Breaking Bad

[Jeremy Blackman]

It's still sinking in not only how great this episode was, but the enormous impact it has on where all the characters stand and how we think of them.

I think I'm officially no longer rooting for Walt. He's pathetic, whiny, and reckless. He will now have people killed without even considering the moral implications. Even with his mournful half-confession to Junior, I'm still not actually rooting for him. We can't help but have some empathy for him, because we know his story, but I'm still not rooting for him.

Vince Gilligan has said this before, but he said it especially clearly in last night's Fresh Air interview. They wanted to see if they could start the show with a protagonist and turn him into the antagonist by the end of the series. Mission almost accomplished, I'd say. This could be why they've made him so petty and dislikable this season.

I think Jesse has become the protagonist. I think the separation between the two might become permanent. I think the final season could be Jesse vs. Walt, and I think Walt will lose. I also think Walt might do something similar to the Jane incident that will get us to dislike him even more. This may be an irresponsible prediction, but it seems to be the logical path if Walt is to fully become the antagonist.

[polkablues]

The scene with Gus walking into the bullets with his arms stretched out like he was Jesus as the bullets were flying all around him was one of the silliest scenes this show has ever had. What the fuck was that?

I think it's less "you want a piece of me?" and more "okay fine, you win!" He knew the sniper wasn't going to kill him, because (as Mike points out later) they can't kill him. And the sniper was obviously aiming at the ground around Gus. As foreshadowed by Mike in the previous episode, Gus can't afford to have Hank and the cartel on him at the same time, so this was the last straw for Gus.

That part was all kinds of badass. I'll be the best friend for a day to whoever can gif that part for me.

I considered taking on your assignment, but it's actually kind of a long sequence with like 3-4 different important angles, and he doesn't put his hands up until the end. Maybe we can assign this to Polka.

Sorry to keep you all waiting.

[Jeremy Blackman]

Nice!!

[diggler]

awesome gif

The problem with Gus is that Walt isn't aware that the cartel is afraid to kill him for some unknown reason. So now with the cartel leadership wiped out, if Walt manages to kill Gus, I'm thinking that's just the beginning of his problems. There's an unknown force that hasn't even revealed itself yet.

[Jeremy Blackman]

If there is "an unknown force that hasn't revealed itself yet," it's Jesse.

Walt's understanding of the situation is so juvenile at this point. I don't see a way out of this unprecedented weak position that he's in... but I guess it's possible.

Still wondering what will happen with Ted. I'll be watching to see if there's an episode next season called "I.K.T."

[O.]

I started watching the show (Pilot) last Thursday (September 15th) and just finished the latest episode so I can be all caught up with you fine folks. Here's my token of thanks for pushing me towards it.

[Stefen]

lol.

[squints]

hahaha, yes.

[ono]

Wow, the last five minutes were intense!  Walt is batshit crazy now.  Skyler is so stupid.  That audio at the end.  The slow pull back from the crawlspace.  The horror.  It's surreal, a walking nightmare. 

[O.]

Am I missing something? Didn't Gus say he would kill Walt's family if he tried to interfere? So Walt had the option of keeping his life if he chose to let Hank die, but he completely disregarded it and started his lunacy as early as possible knowing he would absolutely be interfering? If that question makes any sense.

As of now, I'm having an extremely hard time rooting for Gus, but I'm not rooting for Walt, or his wife either. It's Jesse who I'm expecting to rise above both Gus and Walt -- he has matured greatly throughout the season.

[©brad]

Sorry to keep you all waiting.

First off, you rock.

Second off, holy mother of christ. Those last 5 minutes were insane. I'm going to start banning any and every member of this board who has yet to start watching this show. It's on netflix now. Get the fuck on it.

[Jeremy Blackman]

Yeah. I don't know of a way to properly express my love for this episode, so I probably shouldn't even try. That last 10 minutes is some of the best filmmaking/televisionmaking I've ever seen.

And those last 3 minutes were absolutely mindblowing. Just surpassed Jane's death as my favorite BB scene. It was intense in a totally Lynchian way while being wholly original. Amazing stuff. As a bonus, we got some of the best acting I've seen from Anna Gunn (who alway steps up her game for intense scenes). The music there, with its pulsing electronic bass jolts, really makes it feel like everything is falling apart and anything could happen (reminds me of "Meltdown" from Requiem For A Dream, which actually would have worked over this sequence).

I'm especially impressed with the writers' ability to continuously surprise us. With two episodes left in the season, I'm sure there's plenty more where that came from. This is like a 4-part season finale. So exciting.

Am I missing something? Didn't Gus say he would kill Walt's family if he tried to interfere? So Walt had the option of keeping his life if he chose to let Hank die, but he completely disregarded it and started his lunacy as early as possible knowing he would absolutely be interfering? If that question makes any sense.

I completely understand the question, and I was asking it myself. Unfortunately for Walter, it's entirely consistent. The logical thing would be to lie low, defer to Gus, and let him take care of Hank. But no. He immediately moves to tip off the DEA, which Gus will know with 100% certainty was Walt's doing. Walt has been making bad decisions all season, which is in keeping with the entire premise of the show. I have no reason to believe he won't continue down that path. (There I go predicting again.)

As of now, I'm having an extremely hard time rooting for Gus, but I'm not rooting for Walt, or his wife either. It's Jesse who I'm expecting to rise above both Gus and Walt -- he has matured greatly throughout the season.

Yeah... I guess we're meant to stop rooting for Gus when he threatens Walt's "infant daughter." I'm certainly rooting for Hank, but that's a given. I'm half rooting for Jesse, but not so much anymore (for now). I've actually found myself rooting for Walt and his family again, though of course not without mixed feelings. That's what's so wonderfully complex about this show's positioning of protagonists and antagonists.

And finally, here's yet another insightful quote from the AV Club. It speaks to what I've been talking about:

"It's funny how Breaking Bad will take its time, episode after episode, carefully setting up dominoes, and then in an instant knock them all down with one impulsive swipe"

Oh... and I think I'm still sticking with this...

I think Jesse has become the protagonist. I think the separation between the two might become permanent. I think the final season could be Jesse vs. Walt, and I think Walt will lose. I also think Walt might do something similar to the Jane incident that will get us to dislike him even more. This may be an irresponsible prediction, but it seems to be the logical path if Walt is to fully become the antagonist.

Gah, stop it! No more predicting. I am done. Stop me next time.

[Stefen]

Great episode!

Spoilers

Really glad that they let the shit hit the fan. I assumed that Walt would call Sal before he could call the DEA and let them know about the hit on Hank, but that didn't happen and I'm so glad.

SHIT JUST GOT REAL.

[O.]

As a bonus, we got some of the best acting I've seen from Anna Gunn (who alway steps up her game for intense scenes). The music there, with its pulsing electronic bass jolts, really makes it feel like everything is falling apart and anything could happen (reminds me of "Meltdown" from Requiem For A Dream, which actually would have worked over this sequence).

When I saw Walt there laying on the ground, helpless and scrambling, his wife coming in and hearing that awful question -- seeing her face contort in such a way that it seemed she was going to vomit in shame, looking at Walt's face, in shock with disbelief, anger, and disappointment all at once, I was struck by how comedic it all is: Skyler, who estranged Walt for his lies and 'gambling', then gives the money that would presumably save their lives to Ted, the white collar criminal, the guy she cheated on Walt with, who died earlier the same way he lived -- moronically. And he definitely is dead, if the resemblance to this scene has anything to say about it (note the oranges):

Here's less of my prediction and more of how I think some of this is shaping up. We're all speculating that Walt will at some point become the antagonist and someone else is supposed to take up as protagonist. All this, from some comment Gilligan made or something? I'm pretty sure these are all just assumptions, progress throughout this season and especially this episode, would [at least to me] lead me to believe that if that will be the case, it won't be now, not this season. It doesn't add up to justify that.

What I think's happened is pretty simple... all evidence presented through Walt's behavior this season, his loss of control, his pathetically self-absorbed view, was brought on by the fact that he is not dying, but now? He's dead. A corpse with coursing blood...


Walter's coffin.

... but that's what he always wanted after all, isn't it? To break bad. I'm thinking we're going to see Walt emerge as the thundering force he was earlier in the show -- that could turn iron into gold for his family. Jesse's role in this, I'm still not sure of. At first I thought he would stand up for Walt and pay for Walt's relocation, but I'm not entirely sure. All speculation, but I don't think Gustavo is going to get away with everything he's doing. I see him spiraling out of control in an extremely uncharacteristic way. Does anyone remember "I don't believe fear to be an effective motivator?" His professionalism? His privacy? Killing Hank, Hank's family, Walt, and Walt's family is one of the loudest things he could do. No discretion, certainly not his work ethic in earlier seasons. Doesn't seem to be the case now...

[Jeremy Blackman]

E: Responding to this on the last page.

Gus could be slipping up, or he may have simply become more vicious in the face of elevated threats. Remember, he pretty much scrapped his "I don't believe fear to be an effective motivator" at the very beginning of this season with Box Cutter.

Anyway, the problem with the protagonist/antagonist shift is that we can still kind of shift our allegiance (or if not allegiance, sympathy/pity) back to Walt, as I did in this episode. There are a full 18 episodes left in the series, so pretty much anything could happen. It leaves a lot of room for Walt's transformation to be complete.

Here's the full quote from Vince Gilligan. It's not just a random comment he made, it's a pretty clear statement of intent, and it's recent (from a 9/20/11 interview), so it should probably be taken seriously:

Terry Gross: Walt has really become a bad man. He's a killer. Once you accomplish that feat... did you have to figure out what's next: now what do I do?

Vince Gilligan: That's a very good question, and we have more 16 episodes in Season 5 in which to discover that. But this show very much was something of an experiment. And I thought it might be fun or interesting to try to play with the idea of a character who, you know, a more dynamic interpretation of that in which a character not only changes throughout the lifetime of the series, but that is sort of the desired point of the series, that the character starts off as a protagonist and gradually becomes the antagonist. I guess part of the answer to your question is how much darker can Walt get? Is his journey complete as of this point — his journey on that arc from good guy to bad guy? So... it's a tricky thing to answer.