Breaking Bad - General Discussion

[DoctorAtomic]

TPTBs said right from the start that the show was about Mr. Chips to Scarface. I think that laid out the expectations for me right there. 

What bothers me about tv is that so many characters are bad a their jobs and somehow are just still around, or that is played for laughs. Not that everyone on tv has to be the best at their jobs ever, but competent. Well, Walt was very very good at his job. That's what I really liked. 

Without spoiling, Better Call Saul isn't what you think, if you're thinking it's a show about Saul doing shady cases every week. 

Also he caused the zombie apocalypse. 

Edited March 5, 2021 by DoctorAtomic

[shapeshifter]

12 minutes ago, DoctorAtomic said:

TPTBs said right from the start that the show was about Mr. Chips to Scarface. I think that laid out the expectations for me right there. 

What bothers me about tv is that so many characters are bad a their jobs and somehow are just still around, or that is played for laughs. Not that everyone on tv has to be the best at their jobs ever, but competent. Well, Walt was very very good at his job. That's what I really liked. 

Maybe Walt being really good at his "job" is why I never loathed him. IRL, so many people are screw-ups, which I think explains where show writers get all their inspiration. 
Vince Gilligan is exceptional WRT doing a "good job," in that all the pieces of the plot fit together seamlessly over 5+ seasons, and they do so within a beautiful --if tragic-- framework supported by a perfect selection of exceptionally talented actors, cinematographers, etc.
So I don't think I'm crazy for thinking VG saw Walt as I did.

Also, I think I saw Walt as representing most people --or at least the tendencies of most people-- if the curtain was really pulled back on their lives and thoughts.
 

[DoctorAtomic]

Oh, I was rooting for Walt 100%. You don't beat the likes of Gus Fring on accident. In the end, I did think he 'got away with it' too. 

[Gigi43]

9 hours ago, DoctorAtomic said:

 

Without spoiling, Better Call Saul isn't what you think, if you're thinking it's a show about Saul doing shady cases every week. 

Also he caused the zombie apocalypse. 

 

What?? I need this backstory. They did a Walking Dead reference? 

 

Thanks to everyone who has told me to give Better Call Saul a chance, I'm probably going to start this weekend. 

 

I went ahead and watched El Camino. It didn't spoil how the show ended as I worried it might. It really felt like an extra long episode. Though, if I hadn't seen it it wouldn't have changed too much since I'd assume Jesse got the hell out of town, but it was nice to see he did.

 

Badger and Skinny Pete getting to come up with a plan and be great friends was worth it alone. I may never hear 'Obsession For Men' again without thinking of them. 

 

The Walt/Jesse scene was really nice especially since I binged watched and the worst aspects of that relationship is entirely fresh in my mind it was like a pallet cleanser to see Walt give Jesse advice about college and studying business without an agenda. My biggest frustration with Walt was just how long he carried out the 'it's for my family' when it was clearly about him/his ego/enjoying it for a long time so his comment to Jesse that he didn't have to wait to do something special was along the lines of acknowledgement I'd wanted for several seasons. In Walt's defense he's probably been on the stage for a lot of graduations, so I can forgive him not remembering Jesse graduated but I can see why Jesse would be offended. I saw this was made several years after the finale so props to how easily everyone slipped back into the roles. The Todd scenes dragged on in parts and this is where binge watching really hurt--- he looked a lot different. Aaron Paul aged too but Todd was the most. 

[DoctorAtomic]

In The Walking Dead first season, Merle, Daryl's brother was shown to have blue meth in his back pack. 

[Quilt Fairy]

23 hours ago, Gigi43 said:

My biggest frustration with Walt was just how long he carried out the 'it's for my family' when it was clearly about him/his ego/enjoying it for a long time

Walt didn't realize it himself for a long time.  IIRC, it was only in one of the last episodes that he confesses to Skyler he kept doing it because he was good at it and he liked it.  

I am aware of VG's "Mr. Chips to Scarface" quote, however I know I never anticipated from the first season how dark it was going to get by the end.  There were so many bizarre but still laugh-out-loud funny in the first season:  Walt in his tighty whities cooking meth in the desert, the body dessolving in the bathtub and falling through the ceiling, etc.  I know it wasn't in the first season, but remember Skyler faking out the IRS men as a ditzy office assistant with a really tight, bodice revealing blouse and explaining how she "puts the numbers into The Quicken"?  I don't know if the term "dramedy" was in usage when the show began, but that's what it was.  

I watched this show from the first episode to the last, but more than once in the final seasons I said to myself "This is not the show I started out watching". 

[shapeshifter]

10 minutes ago, Quilt Fairy said:

I don't know if the term "dramedy" was in usage when the show began, but that's what it was.  

Yes. From the Oxford English Dictionary:

Quote

1905    Washington Post 12 Mar.  iv. 5/6  

‘Cinderella’, a strictly serio-comic and comio-seric dramedy, in three entr'acts, presented for the first and last time on any stage.

1931   E. Pound in New Rev. Jan. 53/2   

He [sc. James Joyce] wrote a dramedy when he had finished ‘The Portrait’.

 

1978   TV Guide 7 Oct. 11 

(advt.)    The Big Fix. A Dramedy from Universal.

 

2002   Elle Feb. 52/2   

The movie itself is a kind of melding, a seamless wedding of sharp-toothed, Altman-esque ensemble dramedy with the stylistic exuberance of Bollywood

 

 

Edited March 7, 2021 by shapeshifter

[ByTor]

19 hours ago, DoctorAtomic said:

In The Walking Dead first season, Merle, Daryl's brother was shown to have blue meth in his back pack. 

He did??? Oh crap, now I have to go back and rewatch that!

[DoctorAtomic]

17 hours ago, Quilt Fairy said:

IIRC, it was only in one of the last episodes that he confesses to Skyler he kept doing it because he was good at it and he liked it.  

I'm glad the show went there. That's sliding all the chips into the pot. A lesser show would have half assed it to make Walt more sympathetic to the viewers. But you get Walt all 'say my name'. 

4 hours ago, ByTor said:

He did??? Oh crap, now I have to go back and rewatch that!

It was really early on and blink and you'll miss it. 

[Scout Finch]

I wish there was an Eternal Excitement of the Spotless Breaking Bad Mind procedure where it would be brand new to me every time I watch it. While I still end each rewatch with a "Still best show EVER!" nothing beats taking that incredible, wild ride for the first time! I'm sure the neighbors heard my numerous shouts of "OMG!!" and I'd be biting my hand during the unbearably suspenseful moments, i.e., Hank in the mall parking lot with the cousins. I finished my binge-watch before the last half of Season 5 started airing and could not imagine how excruciating it must have been for those who got into the show earlier, to have to wait so long between seasons. It was hard enough waiting a week between those last episodes, especially with how intense they are. I got a couple of people hooked on it so I vicariously got to experience seeing it for the first time a little bit through their eyes a little bit while we watched it together. I am SO envious of those who are just discovering it!

Edited March 8, 2021 by Scout Finch

[larapu2000]

On 3/6/2021 at 8:14 PM, Quilt Fairy said:

 

I am aware of VG's "Mr. Chips to Scarface" quote, however I know I never anticipated from the first season how dark it was going to get by the end.  There were so many bizarre but still laugh-out-loud funny in the first season:  Walt in his tighty whities cooking meth in the desert, the body dessolving in the bathtub and falling through the ceiling, etc.  I know it wasn't in the first season, but remember Skyler faking out the IRS men as a ditzy office assistant with a really tight, bodice revealing blouse and explaining how she "puts the numbers into The Quicken"?  I don't know if the term "dramedy" was in usage when the show began, but that's what it was.  

 

I think the best dramas also have the best comedy.  Breaking Bad (anything Jesse does when he's not being the show's whipping boy, Hank and his embarrassing bravado at the office), Mad Men (NOT GREAT BOB), The Sopranos (Christopher and Paulie Walnuts together are comedic GOLD), The West Wing's impeccable balance of comedy and drama (actually any Sorkin project) etc, etc.  The same thing can be said for good comedies that tackled tough drama (Cheers and Coach dying, Ned's wife on The Simpsons, Penny's abuse on Good Times, Edith's assault on Archie Bunker, every episode of MASH) Good writing transcends the genre, I think.  

[qtpye]

Interesting take.

[Spartan Girl]

On 8/21/2021 at 12:26 PM, qtpye said:

Interesting take.

Indeed, but IMO Skylar was never a nag character. The Team Walt fans just pidgeonholed her in that role. 

[One4Sorrow2TooBad]

Loved the Breaking Bad marathons AMC did the past couple of weekends. Now on to the new season of "Better Call Saul" !

[TheGreenKnight]

I watched the series for the first time with the marathons they've had the past month. Spoilers ahead for anyone who hasn't watched.

I'd say I enjoyed the show in a casual sense--it wasn't something I loved enough to buy on Blu-ray, for example, but good for watching in full every now and again. I believe what kept me watching the show through it all was the Jesse character; amazing to read they almost killed him off at the end of the first season. He was so stupid and yet something about the character is very sympathetic; as in, he was sweeter inside than he let on and you feel pity for him always putting on this OTT masculine front, talking big and cursing as if he wants to give the impression he's some big guy, and never being able to be himself (at least not until he's so far down the hole it's too late) or get his life straight. Walt was never likable to me, and I pretty much hated him by the end of the second season for the way he was lying to the family, I believe. He had a huge ego and seemed incredibly bitter. He put his whole family in jeopardy and nothing was ever enough for him. I didn't understand how, after the second time he and Jesse had attempted to make meth / money that nearly ended with them being murdered (with Tuco), that he could be so dumb to try again.

If I ever do watch the series again, I think I'd stop with season 4. I thought it was a pretty good ending, with Walt using the alternate drug gang's boss (guy in the wheelchair) to take out Gus. It was funny, by that point I almost liked Gus, and enjoyed his and Jesse's interactions with one another, but still was on board with Walt taking him out since he would've killed his family for sure--eventually. Season 5... Well, maybe it's just me, but I think they went too bleak. There's bleak, and then there's BLEAK. I would've rather Hank and Jesse's girlfriend hadn't died, that way Walt's son and wife could still at least love him for what he did right despite acknowledging everything wrong he'd done (something more nuanced), even if he still died at the end. Perhaps Jesse could've died as well to add to the body count in place of those other two characters living instead. I almost think it would've been better for Walt and Jessie to go out together to the end; Jesse's mental state was way too far gone for him to ever find happiness anyway, his mental state was shot over guilt and feelings he could never be close to anyone for fear of endangering them. I suppose my vision for the ending as I was halfway through the series was that perhaps 2/3rds through the last season, everything would come out, Walt would be arrested and most of those last episodes would be him dealing with lawyers and cops, sort of telling his story to the DEA, to a jury, to his family, etc. firsthand in a way where they finally got to know every little detail. He still could've died--drug groups could've still threatened his family and he decided he was going to take care of it rather than go to jail--I just feel it would've been more cathartic if it had happened that way. Even in the last conversations Walt has with the son and with Skyler, they still feel a step removed from the truth as if neither side truly understands what's going on completely. Anyway, that's the reason I didn't care for most of season 5, not simply because it was dark or had a sad ending per se, but because it was unsatisfying dramatically, to me at least.

As for Walt's family... Well, a mixed bag. I never liked Marie and Hank, they were always annoying to me. The son was really the only character in the whole family (including Walt) that I liked entirely. I found Skyler very unlikable as a character--I blame the actress, she feels like a much lesser Felicity Huffman (the character seems a great deal like a more dramatic, less interesting Lynette Scavo, Desperate Housewives). But even though I found her unlikable, I could at least understand her most of the series. I think it would've been interesting if she'd married Ted to get away from Walter rather than ending up back with him. The episode where Walt comes home and calls her bluff essentially, I could totally feel her there and how monstrous it was of him to take her power away like that (and make their son hate her because of his ignorance of what was really happening). This probably goes into why I didn't like season 5--I didn't quite get her for most of that season. Her simply giving up and becoming almost comatose was believable--at first--but I didn't buy her doing nothing to try to get out of the situation forever, especially with Walt seemingly trying to grind her into a pulp (poisoning Marie's impression of her to make himself look better by telling her about the affair, using what happened to Ted to make her feel like she was evil just like him because it would make her less resistant to him if she felt she was no better, etc.). I kept waiting for her to finally get up off the floor and do something midway to the end of S5 and it never happened. I did like the knife fight scene though, and that the son protected her at the end of it, that was probably the only moment with the family in season 5 that was any good.

[SunnyBeBe]

This isn’t a new film, but I just recently saw it. It’s a nice little film.  Bryan looked better that I’ve ever seen him!
 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Upside

 

 

Edited May 3, 2022 by SunnyBeBe

[stewedsquash]

Good gosh how did I get sucked into this show. Why do I have to do other stuff??

I am finding myself adding Yo to my internal thoughts.

[stewedsquash]

On 3/5/2021 at 8:30 PM, Gigi43 said:

 

 

Thanks to everyone who has told me to give Better Call Saul a chance, I'm probably going to start this weekend. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lol I did a reverse of this, thanking for the nudge to watch BB in the BCS media thread,Yo.

[qtpye]

2 hours ago, stewedsquash said:

Good gosh how did I get sucked into this show. Why do I have to do other stuff??

I am finding myself adding Yo to my internal thoughts.

Yo is better than ending every sentence with bitch.

[stewedsquash]

Bitch was his bravado. Yo was Jesse. I definitely have stuck it out to, now on season 4/ep 1, because of Jesse and not Walt. 

I do love this show for the little humorous little bits that are shown. Kenny Rogers/white Levi's/red Converse. Then having to hold them up going 3 blocks to his car. 

I have to admit that I have really really really, if I allow it to happen and don't block it out, gone down the rabbit hole of confused timelines since I watched BCS first. I have had a few wait, what? that happened after/before moments.

[stewedsquash]

Okay so I am up to Season 5 on episode 3 but have a question from episode 2. I am drawing a complete blank on who the heck Lydia is??? 

[stewedsquash]

On 4/19/2022 at 4:52 PM, TheGreenKnight said:

Well, a mixed bag. I never liked Marie and Hank, they were always annoying to me.

I am on season 5 ep 4. Quickly: Hank and Marie are two of my favorite characters. There is a lot of peeling the onion with these two characters. 

Also quickly, I would really have liked to have seen them do another spin off, no idea the set up, with Hank, Marie and Mike. I would settle for a completely different show altogether with the three of them. 

[MJ Frog]

6 hours ago, stewedsquash said:

Okay so I am up to Season 5 on episode 3 but have a question from episode 2. I am drawing a complete blank on who the heck Lydia is??? 

Lydia is Gus's connection for methylamine and industrial equipment, which she has access to as a logistics executive for the German multinational Madrigal:

https://breakingbad.fandom.com/wiki/Lydia_Rodarte-Quayle

[stewedsquash]

Oooooh okay! I looked at that link and it all came back to me. When she showed up at the diner where Mike was, I seriously at first thought it was his daughter in law. Then I was, Huh? who is this person even after seeing the authorities showing up at her business. I can't believe I completely blanked out on all her previous scenes.

The scene where Hank is told by the Texas guy that he will be promoted (season 5): When he walked in they looked at the picture wall with strings showing connections and there was a fast zeroing in on a group of pictures but I can't tell who they are, and this is a peeve about pausing tv now and that is that the screen kind of fades darker and Netflix logos show up gggrrrrrrr, and the camera quickly moves away. Did I miss something that will be revealed later there or put more relevance on that part of the scene? Just a yes or no is okay as an answer but don't tell me what I missed.

Edited May 20, 2022 by stewedsquash

[MJ Frog]

5 minutes ago, stewedsquash said:

Oooooh okay! I looked at that link and it all came back to me. When she showed up at the diner where Mike was, I seriously at first thought it was his daughter in law. Then I was, Huh? who is this person. I can't believe I completely blanked out on all her previous scenes. 

To be fair, that may be her first scene in the series! Lydia debuts in season 5, episode 2.

[stewedsquash]

Oh, jeeze!!! I am losing brain cells trying to binge this show!! When I went to the link and read where she was showing up after the diner scene, duh, I didn't realize it was a season 5 page. Ha! I guess what I was reading will turn out to be flashbacks? 

eta or not flashbacks? I am going to take a shower quick since I stopped watching to cut grass after the heat moved out of here towards evening and settle back in to hopefully finish this darn show tonight. But I am glad that I didn't just blank out on who she was!

Edited May 20, 2022 by stewedsquash

[MJ Frog]

31 minutes ago, stewedsquash said:

I guess what I was reading will turn out to be flashbacks? 

Without being sure what you were reading, the page that I linked to also includes Lydia's appearances in Better Call Saul, which of course take place before Breaking Bad, and which go into much greater detail concerning the Gus/Lydia/Madrigal connection. Could be you were reading some of that?

42 minutes ago, stewedsquash said:

The scene where Hank is told by the Texas guy that he will be promoted (season 5): When he walked in they looked at the picture wall with strings showing connections and there was a fast zeroing in on a group of pictures but I can't tell who they are, and this is a peeve about pausing tv now and that is that the screen kind of fades darker and Netflix logos show up gggrrrrrrr, and the camera quickly moves away. Did I miss something that will be revealed later there or put more relevance on that part of the scene? Just a yes or no is okay as an answer but don't tell me what I missed.

You may be referring to the pictures of Mike's crew. I don't think you missed anything, but they will become important later.

Edited May 20, 2022 by MJ Frog
A very small word.

[stewedsquash]

Yes! that is what happened, I scrolled at the link thinking it was only BB not realizing the top part, for earlier seasons, was for BCS. I have watched all BSC seasons (before watching BB), waiting to binge season 6 and I think that is part of my confusion while watching. I am getting a bit wonky with the timelines between the two while watching BB, remembering stuff and then going oh wait, that was in the pre-BB time. 

If anyone is on the fence, I highly recommend watching BB first and then BCS. Not for spoiler reasons but to keep the timelines straight. And if on the fence about giving up BB, like I did years ago several episodes in, I suggest getting through season one and then it gets sooo much better. 

Thanks @MJ Frog for your help in the posts above!

[SunnyBeBe]

Has anyone seen a series entitled Pure on Hulu. I didn’t see a thread for it around here.    It’s about drug trade in Canada amongst a Mennonite sect.  I read it was dubbed Little House On The Prairie meets Breaking Bad. Lol.  And,the writing very Gilligan like.  I’ve  just started watching.  

[ctlady]

BB marathon on leading up to the final BCS episodes. Just finished Salud which is one of my top 5 favorites 

One thing that didn’t make sense- on the drive to Don Eladio’s house, Mike, Gus and Jesse were blindfolded. After wiping out Eladio and his crew and making their escape in a car, Mike tells Jesse “get us out of here!”  How would they know what direction to drive in to get back to the drop off point if they were blindfolded going in?  Unless Gus knew the route ahead of time and feigned ignorance of not knowing where they were 

[shapeshifter]

1 hour ago, ctlady said:

BB marathon on leading up to the final BCS episodes. Just finished Salud which is one of my top 5 favorites 

One thing that didn’t make sense- on the drive to Don Eladio’s house, Mike, Gus and Jesse were blindfolded. After wiping out Eladio and his crew and making their escape in a car, Mike tells Jesse “get us out of here!”  How would they know what direction to drive in to get back to the drop off point if they were blindfolded going in?  Unless Gus knew the route ahead of time and feigned ignorance of not knowing where they were 

Magnets?

Hee. Sorry, I couldn't resist. But, you know. Magnets and compasses?

Quote

If you're lost in the woods, your best chance of finding your way might be a tiny magnet. https://www.livescience.com/32732-how-does-a-compass-work.html

[ctlady]

2 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

Magnets?

Hee. Sorry, I couldn't resist. But, you know. Magnets and compasses?

Possibly. It’s a point we’d have to assume

watching Madrigal now and just realized an eerie coincidence. Walt winds up getting the ricin filled cigarette back from Saul in the same episode were introduced to the woman (Lydia) he eventually winds up using it on 

[shapeshifter]

5 minutes ago, ctlady said:

watching Madrigal now and just realized an eerie coincidence. Walt winds up getting the ricin filled cigarette back from Saul in the same episode were introduced to the woman (Lydia) he eventually winds up using it on 

I’ve never rewatched the show, but I still recall how perfectly every plot point fit with every preceding character action throughout the series. That, together with the acting and the cinematography are why I don’t hesitate to vote for BrBa as a GOAT show whenever it comes up.

[Crashcourse]

I'm rewatching now, and there was a scene where Skyler yells at Marie to SHUT UP! SHUT UP! SHUT UP!.........I don't know how many times, but I love it because I felt the same way about Marie.

SHUT UP!!

[qtpye]

6 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

Magnets?

Hee. Sorry, I couldn't resist. But, you know. Magnets and compasses?

I think you meant, "YEAH, MAGNETS, BITCH!"

I'll just let myself out...

[ctlady]

21 hours ago, Crashcourse said:

I'm rewatching now, and there was a scene where Skyler yells at Marie to SHUT UP! SHUT UP! SHUT UP!.........I don't know how many times, but I love it because I felt the same way about Marie.

SHUT UP!!

Yep - same here.  Skylar got a lot of hate (until she 'broke bad' herself when Walt fessed up to her what he was doing), but up despite Walt making it hard for you to hate him, he was a criminal and a murderer who lied to her about the two phones, where he disappeared to, about getting the money from his mother for treatment - everything.  Hank, on the other hand, was a stand up guy who just wanted to splurge on mineral rocks to help him get over the fact he may never walk again.  Whereas Marie - for no particular reason (unless it was explained and I missed it) - was a klepto

Came across another interesting juxtaposition between characters in different scenes.  Gus side- face down by Don Eladio's pool after his partner was executed and Walt collapsing side-face down in the desert after Hank was executed.  It really is amazing, when binging the series, the patterns that show up whether planned or not

And when Hank's boss was given the 'golden handshake' and taking the fall for the botched Fring investigation and was telling Hank how he had the guy over to his house for picnics and who was right under his nose for so long, not knowing all the while he was a drug dealer - the look on Hank's face (because, unbeknownst at the time, the same thing was happening to him with Walk - was another moment I had missed

Some awesome monologues - Mike's 'Half Measure' story (which I liken to Quint's U.S.S. Indianapolis one from 'Jaws'),  the entire opening scene of Say My Name for starters.  And the writing awesomeness of Jesse thinking Walt may have poisoned Brock for which Jesse would've come after Walt (which is what Walt knew would happen as Gus wouldn't lay a hand on Walt without Jesse's go-ahead), which leads Walt to turn the tables and convincing Jesse that it was most likely Gus who poisoned him in order to get Jesse on board with Gus having to die was just..........brilliance.   The writers actually took the time to weave a story/plot with carefully crafter parts and mechanisms rather than just throw it out to contrivance and make the viewer fan wank it for the sake of fiction.  Just as @shapeshifter said above:

23 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

but I still recall how perfectly every plot point fit with every preceding character action throughout the series

it most certainly did.

Of course I had to be a wet blanket and ponder  all the 'what ifs?" that could've happened if they were real life situations rather than scripted to fruition:  What if Don Eladio decided not to open that bottle and give everyone shots right then and there?  What if Brock died? What if Hector's bell failed to detonate the bomb?  What if Lydia sat at another table that day? What if the automatic trunk opener got stuck at the end?  

[Crashcourse]

I'm still watching, and now I'm having flashbacks because there's a fucking fly that's been in my house for two days and I still haven't caught it.  😖

[shapeshifter]

39 minutes ago, Crashcourse said:

I'm still watching, and now I'm having flashbacks because there's a fucking fly that's been in my house for two days and I still haven't caught it.  😖

I floved “Fly”!

But for your current fly: Use a Swiffer without any cloth on it. Bugs never see the flat surface coming at them.

[Crashcourse]

44 minutes ago, shapeshifter said:

I floved “Fly”!

But for your current fly: Use a Swiffer without any cloth on it. Bugs never see the flat surface coming at them.

Thanks, I'll give it a try.

[BetterButter]

Albuquerque to install statue of meth dealing, multiple murdering local hero, Walter White

[ctlady]

On 7/12/2022 at 12:17 PM, BetterButter said:

Albuquerque to install statue of meth dealing, multiple murdering local hero, Walter White

I don't even know where to start.  Just because it's a fictional character doesn't mean hoisting a statue in his honor makes it okay.

On another note, I saw on IMDB that both Brian Cranston and Aaron Paul are scheduled to appear in Episode 6:10 of Better Call Saul  Not sure if it will be in person or via flashbacks

[qtpye]

On 7/12/2022 at 12:17 PM, BetterButter said:

Albuquerque to install statue of meth dealing, multiple murdering local hero, Walter White

1 hour ago, ctlady said:

I don't even know where to start.  Just because it's a fictional character doesn't mean hoisting a statue in his honor makes it okay.

On another note, I saw on IMDB that both Brian Cranston and Aaron Paul are scheduled to appear in Episode 6:10 of Better Call Saul  Not sure if it will be in person or via flashbacks

What next....starting a local chicken chain in honor of Gus Fring?

Edited July 13, 2022 by qtpye

[DoctorAtomic]

Vamanos Pest, obvs. 

[BetterButter]

Albuquerque debuts its fancy new Breaking Bad statues

[SunnyBeBe]

I’m not sure where to post this question.  There doesn’t seem to be a place for it in the Better Call Saul forum.
 

 On BB in the scene where Walt is berating Saul for bugging his house, Saul attempts to downplay Skylar’s affair by telling Walt that his (Saul’s) second wife slept with his step dad!  Who was Saul’s second wife?  And, did Saul ever have a stepdad?  The answers to these questions should be on BCS, but…were they ever addressed on BB?

[SoMuchTV]

30 minutes ago, SunnyBeBe said:

I’m not sure where to post this question.  There doesn’t seem to be a place for it in the Better Call Saul forum.
 

 On BB in the scene where Walt is berating Saul for bugging his house, Saul attempts to downplay Skylar’s affair by telling Walt that his (Saul’s) second wife slept with his step dad!  Who was Saul’s second wife?  And, did Saul ever have a stepdad?  The answers to these questions should be on BCS, but…were they ever addressed on BB?

I've seen various speculation attempting to weave this into the BCS universe but as far as I know it's never been really "retrofitted" like a lot of BB stuff was (references to Nacho & Lalo, for example).  I'm willing to accept that it was just Saul being Saul, and telling the story that fit the moment.  I'll be extremely impressed if it gets somehow addressed and resolved in the remaining BCS episodes, but if not I can live with it.

[SunnyBeBe]

Can someone tell me when Victor learns the news that the twins are dead?  ……..I have since seen the scene where Victor sees the news story about Hank’s attack and people killed and then Gus explaining it on the phone.  And, then later Gus telling Victor in person about the entire Salamanca family being killed, including his grandson.  
 

I’ve almost completed my rewatch and am surprised how differently I see things this time around.  I’m really glad I did it almost simultaneously with my rewatch of BCS.  

Edited August 8, 2022 by SunnyBeBe

[SunnyBeBe]

Well, I just wrapped up my most recent rewatch of the series.  Once again, I’ve seen some new things again.  Overall, I feel the same about most characters.
 

 Marie’s over-the-top exuberance to get Walt arrested was pretty annoying, especially since she wasn’t that squeaky clean.  How was she so sure that Hank wouldn’t get into trouble due to the video Walt made implicating Hank as the lead meth guy?   There were enough provable truths in the allegations to get some traction.  

And, I got frustrated with Jesse again as well.  His venture to tell all was a disaster and pretty much what got Hank and partner killed.  

I’ll never forgive Walt for killing Mike.  The show was never the same after that.  

[One4Sorrow2TooBad]

I also thought Marie was a whiney pos. Then we have to see her shit again in the last of  BCS.  I liked Mike also,  was sad to see him go out the way he did. Hope somehow his little granddaughter got some kind of trust money for college etc....

[Soobs]

I recently had surgery and was laid up and I thought what better time to rewatch the  entire series and the El Camino movie. One of my biggest takeaways is what a pos father Walt is. He's embarrassed and feels emasculated by his son's disability and then he just uses him to feed his ego battle with Hank/ uses him to launder money and then in their final conversation to use him to move drug money. And then he has a hand in getting Hank killed who was more of a father figure to Walt Jr then Walt had been.

There is a great scene between Walt and Walt Jr. after Jesse and Walt get in a fistfight and Walt takes some old painkillers. Walt Jr. has to take care of his father and the next day Walt tells his son about his own father who died when Walt was 6 from Huntington's disease. It's a really tender insightful moment that explains Walt's lacking as a father rather than excusing it.

He was an emotionally abusive husband too. All the gaslighting he does to Skyler looks a lot worse in 2022 than it did when it aired. Not to mention how sexually aggressive he is with her. And it does turn into domestic violence when he tried to disarm her of the butcher knife. All that was very hard to watch. I have no idea why people hated her. Because she gave him a hand job while checking ebay on his birthday?

I think the reason a lot of people saw Walt as a hero in some ways is due to the amazing acting of Bryan Cranston. He plays the part so dimensionally. It's hard to hate him 100% especially if you've known disappointment in middle age.

Jesse played the ultimate game of fuck around and find out. He really was just an upper middle class kid playing gangster in the first couple of seasons.

After Walt has Gus killed the show gets darker and darker and any humor in it is pretty much gone. It devolved really fast.

The writing is so good. Even in throw away scenes like the white supremacists chatting amongst themselves gives insight into their disturbing values. Nothing is overlooked in this show and the set ups (Lydia's stevia, Walt's car wash job, Skyler's affair, Andrea's brother among others. There's so many..) seem pretty normal and then the payoffs come seasons later and it's totally devastating.

I hadn't seen this show since it aired and it might be my favorite of all time.

Edited September 1, 2022 by Soobs