Breaking Bad
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This post is deleted!
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That line about turning Mr Chips into Scarface is from the pitch Gilligan wrote when trying to sell the show. It's older than the show itself. It should be painfully obvious that Walt is nothing like Tony Montana. Gus was more along that lines.
When you take someone that exists solely in the White, like Walt did at the beginning of the series, and you pull them into the black, you get Gray. The show has been repeating this idea over and over again since the beginning. Walt, has never faded all the way to Black, he has always had something keeping him in the white. He has teetered very close to going over the line, no mistake, but because he had his family (and I seriously don't understand how anyone can say he doesn't actually care about his family after this season, which has been proving he was telling the truth all along) he stayed tethered to the white.
Now that that tether is finally gone (I do think the phone call with Junior, snapped it) it'll be interesting to see if he finally goes all the way to black in the finale. I am kind of expecting him to. It would make sense for him, if, in the end, this is just the story of a fall, to die when he has no more good left in him.
For Walt to still not be in the Gray he would have to be said irredeemable monster. He's far from that. He's not even the worst guy to have been on the show. Constantly clamoring that Walt is totally in the black just says to me that you're in denial of what the show has been presenting, not just this season (though especially this season) but the whole time.
You can take a character like Mr. Chips, and slowly deconstruct him, you can change him, mold him into Scarface, but it doesn't change the fact that, in the end (or the beginning if you will) he is still Mr. Chips. That part of him existed, in Walter's case for 50 years. Scarface, or, Heisenberg, has only existed for a little over one, two by the time the show ends.
Walt was a good, righteous man for 50 years of his life. He got fucked over by life, found out he was dying, and was so desperate to not leave his family fucked, that he did what he thought would be the easiest way to make some quick cash before he kicked the bucket. He got in over his head, and then everything was taken out from his control. The first time since the end of season 1 that Walt was ever again in control of his fate was the end of season 5. Between those two points everything he did was to keep himself (and Jesse) alive and to create and protect a nest egg for his family.
He has done terrible things, yes, I have never denied that. He has been monstrous at times. But throughout the series we have often seen that the weak old Walter White, dying from cancer, screwed over by the world, was still inside, hiding behind Heisenberg.
No matter how much Mr. Chips tries to be Scarface, it doesn't change the fact that, in the end, he will always be Mr. Chips.
In his pitch to AMC Gilligan said he wanted to take Mr. Chips and turn him into Scarface. The point in doing so is to see what happens. And they have succeeded wonderfully.
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Honestly though, I don't care if you ignore the rest of my post, just answer me this one thing: Why are you so determined to see absolutely no good in Walt?
I realize that I as a person am always eager to see the good in someone. I am always eager to trust and give the benefit of the doubt to people. I believe that inherently people are good. And that, in the end, no matter what a person has done, that good can triumph. No obviously, you're going to call this a naive view, and many people have. And there are times (Sandy Hook and Aurora, for example) where I can't see the good in someone, and I don't even bother trying. But 99% of the time I try.
So, honest question, are you so cynical that you are willing to ignore that there might be good left in someone, who, for what it's worth was once good, just because they have done some terrible things? That they just simply cannot exist in a shade of gray? That they can climb back up the path they fell?
Do you honestly believe that there is no bit of good left in Walt? If you can give me an honest (to yourself) yes to that question, then I will drop this, forever. I will be really confused, and rather disappointed, moreso in the fact that you would give up on someone that easy, than that I couldn't sway you.
However, if you say No, I will still drop this. Because doing so means that, no matter how much you may hate him, you have to admit that Walt exists in a gray area, no matter how murky that gray may be. And that, despite how much else we disagree on, will make me content enough.
So there, all I am looking for is an honest one word answer: Is there any good left in Walt?
–- Update From New Post Merge ---
You've made me curious. I've read/watched explanations about Walter's duality, but I would think that having black and white tendencies simultaneously is what makes someone grey. Maybe the problem is how exactly someone determines a character's morality, and some people consider some actions more excusable than others.
Personally, I think you miss out on a lot of character depth if you don't fully explore a character's motivations, but if I'm watching the show wrong or something, I'd like to know about it.
There's no wrong way to watch a show, just like there's no wrong way to read a book. It's all literature, it's all art. And the beautiful thing about art is that it's open to interpretation. And, because we all live different lives and have different experiences, we're all going to interpret the same piece of art differently.
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Talking only about Todd, how can anyone not call Todd a sociopath? That's entirely his character. That's the point. He's psychopath as heeeeell because he doesn't even understand relationships, or his actions, the way other people would due to his upbringing presumably.
The guy is basically horrifying because he's this naive puppy dog that wants only to please people and doesn't even bat an eye at executing someone, but will still bring Jesse ice cream because he thinks he deserves it. He's like, just doing what he thinks people should do and is basically the Anti-Jesse, or Nega Jesse.
Pretty sure more than anything, his creepy nice guy routine is basically just the only way he knows how to go to work and put on his human face. Everything he does, he does for praise and to please his superiors (every one of his relationships is framed this way).
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@Holy:
Talking only about Todd, how can anyone not call Todd a sociopath? That's entirely his character. That's the point. He is a sociopath because he doesn't even understand relationships, or his actions, the way other people would due to his upbringing presumably.
The guy is basically horrifying because he's this naive puppy dog that wants only to please people and doesn't even bat an eye at executing someone, but will still bring Jesse ice cream because he thinks he deserves it. He's like, just doing what he thinks people should do and is basically the Anti-Jesse, or Nega Jesse.
Pretty sure more than anything, his creepy nice guy routine is basically just the only way he knows how to put on a face.
That's why. While he has sociopathic tendencies, he doesn't fit the classical definition.
If you want a breakdown of that go look at my list a few posts up, but just the quick venture: He is capable of feeling love, he's not a pathological liar, he's not irresponsible or unreliable…While there is something definitely wrong with the boy, technically speaking he doesn't fit the mold of what a sociopath is. I mean, would you label Mike a sociopath? He had the same disregard for human life that Todd does, the only difference is Mike had a code, and Todd just does whatever he's told.
And, I do think he understands relationships, or, at least wants to. He's in love with Lydia, he wanted to bond with Walt, Jesse, and Mike, and he seems pretty close to his Uncle Jack.
I do agree with you on everything else in this post though. And I love the term Nega Jesse.
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Anyone know where I can watch all the Game of Thrones? All seasons/current episodes? For some reason Game of Thrones is not n Netflix.
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You've made me curious. I've read/watched explanations about Walter's duality, but I would think that having black and white tendencies simultaneously is what makes someone grey. Maybe the problem is how exactly someone determines a character's morality, and some people consider some actions more excusable than others.
Personally, I think you miss out on a lot of character depth if you don't fully explore a character's motivations, but if I'm watching the show wrong or something, I'd like to know about it.
I'm not missing out on anything.
Look Tony Soprano is an interesting guy. He has some morally redeeming qualities. Is he good? Fucking no way in hell. He is not a grey area. He's an awful human being.
The small redeeming qualities that a person may have don't count for much if they spend most of their time doing incredibly immoral things like making and selling meth, killing people, and abusing your wife. Walt stopped needing money in Season 2 of the show. Everything after that is profit and he's gotten it with the cost of so many lives. So the small redeeming qualities that Walt has don't count for much against his general awfulness and I refuse to see someone like him in a grey area.
If Walt was the one to shoot that child but still honestly cares about his family and said he did it to protect them does that push him over? Good is a subjective word but yes I think Walt possess some redeeming qualities as a human being but I think when they are weighed against the amount of terrible things he has done they amount to nothing. So please don't take my comment which is basically admitting that Walt is human and twist them into some point about him being in grey area. He's a bad man. He's black. He deserves to be in jail and is probably such a threat to society via his drugs and his intelligence that he should be executed.
Now you answer me this Nex. What does it take for Walt to be irredeemable? And if there is anything he could do doesn't your logic of having the slightest amount of good making him grey go against that? And if there is nothing Walt could do to make him irredeemable how isn't that just admitting you have no moral standards at all since no matter what anyone does they are grey.
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I'm not missing out on anything.
Look Tony Soprano is an interesting guy. He has some morally redeeming qualities. Is he good? Fucking no way in hell. He is not a grey area. He's an awful human being.
The small redeeming qualities that a person may have don't count for much if they spend most of their time doing incredibly immoral things like making and selling meth, killing people, and abusing your wife. Walt stopped needing money in Season 2 of the show. Everything after that is profit and he's gotten it with the cost of so many lives. So the small redeeming qualities that Walt has don't count for much against his general awfulness and I refuse to see someone like him in a grey area.
If Walt was the one to shoot that child but still honestly cares about his family and said he did it to protect them does that push him over? Good is a subjective word but yes I think Walt possess some redeeming qualities as a human being but I think when they are weighed against the amount of terrible things he has done they amount to nothing. So please don't take my comment which is basically admitting that Walt is human and twist them into some point about him being in grey area. He's a bad man. He's black. He deserves to be in jail and is probably such a threat to society via his drugs and his intelligence that he should be executed.
Now you answer me this Nex. What does it take for Walt to be irredeemable? And if there is anything he could do doesn't your logic of having the slightest amount of good making him grey go against that? And if there is nothing Walt could do to make him irredeemable how isn't that just admitting you have no moral standards at all since no matter what anyone does they are grey.
So I guess it does just come to differing moral standards. I don't expect Walter to care about the people his drugs are sold to, caring more about those close to you than faceless masses seems like a fairly human thing to do. There are also some issues he comes across due to his own ignorance of what to expect from the drug trade. Simply wanting more money is a fairly innocent thing to do if you expect it to go smoothly. Since I'm judging an issue of morality and not legality I don't see anything wrong with letting a few things go due to his naivete.
Of course, that doesn't mean he is a good person. Grey does not mean white. Personally I think of a black moral tendency as being incredibly selfish and unempathizing. The kind of person who would, instead of taking the blame to absolve his family, place all of the blame on his family. I realize this kind of opinion might leave black and white as extremes with a very large grey area, but I think people are easily prone to reprehensible actions for otherwise justifiable reasons.
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I had posted a response to each of those points but I just deleted it. The parts of what you say that aren't just flatout wrong i completely disagree with anyway. That article that kaiolino posted is you in a nutshell. No point in beating another horse.
This is me except I never wrote a post.
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This is me except I never wrote a post.
Foolio, what? I thought we we're on the same side of this? Or is this about the sociopath thing?
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To Taggerung, I mentioned in my post about when I just can't, and don't even try to, see the good in people. And yes, in the real world it's a lot harder sometimes, but that just speaks to who I am as a person. As such, let me get uncomfortably personal.
I've got a younger brother in rehab for heroin addiction. He's been using since he was 16. (4 years now.) And he's done terrible things. He's mugged people, stolen from stores, done more than just heroin. He's lied to his entire family, including me. He's pawned off some of my parents items just so he can get a fix. He's been in and out of rehab since he was 17 and we first learned about it. I should mention he's never directly killed someone, but this past March, he and some friends were getting high and one of them OD'd.
It has been a shit storm. My parents have all but disowned him. Our extended family thinks he's terrible. He's in rehab, though he should be in jail. Me, I still have faith in him. I still see try to find the good. And it's hard, I've had to really dig these past few months. But I don't want to give up on my brother. So no matter how ridiculous it may be, I will continue to try to to find the good things, no matter how small, in the hope that one day they'll be a big part of him again.
And if I can give my brother that courtesy and that faith, then why shouldn't I others?
So yes, it is hard for me to write someone off. And yes, no matter how much black someone has accumulated, I do believe that even the smallest amount of white puts them in a gray area. A very dark, murky gray, but gray nonetheless. Because once I admit that they're black, then that means I have given up on them. That I have accepted that there is no chance for redemption. No matter how small that redemption may be.
But to answer your question succinctly. (Lol, like anything I do is succinct. Is there an award for most long-winded member?)
For me to find Walt irredeemable he would have to go at and kill innocents just because they were in his way. If Brock had died, I would most likely be where you are. But I believe Walt when he says he knew how much poison to use, and he knew how to get the Doctors looking for poison to save him. Walt needed Jesse, and if Brock had died, he would have lost him forever. Make no mistake, that was a horrible, terrible thing he did, but I understand, from an objective standpoint, that that was 100% done to protect his family. Gus had just threatened the lives of everyone he cared about, and Walt's for instinct was to run. When that was an option, like a wild animal backed into a corner he did the only thing he could.
If Walt were to kill Skylar or if he had killed Hank, or harm his family in anyway, then I would be where you are. It is obvious by now that I believe Walt when he says this is all for his family. And I do attest this half season has done nothing but prove that was the one thing he said that wasn't a lie. (I know you said he could stop after season 2, he had enough money, and he tried. But Gus was smarter than him a pulled him back in. He should have stopped after he beat Gus. And at this point the power did go to his head, but the minute he saw the money-- actually saw it, he quit. )
Now, I know what you're going to say: the prison massacre. Eh, these were all people in the game who were going to talk if they didn't get paid. They chose to play, and they lost.
If Walt kills Gretchen and Elliot in the finale, I will be on your side.
And, honestly, after the whole attempted sexually assault on Skylar, I was on your side, but because things are constantly changing, I ended up going back over. Mainly it was his attempts to save Jesse's life no matter how it would affect him, and the fact that he caved and left the house, that pulled me back over.
I do want to make it especially clear that I do not think Walt is some fantastic and great guy. He is far from the White, and honestly, he does deserve to be in jail for everything he has done. However, I do believe that he never quite made it to "monster" status, and he still has enough good left in him, that some form of redemption, no matter how small is still possible. Do I think that there's anyway he can end the series white? No. He will still be a very dark gray. But sometimes, redemption isn't about righting all your wrongs. It's about proving to yourself, and others, that you're still human– you're still decent. And that's what I'm hoping happens for Walt.
In other news, I just found out I will be attending the finale party in the Cemetery with the cast and Vince. Yay for The Perks of Being a Sonyflower! I may or may not have pictures! It depends!
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I was referring to everything Todd-related.
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Vince Gilligan called Walt a "human cancer" in a season 4 interview. He destroys everything around him. There won't be any redemption.
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(Pops out of hiding) Looking forward to a solid conclusion. (Goes back into hiding)
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! Series will end with Mr. White going through surgery and starting a second life as Hal(Malcolm in the middle).
Goes into shameful hiding after making this stupid joke that has most likely already been made:ninja: -
Not sure if anyone else finds shit like this funny
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Where did you get that?
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unfortunately cannot watch the finale until tomorrow :(
need to stay away from the internet, media, and probably friends for the next 24 hours. wish me luck. -
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Walt is still a G.
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That ending was amazing
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Need a montage of slow claps for that.
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Great ending. Didn't seem like they had enough time but they did.
! So did he die of the bullet wound/blood loss? Seemed kind of sudden. Still, it had everything I was looking forward to.
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Fucking awesome conclusion.
! Pretty much played out how I expected and everyone who deserved it got their comeuppance, so I'm happy. Won't go into a full review or anything, just some observations:
! -I think the way Walt handled Eliott and Gretchen was appropriate. No real harm done, just spooked them a bit. Also a clever way to finally get his family the money.
-I LOL'd at the Badger and Skinny Pete reveal
-When the M60 went off and blew away Jack's gang, I just had to stand up and applaud vigorously
-SO glad Jesse got to kill Todd
-So glad Lydia's dead. But between her and Brock, there doesn't seem to be a whole lot of explanation required for how Walt poisons people.
-And, of course, our main man Walt bites the dust. Can't say he didn't deserve it.
! Well, I guess now we've got the Saul spin-off to look forward to. Either it'll be a prequel or we'll get to see his adventures in Nebraska. -
I did it for me
is icing on the cake for me.
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! rest in peace Walt
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It was a great touch that Walt admitted to his wife and out loud what he was in for (gratification) and pulling back to that family line one last time
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Brilliant finale. Sad to see it go, but it had to happen at some point.
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Walt never looked as alive and happy as he did while on the cusp of death. Brilliant ending.
! Todd never got to smash Lydia, what a crime…
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Fantastic. Also spoiler everything, guys.
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! Todd never got to smash Lydia, what a crime…
! he had that creepy af ringtone though haha.
! great ending to a great show. no complaints here. i'm curious, can't lydia be cured now that she knows what her poison was?
! but anyway if i realllyyy had to nitpick, i just wish we had more family time with jr, marie, and skyler. just wanted to see a little aftermath or something.
! aside from that, the ending was amazing. walt's death still hasn't even hit me even though he's a fictional character. sad to see him actually die.
! edit: forgot to mention how awesome the heisenberg moments were. i wanted him to kill gretchen and elliot, but making them live in fear and doing his bidding is even better. didn't expect that at all. also, the way he killed jack really surprised me even though we knew he was working on a rig like that. was wondering how he'd get out of that. glad he shot jack in the face before he finished his sentence like he did hank. very befitting. -
! he had that creepy af ringtone though haha.
! great ending to a great show. no complaints here. i'm curious, can't lydia be cured now that she knows what her poison was?
! but anyway if i realllyyy had to nitpick, i just wish we had more family time with jr, marie, and skyler. just wanted to see a little aftermath or something.
! aside from that, the ending was amazing. walt's death still hasn't even hit me even though he's a fictional character. sad to see him actually die.
! edit: forgot to mention how awesome the heisenberg moments were. i wanted him to kill gretchen and elliot, but making them live in fear and doing his bidding is even better. didn't expect that at all. also, the way he killed jack really surprised me even though we knew he was working on a rig like that. was wondering how he'd get out of that. glad he shot jack in the face before he finished his sentence like he did hank. very befitting.There is no cure for ricin.
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! I won't say it was underwhelming because it was obviously a great ending.
It's just that it wasn't very surprising as I correctly predicted with my friends almost everything that happened in the finale. I was hoping to be surprised and left in awe, instead it all went down really smoothly and with no big turns.
The best (and un-expected) scene was at the Schwartz house. I didn't thought of that way to make the family get the money, and the fake hitmen threat was great. Glad we also got to see Badger and Skinny Pete one last time.
I'm happy for Jesse that he gets to live and be a free man. He deserves that after all he went throgh, but I would have liked to see more of him, not just him driving away and never be seen again.
! One last thing, did anyone else found Walt's death very reminescent of Jack's death in LOST? Basically the same shot.
! Overall a great ending to a great series. Really sad that we won't have anymore BrBa. -
@'ko:
! I won't say it was underwhelming because it was obviously a great ending.
It's just that it wasn't very surprising as I correctly predicted with my friends almost everything that happened in the finale. I was hoping to be surprised and left in awe, instead it all went down really smoothly and with no big turns.
The best (and un-expected) scene was at the Schwartz house. I didn't thought of that way to make the family get the money, and the fake hitmen threat was great. Glad we also got to see Badger and Skinny Pete one last time.
I'm happy for Jesse that he gets to live and be a free man. He deserves that after all he went throgh, but I would have liked to see more of him, not just him driving away and never be seen again.
! One last thing, did anyone else found Walt's death very reminescent of Jack's death in LOST? Basically the same shot.
! Overall a great ending to a great series. Really sad that we won't have anymore BrBa.! The scene of Walt's death was suppose to be a polar opposite of the ending of the episode "Crawl Space". In "Space, he basically went a little crazy and over the deep end finding out the money (his legacy to his family) was gone while here he was finally content with the fact that his legacy (both the money to Walt Jr. and the fact that he had regained his creation) is intact and he will never be forgotten
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! but anyway if i realllyyy had to nitpick, i just wish we had more family time with jr, marie, and skyler. just wanted to see a little aftermath or something.
! A part of me (sentimentally) agreed with that when the show was over, but I think it was crucially important that when Walt sees them for the last time is when we see them for the last time. In fact, I think almost everything in the episode is directly from Walt's perspective with just a few exceptions.
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! A part of me (sentimentally) agreed with that when the show was over, but I think it was crucially important that when Walt sees them for the last time is when we see them for the last time. In fact, I think almost everything in the episode is directly from Walt's perspective with just a few exceptions.
! This. Besides, this is Walt's story and shying away from that in any way in the final episode would not have worked in my opinion
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! I like how the last time we see Marie, it was Walt still making a fool out of her.
! Fantastic finale, everything it should have been. It's kinda funny though how technically it's a happy ending? Walt's family got their money, all the bad guys are dead, Jesse was saved, Walt died but he was going to die of the cancer anyway, can't even call it bittersweet. Everybody got what they deserved. -
That was great. I'm depressed that I willl never see a new brba episode again.
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"Lydia oh Lydia, say have you met you Lydia? Oh Lydia the tattooed lady!" It's stuck in my head….
Enjoy~ :)
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That was amazing. It was obvious the climax of the series was Ozymandias, but these final two episodes were denouement down right.
! Redemption never felt so good.
! Do I think Walt is a saint? Hell no, but he did everything he could to right his wrongs. He even took a bullet for Jesse and set him free! (I can not tell you how happy I am that Jesse didn't die. He got his family the money. He got Hank and Gomie found. And he released Skylar. And, he basically ended the biggest Meth Empire (that, to be fair, he did not create) in the country.
! And boy oh boy did him getting to see Holly again make me cry.
! Now, here's where things get a little interesting.
! When Walt said he did it all for himself, I was ready to come here and eat some crow. Not a lot, because in the end, I feel I was right about this episode containing his redemption. However, some friends and I went out for drinks afterwards and one of them told me this. 'm not sure how much I agree with it, but the idea has been growing on me.
! Walt admitting he did it for himself, while partially true, proves how much he did it for his family. (What?) Here's how he sees it. If he really did it for himself, why bother going through all the trouble to make sure his family gets his money? More importantly, why bother telling Skylar? (Because he's vying for any form of redemption he can get, I said.) Because he understands what he's done to her with that telling that "lie" over and over again. By admitting to her that it was all for himself, it was the only catharsis he could give her. You could see it in her; a great weight suddenly lifted itself off of her. So, while partially true, he was told her to help her. And, while this whole time, he has been doing this for himself, he's also always been doing it for his family.
! Basically my buddie's argument came down to "why not both?"
! Like I said, I'm not sure how much I agree with it, so I'm still prepared toe at a little crow, (not too much, just a nice little side to go with my healthy course of redemption) but it is growing on me, and makes sense the more I think about it.This show was utterly amazing, and am so grateful I got to experience it.
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Now, as you all can imagine, Bryan Cranston, Aaron Paul, Vince Gilligan, and the rest are amazing. I got to shake all of their hands. Paul called me a bitch (I never even knew I wanted that, but I did!) They're all just super down to earth people. They don't act like they starred in the best show of all time. I've got pictures, but I'm in all of them. So I'll see about cropping myself out if possible.
Also, Chris Hardwick is a lot more genuine a person in real life. He is very nice.
Oh. and if Breaking Bad does not win all the awards at next year's Emmys I will riot.
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From Twitter:
! That hilarious moment when you realize Jesse drove right into the cops the second after he starting laughing.
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From Twitter:
! That hilarious moment when you realize Jesse drove right into the cops the second after he starting laughing.
This is actually what's going to happen in the future.
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! The sad part is that this is a real movie trailer… -
! To me the finale couldn't have been any more satisfactory. I felt really sorry for Walt tho, I even surprised myself.
! An interesting trivia: the indicator Walt was looking at was set to 87 (and it had Weiss = White written on it). In an earlier ep he threw out an entire batch because Gale set something to 80 when it should have been 90. -
! They finished strong, that's all I wanted.
! I dunno why I thought Walt would kill Gretchen and Elliot, but the beginning scene with the three of them was great. Walt admits "yeah, I got this money from making meth" and that his family hates him, but in the end he still wanted it to go towards it original purpose. Hiring Badger and Skinny Pete (where have you guys been?) as "assassins" was the icing on the cake.
! Walt and Skyler have one last conversation, a genuine goodbye…and again, Walt faces realty. He fully admitted he dove more and more into the meth underworld because it benefitted him, by stroking his ego and pride, by giving him, well, excitement. He holds Holly one last time and come nighttime....
! oh man, did everything build up so well. Walt takes out all of Jack's crew with his gizmo and Jesse chokes Todd to death. Finally! Jesse and Walt part ways, and I liked that despite.....EVERYTHING....Jesse didn't want to kill Walt. Both of them had seen enough bloodshed and violence. Best of all, Jesse is finally free, not just from making meth all day but from being controlled by everyone. He doesn't have much, but at least he has that. Kinda wished we saw more of him.
! And Walt....visits a meth lab one last time before accepting his death and falling to the ground. It's been a dark path, but he was always an entertaining character to me!
! sniff Now it's done.... -
! That was perfect. I mean it was almost predictable in that you knew by now the ricin was for Lydia and the gun was for the Nazi's but watching it all play out was great from start to finish.
! If I have one gripe it's that Walt goes against the wish of his family to give them his blood money by trying to sneak it in as a gift from someone else. I see why Walt does it but that money carries so much potential bad with it and Walt, still in classic Walt fashion, has to have everything as much on his terms as possible. So while it seems like a nice gesture it's actually once again all about Walt and less about his family who have made it clear that they want nothing to do with the profit he made. That still makes it feel too much like Walt got to win the end which I don't think he deserves but also I don't want to see Skylar and the kids miserable so I'm a bit torn.
! I liked Walt's admission that it was really all about him. I could see the argument that it was really just him being a nice guy to Skylar but that's insulting to Skylar, Walt jr. Holly and just reeks completely of Walt cheerleading. I think the only people who will see it like that are the people who still want to think of Walt on better terms than he actually is or was intended to be by this point. Because it was all about him especially from after he got all the money he initially needed. It was about him and his little hat and his chemistry and his ego and powertripping that just took so many unnecessary lives. Seriously, fuck Walter White.
! I thought I would be madder to see Jesse live since he's a character that I really don't like at this point but I was satisfied seeing him drive away. It was really nice to see Todd still in awe of Walt right before Jesse chokes him out.
! That lost shot. The song and the lyrics set the perfect tone and it was shot so well. It was just a satisfying moment. I can't think of a better way to end it and I can't think of any way that i'd rather see it end now that i have seen the ending. It was a good ride.http://www.avclub.com/articles/lets-discuss-the-rejected-alternate-endings-to-bre,103489/
That links to a story on the AV club that links to two other interviews where Cranston and Gilligan talk about the ending and alternate endings etc.
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! Jesse didn't want to kill Walt. Both of them had seen enough bloodshed and violence.
Best of all, Jesse is finally free, not just from making meth all day but from being controlled by everyone.! Those two points actually tie together quite well. In the Talking Bad afterwards, Vince says how Jesse not killing Walt was him going back to his previous statement on the payphone of "I'm never doing anything you tell me to ever again"(or something like that).
! Honestly, I thought that was great. The fact that Jesse had him say it, only to turn him down and finally get in his own "Fuck you."All in all, a nice finale. I'm really going to miss this show. sob
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For anyone who didn't realize it (or do now)
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! The Marty Robbins song "El Paso" that Walt pulled out of the glove box at the beginning basically described the whole episode: a man (Walt) who would do anything for the woman he loved ( Felina, hence the title of the episode, in the song/ Walt's legacy via blue meth) that he would destroy everyone and everything in his way to get to her. Eventually, he is basically driven away from her (Sheriffs in the song, the Neo Nazis/DEA for Walt) until he decides that he has to see her one last time to the point he is willing to die (and eventually does) in the arms of Felina/in the clean lab that led him to create the legend of HeisenbergNext to the Shield Finale, this has to be one of if not the greatest ending to a drama show I have ever seen
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Oh, btw, forgot to say that I literaly loved the scene with Walt and Skyler. That wall between them! And the window after Walt sees Flyn for the last time? From clear (the upper part) to dirty (the one below).
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@Nex:
That was amazing. It was obvious the climax of the series was Ozymandias, but these final two episodes were denouement down right.
! Redemption never felt so good.
! Do I think Walt is a saint? Hell no, but he did everything he could to right his wrongs. He even took a bullet for Jesse and set him free! (I can not tell you how happy I am that Jesse didn't die. He got his family the money. He got Hank and Gomie found. And he released Skylar. And, he basically ended the biggest Meth Empire (that, to be fair, he did not create) in the country.
! And boy oh boy did him getting to see Holly again make me cry.
! Now, here's where things get a little interesting.
! When Walt said he did it all for himself, I was ready to come here and eat some crow. Not a lot, because in the end, I feel I was right about this episode containing his redemption. However, some friends and I went out for drinks afterwards and one of them told me this. 'm not sure how much I agree with it, but the idea has been growing on me.
! Walt admitting he did it for himself, while partially true, proves how much he did it for his family. (What?) Here's how he sees it. If he really did it for himself, why bother going through all the trouble to make sure his family gets his money? More importantly, why bother telling Skylar? (Because he's vying for any form of redemption he can get, I said.) Because he understands what he's done to her with that telling that "lie" over and over again. By admitting to her that it was all for himself, it was the only catharsis he could give her. You could see it in her; a great weight suddenly lifted itself off of her. So, while partially true, he was told her to help her. And, while this whole time, he has been doing this for himself, he's also always been doing it for his family.
! Basically my buddie's argument came down to "why not both?"
! Like I said, I'm not sure how much I agree with it, so I'm still prepared toe at a little crow, (not too much, just a nice little side to go with my healthy course of redemption) but it is growing on me, and makes sense the more I think about it.This show was utterly amazing, and am so grateful I got to experience it.
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Now, as you all can imagine, Bryan Cranston, Aaron Paul, Vince Gilligan, and the rest are amazing. I got to shake all of their hands. Paul called me a bitch (I never even knew I wanted that, but I did!) They're all just super down to earth people. They don't act like they starred in the best show of all time. I've got pictures, but I'm in all of them. So I'll see about cropping myself out if possible.
Also, Chris Hardwick is a lot more genuine a person in real life. He is very nice.
Oh. and if Breaking Bad does not win all the awards at next year's Emmys I will riot.
That's awesome man where you at the cemetery in the talking bad audience?
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The kind of people who ask this…
FFS, just watch a random episode. If you like, stuck with it; it not, dont. -
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