Anyone follow Breaking Bad here? Edge of the seat for the final 5 episodes?
IF NOT go right now to your favourite media purveyor and binge watch this show. *spoilers* You will NOT BE disappointed!
Never watched it!
It's drokking awe-inspiring.
Nothing else like it on TV. Plotted like a motherf***er and superbly acted. Chilling, jaw-droppingly violent and hilarious in equal measure.
I have heard such tales about it.
My wife and I have just finished series 1 and waiting series 2 to start turning up from our online DVD rental thingie. It really is fantastic.
It is great.
When people described it to me, I thought it sounded awful - but it's bleakly funny, well written, stunningly acted and beautifully shot.
It has enough gruesome deaths to keep you happy as well, CF.
QuoteMy wife and I have just finished series 1 and waiting series 2 to start turning up from our online DVD rental thingie.
It is all on Netfilx. That alone makes the £6 per month worth it. No more waiting around.
Love the show - it sometimes teeters on the line of being ridiculously far-fetched, and often seems like an insane exercise in very skilled writers writing themselves out of corners week in week out. It really is quite incredible, and often unbearably tense.
Me and my girlfriend dressed up as Walt and Jessie for Halloween last year, and we're actually planning to have a party on the night of the final episode - we're gonna have fried chicken and make some of this too: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nrjPiT0lT_E (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nrjPiT0lT_E)
Me and my girlfriend dressed up as Walt and Jessie for Halloween last year, and we're actually planning to have a party on the night of the final episode - we're gonna have fried chicken and make some of this too: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nrjPiT0lT_E (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nrjPiT0lT_E)
[/quote]
How about some of that guac?
Quote from: radiator on 30 August, 2013, 11:38:14 AM
It is all on Netfilx. That alone makes the £6 per month worth it. No more waiting around.
Aye, I'm not sure I would have stuck with
Breaking Bad if I hadn't been able to watch it all in a oner on Netflix. I watched the first couple when they appeared on Channel Five but couldn't be bothered with the rest of the series, and I've drifted away from shows like
Deadwood on terrestrial television when they had the same mid-season lulls any other US show experiences, as the writers mark time before the next major plot development.
I'm planning to wait until there's only a few episodes of the final season of
Breaking Bad left then gorge on them over the course of a 1 month Netflix free trial. My previous experience of the UK version of Netflix lead me to believe they didn't have much of a selection of titles, and you can't beat the ability to get absolutely anything ever released on DVD from Lovefilm.
Not long to wait, there's only 5 episodes left, in orbit every Monday (I think) on Netflix.
I'm the same - I came to Breaking Bad about 3 seasons, and watched them all via Netflix - the selection's not great compared to the US, but there's still more than I can comfortably get through.
Quote from: Steve Green on 30 August, 2013, 02:26:01 PM
Not long to wait, there's only 5 episodes left, in orbit every Monday (I think) on Netflix. I'm the same - I came to Breaking Bad about 3 seasons, and watched them all via Netflix - the selection's not great compared to the US, but there's still more than I can comfortably get through.
I don't watch a ton of stuff myself,
Steve, but the noticeable absence of some big films and TV shows from their UK catalogue annoyed me. Apparently it's quite easy to access the more varied US catalogue, but that would mean watching big screen blockbusters on my wee computer - which seems to be missing the point. I'm not sure [spoiler]the death of Mike Ehrmantraut, one of the greatest characters on telly[/spoiler], would have had the same impact on the world's shittest laptop.
Apparently it is possible to access it on a Xbox and the like as well, but I've never been that bothered to circumvent things.
It would be great if they manage to loosen Sky's stranglehold on broadcast rights over here, although it seems unlikely.
You watch all you want - I'm off to the ABQ next week! Me eating at POLLOS, the hotdog stand and the waffle househ will follow shortly! Possibly also in Saul's break room, negotiations to be finalised.
Me and the Missus got to the end of Season 3 last night. Walt just gets cooler and cooler...
Lucky man Pete - the wait between season 3 ending and four starting was torture! You newbies got it easy!
Quote from: Buttonman on 30 August, 2013, 05:02:44 PM
I'm off to the ABQ next week! Me eating at POLLOS, the hotdog stand and the waffle house will follow shortly!
If Tobermory can stay painted in pastel shades all year round for the benefit of
Balamory tourism, and Holmfirth can still make a fortune from
Last of the Summer Wine, then I don't know why it came as a surprise to learn that you can actually dine in Los Pollos Hermanos (http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/ShowUserReviews-g60933-d2456273-r142078521-Twisters-Albuquerque_New_Mexico.html).
Looking forward to seeing the usual look of delight on your beaming face as you shoot up in Jesse's and Jane's squalid apartment,
Buttonman.
Yeah looking forward to my blue meth - seemingly available in candy and bath salt form!
Quote from: Steve Green on 30 August, 2013, 10:07:43 AMIt has enough gruesome deaths to keep you happy as well, CF.
Why wasn't this said in the first place. I shall add it to my short list of stuff to watch asp :D
I look forward to your top 10 once you've watched it.
Back from the ABQ and did some sights!
Los Pollos Hermanos : A Twisters that serves below average Mexican food - tune into the 'Wot I Ate on My Holidays' thread for the full dissection!
(http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c118/button71/weboflies2403_zps27a0a997.jpg)
Chez Pinkman - lovely house on a great street - puts Walt to shame!
(http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c118/button71/weboflies2392_zpsfc7a7bbb.jpg)
Walt's House - Pete Wells had kindly scoffed the pizza off the roof.
(http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c118/button71/weboflies2381_zpsb6baaf04.jpg)
Saul's Office - the web reliably informs me it is now the 'Hooligans in this picture. I am of course pretending to call Saul.
(http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c118/button71/weboflies2375_zps4465eb02.jpg)
Hot dog stand - shame I didn't see it at night as the dogs light up on the sign and are scoffed by the dog. I had one of their dogs and the review will appear in the foodie thread with pics - Spoiler - it looks like a big jobby.
(http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c118/button71/weboflies2385_zpsda78b120.jpg)
The car wash - I was going to get my car washed but who takes a rental to a car wash?
(http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c118/button71/weboflies2364_zpsdc424982.jpg)
Now we know what happens to that hand you've always got underneath the table - it's buried deep inside the pocket of your shorts.
Genuinely weird to see New Mexico looking grey and overcast; do you think they shoot everything in bright sunlight for aesthetic reasons or for the purpose of continuity/mixing and matching shots? Maybe American DPs are just so steeped in the tradition of only shooting in bright sunlight that it never occurs to them to do otherwise, but it does have a weird propaganda effect. One of the reasons I wanted to live in America as a wee boy was because - as far as I could tell from TV - it was hot and sunny there every day.
I like the fact you went for the meth head look.
;)
We were in Albuquerque for 3 days and it rained for at least some of each. We also got clear blue skies and hot sunshine. The locals said any rain was unusual and I guess it helps to have predicable weather for TV filming for continuity purposes. Breaking Bad wasn't that big a deal and we had to go online to find blue meth and BB tat. I did get 5 compliments on my 'Respect the chemistry' t-shirt - one from an old woman who said 'I know this fella'!
Yo, give me some of that blue stuff, bitch!
http://www.amazon.com/Blue-Raspberry-Candy-Crystals-Pound/dp/B005SWKZG4/ref=pd_sim_misc_4 (http://www.amazon.com/Blue-Raspberry-Candy-Crystals-Pound/dp/B005SWKZG4/ref=pd_sim_misc_4)
The review from Gail is particularly good.
PM me your address and I can sort you out - Saul beer mat too!
Watched the finale and thought it was great - really satisfying with a neat and logical conclusion. I did predict two major resolutions but plenty surprised me too. Doubt we'll ever see a better series!
Quote from: Buttonman on 25 September, 2013, 07:05:46 PM
Back from the ABQ and did some sights!
Los Pollos Hermanos : A Twisters that serves below average Mexican food - tune into the 'Wot I Ate on My Holidays' thread for the full dissection!
(http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c118/button71/weboflies2403_zps27a0a997.jpg)
Chez Pinkman - lovely house on a great street - puts Walt to shame!
(http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c118/button71/weboflies2392_zpsfc7a7bbb.jpg)
Walt's House - Pete Wells had kindly scoffed the pizza off the roof.
(http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c118/button71/weboflies2381_zpsb6baaf04.jpg)
Saul's Office - the web reliably informs me it is now the 'Hooligans in this picture. I am of course pretending to call Saul.
(http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c118/button71/weboflies2375_zps4465eb02.jpg)
Hot dog stand - shame I didn't see it at night as the dogs light up on the sign and are scoffed by the dog. I had one of their dogs and the review will appear in the foodie thread with pics - Spoiler - it looks like a big jobby.
(http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c118/button71/weboflies2385_zpsda78b120.jpg)
The car wash - I was going to get my car washed but who takes a rental to a car wash?
(http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c118/button71/weboflies2364_zpsdc424982.jpg)
Love it!
When I was in NM is rained pretty much constantly (it was January...)
Astounding final episode. Brilliant, brilliant writing.
It was great up until the moment that I realised [spoiler]Jesse wasn't going to wrap that car around a tree and bleed out slowly and then die like I hoped he would.[/spoiler]
I want a car-boot that does that.
I watched it, so it's finally safe to go on the internet again. [spoiler]I liked that Skinny Pete and Badger came out on top. Hunnerd grand each.[/spoiler]
A brilliant finale to a brilliant series.
Now I think it's time for a marathon re-watch.
Yes I agree that it was a brilliant ending to an excellent series. One last display of a load of writers flawlessly performing crazy acrobatics to write themselves out of the tightest corners imaginable. As with the rest of the series, there were a few moments where I had to give my suspension of disbelief a thorough workout, but everything about the production is so strong and performed with such heart it's ultimately irresistible. I think my lasting impression is - they pulled it off, they didn't drop the ball. They didn't cheap out on their fans and they gave almost everything a satisfying point of closure and tied everything up in a bow. I was genuinely moved to see [spoiler]the actual demise of Walter White[/spoiler] - my girlfriend was in tears from about halfway through the episode.
One of the all time greats, for sure.
So this is pretty amazing: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9kLHgYlXuAs (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9kLHgYlXuAs)
Quote from: radiator on 01 October, 2013, 01:28:35 PM
I was genuinely moved to see [spoiler]the actual demise of Walter White[/spoiler] - my girlfriend was in tears from about halfway through the episode.
Same here, I began to get chocked up when I realised [spoiler] that despite me not believing it could end any other way for Walt that it was finally happening[/spoiler].
The only other finale to get me like that (probably more so) was Six Feet Under.
Quote from: radiator on 01 October, 2013, 04:00:38 PM
So this is pretty amazing: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9kLHgYlXuAs (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9kLHgYlXuAs)
That's wonderful.
Quote from: radiator on 01 October, 2013, 04:00:38 PM
So this is pretty amazing: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9kLHgYlXuAs (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9kLHgYlXuAs)
That's brilliant!
I notice the "the ending was all a dream" brigade are banging on about the Breaking Bad finale.
What a load of twaddle - you could pose that theory about literally anything. It wasn't true with the ending of The Dark Knight Rises, it's not true in this case either.
I did like the ending but it seemed a little too tidy, especially for a show so unpredictable.
[spoiler]The only reason Walt doesn't get shot by the Nazi's is so Jack can prove to him that he's not Jesse's partner, was to me a bit weak. The actual gun scene was pretty cool though. [/spoiler]
As I said, the show has always required viewers to swallow some pretty credibility-straining plot twists and contrivances - this episode was no different.
I've also heard that complaint about the ending being 'too perfect' - but they're damned if they do, damned if they don't. If they had left it more vague people would be moaning about that too.
Personally I think it's nice to get a decent sense of closure - which most high-concept shows duck out of doing.
Quote from: MR. ELIMINATOR on 02 October, 2013, 05:19:48 PM
I did like the ending but it seemed a little too tidy, especially for a show so unpredictable.
[spoiler]The only reason Walt doesn't get shot by the Nazi's is so Jack can prove to him that he's not Jesse's partner, was to me a bit weak. The actual gun scene was pretty cool though. [/spoiler]
I think they established Uncle Jack and his crew were pretty hardcore Ayran Brotherhood prison gang; and having served time togther, I'm assuming that they would also be pretty hardcore on snitches and personal honour etc etc.
[spoiler]What didn't work for me was the 'stray bullet', which seemed to be only way to get Walter to die on cue..[/spoiler]
Read a great comment on Twitter saying that anyone who thought this episode was far fetched has obviously not watched the previous 61 episodes...
Quote from: Richmond Clements on 02 October, 2013, 07:29:44 PM
Read a great comment on Twitter saying that anyone who thought this episode was far fetched has obviously not watched the previous 61 episodes...
Magnets, bitch!
Quote from: Graff Vynda K on 02 October, 2013, 07:26:23 PM
Quote from: MR. ELIMINATOR on 02 October, 2013, 05:19:48 PM
I did like the ending but it seemed a little too tidy, especially for a show so unpredictable.
[spoiler]The only reason Walt doesn't get shot by the Nazi's is so Jack can prove to him that he's not Jesse's partner, was to me a bit weak. The actual gun scene was pretty cool though. [/spoiler]
I think they established Uncle Jack and his crew were pretty hardcore Ayran Brotherhood prison gang; and having served time togther, I'm assuming that they would also be pretty hardcore on snitches and personal honour etc etc.
[spoiler]What didn't work for me was the 'stray bullet', which seemed to be only way to get Walter to die on cue..[/spoiler]
'Stray bullet'? Erm, you've heard of ricochets, yes?
Yo soy el que llama (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mpg2MvVPV7Y).
I thought it was a fantastic ending to a fantastic show. I thought it was a [spoiler]nice ending for Walt, diving to save Jesse & catching one of his own bullets in the process.[/spoiler] I would like to have seen more of Breaking Bad, but having just watched the continued decline of Dexter, I'd rather see shows end with a bang, rather than a whimper or in Dexters case, a long drawn out death rattle ...
I've been watching it from the start but my wife couldnt bare to see Hal from Malcolm In the Middle :P do bad things >:( so she stopped watching :-[. I watched on, naturally, and it is without doubt my favourite show of all time. I think for me it was a black comedy which made the plot twists and contrivances fine - right from the start it never set out to be ultra realistic in tone.
Anyway, about two weeks ago wifey and me started watching from the start again as she finally accepted that she might be missing something wonderful - so we've got up to episode 12 of season 3 where [spoiler]walt shoots the drug dealers in the head after running them over with his people carrier[/spoiler]. I cant wait for her to see next episode where [spoiler]Jesse shoots Gale[/spoiler]!!! So exciting.
I thought that season 4 was awesome, but that Walt becoming a trully bad villain in the first half of season 5 was almost too quick or too rushed. nonetheless, the final 8 episodes are perfect and the final episode was the perfect pay off for all those years. the writers did not drop the ball once.
One of the big thing i never quite appreciated the first time watching it all is just what a fantastic actor Aaron Paul is. How did i miss that? He has excellent comic timing, has a great feel for the tragic, he is the emotional core of the show. He is the only one who stood up at any point and said [spoiler]"This is totally fucked up - we cant go round killing kids and shit"[/spoiler] or something like that anyway. Love him.
As for Dexter?? holy god I was gauging my eyes out in desperation by the end of it. the whole last 2 or 3 years of it were total drivel. I only kept on watching out of loyalty. what a disappointment.
Dave
Has anyone else seen the (somewhat out there) theory that [spoiler]Walt dies in the car at the begining of the finale and the rest of the episode (from the keys falling into his lap onwards) is a diying mans dream?[/spoiler] It real mindblower and gets you looking at the finale in a whole different light.
I'll post a link here but PLEASE don't click it unless you've seen the last episode: http://www.bleedingcool.com/2013/10/04/norm-macdonald-tells-you-how-breaking-bad-really-ended/ (http://www.bleedingcool.com/2013/10/04/norm-macdonald-tells-you-how-breaking-bad-really-ended/)
Yeah, I've seen that. Doesn't really stand up. [spoiler]Skyler tells him about the masked men that broke in, and he finds out that Jesse was being held prisoner and forced to cook.[/spoiler] Walt had no way of knowing these things, so why would they be in his dream?
There's absolutely no thematic or narrative reason for the end of Breaking Bad to be interpreted as a dream/fantasy sequence. It's not Twin Peaks, The Prisoner or Lost where - from the very beginning - reality distortions and parallel realities are part of the fabric and meaning of the show. There's also no implicit or explicit story device used to even hint that it's a dream. Even presuming it's true, what value or meaning would it add to the story?
None at all.
The series' end is as obvious and inevitable as Walt's cancer but Walt being Walt beat it to the punch. The dream sequence interpretation renders all the personal battles he won and lost in those final moments a dramatic novelty which belittles the story; great writing, acting, directing etc. It also misses the point.
The end has a certain mood that is zen-like : everything feels predestined; marking time while Walt puts all his ducks in a row. The meditative, deliberate pacing shouldn't be mistaken for a dream, but the natural end of a long journey, as Walt finally accepts who he is and his fate.
For it to be literally all a dream is an undue interpretation by people acting clever.
Quote from: dodsy on 04 October, 2013, 12:50:20 PM
Has anyone else seen the (somewhat out there) theory that [spoiler]Walt dies in the car at the begining of the finale and the rest of the episode (from the keys falling into his lap onwards) is a diying mans dream?[/spoiler] It real mindblower and gets you looking at the finale in a whole different light.
I'll post a link here but PLEASE don't click it unless you've seen the last episode: http://www.bleedingcool.com/2013/10/04/norm-macdonald-tells-you-how-breaking-bad-really-ended/ (http://www.bleedingcool.com/2013/10/04/norm-macdonald-tells-you-how-breaking-bad-really-ended/)
Well, look who's come up with that idea...that IS Norm McDonald (for UK listeners, just look him up on You Tube); not the most reliable source of pop-cultural analysis...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X8LqozaaB7s
Quote from: JOE SOAP on 04 October, 2013, 02:38:18 PM
For it to be literally all a dream is an undue interpretation by people acting clever.
Aye. Just watched the last episode, and heard about the theory. What fresh twaddle is this?
Walt is easily smart enough [spoiler]to set all this up; he's already wiped out an entire drug empire single-handedly and avoided arrest for two years.[/spoiler] In the case
Taxi Driver and
King of Comedy I'll accept the dream-sequence ending theory, but as for Breaking Bad: no chance.
Quote from: JayzusB.Christ on 05 November, 2013, 11:49:46 AM
Quote from: JOE SOAP on 04 October, 2013, 02:38:18 PM
For it to be literally all a dream is an undue interpretation by people acting clever.
Aye. Just watched the last episode, and heard about the theory. What fresh twaddle is this?
Walt is easily smart enough [spoiler]to set all this up; he's already wiped out an entire drug empire single-handedly and avoided arrest for two years.[/spoiler] In the case Taxi Driver and King of Comedy I'll accept the dream-sequence ending theory, but as for Breaking Bad: no chance.
Yep I thought that theory was a load of bollocks too - and it's been shot down by Vince Gilligan himself. I remember people saying the same thing about the ending of The Dark Knight Rises, and thought that was bollocks too - you could say 'the ending was a dream' about literally anything - it isn't clever.
Except that one time in Dallas!
Quote from: shaolin_monkey on 05 November, 2013, 07:54:07 PM
Except that one time in Dallas!
...and that time in
St. Elsewhere where in the final scene of the final episode was revealed that the entire series took place in the mind of autistic child Tommy Westphall
* while he stared at a snow-globe that contained a model of the hospital.
*Son of Dr. Westphall in the series who in 'reality' was a construction worker rather than a doctor.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vbjujMc5rGY&t=43m30s
(http://friday87central.files.wordpress.com/2011/04/tommy_westphall.jpg)
... and every story anyone wrote in primary school. I thought the writing on the second half of season five was tighter than it had ever been, but that final episode sometimes felt like a DVD extra or an epilogue, rather than a grand finale. Maybe that's why some moon calves resort to outlandish but really quite dull theories.
The dramatic resolution to everything the series had established was[spoiler] the three-way confrontation between Walt, Hank and Jesse at the site of their first cook and on top of Walt's precious horde of gold[/spoiler], but if it had wrapped there I'd have missed out on [spoiler]the hilarious reveal of the identities of "the two best hitmen in New Mexico"[/spoiler].
<mod edit - added another spoiler tag!>
Watching it I was surprised that Walt[spoiler] won on two fronts in the end. Not so much killing 'Death' and those bloody Nazis, which I was literally thumping the table in frustrated anticipation of, but getting a wodge of money to Flynn and presumably Holly after all[/spoiler]. I was torn between wanting to see the wages of sin paid out, and wanting Walt to have at least some solace as he checked out. On reflection, I am more than happy that the old bastard got something right.
My only real reservation about a satisfying conclusion to a masterful series is that Jesse, Marie and Flynn didn't get enough to do and say in the final episodes.
And yes, the 'hitmen' setup, while we twigged what it was but not who was doing it, was a moment of inspired genius as great as anything else in the whole run.
Quote from: Richmond St Clements on 05 November, 2013, 09:10:29 PM
<mod edit - added another spoiler tag!>
[spoiler]Sorry,
Rich; that was particularly dense of me[/spoiler].
Quote from: sauchie on 05 November, 2013, 10:24:20 PM
Quote from: Richmond St Clements on 05 November, 2013, 09:10:29 PM
<mod edit - added another spoiler tag!>
[spoiler]Sorry, Rich; that was particularly dense of me[/spoiler].
[spoiler]No worries - it's what I'm here for![/spoiler]
Quote from: Richmond Clements on 05 November, 2013, 11:17:30 PM
Quote from: sauchie on 05 November, 2013, 10:24:20 PM
Quote from: Richmond St Clements on 05 November, 2013, 09:10:29 PM
<mod edit - added another spoiler tag!>
[spoiler]Sorry, Rich; that was particularly dense of me[/spoiler].
[spoiler]No worries - it's what I'm here for![/spoiler]
[spoiler]Oy! With all this malarkey how are the rest of us supposed to tell what's a real spoiler and what's just you two mucking around?!? Oh, and in BB the pink teddy is Hanks, Walt makes inventive use of a snake, vacuum cleaner and kids chemistry set, and Jesse loves Star Trek.[/spoiler]
Quote from: TordelBack on 05 November, 2013, 09:31:29 PMI was torn between wanting to see the wages of sin paid out, and wanting Walt to have at least some solace as he checked out. On reflection, I am more than happy that the old bastard got something right.
Me too. Even though Hank is a far better man than Walt, I found myself rooting for the miserable, greedy old bully all the way.
Think it was Vince Gilligan who described Walt's journey as a transformation from [spoiler]Mr Chips to Scarface[/spoiler] - and the ending was up there with that of the latter. Poor old Jesse, though - [spoiler]scarred physically and mentally forever; and he was blackmailed into doing it in the first place[/spoiler].
I like to think that [spoiler]Jesse was able to move on. The exhilarating race away was quite powerfully symbolic I thought - he was leaving everything behind him.[/spoiler]
Also, the [spoiler]carpentry scene was very interesting. On first watching I interpreted it as a daydream - and the wooden box was perhaps symbolising him laying to rest all those he had lost. Though I've read others speculating that it could have either been a flashback (apparently there was a scene in an earlier season where he described lovingly making a wooden box in shop class and being so proud of it, then later trading it for some weed) or potentially a flash-forward to what he will go on to do after. Either way, I feel like it represented Jesse's potential.
I like the ambiguity - there's enough there to believe he went on to find some kind of happiness or peace.[/spoiler]
Aye, the box sequence [spoiler]was an idealised flashback to the one thing he was proud of in his life: a job of work well done[/spoiler]: which is of course what Walt's final words to Skylar dwell on too. Note that even in his appalling circumstances [spoiler]Jesse manages to perfect, possibly even improve on, Walt's recipe[/spoiler], if Todd Damon is to be believed. Jesse has the potential to truly apply himself, to be creative and focused and precise, and [spoiler]I think we all hope that that is what he goes on to do[/spoiler].
Quote from: JayzusB.Christ on 06 November, 2013, 10:34:06 AM
Even though Hank is a far better man than Walt, I found myself rooting for the miserable, greedy old bully all the way.
Hank is a fascinating character. Under all the bravado and crudeness, a genuinely intuitive and meticulous cop, and a supportive family man in trying circumstances: along with Gomez probably the most decent adult in the show, and [spoiler]he deserved better[/spoiler]. I was also amazed that we got through 5 seasons with no hint of corruption in the DEA - at several points I was sure that Gus was paying off Hank's boss, or that Gomez was passing information to the syndicate.
RE: The carpentry scene
Quote from: radiator on 06 November, 2013, 11:09:33 AM
[spoiler]Though I've read others speculating that it could have either been a flashback (apparently there was a scene in an earlier season where he described lovingly making a wooden box in shop class and being so proud of it, then later trading it for some weed) [/spoiler]
I was convinced it was a flashback reference to that comment he previously made.
Also, I don't think he had the facial scars in the carpentry scene, strengthening the flashback theory.
Quote from: Link Prime on 06 November, 2013, 01:01:49 PM
RE: The carpentry scene
Quote from: radiator on 06 November, 2013, 11:09:33 AM
[spoiler]Though I've read others speculating that it could have either been a flashback (apparently there was a scene in an earlier season where he described lovingly making a wooden box in shop class and being so proud of it, then later trading it for some weed) [/spoiler]
I was convinced it was a flashback reference to that comment he previously made.
Also, I don't think he had the facial scars in the carpentry scene, strengthening the flashback theory.
I'm about 98% sure you're right. It was an idealised memory, yes, but a memory nevertheless: It happened exactly as he described in rehab a few seasons ago. (I watched every episode within a month - things are still fresh in my mind)
The carpentry scene is definitely a flashback, confirmed by the commentary track on the dvd.
I heard people had mixed reactions on the ending, but I struggle to see how it could have ended any other way. I was worried we were going to end up with another Sopranos (biggest disappointment ever) so I was more than happy to see all the loose ends tied up. At the end of the day,[spoiler] Walt had to die. He had done too many bad things[/spoiler]. The best scene for me was when he was in the house with Skyler near the end and he [spoiler]admits to doing it for himself that that he enjoyed it[/spoiler]. That made it a happy ending. Best t.v series ever.
Quote from: GrinningChimera on 15 December, 2013, 04:33:08 PMThe best scene for me was when he was in the house with Skyler near the end and he [spoiler]admits to doing it for himself that that he enjoyed it[/spoiler].
Yeah that was great, maybe one of the few scenes since the very beginning where we see the
real Walt, stripped of all the roles he plays. And I loved how that played into Jessie and [spoiler]the box flashback[/spoiler] - the exact same emotion, but for a different reason.
I held off on Breaking Bad for a few years as my wife didn't get on with the pilot episode, and we had loads of other things to watch at the time. When the end was nigh, I held off until the series had finished and piled on to Netflix to watch them all....was on at least 3 episodes a night, sometimes 4 or 5.
Finished it on Friday night - and so glad I waited and overdosed on them. Some of the twists and turns that happened were fantastic - it's not often I am surprised by something in a show, but this just blew me away....the best of which was the end of "One Minute" in Season 3 where [spoiler]Walt drives into the 2 dealers, then gets out of the car and shoots on in the head and tells Jesse to run.[/spoiler] Took my breath away. Actually, Season 3 had loads of bits like that.
Just brilliant stuff.....and by the end of Season 5, my wife had become hooked in to it too. We're going to watch it all the way through at a leisurely pace again soon, so she can enjoy it fully.
There's a thread for this? Huh. I was yapping about it on the 'box set' thread, I could've targetted my frustration here if I'd known.
That 'One minute' episode was probably he highlight of the whole thing for me.
M.
Just realised that the episode I referred to as "One Minute" is actually "Half Measures" - man, reading over the episodes in season 3 and there are so many highlights.
Mike's 'No half measures' speech is a series highlight - "there was so much blood you could taste the metal in the air" - or something like that.