Breaking Bad Season 5-B (Spoilers obviously)

[Troublemaker]

Well the season got off to a rousing start on Sunday night.

Great move by the writers to not delay the Hank / Walt confrontation, with Walt receiving a well-deserved fist to his face in Hank's garage.

Let's use this thread to discuss Breaking Bad as it wraps up its final 8 (now 7) episodes.

Some obvious questions to ponder as things wind down:

What is future-Walt going to use that giant gun in the trunk of his car for? Who will receive the ricin he just recovered from the electrical outlet in his bedroom?

Is Breaking Bad the best ever TV show / serial drama?

[77devil]

Well the season got off to a rousing start on Sunday night.

Great move by the writers to not delay the Hank / Walt confrontation, with Walt receiving a well-deserved fist to his face in Hank's garage.

Let's use this thread to discuss Breaking Bad as it wraps up its final 8 (now 7) episodes.

Some obvious questions to ponder as things wind down:

What is future-Walt going to use that giant gun in the trunk of his car for? Who will receive the ricin he just recovered from the electrical outlet in his bedroom?

Is Breaking Bad the best ever TV show / serial drama?

I thought the opening was terrific setting up most of season 5 B as a flashback and provoking many questions about what's to come. It was reminiscent of the opening of season two with the debris in the swimming pool, that was finally revealed at the end of the season. But retrieving the ricin portends a big finale that comes after the opening scene. So where in the last seven episodes does time catch up to the opening? The after and before encounter with the next door neighbor was also clever. How much time will elapse during the season? The condition of the exterior of the house suggests it's been abandoned for awhile.

It could end badly for all the main characters but will the writers make it that dark?

[Duvall]

I thought the opening was terrific setting up most of season 5 B as a flashback and provoking many questions about what's to come. It was reminiscent of the opening of season two of the debris in the swimming pool which was revealed at the end of the season. But retrieving the ricin portends a big finale that comes after the opening scene. So where in the last seven episodes does time catch up to the opening? The after and before encounter with the next door neighbor was also clever. How much time elapses during the season? The condition of the exterior of the house suggests it's been abandoned for awhile.

About nine months. Walt receives the machine gun on his 52nd birthday, and the "future" scenes appear to be taking place a few days after that. The current scenes are taking place a few months after Walt's 51st birthday, which took place in the fourth episode of Season 5A.

[Troublemaker]

Yeah, I think the timeline goes:

51st b'day: Skyler walks into the swimming pool (very artistic shot). Marie/Hank take the kids.

51 + 3 months: Marie asks Skyler to take the kids back, "it's been 3 months," doesn't want to "enable" Skyler. Skyler shows Walt the storage unit o' money. Walt gets an MRI. Walt retires from meth-cooking.

51 + 4 months: While getting chemo, Walt hears from Saul about Jesse's plans for his 2 duffel bags. Walt returns the bags to Jesse and reveals to him "I've been out for a month." So this is where we are now.

52nd b'day: Walt buys the giant gun and retrieves the ricin.

With 7 episodes left, a reasonable guess would be the writers take 5 episodes to go from where we are now to Walt going into hiding under his scraggly Mr. Lambert guise. Then 2 episodes to resolve why he comes out of hiding to buy the gun and retreive the ricin. One last ego trip & not leaving things well enough alone would be an appropriate ending to Walt's story. But Breaking Bad tends to surprise with their pacing and plot, so who knows.

[A-Tex Devil]

1. Talking to Lydia in the car wash in the same manner Gus spoke to him in Los Pollos Hermanos
2. Putting the towel down to kneel on to throw up in the car
3. Others...?

[Duvall]

1. Talking to Lydia in the car wash in the same manner Gus spoke to him in Los Pollos Hermanos
2. Putting the towel down to kneel on to throw up in the car
3. Others...?

Others.

[Kimist]

The writer of the series (only one they would allow to talk about this season's possible progression) was on "Talking Bad" which followed the first new episode on Sunday night.

While being (as expected) quite evasive, he made a comment along the lines of there is enough ricin present to kill several people.

Whether "Breaking Bad" is the best drama offered by AMC is somewhat subjective. I feel that "Mad Men" might take that overall award. But along the way I've become addicted to "The Walking Dead," enjoyed the storytelling of "The Killing," and "Hell on Wheels" also has a certain appeal. I would rather watch any of those shows (where everything is not settled in one episode) than much of the stuff that network television broadcasts!

FWIW: The newest AMC show "Low Winter Sun" has some potential. It is set in Detroit, and the first episode showed there will be some serious "how bad IS the good guy?" or even "how good IS the bad guy?" issues to resolve. A lead character is Lennie James, an excellent British actor whom you might recognize as appearing in a couple of episodes as Morgan in "The Walking Dead."

FWIW #2: At least for a limited time, AMC has available online the first current episodes of "Breaking Bad" and "Low Winter Sun."

k

[tommy]

The after and before encounter with the next door neighbor was also clever.

And she dropped a bag of oranges. Godfather, anyone??

[Duvall]

And she dropped a bag of oranges. Godfather, anyone??

Breaking Bad has played with audience expectations on that before, with the oranges that conspicuously landed on Ted's head right he broke his neck, but did not die.

[jimsumner]

Best TV drama ever?

My vote goes to Hill Street Blues, with the West Wing a close second.

Best AMC drama ever?

Another vote for Mad Men over Breaking Bad.

And I've got to figure out a way to get the Twilight Zone into the mix.

That's just me.

[Kimist]

Best TV drama ever?

My vote goes to Hill Street Blues, with the West Wing a close second.

Best AMC drama ever?

Another vote for Mad Men over Breaking Bad.

And I've got to figure out a way to get the Twilight Zone into the mix.

That's just me.

Unfortunately, many of the "votes" can only reflect what the viewer had available for comparison.

I agree that "Hill Street Blues" deserves consideration, for several reasons. But so should "NYPD Blue." And, for that matter, even "Kojak" (Who loves ya, baby?!?). THEME

But rest assured many people on these boards never heard of any of those series, nor something like "St Elsewhere," or "ER," or even "Homicide - Life on the Street."

Since this is mainly a basketball board, the same issues arise trying to discuss the relative talents of players like Jeff Mullins, or Bob Verga, or Danny Ferry, or Johnny Dawkins, or even Grant Hill. Those of us who were fortunate enough to see them play in a Duke uniform generally have a different perspective from those who only have film or word-of-mouth stories to make their comparisons.

k

[Troublemaker]

Best TV drama ever?

My vote goes to Hill Street Blues

Loved Hill Street Blues. HSB had my favorite theme music of all time that is somehow still incredibly moving/nostalgia-inducing when I hear it today. And I loved the opening roll-call gimmick leading into the theme.

[Dev11]

Over/under how long each of these characters remains alive! There are 7 episodes left. For ease of discussion, let's say that the episode we watched last week was Episode 1, and the last is Episode 8, all abbreviated as E1 or E8, etc. Taking the over means that the character is alive during the ending credits of that episode.

1. Walt: E8 (does Walt live?)
2. Hank: E6
3. Skyler: E7
4. Jesse: E8
5. Lydia: E3
6. Saul: E8 (Does Saul get that spin-off show? Does it occur after the end of BB?)
7. Badger: after successfully pitching his Star Trek episode

Any others you want to add?

[alteran]

Over/under how long each of these characters remains alive! There are 7 episodes left. For ease of discussion, let's say that the episode we watched last week was Episode 1, and the last is Episode 8, all abbreviated as E1 or E8, etc. Taking the over means that the character is alive during the ending credits of that episode.

1. Walt: E8 (does Walt live?)
2. Hank: E6
3. Skyler: E7
4. Jesse: E8
5. Lydia: E3
6. Saul: E8 (Does Saul get that spin-off show? Does it occur after the end of BB?)
7. Badger: after successfully pitching his Star Trek episode

Any others you want to add?

Way too many variables for me to take a stab at what episode will be the last for any characters. Here's my guesses on how they fair, storywise.

My predictions:

1) Walt: Lives. (At minimum, escapes Hank and the law, maybe taken down by cancer well after the final showdown.)
2) Hank: Dead. this is the flipside of my Walt prediction. If Hank survives, that means Walt is dead. JMHO.
3) Skyler: Arrested or state's evidence and in hiding. I don't think Walt kills her.
4) Jesse: no idea. I'm of two minds. Jesse is the conscience of the show, in many ways. Often, we see the real horror of Walter White through him. Either Vince Gilligan has Walt kill Jesse to underscore the depth of Walt's decline, or Jesse gets some sort of redemption to give the audience something to be happy about. If Walt dies, it will be at Jesse's hands.
5) Lydia: my guess is dead. Only Saul Goodman gets to be that slippery and survive.
6) Saul: Lives. A) he can't have his spin-off if he's dead/ruined. B) He's going to live for sure--or his name isn't Saul Goodman.
7) Badger: definitely dead. That's the only thing that can happen to someone who pitches a Star Trek idea that bad. (Note: link is to an animated version of Badgers episode.)
8) Marie: probably lives. the worst thing I can see is her getting ruined along with Hank when everyone finds out who Heisenberg is, but my guess is she survives.

[A-Tex Devil]

Or... OR.... Walt is killed/dies of cancer, Skyler, Flynn and the baby get a lot of money, although relocated and with new identities. Lots of collateral damage (Hank, Jesse, Lydia, Todd) in episodes 2-8.

Basically everything (other than the new identities thing) goes to Walt's original plan. Amiright?

[Dev11]

6) Saul: Lives. A) he can't have his spin-off if he's dead/ruined. B) He's going to live for sure--or his name isn't Saul Goodman.

I think that a Saul spin-off would be great if it acted as a back story leading up to his involvement with Walter White. We see how a smart guy with normal hair turns into a crook with a terrible combover-mullet. Maybe it ends with him being kidnapped by Jesse and Walt.

Regarding the second episode, it looks like Hank is now after Skylar, although overall I didn't love the episode.

[Native]

My favorite theory that I've seen is that Walt leaves everything behind and gets a new identity with the help of Saul.

He settles down and starts anew...

Malcolm-in-the-middle.jpg

[77devil]

Regarding the second episode, it looks like Hank is now after Skylar, although overall I didn't love the episode.

Both Skylar and Hank are now focused on self preservation. Each has come to the realization that they are involved way too deeply to proceed on a typical law enforcement path whereby Skylar turns states evidence in return for leniency. Even though Skylar showed empathy for Walt after his trip to the desert, I believe she'll turn on him to save herself if the right opportunity arises. And now that Hank has chosen not to tell his colleagues about his evidence and suspicions, he has made a choice that almost certainly will end badly.

Looks like Todd is headed back into the lab, but when the product remains substandard he and Lydia kidnap Skylar to force Walt to cook again. Many things go wrong. Walt retrieves the ricin and buys the the big gun and goes Charles Bronson in full revenge.

[alteran]

Both Skylar and Hank are now focused on self preservation. Each has come to the realization that they are involved way too deeply to proceed on a typical law enforcement path whereby Skylar turns states evidence in return for leniency. Even though Skylar showed empathy for Walt after his trip to the desert, I believe she'll turn on him to save herself if the right opportunity arises. And now that Hank has chosen not to tell his colleagues about his evidence and suspicions, he has made a choice that almost certainly will end badly.

Looks like Todd is headed back into the lab, but when the product remains substandard he and Lydia kidnap Skylar to force Walt to cook again. Many things go wrong. Walt retrieves the ricin and buys the the big gun and goes Charles Bronson in full revenge.

I'm not entirely convinced Hank has chosen not to tell his colleagues. I want to know what happens at the meeting he set up when he canceled the budget meeting. I think there's a chance he tells SOMEONE.

But maybe not. And I tell you, beyond his familial relationship, there's a LOT of stuff in Hank's past that makes it look possible he was involved with Heisenberg. (The brothers, taking down Fring.)

I like your Bronson theory. Makes as much sense as anything else I've heard. That M60 has to have SOMEBODY'S name on it-- in all likelihood, a LOT of names, all at once.

[Dev11]

I like your Bronson theory. Makes as much sense as anything else I've heard. That M60 has to have SOMEBODY'S name on it-- in all likelihood, a LOT of names, all at once.

The only large groups that are left, as far as I can see, are the DEA and Team Todd (Vamanos Pest plus the uncle and company). I don't see Walt strolling into the DEA office with an M-60, but hey, you never know.