tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post7548336257381550432..comments2024-03-25T19:18:14.047-04:00Comments on What's Alan Watching?: Breaking Bad, "ABQ": Seven thirty-seven coming out of the skyAlan Sepinwallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03388147774725646742noreply@blogger.comBlogger111125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-30131163400718716242012-12-26T12:04:51.900-05:002012-12-26T12:04:51.900-05:00I know this comment probably goes into internet ob...I know this comment probably goes into internet oblivion, but I'll leave one. I'm obviously way behind, but just finished watching the season 2 finale and read every recap by Alan after I saw each episode. I was initially dismayed by the end, but on reflection realize just how great an episode it was and the reasoning behind it.<br /><br />Highlights for me.<br /><br />Skyler finally acting like a real person and leaving Walt. They had been losing the Skyler character for me because she kept going back to a man that disappeared and lied, but her leaving redeems herself in my eyes and I can go on watching her scenes without rolling my eyes.<br /><br />Jesse's complete breakdown over Jane.<br /><br />Jane's dad having the look that he was prepared for this day. Not even one angry outburst at Jesse.<br /><br />But mainly I loved what the writers did in building the tension and drama the last two episodes. Rarely have I felt watching a TV show so much worry and angst, but when Walt goes back in and "kills" Jane I was really hoping the dad wouldn't walk in and was on pins and needles. <br /><br />And then this episode I kept waiting for the "explosion" or whatever at Walt's house and the hints that had been given all season. One example was that even Alan mentioned "Walt's glasses" at the scene in previous flash forwards so when Skyler asked Walt for his glasses before surgery I thought Skyler would go home with Walt's glasses and the place would blow up. Not so much. Just great writing and directing to make your mind think in a million different ways while on the edge of your seat<br /><br />So glad I started watching this show. Absolute brilliance. I cannot believe how invested I am in Jesse's fate. Aaron Paul's performance is mind blowing.<br /><br /><br />Duncannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-25348935754872156742012-09-16T22:41:12.956-04:002012-09-16T22:41:12.956-04:00What you've all missed:
* Walt let Jane die b...What you've all missed:<br /><br />* Walt let Jane die because he loves Jesse.<br />* The conversation between Walt and Jane's father is the immediate cause of Walt going back for Jesse, and the idea communicated from Donald to Walt that you take care of your family was the moral support Walt needed to make his decision to let the harpy die.Matthewnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-43721383079680324342012-07-22T07:47:22.186-04:002012-07-22T07:47:22.186-04:00My end-of-season reflections (although some were p...My end-of-season reflections (although some were posted at the end of the discussion of the last episode, 'Phoenix').<br /><br />It seems to me that we won't know how good Breaking Bad is (or has been) until it's all over. Remember the way in The Wire that something referenced in passing in Season 1 would turn up again in Season 4, and it was up to the audience to make the connection? At the moment BB has a few dangling story lines and loose ends, and we don't know if they are going anywhere, or if they'll just be conveniently forgotten.<br /><br />Most important of these, I think, at least as regards Walt's character and motivation, is exactly what went on between him and Gretchen to make him give up his research and become a high school teacher (a job that seems to be synonymous with failure in the U.S., btw)? Even is he didn't want to associate with Elliott and Gretchen anymore, couldn't he have just finished his PhD and got a job in some university? What did her father and brothers say to him on that fateful night? Is his whole subsequent life based on some misunderstanding? Gretchen and he don't seem to share recollections or interpretations of what happened.<br /><br />Other things yet to be taken up:<br /><br />What about that bug we saw Hank removing from under Walt's car some episodes back? What was that about?<br /><br />Is Marie's shoplifting going anywhere, or was that just to establish that she is 'flawed'?<br /><br />I also think it was very James Bondish that Walt and Jesse didn't finish Tuco off when he was in the ground. "Let him bleed"??? Ok, but shoot him a couple more times first!<br /><br />I wasn't disappointed with the season finale. In fact, in retrospect it's kind of funny reading all the speculation on previous episode blog entries. Everyone was fooled, ha ha. The chain of events leading to the crash, while tenuous, is just about enough attributable to Walt's actions to make it hurt (and so plausible and relevant within the storyline).<br /><br />Further season will reveal if BB is truly great. But even if not, the ride has been fun.Sarah Janenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-28344179263426074382011-10-12T04:19:57.765-04:002011-10-12T04:19:57.765-04:00I started out quite liking the show, but the way t...I started out quite liking the show, but the way that the creators are forcing reality to fit their plans for the story is really grating on me.<br /><br />I've been disappointed by some clearly manipulative fakery that doesn't do anything to add to the integrity or interest of the show.<br /><br />Cancer patients don't just lose the hair on their head when they undergo chemo: they lose every fast-growing cell. They lose eyebrows, facial hair, their nails crack and bleed, the cells on their intestinal walls die. They do NOT keep a mustache.<br /><br />Anyone including high grade meth in their drug cocktail is going to be up for DAYS -- not passing out. I worked on a case of a murderer who was also a meth dealer, and meth addicts spend time AWAKE, not asleep. <br /><br />No labor is going to last one or even 2 hours. Walt could never have missed his child's birth. Additionally, labor pains start hours ahead of the actual process of giving birth. The depiction of Skyler and Marie has made me feel like there are absolutely no women getting their voices heard in the writing room, and that ridiculous idea that he could miss the entire birth of his daughter confirmed it for me.<br /><br />Lastly, the Lucifer-ex-machina thing was actually disappointing, rather than thrilling. Hitchcock explained the difference between surprise and suspense, and saw surprise as much less sophisticated than suspense. Guess which this was?<br /><br /><a href="http://stitchingincircles.blogspot.com" rel="nofollow">Blog</a>MDShttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04664007262047544839noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-32466991186598443932010-04-29T02:30:22.746-04:002010-04-29T02:30:22.746-04:00The ending was very bad and not fitting of the sho...The ending was very bad and not fitting of the show at all. This isn't suppose to be some sensationalistic bait-and-switch show. <br /><br />And so what if Walt's actions caused the chain of events? People do realize that GOOD actions can also cause a chain of events that lead to bad results, right? There is no way you can say those planes crashing is directly Walt's fault. What if some kind person donates money to a homeless person on the street who then gets robbed by a junkie who uses the money to shoot up and overdoses to his death? Is the person who originally gave the homeless person money responsible? <br /><br />Very silly, unrealistic, and pointless ending that sadly is puts a negative on what was a fantastic season prior to it.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-14774744545757222872010-03-30T11:29:07.092-04:002010-03-30T11:29:07.092-04:00I am really, really disappointed in the ending (wi...I am really, really disappointed in the ending (with a side of anger). You can't just build up to a huge event ALL season and then be like SURPRISE, it doesn't really matter, you could never guess it and it's just a metaphor/karmic sequence of events. It took me way out of the episode and show which I was really loving up til now. And I agree with an above commenter that it wasn't enough Walt's fault in that Jane's father should no way have come to work but that of course could happen to anyone in a position like that. In the end, after all that buildup, I was expecting it to have direct consequences to Walt running a drug business or hurting people he knows and besides incidents that would have happened without the teasers in all the episodes, that didn't happen.<br /><br />And this is where you see the quality difference in Breaking Bad and The Wire: no matter what I NEVER felt dissatisfied at the end of The Wire's seasons. I may have been dying to have something happen different, to save someone, to stop the chain of events (see S3 or S4 especially) but in the end, I knew that's how it had to happen, that the consequences had fit what happened and that all the buildup had led up to the right, satisfying conclusion. I don't take kindly to let's build up the audience's anticipation and then trick them into something that mean's very little to us or the main character(s). Plus it distracts from the other good stuff that's going on in the episode. Not happy at all especially at everyone who made me believe this season actually ended well.Anoelnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-33417995693655548832009-06-22T10:07:58.743-04:002009-06-22T10:07:58.743-04:00I hated the ending. It just felt hokey. I unders...I hated the ending. It just felt hokey. I understand the connection between Walt's actions and the plane crash but it was just too sensational. Especially having it happen right above his home.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03409866746830270962noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-810149566736056142009-06-09T14:51:33.979-04:002009-06-09T14:51:33.979-04:00Jim Leff said...
I'd like to try to tie togeth...Jim Leff said...<br />I'd like to try to tie together some of the issues that have been raised.<br /><br />Back in season one, Gilligan explained how he and the writers needed to be careful to have the series not glorify drug culture. Walt, in other words, would have to get his comeuppance.<br /><br />As someone in this thread said, it certainly is not a given that Walt's life must break bad back at him. There are drug lords who aren't shot, don't go to jail, and don't have their lives fall apart (look at Gus!). As everyone over the age of four comes to realize, bad behavior's not always punished.<br /><br />But the writers, otherwise superb at ambiguity and realism, will be constrained to force Walt into his just desserts, even though, as Gilligan himself says (in your interview), characters ought to be allowed to develop naturally, even if/when they fail to hew to the writers' agenda. <br /><br />And as has been remarked upon in discussion of previous episodes, there's been an increasing religious tinge this season, peaking in this episode with its Lucifer ex machina. One gets the feeling Gilligan may have a secondary reason for squeezing this realistic drama - whose characters have previously been allowed to develop organically - into the narrowness of a cautionary tale.<br /><br />The vague disappointment people are expressing re: this episode doesn't stem from a daft need to see Sky and Ted Beneke in body bags. It's that we've had our first naked glimpse of the sort of heavy-handed manipulation that may be steering these characters (or, at least, Walt) toward reaping precisely as they've sown...and driving that indelicately home to audiences.<br /><br />Ok, maybe this time it wasn't SO heavy-handed. But coming after two seasons of remarkable fresh honesty and realism, where character integrity trumped writerly agendas, we've grown sensitive to such intrusion!<br /><br />In the interview, Gilligan also says "If we're going to be honest about a guy who sets out to be a criminal, we have to see where it takes itself." Maybe that was the case for a couple years, but the writerly intrusion of the plane crash has turned a corner, and it's one we've sort of felt coming. Walt's not just transforming from Mr. Chips to Scarface, he's transforming from flesh and blood to a character in a morality play. Really, the device was neither Deus Ex Machina or Lucifer Ex Machina. It was Vince Ex Machina. And that indeed feels like a cheat.<br /><br />Obviously, I'm not saying Walt must get off scott-free for this to be realistic. I don't need the series to go in any particular direction.....but I wish the writers could share that openness! Or, at very least, use a light touch. The real world has no concept of the word "deserve". People get better than they deserve or they get worse than they deserve, but no one outside fiction (the most simple-minded fiction!) ever gets precisely what they deserve!<br /><br />Please, writers, just let it unfold. I know you're worried that audiences falling in love with shamefully-behaving characters thrust you, the creators, into a moral bind. But, Vince, please don't let your acknowledged twitchy anxiety compel you to indulge your puppeteer impulse. Stay the course!Jim Leffhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00007232702717055047noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-31994795651330340742009-06-09T14:45:07.115-04:002009-06-09T14:45:07.115-04:00This comment has been removed by the author.Jim Leffhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00007232702717055047noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-89862114614428656282009-06-08T21:43:05.259-04:002009-06-08T21:43:05.259-04:00Anonymous at 10:26 PM: I believe the flights that ...Anonymous at 10:26 PM: I believe the flights that crashed were being cleared to land, not to depart. <br /><br />Also, the plane didn't exactly crash into Walt's yard, and I think people who have trouble with the "coincidence" miss that fact.<br /><br />When the two planes collided, the long shot from the camera showed that large debris of the planes landed in two main plumes of smoky wreckage, and that lighter debris (teddy bear toys, small bodies and body parts, etc)fell over a wider area and landed in many people's yards (wide shot). <br /><br />I'm not sure of the physics of this, but from what I'm learning about the French plane that went into the ocean as a one-plane crash (we believe), the debris field in a two-plane crash could be pretty wide.<br /><br />I love that shot with the bear in the pool and the reflection of Walt wearing pink looking like he's in the pool too as he stands above. Love that.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-70198618377370021672009-06-08T11:19:02.987-04:002009-06-08T11:19:02.987-04:00This comment has been removed by the author.Jim Leffhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00007232702717055047noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-75086961834375758392009-06-08T09:26:02.310-04:002009-06-08T09:26:02.310-04:00Didn't like the crash at first but now I'm...Didn't like the crash at first but now I'm on board. <br /><br />I love how they've switched Walt and Jesse's roles from sympathetic to pathetic and vice versa.J-rodhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11348149382409634033noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-41171764384995293602009-06-08T03:04:37.860-04:002009-06-08T03:04:37.860-04:00Here is something to think about. I was watching D...Here is something to think about. I was watching Dexter recently and heard mention of something addicts go through called "pink cloud". its where the addict comes to reality and see he or she is a victim to addiction.<br /><br />"Then comes a day, followed by a series of days or weeks, where the addict or alcoholic experiences acceptance. He or she is excited at the prospect of what recovery from addiction and alcoholism has to offer and feel as if they have grasped what it takes to maintain quality recovery." <br /><br />I can only imagine what they are foreshadowing here!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-33203741088798569512009-06-07T22:26:40.508-04:002009-06-07T22:26:40.508-04:00I need to watch the episode again, but didn't ...I need to watch the episode again, but didn't Skyler take Walt Jr and the baby to her aunts? Were they on one of the planes that crashed into Walt's back yard?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-90275344794285971612009-06-07T10:23:03.412-04:002009-06-07T10:23:03.412-04:00I love this quote from the savewalter site:
"...I love this quote from the savewalter site:<br /><br />"He likes to cook because of chemistry"Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-61518427430131864422009-06-06T20:36:19.331-04:002009-06-06T20:36:19.331-04:00Inspired by Alan's reviews, I watched Seasons ...Inspired by Alan's reviews, I watched Seasons 1 & 2 of Breaking Bad over the last week. Really great show. This is the third or fourth show I've picked up based solely on Alan's raves; it's great to have such an infallible source to rely on for my TV choices.<br /><br />Just as a point of interest, after the finale I started Googling around for info about mid-air collisions. I found <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2002_%C3%9Cberlingen_Mid-Air_Collision" rel="nofollow">this one</a> that happened in 2002 over Germany. What's really interesting is that the family of a Russian politician was on board one of the planes. After the crash, he hunted down the air traffic controller on duty at the time and stabbed him to death. For that, he spent 3 years in prison. Talk about life being stranger than fiction...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-70903326011368450292009-06-05T12:22:52.602-04:002009-06-05T12:22:52.602-04:00Anonymous - I so agree with you!
That entire scene...Anonymous - I so agree with you!<br />That entire scene (from the moment we saw Walt sitting in the car with 'the cleaner' until he was cradling Jesse in his arms) was just incredibly well done.<br />Special kudos to Aaron Paul, who was superb in this episode...for me, he is still one of the purest characters in the show and I can't help rooting for him to make it out alive and on a better path when this show ends.<br />Someone earlier noted that Walt's sweater matched the teddy bear - it was such an unusual wardrobe departure that I was wondering if it was asort of wink- wink from the writers/director since this episode resolved the big burnt-bear issue we have all been pondering all season long???<br />Great television - cannot wait for the fall season to begin!Brown Shoeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03279110947755936115noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-24151930916030494562009-06-04T19:02:10.172-04:002009-06-04T19:02:10.172-04:00Just a note about something that really moved me: ...Just a note about something that really moved me: Walt calling Jesse "son" when he's pulling him out of the shooting gallery. Really what Jesse's always wanted to be to Walt, which Walt has perverted into his exploitation of Jesse. So touched by Walt's remnants of humanity peeking through.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-50722027934229728792009-06-04T10:00:35.085-04:002009-06-04T10:00:35.085-04:00I can remember a plot device in an old sitcom that...I can remember a plot device in an old sitcom that revolved around an eccentric married couple who were going through stress because of infertility and career factors.<br /><br />The deus ex machina was that the woman let a coworker kiss her without sufficient foundation in her character. People hated the plot device. However, once the plot device was allowed to happen--woman kisses coworker and tells husband, husband reacts--everything that happened from then on was pretty realistic.<br /><br />My partner and I watched the sitcom and recognized the reality of it (couple trying to have kid, infidelity, strained marriage, even exact dialogue) because we went through something similar.<br /><br />To me it's not whether a plot device is realistic as much as what the writers do when the story unfolds.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-65209874316648817262009-06-04T09:54:09.263-04:002009-06-04T09:54:09.263-04:00D4P at 10:06 PM: I don't even fly very much as...D4P at 10:06 PM: I don't even fly very much as a passenger and I had the same thing happen to me once upon returning to SFO from the midwest. We were starting to land and we pulled up and circled for a long time and the pilot came on and told us that another plane had been too close. This was more than a decade ago and they have been talking about building more runways at SFO for years. I can only imagine these near-misses are happening more frequently.<br /><br />It would be nice to have some actual pilots, ATCs, etc. weigh in instead of non-experts saying, no, never happens.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-4650893437863035642009-06-03T22:06:39.990-04:002009-06-03T22:06:39.990-04:00I was on a plane flying into Milwaukee a few years...I was on a plane flying into Milwaukee a few years ago. The plane started its descent, and I could see out the window that we were very close to ground and would be landing in a matter of seconds. All of a sudden, the plane pulled up and flew back up into the air and circled the airport for nearly a half hour before landing.<br /><br />I later found out that another plane was on the runway when we were trying to land and we would have hit it (and almost did) if our pilot hadn't pulled up at the last second.D4Phttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12735578742189554415noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-75547609994397993952009-06-03T21:49:17.839-04:002009-06-03T21:49:17.839-04:00I agree with what Tom said. I had the same reacti...I agree with what Tom said. I had the same reaction. I wonder if the effect would have been stronger or weaker without the hints and teases earlier in the season.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06758037835024735246noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-78202370516949624922009-06-03T19:17:17.836-04:002009-06-03T19:17:17.836-04:00Anonymous:
My beef with the coincidence-driven en...Anonymous:<br /><br />My beef with the coincidence-driven ending is that it was so unnecessary. Early in the show, we were with Walt as he picked his way through the human wreckage at a shooting gallery to find his best friend -- he does not need a midair collision he's tangentially responsible for to confront him with the reality of his decisions. In a way, this accident could let Walt off the hook psychologically. Ruined lives, dead young women, gangland shootings...those he sees and knows he's hip-deep in. But a plane crash? That's an act of God. Wha'ts a guy supposed to do in a world that f*cked up? (I won't be surprised if that's the attitude the writers have Walt take next year.)<br /><br />Yes, this crash was the work of a Higher Power...that Great Show Runner in the sky. It took me out of the show right at the moment I wanted to be totally sucked in. I think it was a false note in an otherwise brilliant piece of work.Tomhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15582136184196524214noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-65100003239240325692009-06-03T18:14:57.523-04:002009-06-03T18:14:57.523-04:00D4P at 4:15: I can't quote probabilities, but...D4P at 4:15: I can't quote probabilities, but I live near an airport that has had several near-mid-air collisions, and the air traffic controllers said that such incidents were increasing. I think I remember seeing something like that on the national news. Some of the airports don't have enough runways for the arrivals/departures scheduled, which makes them circle more and makes it harder for controllers to keep up under normal circumstance.<br /><br />I live in a flight path and I made a complaint when I saw an apparent violation of recommended air space, and they took it seriously enough to call me back and follow up. I would imagine that near-mid-airs happen more than formerly.<br /><br />As I type this, my TV news is covering the once-in-a-million Air France material recovery effort.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17517257.post-65891931082009791872009-06-03T11:41:47.732-04:002009-06-03T11:41:47.732-04:00Tom, maybe all plot devices are contrivances, but ...Tom, maybe all plot devices are contrivances, but I have to say: I don't really believe in fate, higher power, whatever mystical thing, yet I have had "coincidences" in my own life that are much more farfetched than this, and I've led a pretty boring life.<br /><br />OK, to you it's just a plot device. Is it justified? Yes, because it seems to set Walt up for recognizing or willfully not recognizing the REMOTE and INDIRECT victims of his choices. His "career" depends on his blindness to the less remote victims of his choices.<br /><br />The brilliance is in the multiple "causes" of each event, which is very realistic. Jane made a "choice" which caused her death, but her death could have been averted by Walt, who also made a "choice" to let her choke.<br /><br />If there are only strangers on the planes, his reactions may be different. If any of his estranged family members are on the planes, that's bringing it all back home.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com