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

Gus probably knows that if he told Walt the whole story then Walt would try to leverage the cartel against him. That is, Walt, ever myopic, would side with the cartel just as a quick survival fix.

Anyway, this show is nothing if not about lack of communication and things left unspoken. Think of the countless secrets everyone's keeping from one another: Hank's secret pursuit of Gus, Walt's numerous schemes/infraction, the whereabouts of Holly/Walt Jr., Ted's tax problems, Marie's purple addiction, Skyler's secret plastic surgery, how a vat of viscous red liquid shipped off in a truck is less conspicuous than a random shot dude buried somewhere deep in the desert ...

I just assume that Holly is with Marie and Walter Jr, being 16 years old, has a life that involves not hanging around with his parents that much.

But, um, Marie works, doesn't she? (This is moot, btw; mystery baby is irrelevant, it just bugs me when shows add children for no good reason and then don't know how to deal with it - sort of like a lot of parents).

kids raise themselves these days.

She'll be dealing meth soon enough.

Breaking Bad would definitely be a much better show with the addition of ~ 15 min per episode of Skyler and Walt calling around for baby sitters, navigating day care waiting lists, researching nanny share programs, scrambling for car wash coverage because the day care closed early. I have no idea why they don't focus on that more.

The baby isn't there "for no good reason" - one of the reasons Walt panicked in S1 when he thought he was dying of cancer was because his wife was about to have a second child he wouldn't be there to provide for. There's just not much you can do with it now other than have it kidnapped or just turn up occasionally wearing an array of cute little hats.

Yeah baffled by people caring where Holly is. She's either with a nanny or at baby-day-care-share. Who cares? It's not like WHO IS TAKING CARE OF THE BABY NOW is some central plot point.

http://s3.amazonaws.com/data.tumblr.com/tumblr_lrhsh7pmc21qzvqipo1_1280.jpg

Shoot. Here:

http://juliasegal.tumblr.com/post/10190517286

Very worth a click.

x-post It is very important, just wait. In three eps Skyler will look up and exclaim "oh shit, where is the baby!"

Anyway, Walt was already working two jobs, including the car wash, with a special needs kid, before he even found out she was pregnant, no? Regardless, they didn't need to toss a baby into the mix, and certainly the baby was not the deciding impetus for Walt's career change. But unlike Skyler's brief narrative stint as an aspiring novelist - remember that? - or even Marie's shoplifting, it's a lot harder to just forget about a baby. Or apparently not. I'm just amazed a show this mostly tight could be so brazen.

That picture is awesome! They should sell that as a tandem Halloween costume, like the horse where someone is the head and someone else is the ass.

Maybe the baby is with Rose and Bernard, being looked after.

bro no1 cares about the baby bcuz the baby is boring and like jenny points out taking time away from interesting storylines so that we can get a 'realistic' portrayal of the sacrifices and challenges of modern parenthood is moronic

Regardless, they didn't need to toss a baby into the mix

I would bet a lot of parents who have an "accident" feel the same way. And while it may not have been The Deciding Factor for Walt's fateful decision I can tell you first hand that a new kid on the way - or the prospect of a new kid on the way - can make men (and women) get into a pretty freaky and anxious headspace.

Dudes, I really don't care about the baby. No one cares about the baby. I'm just teasing the show by proxy "bcuz the baby is boring and like jenny points out taking time away from interesting story lines," which any idiot writing a show about people cooking crystal meth should have recognized before giving their main protagonist a new baby. That's why adding a new baby is such a standard jumping the shark trope. It's what you do when you've run out of ideas, not when you're just starting out the story. Just a bizarre narrative hiccup in the series.

Though Trace, if the prospect, let alone addition, of a new baby is enough to make regular people go nuts, let alone these people, that's a reason why there should be more baby, not less! "Oh my God, we need to pick up Holly at the dare care yet I'm stuck here with a gun to my head! Oh my God, child protective services will take away my baby if they find out I'm involved in this!" Etc.

I can't believe they gave Walter Jr cerebral palsy as well, there's no relationship to the meth plot whatsoever. How boring and lame.

I mean the prospect of one can really ratchet up feelings of "Oh god what have I done with my life" and "I will never be free again". Exactly the sorts of feelings that might help a desperate man with cancer break bad. So, I dunno, not pointless or shark-jumpy to me at all, more like a reinforcement of the deep psychological weeds Walt felt he needed to thrash his way out of.

The two kids are basically the only thing even remotely connecting Walt to the normal world now. Without them, or if Walter Jr finds out what he's been doing, means there's nothing to stop Walt and Skylar just taking the Saul Goodman nuclear option and disappearing for good. There's a reason they need to be there, but also a reason why they're very much in the background most of the time.

Fully expect Junior to find out at some point, but that's maybe a bomb they'll drop in the final season.

right ok but adding the baby at the start is obv not really 'running out of ideas' or a 'hiccup' it seems clearly part of the original plan which was to make this guys life seems as overwhelmingly stressful and desperate as possible in part so that we can understand/identify with his decision to become a drug dealer. like the baby like walt jr.'s cerebral palsy helps the audience understand just how backed into a corner walt is, and why hes willing to do s.thing like start cooking meth

i mean the baby has p much served its narrative purpose but i think its dumb to get mad at a show like breaking bad for not mentioning a plot thread every single episode once its been introduced or w/e its a p economical in its storytelling. if we need the info well get it, i guess.

A baby is not a "plot thread." Walt Jr. is totally independent, but babies are hard as fuck work for anyone, let alone these folks.

The two kids are basically the only thing even remotely connecting Walt to the normal world now.

Basing this on what?

babies are hard as fuck work for anyone

The sleep most of the time TBH.

No they don't, tbh. Maybe the first three months, but uou know they grow, don't you?

Basing this on Walt having no friends and no one else in his life other than a mother he never bothers to see, a wife who is his accomplice and a brother-in-law who will arrest him if he ever finds out what his life is really like. And a load of drug people.

His misbegotten alliance with Jesse was all that was tethering him to earth, imo. Walt doesn't seem the sort these days to even keep baby pictures in his wallet.

Well Josh, I guess this one's an "easy baby"! There might be some late-night meltdowns. Are you annoyed we're not seeing that? We don't see the diaper changes, who gives a shit? It's like, art shows you some things and not others. Occasionally the baby has been used as part of the emotional war between Sky and Walt and we've seen that. Or as part of Sky's arsenal of tricks to get into Walt's apartment and we've seen that. We even saw Sky carting the baby around in the car a few times, just to remind us she existed. Really not sure what you want in this regard that the show is not delivering!

But I have to admit it is sort of fun to guess.

I want them to take the poor kid in for her shots. And occasionally take it out of its car seat. Then I'll be happy.

everybody but Josh otm

Jesse isn't tethering Walt to the normal world, he's fully part and parcel of the drug thing that's engulfing more and more of his life. But it hasn't touched his kids yet.

Josh I swear to God..

So you're just saying his kids aren't tainted? That's not the same as saying they're remotely on his mind these days. Unlike Skyler, who did consider absconding with her little bundle of joy to Colorado.

it occurred to me that walt will prob just die of cancer at the end of the show

sry to interrupt the parenting sesh

A baby is not a "plot thread."

u get that this show is made up right???

walt gets sent to prison where he uses chemistry to discover the cure for cancer

a baby is not a plot thread, u savages

The idea of how fatalistic Walt might become once he realises he's actually dying of cancer is kind of mindboggling. He might just go after Gus, Mike and the entire cartel all guns blazing.

sounds rad tbh, but what abt the baby

Human shield.

No, I thought the show was real. It's not real? That's a relief, I guess.

You know, it's not like I'm asking what happened to Hank's physical therapist or something.

The two kids are basically the only thing even remotely protecting Walt from bullets now.

The idea of how fatalistic Walt might become once he realises he's actually dying of cancer is kind of mindboggling

This may already be happening

http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20100413115131/breakingbad/images/thumb/7/78/Holly.JPG/250px-Holly.JPG

Here I am, everyone!

This may already be happening

― Number None, Wednesday, September 14, 2011 12:15 PM (44 seconds ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

yeah troo, there was def something weird going on when he told his family abt the results of his latest test

Oh shit.

That' a good point. That would explain a lot more of his explicit fatalism these days. How long until Walt is the one fearlessly walking straight toward gunfire?

Huh:

http://www.savewalterwhite.com/

http://www.savewalterwhite.com/img/walter_6.jpg