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

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lcet0JX1f8Q

classic + classic.

I loved that "Say my name" and "You're damn right!" stuff. guy thinks he's Shaft or something.

A+ use of Monkees track.

i was thinking that i'd never hated walt more than when he was doing his stern-but-caring dad act with jesse, but then

actually the stern-but-caring dad thing is still worse, who among us has not murdered someone after getting a bit angry.

Walt shooting in anger isn't really out of character - no-one's really called him on his bullshit the way Mike did, and I imagine that was pretty devastating to him.

"You. And your pride and your ego. You just had to be the man. If you'd done your job, known your place, we'd all be fine right now."

Such a good scene. But even if there wasn't a gun in the bag, Walt could just as easily have brought his own, presumably. And I guess Mike didn't want Jesse to deliver it out of some degree of affection, knowing it might be dangerous.

i liked saul's drawerful of phones. i miss the days when people were snapping phones every five minutes. i also liked walt's attempt at work small talk over dinner. that'll be his downfall when he invites hank and marie over. "so i was down the meth lab today and OH BALLS."

Was there a hidden camera in Hank's office filming Walt's switcheroo, or was that just a trick?

Enjoyed this episode a lot. All of the betrayal's backfiring on Walt. It was a relief to see Mike's indignation finally surface, after too many episodes of the writers indulging his blase, wisened hitman-with-a-heart persona as an unconvincing foil for Walt's self-aggrandizement. I don't like it when writers become too aware of their characters, and it got a little predictable and schticky at times recently, imo. Aaron Paul and Jonathan Banks both outplaying Cranston in this ep, lines were perfect, but I liked how Cranston brought a touch of the old insecure, reactionary Walt back into the character. Again, a few inexplicable plot points, esp. related to Mike's MO, but on the whole beautifully paced, and the editing stood out. Felt a little bit more like the Coens' last few films in that respect. Skylar scenes seemed unnecessary at first, as if anyone needed a reminder, but Jesse's righteous anger needed another trigger, and who better than the humanising figure to set him off with nary a word. Waiting on Marie to throw a spanner in the works with an ill-advised attempt at restoring normality.

A+ use of Monkees track.

YES.

feel bad for mike, walt is such a weenus

― lag∞n, Sunday, August 26, 2012 11:30 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

this is honestly my takeaway, exactly

Mike had to die. Dionysus demanded it. :(

mike's ghost should haunt walt hardcore next season. throwing plates and shit

― steven fucking tyler (underrated aerosmith bootlegs I have owned), Sunday, August 26, 2012 11:55 PM

mysterious sighs that seem to come from nowhere

Was there a hidden camera in Hank's office filming Walt's switcheroo, or was that just a trick?

feel like something like this is gonna come out & set off hank v walt for the last 8. we know mikes been listening in a lot, so would he set up walt? yes probably. he makes it a pt to say go get the bugs, plans on ttly getting out, tells jesse to look out for himself & u wont 'see me around' etc..

it is also a p good way for mike 2 have revenge from beyond the grave, zoom on walts eyes, flashback 2 mike "make sure you get the bugs", cut to walt on the run arranging bacon in mirror s-forms

building a meth lab at the table in his mashed potatoes

close encounters of the tweaked kind

also walt firing solely out of anger is basically out of character even at this point in the storyline
don't really give a fuck, just sayin

― The muted sensation feels amazeballs. (forksclovetofu), Monday, August 27, 2012 12:39 AM (8 hours ago) Bookmark

i thought that was perfectly played. less calculated mastermind, more 'i have a gun and im furious with this guy' which i bet is how a lot of people get shot. walt's body language when he shoots him is great, he sorta stabs at mike as he fires and then immediately shits his pants as he realizes what hes done

ya, dude is still terrible at getting his hands dirty.

walt's body language when he shoots him is great, he sorta stabs at mike as he fires and then immediately shits his pants as he realizes what hes done

yeah that was amazing, just great physical acting

less calculated mastermind, more 'i have a gun and im furious with this guy'

seemed like some part of walt was planning to shoot mike from the get-go. driven by saul's warning that mike would roll on them if he got nabbed, plus the possibility that walt realized the only reason mike wasn't already in DEA custody was total chance. he took the gun out of the holster for a reason.

preparing myself for next weeks cold open with walt n todd painstakingly dismantling mike's car

as soon as Mike gave his little "I'm out" speech at the beginning of the episode I said "welp, Mike's gonna die" (and he was just one day away from retirement etc)

also Todd = death in German I bet things don't work out too well with that guy

seemed like walt was willing to let mike live if he would just say thank you

Walter = death in Hungarian
also the name of Lincoln's child

http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/08/27/jonathan-banks-of-breaking-bad-discusses-sundays-episode/

Q. You’ve had a long career and other great roles, and then “Breaking Bad” gives you a new opportunity to connect with people and sink your teeth into a good character. When something like that comes along, do you think to yourself, “Hey, I’ve been here all along – why are people only just being reminded of what I’ve done?”

A. I’m going to speak to you directly. Here’s the difference in our ages. I’ve been alive so long that it doesn’t surprise me at all. All the wonderful actors out there that languish, as trite as it may sound, you say to somebody: “You go into this business, you better not go in for the money. And you certainly better not go in it for the fame. You better love it because you love the art.” So at 65 years old, do I feel like, oh, jeez, I wish this, that, dada dada? If I do feel that, it is certainly less than it used to be. And the balm of being able to do “Breaking Bad” and play Mike cures a lot of those feelings. It’s a long-winded way of saying, I’ve been around long enough that I know it ain’t fair.

you should know better than to front on Hungarian in my presence bro lol

xp

reminds me of similar interview Harris gave after Lane's death on Mad Men

seemed like walt was willing to let mike live if he would just say thank you

― lag∞n, Monday, August 27, 2012 8:42 AM (50 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

This is so otm. it reminded me of that Mr Wolf scene with Vince in Pulp Fiction - 'Please would be nice'.

That was kind of what I was (unintelligibly) trying to get at by saying Walt has no guile. Sure, he knows how to deceive people moment to moment, but his ego will never let him be say, as calculating as Mike. All you really would have to do to get over on Walt would be to appeal to his ego, to his need to be 'the genius'. I dunno if Todd's that guy but I feel like that's bound to happen sooner or later.

So...can we safely assume Mike is dead? The falling over seems pretty solid symbolically, but I don't know if I can take it for granted until he's been dissolved in acid.

The NYT interview confirms it.

Ah, it was taking forever to load so I skipped it. Guess I'll have to go and read it now.

Sure, he knows how to deceive people moment to moment, but his ego will never let him be say, as calculating as Mike. All you really would have to do to get over on Walt would be to appeal to his ego, to his need to be 'the genius'. I dunno if Todd's that guy but I feel like that's bound to happen sooner or later.

Yeah, this is pretty much in line with my belief that ego is the ultimate downfall of any human endeavor that falls down.

Also, re: Todd, he is neither as dumb nor as genuinely deferential as he appears. Would not be at all surprised to see him ultimately steal the business out from under Walt.

todd is quite clearly a total psychopath

Jesse and Skylar are sort of in the same boat now, both want out but Walt is holding them hostage

Maybe Jesse & Skylar team up & take out Walt? that'd be weird + cool

I mean, you'd need a whole season for Jesse & Skylar to even have a civil conversation but still, it's fun to what if, lol

BREAKING MIKE NEWS
"I had a dreadful, sorrowful production of “Grease” in Australia."

!!!

Did anyone get what Hank saw in the photos of Mike during the DEA meeting?

those were photos of the lawyer, not Mike

Mike was in all those photos, iirc?

the last one Hank lingered on was a picture of Mike at that diner where Mike met Lydia, but I didn't see anything in the photo to indicate that Hank could connect those dots. but maybe he just had a brainstorm about the lawyer? I dunno.

oh sorry I was thinking of the photos pasted up on that board in Hank's office

i think hank was just determined to see some clue that wasn't there.

(for a few seconds at the beginning of that scene i thought it was saul on the video screen, i had no idea what was happening.)

he may have seen a car in the parking lot?

First photo that he kind of ignores:
http://i.imgur.com/j8IHw.png

Second photo that he kind of lingers on:
http://i.imgur.com/Gtd6N.png

Third photo that he really lingers on as ambient soundbed swells:
http://i.imgur.com/hONzX.png

I don't know, its totally possible he's just looking for clues that aren't there. But remember, this is the guy who figured out that Gus Fring had a meth lab hidden beneath a laundromat, pretty much based on a hunch and the electrical hookups.

there's white crosses in all 3 pics. Hank is just thinking for a minute about all the good things Jesus has done for him

although the way the raid was staged seemed a little implausible, that moment when mike decided to abandon his granddaughter in the park was a powerful one