Watching Breaking Bad

[Lowdown]

Just started the first part of season five on DVD, so I'm catching up. Got the current season on DVR.

 

[Hulk Hogan's Brother]

Just finished up with the second season of the show and here are some of my observations:

Pros:

1. Jane's death. Very often we talk about a show going to the next level. Before this, BB was somewhere between mildly interesting and "uh, isn't this supposed to be good?" Not anymore. In an alternate universe this is the ending to the second season. Also, much better than the actual ending.(I'll get to it.)

2. The introduction of Paul Heyman er...Saul Goodman and Gus. They make the show interesting, much more interesting as compared to Jesse and his rag tag gang peddling meth. Both are great characters.

3. Character progression. Skylar progressed from a bitch to someone who is both smart, bold and at the same time, vulnerable. Hank's solid cop persona really showed itself in this season. There was less of Maggie, and that is always a relief.

4. The part with both Skylar and Gus finding out something about Walt. Sets up really well for the next season.

Cons:

1. The actual ending felt highly contrived. It felt outlandish. First of all, who calls an air traffic controller back to work weeks after the death of his only daughter. Mind you, this is not some corporate job, but a job where the lives of people are at risk. You have to be 100% at the job. Either you are 100% or you're not as far as the job is concerned and no one is expecting you to be 100% weeks after your daughter's death. Also, the crash took place in Walt's neighborhood. Yeah, that was contrived as hell.

2. The first half with Jesse and gang peddling meth was really slow and felt more or less like an extension of the first season. Good thing that things got better.

Verdict: The show is certainly looking up but it is still feels nothing like the best drama of modern times at this point. At this point, it's a good show, nothing more, and nothing less.

 

[Blade]

The first season, while good, isn't as great as people say. The second season is better. The then the third, fourth and now the fifth are all better than the seasons that preceded them. The fifth season is honestly the best season of TV I've ever watched, and I watch a lot of shows. The foreshadowing, the symbolism, the character progression of Walt, you feel like you're going through it with the characters. It's wonderful. Many of the people who don't think Breaking Bad is that great are the pretentious knobs who don't like what's popular now and over rate the Wire and the Sopranos.

 

[The 1-2-3 Killam]

I think Breaking Bad gets gradually better as it goes along. And there's some pretty solid ratings proof to back that up. The current season randomly doubled the show's ratings. The second half of season five is by far the best television I have ever seen.

For me, there are two things that come close to Season 5.2 of Breaking Bad. The first is the first season of Dexter, which will forever remain the best season of that show. The second is season 6 of House, which saw the most moving, most emotional scenes of that series. Breaking Bad is on a whole different level though.

No one apart from White Sr. and Jesse is all that likable. Skylar's a bitch, Hank's pompous and pretentious, Maggie's the kind of person who likes seeing others in misery, White Jr. is a typical self centered teenager. Am I supposed to sympathize with these guys when Walt ultimately goes bad?

LOL. And yes.

 

[Coco]

I think Breaking Bad gets gradually better as it goes along.

I disagree. I'll take seasons three and four over anything else the show's done

And there's some pretty solid ratings proof to back that up.

Assuming ratings correlate with quality.

Note to Slyfox: Fuck off.

The current season randomly doubled the show's ratings. The second half of season five is by far the best television I have ever seen.

a) If you think ratings correlate with quality, surely the ratings jump is far from random.

b) It's not random. It's a result of word-of-mouth leading to people catching up on the show via Netflix and other means and then getting in the game.

For me, there are two things that come close to Season 5.2 of Breaking Bad. The first is the first season of Dexter, which will forever remain the best season of that show.

wut

The second is season 6 of House, which saw the most moving, most emotional scenes of that series.

WUT

Breaking Bad is on a whole different level though.

A whole different level than the first season of Dexter and the sixth season of House? Yeah. it sure is.

Anyway, I'm really hoping the finale is a showcase episode for Betsy Brandt. Both because I love her and because I hate everyone else.

 

[Coco]

Many of the people who don't think Breaking Bad is that great are the pretentious knobs who don't like what's popular now and over rate the Wire and the Sopranos.

a) Hey!

b) The Sopranos was popular.

 

[Poop Master Flex]

Awesome ending, about as good as I would have hoped, very satisfying.

Cue the contrarians!

 

[It's Damn Real!]

As Patton Oswalt said, "that was a 100% pure cook".

 

[Coco]

Cue the contrarians? We've hardly begun with the hyperbolous praise!

 

[Poop Master Flex]

The contrarians have always been here, why wait?

 

[Coco]

The contrarians don't work on your schedule, sheeple.

 

[Poop Master Flex]

Bitches gonna bitch when they want to bitch. Bitch!

 

[Lowdown]

Nice send off.

 

[Big Nick Dudley]

If you were waiting for some sort of mind blowing scenario, you were probably disappointed (Walt dying was hardly a surprise). It isn't overly common where a show nails its finale, but this one did. The ending made sense, which is something to be happy about.

 

[JamJam]

What a way to end the show, it was perfect. Everything tied in and at the end of the day, I was still rooting for Walt. Walt was both the antagonist and protagonist in this show and it was just awesome to see that. I'm simply just blown away by it, perfect!

 

[Coco]

The ending disappointed me. It wasn't horrible and I enjoyed it for what it was, but it did not blow my mind. Now, I will say that I didn't think the Shield's ending was so great, either, mostly because I thought the

Spoiler

confession

scene was ludicrous. To me, nothing will top the Soprano's ending. The final scene, I believe, was David Chase's way of articulating a great many things without explicit exposition -- things involving the fate of Tony and his family and even on the trend which the US finds itself in. And, finally, the last scene invites us to revisit the series to dig into its mysteries and make us think about art vs. entertainment and even the importance of "how" a story is presented and not just what the plot points are.

Basically, the Soprano's final scene promises the viewer that the more he or she puts into understanding it, the more he will get out of it. And I believe that it delivers on the promise. And it does so in a way that has never been done before.

The Breaking Bad finale doesn't do this. I delivers to the characters the best they could have hoped for plot-wise, while making it unneccessary, really, for the viewer to do much digging. Gilligan takes the side of entertainment completely over art. I don't have a problem with all the characters getting the best they could have hoped for, but if that's the case, I would have liked to have been made to think, dig and ponder. I might revisit episodes just for entertainment's sake, but I don't really have to to fully grasp the show. I can actually move on at this point. Still, a great show that I won't forget.

I think this plays to the "wrestling vs sports entertainment" distinction Sam's been bemoaning in the WSZ.

 

[Poop Master Flex]

You can't compare the endings of the 2. Most I know hated the ending of Sopranos, I loved it and thought it was perfect for that series. With that said I thought the direct approach was the best way to end Breaking Bad.

 

[Dowdsy McDowds]

I liked the ending of The Shield, though I felt very sad when Dutch and Claudette have their wee chat at the end and Dutch looks completely helpless.

Breaking Bads finale was solid but unspectacular. For such an against the grain kind of show, the neatness of the ending was just a little too idealistic for me. That being said, a huge swerve at the very last just for the sake of one would have left a bitter taste. So yeh, the ending was... fine.

 

[Coco]

I don't understanding people complaining about such a "neat" ending. It's as though they've been watching a different show all these years.

I guess everyone was too busy twisting themselves into knots talking about "shades of grey," as if those words even mean anything any more.

 

[Blade]

I thought the ending was good. It was understated and subtle, the third act aside. The fact is, with all the crazy twists and turns that Breaking Bad has over the last 5 seasons, an ending like this was needed. Predictable and simple, but in a good way.

Had the ending tried to go out in a gigantic blaze of glory, trying to keep up with the rest of the episodes, it would've come off as trying too hard rather than just doing what made sense. So yeah, an enjoyable ending.

And I hate when people complain that it's not open-ended, that everything was wrapped up too nicely. They're the type of people who gave Lost all kinds of shit for the supposedly unanswered questions. Storytelling is about a beginning, a middle and an end. Not a beginning, a middle, and a sort-of end that doesn't feel like an ending and is open to interpretation because pretentious people (yeah, them again) want to feel smart and artistic by discussing what the writers "meant".

But yeah. Good ending. Way better than Mass Effect 3.

 

[Lee]

Jesse didn't say bitch and Huell's still in a safe house somewhere.

Aside from that, it was spot on.

 

[Lee]

 

[Hulk Hogan's Brother]

Into season 3 now. Just want to ask if anyone found the lack of a background score a bit unsettling. I mean, some music would be nice during the dramatic moments.

 

[Coco]

Into season 3 now. Just want to ask if anyone found the lack of a background score a bit unsettling. I mean, some music would be nice during the dramatic moments.

You're quickly becoming my least favourite poster.

 

[Hulk Hogan's Brother]

You mean, that wasn't the case earlier?