Breaking Bad Season 5 Thread

What Scribe and Tony said. Best TV show since The Wire.

 

Pretty sure it was Episode 6 where things take off.

 

I and i think everyone liked last all seasons. As excited as I am for the new season.

 

Agreed. The new season will be awesome. When does it start?
I and i think everyone will like it also.

 

I just finished BB. I've been watching the DVDs since November.

First off, this is the best show I've ever seen. I watched Dexter over the course of a number of months before this, and thought Dexter would end up the best show ever, until of course the laughably bad final two seasons of that show.

Anyway, the acting, the story, everything was incredible here. I haven't been able to stop thinking about it all day today after watching the finale last night (and the alternate ending, which I'm convinced is the greatest piece of television ever produced given I was a huge Malcolm fan).

I think the ending was perfect. It gave us much to debate, while still tying up most of the loose ends. The head-scratchers, the open-ended endings, the pure crap endings (looking at you Lost and Dexter)... I don't like those. I like most loose-ends to be tied up, but still enough unanswered ambiguity that you walk away with minor questions. This did that perfectly.

Everyone evil here died, and I feel like that was a running theme. From Walt to the nazis to the cartel to Gus and his crew - all died. Jesse lived, but I don't think Jesse was evil. Yes, he did some terrible things, but he was the only one who ever showed any remorse. He had a conscience in there somewhere, and so he suffered greatly through the course of the show but never paid with his life the way those who were evil did.

One problem I had - I thought Hank and Marie were too overzealous going after Walt, at least at first. If I discovered that my brother-in-law was a huge meth dealer and I was in the DEA, I'd really be torn about what to do. I mean, he's my brother-in-law and I love him and he's been a big part of my life for many years. I'd be conflicted. Hank, though, turns on Walt seemingly the moment he reads the book on the toilet, he just needed a bit of time to confirm things. I would have liked to have seen a bit more reluctance to go after his bro-in-law on Hank's part at first. Once he realizes just how evil Walt is, and all the damage he's really done, then fine. But like I said, it seemed like he would have strangled Walt the moment he finished wiping if he thought he could get away with it.

This will require some rewatching at some point. Wow was it fantastic.

 

Remember what Hank's reaction was based on. He had been crippled, nearly killed at least three times (by Tuco, then by the Cousins, and when Walt crashed the car to keep him from seeing the laundry), lied to and used by his "dear" brother in law, all as a direct result of Walt's actions. And that's not even counting the dozen or so murders Hank knows Walt committed or had executed on his behalf. All of that is while Hank let Walt do this right under his nose, which is perhaps the ultimate humiliation.
I'd say Hank showed restraint in his approach to Walt. Maybe too much, which is ultimately what got him killed.

 

I don't think he planned to die. He may have been prepared for it or come to terms with it but I don't think everything really went as planned.

And the dream isn't a theory that needs debunking. It didn't happen. Gilligan himself said it.

 

6 is exactly right. Show has taken off. I'm hooked.

 

Exactly. Which part of Walt's dying dream/fantasy involves having to rely on Badger and Skinny Pete?

 

The thing about Breaking Bad is that once you unclench, you realize there were quite a few episodes in the B and B- range. It's highs may be unparalleled, but consistency is a bit lacking.

 

Plenty of shows would kill to have a B-average and those kinds of highs.
There were definitely some slow moments. The first half of Season 3, up until "One Minute," started to drag a bit. Starting with that episode, though, it really seemed to stomp on the gas and never let up. Maybe a few episodes here and there gave you a breather or set some things up, but for the most part the last 2 1/2 seasons were what people think of when they praise this show.

 

Are we comparing Breaking Bad to "plenty of shows"?