Breaking Bad - Season 5, Part 2 - The Final Eight Episodes - Sundays on AMC

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Don't know, but it was obvious he needed some time away from the board/thread. Dude is way too confrontational and emotional.

I agree with him most of the time, including this one, but jesus every time someone goes against his point of view, sometimes irrationally, he just can't let it go.
 
Don't know, but it was obvious he needed some time away from the board/thread. Dude is way too confrontational and emotional.

I hear you. He was the same way in the DmC threads on the gaming forum. I was getting a bit annoyed with his high and mighty rhetoric in here too.
 
Indeed. Even at Heisenberg's peak 'last' season, one of the few times he shows any genuine emotion is after the last attempt to stop Jesse from quiting fails and he screams his name.

That one could legitimately be interpreted as a matter of pride. Jesse no longer has a reason to be in the game and a good father figure would allow him to move on with his life if that is what he wished, enjoy the spoils of his victory...which is what he did at the end of part 1, which I take as a legitimate act of affection.

To be clear, no one is arguing that Walt doesn't experience emotions. Maharg is just saying that he thinks all those emotions are selfish in nature. The same way a person who is donating to charity, not because they want to help the needy, but because it makes them feel superior to others by having them depend on their generosity. Despite it being a functionally beneficial action, it's selfishly motivated.

To be sure, an argument can be made that a lot of Walt's motivations are selfish or a matter of his pride and ego, including the one you just suggested. But I would disagree walt has absolutely zero regard for others.
 
He *needs* Jesse. That's not the same as caring for him. Normal people do not manipulate people they care about to the degree that Walt has manipulated Jesse. That's not caring, it's basically borderline behaviour.

Nothing in the show to date has convinced me that Walt cares about anyone but himself. Plenty has convinced me that he needs validation from and control over other people to be happy. It's remotely possible he once did care for people, before the show started, but his interactions with Gretchen suggest that even that's unlikely.

The show constantly goes out of its way to show how Walt's words, actions, and facial expressions are extremely tailored to manipulate whoever he's talking to. I don't know why anyone trusts anything they see him do or hear him say to validate something as significant as 'caring' for Jesse.

Up until this opener I was convinced Walt cared about Jesse and legitimately saw him as some kind of a son and the only person he had some kind of emotional attachment to, but now that's pretty much done imo after that couch scene. I still don't think Walt has the capacity to physically harm/kill Jesse to save himself but you never know.
 
walter white in season one isn't a bad guy, he's just a man who discovers that he's terminally ill and decides to produce life ruining drugs and endanger his family while killing people and ignoring legal and safe alternatives that don't involve life destroying crimes
 
We obviously have the people who still think Walt is good because they want to root for him (and they're runnin wild now that Amirox is banned).

But it also seems like there's this other crowd that is intent on saying Walt is totally bad, and he has always been bad, even before the show. He's a sociopath, all of his emotions are false, he doesn't really care for anyone, etc.

Both seem like pretty black and white interpretations to me. In turning Mr Chips into Scarface, you'd think there's be a little bit of grey spectrum in there somewhere :P
 
Seriously reading up on sociopathy it describes walt perfectly. You also don't need to be an emotionless robot to be a sociopath.
But it also seems like there's this other crowd that is intent on saying Walt is totally bad, and he has always been bad, even before the show. He's a sociopath, all of his emotions are false, he doesn't really care for anyone, etc.

Here's a question? Do you think a bad person should be considered bad before they've ever done anything bad? Walt never did anything truly bad before the show so maybe he shouldnt be classified as bad.
 
walter white in season one isn't a bad guy, he's just a man who discovers that he's terminally ill and decides to produce life ruining drugs and endanger his family while killing people and ignoring legal and safe alternatives that don't involve life destroying crimes

There is no legal safe alternative in the US to getting cancer treatment and paying for bills/college within 6 months or whatever the time period was. No nationalization of necessities allowed except snail mail because something commieism.
 
The events at the end of "Half Measure" don't make any sense if Walt doesn't genuinely care about Jesse.

Then two episodes later in "Box Cutter", Walt goes to bat for Jesse, telling Gus that if he kills Jesse, Walt won't work for him anymore.

I mean, come on. At this point, the "Walt is not a good guy" contingent has basically won this thing, but you don't need to try to run up the score.
 
There is no legal safe alternative in the US to getting cancer treatment and paying for bills/college within 6 months or whatever the time period was. No nationalization of necessities allowed except snail mail because something commieism.

I thinking he referring to Gretchen and Elliot offer to pay for his medical bill
 
fuuuuuuuuuu!
You wait for one scene for so long and you don't know what do feel when it finally happens.
I liked the episode; A little slow but they aren't trying to rush to the end. Glad Jesse figured out what happened to Mike, he should have known. Really glad to see Jesse try to give money to Mike's grand daughter. I was waiting for that moment, even if there isn't a good way for him to do it. Jesse's mood has always felt right good or bad.. but I don't know about this time. He was hurting more because he knew Mike was dead but even after he tried to sell his end of the business and get out (after the kid died) he sure didn't seem like he thought he couldn't keep the money. He wanted it before Walt gave it to him and now he just can't keep it....eh

I seriously had to stop my DVR for about 10 minutes when Hank closed the garage. As I said I've waited so long for that moment I didn't know if I could watch it. It was amazing.
 
The events at the end of "Half Measure" don't make any sense if Walt doesn't genuinely care about Jesse.

Then two episodes later in "Box Cutter", Walt goes to bat for Jesse, telling Gus that if he kills Jesse, Walt won't work for him anymore.

I mean, come on. At this point, the "Walt is not a good guy" contingent has basically won this thing, but you don't need to try to run up the score.

Like i said that all makes sense if you think of that as a power play against feeling threatened by gus. And n i think he has some emotions towards jesse but they dont trump jhis own narcissism.
 
It might have been overly ham-fisted, but I was hoping that when Walt kept saying "I need you to believe me," Jesse would reply with something like "I don't care what you need." Possibly ham-fisted, but it would have been nice.

Like i said that all makes sense if you think of that as a power play against feeling threatened by gus.

I mean... I could interpret it that way.

I could also interpret the entire series as Walt trying to ruin Hank's life because years ago he was secretly in love with Marie, but that interpretation doesn't make a whole lot of sense either.
 
Here's a question? Do you think a bad person should be considered bad before they've ever done anything bad? Walt never did anything truly bad before the show so maybe he shouldnt be classified as bad.
No, I don't think he was bad before the show. He was more or less a sympathetic figure.. A nice guy, if a little bit spineless and pathetic.
 
Hank wouldn't have turned to cooking crystal meth because of his pride. He would have sat in that wheelchair forever. That's the difference.




I think its just as compelling to realize all along what a monster he was. Until i rewatched the show, i thought the same thing.

So that's better? To condemn your wife to a life cleaning shit and hauling around minerals? It's not that simple, not for everyone.

I wrote a long post about just how fucked up Walt's meth making is, I get it. I also get what can come of desperate circumstances.
 
I thinking he referring to Gretchen and Elliot offer to pay for his medical bill

Oh yea I forgot about that, in that case he's right. But I think it's wrong to say he was an evil guy in S1, the show just did not present it that way at all. The entire point of the show is the downward slide into a completely different person by the end of it.
 
Oh yea I forgot about that, in that case he's right. But I think it's wrong to say he was an evil guy in S1, the show just did not present it that way at all. The entire point of the show is the downward slide into a completely different person by the end of it.
Completely agree. He was not bad back then, he is bad now.
 
Haven't posted since the episode. Have like 2000 posts to catch up on but v little time to read them.

From a glance though I can tell that people are being completely rational and discussion is fun and personable, and definitely not insufferable and full of people who like to snipe from the sidelines instead of defending their bad opinions from others debating them. like always in bb threads.

"tread lightly" should be the #1 rule for these threads.
Ha ha. <3
Probably already posted, but badass nonetheless:
That's pretty cool.
Myth buster special wasn't that great. Don't know what I expected though, they have been on a decline for years.
I was entertained, but it was overly long. Felt like something they could've burned through in a half hour.
 
not quiet sure I like how he confronted hank like that. they built hank to be this clueless dumbass most of the series. I hope walter manipulates and uses hank till the very end. would be awesome if he kills him.
 
- Aaron Paul is doing a live video chat w/ the LA Times on Wednesday
Join two-time Emmy-winning "Breaking Bad" star Aaron Paul for a live video chat on Wednesday at 11:30 a.m. Pacific time.

As the chemistry teacher-turned-meth king in AMC's dark drama, Walter White (Bryan Cranston) has turned many heads -- and done away with a few. But it's his street-savvy student-turned-partner Jesse Pinkman (Paul) that has, oddly, brought some much-needed heart to the series. He's undergone quite the transformation in the show's run -- from punk drug dealer to the wounded conscience of the series.

The second half of the fifth and final season debuted Sunday night -- in it, there's a lot less "yo!" and funny one-liners coming from Pinkman, and a lot more agonized reflection as he starts to question everything.

We'll talk to Paul about the end of the run, where Pinkman is headed this season, his favorite Pinkman moments, and why-oh-why he didn't stop by our neighborhood when he made it rain money in the streets. We promise not to tread lightly.
 
Saw this on the BB subreddit. If we consider that theory about Walt and the
people he kills
, then this might bear consideration.

Might be a spoiler, so won't embed.

http://i.imgur.com/BHg4vzA.jpg
I usually click speculation and it doesn't effect me as a lot of it is pretty out there, but that image isn't up for debate..

Hopefully just a red herring from the writers and doesn't actually imply what it appears. Big spoiler if so.
 
To be clear, no one is arguing that Walt doesn't experience emotions. Maharg is just saying that he thinks all those emotions are selfish in nature. The same way a person who is donating to charity, not because they want to help the needy, but because it makes them feel superior to others by having them depend on their generosity. Despite it being a functionally beneficial action, it's selfishly motivated.

To be sure, an argument can be made that a lot of Walt's motivations are selfish or a matter of his pride and ego, including the one you just suggested. But I would disagree walt has absolutely zero regard for others.

I agree with the bulk of this. To piggy back off your example, it's also possible for a person to donate to a charity because they genuinely want to help but still get off on the praise and dependency. This person could take it a step further and brag about their goodwill to mask insecurities. People are complex and this show captures that on a beat few ever have.

Walt cheer leading aside, that's usually what my point distills down to. Our observations about Walt aren't necessarily mutually exclusive.
 
Saw this on the BB subreddit. If we consider that theory about Walt and the
people he kills
, then this might bear consideration.

Might be a spoiler, so won't embed.

http://i.imgur.com/BHg4vzA.jpg

I don't agree with this.

This doesn't look like the same jacket at all. Jesse's jacket has two buttons and straps on the shoulders, while Walt's jacket doesn't have either of those, but does have two buttons on front pockets and dark green strip down the button line.

Also, since when has Jesse wore this jacket besides that one situation? Isn't he known for his vast amount of clothes?
 
I don't agree with this.

This doesn't look like the same jacket at all. Jesse's jacket has two buttons and straps on the shoulders, while Walt's jacket doesn't have either of those, but does have two buttons on front pockets and dark green strip down the button line.

Also, since when has Jesse wore this jacket besides that one situation? Isn't he known for his vast amount of clothes?

I really don't understand why some of you are marking spoiler around speculation
 
not quiet sure I like how he confronted hank like that. they built hank to be this clueless dumbass most of the series. I hope walter manipulates and uses hank till the very end. would be awesome if he kills him.

What show have you watched? Hank has been on the money with everything. He's one of the smarter detectives you see in a tv show. His biggest crime was not seeing what was under his nose, but that could happen to anyone.
 
I forgot to post here, but hot damn that starter

I was surprised at how straight to the point it was and then I remembered how many episodes are left. This is gonna be intense
 
What show have you watched? Hank has been on the money with everything. He's one of the smarter detectives you see in a tv show. His biggest crime was not seeing what was under his nose, but that could happen to anyone.

To be honest, it's probably the best done "Living a double life next to a detective agent tracking me down" trope I've seen in memory. The times Hank came close and Walt narrowly escaped discovery were actually believable to me, without feeling too contrived. There were times, like when Walt did the car crash, but Hank considers Walt to be kind of a ditz and the idea that he's the drug kingpin he's hunting is inherently absurd, so it's not unreasonable that he doesn't consider the idea until it's pretty much staring him in the face when he discovers the book.

Someone should make a parody video of Miami Metro from Dexter trying to catch Heisenburg.

And then someone make a video of Dexter trying to elude Hank's actual competent detectives.

I can't tell which one has the potential to be funnier.
 
not quiet sure I like how he confronted hank like that. they built hank to be this clueless dumbass most of the series. I hope walter manipulates and uses hank till the very end. would be awesome if he kills him.

What?! Did you even see Seasons 4 and 5A?
 
walter white in season one isn't a bad guy, he's just a man who discovers that he's terminally ill and decides to produce life ruining drugs and endanger his family while killing people and ignoring legal and safe alternatives that don't involve life destroying crimes

The moment he said no to the Grey Matter money, to me, is when he begins blossoming into "Walt IS the cancer" metaphor. He quickly shaved his head, even, afterward.
 
Do the original music tracks for BB give anyone else Half-Life vibes?

Also I agree with this:
walter white in season one isn't a bad guy, he's just a man who discovers that he's terminally ill and decides to produce life ruining drugs and endanger his family while killing people and ignoring legal and safe alternatives that don't involve life destroying crimes
 
The moment he said no to the Grey Matter money, to me, is when he begins blossoming into "Walt IS the cancer" metaphor. He quickly shaved his head, even, afterward.

I don't really understand why people read it that way. Regardless of if you had a meth business or not, I think a lot of people would be too embarrassed to accept a hand-out.
 
The hand out only fixes one of his problems too.

I might be remembering wrong but Grey Matter was going to pay his medical bills but it still would have left Skyler and the kids with no money in the future.
 
I don't really understand why people read it that way. Regardless of if you had a meth business or not, I think a lot of people would be too embarrassed to accept a hand-out.

Offer me several million dollars and you'll see how embarrassed I am to accept it.

It's only a 'hand out' because walt refuses to see it any other way. The guy freely admitted that Walt is the reason the company is the way it is now and that he could do a lot of good there. Skyler didn't ask him to offer the job and both he and gretchen were genuine in their attempt to help. I honestly can't see how they could have made that offer with more sincerity.

But even if he was right and that they were thumbing their noses at him, refusing this didn't affect only him. By forgoing free money in favor of continuing his drug trade, he put his family in ridiculous danger. Not just his family even, but everyone. Gale would still be alive. Jane would be alive and presumably drug free. Jesse wouldn't be traumatized. And that's not even taking into account the hundreds upon thousands of people who's lives he ruined indirectly by producing one of the most potent addicting drugs ever. Everything, all the murders, all the heartbreak, it all could have been avoided if he had just taken that money

And for what? So that he wouldn't have to swallow his pride.
 
The hand out only fixes one of his problems too.

I might be remembering wrong but Grey Matter was going to pay his medical bills but it still would have left Skyler and the kids with no money in the future.
I'm pretty sure they were offering him a 6 figure job, not a lump sum of money.
 
They initially offered him a job back at Gray Matter. After he turned it down they offered to pay for his cancer treatment anyway. He still declined and lied that the insurance was covering it.
 
I don't really understand why people read it that way. Regardless of if you had a meth business or not, I think a lot of people would be too embarrassed to accept a hand-out.
Not embarrassment but pride. It is something he had created and was bought out of for 5K. Then to take a job and work for the people who he should've been equal to would be devastating to Walt. I would've done the same as Walt in that choice, he rather die than admitting defeat by taking the job.
 
Not embarrassment but pride. It is something he had created and was bought out of for 5K. Then to take a job and work for the people who he should've been equal to would be devastating to Walt. I would've done the same as Walt in that choice, he rather die than admitting defeat by taking the job.

I wouldn't, because I would care about my family more than my ego.
 
Not embarrassment but pride. It is something he had created and was bought out of for 5K. Then to take a job and work for the people who he should've been equal to would be devastating to Walt. I would've done the same as Walt in that choice, he rather die than admitting defeat by taking the job.
This is the problem with people with pride. They don't get that it's not about them.
 
They initially offered him a job back at Gray Matter. After he turned it down they offered to pay for his cancer treatment anyway. He still declined and lied that the insurance was covering it.

There's 20+ years of brooding resentment informing Walt's decision. Watch him explore Eliot's library before they talk; you can taste the bitterness. Here's a man who, as Walt sees it, has his life. The last Walt wants is for him to save it.
 
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