Breaking Bad

[Brando]

I was just surprised by the intensity of the hatred. Some definitely have a hatred of women in general that goes beyond any show.

EDIT: I hope my own hatred for Lori on Walking Dead hasn't crossed the line. I don't think it has. It's really just my annoyance with the writers writing smart characters doing dumb or uncharacteristic things. Also, my most hated television character of all time was a male which was Vic Mackey of the Shield.

Speaking of Skylar, she acknowledges that there's no hope in saving herself, her only priority now is to keep the kids safe. What exactly does she have to lose to tell Hank about Walt, if she's truly this terrified of him? I find it hard to believe she couldn't cook up some deal with the DEA that includes partial immunity, if that's even a thing. Why can't she say "okay, I cooked the books and I knew about the meth but I had no idea my crazy husband was killing people or was even that far up in the drug food chain. All I want is my kids to be safe and me as far away from this lunatic as possible. I'm giving you Heisenberg, you give me a break."

I'm trying to recall her crimes.
Accessory to multiple murders after the fact.
Accessory to cooking and distributing meth.
Cooking Beneke's books. 
Hurting Beneke.
Money laundering.

I think she could get off for everything that has to do with Walt. She might have a little more trouble getting off for cooking Beneke's books. She's holding out hope Walt will die of cancer but how long can she keep telling herself that and believe it? Smoke all she wants but it seems Walt is going to be around for a while. Then she will have to consider something else. Maybe she considers going to Hank with what she knows but Walt's a deadman if she finds that Ricin.

In season three with her divorce lawyer, she held out hope "the problem would take care of itself" and he would die. She's making the same mistake again. Also, she was scared for her family to find out about Walt when all he was doing was cooking meth. Look how Marie freaked out when she found out about Skyler's affair.  Walt jr is a drama queen as well. Marie and Walt jr would lose their shit if/when they find out about everything.

[Jeremy Blackman]

Skylar hate is generally douchebags who watch the show purely for the pulpy action thriller part of it. Kind of reminds me of the two audiences of the Sopranos, particularly the blood-thirsty ones who just wanted to see violence and misogyny and had no clue what the show was really about.

Speaking of Skylar, she acknowledges that there's no hope in saving herself, her only priority now is to keep the kids safe. What exactly does she have to lose to tell Hank about Walt, if she's truly this terrified of him? I find it hard to believe she couldn't cook up some deal with the DEA that includes partial immunity, if that's even a thing. Why can't she say "okay, I cooked the books and I knew about the meth but I had no idea my crazy husband was killing people or was even that far up in the drug food chain. All I want is my kids to be safe and me as far away from this lunatic as possible. I'm giving you Heisenberg, you give me a break."

In addition to what Brando said, here's my take.

I think she is just waiting for the cancer to come back, which, she admits, is not exactly a genius plan. She really has no idea what to do and is 100% in over her head. This conspiracy and coverup stuff may have seemed fun to her at first (remember her delighted light-hearted scheming and all the car wash stuff?), but she never expected things to become this grave.

I guess I don't know enough about law enforcement, and neither does Skyler, but yes, there are plenty of cases of informants getting immunity. There was one such story on This American Life recently, where the informant got full immunity but had to go into witness protection. I'm not sure Skyler wants that life. She saw what happened to Hank; she probably thinks there are, well, who knows how many people who would come after her and her family if she informed. She might have to live with that fear for herself and Hank and Marie and her kids for the rest of her life, in or out of witness protection. Also, in exchange for immunity (which would be generous in her case), the DEA would most likely have her collect evidence and wear a wire. There's a good chance Walt would catch her. So yeah. Waiting for the cancer to come back does sound like a more attractive option.

Anyway...

They address the Skyler hate at the beginning of the podcast, with Anna Gunn herself providing the best theory. Definitely worth a listen.

At the very end of the podcast, Vince emphasizes what "type" of episode E5 is. Which is maybe a 3/10 on the spoiler scale. Otherwise it is entirely spoiler-free. Heaping amounts of behind-the-scenes content in this one.

As mentioned in the podcast, here is Sam Catlin's "cameo" in the episode:

[Pubrick]

I was just surprised by the intensity of the hatred. Some definitely have a hatred of women in general that goes beyond any show.

Are you new to the internet? Unbridled misogyny is a staple of almost every comments section out there.

[Jeremy Blackman]

It's just that the AV Club usually has surprisingly good comments that are actually worth reading. Here's one posted just a few minutes ago:

I know I'm super late to this party, but am I the only one that made the connection between Breaking Bad and Ratatouille? Both are about unlikely cooks who make the best possible finished product that anyone can find. Both cooks must remain unknown because if their true identities are revealed, the whole thing comes crumbling down. Lastly, both cooks grow resentful that they do not receive the recognition that they think they rightfully deserve.

For contrast, here is (probably) one of the comments that Brando is referencing:

I just would like to see Walt kill Beastler ASAP so we don't have to look at her "Michael Jackson in a fright wig" plastic surgery-ravaged face anymore.

Although one must give her some props as the rare character who combines horrendous physical appearance with horrendous personality. Usually, of course, it is one or the other.

But contra, if Beastler manages to stay alive until the season that films in 2013 it will be mildly interesting to see what weight she comes in at. That hideous skank has competed at everything from Welterweight up to Heavyweight (maybe even SUPER-Heavyweight last season) during the run of this show and that is pretty cool given that only one year of "show" time is supposed to have elapsed.

It's just out of place on the AV Club, because commenters have to register and it's (usually) well-moderated.

[diggler]

I giggled at Beastlar

[Jeremy Blackman]

[Reel]

I'll never look at those ugly ass pontiacs the same again

[Brando]

Breaking Bad really has made the most mundane things iconic.


Vince Gilligan is on Conan tonight. Conan is a huge BB fan so I'm guessing there will be no spoilers.

[Jeremy Blackman]

When it's up, link to it here and I will take the spoiler bullet.

[Brando]

I watched it. No spoilers during the interview but the clip is from this sunday or an upcoming episode. They don't say anything about the clip except to set it up. Just stop watching it when they start to set it up. I was a little slow with the remote and about one second and a line from a character has been spoiled for me.

EDIT:When Conan mentions Walt to set up the clip you can turn off. Vince talks about coming up with the show, about violence and more just with Conan making jokes.

[Jeremy Blackman]

Here it is. Remember to heed Brando's warnings and avoid the clip at the end.

This is a pretty good one. Ten times better than his Cranston interview.

[picolas]

The dynamic between Skyler and Walt has never been this fascinating. It's just so strange and volatile.

i love how skylar's resistance actually fuels walt's need to get the meth moving. it makes perfect emotional sense but i never would've anticipated it. he gets to be the man now after a life of personal/emotional impotency and he will do anything to defend his empire. that sense of cool control has been his true addiction the whole time. i can actually see him shooting hank at this point if he needs to.

this season has been utterly fantastic so far. i was very skeptical since season 4 was the weakest and featured a seemingly perfect ending to the series. the idea of another season seemed tacked on/just taking advantage of the fact that so many people were finally paying attention. but no. it's back to being the best thing ever.

[Brando]

this season has been utterly fantastic so far. i was very skeptical since season 4 was the weakest and featured a seemingly perfect ending to the series.

While the season 4 ending was terrific for the season and the Gus plot, I felt it would have been an incomplete ending to the series as a whole. Even if you weren't aware of the show's concept of turning Mr Chips into Scarface, you had to realize Walt was Breaking Bad to point of no return. He didn't reach that point at the end of season four.  While It would have been an alright ending to the series there was too much left open for it to be satisfying at all by not delivering what it has been promising since the pilot. I think the biggest being that Walt would just stop and everything would be happily ever after.  As you said this season has been great and it would have been a horrible thing for AMC not to have renewed the show. I enjoyed season 4. Think your the first I've heard to say they were disappointed by it or didn't think it live up to BB standards.

[©brad]

this season has been utterly fantastic so far. i was very skeptical since season 4 was the weakest and featured a seemingly perfect ending to the series.

Season 4 was amazing! It gave us at least 5 of the best episodes the show has ever done (boxcutter, problem dog, salud, crawl space, and end times). You don't have to write a dissertation on it but why do you think it was the weakest? Breaking Bad has a weak episode here are there in every season, but I think it's the rare show where every season has generally been a triumph. I don't think I could call any season weak.

[picolas]

While the season 4 ending was terrific for the season and the Gus plot, I felt it would have been an incomplete ending to the series as a whole.

you're right that that ending wasn't as far as the show was initially intended to go. in terms of scale it seemed like the biggest it could ever get at the time. and i think i wanted it to end a little because i didn't love it as endlessly as i used to. i was worried it was going to slip further.

i have a few problems with season 4. the overall pace of the first few episodes is a failed experiment. the show wanted to try something radically different by having very little happen each week (relative to the pace of the rest of the series). it often felt forced and joyless to me. i commend the show for wanting to change all the time and that is a large part of what makes it so great (unlike most long running shows which die painful deaths for refusing to mix up a winning formula). it definitely picked up towards the middle/end but i had a lot of issues with the reveal of everything being walt's master plan. it required way too much foresight to be believable for me. so much had to go exactly as he believed it would go. i also think the tone of the show shifted a little more into thriller/adventure territory.. less amazing psychological warfare. and there were a few shitty performances here and there.. i'm sure there were other things but it's been too long for me to remember more details. i stand by season 2 being the finest, followed by 1 then 3.

BUT i can see 5 sneaking into second or maybe even taking the top spot at this rate. i can't think of another tv character who has evolved so much from beginning to end. it's such a magnificent accomplishment. every episode with this new, consciously sinister kingpin walt is an epic payoff for years of groundwork.

I don't think I could call any season weak.

yes. i say 'weakest' in a relative sense.