chemist" bit, almost anyone could be Walter White.

He didn't start out irredeemably evil, but as what was essentially an unassuming "everyman" character. Instead, he "baby stepped" his way to darkness over the course of five seasons, following what he believed to be essentially "noble" intentions most, if not necessarily all, of the way there.

It's a "cautionary tale" in the truest sense of word.



The fact that, even in the early seasons, Walter was able to casually stroll through dens of dying meth addicts, without ever seeming to make the connection that it was his own product that was largely responsible for leaving them in that condition in the first place, sent some pretty major red flags up for me.

It exposed an underlying lack of empathy and moral character in his thought processes, IMO.

Exactly. In the pilot you can see it. His reaction to turning 50, his reaction to having to dress wheels at the car wash, it all bespoke of narcissism that foreshadowed everything that came after.

No, he's not like everyman or even most men, but most people like him would not have turned out the way he did. Most people would not have made the choices he did even given the same circumstances. But for him circumstances brought the bad characteristics into high relief.

 

[Gathomas88]

Exactly. In the pilot you can see it. His reaction to turning 50, his reaction to having to dress wheels at the car wash, it all bespoke of narcissism that foreshadowed everything that came after.

No, he's not like everyman or even most men, but most people like him would not have turned out the way he did. Most people would not have made the choices he did even given the same circumstances. But for him circumstances brought the bad characteristics into high relief.

To be fair, I think just about anyone in Walter's situation at the beginning of Season 1 would likely feel somewhat embittered and indignant. In spite of possessing a genius level intellect and co-founding a company worth billions, the man was still having to do menial labor in order to make ends meet at the age of fifty, and had just been diagnosed wih terminal lung cancer to top it all off.

I wouldn't exactly classify Walter's dissatisfaction with his everyday life as being indicative of any overt degree of "narcissism" per se given the circumstances.

Walter's true failing, IMO, is pride. He simply isn't willing to admit when he's wrong, or accept help from others when he plainly needs it.

This leads him to several courses of action over the course of the series which are pretty plainly irrational. Anyone other than Walter would have simply ditched meth and accepted the position he was offered at the chemical company back in Season 1, effectively ending the series right then and there.

 

[Kermz]

Anyone see this week's episode?

 

[Ben K.]

Yes.

Bartering for company, how pathetic.

I need to stop watching this before work on Monday, I have absolutely no joie de vivre afterwards.

 

[Kermz]

Yes.

Bartering for company, how pathetic.

I need to stop watching this before work on Monday, I have absolutely no joie de vivre afterwards.

I can't say I wouldn't do the same in that situation. It is sad though.

And yeah this show can have that effect on people lol

 

[ChuckBerry]

Anyone other than Walter would have simply ditched meth and accepted the position he was offered at the chemical company back in Season 1, effectively ending the series right then and there.

I disagree...no one really knows why Walt and Gretchen broke up, but it must have been a very deep wound that made him willing to abandon a promising future. Gretchen may have been playing Walt from the beginning, looking to force him out so that she could have the Grey Matter fortune concentrated in only Schwartz's hands.

I would LOVE it if Walt poisoned the two with ricin, and then went on to explain exactly what happened that made them break up. I think that would be genuinely closing the circle...Walt at his core is a family man, and I am sure he has never really forgiven Gretchen for destroying what he thought ought to have been his family, and his life.

 

[Mach]

This leads him to several courses of action over the course of the series which are pretty plainly irrational. Anyone other than Walter would have simply ditched meth and accepted the position he was offered at the chemical company back in Season 1, effectively ending the series right then and there.

Yep. Frustrating to watch until you realize you're watching a tragedy and not a dark hero type of story which I probably mistook it for during the first episodes.

 

[Gathomas88]

I disagree...no one really knows why Walt and Gretchen broke up, but it must have been a very deep wound that made him willing to abandon a promising future. Gretchen may have been playing Walt from the beginning, looking to force him out so that she could have the Grey Matter fortune concentrated in only Schwartz's hands.

I would LOVE it if Walt poisoned the two with ricin, and then went on to explain exactly what happened that made them break up. I think that would be genuinely closing the circle...Walt at his core is a family man, and I am sure he has never really forgiven Gretchen for destroying what he thought ought to have been his family, and his life.

We'll have to wait and see. I always wondered why they never chose to elaborate on what exactly happened between the three of them, and the ricin is still just laying around unused as far as I am aware.

The way they left things back in Season 2 would seem to imply that the fault was mostly Walter's. She broke it off with him, and he stormed off in a huff, never stopping to consider the implications of the act.

However, I'm willing to admit that there might very well be more to the story than that. This show is pretty well known for keeping its audience on their toes, after all, and he has to do something with that giant M60 machine gun he bought at the beginning of the season. :lol:

My main guess would be that he takes on the Nazis first in order to get his money back and break Jessie out of their meth lab. After that, however; it's really anyone's guess what might happen.

 

[Ben K.]

He's obsessed by the concept of securing his intellectual property so I doubt he would want to save Jesse - he's just another "loose end" he'd want to tie up. Then again, he's lost his bio family so maybe he sees Jesse as the last family he can save. Great ending in that the motivation of WW is completely up in the air.

The best theory I've heard about Grey Matter is that the other two wanted to do something illegal and Walt walked out - the irony becomes Walts moral decision eventually leads down the dark path he has taken.

 

[Kermz]

Don't forget what they just did to Jesse. He might be the one doing most of the killing. Maybe he'll blow up the lab or poison them with phosphine gas like Walt did in season 1

 

[Your Star]

Amazing ending tonight. Just really want to go back and watch the whole series again.

 

[Ben K.]

Totes.

It was remarkably (and pleasantly) straight forward for a finale. Admit what you are to yourself, accept you've done things you can't fix, but instead of wallowing in that do the best you can in the time you have left. If that includes killing Nazis all the better.

 

[Gathomas88]

The finale was absolutely perfect in just about every way imaginable.

It felt appropriately dramatic, it had more than its share of (non-contrived) shocking moments, and it managed to tie up the show's loose ends while striking all of the right emotional chords in the process.

I'm a little sad to see the show end. However, at the same time, I guess I'm glad that they were wise enough to quit while they were still ahead. It's better to have the memories of a good show that ended in its prime, rather than having to suffer through an aimless "zombie" program disgracing the legacy of everything that came before it (looking at you here, Dexter and Weeds).

 

[Surtr]

I liked the finale. My roommate said it was bull****, but I couldn't think of a better way to end it. Really glad that they killed off Meth Damon. I hated that douchebag.