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

last episode could have used Gail voice-ever reading aloud the inscription in Leaves of Grass though

I've seen some folks speculate Gail was gay (and possibly had a relationship with Gus, who's heavily implied to be gay too), and that he was attracted to Walt... I read those scenes more like Gail having a platonic chemistry crush on him, since he knew Walt was this super chemist guy, but I guess the gay reading is possible. It would certainly put him giving Leaves of Grass to Walt into a new light.

gus was gay. that was confirmed. Im not sure about gale but certainly the vibe when gus visited gale at his apartment suggests gues is no more than a boss to him. and obvs gale was in awe of of walts mad chem skillz

The photo of Gus and his business partner more or less confirmed it, no?

i think i'm forgetting stuff about this show... by August i'll have no idea who Jesse is! THIS IS TO LONG TO WAIT!!

what business partner? i only remember his brother... i could be remembering that wrong

Has there ever been a really consistent TV auteur?

Milch. James Burrows?

was gonna say re burrows

what business partner? i only remember his brother... i could be remembering that wrong

the other pollo hermano, killed by Steven Bauer.

that's the one i mean... they were actual brothers right?

no

just another lie from the General.

also gilligan confirmed it on the podcast

Milch

I lol'd

Has there ever been a really consistent TV auteur?

Paul Henning

that's the one i mean... they were actual brothers right?

They weren't brothers, just hermanos.

they were brothers in dick

brotherhood of the (pork) sword

I think pretty much the only thing that goes against the "Gus is gay" theory is that in one of his first appearances, when he invites Walt to his home, he casually mentions his wife and kids... But they are never seen or even mentioned after that, and it certainly seems Gus lives by himself. So, was Gus just putting up appearances for Walt, or hadn't the writers yet decided he was gay? So many things, especially his whole vendetta against Don Eladio, make more sense if you assume he's gay and the other Hermano was his partner.

OTOH, if the above is true, why didn't the writers just spell it out, instead of just dropping some vague hints? Were they afraid of him getting stereotyped by the viewers, or something?

Also, they never revealed what in Gus's past was so terrifying that even Don Eladio didn't want to kill him... I guess that thing could still be revealed in the final 8 episodes, but it seems a bit irrelevant now. (Unless someone from Gus's past comes to Walt looking for revenge.)

OTOH, if the above is true, why didn't the writers just spell it out, instead of just dropping some vague hints?

Writers and audiences often enjoy a bit of ambiguity.

Also, they never revealed what in Gus's past was so terrifying that even Don Eladio didn't want to kill him... I guess that thing could still be revealed in the final 8 episodes, but it seems a bit irrelevant now. (Unless someone from Gus's past comes to Walt looking for revenge.)

― Tuomas, Tuesday, June 11, 2013 5:56 AM (1 hour ago) Bookmark

connections back in chile, i dont think its something thats meant to be revealed, its one of those bits of backstory thats better when it thrives in ur imagination than if it's explained

Is any other important piece of character motivation in BB dealt with such ambiguity, though?

Traditionally, gayness in mainstream movies and TV was depicted ambiguous ways, because stating it outright was thought to offend people. But I can't imagine why, in this day and age, the makers of BB would feel the need use this strategy... Unless they were afraid of the opposite reaction: that outing Gus would make people think they are reinforcing homophobic stereotypes, since he's the villain. (Though that doesn't make much sense to me either, since Gus is such an unique character, and not a stereotype of any sort.)

(x-post)

connections back in chile, i dont think its something thats meant to be revealed, its one of those bits of backstory thats better when it thrives in ur imagination than if it's explained

Yeah, that's what I thought too, but IIRC the writer guy said in some interview that Gus's Chilean past would be explored in some way. Can't remember where I read this though.

His gayness is tangential, I think. I didn't want it explained either. The photo he kept of he and his partner said enough.

Is any other important piece of character motivation in BB dealt with such ambiguity, though?

It's not really important whether he loved his hermano in a gay way or not though. All that's important from a motivational point of view is that he did love him.

Gus' homosexuality or lack thereof is not vital to the storyline, more just something interesting to speculate about. Another layer to a mysterious character.

James Burrows hard to classify as auteur since 92.8% of all his work is as hired hand, and the rest is Cheers, which he co-created but AFAIR never actually wrote

I'll be kind of disappointed if we don't find out at least a bit more about Gus's past, because it'd be a good source of 'holy shit' moments and we'd get to see Giancarlo Esposito reprise the role again. Don't really care about his sexuality though.

I'd really like to see a flashback to Walt teaching Jesse high school chemistry at some point.

just watch, they're saving that for the final episode

James Burrows hard to classify as auteur since 92.8% of all his work is as hired hand

i know meanings change, but this was p much true of all the classic Hollywood auteurs, fwiw

Yeah would make a great cold open for the finale xpost

Between this conversation about Gus and recent events on Mad Men (which I won't spoil here), I get kind of annoyed at the need to essentialize a character's sexuality as either gay or straight. Is Gus *really* gay? But he has a wife and kids! I dunno, maybe he had a special love for his partner that wasn't exactly homosexual desire. Or maybe it was, but maybe he also loves his wife in a real, non-fraudulent way. Life's complicated! Part of the problem might be that these shows sometimes handle this stuff with teasing reveals -- think of Rawls in the gay bar on The Wire (not really a spoiler because it's a three-second shot that's wholly unimportant to the plot and never elaborated upon) -- that encourage the viewer to say "A-ha! This *proves* it!" But why are we so eager to treat scenes like this as "proof," as an "answer," as something we've now figured out, rather than as an additional (and occasionally ambiguous) shade to the character?

Pretty OTM there.

More of a "straight" vs. "not straight" dichotomy in so far as it affects Mad Men era politics, no?

But why are we so eager to treat scenes like this as "proof," as an "answer," as something we've now figured out, rather than as an additional (and occasionally ambiguous) shade to the character?

Message boards.

Has there ever been a really consistent TV auteur?

I'd add Bryan Fuller.

the Rawls shot is definitely meant to be ambiguous and to layer the character with a variety of new depths depending on how you take it

i know meanings change, but this was p much true of all the classic Hollywood auteurs, fwiw

yes - note that of my list, very few ever direct, but they're identifiable as the primary author of their televisual texts. Burrows is a magnificent director of multicam sitcoms, but he's hired particularly for so many pilots because of his facility at establishing a tone and working relationships on set, that a production can then learn from and carry forward, rather than because he generates in a discernable way, or brings anything distinct to, the text

I'll be kind of disappointed if we don't find out at least a bit more about Gus's past, because it'd be a good source of 'holy shit' moments and we'd get to see Giancarlo Esposito reprise the role again. Don't really care about his sexuality though.

― Matt DC, Tuesday, June 11, 2013 9:06 AM (3 hours ago) Bookmark

that'd be such a waste of time with only 8 episodes left. better to leave people wanting more fring than giving us more than we need

otm

yup, if anything BSG and Lost has taught us all it's better to leave some mysteries out there

lets not talk about BSG.

Or The Wire.

Wire does not make Thermo angry.

What is BSG?

'broad sweeping generalisation', it's a britcom

Lots of meat pies and blood sausages, IIRC.

Tuomas, BSG = BattleStar Galactica. 2.5 seasons of my life i will never get back.

youre never getting back any of your life dude!

not even ilx time?! i thought there was a rebate at the end. like stoppage time.