Breaking Bad Season 5 Thread

I love Walt. There's a problem? Deal with it.

I told Ms. Sixtoe that Skylar turned a little corner at that moment. I think she possibly gained some even deeper recognition of how serious they're involved and snuffed out a bit of her remaining innocent warmth.

That, to me, is also what made her react the way she did when Walt said, "I forgive you." She's getting more afraid of him.

 

As much as I love Breaking Bad, the timeline is one of its great flaws.

Some of the ways the characters have morphed don't jive with the timeline.

Jesse in particular.

He goes from burnout, to redeemed-burnout-in-love, to mourning burnout, to avenging burnout, to somewhat reluctant recovering burnout, to calculating burnout, to relapsing socially irresponsible burnout, to redeemed trusted-cook-for-Gus who hates Walt, to reluctant foil for Walt ...

In the span of, like, a year?

No.

I'm willing to look past it because the whole package of this show -- the writing, the cinematography, the acting, etc. -- are all so damn good. It's great art.

But the timeline is one thing Gilligan threw to the wind.

As a Dish customer -- AMC HAS DEMONIZED ME! -- I didn't get to see last night's episode. Based on reviews and stuff I've heard from friends, etc., it sounds like it was well-received, but I also detect an undercurrent of shark jumpage too. I don't get the sense anyone was blown away by it.

And as far as hating Walt, there have been very few times in the series where you shouldn't hate Walt. He's a narcissistic person who has become intoxicated and will be unquestionably be trapped by the unlikely power he's gained. But I love my characters to be flawed like that.

 

I guess, but as others have pointed out, there was really no way for this season to start with much of a bang. Walt had wiped out Gus, Tyrus and Tio Salamanca (with his own help) at the end of last season, and Gus had wiped out the cartel just before that. So for there to be an immediate dire threat to Walt's safety beginning this season would have been unrealistic and disingenuous.

Mike would be an obvious threat to Walt, but Mike's far too pragmatic to come after Walt guns blazing once he gets over the initial rage. Other than feelings of loyalty to Gus, there's no upside in it.

Yes, the Germans are coming. But I figure the biggest threat to Walt in this two-part season will come from Hank once he notices that the blue meth is still out there. That's assuming Walt and Jesse keep cooking, and why wouldn't they?

 

I absolutely hate Walt. I find him intriguing too and he's a great character but I don't necessarily "root" for him. I'm on Team Jesse. He has many more redeeming qualities and I hope when this is all over that Jesse is the last one standing. I have a feeling he will be which will be a bit poetic since he was supposed to be one of the first to go.

 

I don't root for any of them. Every major character in Breaking Bad is flawed and/or has unlikeable qualities, either mildly or severely. That's one thing I like about it.

 

So much irony and almost lack of self awareness in that final scene with Walt saying "I forgive you." You mean HE is saying he forgives HER? Shit! She's certainly not a saint, but not only should the roles be reversed there, he should be begging for forgiveness from her for all of the shit he's pulled and put her and the family through.

That was a fantastic switch by Gilligan on Ted Benecke's fate. I think we all thought he was dead. To see him in that hospital bed, all tubed and wired up and utterly terrified, was unnerving.

 

He's intriguing, but also probably the most evil tv character I can think of, especially at this point.

 

I wouldn't call him the most evil character on the show. You can see him becoming drunk with power before our eyes, but does that make one inherently evil? I think many normally rational and sane people would have a similar reaction with growing money and power. I still root for him, maybe because I still see the dorky science teacher with cancer.

 

Poisoning a kid to get what he wants? That horrible person that Walt thought Gus was when he cut the guy's throat at the end of season 4, he crossed into that territory when he poisoned the child.

And then "forgiving" Skyler as if she's the one who has caused the issues in their relationship. I remember in early seasons I was one of the few people defending Skyler. Mizzou, in particular didn't like her, and I think it's because Walt is the main character and so it's natural to root for him, and she stepped in sometimes to call him on his horrible actions. But if you take a step back and look at what he's done, Skyler has been entirely too kind to him.

He's become even worse than Gus was, in my eyes. Walt killed five people at the end of season 4 and did it without even blinking. A lot of Gus's anger and need for retribution came from having his lover killed in front of his eyes. Walt's badness mostly comes from being too prideful and being drunk with power.

 

I didn't state my position clearly. It's not that I don't think Walt's becoming evil. You can argue with some twisted logic that he was just trying to keep himself and his family safe with all the actions taken at the end of Season 4. And there's no doubt that forgiving Skyler was a manipulative ploy. But I can again see the twisted logic, he risked everything to provide for his family and she used much of the money to bail her boyfriend out of trouble (not that I agree with the logic, I'm just acknowledging how someone could).

This character is working on many fronts and might be the most developed and complicated that I've ever seen on TV.

 

Which speaks to the brilliance of Gilligan's decision. If Walt was set up as the antagonist from day one, all viewers would hate him. However, since he was the main character, many people, even at this point, will still try to find reasons to like him and excuse his actions.

For me, Jesse's become the lynchpin of the show, not Walt, and I find Walt to be completely deplorable. At the same time, I understand what you're saying.

 

dreunc1542 - I think that was Gus's close friend, not his lover. But I've never thought of Max Arciniega as a lover. Interesting. I know there's been discussion of Gus's sexuality.

I think there's something not discussed much when it comes to the evil actions of Walter White. We often look at the tangible stuff: murders, screwing over others, destruction of his marriage and family, poisoning kids, etc., but what about all of that meth he's cooking? Sure, he's not forcing the druggies to use it. But The Blue is probably responsible for hundreds of deaths and destroyed lives. He knows what that shit does to people, but doesn't care because it brings him money and power.

Edit: I know the evidence pieces were in plastic bags and not all of them were metal, but I'm curious how much evidence Walt destroyed with that magnet. And if so, how many criminals will now walk free because of lack of evidence? Another inadvertent effect on others created by his complete recklessness and carelessness.