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

just got corrupted by big business interests and all.

I love how comfortable Walt was the whole episode. Just embraced who he was and went around all dead man walking while he handled his business.

I was half expecting Walt to pull out some freshly-cooked blue & torch it up right there when he was walking through the lab at he end.

holly scene almost as affecting as him saying goodbye to his beloved meth lab.

― ryan, Monday, September 30, 2013 12:36 PM (7 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

lawl

loved how that scene suggests that his love for cooking was indeed sincere.

― ryan, Monday, September 30, 2013 11:39 AM (2 minutes ago)

Tying this up with the "I liked it...I was good at it...I felt alive" scene with Skyler was great. Finally, no more self-delusion and bullshit rationalization.

yeah it was a very ~peaceful~ finale (M60 notwithstanding), which was a nice counterpoint to the 'shit is about to go down' anticipation of the flashforward & build-up

just read nussbaum's critical new yorker review - genuinely appreciative of her calling out the tidiness and the possibility of it all being a dream, as it made me realize how much I liked it. It WAS tidy, and fitting with the show's pretense that Walt is "really good at this," "the devil," etc. But there was still that sliver of ambiguity - we didn't see a montage of walt jr receiving a check from the nerdlingers, of holly scampering, jesse and brock at the park, etc, etc, etc. Walt's dead, he can't know whether it all worked out, and neither can we. We can debate whether it was worth it, whether he really pulled it off, but he made a DAMN good go of it. Ending with him FAILING, dying in that car, dying without closing all these doors, would have put a "cautionary tale"/"crime doesn't pay" shroud over the whole show. Instead of going for that blunt refusal to give Walt a happy ending, they gave us a really haunted "happy ending."

there was something about that machine gun rigging bit ... doesn't Clint do something like that in one of those Leone movies?

we didn't see a montage

oh man was so glad they didn't do this. I hate those "let's recap everything!" montages (yes, that goes for the Wire)

http://24.media.tumblr.com/a01fcc00dbb75a7045bf496c8bd2cab9/tumblr_mtxd94ePe61rhbw3qo1_500.png
http://31.media.tumblr.com/70da7458953af3b911c1fb93a58cf07a/tumblr_mtxd94ePe61rhbw3qo2_500.png

jesse and brock at the park

Julee Cruise music swelling

Was his plan to kill Jessie until he saw that he was a slave?

if jesse had shown up in a suit and slick hair all HA HA HA YOU OLD FOOL he might not have dived on top of him, for sure

there was something about that machine gun rigging bit ... doesn't Clint do something like that in one of those Leone movies?

think you're thinking of Peckinpah and the end of Wild Bunch ... ?

yeah prob xp

think you're thinking of Peckinpah and the end of Wild Bunch ... ?

ah, YES

seemed like he wanted him in the room

I thought I read somewhere gilligan said walt wanted to kill jesse too until he saw him

tbf I didn't think it came across that way in the finale; seemed more like he went off about the jesse 'partnership' thing to stall jack long enough to get the keyfob

yeah it was ambiguous

i mean he def did it for stalling at that point but also it was there in his mind ready to go

in Talking Bad (yeah I watched it) Gilligan said they were playing off the end of the Searchers where John Wayne goes back to kill Natalie Wood but ends up saving her.

But there was still that sliver of ambiguity - we didn't see a montage of walt jr receiving a check from the nerdlingers, of holly scampering, jesse and brock at the park, etc, etc, etc.

This is all set up for a follow-up show. A mustachioed, late-20s Flynn in over his head and managing the family fortune as well as he can, Skyler and Marie wallowing in the riches, Holly spoiled rotten. An older Jesse, sitting in the shadows of an Alaskan cabin, teaching a teenaged Brock and Lydia's daughter to hate the family that destroyed their lives and still came out on top. "It's time to Break Badder, bitches!"

(If they really soaped it up a la Dallas, I would probably totally watch that show.)

Walt wrestling Jesse to the floor and then killing everyone standing was so fitting that it is a bit annoying that it is supposedly improvised. What was his earlier plan? To just fall to the floor and hope nobody noticed?

All in all, I didn't like how tidy the finale was. It was too much of a single persons journey and all that. I don't know if I would have liked a montage, but would have preferred some sense that this story goes on beyond Mr Whites sorta redemption. In general, I just don't like those endings where the main character is lying on his back in his final moments. Such a cliché.

But nah, that is nitpicking. Once again so many amazing scenes. This really has been the greatest final season of television ever, though it peaked 3/4 of the way through. I would definitely put the show in the second tier of the pantheon, though, below stuff like Wire, Deadwood, Mad Men, etc. A bit too limited, and it's themes were way too muddled to really measure up to the all time greatest.

Gun in trunk reminded me of the end of Django with the machine gun in the coffin.

Thought the proud look at the meth lab at the end contained a touch of teacherly pride seeing that Jesse really did learn from him.

What was his earlier plan? To just fall to the floor and hope nobody noticed?

I don't think he had any expectation of leaving Camp Nazi alive.

Yah he was set to take bullets

what were some of the alternate takes I wonder. like maybe an alternate cut of the machine gun scene but with Henley's "New York Minute" playing simultaneously?

Yeah, but that was a dumb plan, as seen in the fact that Todd actually survives (as does Jack for a moment) Without someone to clean up afterwards, it was way too risky.

he couldve just fallen to the floor an pushed the button no one wouldve reacted in time nbd

was v Todd to see his crew mowed down and in that brief moment before getting choked seem more admiring of Mr White than anything else.

yeah good point, todd's reaction was classic todd

was v Todd to see his crew mowed down and in that brief moment before getting choked seem more admiring of Mr White than anything else.

― opie dead eyed piece of shit (Merdeyeux), Monday, September 30, 2013 1:49 PM Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

similar to Gus's "aw shucks, ya got me" death moment

i gotta say Jesse choking out Todd was pretty damn satisfying

what are the generally acknowledged GOATs for current "Golden Age" TV series?

Sopranos, The Wire, and Deadwood seem to be consensus first-tier picks on this thread, anyway. What are the other big ones?

i loved deadwood but it got canceled and the end was garbage so it doesnt make the cut IMHO

idg the love for Deadwood got tired of that fast

Sex and the City should probably be on that list
Sopranos
Mad Men
Wire
Game of Thrones seems to be pretty popular

Girls too

http://betseyj.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/murder+she+wrote+03.jpg

friday night lights duh for real

There's a lot of easy second-tier picks (The Shield, Lost, Battlestar Galactica, etc.) but aside from those three it's hard to pick more clearly GOAT dramas. Personally I'd sneak in Freaks & Geeks despite it being '99 and throw in a Whedon mention collectively (Buffy, Angel, Firefly, Dollhouse).

Shield is DEF top tier

shield is corny as hell come on

Friday Night Lights for sure
OZ? Never watched it

loved Freaks and geeks - but 1 season, 30 minutes, comedy... seems like it doesn't fit

eastbound and down tho

lagoon gets it

F&G was an hour and serious enough IMO

no lagoon

yes lagoon, i mean its a fun show and all but it doesnt have the artistry to make it onto rushmore

Don't forget Mad Men. The first tier is The Wire, Mad Men, Deadwood and Sopranos. In that order. Second tier probably begins with Breaking Bad and The Shield.

xp idk actually its been a while, need to rewatch but agree re deadwood