Shall we anticpate the AMC series "Breaking Bad"? I think I may.

i dont think hes a sociopath but he is p deeply disturbed

Well he's damn good at providing himself excuses for behaving exactly as a sociopath would behave.

Which is begging the question a bit.

tbf i dont think he really nails enough of the checklist to be regarded as such

somewhere in between textbook narcissist & whatever constitutes 'sociopath' prob

There's still a lot we don't know about Walt, though. How did this genius end up teaching high school? We still don't know that whole backstory. And we don't know what his ultimate goal is, not anymore. My prediction is that his enemies will continue to eliminated, now that he's proven to himself that he's pretty good at that, and his friends and loved ones will continue to be victimized, and he'll continue to make a big show of being awfully sorry, but he won't change his behavior.

Factor 1: Personality "Aggressive narcissism"

Glibness/superficial charm - eh no walt is not v charming
Grandiose sense of self-worth - its getting there maybe
Pathological lying - his lying isnt pathological its purposeful, pathological liars lie abt everything for no good reason
Cunning/manipulative - yes
Lack of remorse or guilt - he has some major guilt for sure, maybe not enough but its there
Shallow affect (genuine emotion is short-lived and egocentric) - feel like his emotional depth is within a conventional range
Callousness; lack of empathy - yes
Failure to accept responsibility for own actions - yes

Factor 2: Case history "Socially deviant lifestyle".

Need for stimulation/proneness to boredom - not up until recently
Parasitic lifestyle - no
Poor behavioral control - eh borderline
Lack of realistic long-term goals - no
Impulsivity - not really
Irresponsibility - mixed
Juvenile delinquency - no
Early behavior problems - no
Revocation of conditional release - no

Traits not correlated with either factor

Promiscuous sexual behavior - no
Many short-term marital relationships - no
Criminal versatility - hes a p bad criminal tbqh
Acquired behavioural sociopathy/sociological conditioning (Item 21: a newly identified trait i.e. a person relying on sociological strategies and tricks to deceive) - not really sure what this one means

Maybe that sociopaths are more like to read Tony Robbins and shit?

haha

http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSydr5sEfK43nFKC5U7HuXd384Ar654ga2cCyWdOtCBBvWRqhwc&t=1

kinda more of a psychopath imo

It's exactly the same thing.

Unless you were kidding, in which case, lol.

Lack of realistic long-term goals - no

Disagree, a MASSIVE yes for this. WTF is he doing, when will he stop, why does he want the money now? He has no long-term plan whatsoever. He hasn't even bought himself a new pair of shoes.

lost count of the number of people i've talked to who gave up on this show midway through the 2nd season... can't seem to change anyone's mind though :/

Garda i think the real reasons lie elsewhere but it's true that Hank's medical bills appear to be gargantuan so that at least is an immediate reason to keep getting paid

but i basically agree with you about his total lack of perspective or goals. he has no idea wtf he's doing beyond just going FURTHER.

that said, the diagnosis of sociopathy is ridiculous (as it usually is). he still has plenty of empathy, even for strangers.

real reason: being a high school teacher was an under-utilization of his nobel-prize winning skillz, the meth thing just popped up at the right time in the right place and seemed like a challenge. plus he needed the money at that point. roller coaster ride of daily defiance of death + intriguing moral minefield cemented the deal

also the whole dealer thing is a sticky web just by it's intrinsic nature

why did he stick out the teaching no matter how frustrating and unfulfilling it was once he was in it?

vs

why does he stick out the meth cooking no matter how frustrating and unfulfilling it is now he's in it?

cause he's a stubborn, bloody-minded son of a bitch

i like the notion that his "other life", the one with the great job and gretchen, was something he rejected and now it's as if this new life as heisenberg is why, it is indeed bloody minded to an extreme level.

Walt's goal is to be the best at what he does. It's all ego, unleashed, with a twisted hubris invoked to justify his actions.

And yes, he is a psycho. There is something wrong with him that mere therapy likely would not clear up.

BTW, still don't know why Gus didn't threaten his family yet. I guess they're saving that for later, so that Walt can bust out some ironic paterfamilias moves.

how different would this story be if the U.S. had free healthcare?!

Sons of Anarchy, I've noted, has a running theme of these constantly injured bikers dealing with health care costs and insurance plans.

Likely Walt would have gone the meth route, regardless. Gretchen and her husband were the deus ex health insurance, but Walt was too proud. Remember, Walt didn't offer to pay for Hank's healthcare. It was Skyler, as a fuck you way to justify/spend his ill-gotten gains.

this amateur diagnosis stuff is silly to the extreme, but I can give you one reason he's not a sociopath - his loyalty to jesse

I think we need a professional diagnosis about this fake show about fake people doing fake things. That would be far more legit.

Actually, his "relationship" to Jesse is one of the least explored aspects of the shows. Is he using him? Feeling paternal? Feeling guilty? Seeing in Jesse a glimmer of redemption he knows is beyond him?

Personally, I think he's holding onto him the same reason he holds on to the eyeball.

no way. they're practically family at this point.

bloodbrothers even

Brothers? Maybe Walt thinks so. But Jesse does nothing but seethe with contempt for Walt. He has no love for Walt, despite Walt's eagerness to keep him around.

it's more of a father/son relationship tbh

jesse's father disowned him and walt's chosen a life his own son can't be a part of

But again, it seems pretty one way, no? Jesse's disposition is that of a dude chained to an asshole, dragged around against his will. Jesse has been out of Walt's life multiple times, but he keeps pulling him back in.

^ perfectly describes the dysfunctional relationship some sons have to their fathers

Well, sure, I know that's what the show is aiming for. But like I said, that relationship hasn't been developed on more than a superficial level. Neither, for that matter, has Walt's relationship with his real son. Who, to be fair, has totally fallen by the narrative wayside, as has his useless new baby, as a major character the show thus far has had very little use for and therefore must toss into an ep every once in a while just to remind us they exist.

The baby, btw, remains the most conspicuous sign to me that the show, like lots of serialized shows these days, may not have been that well charted out at the beginning. No doubt if they had to do it over again, Skyler never would have been pregnant. The baby adds nothing to this show, which is in direct inversion to the number of 24/7 demands any newborn presents to a family.

gilligan's admitted several times that he's making it up as he goes along

given how tightly plotted the last 2 eps of s3 were, it's kind of amazing

New babies kind of define the word "useless", tbh.. All they do is eat and sleep. I'm not surprised the baby's not a major character or whatever! I did kind of wonder who was looking after the baby when Skyler was working for Ted Beneke though.

still glad that season 5 will be its last though. xpost

xpost I think they might have tossed in a line about Skyler's sister babysitting?

i'm really waiting for the baby's arc to kick in. when are they gonna get her involved with the new family business?

the baby will probably end up smoking meth with sally draper

I think that old hooker Jesse used to hang out with is grown up Sally Draper.

*mind blown*

waiting for baby's flashback episode tbh

BTW, still don't know why Gus didn't threaten his family yet.

Gus is a family man himself, and beyond that, so far has never shown himself to fuck with anyone not in the game themselves.

That would be some rationalization on his part!

Baby should get a total flashback. Actually, baby will inevitably get a lame kidnap/child protective services subplot, so until then I'm happy with it glued in its car seat and stashed out of frame.

BTW, still don't know why Gus didn't threaten his family yet.

wondered this too. came to the conclusion that after Walt had Gale killed and seeing how protective of Jesse he was, Gus must have realized that even mentioning Walt's family would unleash an unprecedented shit-storm from hell.
and who's to say that *isn't* in the cards as some sort of last resort desperation move!

I think this season opener wrapped things up a bit too tidily. I was expecting Walt to be held prisoner and Jesse to be on the run after last season's cliffhanger. What's to stop them from just fleeing the country like Saul?

"you've got a passport, right?"

I doubt Saul is going to make it out, even if he tries.