Breaking Bad

[Lottery]

Remembering Hank

For fuck's sake, Zimmer's Time is going to become the next Lux Aeterna. At least I hope not.

[Mel]

The Scene lives and probably will be discussed long after show is over.

'Breaking Bad's Infamous Phone Call Becomes a Referendum on the Show and Its Audience
via Criticwire by Sam Adams

It was clear five minutes after Breaking Bad's "Ozymandias" finished airing on Sunday night that Walter White's now-infamous phone call would dominate the day-after discussion. But the best part of a week later, we're still talking about it, and the call, and the reactions to it, have spawned a host of long-form reactions: the overnight reviewing equivalent of a spinoff show.

Although it took some viewers (including this one) a while to catch on, most everyone agrees that Walt's call to Skyler was intended for the police he knew would be listening, that in casting her as a terrified woman under the thumb of a homicidally violent drug kingpin, he was trying to exonerate her, to absorb her crimes into his own. The question was whether he might also have meant it, or at least some of it. When he accused Skyler of holding him back, of never being grateful for his actions, when he mocked her moral misgivings and called her a bitch, was that all just for show -- the greatest lie in a long string of them? Or was there truth mixed in as well? Walt's eyes flood with tears at the end of the call, but before that his voice is cold and rough, evoking the onrushing rage we've heard once before in his final confrontation with his ex-girlfriend Gretchen.

Not even Moira Walley-Beckett, who wrote the episode, could seem to agree on the call's true meaning. She told Vulture, "I personally feel like it wasn't open to interpretation. I would hope that people got that it was an absolute ploy on Walt's part." But in an interview with Entertainment Weekly, she said:

What was fascinating about writing that scene was that the vestiges of Walter White had to play Heisenberg who's a very real part of him and not the other way around. He had to identify the monstrous qualities of himself in order to effect the lie and protect his family.... I don't think that anybody -- or certainly not Walter White -- can just be one thing so there will be vestiges and there will be conflicts within.

As the week went on, critics began to see the reaction to the call as a referendum not just on Walter White, but on the people who watch him -- that is, Breaking Bad's audience. Matt Zoller Seitz wrote:

The controversy over Walt's phone call is really about the relationship between viewers and television. It's about the discomfort that ensues when an episode or scene or moment forces us to take a hard look at why we watch a show, what we truly get out of it, and what that says about us.... [W]hat makes sense is the notion that Walter, like me, like you, like everybody, is complicated, and does things on purpose and on instinct, and on purpose while acting on instinct, and by accident, and in response to demons even he doesn't understand; and Walter, like you, like me, like everyone, can be more than one thing at the same time, just as a great work of popular art can be more than one thing at the same time, many of them in seeming contradiction. Multitudes, multitudes.

The New Yorker's Emily Nussbaum tied the reaction to the phenomenon of what she called the "Bad Fan" -- that is, people who watch Breaking Bad to get off on the fantasy of Walter White as an all-powerful drug lord and resent it when Skyler or anyone else gets in his way. It was the unmissably ugly embodiment of the way the Bad Fan views Walter White, the emotional endgame for a man who believes only in himself. But it also, she went on, undermined those who see Walt as purely evil, a calculating monster. Whatever his motivations -- and they are many, and contradictory -- Walt threw himself under the bus to give Skyler a way out, and further implicated himself in Hank's murder to give Marie closure.

The New Yorker's Emily Nussbaum tied the reaction to the phenomenon of what she called the "Bad Fan" -- that is, people who watch Breaking Bad to get off on the fantasy of Walter White as an all-powerful drug lord and resent it when Skyler or anyone else gets in his way. It was the unmissably ugly embodiment of the way the Bad Fan views Walter White, the emotional endgame for a man who believes only in himself. But it also, she went on, undermined those who see Walt as purely evil, a calculating monster. Whatever his motivations -- and they are many, and contradictory -- Walt threw himself under the bus to give Skyler a way out, and further implicated himself in Hank's murder to give Marie closure.

Then there's the point of view that Walt's intentions don't matter, that simply chalking the call up as an altruistic ploy neglects the truth of his words. Whether he means it, whether he realizes it or not, Walt has crushed Skyler down; he has broken his family to bits. In the Huffintgon post, Maureen Ryan wrote:

What struck me most forcefully about that scene was the ugly yet truthful nature of Walt's words. As for his intentions, well, Walt's most consistent excuse is that he never intended any of this to happen. So what? All these things did happen, he is largely responsible for them, and I don't see nobility in trying to walk back one of his many enormous mistakes.[i/]

And then there's NPR's Linda Holmes, for whom the whole debate misses the point, since the consequences of Walt's actions are what matters.

It's not that the show is a crock, and it's not that the sophisticated considerations of fault and the human heart are a crock. It's that trying to locate the humanity inside a man who has killed and harmed and terrorized, all with the underlying goal of making a lot of money and avoiding consequences, is a fool's errand. Not because Walt is evil or isn't evil, but because it doesn't matter.

It's not that the show is a crock, and it's not that the sophisticated considerations of fault and the human heart are a crock. It's that trying to locate the humanity inside a man who has killed and harmed and terrorized, all with the underlying goal of making a lot of money and avoiding consequences, is a fool's errand. Not because Walt is evil or isn't evil, but because it doesn't matter.

[modage]

My crazy final predix before the last two episodes:

- Skyler & Walt die (Skyler tonight, Walt next week)
- Walt/Jesse showdown (final episode)
- Jesse lives (the hero)
- Marie lives (takes the kids)

[ono]

Marie talking poison with her shrink can't be a loose end.  Much as I hate to say it, it's gotta play somehow.  I don't think she's long for this world.

[©brad]

My crazy final predix before the last two episodes:

- Skyler & Walt die (Skyler tonight, Walt next week)
- Walt/Jesse showdown (final episode)
- Jesse lives (the hero)
- Marie lives (takes the kids)

I can get behind this. Lots of people elsewhere are predicting Jesse dies tonight but that CANNOT HAPPEN.

[Lottery]

Now that was a badass ending. Brilliant.


What's bizarre is that while the previous episode indicated that the show was rapidly approaching the end, this episode felt like that there could be at least half a season or something until it finished. That is until the perfect, utterly brilliant closing minutes of the episode- because now it totally seems Walt is going to end everything.
Man, I wanna see some dead nazis.

[ono]

The ricin candidates?  Gretchen and Elliott.  They sullied the last first good thing Walt did.  The wages for that are death.

[samsong]

still mulling.  things i know for sure:

- robert forester is the man.
- that last shot of cranston gave me fucking chills.
- the phone call was WRENCHING, entirely to the credit of cranston's performance.  it's a dramatic beat we've seen one billion times, and i just about lost it.
- i have exactly no idea how what's going to go down is going to go down, and i love that.  there's only one 75-minute block of breaking bad left and i'm just gonna let it take me raw, balls deep.  going to commence forgetting that next week's episode is the finale until the last possible second so as not to give myself a stroke.

what a goddamn final season.

oh, and

[Lottery]

The ricin candidates?  Gretchen and Elliott.  They sullied the last first good thing Walt did.  The wages for that are death.

Yeah, fuck those guys.

That was a cool way to do the Charlie Rose thing.

[Frederico Fellini]

My stupid thoughts:

- ANDREA, NOOOO!!! (I hate Todd so goddamn much)
- Man, the writers really love to torture Jesse. 
- Last minute gave me the chills.
- Elliot and Gretchen are douchebags.
- The principal at Flint's school is fine as fuck.
- I have no fucking idea how this is going to end.

Walt lost his money, lost his family, lost his best friend and now has even lost his brand. Only thing he has now it's his name. Put your sit belts on cuz next week will be fucking insane. Don't know how they'll be able to sow it all up in 1 hour and 15 minutes though.

[©brad]

That final sequence. That phone call, the bar, Charlie fucking Rose. UGH SO MANY FEELINGS.

I am having a problem buying these Nazi's. Maybe we're just spoiled by Gus Fring but as Breaking Bad villains they're so one-dimensional. And the main dude just bends over backwards and listens to everything his 22 year old nephew says?

That being said, after that horrific scene when Jesse is forced to watch you know what, I don't care what happens as long as Walt fucks them up good.

[Lottery]

I don't understand how the Emmy's work nor have I ever really cared but I think a lot of folks are upset with Jeff Daniels.

[Cloudy]

I am having a problem buying these Nazi's. Maybe we're just spoiled by Gus Fring but as Breaking Bad villains they're so one-dimensional. And the main dude just bends over backwards and listens to everything his 22 year old nephew says?

I completely agree with ©brad. "Walt fucking up some Nazi's" sounds fun and shit, but really who cares? Who cares about those Nazi's, they're very insignificant as far as the scope of the show is concerned for them to be a meaningful piece of the last episode, unless (which this is most likely the case) Walt needs to get rid of them in order to get to Jesse/money. The "getting rid of the Nazi's" part isn't the crucial storyline here. So it'll be interesting what they do other than that.

I keep imagining this is gonna end Peckinpah style. Not really likely, but it's fun to imagine.

[Lottery]

I really, really love this season but the emergence of the Nazis was kinda bizarre. That's what kinda leads me back to it feeling like there's a few episodes (a season?) left because there needs to be a teensy bit more development from all sides. Like Walt wallowing and preparing, nazis being nazis, Lydia enjoying her business ventures, Todd being a fucking creep, Jesse being an utterly demoralised and suicidal wreck/meth slave, Skyler facing all these legal problems, Marie coping with Hank's death, Flynn doing...something etc
But as I said, those final moments really kinda get me hyped up for an ending. Not to mention that this show thrives on unexpected developments.

[Jeremy Blackman]

Ugh, what an episode. And the extended running length was so great... I felt completely spoiled.

As soon as Robert Forster appeared on screen I said "Robert Forster!?!" out loud. So that was distracting for a few minutes, but I eventually accepted it. He was great. (Did anyone see him in Alcatraz? What a criminally wasted TV role that was for him, by contrast.)

Once again, the episode was surprising while still being true to the characters and not too crazy. I just deleted my prediction post out of shame. Shouldn't even try at this point. Except that it seems clearer than ever that Jesse will survive the series, and I don't think they need to sacrifice any more lambs, as it were. (Andrea sufficed.) Marie and Junior are obviously going to survive. I predicted that Skyler wouldn't be in danger, but I didn't put two and two together about her having seen Lydia.

Whether Skyler lives or dies depends on how much the writers want to punish Walt, which is still uncertain. Maybe this is why the "kill some Nazis" plot is throwing up red flags for ©brad and others; we know that can't be it. Something else, something big has to be in the mix. This show has been so full of surprises, they have to surprise us with the final episode.

If they really wanted to punish him, they'd do this: Walt kills him some Nazis, freeing Jesse, which means Lydia's deal with Todd is off, which means Lydia wants Skyler dead for sure. (But maybe that's a bit convoluted for BB.)

Whatever happens, I hope it's something that completes Walter White's arc in a satisfying way. He has now lost pretty much everything. Doesn't it seem like he's going full Heisenberg now? He doesn't look inspired by heroism or altruism. This is about him. He wants to restore his dignity, his pride, his legacy. I mean really, that last scene where he's moved to action is scored the show's theme song. The final episode of Breaking Bad needs to be about breaking bad.

I agree that Gretchen and Elliott are prime candidates for the ricin. And the Nazis still seem the obvious target of his M60. But interestingly, his motive will be the same. He needs to get his dignity back from both parties. If Walt kills the Nazis, I really don't think it will be about getting that money to his family (not happening) or protecting Jesse or anything like that. And this goes to the core of Breaking Bad...

Walt, having lost his family, has gained profound clarity about who he is and what actually drives him. You can see it in his eyes. It's not his family. It's about him, it's about making something of himself, and — as we've learned, seeing him seething under his various masters — it's about self-determination. "Live free or die."