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

And host meth lord refugees.

Walt's hubris and animosity toward his ex-girlfriend and ex-business partner are huge. He's had this chip on his shoulder about their success and his relative lack thereof, probably part of what spurned his motivation to build an empire, and them discounting his contributions really brought out the rage.

The glass of whiskey untouched on the bar was a good end note

no half measures

Robert Forster = A+

not so into the media narrative/Charlie Rose thing. I was wrong and they did go there but the suspension-of-disbelief stuff is coming pretty fast and furious now.

suspect we're in for a "say hello to my little friend" finale

also glad Saul got out alive (apparently)

me too - where do you live?

― Chantal Anchorman (admrl), Monday, September 23, 2013 11:36 AM (19 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

near st johnsbury

Seemed like Charlie Rose was really overselling/overacting. How the fuck hard is it for him to just be Charlie fucking Rose?

The "how's he holding up?" "look for yourself" dialogue leading to the tv showing Walt raging around a room by himself was great

i don't think it's ever been explicit but it's pretty clear the Gray Matters blow-up was due to a love triangle of some sort, right?

i think walt just left and then the other two got together after he was gone iirc

probably part of what spurned his motivation to build an empire

Having gluttonously rewatched the series prior to the (half)season premiere, I'll say that Walt's jealousy towards Gretchen & Elliott seemed like a much more explicit motivating factor than I remember it being the first time I watched the show. Even prior to Walt basically spelling out as much to Jesse while they're chilling at his house.

the Gray Matters blow-up was due to a love triangle of some sort, right?

this was made explicit

ah ok. just in that flashback or in some other scene im forgetting?

i dont think so

xp the flashback being Walt talking about what elements make up the human body.

Do you think that's the last we'll see of Saul? Looked pretty final but they could have given him a better final scene if so.

yeah that's the scene I'm thinking of

xp

I think the most empathetic dread I felt for any character during this episode was that brief window when it looked like nu-Saul was gonna be saddled with nu-Walt for the foreseeable future. What a nightmare that could've been.

Walt, alone with Gretchen, pleads with her not to reveal the truth but won't explain any of his actions. Waving her checkbook around won't make him forget how she and Elliott "cut me out" and made millions off his research, Walt says. Gretchen reminds Walt that he was the one who left her without explanation, abandoning both her and Elliott. "Little rich girl, just adding to your millions," Walt retorts.

Yeah, Walt's been an obtusely delusional asshole for a long, long time.

ah! completely forgot about that.

ya she says walt left her w/o explanation, no love triangle

lol at gray matter as the name for some huge successful company

i got the feeling of a love triangle too -- i got the impression that walt was a brilliant arrogant asshole and he liked her, but she was not interested and he stormed off (possibly because of it)
not sure why i thought this, but that was the impression i've had

seemed like she always had a soft spot for him, which is why she kinda piped up during the charlie rose interview? this story may have never been made explicit, but it fits walt's general character i think. that early in the show, it also gave us the idea that he has not always been as mild mannered as he has pretended to be around his family.

they def put all the pieces in place for us to assume there was a love triangle and then yanked them away, the way i look at it walt left cause he couldnt deal w the prospect of success

they will never yank away my pieces of love triangle

give them back no drop it drop it

This should have been the final song
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XgIxixJjyHU

Great episode, totally bleak and heavy and the right note to hit after last week and going into the final episode...

But the ending left me a bit confused - I guess they'll pull it all together in the final episode... but what is Walt's motivation exactly now?

Is Walt going back to get the Nazis because he wants to get the money back?
And if so, is the idea that it's still sitting around in barrels in their compound months later?
And why does he give a shit about that money when he just abandoned 8 million in the cabin?
And why does he give a shit about the money if his son won't even accept $100,000, and Skyler couldn't take the money anyway since they have the DEA all over them as Saul described?

So if it's not about the money - it's what, revenge? For keeping Jesse alive to make blue? It's to protect the Colonel's 11 secret herbs and spices? Why would he care about that on his death bed?

Or is it all about getting recognized for his achievements? Gretchen and Elliot take all the credit for the Grey (Matter) and now he's being robbed of recognition for the Blue (meth)?

Besides all that... why didn't Walt seem to think the Nazis and Lydia would come after Skyler and his family? He knows Lydia's M.O. - of course she'd want Skyler dead and that Todd kills kids - but he's OK with leaving them unprotected?

Levity:

http://digitaldeconstruction.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Aaron-Paul-Bryan-Cranston-Emmys-2.jpg

the money is as he said his lifes work, not worrying more about the safety of his family is just how he rolls

brio and me on the same page

which is sort of why I'm expecting a goal-less rage-filled revenge-fest bloodbath

what just cause he yelled that he wanted to kill the nazis then bought a big gun

i think hes gonna retire on a houseboat

i think he might start a new car wash in a different state

Heisenberg bought the gun so he could hold a local news network hostage, and go on the air as Heisenberg, and say "THIS...folks...is why we needed healthcare reform!!! This would never have happened if the school's shitty indemnity plan didn't have such a high deductible! I'm the victim here!"

Reasons why Walt would want to go back:

- He blames Jesse for Hank's death and has unfinished business with him
- Getting the money back off the Nazis/killing them all in the process
- Somehow attempting to talk to Skylar and getting her/Walter Jr to accept the money (this is the really insane bit seeing they hate him and everyone now knows it's drug money)
- I can't remember what Grey Matter actually does but if it represents a real scientific achievement then there's some good in his legacy, which in Walt's skewed mind might help him with this family
- Is it entirely beyond the realms of possibility that the drug money might end up in that charitable foundation? I don't really know what the police would normally do with $70m or so in drug money.

My one big regret about this show is that we haven't ever seen or been given a hint about the root of Walt's madness. It would've been nice to see his mom/family at some point, but I would've been content with something slightly ambiguous, along the lines of the last shot of Repulsion. As it stands, I just have to accept that, yes, Walt's mindscape must be an exhausting place and anyone having to deal with a mind like that stands a good chance of (wait for it) breaking bad.

Thank god there's been minimal hint of bullshit Freudian issues.

I don't really know what the police would normally do with $70m or so in drug money.

― Matt DC, Monday, September 23, 2013 12:35 PM (28 seconds ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

keep it, use it to buy police stuff, is generally how it works is my understanding

Is it entirely beyond the realms of possibility that the drug money might end up in that charitable foundation?

i floated this idea last night, but the gf didn't seem think to think Walt would want people who aren't his family getting it, no matter how much it looked like they could take it and didn't want it.

It would've been nice to see his mom/family at some point,

i only just realized this this morning, that we've never seen his or Skylar's parents! i was trying to think if walt had lived his whole life in Arizona, but I had no idea since they've never really done any back story for Walt outside of Grey Mater.

*like the couldn't take the money

I don't really know what the police would normally do with $70m or so in drug money.

http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2013/08/12/130812fa_fact_stillman

walt pretended to visit him mom on an airplane once no

I don't get hiding in a NH cottage without bringing Proust or Trollope.

paypal donations suddenly flooding into the skylord white defense fund website flynn set up

there have been references to a strained relationship between Walt and his mom

the money thing doesn't make any sense - this episode seemed to make it abundantly clear that there's no way to get the money to his family, even if he could get it all back from the nazis. I guess he could get it back from the nazis and then burn it all lol

with the nazis, i'd image it's more the principal than the actual money. $8 or $80mil - doesn't make a difference when you've taken it from the mighty Heisenberg!

this episode seemed to make it abundantly clear that there's no way to get the money to his family, even if he could get it all back from the nazis

as the Whites they couldn't take the money, but what if say the vacuum cleaner man relocated them and they came up with some cover story explaining why their new identities were rich

Skylar and Flynn wouldn't want to do that at this point though, they already refused to run away with Walt

but yeah I think at this point it's more the principle of the thing