Season 1 Discussion

[Lisin]

Here's your place for season 1 talk. 

[ladyrott]

I just got into this show recently (blame the boyfriend, he keeps getting me addicted to TV shows that have been on for years) and am loving it.  I am up to the season 1 finale (that is tonight's episode before bed).  I am absolutely fascinated by Walt and his chemistry.  I was glad when he finally told his wife about the cancer but she is just pissing me off to no end.  When she took it upon herself to tell people at a PARTY they were attending, I was totally on Walt's side for being pissed.  He obviously wasn't ready to tell people/talk about it since he hadn't even told his son or the ever present sister & brother in law about it and Skylar thought he would be ok with her blabbing it at a party with people who, to quote Walt, are not even really a part of their lives anymore?! 

 

That said, while I have disliked her for most of season 1, I could feel for her during the "intervention" she staged to get Walt to agree to treatment.  I disagreed with her on principle (it is a personal choice and Walt has a right to choose the way he wants to go out), but she really sold me on the fact that she was desperate to keep the man she loved with her, that he see their daughter grow up. 

[purpleflowers]

I found the "talking pillow" of the intervention funny! Skyler is a very interesting and complex character. Sometimes she comes across as annoying and overbearing, but there are other admirable layers to her; she is smart, observant, outspoken and loves Walt very much. What I find so interesting about Season 1 is seeing the very first stages of Walter's Heisenberg emerging from within himself.  He still acts pretty straight-laced and mild-mannered around his family and yet at the very same time there is this darkness happening, but it's not like he is being completely two-faced; he actually DOES embody these seemingly incompatible traits all at the same time. Like Bryan Cranston himself has said, it's the various shades people can take on that is so fascinating. 

 

Here's something that has always haunted me: was Crazy 8 going to use the shard of glass or did he keep it just for security? 

[halgia]

Here's something that has always haunted me: was Crazy 8 going to use the shard of glass or did he keep it just for security?

The bit of the broken plate, you mean? In both of my watchthroughs I've always thought that he was planning to use it, but I don't remember if that was based on any specific evidence or I just made it up....

[ChipBach]

If I remember correctly Walter told him he was going to let him go and needed to trust that C8 wasn't going to try to kill him.  Once he realized the plate shard was missing he knew C8 would not let him go and had to kill him.  

[DangerousMinds]

I'm sure he was going to use that plate shard if given a chance. I've just gotten into this show as well. Spent the last week night and day watching seasons 1-4! I will say I am shocked that so many people seemed to think Skyler was such an awful person.

[Andromeda]

I don't think Skylar is awful, I think she's emotional and desperate to keep her husband alive. And she is married to a man she knows in her gut is lying about things to her and keeping stuff from her. I think one goal of the intervention for her was to get Walt to open up and reveal whatever it is he's hiding.

 

This show is so surprising. I thought it'd be more like the first season of The Wire, which really depressed me. But I was laughing out loud at some of the antics. Perfect black comedy stuff.

 

I've grown fond of Jesse, and I actually am rooting for Walt to find a way to make it work. But I just find it hilarious how they can never get ahead. They make some money, then immediately have to spend it to address a problem their drug making has created, or have new bills they have to pay. It's like a vicious circle. 

 

I also am surprised at how much I enjoy Hank. I thought he'd end up being one of those stupid jerky cops, which we see a lot of as antagonists on TV shows, but he turned out to be whipsmart, with great instincts (barring not seeing the true Walt), and a real love for family. I loved how he approached the idea of talking sense into Walt Jr. about pot, by taking him to see a druggie prostitute. Hilarious! And probably more effective than a lecture would ever be.

Edited August 28, 2014 by Andromeda

[DangerousMinds]

Yeah, I adored Hank. Again, I was shocked to read about how many people did not. It boggles my brain.

[larapu2000]

I didn't like Hank or Marie in the pilot-Hank with his kind of grandstanding storytelling and Marie telling Skylar that yes, she had gained weight, lol, but grew to love them second only to Jesse by the end, because they weren't perfect, but they were loving people that cared about others, and ultimately, the lack of that quality in Walt led to the complete undoing of their family.

 

Andromeda, I, too, loved the whole "1 step forward, 2 steps back" storyline for Walt and Jesse and their drug enterprise, especially because people like me that have no idea how the drug world works think it must be super easy to make meth and sell it-how hard could it be, right?  LOL

 

One thing that I've been arguing with my mom lately is The Walking Dead, because everything on that show is like a single, linear storytelling track.  The great thing about Breaking Bad is that it is a web of storytelling, where one action influences another and another and another, but spreading out in directions that are not predictable but yet still somehow organic and realistic.  I watched the two shows back to back once and I was almost disgusted at how "simple" TWD appeared next to BB.  

Edited August 29, 2014 by larapu2000

[Ohwell]

I didn't like Hank and Marie much in Season 1.  Hank seemed to regard Walt as this milquetoast chemistry teacher who was not really a "manly" man like himself--the badass DEA agent.  I didn't like the way he seemed to try and take over being a father to Walt Jr., right in front of Walt.  I couldn't stand Marie for her stealing and lying about it, and using her husband's position to get out of trouble.  Also, I thought she thought she was "better" than her sister and had a better life because she was married to the badass DEA agent.  And while I had no doubt they were concerned about Walt, I didn't like that they were in on the discussions about Walt's cancer, especially when he seemed uncomfortable with them being there.   Frankly, it seemed to me that he and Marie spent too much damn time Walt's and Skyler's house, and I often wondered if Walt was OK with that.

 

But then Hank grew on me by the end of Season 1, and by the end of the series I was rooting for him to get Walt.   It took me a lot longer to warm up to Marie, I think it was during the last season.

[Chaos Theory]

I know how much Skylar gets a bum rap from the start but i never understood why. I always liked her even way back in season 1 and how the writers didn't make her an idiot.,,of course she is not going to figure everything out by the end of season 1 but she is not completely blind to Walt's bulshit.

Edited September 2, 2014 by Chaos Theory

[Simon Boccanegra]

I had never seen an episode of the show, and I had heard here and there that the main character's wife was much disliked, but I always make up my own mind and sometimes I love "hated" characters (such as Pete Campbell and Betty Draper/Francis on the other big AMC drama). I disliked Skyler from her first scene. Usually I can see her side, intellectually, but not with much sympathy, because she is consistently characterized in ways that emphasize the negative. I always ask now, "Why is this being shown? What are we supposed to infer? Why does this character say this, and say it this way?" and putting her through that test, I assumed we weren't supposed to like her. Of all the ways to introduce the character, the veggie bacon micromanaging thing is her big launch? She might as well have been wearing an apron that read "nag."

 

I assumed Marie was there to take some of the heat off of Skyler, because she was even worse. But the actresses are good, and the characters are realistic, so I'm fine with it. That's what it's about, right?

 

I did think Hank went through a bit of shading-down from the pilot to the subsequent episodes of the first season -- where I still am, so check back with me in a month or two. I may love all of these people by then. But Pilot Hank was such a boor, and then he really isn't like that in the other ones I've seen. He's actually okay.

Edited September 11, 2014 by Simon Boccanegra

[Simon Boccanegra]

The bit of the broken plate, you mean? In both of my watchthroughs I've always thought that he was planning to use it, but I don't remember if that was based on any specific evidence or I just made it up....

 

I'd say yes, absolutely. There is something about the way he commands Walt to unlock him when Walt hesitates -- my read was that he thought he had taken control of the situation by that point, and Walt was on very short time. One of them wasn't getting out of the basement.

[ladyrott]

One of my biggest issues with Skylar came from when she told the rich friends about Walt's illness.  She KNEW Walt was uncomfortable talking about it with his family at this point and yet she tells these "friends" who they obviously didn't see much of at a PARTY?!  I believe she was doing it for exactly the reason Walt accused her of...she knew they would offer to pay for the treatment.  In a way, she was doing all she could to save him, the same way he was doing what he could by going into the meth business but....it has always bugged me that she chose to "out" Walt's cancer at that party.  She couldn't have called Gretchen and whatshisname the day after? 

[Nozycat]

I really disliked Skyler from the beginning when she made out like she was doing Walt this huge favor by giving him a hj, all the while being completely self-absorbed with what she was selling on E-Bay and nagging him about the lawn mowing, then being surprised when he didn't respond.  I also dislike many other things about her.  But then I don't like Walt much either and can't stand the way he treats her.  Love the show though, so well written and layered.

Edited October 1, 2014 by Nozycat

[AliShibaz]

I know that I've missed the boat by quite a long time. But I just started watching this show. So far, I've watched the first two episodes. I'd like to ask if, given these circumstances, is there maybe a better thread for me to ask some questions about this show - especially about the early seasons?

The one big question I have after watching the first two episodes is this:

It seems so obvious that Pinkman is just bad news. Why doesn't Walt just dump him and consider himself lucky to be rid of him?

He couldn't have known just how terrible Pinkman would be as a partner of sorts. But ever since Pinkman brought those two thugs back with him to the desert and the thugs treated him is such a disrespectful way, Walt clearly knows that Pinkman will just never do him any good and will almost certainly do him lots of hamr. So Walt should be able to figure out that he needs to dump Pinkman just as soon as possible.

My question is: So, why doesn't he?

Edited May 7, 2016 by AliShibaz

[Lisin]

Hmmmmm... Let me think of a thread we could create that would work for that. For now feel free to ask here. Just beware, no one tags spoilers in any of the character or further along season threads so read at your own risk!! 

As for why doesn't Walt dump Jesse 2 episodes in... I'm guessing it's mostly because while he knows chemically what he's doing he doesn't know anyone to move meth and wouldn't have anyone to introduce him to anyone etc. So while he could make it I don't think he would be able to do anything with it after. 

[qtpye]

On 5/6/2016 at 7:09 PM, AliShibaz said:

It seems so obvious that Pinkman is just bad news. Why doesn't Walt just dump him and consider himself lucky to be rid of him?

He couldn't have known just how terrible Pinkman would be as a partner of sorts. But ever since Pinkman brought those two thugs back with him to the desert and the thugs treated him is such a disrespectful way, Walt clearly knows that Pinkman will just never do him any good and will almost certainly do him lots of hamr. So Walt should be able to figure out that he needs to dump Pinkman just as soon as possible.

My question is: So, why doesn't he?

I do not want to spoil you, but the Pinkman/White bromance is one of the most dysfunctional on all of t.v. history.  They are both bad for each other, but can not seem to get rid of the other, either.

I hope this is not too much of a spoiler, but later you will also find out how big Walter's ego actually is.  He can not stand to not be the only genius in the room.  Pinkman is like the son/protegee that he never wanted.  Walt is like the father figure/teacher that leads you down a bad road.

[Lisin]

FYI I just moved the last few posts into the Season 3 topic. As a courtesy to people who may be watching for the first time let's not spoil anything past the season topic you're in. So, for this topic, only stuff from Season 1 gets discussed, for Season 2 you only discuss Season 2 events, or stuff that you want to reference that happened in Season 1 etc. In general the season topic you're in should be for the season you want to talk about, and referencing back in time is fine but if you want to reference forward in time please use a spoiler tag. Thanks!! 

[ByTor]

Thanks, @Lisin!   It never occurred to me that we were in the wrong thread.

[Madam Captain]

My partner and I just started watching this series, we are up to the beginning of season 2 now. I didn't know much about the show before, only that it was about a guy with cancer who needed money for treatment. Apart from that, I didn't know anything else about it but I vaguely remember that it had some X Files alumni in it. Then I realised that Vince Gilligan was the writer and producer so I knew it would be a good show. My partner wasn't sure what to expect either, thinking it would be dark and serious. We were both pleasantly surprised with the adsurdness of the show and black humour in it. Afterall, Vince Gilliagan was responsible for some of the more lighthearted episodes of The X Files. 

We will keep watching for sure!