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

I finished the flashback episode last night. Steven Bauer's Mexican Spanish is more convincing than Gus' Chilean Spanish.

This Vince Gilligan interview was discussed in the other thread, but I thought this quote was pretty interesting, when it comes to season 5 ending predictions:

Having binge-watched, I have to ask: What can you tell me about the ending of Breaking Bad?
In my mind, the ending is a victory for Walt. You might see the episode and say, “What the fuck was he talking about?” But it’s a somewhat happy ending, in my estimation.

To me, this seems to imply Walt will die while saving Jesse (or, alternatively, his family members). Who Walt is saving him from are probably the Phoenix drug dealers, since the scene where Walt bragged to them about Jesse's meth cooking abilities felt kinda significant, though I guess it could be the Mexican cartel too. This would also explain the season 5 intro with the machine gun, and if it's Jesse he's saving, that would neatly tie with the whole idea of Walt being his surrogate dad.

This sort of scenario is pretty much the only way I can imagine the ending being a "victory for Walt". There's no way they can rehabilitate him anymore... I guess they could also come up with some sort of ironic happy ending, where Walt actually manages to get rid of all his problems and settles for a nice family life with all his money, but he's shown to be morally dead inside. But that sort of ending seems less likely, now that Hank's on Walt's case. They'd have to kill Hank, and I don't think they'll do it, since he's the most sympathetic character in the whole series.

bloodbath incoming imo.

They'd have to kill Hank, and I don't think they'll do it, since he's the most sympathetic character in the whole series.

Come on, they totally would. In fact I'd bet they will.

I don't think Gilligan would call it a "happy ending" if Hank dies... And it seems that despite being somewhat transgressive for a mainstream TV series, BB still follows the basic rules of a morality play: the guilty will be punished, and the innocent will survive. So I'd say Jr. and Hank (and the baby, of course) are the only ones who are certain not to die, everyone else is a possibile death. (Though Jesse will probably survive too, his redemption arc are pretty evident, and killing him wouldn't fit to that.)

Oh yeah, Saul will obviously survive too because of the spinoff, but that's a different thing.

In my mind, the ending is a victory for Walt. You might see the episode and say, “What the fuck was he talking about?” But it’s a somewhat happy ending, in my estimation.

does this not hint to you it might not mean a traditional "happy ending"

BB still follows the basic rules of a morality play: the guilty will be punished, and the innocent will survive

this is inaccurate too, really. plenty of innocents are punished in breaking bad. plus you know, it is about a meth dealer.

otm, 'happy' could be that the meth ring ends and all the meth dealers die (and walt's guilt is absolved because he is dead but his kids are fine)

it's futile even trying to read into a comment like that

Sorry, I wasn't writing too clearly, I meant that the morality play rules apply to the main characters. Minor innocent characters can die, but the major characters are still treated with such rules. Yeah, it's about a meth dealer, but it's been abudantly clear for a long time that the story will not end well with Walt alive and doing fine. And sure, Jesse has done awful things too, but his character arc is that he (unlike Walt) repents them, so there's still the chance he will survive and will be rehabilitated.

(xxpost)

otm, 'happy' could be that the meth ring ends and all the meth dealers die (and walt's guilt is absolved because he is dead but his kids are fine)

I dunno, this would mean Walt gets exactly what he wanted in the first place (he dies and the kids get the money), and I don't think the writers will let him off the hook that easily.

Maybe Jesse will go back to school, get a chem degree and finish the series teaching high school science.

I don't think Walt has always wanted to die, xpost.

Personally I kind of think it'd be cool if everyone except Walt died.

I don't think Walt has always wanted to die, xpost.

Not always, but after the cancer diagnosis he has. In "The Fly" he pretty much admits to Jesse that the cancer going into remission was not what he wanted, because his plan was to make as much money as possibly for his family, then die, but when that didn't happen, he doesn't know what to do next.

I don't really believe he actually wants to die. He's having too much fun indulging his tough guy fantasy.

I don't think those two are irreconcilable... A big part of why he can keep up the tough guy fantasy is that he doesn't care whether he lives or dies, so he can take risks a regular person wouldn't.

yeah, walt has changed quite fiercely (so it's foolhardy to take anything he said/felt in an earlier season and assume it points straight to his ending. xp

i think he cares btw

i really think he is terrified of death. i mean we don't even have to speculate, the end of s3, qed.

...A big part of why he can keep up the tough guy fantasy is that he doesn't care whether he lives or dies, so he can take risks a regular person wouldn't....

did you watch season 4? Walt spends the entire season begging literally everyone, with reason to, not to kill him

I think he kind of wants to die, but from cancer. That's the fate he's assigned himself. Being killed as the result of his criminal endeavour would mean the failure and invalidation of that endeavour.

Yeah, and also, at least during season 4, he is worried about the safety of his family, so he thinks he can't die until they are out of harm's way. (Though it remains unclear whether Gus was really planning of harming them, or whether Walt just overreacted and wanted to act as a saviour of his family.) Anyway, my point was that Walt feels he can die peacefully once his family is safe and they have the money he's earned. So that's why I thought AA's suggested ending won't happen, because it would mean Walt gets exactly that.

I don't think making money for his family post death is really an issue with Walt anymore. i mean hes in remission. as soon as he knew that he could have stopped but didn't. Walt biggest motivator is his ego and of course as we all know from Shakespeare and every other writer since with hubris comes not always your death but whatever circumstance is most painful.

I see the second half of season 5 being very little to do with making money and meth. Id be surprised if Walt ever cooks another batch ever. he has the money. he told everyone hes out. he seems very happy with being out. I'm sure its going to be about how Hank deals with the knowledge Walt is the other WW and how Walt is going to respond to that and of course how the whole family is going to react. Or what hank and Walt are willing to keep quiet for the sake of the family. And then on top of that Jesse probably finding out about Brock and maybe Jane.

Guys if you don't take Walt's declaration of wanting to die at face value you are a kill-joy harpy

im *listening* to s1 ep5 where walt, walt jr and skylar are in the support group

Skylar: "..Sometimes I feel like you don't even want me around."
Walt: "oh..huh..really."

So that's why I thought AA's suggested ending won't happen, because it would mean Walt gets exactly that.

― Tuomas, Tuesday, 21 May 2013 00:22 (7 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

just need to make the point that i don't think what i said will happen, just indicating how broad a 'happy ending' can be in a show like this

Walt biggest motivator is his ego and of course as we all know from Shakespeare and every other writer since with hubris comes not always your death but whatever circumstance is most painful.

ohh, yes yes yes, sunny extremely otm here. i imagine gilligan et al will be looking for the most effective drama they can muster, so this is an odds on imo

from gillian re the series ending:
“I’m very cornball in my own view of the world. It just makes sense to me that bad people should get punished and good people should be rewarded. I know it doesn’t work like that in real life, but there’s always that yearning.” But “I don’t feel any real pressure to pay off the characters, morally speaking.”

also whats the consensus on the microphone wire???????????????????

Er I don't remember that part!

some fans have spotted walt wearing a microphone wire under his tshirt in two close ups and a longshot of the season 5 ep 1 teaser. Actors microphone? Maybe but why would they let it be so obvious in two close ups. kind weird? also the waitresses mention of Swampscott, mass. Swampscott being native american for red rock ie meth ie red = death yo

Here is the guy who had the theory in the first week of season 5. Obviously it didnt p0an out how he thought but i think they are two interesting tidbits:
http://www.uproxx.com/tv/2012/08/insane-breaking-bad-theory-backed-by-questionable-evidence-so-good-it-might-be-true/

Hmm, I'm looking at the pics, but to me they look more regular folds in a shirt... And if it's a wire, why does it go to the opposite direction in the first pic than in the last two pics? I guess I should rewatch that episode to see how it looks like on film.

I dont really see it in the last two pics but something is definitely there in the first.

http://www.radiotimes.com/namedimage/Breaking_Bad_rekindles_fan_addiction_by_cooking_up_teaser_poster_for_final_episodes.jpg?quality=85&mode=crop&width=620&height=374&404=tv&url=/uploads/images/original/31358.jpg

amen, i can't believe this show isn't over yet
when does it start again ffs? my life has gone through multiple phases since i started watching it
end this shit already!!

hanks been waiting on the toilet since last yr

I saw something the other day that it is 'only' 70 days away

which is close but still uugggghhhhhhhhhhh hurry up and get here

hanks been waiting on the toilet since last yr

― johnny crunch, Wednesday, June 5, 2013 10:41 AM Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

https://twitter.com/deanjnorris/status/282694789676290049/photo/1

he's moved on to 'the grapes of wrath'

"only" 70 days is an insult and immodest at the same time. Just stfu until air date and then please air out that bathroom. Hank has been in there for a lifetime.

I'm kind of dreading it starting again because I never want it to end.

Was watching "Game of Thrones" and mentioned to my wife that there will be serious "GoT' withdrawal when it ends, and we were thinking of other shows whose conclusion left this gaping void of sadness. "Breaking Bad" will be one of them. "Battlestar Galactica" was one. Don't remember "Wire" withdrawal, oddly. "Deadwood," sure. Definitely not "The Sopranos."

I've have more to say when I finish this season tomorrow. The cliffhanger: Walt confronted Mike and Jesse with the fact that he's going to sell the mitochlorians or whatever to them.

i get that w/ alot of shows sorta, they work like calendars and when it ends you undergo a small change in habit and if it was on long enough recall the circumstances in yr life when it began, coworkers or friends you've lost touch with that you used to chat about the show with, etc, nothing much more meaningful that hearing a song on the radio and realizing it came out ten, twenty years ago or whatever. w/ deadwood there was no awareness at the time that that was the end (though milch says now he knew and there are touches that indicate he's being honest), w/ the sopranos the nature of the ending prompted discussion that made any kind of personal digestion of it impossible or at least marginalized (and i love the ending but it's had the unfortunate side effect of not only overshadowing the rest of that pretty great episode but also that last incredible and incredibly bleak run of episodes), w/ more obv plot driven shows this is only more so - 'battlestar galactica', 'lost', and probably 'got' (i think this is why so many ppl's thoughts or feelings of those shows are so tied to their thoughts or feelings on the endings to those shows). i think my fondest memories of watching endruns of shows were things like catching the last few arrested developments burnt off on saturday nights on fox or watching the last few freaks and geeks haphazardly on fox family channel months after nbc had stopped airing them. the wire was weirdly like that also, hbo aired that last season (and the one before it iirc) on on demand the week before they'd broadcast it so i of course watched it as soon as i could and had nobody to talk about it w/ cuz the few ppl i knew irl who did watch the wire waited til sunday like normal human beings. the wire's the only one where i felt anything beyond 'funny how quickly time passes' or 'i have just passively taken part in the communal cultural act called television', it felt like seeing a friend off at the airport or bus station.

that jpg makes me sad. I hate that right when people have figured out how to make great tv they've gone on this snobby thing of wanting to do these short series and get out. do these fools seriously think the next thing they do is going to be better than breaking bad? the shitty 23rd season of breaking bad would be 10x better than any shit that any of these people are going to do for the rest of their lives.

have you been around for the fan backlash for the ending of... pretty much every critically successful series in the past decade? people are the worst

that jpg makes me sad. I hate that right when people have figured out how to make great tv they've gone on this snobby thing of wanting to do these short series and get out. do these fools seriously think the next thing they do is going to be better than breaking bad? the shitty 23rd season of breaking bad would be 10x better than any shit that any of these people are going to do for the rest of their lives.

have you seen the simpsons recently?