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

Seriously if they can't tell a dead man when they see one then Saul has hired the most inept heavies in the world.

Man that ending was so Lynch that I expected Skyler to start clawing at her face with her right hand.

Yes! Totally!

Was there music at the end? Because it read as so Lynch to me that I've superimposed creepy Lynch music over my memory of the last scene.

There was creepy Lynch air vent drone, I thought. Or buzzing ants.

I did appreciate that even under duress Walt was completely shifty around Saul. "They're going to kill my family!" Well, no, Walt, only if you don't take the generous lifeline and leave Jesse and the operation alone. But of course he can't do that, because Walt thinks the "operation" is his.

Odds on Marie, not Hank, getting killed this season are high. Which would further motivate Walt to help Hank and/or the DEA, though I don't want them to twist Walt into something remotely sympathetic, because he's not. Walt is one of the all-time biggest assholes.

The death of Marie would also bring the babysitting crisis into the foreground. LOL at Hank telling Walt he has his hands full these days "with the car wash." But of course not with THE NEWBORN BABY, or the CANCER, or the special needs son who one of these days is going to have to start shopping for COLLEGE. But yeah, that car wash.

It sounded like a jacked up thx sound.

There was a weird sorta hearbeat noise that turned into a drone

I did appreciate that even under duress Walt was completely shifty around Saul. "They're going to kill my family!" Well, no, Walt, only if you don't take the generous lifeline and leave Jesse and the operation alone. But of course he can't do that, because Walt thinks the "operation" is his.

It's more because they're going to kill his brother in law. No matter how debased his morality his, Walt isn't going to allow that to happen if he can prevent it.

I can definitely see Marie dying, good call. Gus too maybe, or at least a nice long coma that gives them a bit of breathing space.

I think Gus has definitely underestimated Jesse, or overvalued his loyalty. Look how happy his homelife suddenly seemed. No way is he going to agree to cook for the dude who ordered the murder or Walt's entire family, including a baby. His main loyalty is to Mike, not Gus, we saw that in the scene with the doctors, and he's still carrying that ricin around him...

I did appreciate that even under duress Walt was completely shifty around Saul. "They're going to kill my family!" Well, no, Walt, only if you don't take the generous lifeline and leave Jesse and the operation alone.

TBF, he has to leave Jesse and the operation alone and let Gus kill Hank. Gus explicitly threatened to murder the family if Walt interfered with Gus's plans for Hank.

I was thinking about the people I would hate to see die on this show, and kind of surprisingly, Marie was high on that list. I will be really bummed out if Marie dies. I'm fond of her neuroses and her purple.

I would be least sad if Skylar died. I hate to say it, but I could do without having to look at Anna Gunn's weird mask of a face anymore.

"I thought that episode was a complete tease and tremendously frustrating, the ending in particular."

Uh Gus tells what he is going to do, Ted dies, Walt realizes he's fucked, I'd say there is a fair amount of reveal in this EP.

yup, and an amazing setup for the final two episodes

"I did appreciate that even under duress Walt was completely shifty around Saul."

He wasn't shifty so much as he's losing his mind. And as Jenny points out the lifeline is only good if he let's Hank die which Walt clearly isn't prepared to do.

But now Walt has fucked with Gus's plan to kill Hank, no? Gus is smart enough to understand who gave the feds a heads up. So minus escape with different identities ... unless Walt can convince Jesse to pay for his escape ...

Oh yeah, that would make sense. Jesse would do it, too.

The biggest wtf was Walt's panicked visit to Saul being played for (admittedly dark) laughs when it could have actually been genuinely tense. I did not understand that at all.

Not to pick on you admrl or imply that your reaction isn't genuine, but I thought it was incredibly tense. Saul trying and failing to do his usual breezy routine in the face of Walt's crisis, and seeing Saul actually become desperately worried, was petrifying

"But now Walt has fucked with Gus's plan to kill Hank, no?"

Imagine that's part of why Walt is laughing in his crawl space.

Gus doesn't explicitly say to Walt that he's going to kill Hank. He only said he was going to deal with it, which of course could mean killing Hank but that also allows the writers some leeway with where to go. For example, Gus informing Hank that Walt has been working for him behind his back and use that to try and blackmail him into his services to keep the DEA off or staying away altogether.

maybe gus ends up in the care home in a wheechair next to thingy but with a kazoo instead of a bell

Alternative is that Walt goes on the "Dirty Harry" warpath but I think that could be ridiculous. We still don't know how Mike will fit into the story, either.

Mike is going to enjoy his vacay in Mexico.

Seriously if they can't tell a dead man when they see one then Saul has hired the most inept heavies in the world.

...and?

No way is he going to agree to cook for the dude who ordered the murder or Walt's entire family, including a baby.

Gus hasn't actually done this, he just said it to put the frighteners into a Walt who was too damn dumb to take the opportunity to protect them

I would be least sad if Skylar died. I hate to say it, but I could do without having to look at Anna Gunn's weird mask of a face anymore.

yeah, the blackmail scene was horrible to watch bcz of her stiff unmoving face and shiny dolly eyes

holding out hope for "everybody dies"

shakey tyler

:( Her eyes were weird and hard to look at. I said as much to Jeff and then I felt bad because I've been so adamantly pro-Skyler from the beginning.

I very much doubt that Gus wouldn't follow through on that threat if provoked.

If you search Google for "Anna Gunn" the first three autocorrect suggestions are "plastic surgery," "pregnancy," and "weight gain." :( :( :(

I very much doubt that Gus wouldn't follow through on that threat if provoked.

oh for sure, but he hasn't actually put an order out, and I don't think he wants to. (though it doesn't matter whether he does or not.) he was using it to end-run around Walt's "ha ha Jesse told you not to kill me, I can tell! it's all about me! me me me!"

Yeah that was probably the stupidest thing Walt's ever done. Like, it genuinely didn't occur to him that Gus could endanger his family, because he hadn't thought about it for one second.

cos he's gone mental

I don't think Gus really wants his chief meth cook's whole family being investigated by the police.

"Uh Gus tells what he is going to do, Ted dies, Walt realizes he's fucked, I'd say there is a fair amount of reveal in this EP."

These are all major plot points that to some extent could be anticipated by anyone who watches the show. I'm talking about the sudden whiplash twists and turns that this show usually excels at. Walt has ALWAYS been fucked and how many scenes have there been with Gus telling us "what he is going to so". As for Ted dying, I personally guessed he would have some kind of accident right before this episode (my guess was that it would be something to do with his new car, if you're interested). The ending seemed uncharacteristic in its over-reliance on generating atmosphere formally when each episode usually provides a dece cliffhanger, is all I'm saying.

Still better than anything else on TV, though I still have Pan Am to watch.

I haven't read the whole thread above to see if anyone else has made this same conclusion, but my wife is convinced that Ted made a deal with the IRS and was wearing a wire (or had his house bugged) for that whole episode in order to set up Skyler.

Walt should start using meth, it'd make all this moral quandary shit a lot easier to deal with

To have spent at least 30 minutes in a situation where a minute costs thousands of dollars, just so you have a master shot where the cloud comes in and leaves again...

Also now I am being really snarky, but you know it's a breeze to do this in post? haha

hadnt thought of that xxp, it would sorta make sense as to why he was so severely downplaying skylars whole "going to prison" pronouncements but it would really be from left field if that type of hueg thing was left unmentioned & now sprung next wk or whenever

Assuming they don't actually know she's involved with money laundering, why would the IRS make a deal with the dude who owes them hundreds of thousands of dollars just to catch his accountant?

But now Walt has fucked with Gus's plan to kill Hank, no? Gus is smart enough to understand who gave the feds a heads up. So minus escape with different identities ... unless Walt can convince Jesse to pay for his escape ...

how walt gets within 1 mile of jesse at this point is anybody's guess

gah sunday so far away

yeah the IRS trying to bust skylar doesn't make much sense, but if ted's house *was* bugged and the IRS recorded his convo w/ saul's guys, skylar is in big big trouble

Also how's this as a prediction for the end of this show? ---> Jessie to end up teaching high school chemistry. I mean, he really knows his stuff now, right? Well, not well enough to cook but well enough to teach high school chemistry.

xp - yeah, all of sudden Skylar looks like Mrs. Big. Maybe that could be interesting, if she took a fall for Walt.

By the way, here is a question for y'all -

Are Walt and Skylar still in love?

OK now I am getting into this thread, I see

I guess the "Ted wearing a wire" thing was just a hunch from when he seemed to use such careful, precise language in saying he was NOT blackmailing her, as if he was being listened to. Shot in the dark.

But yeah there's a lot about that which doesn't make sense, like WHAT else exactly would he be trying to get her to do/say?

To have spent at least 30 minutes in a situation where a minute costs thousands of dollars, just so you have a master shot where the cloud comes in and leaves again...

Also, they just dubbed over the dialogue for that scene, so they could have easily had stand-ins sitting around while the digital camera whirred.

Clearly, if Ted is dead he's going to be a problem. Local businessman dies the same day his $600K check is mailed to the IRS? Anyway, Ted is a dead red herring. Walt has bigger fish to fry, because yeah, I don't think Gus was bluffing. He just murdered a dozen capos and dons in Mexico.

And there was no way Ted was wearing a wire just to catch Skyler.

Ending of this ep was a no way out sort of tipping point. There was always a fail safe - running - but now that option is gone. Really, I'm at a loss how this show can spin this out for as many episodes as it has left.

Also how's this as a prediction for the end of this show? ---> Jessie to end up teaching high school chemistry. I mean, he really knows his stuff now, right? Well, not well enough to cook but well enough to teach high school chemistry.

― can men eat harmony? (admrl), Tuesday, September 27, 2011 11:26 AM (7 minutes ago) Bookmark

smh

well, we will see won't we, some dude

I dunno, this show's raison d'etre is painting its characters into corners and then pulling them out, the current situation will change in a hurry I'm sure... xxxp

re: walt and skylar in love... if you watch the extended preview of the next eps on the AMC site, it's a pretty tender scene between them where walt lays it out

I have lived under the threat of death for a year now. and because of that I made choices. I alone should suffer the consequences of those choices, no one else. and those consequences are coming. no more prolonging the inevitable.

I think that would be a pretty radical way for the show to end, for everything to return to some degree of surface normalcy, because that's like the last place you can see them getting to at this point and it is almost hard to remember what it was like. I'd be more satisfied with that then "oh everybuddy dyes"

xp

Hmm if Gus does indeed put the hit on the White family it could be very easily spun as cartel payback for Hank. So yeah, I guess there really is nothing standing in the way of that happening, should Gus so choose.

Basically, we can speculate all we want but this:

walter white backed into a corner is walter white doing something fucking mental, he's proven this all the way through.

is OTM

I keep flashing back to one of those first conversations Walt has with Gus, where he shows a pretty strong grasp of long-game strategy re: the cartels. That Walt has been unable to think long term since then has been a facet of his narcissistic myopia, which manifests itself as sloppy desperation. I would guess at some point the show will reunite/realign him with Jesse, and that's how it will play out.

I feel strongly also that ricin cigarette has a part to play in the denouement of this season.

jesse accidentally smokes it, dies