Breaking Bad - Season 5 (AMC) (1 Viewer)

[Quentin]

Is Huell still in the motel? Bummer.

 

[joshEH]

Some behind-the-scenes trivia: Apparently, the Walt-and-Jesse footage from the cold-open was the very last stuff shot for the series, presumably because of Cranston having to shave off his beard.

Marie will likely be under serious protection now.

And Marie is going to do something crazy. Crazy. Crazy.

When Talking Bad ended and the encore presentation began, I almost fell off the couch scrambling for the remote to change the channel. I can't go through that again. Not yet.

Also, Reddit has this to say:

 

[joshEH]

Is Huell still in the motel? Bummer.

 

[TravisR]

^ That should be the last shot of the series. "Executive Producer Vince Gilligan"

I have no doubt that Walt's primary motivation on the phone was to try to save Skyler but I wonder if his ego was also involved. In the sense that he doesn't want anyone giving credit to other people for his empire.

In a related note, I have to wonder if Walt's phone call is going to be any help to Skyler. I'd think that the government will still seize her house, the car wash and their savings and she, Junior and Holly are going to be out on the street (unless Marie takes them in). Walt might have had to start a new life but at least he's not homeless, enslaved or dead.

EDIT: A couple weeks ago, I said that I'd be happy with Jesse never finding out about Walt's involvement with Jane's death but the way they did it was great. He didn't tell him to make things right, he did it as revenge. Even for Walt, it's pretty cold blooded that he wants that to be the last thing that he says to Jesse.

Also, Walt Junior telling his mom that she was as bad as Walt is and then minutes later, protecting her were both wonderful scenes. Marie breaking down when Walt confirmed Hank's death was really sad too.

 

[Charlie Campisi]

That could have been the last episode of the series. Just about everything answered. Breathtaking rush from beginning to end. Call backs to the beginning of the series (the first cook, and as Aaron Paul said on Twitter: the very first lie from Walt to Skyler.) A whole show with Heisenberg and Walt battling for control of the soul of the man. And how about the kid who plays Holly? Fine acting from the toddler!

 

[Walter C]

Oh man, what an episode! Just when I thought they could not top the previous one, this one was just unbelievable to watch. Rest in Peace, Hank! While he finally got the chance to catch Walt, too bad it was short-lived.

RJ Mitte finally got the chance to shine, and boy, he really did. Not only for lashing out at his parents, but also getting between them in the knife fight. I was worried for him, thinking he would be the unfortunate victim, as these things tend to lead to tragic results, as done in other TV shows or movies.

EDIT: A couple weeks ago, I said that I'd be happy with Jesse never finding out about Walt's involvement with Jane's death but the way they did it was great. He didn't tell him to make things right, he did it as revenge. Even for Walt, it's pretty cold blooded that he wants that to be the last thing that he says to Jesse.

I'm thinking, can Jesse sink any lower after what Mr. White did just there? Turns out, he can, being imprisoned, and being chained up like some animal. That was just really depressing to see.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

Just finished watching this mere seconds ago.

I raced to the computer to recap....

In shock. Complete shock.

This was the most disturbing episode of the entire series.

Several moments where I had my hands over my mouth or eyes,
muttering "Oh God, No."

Very powerful, emotional drama. You guys are so right in saying
this could very well have been the very last episode. I can't believe
there is more to it. I'm almost not even looking forward to watching more.

Cannot stress enough how deeply disturbing this week's show was.

...and I would not be surprised if of the final shots will be Heul still sitting
in that hotel room.

 

[Simon Massey]

Great, great episode, sad to see Hank go, but it had to be. There was a natural inevitability to this episode which made it all the more painful to watch.

Are the last two episodes are going to be a flash forward as we discover with Walt what has happened since ?

 

[joshEH]

The phone call is great because it's not just one thing; he knows the cops are listening, and so he's saying these things to absolve Skyler as much as possible as a final act of decency to his family before disappearing and presumably never seeing them again.

And on that level, it's actually pretty heartbreaking, even with what a monster Walt has become. But that doesn't mean it's not also a sincere outpouring of of some of his ugliest thoughts and feelings, some of which he probably wouldn't have even admitted to himself under most circumstances. And Cranston plays all of that at once. Brilliant.

Cranston's face when he looks at Holly one last time is such a kick to the nuts:

Hank's death signaled Walt's ultimate failure -- up until that moment, he truly believed that he could still get away clean without ruining everything, so once that happened...well...he began operating on pure emotion.

When he was looking at Jesse, he saw nothing of the boy he once cared about, only an ungrateful rat whom he believes has been the cause of his current misery.

I liked Brick, really liked Brothers Bloom, and enjoyed Looper. But I think my favorite Rian Johnson film just aired last night.

 

[joshEH]

Oh, and apparently they had to seek special DGA approval to move the credits to the second act of the episode, instead of having them inappropriately run over the super-dramatic first act, complete with Hank's death.

And Rian Johnson is tweeting behind-the-scenes images from the episode. Callback!

 

[TravisR]

Are the last two episodes are going to be a flash forward as we discover with Walt what has happened since ?

My guess is that by the end of next episode, we'll see the flashforwards again (or a variation of them) and then the finale will pick up after Walt has left his boarded-up house with the ricin.

 

[joshEH]

The next episode is titled "Granite State," which we know is where Walt was evidently returning from in the Season 5A premiere (in the Denny's, he hands the waitress a fake New Hampshire ID). So likely we'll finally be in The Bearded Future™ next Sunday night for the final two episodes.

 

[ScottH]

So is it safe to say that Walt Jr is the one that writes Heisenberg on the wall?

 

[joshEH]

Junior, or Marie, would be my top two suspects, there.

Last night's episode was a total 21-Chekhov-Gun salute.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

Poor, poor Marie.

Something else I wanted to talk about....

The use of profanity. I realize AMC is a cable network, but
I was surprised when Hank used the "F" word. It's not a word
that I hear even on cable channels. Walt Jr's use of "Bullshit"
seemed normal for the channel, but the "F" word?!

 

[ScottH]

Poor, poor Marie.

Something else I wanted to talk about....

The use of profanity. I realize AMC is a cable network, but
I was surprised when Hank used the "F" word. It's not a word
that I hear even on cable channels. Walt Jr's use of "Bullshit"
seemed normal for the channel, but the "F" word?!

Haven't they had like one "F" word per season? It was blanked out for me though. It's times like that when I realize it's a shame this show wasn't on HBO or Showtime or one of the premium cable channels.

 

[NolanJ]

"Hank" mentioned on the Talking Bad episode that they are allowed to have one "F" word every season, and this was their choice of use.

Seemed an appropriate time for the usage.

Poor, poor Marie.

Something else I wanted to talk about....

The use of profanity. I realize AMC is a cable network, but
I was surprised when Hank used the "F" word. It's not a word
that I hear even on cable channels. Walt Jr's use of "Bullshit"
seemed normal for the channel, but the "F" word?!

 

[Steve Tannehill]

It was blanked out, but obvious.

 

[joshEH]

Yeah, there are eff-bombs all over the series; usually "bleeped" during broadcast, but uncensored on the BDs, like Walt telling Gretchen off in Season 2.

(Yet strangely, AMC had absolutely no qualms about airing nude titties during primetime with the pilot...)

Great article at Rolling Stone about last night's episode:

http://www.rollingstone.com/movies/news/breaking-bad-q-a-rian-johnson-on-directing-one-of-the-last-episodes-20130914

 

[TravisR]

Haven't they had like one "F" word per season?

Yeah and it's an absolutely ridiculous policy. If a viewer was offended by profanity (even a blanked out one), would they somehow no longer be offended because the show is only allowed to do it once a season?

"I was horrified to hear the F-word!... Until I found out that they could only say it one time a year. Now it's totally cool."- No One Ever