Shall we anticipate the FIFTH SEASON of the AMC series "Breaking Bad"? I think I may.

it's what the kids are into these days

I think that gets to what bugs me about it, the idea that a shitty moral compass - hey, it's still a compass! prefer an honest sociopath to the hitman with a sudden plot-convenient heart of gold. most of the people a dude like that has presumably killed would have had children, brothers, sisters. just feel like people who walk the straight and narrow have this need for a criminal whose code is somehow romantic, allowing them to kill only people who "deserve it" in some fucked up sense. a guy like Mike is much worse than Walt to me: at least Walt can argue self-interest, a higher good than "well I have this code, see"

those can be good! but admen, meth kingpins, Bushwick girls ... just a wall of misery.

xp

have you always been bothered by the 'killer with a code' thing, aero, or is it just with Breaking Bad that it bugs you so much?

i agree with aero insofar as i don't root for mike over walt or think of him as any more righteous for having some vague code. as a matter of fact, in this messed up world of meth-dealing child-poisoning killers, i want walt to win out over mike for being the colder, more evil dude, and then i want walt to suffer the ultimate cosmic punishment, whatever that may be (walt jr. turning his dad in and deciding that hank is his true father figure?)

you guys must've hated the end of the godfather

im a flag poster w/a code

i wouldn't root for walt over mike b/c of the code, per se, but more b/c mike is a bit of a cliched character. the fact that walt is more disturbing makes him more interesting.

You know who else honors a code? Jedis.

http://debutdad.files.wordpress.com/2012/02/stormtrooper-dad-son.jpg

In a show about extreme moral ambiguities, one is still allowed to pick sides. Hence, Al Swearengen was a scumbag, but better than Hearst. Shane was terrible, but better than Vic. Etc.

This feels almost formulaic at this point w/r/t contemporary cable dramas, not that I don't enjoy it immensely, but, it's like in season 1 of these shows you have your protagonist and your scumbag. And then in season 2, an even worse scumbag is introduced and you develop sympathy for scumbag 1, who eventually becomes this lovable rogue.

can't wait to see the scumbag that makes gus fring look like a lovable rogue

ilx functions on a similar premise

lol how long would the list of shows be using this formula

lol forks

xxp - gus is a scumbag 2!

Well, whoever is at the top, they're bad enough that killing yourself in the restroom with a defibrillator seems like a good route

who is scumbag one

Jesse

i think you have yr formulas mixed up

i think the reason dude killed himself (and who the fuck has that kind of james bond thought process to zap yourself with a defibrillator under your tongue? dude prolly shoulda just jumped off the roof but I guess that's less compelling tv) had nothing to do with being scared of repercussions from a higher up and more to do with the shame of being exposed and spending the rest of his life in jail?

xp - Jesse was pretty scummy at the beginning.

maybe he had a ~code of honor~ that caused him to take the fall

Who is Tuco tu.0

jesse was scummy but his role in the show is completely different than gus or swengn or whoever youre including in this imaginary formula, jesse is walts sidekick not some intimidating adversary, and our view of him was not altered in comparison to gus, because no one ever thought to compare him to gus, because theyre not comparable characters!

yeah I read it as old world type goes out death-before-dishonor style

conversely, when walt's back is against the wall he contemplates suicide but decides to poison children instead

xp to forks

walt is a true player

he was originally positioned as an adversary though. And then the adversaries get creepier and scummier, like it doesn't just go from jesse to gus. It goes from Jesse, to crazy 8, to tuco, and then to gus. Like in Deadwood you go from swearingen to tolliver to hearst.

I don't think Hearst was scummier than Francis Wolcott

who is the badger of ilx

who is scumbag one
the reanimated corpse of pablo escobar

between tuco and gus there's the salamanca brothers

who is the badger of ilx

badger was loveable and liked snacks, right?

he was originally positioned as an adversary though.

― sarahell, Tuesday, July 24, 2012 2:59 PM (4 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

this is not at all true! they worked together from the first episode making meth in the rv in the desert, then jesse tried to get away from walt and walt had to manipulate him into coming back, which is the nature of their relationship up to the present day

xp - true, though Hearst Wolcott were boss & henchman. Anyway, it is just interesting to me how Swearingen goes from ubercreep scumbag to lovable rogue in that show. And Jesse goes from creepy dude to almost the conscience of the show?

so tired of these worn out tv tropes

I was expecting German guy to put the AED pads on his chest and give himself a shock. Defibrillating a normal cardiac rhythm can trigger VFib, which would be fatal if not reversed (by shocking again). Electrocution is more direct and not subject to reversal from the cops kicking in the door, smart choice.

this is not at all true! they worked together from the first episode

What?! They had an adversarial relationship at the beginning - they were partners, but Jesse was the adversary/antagonist

There's one of those units on the wall about 20 feet from my office. Built in emergency exit.

so they were partners but adversaries

narratively, yes!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breaking_Bad_(season_1) <<<here u go

also http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/narrative

Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. Please search for Breaking Bad (season 1 in Wikipedia to check for alternative titles or spellings.

?

its the second ) - ilx never catches it

you guys must've hated the end of the godfather

In fairness, Michael's shown to be a lying, dishonorable fuck (killed his bro-in-law, denies it to his wife), and in II even moreso (kills his brother).

yeah, there is absolutely no antagonism between Walt and Jesse in season 1. They are total bros.

jesse is not the antagonist in any season of the show, the have a rocky relationship but he is in fact walts closest ally

you want to see some s1 antagonists:

Maximino Arciniega as Krazy-8 Molina (3 episodes)
Raymond Cruz as Tuco Salamanca (2 episodes)

neither of whom im sry to report ever revealed themselves to be lovable in comparison to gus

eh, I'd say he was Walt's antagonist in the first episode, maybe the first two, until we get to crazy 8, his cousin, and so on.