5th Season of Breaking Bad will be the last

[Shrinweck]

Agreed - the only point

Spoiler: show

that I see that doesn't bring the quality of the show down is that his survival means that Skylar doesn't have to be overly burdened with the death of someone she cares about being her fault and that this way they can move on without her being portrayed as a complete psycho. Gonna bet on him being alive having some kind of further meaning by the last episode, though.

[Zeus]

Agreed - the only point

Spoiler: show

that I see that doesn't bring the quality of the show down is that his survival means that Skylar doesn't have to be overly burdened with the death of someone she cares about being her fault and that this way they can move on without her being portrayed as a complete psycho. Gonna bet on him being alive having some kind of further meaning by the last episode, though.

Spoiler: show

I have been praying for Skylar to somehow be written out or die since Season 2. God, let that be why Walt is on the run.....

[Zeus]

That's it. Skylar needs to die a brutal, horrible death

[Anarky]

That's it. Skylar needs to die a brutal, horrible death

It can't come soon enough. I'm sad the Pontiac Aztec didn't have a real send off.

In random news, turns out the girlfriend is friends with someone who works on the show. I got a souvenir.

[Shrinweck]

Wow that's sweet.

Also echoing the sentiment about Skylar especially after the latest episode. Wasn't very impressed with the episode 95% dedicated to material wealth and Skylar. Blech. I never thought Marie would end up being the more likeable sister.

[Zeus]

Yeah, it is kinda amazing Marie has turned out to be the better character

Anarky, that's awesome!

[Shrinweck]

Wow, uh, shit that was quite an ending.

[Anarky]

Wow, uh, shit that was quite an ending.

Reddit has had some fun with it:

Spoiler: show

When Walter Jr is over at Hank's house, Hank asks him if he wants to watch 'Heat', a movie where a heist goes awry because the robbers bring a new guy on board who they're not completely sure of.

Cut to the end of the episode, and Todd kills the kid on the bike, taking on the role of the new guy who's credentials no one checked.

[Shrinweck]

Nice, I probably wouldn't have noticed that even if I'd watched Heat right before the episode heh

[Zeus]

LAME ending.....and too much Skylar (ie. more than 0)

[Flip]

Yeah she sucks, i really thought this season would be the two of them building the empire, but all she does is make things more difficult.

[Blotus]

I know it's been said here before in regards to either movies or TV shows, but Zeus, you just have the most confoundingly bad taste.

[Zeus]

I know it's been said here before in regards to either movies or TV shows, but Zeus, you just have the most confoundingly bad taste.

Yeah, I have this odd requirement of real instead of fake depth. Just hard to wrap your head around, I understand. And with respect to Breaking Bad, I know more people who stopped watching it or were interested but never bothered because of what other people (ie. not me) told them than who actually follow the show. That's never a good sign.

I really, really hope that it doesn't go the way I think it will now, leading back to the beginning of ep 1 of season 5. That would be a really lame way of making a "crisis" to put Walt in that position

[Zeus]

Yeah she sucks, i really thought this season would be the two of them building the empire, but all she does is make things more difficult.

She really is the worst possible type of female character in a show like this. Like I said before, if freakin' Marie turned out to be a better character than her, you know they completely fucked up

[Shrinweck]

You still maintaining that Dexter is enjoyable while saying this show is lame basically proves how even great television is subjective.

[Zeus]

You still maintaining that Dexter is enjoyable while saying this show is lame basically proves how even great television is subjective.

This show is OK (I am going to finish it, after all) but has serious, serious deficiencies due mainly to the people who write/take care of the show (Sklyar is only half of the problems). More than anything it's amazingly disappointing because it could be SOO much better. It's really too bad it wasn't on HBO, it may have been one of the best shows of the last decade if it was

The same can be said about The Shield. First 4 years were excellent. But the season 4 finale they made a fatal error and could never recover from it. They did OK but it really was a huge mistake

[Shrinweck]

Agreed about the Shield.. but the last episode of the entire series ended flawlessly

[Zeus]

Agreed about the Shield.. but the last episode of the entire series ended flawlessly

And I've said it a few times, they did about as good a job as they could after how season 4 ended. And the last ep was pretty cool, probably the best they coulda done considering. But they handicapped themselves severely almost forcing themselves to go down a specific path to get to that particular ending. Imagine the freedom they woulda had otherwise and still ended up in the same place? That woulda ruled.

Ultimately, it's still a good show and I still recommend it, just not as strongly as other shows like Six Feet or The Wire. It's not like it limped to its end like Sopranos did. Those last two seasons were really disappointing considering how amazing the first 5 were (there was 7 seasons, not 2 10-ep parts of season 6).

Speaking of The Wire, that was a show that seemed to get stronger. I was surprised at how good it was in the last couple of seasons. Didn't see a lot of that coming and it was all implemented really well. Certainly up there as one of my favs of all time.

And if I look back at all the shows I've watched on AMC, every one has been disappointing. Breaking Bad I've beaten to death, no need to say more. Rubicon was a cool idea that was like watching a soccer game: took forever for even the smallest thing to happen. I think that's why it died after one season, nothing freakin' happened even though a lot was promised. And is there anyone who wasn't at least a little disappointed with the second season of Walking Dead? I actually didn't mind them stretching the farm like they did and I liked a lot of what they were trying to do. I still like the show and will watch it as soon as it comes back but the second season just felt, I dunno, good instead of great? I really can't put my finger on much specifically (ultimately didn't like how they handled Shane, though) but it was a bit of a letdown after the fantastic first season. I still have faith in the writers and producers, I think they will regain focus and push the show more to its potential in season 3. I'm just fearing what happened in the other two shows I've seen on the channel will happen again....

[Zeus]

Anyone else thought the Skylar-quotient in the last ep was a bit high? What about where they're goin' now, you think it's good?

[Shrinweck]

I like where it's going but the episode had a lack of substance.

[Zeus]

I like where it's going but the episode had a lack of substance.

We'll see how they deal with it in the next couple of eps. Hopefully it's good

[Flip]

Interesting angle..

Spoiler: show

they really left us hanging at the end of the last episode! Walt is full crazy at this point, and i'll admit that i totally forgot about the Gray Matter company and his being screwed out of it. They only brought that up in season 1.

[Anarky]

Interesting angle..

Spoiler: show

they really left us hanging at the end of the last episode! Walt is full crazy at this point, and i'll admit that i totally forgot about the Gray Matter company and his being screwed out of it. They only brought that up in season 1.

Spoiler: show

I was super happy to have that finally come up again. We knew he got screwed, but not to what degree. We kind of had an idea, but him talking about how he looks at the stock weekly and selling out his children's birthright.

[Flip]

Interesting angle..

Spoiler: show

they really left us hanging at the end of the last episode! Walt is full crazy at this point, and i'll admit that i totally forgot about the Gray Matter company and his being screwed out of it. They only brought that up in season 1.

Spoiler: show

I was super happy to have that finally come up again. We knew he got screwed, but not to what degree. We kind of had an idea, but him talking about how he looks at the stock weekly and selling out his children's birthright.

Spoiler: show

I know, it actually all makes more sense now. A motive like that can drive a guy to do anything, as we are seeing. I'm still kind of bummed that everyone is distancing themselves from Walt, though. He has no partners in crime anymore to build this 'empire' he wants. Skyler is a beotch, Jesse and Mike will be out... who does he take on? The new psycho kid Todd? Walt really could run this drug world if he didnt have pansies in his inner circle, or if he had people who truly wanted to do this no matter what.

[Flip]

I'm not convinced.. (ending predictions)

Spoiler: show

That i see a happy ending in this show. Also, i'm not sure i see an ending that is leaning one way or the other! I guess if i had to pick right now, i would predict the show ending with a Walter death. It has to, because everyone going their merry way while Walt runs his new empire is unrealistic with Skyler and Jesse not on board. And the chances of them suddenly changing their minds is also unlikely.

Will the new cartel kill Walter? Will Skyler? Hank finds everything out, finally? What about crazy Todd, maybe he becomes unhinged and power hungry? If it comes down to the cancer that would be lame, but maybe Walt runs the operation for a little bit, stockpiles tons of cash, gets killed by his cancer, and then leaves all the money to his family. Therefore, now everyone is rich and can be happy, but Walt is out of the picture but still leaves as a legend in the meth industry.

[Shrinweck]

Too early to say but I'm putting money down on Hank

Spoiler: show

comitting suicide

after that little movie snippet that Mike was watching during the search.

[Zeus]

Holy fuck that was a lame ending.....

Spoiler: show

I'm so fucking sick and tired of the "death" used in such a lazy manner. They could easily have kept Mike around....or at least the fear of Mike coming back. Eliminate him and you eliminate another possibility, limiting your alternatives. You could have the three of them going their separate ways yet somehow coming around to affect each other (anyone think Jesse won't try cookin' again; maybe go directly to the distributors?). At the very least, they coulda done something with it. Now, they eliminate 33% of it for no real reason. I wanted to see the DEA catch Mike, see what happens there.

Gus dying is one thing, that actually worked and was aight, gave me hope they may salvage another decent season. Being proven wrong so far (although two 8-ep parts is really 2 seasons, not 1). Thankfully there's only a total of 9 eps left

[Shrinweck]

Ha ha

[Flip]

Ha ha

Is that laugh in relation to the season ender?

Spoiler: show

Well, it took long enough, but Hank is finally on the case! The next mini-season should be pretty good, i suppose shit had to hit the fan eventually.

Courtesy on reddit:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qHpUs1edbzA

[Shrinweck]

That was my first thought after the episode ended, yeah.

[Flip]

Some guy on reddit hypothesized this about a month ago:
http://i.imgur.com/inHD9.jpg

http://www.reddit.com/r/breakingbad/com ... _spoilers/

I think it was good stuff. Just wish they kept the season going instead of making us wait 10 months for only 8 more episodes.

[Zeus]

On the season ender.....

Spoiler: show

Hank getting on the case was an inevitability. It's something that is not only expected, you kinda want it. It can't just be ALL about the drug world and him as the brother-in-law who they get along with (and who he helped follow Fring around) adds to it.

Here's my dilemma: that's all there really is right now. Hank being involved should be PART of it, not ALL of it. Walt, in a span of what, 8 minutes, was "out"? Mike's gone (I hated that big time, it was silly), his "guys" are gone...basically, Lydia and (if they really wanna lame it up) Jesse are the only "loose ends" left. But he paid off Jesse so, presumably, he's no longer a problem. And the Lydia-overseas angle was actually a neat idea that they killed in less than half an ep. Unless, of course, the guys he was making stuff for come and find him and force him back to work, which would be silly, especially since we're left to assume he sold the 500+ gallons of the soup that was left to them (they didn't even touch on that running out which coulda been a really good angle). I just felt that they tied up far too much and didn't leave much stuff that's been building for 5 seasons for the end of the show.

If all we have left is Hank piecing together and eventually chasing Walt, it's gonna be a lame 6th season. The 5th season showed some promise, which was nice after the 3rd and 4th, but was ultimately disappointing. Unfortunately, I don't have faith in Gilligan and his guys anymore....

[Shrinweck]

Spoiler: show

Taking Walt at his word to Skylar about being 'out' is probably a mistake. Walter has about as much history being honest to her as he does with covering his bases.

There was nothing else in the episode to support this. Also it wasn't about paying

Spoiler: show

Jesse off, which isn't even something he would need to do, it was about throwing his success in his face. One of Hanks first stops is going to be Jesse once he starts putting things together and him being a wuss or having that money is going to be one of the threads Hank starts pulling. Hopefully Jesse is smart enough to immediately give the money to Saul or something.

I need more series with lawyers who have never been inside a courtroom.

[Flip]

On the season ender.....

Spoiler: show

Youre crazy, 8 episodes is the perfect amount of time for the upcoming cat and mouse game that the ENTIRE SERIES has been building up to ever since season one episode one when we found out Walt has a brother-in-law who works at the DEA. There doesnt need to be any other side character distraction, but of course there probably still will be with Lydia, although i predict she is the one to flip to save her own ass... yet again. For some reason, that woman survives, i guess its good to be the distributor.

[Zeus]

On the season ender.....

Spoiler: show

Youre crazy, 8 episodes is the perfect amount of time for the upcoming cat and mouse game that the ENTIRE SERIES has been building up to ever since season one episode one when we found out Walt has a brother-in-law who works at the DEA. There doesnt need to be any other side character distraction, but of course there probably still will be with Lydia, although i predict she is the one to flip to save her own ass... yet again. For some reason, that woman survives, i guess its good to be the distributor.

Spoiler: show

No, man. It woulda been SO much better to have people comin' at him from 4 or 5 different angles after his "SAY MY NAME" shit he pulled on the other drug lord. Imagine Mike, the other drug Lord, and maybe even Jesse, somehow, comin' after him? Hank would certainly be one of those principles but as the only one? It just makes you wish there was more.

And there may yet be. I'm just sad they closed off - or attempted to close off - so many possibilities in the 5th season

[Zeus]

Spoiler: show

Taking Walt at his word to Skylar about being 'out' is probably a mistake. Walter has about as much history being honest to her as he does with covering his bases.

There was nothing else in the episode to support this. Also it wasn't about paying

Spoiler: show

Jesse off, which isn't even something he would need to do, it was about throwing his success in his face. One of Hanks first stops is going to be Jesse once he starts putting things together and him being a wuss or having that money is going to be one of the threads Hank starts pulling. Hopefully Jesse is smart enough to immediately give the money to Saul or something.

I need more series with lawyers who have never been inside a courtroom.

Spoiler: show

Honestly? The way that ep ended, it's kinda lame to have it as just another Walt trick while he's still tryin' to build his empire. They're certainly playing it much more like a temporary air of superiority, thinking he was above everyone else, after Skylar showed him the mound. That's why he gave Jesse his money and got out, at least that's what EVERYTHING alluded to (EDIT: don't forget, at the end there, a good chunk of time passed to build up that mound).

Clearly Hank going after Jesse and that pressure is gonna come into play. But, right now, it's ALL going to be through Hank....after the ep or two before he actually makes a connection to Walt somehow and it's not just a "hunch". Don't think that won't happen, that he won't need to "prove" - at least to himself - his hunch is true.

I just think they had an opportunity for it to be so much more and they blew it

[Flip]

Spoiler: show

No, man. It woulda been SO much better to have people comin' at him from 4 or 5 different angles after his "SAY MY NAME" shit he pulled on the other drug lord. Imagine Mike, the other drug Lord, and maybe even Jesse, somehow, comin' after him? Hank would certainly be one of those principles but as the only one? It just makes you wish there was more.

And there may yet be. I'm just sad they closed off - or attempted to close off - so many possibilities in the 5th season

Spoiler: show

Then this is where we disagree. I'm ready for the showdown, man to man, for the sake of the whole family. It had to come down to this and now we are finally at it. Four or five angles would be too chaotic, we have already seen Walt duck the DEA, kill Fring, control Jesse, dodge death, and start a new empire... ALL AT THE SAME TIME! That was the chaos there! Now, its time for a one on one slug fest with Hank. A whole 12 episode season would be too long, 4 episodes would seem rushed... 8 episode mini-season is juuuuuuust right.

[Zeus]

Spoiler: show

No, man. It woulda been SO much better to have people comin' at him from 4 or 5 different angles after his "SAY MY NAME" shit he pulled on the other drug lord. Imagine Mike, the other drug Lord, and maybe even Jesse, somehow, comin' after him? Hank would certainly be one of those principles but as the only one? It just makes you wish there was more.

And there may yet be. I'm just sad they closed off - or attempted to close off - so many possibilities in the 5th season

Spoiler: show

Then this is where we disagree. I'm ready for the showdown, man to man, for the sake of the whole family. It had to come down to this and now we are finally at it. Four or five angles would be too chaotic, we have already seen Walt duck the DEA, kill Fring, control Jesse, dodge death, and start a new empire... ALL AT THE SAME TIME! That was the chaos there! Now, its time for a one on one slug fest with Hank. A whole 12 episode season would be too long, 4 episodes would seem rushed... 8 episode mini-season is juuuuuuust right.

Having all those angles is how The Shield worked and it did it well. They did an excellent job even after hamstringing themselves after Season 4

You clearly have a ton more faith in Gilligan and his guys than I do. I hope you're right, I'd LOVE to be surprised for Season 6

[kali o.]

Anything else aside, the latest season was a major improvement over the rest.

Setting an "end date" on series obviously improves the quality...they need to stop milking franchises and just tell their story (*cough*Walking Dead*cough*).

[Anarky]

Anything else aside, the latest season was a major improvement over the rest.

Setting an "end date" on series obviously improves the quality...they need to stop milking franchises and just tell their story (*cough*Walking Dead*cough*).

They had no reason to milk their story, they have plenty of stuff to work from in the comics.

[Shrinweck]

Yeah but they can't have a battle to see if it can catch up or pine on the comic actually finishing decently some day. They should say that production is going to only be feasible for half a dozen or so seasons and plan for the story to end accordingly. As it is there's like a 100% chance it's going to end before anything gets tied up or it will go on way too long and just be so shitty that no one will care how it ties up.

Also they need to stop making the best, most interesting characters that survive in the comics die/be annoying cunts.

[Zeus]

Anything else aside, the latest season was a major improvement over the rest.

Setting an "end date" on series obviously improves the quality...they need to stop milking franchises and just tell their story (*cough*Walking Dead*cough*).

That's generally a boon to any TV show, setting an end date. It give them focus rather than them trying to figure out how to keep it going.

And I will agree, Season 5 is an improvement over 3 and 4. But it's still a disappointing AMC show because it should be much better than it is. Let's see how well they do with Season 6