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

one thing I noticed on catching the marathon last night - Walt's weird tinnitus/space-out while the dr. is telling him he has cancer = Skyler's weird tinnitus/space-out while the lawyers are talking to her in the last episode

Also kinda like Jane's dad spacing out while on the scopes

(Same audio fx, I mean...different situation obv)

Little things like cancer.

― Evil Juice Box Man (LocalGarda), Thursday, September 26, 2013 5:55 PM (24 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

You're saying the reason he changes his mind about turning himself in after he sees his old buddies on TV is... cancer?

screensplain how BB works again

Dude none of those things I mentioned are little things, to Walt they're all huge.

Did you create a backstory for Uncle Jack and Todd? I'm curious as to whether Jack raised Todd and what Todd's parents were like.

Yeah, absolutely. Jesse and I did that. We felt like Todd was in danger as a little boy with a drug-addicted mother — my sister. She had a revolving door of abusive boyfriends that Jack was tired of murdering constantly, so Jack got Todd out of there.

Like if you really don't get why that report would have caused a turnaround in Walt 's behaviour then you just fundamentally don't get the character, or at least a big part of him.

otm I feel like this thread is a bad short story workshop sometimes

Don't look at me I'm pretty much the only one here who hasn't written like 50 posts of hopeful fanfic

This is a pretty good short story workshop imo

your motivation for distorting the joking nature of those posts is clear to me xpost

the narrative works

You're saying the reason he changes his mind about turning himself in after he sees his old buddies on TV is... cancer?

you're right, he is only capable of making decisions based on the thing that happens immediately before those decisions. seriously, you are like a dog with a bone here.

some massive point-missing going on here

like matt's point was "it's not any one thing" and you both ridicule that on the basis of it being "lots of little things" and then also assume someone saying they aren't little things is saying "it is one thing". make up your mind.

In the cold open of the finale, we learn that jack snuck into the bar, gave Walt a wet willy, and ran away

s1ocki's point is that it's poor writing to have your character's central motivation going into the final episode hinge entirely on the coincidental viewing of a tv show, largely unconnected to all the plot machinations that have preceded it, and that this is rather atypical for how the show's seasonal arcs have been constructed.

(correct me if I'm wrong s1ocki)

several posts have explained how the content of this tv show connects to previous plot machinations

So much of what has happened in this show has hinged on coincidence

otm

I mean not to go big on this, just I actually reckon, if you look back, for most of this thread I agree with you on almost all speculation, slocki, and I do see your point that this show is quite chain reaction, but I don't think it's a massive error, that last ending.

xpost yeah and others saying it didn't hinge on that tv thing alone.

I don't know. We saw at the end of Ozymandias Walt saying "I still have business" then we find out at the beginning of this one that he was talking about going after the Nazis. Over the course of the episode he was broken down by cancer, loneliness and finally rejection by his son, to the point that he was ready to give himself up. Sure, seeing G&E on TV was a plot convinience, a trigger, but the motivation was there all along.

wait

...

does charlie rose air anywhere during the daytime?

that's it i'm not watching the finale.

lol

Over the course of the episode he was broken down by cancer, loneliness and finally rejection by his son, to the point that he was ready to give himself up

over the course of the episode it was to all appearances made abundantly clear that he had no way of finishing this "business" (ie, getting the money to his family), I don't really see how his seeing Charlie Rose changes that.

Found it more implausible that Walt would give up so fast just because Flynn went off on him. Dude's been telling him to just fuckin' die already forever now.

I think it wasted clear that it'd be very difficult, yes. But there's still the Walt's versus heisenberg's business thing

wasted = was made

Dude's been telling him to just fuckin' die already forever now.

Flynn? Isn't this the first time?

It's not the coincidence that bothers me, it's the general looseness of the action in what is otherwise a pretty flawlessly tight show

Every single action leading up to this has felt urgent and necessary. It's disappointing that the show seems (and who knows, I could be wrong, I'm still waiting to see what happens next) to have run out of that insane narrative steam at the last minute

Naw, this ain't the first time. Hell, the fact that him going by "Flynn" is no big surprise supports that.

i have a feeling that when we find out what happens next it's not going to feel quite as loose as it does now. i mean cliffhangers do need to have an indeterminate element to them (other than "will X happen or not")

Listen, I'm no stan for this show. Shit like the plane crash has rubbed me wrong too. But - if there's any way to get this guy out of a cold little cabin in the woods, to go back on the run and meet up with whatever destiny and fate have in store for him, it's this Gray Matters business. You can make a valid point that Oh yeah? His former partners are on the damn Charlie Rose program two seconds after he decides to give himself up? But calling that the root of his motivation is no stretch. If there was any fire left in the smoldering pile of coal that's Walt's soul right now, it was his hatred, his supposed betrayal by GM that spurned this whole run on in the first place.

- phone dangles
- cops close in
- walt turns to bartender and says "that TV show just made me think of a tremendous way to launder my money. excuse me, i need to leave before the police show up"
- BWOWNGG.... DONK-AH BWOWNGG.... BWOWNG BWONGGGGGGG

i guess that would be a win/win for him, huh? either he successfully launders his money through the foundation somehow, or it's discovered that their foundation is funded by the very person that they're trying to disassociate themselves from and their reputation is shot?

So you guys think part of the last episode of this show is going to be about a money laundering scheme?

See in a weird way I would be more ok with that than Walt just being reminded he is mad and proud and going on a nazi rampage

it wouldn't take very long to throw in there, they have to deal with GM at the money (post-nazi rampage?) somehow.

Why do they have to deal with the money?

Wait, what? Money laundering?

because it seems to be a big part of his motivation/sense of pride, probably even if he accepts that he's not really doing this for his family? and a big part of the reason the phone call with flynn was so crushing to him is that it seemed like there was finally no use at all for the money, until hey, maybe there is something he can do with it after all (and thus a reason to go kill the nazis for it like he wanted to do in the first place)?

idk man, i'm just hoping to be surprised by the finale.

xp

dudes i was razzing s1ocki about his wish for walt to telegraph and overdetermine his next move in what was supposed to be a cliffhanger, not actually speculating!!

I am squirming with excitement with this new season!!! My friend from camtogays is waiting for it to appear on netflix! we are the best buddies ever!

ha i know but as soon as you said it i was like "ohhh, that is interesting and could totally make sense..."

xp

my friend from camtogays is pretty excited too

Dude's been telling him to just fuckin' die already forever now.
Flynn? Isn't this the first time?

― polyphonic, Thursday, September 26, 2013 7:30 PM (1 hour ago) Bookmark

somewhere in season 1 or 2, when walt's talking to skyler about how he doesnt want to bankrupt the family trying to combat the cancer when he could end up dying anyway and leaving them in debt, flynn shouts across the room SO JUST DIE ALREADY and then turns back to watching tv

i feel like were all in too deep

spend so much time shouting so just die already at the tv, I don't think we should read too much into this

This show has been so tightly-plotted and unpredictable up until now. It's just a shame that I suddenly have clear and unfettered precognitive access to the mess of shoddy plotting and unconvincing motivation that is the final episode. Sorry to spoil it for you all.