Support NeoGAF

[Jarmel]

This show deserves every single fucking award it gets.

It's not as good as the Wire but really that's it(IMO).

The way Jesse looks when Victor gets his throat slashed. The way Gus stared at the two. The way Mike himself is shocked and horrified. The way Walt is disgusted and scared.

The silence. The visuals. The acting.

Perfection.

 

[sixteen-bit]

I wonder if this season will have more flashbacks. The whole Gray Matter backstory intrigues me.

 

[Red_Man]

Amazing opener. That entire Gus scene was perfection, and I'm glad they pulled through with the gale execution instead of bitching out after getting my hopes up. The king has returned.

 

[dave is ok]

This thread already has more pages than the Breaking Bad S2 thread

 

[Jarmel]

Also loved how Walt stood up for Jesse even though he was terrified for his own life. Someone stated it correctly, Jesse is pretty much a son to Walt now possibly moreso than his actual one.

 

[Fry]

I watched all three seasons in one go.

Watching one episode per week is going to absolutely kill me now.

 

[Cornballer]

This thread already has more pages than the Breaking Bad S2 thread

Yeah, good to see. It's been fun seeing the GAF fan base grow over the years. The S1 thread was very sparse and no one knew what to make of the show when it first aired.

 

[Jarmel]

Oh wow I was looking through Ebay auctions and there a press kit there for season 4 with the first 3 episodes along with a book. One of the images I'm guessing is a hint for a future scene.

possible season 4 spoiler

Spoiler

Jesse says,"Is this the part where I'm supposed to beg you not to do it"

 

[Zeliard]

On one hand I'm a little sad I didn't follow the show from the beginning. On the other hand I got to watch all three seasons in a weekend. And what a couple days that was.

 

[Deleted member 1235]

I didn't like the fact Gus said nothing. Was wayyy too cliche for the big boss guy.

loved it, was very tense.

 

[sixteen-bit]

I watched all three seasons in one go.

Watching one episode per week is going to absolutely kill me now.

You'll get used to it. I did the same through Mad Men Season 4

Yeah, good to see. It's been fun seeing the GAF fan base grow over the years. The S1 thread was very sparse and no one knew what to make of the show when it first aired.

this post seems so anti-current sentiments
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=9811910&postcount=92

 

[xbhaskarx]

All in all, this episode left me disappointed.
Sure, it was still good TV, but it seemed more forced than before to me.
Two points sticks out:

1. Gus killing Victor.
After eight seasons of "24", this "shock" was way too predictable. It reminded me of the "cool guys don't look at explosions" scene in 3x01 as both failed to make me wow because it's been done before far too many times.

I totally agree with this one, I was surprised that so many people here liked that scene.

 

[kehs]

Oh wow I was looking through Ebay auctions and there a press kit there for season 4 with the first 3 episodes along with a book. One of the images I'm guessing is a hint for a future scene.

possible season 4 spoiler

Spoiler

Jesse says,"Is this the part where I'm supposed to beg you not to do it"

!


I sort of want to wait until I can watch the entire season in one go....

 

[BenjaminBirdie]

I totally agree with this one, I was surprised that so many people here liked that scene.

Well, I know I didn't see it coming at all.

 

[bathala]

Gus needed to kill someone to show an example not to fuck with him. Can't kill Walt or Jesse, and not his hitman.

then there's Victor. It needs to be graphic to send the message to both of them

 

[Black Mamba]

Why does it matter if it's predictable? 95% of all TV/movie stuff has been done before.

What matters is execution and effect. I saw Victor's death coming and it didn't change the impact of that scene one iota for me. Sure, I wasn't "shocked," but that doesn't matter. I don't think the writers were trying to shock you (with choice of death at least, manner another story) because we already know in the back of our minds that Walt and Jesse cannot die for now.

If you're watching a show solely to be tricked, I don't know what to say.

 

[Blader]

Gus needed to kill someone to show an example not to fuck with him. Can't kill Walt or Jesse, and not his hitman.

then there's Victor. It needs to be graphic to send the message to both of them

He killed Victor because a bunch of witnesses could have ID'd him at the scene of Gale's murder. Simple as that.

 

[Zeliard]

He killed Victor because a bunch of witnesses could have ID'd him at the scene of Gale's murder. Simple as that.

He was also clearly fucking with Walt and Jesse's heads. Victor got taken out in the first place because he was spotted at the crime scene, but the way in which he got taken out was entirely for Walt and Jesse.

 

[Jarmel]

He was also clearly fucking with Walt and Jesse's heads. Victor got taken out in the first place because he was spotted at the crime scene, but the way in which he got taken out was entirely for Walt and Jesse.

I also think it was a message to Mike as well. There were alot of fuck ups that previous night.

 

[blahblah...blah]

Got up this morning, set the download, went to work, got home this evening and watched it at the earliest opportunity. Simply incredible television.

I went into it knowing full well what was going to happen, and still my heart rate gradually increased throughout the ten minute scene with Gus in the lab. Seriously, in the first 40 minutes of the show, ignoring the cold open, Jesse says two words and Gus says five. They communicate SO much without any words. Just outstanding.

I have to somehow stop myself reading spoilers, as the big moment of the premiere was spoiled for me

 

[Zeliard]

I also think it was a message to Mike as well. There were alot of fuck ups that previous night.

Mike definitely got the message as well, but I think it was primarily for Walt and Jesse. They had just killed Gale in order to save themselves. This clearly surprised Gus, and at that point, he had no idea what else they were capable of. This was his way of letting them know what he's all about so that everyone's on the same page, as Jesse was saying at the end.

Since Mike likely told Gus that Victor was spotted, he probably knew that Victor wasn't long for the earth - it's the way Gus did it that probably took Mike by surprise.

 

[bathala]

He was also clearly fucking with Walt and Jesse's heads. Victor got taken out in the first place because he was spotted at the crime scene, but the way in which he got taken out was entirely for Walt and Jesse.

this.

 

[Jarmel]

Mike definitely got the message as well, but I think it was primarily for Walt and Jesse. They had just killed Gale in order to save themselves. This clearly surprised Gus, and at that point, he had no idea what else they were capable of. This was his way of letting them know what he's all about so that everyone's on the same page, as Jesse was saying at the end.

Since Mike likely told Gus that Victor was spotted, he probably knew that Victor wasn't long for the earth - it's the way Gus did it that probably took Mike by surprise.

Honestly I thought he was just going to start beating them up and didn't want the blood on him.

It seemed a rather extreme action for someone spotted at the crime scene later but I guess Gus wanted absolutely no loose ends.

 

[scosher]

Also loved how Walt stood up for Jesse even though he was terrified for his own life. Someone stated it correctly, Jesse is pretty much a son to Walt now possibly moreso than his actual one.

I got the opposite sense. For the majority of the scene, he was only making a case for his life, and why he would be needed, but then threw in the, "and if you kill Jesse, you lose me," as an afterthought.

In all honesty (and I know the producers wouldn't do this cause Jesse's such a great character), but I don't see why Gus would even let Jesse live. A druglord would just slit his throat and then tell Walt outright, "if you don't keep cooking, Skyler and Walt Jr. are next."

 

[Black Mamba]

I got the opposite sense. For the majority of the scene, he was only making a case for his life, and why he would be needed, but then threw in the, "and if you kill Jesse, you lose me," as an afterthought.

In all honesty (and I know the producers wouldn't do this cause Jesse's such a great character), but I don't see why Gus would even let Jesse live. A druglord would just slit his throat and then tell Walt outright, "if you don't keep cooking, Skyler and Walt Jr. are next."

He's a business man. He also doesn't believe in fear as a motivator. Threatening the family isn't his style.

 

[FantasticMrFoxdie]

I got the opposite sense. For the majority of the scene, he was only making a case for his life, and why he would be needed, but then threw in the, "and if you kill Jesse, you lose me," as an afterthought.

In all honesty (and I know the producers wouldn't do this cause Jesse's such a great character), but I don't see why Gus would even let Jesse live. A druglord would just slit his throat and then tell Walt outright, "if you don't keep cooking, Skyler and Walt Jr. are next."

Gus doesn't believe fear is an effective motivator.

That's not to say that Gus doesn't want to send a message to Walt and Jesse not to cross him or do their jobs ineffectively.

 

[Ventilaator]

Am I completely wrong in thinking that the only reason Walt keeps protecting Jesse isn't because he needs him in the cooking process or he cares for him deeply or whatever, but instead it's because Walt kind of dragged Jesse into the deep level cooking stuff, so if Jesse dies, Walt is 100% to blame and he doesn't want that on him?

People keep talking about their deep relationship, but in my mind that's all it is.

 

[Zeliard]

Remember that scene where Gus balked at the way the twins and the rest of the Mexican cartel tend to go about things? He finds it unseemly (amusingly, given what he just did to Victor). He probably isn't the type to go after someone's family, or others outside of "the game."

And Walt clearly cares for Jesse at this point. He ran over two people and shot one in the head to save Jesse's life. And his whole "if you kill Jesse you don't have me" line was just as powerful as anything else he said. It went something like "if you kill me, you don't have a cook, and if you kill Jesse, you don't have me." He gave Gus no options but to keep both alive.

 

[guise]

Am I completely wrong in thinking that the only reason Walt keeps protecting Jesse isn't because he needs him in the cooking process or he cares for him deeply or whatever, but instead it's because Walt kind of dragged Jesse into the deep level cooking stuff, so if Jesse dies, Walt is 100% to blame and he doesn't want that on him?

In the beginning, everything was about Walt's family - but now that they have security and he's in remission, Jesse is the only one who legitimately needs Walt from a social perspective, isn't he? It's not like Walt has, or even can have, friends. In fact at times Jesse has even been somewhat of a conscience and motivator for Walt. Hell... he helped create Heisenberg - so Walt does owe him.

Yeah, good to see. It's been fun seeing the GAF fan base grow over the years. The S1 thread was very sparse and no one knew what to make of the show when it first aired.

Haha, im in there! And i'm glad to report that my sentiment has not changed one bit.

Watched the first 3 episodes (thanks to this thread)

Holy fuck awesome this show is good.

 

[smokeymicpot]

Remember that scene where Gus balked at the way the twins and the rest of the Mexican cartel tend to go about things? He finds it unseemly (amusingly, given what he just did to Victor). He probably isn't the type to go after someone's family, or others outside of "the game."

And Walt clearly cares for Jesse at this point. He ran over two people and shot one in the head to save Jesse's life. And his whole "if you kill Jesse you don't have me" line was just as powerful as anything else he said. It went something like "if you kill me, you don't have a cook, and if you kill Jesse, you don't have me." He gave Gus no options but to keep both alive.

The whole game thing makes me laugh. He is sort of like

Spoiler

Omar

. Wire reference.

 

[Jarmel]

And Walt clearly cares for Jesse at this point. He ran over two people and shot one in the head to save Jesse's life. And his whole "if you kill Jesse you don't have me" line was just as powerful as anything else he said. It went something like "if you kill me, you don't have a cook, and if you kill Jesse, you don't have me." He gave Gus no options but to keep both alive.

Yes very much. Most people would have cut Jesse off at this point but Walt repeatedly goes to extreme lengths to save Jesse's hide. Walt definitely doesn't need Jesse but he wants Jesse around.

 

[kehs]

Am I completely wrong in thinking that the only reason Walt keeps protecting Jesse isn't because he needs him in the cooking process or he cares for him deeply or whatever, but instead it's because Walt kind of dragged Jesse into the deep level cooking stuff, so if Jesse dies, Walt is 100% to blame and he doesn't want that on him?

People keep talking about their deep relationship, but in my mind that's all it is.

I don't think anybody is saying Walt needs Jesse for the cook, because he clearly doesn't need him. However, their relationship is grounded in their ritual of cooking.

The Fly cemented the fact that they have a bond. They are partners.

 

[Cornballer]

- AMC put the premiere up on their video site for streaming

 

[Jarmel]

- AMC put the premiere up on their video site for streaming

Are they going to do that for the other episodes?

 

[Black Mamba]

Am I completely wrong in thinking that the only reason Walt keeps protecting Jesse isn't because he needs him in the cooking process or he cares for him deeply or whatever, but instead it's because Walt kind of dragged Jesse into the deep level cooking stuff, so if Jesse dies, Walt is 100% to blame and he doesn't want that on him?

People keep talking about their deep relationship, but in my mind that's all it is.

I think a part of it is that Jesse represents Walt's personal failings (Jesse was a smart kid, but Walter couldn't get him to pass chemistry even though he tried). For Walt, Jesse failing (dying, being a loser junkie) is Walt failing yet again. And he definitely cares for him like a son. Don't forget Jane's dad mentioned about not giving up on family and that's when Walt returns to Jesse, not his home.

 

[Cornballer]

Are they going to do that for the other episodes?

I'm not 100% sure, but I don't think they've done it for every episode in the past. They might just do the first few to get new viewers caught up. It's only available for a limited time, too.

 

[Sanjuro]

This and Boardwalk Empire are the best shows on tele. Nothing else is even close.

Walking Dead: Season 2 preview! They kill a zombie! I thought they were going to go for something different...like killing werewolves or aliens.

 

[Spotless Mind]

She's always been kind of an idiot... As good as the Breaking Bad writers are, they cannot write a good woman's role; every woman on the show is just annoying IMO.

What a complete double standard. Walt and Jesse have made so many idiotic decisions i have lost count, but when Skylar, A WOMAN, acts completely rationally when faced with the complicated situation Walt has thrust upon her, she's a poorly written, annoying character. It beggars belief.

 

[Phantast2k]

Watching the ep right now..

Spoiler

Gus killing his goon instead of the protagonists was built up way too obvious. Meh writing.

 

[wind_steaker]

fabulous, I want to know what's going on with Saul though...

 

[Jack Scofield]

He's a business man. He also doesn't believe in fear as a motivator. Threatening the family isn't his style.

Fear of Gus is pretty much the driving motivation for Walt and Jesse now. Gus is full of bullshit if he ever again tries claiming that he doesn't intimidate using fear.

 

[Spire]

fabulous, I want to know what's going on with Saul though...

After Jesse killed Gale, Saul is terrified that he'll get caught up in the blowback from Gus.

 

[brianjones]

he also gave mike a false location on jesse's whereabouts

Fear of Gus is pretty much the driving motivation for Walt and Jesse now. Gus is full of bullshit if he ever again tries claiming that he doesn't intimidate using fear.

yeah that line is kind of bogus in retrospect.. probably just one of those things that sounded cool at the time

 

[big ander]

Watching the ep right now..
[not a spoiler the episode aired almost 24 hours ago, and the spoiler-tagging procedure is and always has been that anything that has aired it allowed to be posted without tags]Gus killing his goon instead of the protagonists was built up way too obvious. Meh writing.[/spoiler]

Don't take this personally because you're not the only one saying it: fuck everything about this comment.
Do some really think most people were just tricked and thought Walt and Jesse were goners? Do they think they're just that much smarter than the rest of the audience, and since they figured it out it's automatically shit writing?
For one, there were plenty of other paths there. BenBirdie was right that fingers were flying all over the place when Gus was stalking the place. Jesse and Walt can cook without pinkies and with a few cuts on their body. Gus could have ended up not doing anything at all and just using the cutter to intimidate everyone before making Victor back off and ordering Walt and Jesse to cook.
However, even if you did see the throat-slitting coming (as did I) it doesn't make it shit writing. Who gives a fuck if you called it. Gus committed a brutally violent act, changing the game again for every person involved. Walt was complicit in the death of another person who didn't deserve to die as badly as he did. Jesse's initial shock followed by his numbness revealed that having to murder Gale has fundamentally corrupted his moral core.
I feel like anyone who thinks it's meh writing just because they saw it coming needs to think before they post.

Fear of Gus is pretty much the driving motivation for Walt and Jesse now. Gus is full of bullshit if he ever again tries claiming that he doesn't intimidate using fear.

Seriously. It's his only motivator now. I see it as his last resort. After trying to work with Walt for so long, he thinks the only way he can handle them is by scaring them. I'm thinking all that's going to do is make them react eventually, and I think Walt and Jesse will, business-wise, come out on top.

 

[Seanspeed]

I've been a big fan of the series so far, but the season premiere sucked ass in my opinion. Hardly anything happened and the scenes were overly dramatic and often predictable. Especially the last part, where we spend 10 minutes watching Gus getting dressed and walking up the stairs to say the incredibly predictable, "Get back to work" line.

Seems to me that the team are trying to hard. They need to let things happen more naturally and not go overboard on the 'artsy-ness' of the shots.

For a season premiere, I was hoping for something a bit more exciting, but it seems I might have to wait for the story to really kick-start.

I feel like anyone who thinks it's meh writing just because they saw it coming needs to think before they post.

The problem is that they built it up so much with the directing and the silence and everything, that the predictability of it all took away every bit of tension and shock from the scene. I was actually getting impatient there at the end watching Gus go upstairs to say his incredibly predictable line.

I swear, 50% of the episode was a fucking waste of my time.

 

[Kuroyume]

This thread already has more pages than the Breaking Bad S2 thread

It's just so weird. Really, why did it take so long for people to discover this show? Because it was on AMC? I didn't give it a chance until last year probably around the time when the finale aired or was about to air and it was only because someone posted a gif of Walter throwing the pizza on the roof in the MLB thread and I saw that and said... Shit, I have to watch this.

 

[Net_Wrecker]

Damn, the scene in the lab, holy crap. The way they did it in real time with no jumps to another scene, AND let everything linger while Gus put his suit back on. Amazing. Only Breaking Bad would film it like that.

Great premiere.

 

[kehs]

The following episode is an episode where nothing happened:

-Jesse accepts cold blodded murder and starts flipping his wig
-Walt's proverbial legs get cut off as he's trying to prove his bravado
-Gus shows his true colors and ruthlessnes
-Mike who is the guy that cleans up, get's schooled in disposing of a body
-Marie is shown being frustrated for the first time
-Hank is shown how far he's fallen
-Flynn likes music
-Skyler starts graviating towards Walt again
-Saul is awesome as always.

 

[JoJoShabadoo]

Seems to me that the team are trying to hard. They need to let things happen more naturally and not go overboard on the 'artsy-ness' of the shots.

I agree with this part. The show is great and I enjoyed the premiere, but ever since season 3, a lot of the show feels contrived.

 

[sixteen-bit]

It's just so weird. Really, why did it take so long for people to discover this show? Because it was on AMC? I didn't give it a chance until last year probably around the time when the finale aired or was about to air and it was only because someone posted a gif of Walter throwing the pizza on the roof in the MLB thread and I saw that and said... Shit, I have to watch this.

Maybe, but generally first and second season threads are smaller for any show.