Breaking Bad Discussion Thread

[RazorStar 4,025]

Unbelievably I was spoiled on this because of NFL fantasy live. Guess I'm not bothering to watch this anymore. *sigh*

[Vin+ 3,121]

 

 

http://www.rollingstone.com/movies/news/bryan-cranston-reveals-walter-whites-motives-20130917

 

here's part two of our conversation with Bryan Cranston. (In case you missed it, here's part one of our talk with Walter White.)

 

 

Walter White doesn't exactly transform from a meek schoolteacher to a drug lord. Even in the first season, he's excited by violence, and thrilled to be in positions of power. Given how fast the switch happens, was his violence pretty close to the surface?

When we first see Walt, he's depressed. Everyone in his past – college, parents, friends, teachers – said to him, "The sky's the limit for you." And perhaps his emotional makeup didn't allow him to reach for the stars, when he should have. If he'd decided to become a truck driver, everybody would say, "You're wasting your talent." But he became a teacher, which no one can criticize, because teaching is very noble.

 

When he received the information about his cancer, his depression made him more susceptible than if he was whole and feeling good about himself. My theory is, everyone is capable of being dangerous. We're all capable of inflicting harm to ourselves and to others.

 

So you don't demonize Walt the way some people have?

Well, I don't have the luxury of total objectivity. When you play a character, he's in your skin. You are him. When people ask what I think of Walt, I have to step out of my head and my body, and try to look back at me. Vince Gilligan can answer that, because he creates Walt. But for me, it's much more difficult.

 

Vince says he's lost all sympathy for Walt.

Fuck him. [laughs] That, to me, is like hearing Vince say he's lost all sympathy for me.

 

So you're neither perplexed nor disappointed that people are still hoping he'll get away with this?

No, I'm not. I love the ambiguity of it. I love that it's not clean. We see examples of extreme behavior all the time. We scratch our heads, but we don't now about someone else's mental stability, or educational background, or pressures. Look at that football player for the New England Patriots, Aaron Hernandez. He's got fame, a multi-million dollar contract, yet he murders this kid, allegedly. What is that about?

 

Or the kid who blew up the Boston marathon. He's 19, and his friends are going, "He loved to dance and party." We're accustomed to watching black and white characters on TV: the good guy, the bad guy, the asshole, the vixen. People aren't like that. We're a medley of all different kinds of things. Imagine Whitey Bulger – he has a couple people killed, and I think he absolutely would love to pick up his little baby boy, kiss him and play with him, and mean it!

 

Even Hitler loved Eva Braun.

I bet Hitler also liked cats or dogs or something. [Laughs] Right? Sometimes you see a despicable person being kind, or picking up litter. And I know that Walter White never lost his love and desire for his family, even if he used it to justify his behavior.

 

Walt has a weird way of showing his love, especially towards Jesse.

How so?

 

He persuades Jesse to end his relationship with Andrea, whom Jesse loves, and he poisons Brock, Andrea's son. He ruins Jesse's life!

Okay, hang on a second. [Laughs] Jesse is already a drug dealer, he's just a bad one, an inefficient one. So I didn't corrupt him there. Then the first killings. How did they come about? Jesse brought Krazy-Eight and Emilio into the picture. And they were going to kill us. So how is that Walt's issue about introducing death or destruction?

 

Walt also stands by while Jesse's next girlfriend Jane chokes to death.

Hmm. Certainly some conflict there. But isn't it true that she got Jesse hooked on heroin? What happens to people who are hooked on heroin? They usually die, at some point. Now, that's certainly a justification, I'll grant you that. But it's like we were talking before. There is no clean version of this.

 

No one in the show is innocent, except Walt Jr.

And Holly! [Laughs]

 

Did you keep any souvenirs or mementos from the show?

I've got the hat. I've got Heisenberg.

 

Why does Walt leave his copy of Leaves of Grass sitting on his toilet? Is there a part of him that wants to get caught, so the world will know he's the great drug dealer Heisenberg?

When we meet Walt, he is very methodical. In chemistry, there's an answer for everything. Everything's logic, everything's mapped out. You can follow it. And his whole emotional core was calloused over by the depression.

 

When he gets deeply involved in his new endeavor, his core of emotions blew up. He's expressing accomplishment, pride, joy. People respect his work, and he has a sense of power. And he has the negative side: greed, avarice, ego, all those things that make up a full person.

 

He wasn't accustomed to dealing with his emotions, so it was messy. That's where the impulse to kill Mike came from. He's become an impulsive man. The Walt of old, the methodical guy, would've made sure that book was well-hidden or destroyed. But he slipped up. When you're emotional, you're less methodical.

 

When you talk about Walt being depressed, it suggests that he might still be teaching high school if he'd started talking Wellbutrin.

It would be a short series!

 

 

So does Walt deserve to live?

Does anybody? Was it fair that he got lung cancer, as a non-smoker? Does he deserve terminal lung cancer? You can open up a whole set of questions like that. What's fair?

[Bucman 891]

Disappointing episode. Next Sunday is gonna be a sad day.

[Guest Phailadelphia]

I think that was a good way to start the wind down. I thought I had a decent idea of what might transpire next week but the last 5 minutes of the episode threw that prediction to the curb real quick. I'm done with predicting what will happen in this show. It's impossible.

[Bucman 891]

My theory on whats going to happen.
The ricin is for Lydia. Walter is going to kill the entire Nazi crew and free Jesse. Jesse and Walter makeup, as Walter agrees to confess to everything (including the locations of Hank and Agent Gomez) to save Jesse and his wife. Jesse in return agrees to make sure his family is taken care of. Walter dies in prison shortly after.

[Vin+ 3,121]

I've been wrong about everything else in this show, so here's another prediction:

 

 

No one gets an even remotely happy ending.

[RazorStar 4,025]

Except for Saul Goodman.

[Vin+ 3,121]

With Saul getting "cleaned" this would be the perfect place to begin "Better Call Saul", but nooooooo, it's gotta be a prequel.

 

 

Edited September 23, 2013 by Vin

[Barracuda 629]

Watching Saul manage a Cinnabon in Omaha would be fun.

[56AceInDaPlace 110]

Damn Jesse takes the most abuse out of everyone in this show. Walt is going to kill Jack and his gang. As for Jesse, im trying to figure out if he will kill Walt or help him. Andrea and Jane both dying are a cause to Walt. Walt is going to finish business for sure but how everything will end is a fucking guess lol.

[Favre4Ever+ 4,476]

With Saul getting "cleaned" this would be the perfect place to begin "Better Call Saul", but nooooooo, it's gotta be a prequel.

 

 

 

I said the same thing while watching it... He was very adamant when talking about his own disappearance. We've seen a lot of characters exit stage right the last couple of episodes. Everyone getting their swan song. Would have been a great spot to pick up, IMO. The show will probably bomb.

[Barracuda 629]

The reason it won't be happening is because Walt is going to go all Jimmy Burke on us. Saul will be found in the back of a cinnabon freezer to the tune of Layla.

[SteVo+ 3,702]

https://twitter.com/yaboybillnye/status/381973491752263680

Edited September 23, 2013 by SteVo

[Vin+ 3,121]

[SteVo+ 3,702]

I have no idea what the fuck's going to happen Sunday. I really don't.

[Vin+ 3,121]

I've got this feeling that Marie's going to kill herself. Now, given my prediction history, it's not gonna happen, but I've still got the feeling.

Edited September 24, 2013 by Vin

[Favre4Ever+ 4,476]

I don't think it's that bad.. She doesn't have much, if anything, to live for anymore.

[Vin+ 3,121]

 

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/breaking-bads-vince-gilligans-detective-636593

 

Hot off of his big Emmy win, Vince Gilligan has landed his next project.

An early drama spec from the Breaking Bad creator has been granted a series production order for the 2014-15 season. The project, which was first developed at CBS in 2002, centers on two detectives with very different world views who are teamed up. Together, they must answer the question: Are cynicism, guile and deception enough to clean up the semi-mean streets of Battle Creek, Michigan, in the face of a complete lack of resources, or is the exact opposite true -- it takes naïveté, trust and a boatload of resources?

 

Gilligan has expressed interest in directing the effort, which is set up at Sony Pictures TV and CBS TV Studios, assuming his schedule will allow it. House creator David Shore, who is under a rich overall deal at Sony, is attached to join Gilligan as a writer and executive producer as well as serve as Battle Creek's showrunner. Shore is taking a pass at updating the pilot script, which is more than a decade old. Bad executive producer Mark Johnson, who has been a supporter of the Gilligan spec, also is on board as an EP. Multiple sources close to the project say CBS has made a 13-episode commitment, a commentary on the strength of the project as well as its powerhouse auspices.

 

CBS had passed on the Sony project a decade or so earlier, and it never moved forward there or elsewhere. Gilligan had better fortune with Bad, which was initially developed at FX. John Landgraf, now CEO of the network, graciously agreed to release the exceedingly dark drama after FX decided not to move forward with it years ago. Landgraf and his executives often refer to Bad, which is going out with record ratings, as the "one that got away."

 

PHOTOS: 'Breaking Bad': 20 Most Badass Quotes

 

The Battle Creek news comes just three days after Gilligan took home the best drama series Emmy for Breaking Bad, which wraps its critically lauded series run this Sunday. Earlier this month, Gilligan and fellow Bad writer Peter Gould's Sony-produced spinoff, tentatively titled Better Call Saul, moved forward at AMC. The latter centers on the character of Saul Goodman and is billed as a prequel. It is not yet clear what Gilligan's exact involvement in either small screen project will be, particularly considering he is in hot pursuit as a feature film director.

 

For Shore, a veteran showrunner whose credits include The Practice, Law & Order and Family Law, this marks his first series since House ended its lengthy Fox run in 2012. At that time, he moved from NBCUniversal, his home of eight years, to Sony, where he inked a three-year overall deal. The pact was said to be in the eight-figure range, fitting for a writer/creator whose Hugh Laurie starrer became one of the biggest hits not only at Fox but also around the world.

 

Gilligan and Shore are both repped by ICM Partners, with The Shuman Company managing Shore.

[BUCK3Y3 44]

Well I watched the show early on and I lost interest. However I have picked it up the last couple days and watched from season 2 up to season 5 episode 9. I'm entertained, but the one thing that has bugged me throughout is the terrible police work in this show. It's bad. So many times Walt should have been busted. A half assed cop would've ended this show in season 2. I'm still going to watch it but I feel I already got the ending pegged.

[BJORN 679]

Can't say I've ever been this excited for a series finale.

[BUCK3Y3 44]

A lot of people hate Walt but I must admit I kind of feel for the guy. The only thing that gets me about Walt is how irrational he became. I think it has a lot to do with the company he and his friends started. Thats the source of his darkness. He feels stiffled by his life and his meth is a way to display his genius. I have no idea how this is going to end. I'm sure no matter how it end I'll be dissapointed as I most always am. The more I think about the possible endings the more confused I get.

[BUCK3Y3 44]

The one thing I'm sure will happen is Jesse killing Todd.

[blotsfan 2,112]

Well I watched the show early on and I lost interest. However I have picked it up the last couple days and watched from season 2 up to season 5 episode 9. I'm entertained, but the one thing that has bugged me throughout is the terrible police work in this show. It's bad. So many times Walt should have been busted. A half assed cop would've ended this show in season 2. I'm still going to watch it but I feel I already got the ending pegged.

 

I think the reason is that they had no reason to suspect Walt of being a criminal.

 

And I'd say that yeah, his desire to make up for leaving the company drives him a lot. But I really can't feel for him anymore. He's gone beyond just trying to provide for his family into being a monster.

[BUCK3Y3 44]

People toss this "monster" word around alot. I ain't seeing it. Walt killed drug dealers and poisoined a kid which was fucked up. By far the most fucked up thing he did. I don't think that alone makes him a monster.

Edited September 28, 2013 by BUCK3Y3

[Guest Phailadelphia]

Poisoning an innocent kid doesn't make him a monster? What even. Don't forget he also ordered the Nazis to kill 10 of Mike's men that he thought could be snitches. And he killed Mike. He was responsible for the plan to kill Gale. And Gus. If he's not a monster, what is he?

 

I can see Walt being deserving of some sympathy--to an extent--in season one. After that the dude gets in the empire business and has basically gone full Scarface.

 

I think Walt's dark side has always been there but dormant. We see pretty quickly as soon as season 1 that he gets a thrill out of illegal activity (ie. having sex with Skylar in the SUV of the school parking lot following the school board meeting, forcing himself on Skylar in the kitchen) before he's even done anything seriously illegal.

 

But that's just my take! Can't wait for Sunday.