5th Season of Breaking Bad will be the last

[Zeus]

Good thing. The show has steadily decreased in quality (directly correlated with the increased focus on the family) and the 4th season so far has been pretty meh.

http://www.torontosun.com/2011/08/15/br ... ext-season

[Anarky]

I thought the season has been good so far. Last night was enjoyable and some pieces are coming together nicely.

[Shrinweck]

Yes, I especially like the parallels being drawn between Gus and Walt, like

Spoiler: show

the business ownership

. I can't imagine how they'll want to end this but I'm glad they have one in mind. I'm certainly liking the fourth season and if you didn't like the first episode and the latest then I don't understand why you're still watching :P

Still doesn't have the magic of the first season, though, you're right. I still think the show needs more Walt outsmarting people with chemistry.

[Zeus]

The show has been AMC-d to death. It's 95% about the family or over-dramatic BS, 5% about actual plot. Lots of promise but very sloppy execution. I fucking don't care about Skylar's 28 days a month of PMS or Hank's fucking thieving wife or his rock collection (sorry, minerals), that shit should take up a MAX of 7-8 minutes a show. Instead, the 7-8 minutes is all we get of actual plot movement.

I'm really watching it for 2 reasons:

1) Habit / Sense of finality - I've already seen all of it up to this point, might as well finish it
2) Summer TV Boredom - other than Rescue Me, there ain't nothin' to watch during the summer. I'm almost done tearing through The Wire (half way through Season 5), I need something else to watch. If this were on in October/November when Boardwalk Empire, Dexter, hockey, and football are all on, I would have probably forgotten about it.

[Shrinweck]

So the only way I see Walt getting out of the mess he's in now is straight up

Spoiler: show

murdering Jesse. Nothing else really seems feasible right now. Gus' death would get him out of it, too, and with Mike out of the picture it's possible since Gus underestimates the hell out of Walt (although to be fair Walt has been pretty stupid this season). I don't see Hank getting out of this hit without some serious help from Walt. My out of left field guess for the finale is that if Hank survives, him and Walt storm the laundry and confront Gus and Jesse. But that's just stupid. Hank and Gus die and Walt becomes Meth King?

[Flip]

Oh my

Spoiler: show

I just watched the latest episode tonight. I have no idea how this season and the subsequent last season will end, but i can guess. I have to believe that even though this is a serious and dark, that they still let the White family off the hook completely by the end. In this season, i think Hank will survive the hit just by the added agency warning. That will be the big climax, but next season we will see Jesse turn on Gus and end him with the poison cig that he still is carrying. Maybe Jesse will then be kingpin while Walt and family are let off scott free, with Hank somehow left with a satisfactory Gus death and still not knowing that Walt and co is involved. That essentially leaves no one with money, but the Whites with a legit carwash, Hank back on the force, and Jesse convienently running the meth?.... No, somehow he needs to get back with the latino chick and live happy, too, so that will works its way in there somehow.

I should be a TV writer, this is def how its ending.

[Shrinweck]

The poison

Spoiler: show

won't work at this point, is my guess, since everything is happening way too quickly and the poison takes days to finish off the target.. I feel like Gus basically has to die this season or Walt is done for. Otherwise, Jesse has to die because Gus doesn't need Walt for anything any more and Walt is clearly still defying him. The threat of Jesse not cooking for him doesn't compare with what Walt knows. I'm hoping we see a return of Walt's intelligence since he has been pretty stupid this season. With Mike in Mexico healing from his gunshot wound, they actually have a chance of getting to Gus.

[Flip]

I've seen too many regular crappy series (which i do not consider this series to be, but they will cop out)...

Spoiler: show

That poison cig is playing its way into the story somehow, you watch. I also think Gus, Hank, Walt, Mike, Jesse, and everyone does make it into the final season next year... with ONLY Gus dying by the end of the series. They spent the last few episodes showing Gus as more than just a genius dealer/businessman, but a criminal, too. The masses wont cry when Gus dies.

This isnt Game of Thrones it will have a happy ending, even though i hope upon hope, like you, that the ending will instead blow my mind and be awesome!

[Shrinweck]

If anything I've been seeing them drawing lines equating

Spoiler: show

Don Ilario, Gus, and Walt and how their destinies are all the same with Ilario rising to power, and now Gus has risen to power by killing the Don. Now Walt kills Gus. If everyone survives this season then there better be some serious writing that I don't see coming. Walt breaking at the end of this episode is probably going to result in some serious shit going down.

[Zeus]

Amateurs write this freakin' show, it's annoying the shit out of me

[Shrinweck]

That episode was amazing. It's a treat having a show not be just another procedural one shot show. It was great seeing Walt

Spoiler: show

do something with chemistry for once since that was the original surprise factor/gimmick in the show. After the events of this episode I really have no idea how the finale is going to go. It is good to see Jesse and Walt not beating the shit out of each other any more, though. Gus still needs to die. The status quo for another season would be boring as shit. They left it ambiguous as to who could have poisoned the kid. Walt snapped so he's capable and Saul's guy (and Saul is with Walt) searched Jesse. Tyrus also was fully capable to taking the poison. I feel like Gus knowing he had the poison is still a long shot... Gonna have to lean towards Walt.

[Flip]

Def a good ep, cant wait for the finale.

Spoiler: show

You still think it was Walt? I was wrong about the cig, but i still think Gus is the main bad guy. He poisoned the kid, or no one did, and Brock found it himself or is ailing from something completely different. That would make this tension no ones fault, but it was a badly needed tension for Walt and Jesse to get back on the same page. I still predict they will conspire and kill Gus sometime next season. Gus is a great actor and character, so the big bang at the end of this season might turn out to be related to Hank and his investigations...

[Shrinweck]

Spoiler: show

Brock didn't take the cigarette because Jesse had it that morning. Furthermore, the poison was in a glass capsule. You can't smoke glass. Actual glass. Not meth. I digress. In order to poison himself, Brock would have had to unscrew the cap and swallow the contents.

The DEA aren't getting anywhere. Unless Walt gives them something, they aren't going to figure anything out on their own. I don't understand what you're saying with the Gus being the main bad guy. They're all bad people. They're making drugs. They all deserve federal prison at the very least. Gus is the head honcho, but Walt laughing in his crawlspace is reminiscent of a man broken. It isn't a far leap that he would kill a kid to protect his family (in fact, I think the bigger leap is Saul willing to order his henchman to kill a kid). Even if Hank's investigations pan out, then Gus is out of the picture - he either gets arrested or is forced to leave the country. At best, the only way to keep him around in this scenario is for him to lead the Mexico side of things while Walt takes control of the stuff in the United States. But that's just silly.

Each season seems to end with Walt hitting a new low to protect himself.

[Flip]

Spoiler: show

I'm not convinced Jesse even really knows what he did with that cig. Regardless, I like your crazy theory that Gus is still somehow pulling the strings, but I think we are being shown everything he knows. If he has been working silently in the background than that is pretty awesome, but I dont give the show that much credit just yet. Its a great series, but I still think (with my rose colored glasses) that the end result will be Gus & family running the carwash broke (left where they started), Jesse with his GF and Brock all happy, Hank and wife happy... with Hank nailing Gus in the biggest bust ever and Hank getting a sweet promotion to a non-front-line agent job, and Gus getting killed and his operation wiped out. All with Hank still not knowing Gus is Heisenburg.

I wish it wouldnt end up this way, I love a fat wrench thrown in and the odd story finales, but I'm getting the feeling that this writing staff is heading towards the fairy tale ending.

[Anarky]

Spoiler: show

I'm not convinced Jesse even really knows what he did with that cig. Regardless, I like your crazy theory that Gus is still somehow pulling the strings, but I think we are being shown everything he knows. If he has been working silently in the background than that is pretty awesome, but I dont give the show that much credit just yet. Its a great series, but I still think (with my rose colored glasses) that the end result will be Gus & family running the carwash broke (left where they started), Jesse with his GF and Brock all happy, Hank and wife happy... with Hank nailing Gus in the biggest bust ever and Hank getting a sweet promotion to a non-front-line agent job, and Gus getting killed and his operation wiped out. All with Hank still not knowing Gus is Heisenburg.

I wish it wouldnt end up this way, I love a fat wrench thrown in and the odd story finales, but I'm getting the feeling that this writing staff is heading towards the fairy tale ending.

You confused Walter with Gus.

[Shrinweck]

I'm really glad Gus Jr. finally got a car from Gus and I hope he really enjoys it even though it's a shitty PT Cruiser or whatever. Considering Gus has a Pontiac Aztek, the White family doesn't exactly have a history of wise car purchases.

It's certainly going to be interesting seeing Gus trying to get through the accidental murder of Gus after the whole IRS loan fiasco.

[Flip]

lol, fuck you both.

[Shrinweck]

Boomshakalaka I win :P

Interesting turn with the poison, though

Edit: On another note, there is a pretty big surprise by a ton of people that Walt actually

Spoiler: show

poisoned the kid. You have to remember that Walt is not a good person. He got into Meth for a decent enough reason but he's still making meth. Also the title of that episode was Face Off... lol. I'll admit for a second I thought Gus (after he walked out) was going to get out of the explosion alive but severely crippled some how. Good stuff - can't wait to see what Mike has to say about this shit when he gets back from Mexico. With the Cartel gone and Gus dead there's going to be some pretty entertaining stuff opening next season.

[Flip]

Spoiler: show

Wow, im really really shocked they went there. Walt poisoning the kid is a pretty outrageous plan, and one that i guess he wanted to end with the car bomb... but, that never happened and then it was off to plan B. It is fitting for the old cartel dude to do the final kill, however. This show has been great, i dont know what some of you are talking about. It has gone through the stages of small time dealer to big time cook with every level in between. The pacing has been perfect and its def one of my favorite shows of all time along with ones like Six Feet Under, The Wire, and The Shield.

I dont even know what they can do next season. It might be a lame wrap-up of everything in about 6 or 8 episodes. Any huge drama will just end up looking hurried and lame. But, there still is a lot of clean up and explaining to do.

EDIT, i fixed another Gus-Walt mix up typo, what the hell is wrong with me.

[Shrinweck]

Some of us? Zeus is the only one who's saying he doesn't like the show :P

I like the show enough that it has been twice now that the season premier has been the final motivation I need to shave my head during summer.

[Anarky]

Yea I think Zeus is the only one who disproves of the show.

Loved the finale and from what I've read the reason it kinda ended neatly was season 5 was still not a definite thing. I feel like AMC tries to fuck over their hit shows during salary negotiations.

[Shrinweck]

They let some kind of contract lapse which is why we're having to wait so god damned long for more Mad Men. One of the actors remarked over a year ago that they were all roped in to get paid and act for another season so they had plenty of motivation to get that other contract ironed out heh...

I think AMC might just suck at contracts... I know that they had at least one show many years back that got itself another season because the two leads were already roped in to be paid for another year.

[Zeus]

Yeah, Zeus appears to be the only one who insists a show created for adults actually be written by some, too.....

[Shrinweck]

Zeus appears to be unable or unwilling to provide examples, though, so I'm not really sure what he wants from this thread any more :P

[Zeus]

Zeus appears to be unable or unwilling to provide examples, though, so I'm not really sure what he wants from this thread any more

How's about Bernake's death?

[Shrinweck]

What does that have to do with the show being written badly? Who wants a series arc on Skylar being a shitty

Spoiler: show

loan shark? They needed a plot device that took away a large amount of the money Walt made and that was how they did it. Did you want it to be more drawn out? I don't understand. It has plenty of implications that will have to be addressed in the last season. It isn't something they just pulled out of their ass.

Are you just being contrarian?

[Oracle]

Great season, great finale. Love this show.

Zeus... go watch Degrassi or something

[Zeus]

What does that have to do with the show being written badly? Who wants a series arc on Skylar being a shitty

Spoiler: show

loan shark? They needed a plot device that took away a large amount of the money Walt made and that was how they did it. Did you want it to be more drawn out? I don't understand. It has plenty of implications that will have to be addressed in the last season. It isn't something they just pulled out of their ass.

Are you just being contrarian?

This is how the show has gone so far this season and my interpretation of the writers' thought process:

Spoiler: show

1) Well, why don't we finally go down the expected "run or turn yourself in" storyline since we're getting close to finishing. People are waiting for it anyways, can't disappoint them
2) Well, if we do that, what about Jesse? He's becoming vital to the drug regime. So why not create another expected rift between him and Walt. We've spent the entire season leading up to it anyways, it's not like we can just let it go now
3) But we need to find a way to keep Walt around, otherwise we have no more crises for him once we move Jesse into the role as the drug maker. And we can't get rid of Walt or marginalize his character for even a few episodes (heaven forbid), he IS the show, especially now that Cranston is the boss
4) Let's go with running, turning himself in would be lame and almost expected and we never do anything like that....
5) Well, we already laid down the fact that the only good character in the show we haven't fucked up, Saul Goodman, has a way for him to disappear; so why don't we do that?
6) It's been MANY months since the rift between Walt and Gus, he's got tons of money to pay off whomever to make him and his family disappear. They have, after all, been laundering the money through the car wash this entire time too. Thank the lord we set that up otherwise we'd be completely up shit creek with no paddle
7) OK, good, we put Jesse into a good position with Gus. Phew, thank the lord we threw that twist at the viewers! No WAY they saw that comin'!
OK, now we get Walt and the fam running.....hold on, if he has tons of money, he can disappear...then what? All is hunky dory? Does the cartel hunt him down?...nah, that would be silly, we don't wanna do anything like that....
9) Dammit, we're stuck....umm, let's go back and see if we can bring anything back to cause a crisis...
10) Hey, remember Bernake? We had to bring him in to do something with Skylar when she was the #2 character in the show for the 2nd and 3rd seasons. Remember how we took the show from being a cool drug show to a great family drama and won all those Emmys? Well, why not revisit some of that, it worked then, should work now
11) Ummm, well, we mentioned something about Bernake and cooking the books....THAT'S it! Skylar was the accountant and she can't be audited! YES!
12) Well, we still need to take the money away to cause a crisis for Walt....THAT'S it! We'll find a way for the money to get sent to the IRS! $600k should be enough. Walt's $15M contract over 6 months to 1 year less $600k and the laundering through the car wash, the brother-in-law's therapy (use the recovery process to assist with the timeline) and some misc.....math works. We kill two plot line birds with one stone that way! *Homer* We are so smart! We are so smart! S-M-R-T!
13) Fuck, what do we do with Bernake now? He's pretty much dead as a character...that's it! We'll kill him! This is a show with lots of deaths after all. But....how? Well, why not just make him trip and fall head-first into a desk and die. Ain't no thang and it's completely unexpected, which is what we do

What I'm really tryin' to say is, the plot and crises are all very juvenile and childish in how they're implemented and brought together. That's why I keep sayin' it's written by children. Even the characters have just become derivative at this point, they haven't really developed at all this year. They're just being taken from one plot point to the next. You put it up against a show like Dexter or Boardwalk Empire and the difference is staggering.

Look, I will give you that Season 4 has been better than 2 and 3 as they have turned it back from being a ridiculous family drama into a suspense show again. That's the only good move on their part this season. But it still isn't that great. I haven't been able to bring myself to watch the last couple eps now that Dexter and Boardwalk Empire are back on. With Walking Dead comin' on Sunday and the 6 weeks of a gaming avalanche over the horizon (starting with Batman on Tuesday), it may be 'til the Xmas break before I finally have nothing else to do and watch it. But it really has been a disappointing show throughout its run. I've almost stopped watching it numerous times. I really do think I only keep with it 'cause it's on when nothing else is (July to Sep).

[Shrinweck]

You STILL like Dexter? I forgot how different our tastes were - if it doesn't impress me this season I'm done with it. It's basically a cop procedural now except episodes tend to end with him killing someone instead of making an arrest. There needs to be more seasons like season four of Breaking Bad where each episode moves the story along rather than jerking along the audience with 90% one shot procedural and 10% overarching storyline.

I get your gripes with the story but I don't think you're giving it enough credit. You should finish the season, it ended fantastically.

Further on the topic of Dexter, I feel like they need to shake it up with something more than Dexter revolving around the same premise of hunting a major killer while taking minor ones down along the way. And God damn I am sick of shows (not just Dexter) with voice over music montages with the fucking lesson being further shoved into my face.

[Zeus]

The point of Dexter has always been the evolution of the main character throughout the series. It's not really about the plot lines, they're just ways to move the plot forward and grow the character. The reason Trinity was so freakin' cool is because of how well he challenged Dexter's entire self imagine, the one he spent the previous 3 seasons fine tuning to the point where he thought it was perfectly fine. Remember, at that point, he had his life basically perfect: he was married, he had found a way to balance his life and his demons, no one knew who he really was, and he was finally fully comfortable in his own skin. Trinity threw all of that into chaos.

The 5th season changed it up a bit, it was a group of characters with one mastermind that you didn't really find out about until later in the season. I was surprised they were able to hang on after the peak of Trinity but they did it by easing their way into the new killers, taking out the annoying Rita, actually advancing Deb's character, and bringing in the Julia Stiles character. She was a perfect match for Dexter....and the complete opposite of every other relationship he's ever had other than his dad. And, like his dad, in the end she couldn't be engulfed in his demon-filled world forever. Chase and his group were really quite secondary - really more of a way to bring Stiles and Dexter together and give them a common goal to grow their relationship - that season which was a good thing 'cause no one was gonna replace Trinity.

And Dexter's always been done well. There's no silliness, no over-dramatization, no super-predictability. Even when they brought in Rita and the kids, it was never the main focal point of the show. Important parts, yes, but never, ever the focus. The growth of Dexter is always the endpoint of every single plot device. It's like Six Feet Under that way except Dexter's the only character who's constantly growing. Some have a little bit of growth here and there (like Angel and Laguaerta in the past and Deb) but the writers have also not allowed the side stuff to ever get in the way. They dabbled in it more as a way to add a little depth and to give viewers something else (can't be Dex in every single scene). But it never, ever took over like Skylar in seasons 2 and 3 of Breaking Bad........ugh, those were the dark days.

I will finish it Season 4 of Breaking Bad....but not yet. It can wait. I've spent long enough waiting for that show to realize its potential. Really, the Bernake death is almost a textbook example of "jumping the shark". The show's been regulated to more of a filler and there's just too much taking over my TV time with 3 far superior shows, sports (hockey, football, and baseball), and the avalanche of gaming. I have no need to waste my time on a show I'm watching out of habit right now.

[Shrinweck]

I think the problem here may be you look at Breaking Bad like I'm beginning to look at Dexter. Most of what happened with Trinity and him getting over it last season was a snooze for me. Dexter at its best is him trying to protect himself, whether it's from another killer or getting caught. Season two with Doakes is by far some of the best writing in the series, especially since it apparently deviated the series from the novels. Also, I wouldn't say it has no super-predictability. Season three was so predictable it wasn't even remotely a challenge. As for silliness I'm going to have to say that basically all the romance that is non-Dexter related is pretty blah. The politics between the police officers gets worse every season, as well. I used to really like Angel and LaGuerta but now I can't help but partially zone out during anything with them.

I actually kind of like the family stuff with Rita and the kids. Most of the baby stuff doesn't interest me, but babies in general aren't super interesting so I can let that go.

This season looks to be better than than season three, at least. Depends on how the show ends up using all this religion it's clearly leading up to. I think barking up this tree may be a mistake for the series.

At the very least I can't see putting either show on par with The Walking Dead, Game of Thrones, or Boardwalk Empire... actually I never finished Boardwalk Empire's first season so I can't really speak to that.

[Zeus]

Do yourself a favour and finish Boardwalk's first season if you liked it up to the point you watched it. Some neat stuff happens and you'll pretty much be at the point where you'll know exactly whether or not this type of show is for you. Many people won't like the pace of the show (read: very slow) but if you're OK with that, it's great

It likely is just the two of us seeing the two shows differently. I'm actually someone who far prefers storyline to characters (Six Feet Under was the one exception to me), but I find the Dexter character is extraordinarily well done. With Breaking Bad, I'm having a tough time liking any of the characters other than maybe Gus, so when the storyline and plot ain't that good, it irritates me.

I actually saw Rubicon the same way as Breaking Bad. Had some really, really neat stuff but it just went nowhere and it irritated the shit out of me. It's those two shows that produced my "AMC'd" term. I've made it a point in my life not to watch Mad Men because AMC shills it SO DAMNED MUCH. I cannot believe how much advertising for that show is on the channel (I watch movies on there all the time), even when the show isn't close to coming on. Really annoyed me. Walking Dead bucked that trend but it was only 6 eps, this upcoming season will show me if that show can avoid the AMC curse.

I know a lot of you guys (along with my wife and bud) had read the books for Game of Thrones and adored the first season. But coming from the point of view of someone who hasn't, the first season was decent, not great. See, I don't have all these storyline extensions from the books going on in my head which are triggered by the events on screen like you guys so to me, it was a decent start to a show, nothing but pure build up. I saw the death of Eddard Stark coming far too early (no, not because it was Bean in the role) so that whole build-up did absolutely zero for me and that was a pretty big chunk of a bunch of eps. And of all the characters that they introduced, there was Tyrian as BY FAR the best (the actor really saved the first season for me), followed by the outcast who was with the white-haired princess (don't ask me to remember names) and the Stark bastard child. The king was hilarious and fun and would have been an excellent continuous storyline if the author wasn't so short-sighted as to do the ridiculously obvious and kill him off. Keeping him around would have added another layer of depth to the power struggle, something the show's gonna miss. After that, the rest of the characters, to me, were really nothing special....at least not yet with what they showed in the TV series. This second season will, hopefully, show me a lot more of what's going on (I'm quite interested in the coming of the winter) and keep me interested. But it absolutely cannot be another build-up season or I will tire of it quickly.

[Flip]

I cant think of how Dexter has changed at all in the entire shows length. He was intriguing at first because he was single, a killer, and confused about himself. Now, he is single, a killer, and confused about himself... with a few annoying kids around sometimes. Babies, to me, are always the ultimate show cop out and of course Dexter is also blessed with the best nanny on the planet. I guess we could say we have seen Dex go full circle, but it bothers me that he has not once yet found a new method or way to cope with himself. Dating, being married, and now being a widow has not provided Dexter with any new insight, he is still on Harry's rules. He has progressed NONE AT ALL. Every show is like a CSI episode, tied into a neat package with the current issue but with the big plot slowly plodding along. Plus, i get feelings a lot lately that there is no way Dexter can escape his current situation, but the idiocy of the police let him get away. The actual other cops on this show are stupid as hell. Dexter himself is pretty stupid, too. Even after all his bodies get found in the bay he still dumps them in the same spot? No one follows up on that case to see if new bodies ever pop up in the Bay Harbor? Dexter gets too much magical writing that lets him off the hook on some situations where he would be caught by cops from the better written cop dramas.

[Shrinweck]

They aren't in the same spot though. He changed the spot to where the currents would take the body bags further out into the ocean. Mostly everything else though, yeah.

[Flip]

Dexter is formulaic, more so than any show mentioned in this thread. Talk about a show going nowhere, its more drawn out than any AMC drama. Dexter, be different somehow, please. The show itself, when it first started, was crazy different than anything on TV, but now it is getting old and very repetitive and Michael C. Hall is exactly the same as season 1. That is something you can def not say about Walt.

[Shrinweck]

I always meant to go back to Boardwalk Empire some day and only stopped because it wasn't the kind of show that I cared to watch as it aired. I imagine at some point I'll get interested in it again and watch it all in what will basically be one sitting. I was actually angry at the show recently because I was torn between wanting Hamm to win an Emmy and thinking partially that Buscemi could deserve it as well.

Didn't really work out either way

[Shrinweck]

I've been rewatching the previous seasons.. Bob Odenkirk is the best thing to ever happen to this show

[Flip]

I've been rewatching the previous seasons.. Bob Odenkirk is the best thing to ever happen to this show

Ha, I'm a huge fan of his old HBO show Mr. Show with Bob and David (I own all the seasons) and I completely agree. If you like random sketch comedy, I fully recommend it. Although it didn't hit its genius stride until season 3.

[Shrinweck]

I've lost count of the amount of times I've seen each episode of Mr. Show. WITH COMMENTARY ON. So god knows how many times with it off haha

I love how he's basically doing a Mr Show character on an honest to god drama

[kali o.]

This is the last "dedicated" breaking bad thread, so I thought I'd bump this one.

I finally got into watching the series...was gonna wait until the run was done, but Season 1-3 was just sitting on Netflix tempting me. So...I like it. Not a lot, it drags heavily at certain points. I also have no idea why the show seems dead set in making me hate every character. Honestly, pretty sure I've been wanting every character to get shot since the first season. It's pretty hard for a series to be long running if your characters are all vile and/or stupid...the fact Breaking Bad is getting 5 seasons is actually pretty impressive/strange, since I'd be hard pressed to point out one actual likable character (actually, the prostitute...probably her alone). I can't even like the retard...and who doesn't root for the handicapped?!

Part of me wishes the series played up Walter's drug trade naivity more but instead, at least up to Season 3, he's a pretty smart guy making incredibly stupid decisions, over and over. It's hard to like someone like that, nevermind a useless tool like Jesse. Still, it is what it is and no point wishing it was something else.

I am interested to finish season 4...so it's at least good enough in that respect.

[Shrinweck]

Well it isn't up against a single show so the first part of season five has absolutely no excuse not to get great ratings when it starts in a couple weeks.

[Zeus]

This is the last "dedicated" breaking bad thread, so I thought I'd bump this one.

I finally got into watching the series...was gonna wait until the run was done, but Season 1-3 was just sitting on Netflix tempting me. So...I like it. Not a lot, it drags heavily at certain points. I also have no idea why the show seems dead set in making me hate every character. Honestly, pretty sure I've been wanting every character to get shot since the first season. It's pretty hard for a series to be long running if your characters are all vile and/or stupid...the fact Breaking Bad is getting 5 seasons is actually pretty impressive/strange, since I'd be hard pressed to point out one actual likable character (actually, the prostitute...probably her alone). I can't even like the retard...and who doesn't root for the handicapped?!

Part of me wishes the series played up Walter's drug trade naivity more but instead, at least up to Season 3, he's a pretty smart guy making incredibly stupid decisions, over and over. It's hard to like someone like that, nevermind a useless tool like Jesse. Still, it is what it is and no point wishing it was something else.

I am interested to finish season 4...so it's at least good enough in that respect.

Oh no, Kali, you agree with me....ME! I've had the last two eps of Season 4 sitting on my HDD since they aired and I can't bring myself to watch them because I'm really struggling to stay interested.

And I prayed before every episode since the middle of Season 2 for Skylar to somehow get written off the show....

[Shrinweck]

Overall I'd give that first episode a B- or a B but those last several minutes were god damned entertaining.

Needs more Odenkirk

Spoiler: show

Ted coming out of that not dead/brain dead/mentally challenged is kind of insane - I was really hoping that they used that as a middling-quality excuse to tie off that plot point but, really, alive and kicking?

[Flip]

I know what you mean, but...

Spoiler: show

Skyler's "Good." after Ted says he wont tell a living soul was well done. I think she meant it to be as hard assed as it seemed, maybe her and Walt are actually made for each other? Each one reveling in the kingpin role. I thought the last 10 minutes was overkill a little. Walt tells the guys in the car, "Because i say so." he tells Saul, "We're done when i say we are." and then gets all "I forgive you" to Skyler. Ok ok, we get it, Walt is the new boss, it would have been obvious with just the scene in the car with Jesse and Mike.

[Shrinweck]

Yeah to be frank I didn't find those scenes to be all that great as much as I liked them hatching a plan and stuff happening. In season three it would have taken two or three episodes to get through the junkyard planning it feels like.

[Flip]

This season might be rushed, them knowing its the end... I thought the same thing about the whole scheme, it could have easily been half the season! And i still would have enjoyed it, i like slow, unlike Zeus.

[Shrinweck]

I thought they were going to build an EMP. I am watching too much Stargate right now.

[Zeus]

This season might be rushed, them knowing its the end... I thought the same thing about the whole scheme, it could have easily been half the season! And i still would have enjoyed it, i like slow, unlike Zeus.

Six Feet Under was maybe my fav show of all time and no one ever accused that of being speedy in its plot movement. It was almost 100% character development and that shit takes a long time

Difference is, I like real depth, not over-dramatized, forced shit like anything involving Skylar and Walt Jr in Breaking Bad. Not to mention they pretty much had no idea what to do with Jesse after Season 2. If it wasn't for Gus, the show would have had NOTHING after the second season.

It's really simple: the creators of that show just didn't do a good job with what they had. Great ideas, poor execution. It's becoming an AMC trademark, actually. That being said, now that I know there's just the last 2 eps of season 4 and season 5 left, I will go through them all to finish the show. I'm hoping that with a real end in sight they bunker down and go out with a bang.

[Anarky]

Spoiler: show

I was shocked to see Ted was still alive.

[Zeus]

Spoiler: show

I was shocked to see Ted was still alive.

Spoiler: show

I am praying that's all we see of him