Breaking Bad Season 5 Thread

OK, so Don has bad taste in actresses, though I actually really liked Megan (and Jessica Pare's depiction of her) until this season.

 

Cranston, Paul, Esposito, Banks have been out of this world good. (I like Odenkirk a lot too, I could see how some would not). Norris picked it up late, Vince Gilligan has even said that he realized as the show went on how good he was and the part grew accordingly.
The women on the show are generally not written as well as the men. I think Anna Gunn has been better than she gets credit for. Krysten Ritter was great when she was on. Had she been on later when more people were watching I think she would have gotten an Emmy nod her last season.

 

I think BB is better acted. Mad Men makes their actors look like better actors by not making them talk as much and making them look glamorous.

 

Breaking Bad is so loaded with big scenes with bold, declarative statements that scream Acting. It's a showy show. The same could be said about all the camera tricks.

The acting really resonates with Breaking Bad. Bryan Cranston is amazing, and his performance absolutely merits the hype. You won't hear me say a negative word about the performances of Bob Odenkirk, Giancarlo Esposito, Aaron Paul or Jonathan Banks, either. And Dean Norris has stepped into his role the past two-plus seasons, basically since "One Minute."

So yes, that's a large percentage of the cast. I guess that means the show is well acted, by the people asked to act in it. But I don't think it can match the depth of other well-acted shows. Mad Men has 10-plus outstanding performances weekly, people who are in an episode for one scene and completely kill it. Breaking Bad relies on its small core, and even among them, only on its men. Like I said, Anna Gunn has shown a new shade finally in this season, but Betsy Brandt has lost all distinguishable features and seems lost in the show, both as an actress and as Marie, her character. She fades into the background like a blob of purple.

 

In my opinion, unless Walt dies of cancer his death would not be logical. Or true to the entire story

 

Betsy Brandt has been a third-tier player for most of the series, but she did well when she had some scenes and a story arc in Seasons 3 and 4 (her kleptomania and taking a firm stand with a down-and-out Hank after "One Minute.")

 

I'm in the middle of the acting conversation for Breaking Bad/Mad Men. Mad Men certainly has a deeper bench, as Verse points out, but the top performances from Breaking Bad beat out the best from Mad Men.

 

One thing I thought about with Hank taking "Leaves of Grass" is if it ever comes to a legal issue, he couldn't use that as evidence. He stole it from Walt. A stretch, likely, if they all survive and it goes that far but probably something that Saul could argue and say everything after that was "fruit of the poison vine" or tree or whatever.

if they're all alive.

 

There might be some sort of consented search, since Hank was invited into the house and bathroom, and the book was in plain sight. Once Hank saw the inscription, it could be argued he had probable cause to take it as evidence.
Maybe this will all be sorted out on the Saul spinoff show, or "Law & Order: Albuquerque"

 

Outside of Hamm, Moss and usually Kartheiser, I don't think that the performances on Mad Men are particularly stellar. I think that while BB is a more showy show, the top roles, including Gunn, are spectacularly acted.

 

To not include John Slattery on that list is egregious. And Jay R. Ferguson is a perfect 10.