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

I guess Todd's more like the BTK killer

i am kinda hoping that they keep Todd as a potential spoil but then have suddenly die pathetically and ignominiously, with follow-up investigations showing that yes, he truly was just an idiot

i bet todd is a real bmt killer

todd benddy

Tonight on Hallmark: "Stranger Beside Me: The Story of Todd & Walt"

sounds like more of a Lifetime Movie

same mother different father. pedantic much? :)

I'm just a big "Mother May I Sleep With Danger" kinda guy

Jonathan Banks: I think Mike was trying to keep Jesse safe. I think he definitely sees good in Jesse and wants to protect him. As far as Mike letting his guard down so often this season, it's when I don't shoot Lydia in the head — if anybody had seen the half-measure speech, they're screaming at the television, "It's a half-measure, Mike! It's a half-measure." I will say again, the writers have given me this wonderful character, but whatever loopholes I might see in it, I am at the mercy of the pen. I am at the mercy of what they write.

So in your mind, do you think Mike would have let Walt bring him the bag?

Jonathan Banks: I think he would have allowed Walter to bring him the bag, but he would have made damn sure he was armed when they had any kind of conversation.

What was the atmosphere on the set like the day of your death scene?

Jonathan Banks: The crew all wore black armbands.

After two more or less perfectly written, perfectly directed episodes, we get an example of an often over-directed, over-acted (at least on Walt's part; surprised Cranson didn't direct), over-written episode. Mike deserved better, but I guess this gets the show rolling in several different directions. Beginning to think more and more that Jesse will get out alive, and he's more or less set up to kill Walt in the end, right?

Walt: "Jesse, why ... why did you do it ? ... [cough cough]

Jesse: Because you're a total asshole, Walt.

Walt: You called me ... called me .... Walt ...

Jesse fires gun. Fade to black.

Fast forward 17 years, Walter White foundation sending kids to science school.

(at least on Walt's part; surprised Cranson didn't direct),

Cranston has frequently noted that he can only direct the first episode of a series (US: season), as that's the only instance he can possibly have any time for pre-production. (He's doing the first one of the next half-season, as they had a production break.)

ah, that made me curious - i thought they had already shot the final 8, but that's not happening until November apparently

It did feel like they were pulling the strings too obviously in the last episode to get to where they wanted to go.

I thought they'd want Walt to go out like Scarface in the last episode. I wonder if poor Walt Jr is going to get in bad trouble with that sports car. It seemed like they were foreshadowing something with that and the breakfast scene on Walt's 51st birthday.

Hi Jonathan, how are you?

Jonathan Banks: (pleasantly) I'm old and bitter. And yourself?

Another ending option: it's Walt who takes the ricin pill, dying of apparently "natural" causes and ending the threat he poses to his family. It would be a nice ironic twist on the end of "Scarface." Walt, alone in his empty house, commits suicide by pill. Say hello to my little friend indeed.

totally nice ironic twist on the scarface rubric, feel like it might be a little over written and over directed tho, also curious who will be the audience surrogate in that case, and how exactly will walt get the ricin pill out of the wall, will this resolve jesse and walts father son dynamic, and who will direct the episode

I get the sarcasm but I don't exactly ... get the sarcasm.

I think lagoon's point is that terms like "overwritten" and "overdirected" are fairly meaningless and come off a little dilettantish.

(Especially considering that purplish patches in the dialogue are a recurring feature of this show & are in every single episode - "overwritten" on BB is a little like saying a Seurat has too many dots.)

I was thinking specifically of the whole too on the nose "say my name" stuff and Walt trotting out his familiar tricks with Jesse and Hank, as well as lots of the camera movements and stuff, if that helps. This is an ep that literally had Mike tell Walt his ego and pride has gotten in the way, as if anyone missed that. This show excels with awkward silences and little beats. I thought this was an episode of big beats and action. That's fine, too, but it felt busy to me. Crowded. Don't see how a critique of that style is dilettantish. Unless we're not allowed to talk about how the show is written and directed matters, because this show I think has some of the best writing and directing I've ever seen on TV.

Especially considering that purplish patches in the dialogue are a recurring feature of this show

Purplish patches in Hank & Marie's house too

dilettantish is the right word i think, if theres anything that typifies ilx tv discusion its the failed screenwriter w/o actually bothering to fail at screenwriting vibe, the nearly random application of insider terminology, the desire to reduce everything to craft, pedantic plot complaining, its just fear of art m/l, not trying to pick on you in particular josh fwiw

Purplish patches in Hank & Marie's house too

― kinder, Wednesday, August 29, 2012 9:11 AM (16 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

maries purple chair

This is an ep that literally had Mike tell Walt his ego and pride has gotten in the way, as if anyone missed that.

I think Walt might've missed that.

todd's more of a danger to jesse than walt at this point... if they really want to drive the nails in at the home stretch, walt will let todd kill jesse, the chess pieces are in the right places for this to happen feasibly

whether jesse lives or dies is a more interesting question to me than whether walt does

I think the show has handled Jesse's aimlessness really well. He knows he's done wrong, or at least he has some sort of sense of right and wrong, but he lacks the ego-driven clarity of Walt. When Walt twists the knife in this episode, teasing him about blood money ... that was hard core. Jesse knows he hasn't hit Walt's level of total evil, but he clearly doesn't know where he stands, either. It's actually a really good depiction of emotional immaturity. Jesse can actually envision "nothing" as a plan, but Walt, so beaten down by his real and perceived battles in the real world, can't grasp the concept to the point of contempt.

not much different from where they started tbh

Yeah, except I guess this is the season where Jesse has actually been making some decisions for himself. Mike's influence.

my favorite line in that exchange was when jesse said something like "this is what you want to do, cook meth?"

also jesse has stood up for himself before - his defiance of gus at the end of s3 was a big turning point

I did like how the ep had Walt promising there would be no more killing, and then not only killing Mike, Jesse's only adult role model, out of pure spite, but also basically announcing his intent to kill those 9 guys in jail, too. And maybe Lydia as well. Again, lots set in motion with this ep. Like a speeding car with the wheels coming off.

xpost But he defied Gus at the behest of Walt, right?

at the end of s3? telling them not to use kids any more? that was Jesse only iirc, Walt was on board with the plan Gus had for everyone to shake hands and forget about it

maybe everybody except Jesse was bullshitting Walt in that opening scene & Mike had tipped them off about the way Walt was behaving, figuring the only way to get out of dealing with Walt any more was to get him to believe he was in charge. I watched it again and it seemed intentionally over the top - seemed like Mike smh in the background was after Walt bragged about killing Fring implying "nah, not true" - and it seemed idiotic to brag on that anyway, the guy was out in public without security all the time and now Walt has no connections/distribution/support/etc

this show seems to lend itself to nitpicking about plot and craft

Because, to its immense credit!, is it full of plot and craft. I couldn't write a sentence about "Two and a Half Men" or whatever.

Am bummed that Mike is RIP, because that kills my dream of a Mike & Jesse 'Any Which Way But Loose' spin off where they drive around in Mike's Buick and have adventures

maybe everybody except Jesse was bullshitting Walt in that opening scene & Mike had tipped them off about the way Walt was behaving, figuring the only way to get out of dealing with Walt any more was to get him to believe he was in charge.

this seems like a reading motivated by something other than the text

it sounds silly, but basically I wonder if everyone there pretty much knew Walt was an egomaniac and mostly bullshitting them and were not impressed by him at all

at the end of s3? telling them not to use kids any more? that was Jesse only iirc, Walt was on board with the plan Gus had for everyone to shake hands and forget about it

yeah, walt was doing everything he could to keep jesse from confronting gus at that point, even talked to saul about getting him temporarily locked up

Walt: Not to jail. I'm talking about one of those situations where you're in an orange jumpsuit picking up litter along the highway.
Saul: That's jail.

Am bummed that Mike is RIP, because that kills my dream of a Mike & Jesse 'Any Which Way But Loose' spin off where they drive around in Mike's Buick and have adventures

― set the controls for the heart of the sun (VegemiteGrrl), Wednesday, August 29, 2012 10:58 AM (30 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

this could potentially happen in heaven if jesse doesn't survive

Jesse and Mike in Touched by Some Angels

Riding In Cars With Hitmen

Saul: That's jail.

show always brightens up when Saul's around

Saul is the greatest

saul is awesome. i read an interview where the show creator said he could imagine a saul spinoff
"you don't want a criminal lawyer, you want a criminal lawyer"

lol goodman

Truly the role Odenkirk was born to play.

everybody's seen this right

http://www.bettercallsaul.com/

If anyone is going to end the series with a big pile of money drinking a cocktail with an umbrella on it on a beach with a hot girl it will be Saul.

Odenkirk now owns the 'loveable weasel' archetype