“HOLY SH*T WALTER WHITE!!!”
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve yelled that spontaneously over the last few weeks in the course of getting caught up on Breaking Bad via Netflix. It’s happened too many times for me to deliver an accurate count and I lost track somewhere along the way. I have a feeling I’m not the only one.
With that said, unless you’ve been living on another planet for the past few days, you know that last night marked the return of Breaking Bad and the most bad ass high school chemistry teacher in the history of high school chemistry teachers, Walter White. We’ll be discussing each episode this season on the Mondays after they air — and we plan on having a guest or two from the show join us from time to time as well. Additionally, Josh will be doing character power rankings each week.
I suppose this as good a time as any to let you know that RJ Mitte — aka Walter Jr. aka Flynn — will be joining us for a live discussion this coming Thursday afternoon at 3pm EST. Get excited, and be sure to eat a hearty breakfast that day, because you know RJ will.
So let’s get right to it, shall we? Here are a few notes I made during last night’s Breaking Bad about characters, scenes, etc. I found interesting for one reason or another.
- Going into last night, I had one suspicion in regards to what’s going to happen on the show going forward, and that was this: things are about to get really f*cked up for Walter. My sole reason for thinking this was that things seem to be going too well for him. Gus is gone. He continues to successfully elude the law. What goes up must come down. It’s basic storytelling.
In such, we see a future version of Walt on the run using an alias in the opening scene of the show. I’m not sure when Vince Gilligan will circle back to this — it’s at least a year off from the show’s present setting by my estimation — but I think that scene hints that the sh*t is indeed going to hit the fan bigtime for Walt in the future. I mean, he obviously feels the need for a MACHINE GUN for the love of God.
- Going into last night I was also wondering how the state motto of New Hampshire — “Live Free or Die” — was gonna tie in to the episode which bore said motto as its title. It didn’t take long to find out. And about the opening scene, Vince Gilligan discussed it a bit here.
- Oh by the way last night wasn’t the first time we’ve seen Walt’s age spelled out in bacon on his birthday…
- One of the things I regret about watching the first four seasons of the show in marathon session on Netflix was not getting the opportunity to have a week in between each episode to ruminate on them and take in the thoughts of others. However, I do remember a lot of debate going on about whether or not Walt was the person responsible for that kid being poisoned with a plant from the Whites’ back yard. I suppose Walt putting the plant in question in his truck along with other incriminating evidence he presumably plans to destroy pretty much confirms that Walt poisoned the kid.
- How is Hank walking so well suddenly? I don’t remember him being able to get around at the end of season four like he did in Gus Fring’s burned out meth superlab last night. But hey, whatever.
- THOSE FREAKING CAMERAS! I had a hunch that they’d come into play at some point with the authorities, although I always envisioned Hank hacking the feed with some sort close-circuit feed hacking device or something, only to not recognize that Walt was one of the dudes walking around the lab in a haz-mat suit.
- If the magnet truck is rockin’…
- How great was it that it was Jesse who came up with the centerpiece of the night’s diabolical plan? I really think this Pinkman kid is beginning to come into his own. Looks like he has a bright future.
- All all hail the return of Mike, arguably my favorite secondary character of the show’s entire run.
-Speaking of Mike, Walt blurting out “because I said so?” to him while they were speeding away in the getaway car was one of three moments last night that spoke to how overwhelmingly cocky Walt has become — the other two being the moment he had the “we’re done when I say we’re done” moment with Saul and the “I forgive you” moment he had with Skyler, who is suddenly emerging as a sympathetic character for me. Walt truly believes that he’s invincible, and it appears as though his delusions are beginning to morph him into a monster.
- How about a round of applause for whatever makeup/props department person contrived Saul’s hilariously ridiculous looking hair piece!
- Well I’ll be damned…Huell did indeed lift the explosive ricin cig from Jesse after all.
- I think the biggest question concerning last night’s episode is this: was the plot to destroy a computer locked in a police evidence room with a giant magnet plausible? Probably not. Here’s what Gilligan has to say…
As Mr. Gilligan acknowledged in a telephone interview, it would probably have been more sensible for his characters to pilfer the computer before the police obtained it.
“But you say to yourself: Where’s the fun in that?” Mr. Gilligan said. “Let’s make life harder for these guys.”
…
The “Breaking Bad” team did not necessarily expect that this plot would withstand close scientific scrutiny, though Mr. Gilligan suggested that he would enjoy seeing it tested on a future episode of “MythBusters.” He added, “I would love to have ‘MythBusters’ prove or disprove that on their wonderful TV show.”
- Well, well, well — looks like Gus Fring banks in the Cayman Islands, just like Mitt Romney!
- With all the crazy sh*t that happened in the season four finale, I’d totally forgotten about Ted. He looked terrified of Skyler when she showed up in his hospital room.
- But hey, let’s not forget who wears the pants in the White family.
Your own thoughts and observations are of course welcome in the comments.
(Pics and GIFs via Film Ghoul, King in the North, The Seventh Art, It’s Davo and Jest)
![[image]](http://cdn.uproxx.com/wp-content/thumbnails/130/110/2013/05/both-the-great-gatsby-movies-combined-nbcs-she-ra-other-mashups-150x150.jpg)
![[image]](http://cdn.uproxx.com/wp-content/thumbnails/130/110/2013/05/skyler-hazard-pay-650x364-150x150.jpg)
![[image]](http://cdn.uproxx.com/wp-content/thumbnails/130/110/2013/05/breaking-bad-150x150.jpg)
![[image]](http://cdn.uproxx.com/wp-content/thumbnails/130/110/2013/05/yeah1-150x150.gif)
I’m way late here and maybe I am just reading way too much into everything.
But could it be possible that the entirety of the Gus-Mexico Flashbacks had something more to do with the show than just simple background?
Could Gilligan be using a little foreshadowing? Gus starts off as an up-and-coming drug maker/pedaler with a partner. Then he eventually is turned in to the cold an callus guy we see during the present day. Walt seems to be following the same path.
I’m way, way, way late here and no one will read this, but I came here to point this very thing out. When we see the first scene with Gus and his partner and Don Eladio, after his partner is killed Don Eladio says that he didn’t kill Gus because he knows who he is. This is all going to come down to who Gus was/comes from in Chile. Whoever that power was behind Gus, power enough to scare Don Eladio out of killing Gus, is going to come after Walt. That’s what the ‘Live Free or Die’ reference is going to come back to.
One of my favorite scenes happened while Walt was cleaning up the mess from the lily of the valley. He grabs the electric tape off the counter and casually spins it in his hands while surveying the room for more mess. I had to laugh at that, it was so good. In the past he would have been frantically running around, freaking out. But new Walt is totally in control — everything is calm and calculated.
Excellent observation. I couldn’t agree more.
I think I’m going to re-watch last night’s episode again tonight. There were so many great, insightful things pointed out by the commenters here that I want to go back and take a second look.
I think you are right about this
“I’m not sure when Vince Gilligan will circle back to this — it’s at least a year off from the show’s present setting by my estimation”
The fourth episode of the season is titled Fifty-One, so we have a year of story before the long haired machine gun wielding Walt has his run. I’m guessing something like the 2nd season teddy bear intros.
Prediction, Walt will make Jesse kill Mike. It will be the most heartbreaking scene in Breaking Bad, but will lead to Jesse’s redemption as the man who finally takes down Walt.
I think the Machine Gun is going to be for Mike.
Agree. I definitely see the series ending with Jesse killing Walt. That’s my guess as to who the gun is for.
Was Huell lifting the cig in the show, or previews for next weeks episode? I don’t remember seeing it.
Last season, i believe second to last episode
Yep, that was in the second to last episode of the fourth, as I recall.
My feeling is that Hank can walk again because he’s born again. Walking through the burned out husk of the meth lab proves that he was right, the only cop that was right, it’s a moment of glory and redemption. Watch it again, it looks like he’s walking through a church, the music even emphasizes it.
He can walk because he’s natural po-lice and now everybody knows it. They even brought back Gomez who’s some hotshot in DEA Texas to come back Hank was so right. I loved that scene.
Hank has all the wind at his back now, Walt should be more worried than ever.
The inevitable Walt/Hank showdown is going to make me shit my pants. I can feel it.
Why is it that I’m not worried about Hank? It just seems that Walt has had a long time to consider Hank and that Hank won’t have much time at all when it finally happens.
It’s like those internet arguments about Batman vs. (whoever). “How long does batman have to prepare?” seems to be the big question each time.
I don’t like how “easy’ it was for Hank to solve the whole Gus thing… the dude combed through financial statements and purchasing and sales of things tied to a company in Germany in days. It was like all of the sudden Hank turned into the Oracle and poof found everything he ever needed to know.
I remember reading on another site that “Lambert” was actually Skyler’s maiden name. So…uh…that’s something, I guess.
Ooooohhhhhhhh…INTERESTING.
And is it just me or is Small Town Security too perfect NOT to be fake?
I was torn. I felt like if it was a mockumentary, it was pretty brilliant. But if it’s not, and these people exist, I have to put everything else on hold in life until they are destroyed.
Also, burying the walking dead trailer AND scenes from the next “breaking bad” into that security show, so we HAD to watch it…no me gusta.
Those people can’t possibly be real.
I thought it was a purposely done Reno 9-1-1 rip off. You mean its actual people?
I just assumed it was NOT a reality show. Are they contending that it is?
If so, I point and screech, like Donald Sutherland at the end of Invasion of the Bodysnatchers.
S’tough tobea CELEBRITAY
Hank was limping pretty badly while hobbling around the burnt out meth lab so I wouldn’t see he’s moving around well.
He’s ambulating efficiently, which is better than what I recall.
“If you have any brains, you’d take that money you saved and skip town. Today. Right now.”
“You don’t think this can work?”
“Is that a serious question”
Huell definitely has quick hands for a big man, because it doesn’t look like he picks up the pack of cigs, but you can see him shoving something in his pocket
Use the Weekend TV thread as the open thread?
Effing magnets. How do they work?
Needs the B word.
I watched the first two episodes on Netflix last night. I’m looking forward to reading the Breaking Bad posts without being spoilered.
Rewatching the episode again online, the scene where Mike meets Jesse and Walt in the middle of nowhere in Mexico is fantastic.
Yo if you guys can do a WWE Pay Per View live chat, we need a Breaking Bad live chat every Sunday night, bithces
err I can half ass watch wrestling and make somewhat stupid remarks I actually enjoy watching Breaking Bad. Definitely more enjoyable for me as a MMQB thing than a live discussion.
Was it seriously ever a question that he poisoned Brock? They showed the plant in Walt’s yard. What more would you like? A sign beneath the plant with giant neon arrows?
I agree, but there were plenty of people who thought that Gus did it in a twisted play to get Jesse to turn on Walt. Remember, Gus had Mike and other henchman in and around the house often.
Personally, I had no doubt that it was Walt.
I don’t think you can redirect after the final shot from Season 4. Gilligan has made it clearer that Walt is continually getting less sympathetic and being willing to hurt a kid was that closing moment.
I had a problem with that plan actually working when I watched the s4 finale but the more an more I think about it it’s brilliant because the only thing that made Walt less evil than Gus in Jesse’s mind was his unwillingness to hurt children.
The zoom in on the plant at the end was a pretty big tell, but if you go back and look, the scene where Walt is spinning the gun on the table, it stops pointing at the flowers. If there was any doubt, that scene should have erased it.
Go back and watch the second to last episode of season 4 when Skyler and Walt Jr leave. Walt’s sitting around in his backyard, looking around, then he looks at the lily of the valley plant and looks as though he just had a moment of clarity. It’s something you definitely wouldn’t pick up on from watching it the first time.
Larry, you are dead on. I re-watched the 4th season to get the GF caught up. when he looks at the flower in the earlier episode it simply looks like he is just thinking. the subtlety is awesome, most other shows would have him staring at the plant for 3 minutes to make sure the audience of mouth breathers knew that it was a key scene.
Mike was so awesome last night. Keys scumbag. It’s the international sign for keys.
That line had me cracking up.
I’ve always liked Mike, but I feel like his character is just gonna get so much better this season.
I can see this ending in a lot of different ways and Miller Time is not one of them
Hank gets some great lines, but Mike wins the night. What was it…? “Lieutenant Clark as in Dave Clark Five…..before your time” Priceless
I’ll be damned if i didn’t say, “He’s right! I’d never thought about it before.” There’s only one thing you’re asking for when you do that. Money is different.
“explosive cig”? You mean ricin cig.
Yep. My bad.
And thanks for the heads up.
NP. Though that would’ve been awesome, too, but I can’t believe Gus would accept a cigarette from Jesse.
The cig wasn’t supposed to be smoked, it was just a place to hide the ricin until Jesse could get a chance to put it Gus’ food or coffee. He has the opportunity twice and doesn’t do it. The coffee in the cartel meet at the chicken farm and the food when Gus has Jesse over for dinner.
I feel like Hank is right on the cusp of connecting Walt to Heisenberg. Plus he’s just been proven right about all his previous suspicions so he’s going to be given free reign to run with his investigation.
I can’t help but think that Walt is going to kill him. I think that might be the turning point Gilligan uses to finally make the audience NOT be sympathetic to Walt anymore.
That could definitely be the mid season finale and what REALLY sends Walt over the edge. You can see from the promo for next week with Hank’s boss talking about Fring being “right under my nose the whole time”, and it looks like a light bulb going on in Hank’s head.
I really hope Hank doesn’t die, at least not before figuring out that Walt is Heisenberg. I want an epic showdown between the two of them.
Maybe Walt kills Ted? He probably won’t like a possible loose end out there, even if he woudn’t talk. Killing a (mostly) innocent, paralysed (?), terrified man who basically begged Skyler not to finish the job or hurt his children would be pretty horrible.
I think Walt goes after Hank, but with some other character and not personally. I am guessing he talks Mike into it, and that could lead to all sorts of plot twists. Mike and Hank team up maybe? And as for Ted, you bang a mans wife, all bets are off. Walt said he forgave Skyler, didnt say anything about Ted.
I really hope they redeem Walt in death. I hope the Machine Gun is used to protect Jesse, he goes out in a blaze of glory, repenting for what he has done and leaves enough to care for his family. Make him as villainous as they possibly can, redeem him and then kill him. Turning the audience against the hero isn’t hard. McNulty, Tony Soprano, and Vic Mackey. Doing that and then somehow getting the audience to take the villain back would be tough.
Walt isn’t interested in redemption, or protecting anyone. He only “protects” Jesse when Jesse can help him. I think the machine gun is to go after whoever put him in such a bad place for 52.You didn’t see his family around him. Some bad shit it about to go down.
Meh…that’d be too easy. It’s probably what will happen, but I don’t think it’s what would be best.
I just blew through all the previous seasons for the first time about a month ago. I kind of regret that now as it’s gonna be so hard to have to wait for a new episode every week now.
as I have done the same thing… dont forget having to sit through commercials now too.
I meant to mention that — actually having commercial interruptions during BB felt so foreign to me.
This too enrages me. I wonder what effect releasing TV shows on DVD on the season premiere would have on the TV market/landscape. This too enrages me.
If you have the patience to wait a whole fifteen minutes, you can DVR the show and then fast forward through the ads.
I barely have the patience to wait three minutes in intervals, let alone fifteen all at once.
Newsroom (while not a critic/internet favorite) provides the perfect distraction for an hour until Breaking Bad is DVR’d up.
It’s great to see some chronology on this show, the timing of everything was something I was always interested in.
So is Mike confirmed as future Walt yet?
I’d sign up for that if Vince Gilligan just decided the last episode to go “Boom! LOST-ed Bitches!” Then of course Skylar would have to scream WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAALLT
Vince Gilligan was a writer for X Files so anything is plausible.
The scene in the hospital is an example of exactly why I love this show. When Skyler walks in, I’m thinking that Ted is either
A. Going to extort her further
or
B. Not remember anything that happened.
My jaw dropped when he started pleading for his family. Maybe it’s just me but I thought that was an amazing moment.
and her face change when she said “Good” was awesome. Best Skyler moment in the show so far.
You could tell that she felt a bit of rush when she realized that Ted was terrified of her.
That’s why I think that Ted will become a problem again, and Skylar will be the one to kill him.
This is where I think you–even more so than any other time in previous seasons–see how much Skylar has both changed and allowed herself to become completely enveloped in all of this.
Am I the only one who thought they made Walt too cocky, too fast? He was literally crying/hysterically laughing in his crawl space like 48 hours earlier, and then he just immediately became a cocky badass? I get that he feels untouchable now that Gus is dead, but it seems like that realization should have come slowly over the course of a few episodes, instead of all at once right off the bat.
Or maybe I’m just everything that is wrong with the internet.
I made my fiancee watch the 4 first seasons and it was interesting to see the transition. It might feel quick but they do a great job of slowly building it along. The crawl space was the “death” of concerned Walter, now all that’s left is a BOSS with huge cajones.
I don’t think its too quick I think its still a “high” after getting away with so much stuff. He had just engineered the murder of a major kingpin and gotten away with it he surely feels like he is the “Cock of the Walk” now.
Whole episode streaming on AMC now too. Discussion piece: better usage of breakfast food:
Breaking Bad or Parks and Rec?
Ha! I loved how they opened up with that, all I could think about was Walt Jr
Also, someone needs to come with an ICP/Breaking Bad mashup with the magnet or GTFO.
Check out the Breaking Bad tag on tumblr. You’ll find it eventually.
Pride comes before the fall. I think Walt is just going to continue to get more and more brazen, particularly in thinking he’s untouchable, and then he’s going to fall…hard.
Yeah, at the same time that Breaking Bad was on, TMC was showing Scarface and I was thinking “ohhhhh…yeah I can see that.”
I don’t think I have laughed through an episode of Breaking Bad as much as I did last night. Even with all the obvious tension, it was a fun episode. And intensionally so, I believe.
That means it’s all downhill for “Mr. Lambert” and Co.
When Walt cranked up the power and the truck tipped over, I lost it. Hilarious.
The truck tipping slayed me too. I spent too much time digging around for a GIF of that earlier to no avail. If any of you see one, a link to it would be much appreciated.
[2.media.todaysbigthing.cvcdn.com]
Found that on Jest if the watermark wasn’t clear: Full article there [www.jest.com]
Bless you, Nussy.
And that was the first time I’ve heard someone use the word “prick” in context as a phallus.
“You can prick your finger, but don’t finger your prick.” –George Carlin
Were any of you guys big enough dorks to try that split screen plot follow thing online too?
Elaborate please
[blogs.amctv.com]
It had videos, polls, other references, and things like that. Totally a dorky thing…worth using for the second watch but during the first I found it took too much away from the story.
Oh ok, I was picturing some weird thing where you splitscreen parts of episodes together and they line up in some sort of Dark Side of the Moon – Wizard of Oz way.
The Magnet scene was fucking awesome. As was the entire episode, Walt’s getting cocky and I love it. He took way too much shit in the past and it’s about time things start going his way. The Machine Gun Scene threw me for a loop big time, I’ll have to rewatch the first ten minutes as soon as I get home.
Walt needs to be a villan, he needs to finish the transformation from the victim to the aggressor. I’m interested to see where the Mike arc goes.
Who is going to fall victim to Chekov’s Cigarette in season 5?
I have a feeling it’ll be accidental. Who smokes on the show? Skyler smoked during her pregnancy, didn’t she? HOLY FUCK WHAT IF SKYLER ACCIDENTALLY SMOKES IT?!?!
no it wasn’t a laced cig though it was in a capsule. I think it will be there for a moment when Walt is talking with Hank and there will be a moment when Walt thinks about just poisoning him or discarding it.
I completely forgot about the spelling his age thing I was watching thinking… He just made a mushroom cloud out of bacon.
And see I thought it was a building with a driveway, like he was making plans with bacon.
It also reminded me of Rorschach’s calling card from Watchmen, until he put the bottom pieces in place.