Breaking Bad - Season 5 (AMC) (2 Viewers)

[Quentin]

Better call Saul!!

 

[SamT]

Well that Saul spinoff is a spoiler. We now know he survives!

 

[TravisR]

Well that Saul spinoff is a spoiler. We now know he survives!

According to the article, it's a prequel series. Of course, then you can say that maybe it's a prequel because Saul dies or gets disbarred or goes to jail. My guess is that they're doing a prequel simply so they can tell more comedic stories with Saul as the typical ambulance chasing lawyer rather than him dealing with being known as Heisenberg's lawyer.

 

[Greg_S_H]

I guess Walt could suicide by ricin, but it ain't a great way to go. Two to four days of bloody vomit and diarrhea, ending in organ failure? I think I'd as soon eat a bullet.

 

[SamT]

I guess Walt could suicide by ricin, but it ain't a great way to go. Two to four days of bloody vomit and diarrhea, ending in organ failure? I think I'd as soon eat a bullet.

Was reading the Wikipedia ricin page (!!!!!!!) and it seems ricin can't kill you that easily. Mythbusters also showed that they didn't get some other stuff correctly but hey it's a fantasy, it's ok.

 

[joshEH]

First of all, awesome that this is a go, and that they went with hour-long (though part of me thinks a half-hour format might be better). There should be dramatic potential to these stories that justifies an escape from the sitcom-canvas, even if it's a level or twelve separated from its predecessor in gravitas.

If it's done right, with no real connection to any of the events that take place during Breaking Bad, I could see it working. This has to feel different from Breaking Bad. Since it's Saul, they can do more of a comedy, rather than a drama.

Although it might be nice to explore who Gus really was. Can't see how that ties neatly into a Saul-story, since I got the impression that Gus and Saul were connected by Mike, and had few interactions, but a bit of light retconning would be okay.

...Yeah, AMC is going to need to bring in some new shows. Mad Men is just about done. Breaking Bad ends after this season, and I just read (on Kurt Sutter's Facebook page) that The Killing has been cancelled again. They'll only be left with The Walking Dead (not really counting Low Winter Sun or Hell on Wheels). Why anyone would go to AMC any more is beyond me.

 

[ScottH]

Why discount Hell On Wheels? That's a great show. Although I have no idea how it's been doing ratings-wise this season in it's new slot.

The Killing was great as well. Not sure why it never caught on but I guess people need an immediate fix. Although I would argue the first 2 seasons of Breaking Bad were a pretty slow burn.

 

[joshEH]

At least we now know how Walt Jr. ends up when he finally learns about his father's crooked meth-empire:

No more car wash air-fresheners for Flynn!

Don't forget about A Day in the Life of Wendy.

Imagine doing Saul's dirty work in side missions. Speaking of, I'm kind of amazed they didn't have Odenkirk actually doing voice work for GTA V. I could even see Gilligan signing off on letting them use the Saul character directly.

Oh, I'd play that game all day long. I can imagine a "Fly" level, where it's this existential mindfuck, with you locked inside the superlab just...waiting.

And of course, train robberies! Shit, that'd be intense.

 

[TravisR]

The Killing was great as well. Not sure why it never caught on but I guess people need an immediate fix.

I'm almost glad that The Killing was cancelled because I think it's nearly impossible for that show to be any better than it was this season.

 

[ScottH]

I'm almost glad that The Killing was cancelled because I think it's nearly impossible for that show to be any better than it was this season.

True (at least on the second part). Not sure if you're watching 'The Bridge', but I find it a good 'Killing' replacement. Like 'The Killing', it's also based on a Danish series.

 

[SamT]

 

[Simon Massey]

Newcomer to the thread. Having found the first season too depressing when I tried to get into this last year, I decided to give it another go and thankfully I did. I have literally blitzed through five seasons in just over a week and emerged on the other side ready for the final three. The third season was by far my favourite though this current run is pushing it close. Just hoping for a satisfactory conclusion now!!

 

[TravisR]

Just hoping for a satisfactory conclusion now!!

I think the majority of people are going to be happy with the conclusion as long as there is a definitive ending for the characters. A good chunk of people fucking hate ambiguity (The Sopranos) & semi-spirituality (Battlestar Galactica or Lost) but I think it's safe to assume that Breaking Bad will have a pretty conclusive finish and that will satisfy the majority. The Shield and The Wire did that and I think that's one reason why those finales are quite well regarded.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

Welcome to the thread, Simon! Glad you gave the show a second try.

 

[SamT]

If they had to end the series earlier I think the end of season 4 is pretty satisfactory and does feel like an ending.

Although it might feel like an upbeat ending with Walt winning, but it's not. It does have a dark ending like the future is unknown and Walt having gone too far, his family, Skyler is afraid of him.

 

[Simon Massey]

Funny as I like the endings to Sopranos, Lost and Galactica. As long as the ending is in keeping with the show, I will be happy enough wherever it takes the characters.

 

[joshEH]

Love that Saul actively encourages teenage DUI.

I finally got around to the podcast, and they pointed out a callback that I completely missed, and feel bad that I missed it: Hank got in his little "Popeye Doyle-wave" to Heisenberg in the back of the car. I bet THAT felt better than the Mirandizing or the handcuffs.

Honestly, I have a weird feeling Jesse is going to side with Walt (assuming he survives the shootout). He is always looking for that father-figure, and it looks like Hank and/or Gomez are goners.

Viewership of the show will only increase, long after it's gone. Hell, viewership doubled at the very least in the last year. Anyone not watching now is likely being tortured by their friends who are losing their minds over this last season, which has been almost suffocating in its tension from the very first scene.

 

[TravisR]

I finally got around to the podcast, and they pointed out a callback that I completely missed, and feel bad that I missed it: Hank got in his little "Popeye Doyle-wave" to Heisenberg in the back of the car. I bet THAT felt better than the Mirandizing or the handcuffs.

I missed that callback too. I gotta hand it to the writers for keeping one line of dialogue from a two year old episode alive.

 

[Greg_S_H]

Has AMC been showing the standard "next on" promo clips? I don't watch them, but I haven't seen them when FF during other AMC shows. It seems like that would be a good approach for these momentous final episodes, especially since the show doesn't really need the hype right now.

 

[TravisR]

Has AMC been showing the standard "next on" promo clips? I don't watch them, but I haven't seen them when FF during other AMC shows. It seems like that would be a good approach for these momentous final episodes, especially since the show doesn't really need the hype right now.

I'm conflicted about the promos. I really want to see what happens next but at the same time, I don't want to spoil the upcoming episode so I don't really concentrate too much on them. From the ones I've seen, it seems like they have lines of dialogue playing over very rapidly cut together footage. Maybe if someone went through and freeze framed it, they could make some guesses.