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

also I'm with aero re: Mike, finding him admirable is sort of baffling (pretty much everybody on the show is loathsome with the exception of Junior)

xp

I'm only four episodes in but so far this season is pretty boring. mechanical, lifeless. all the characters are in static positions - Walt is evil, Skyler is terrified, Jesse is childlike, Mike is hardman, etc. *yawn*

I agree that this season has been mostly underwhelming. Mike is so ineffective and useless. What baffles me is not so much that people find him admirable but that people even find him interesting. And I'm really tired of all of the family melodrama.

yeah sitting through a scene of Walt and Skyler confronting each other (yet again) about whether or not he should move back in/is the family safe just made me feel like Jack Donaghy "this is boring I'm bored now"

i think we should consider that mike is maybe just over the hill and he was in his prime a terrifying stone cold bad ass

I think they're lulling us to a doze before Mike's granddaughter, Lydia's daughter and Holly all get blown up at once.

I have the same problem with the family stuff in Mad Men. I think it's because both WW and DD don't have any interest in their families so I find it really hard to make that leap that we're supposed to care about them if he doesn't. And Skyler hasn't been developed into an interesting character on her own merits I don't think. I care more about Jesse's girlfriend and boy who are barely even characters, but at least Jesse cares about them so it's easier to feel sympathetic.

i think we should consider that mike is maybe just over the hill and he was in his prime a terrifying stone cold bad ass

I actually do like to think this and think of Mike's weariness as his best quality. I would be happiest if he killed Walt but that's not going to happen because Walt is way colder than Mike

wait DD has a definite interest in his family. and... Sally! She is so awesome!

I don't find the family stuff boring at all. I don't know if the show would be as interesting without that angle, tbh.

It wouldn't. It's the crux of the show. Without the tension of Walt's familial relationships, it's a straight-up show about Scarface.

Scarface had some interesting familial relationships.

wait DD has a definite interest in his family. and... Sally! She is so awesome!

so basically you're saying that the most interesting family member is the one that don cares about the most, no?

http://www.slate.com/blogs/browbeat/2012/08/23/methylamine_how_to_make_the_substance_so_elusive_on_breaking_bad_.html

why hasn't walt ever cheated on skyler

he does tho, w/ the hat, in a way, but still

Who admired Mike? He's just the one with the clearest code of honor. He's a pro. He cares about other people: the guys he pays off instead of killing, his granddaughter. Walt will put anything and everything second to him. And Jesse ... his moral code is a total mess, since he doesn't even have a use for his money. He's literally aimless.

They're all different flavors of scum

Mike's code of honor is simply self-preservation imho

I do think Jesse's affinity for children/childlike character has been one of the more nuanced arcs in the show

his rent-a-family, his disowning of his own parents, his need for Walt as a father figure, his sentimentality about any child that crosses his path - all really well done

Mike's code of honor is simply self-preservation imho

Nah, If this were true he would have OK'd the murder of all his men on the inside. Or killed Lydia. Or been prepared to screw over his granddaughter.

Self-preservation c/o "Heat:" "Don't let yourself get attached to anything you are not willing to walk out on in 30 seconds flat if you feel the heat around the corner."

Lydia stood to help him make more money. and I figure it's probably more expensive/difficult to kill all those guys on the inside than it is to just pay them off and keep them useful but I dunno maybe I missed something. the granddaughter thing is strictly sentimentality though. I don't think it's a mark of honor to feel sentimental about your own flesh and blood really...

Walt sure doesn't!

as far as not cheating goes, a lack of free time plays into it, also wearing sunglasses AND heisenberg hat AND glowering menacingly in his ok cupid profile probably didn't help

Does Jesse have a money-laundering method, or is he just accumulating cash?

remember when walt made a move on the school principal? he isn't exactly smooth with the ladies.

I actually do like to think this and think of Mike's weariness as his best quality.

It is without a doubt his best facial expression.

http://cdn.memegenerator.net/instances/250x250/24498146.jpg

http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lztgkbjm5x1qz9z8no1_500.jpg

It is without a doubt his best only facial expression.

when i was in high school there was this sub/detention monitor and everyone called him sad dog (who's the sub for ms johnson today? who else, sad dog)
mike reminds me of him

Mike is the only one in this show who knows how the story ends.

(pretty much everybody on the show is loathsome with the exception of Junior)

fuck Flynn, snotty little shit

PRESS B TO EAT BREAKFAST

Yeah, I hate Flynn. He's, like, half golly gee and half bratty teen. And he puts empty cereal boxes back in the cabinet without telling anyone he's finished them, the jerk.

siap

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQG5_rR4hog

Does Jesse have a money-laundering method, or is he just accumulating cash?

think Saul was laundering Jesse's money iirc

LOL @ Mentos commercial.

think Saul was laundering Jesse's money iirc

Jesse blew him off when Saul tried to get him to invest in the beauty salon, so I dunno about this

Here's a listicle with a lot of good observations and a few predictions:

http://www.uproxx.com/tv/2012/08/breaking-bad-allusions/

The Holly-always-in-pink thing is interesting.

Walt was always cutting off his own crusts - watching Crazy 8 tear off his own momentarily humanized him in Walt's eyes. IIRC.

I have now come across the Holly-is-going-to-die theory in several places, not least that crazy prominent spitball in the New Yorker:

The audience now waits along with Skyler, as the narrative builds toward a finale in which anything might happen, since there will be no need to keep us watching. (A baby might die, for instance, maybe by swallowing the ricin pellet that’s tucked away in the Whites’ home.)

Does that link there note that several viewers insist Walt was wearing a wire in the season premiere?

i am not sure we care enough / remember enough about holly's existence to care about her dying. but we'll see.

and, that ricin pellet is comprehensively tucked away! in a sealed pack screwed behind an electrical socket!

good listicle, nonetheless

and, that ricin pellet is comprehensively tucked away! in a sealed pack screwed behind an electrical socket!

Because we all know early crawlers never have a thing for electrical sockets ...

http://cdn.uproxx.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/Screen-Shot-2012-08-23-at-9.30.47-AM-650x567.png

Don't get these crazy people started.

remember when walt made a move on the school principal? he isn't exactly smooth with the ladies.

He was trying to get fired. Do you really think he was trying to fuck her out of the blue and just hasn't bothered to try it with any woman since?

if he was trying to get fired I guess that was a win/win play then