Breaking Bad

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takenoko
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Breaking Bad

Post by takenoko »

So I currently just finished the third season episode "The Fly".

One of the reasons I really like this series is because it's really tight. It's a great chain of causality where little off shoot bits feed back into the main plot somehow. Side characters that you figure to be one offs can come back and be dead as a result of something the main characters did. It's great, because it makes it feel like a world of consequence. That there's this long ripple of repercussions because of things the protagonists do.

The formatting is amazing as well. Like "The Fly" for instance. The simple wraparound story is Walter and Jesse try to kill a fly? If this were toku, it'd be a dumb filler episode to pad the yearly quota. But here, they use it to focus on two characters and their relationship. It injects levity, after a series of really tense episodes. It's like hitting the release valve so the pressure doesn't build up too high. Yeah, there's drama, but you don't want it to be oppressively tense all the time, because that's wearing.

And is there a term for what they do, when they show a bit from the future, then go back in time and show what happens to lead up to that teaser? Like the first episode, it shows Walter at the end of the episode, leaving you to wonder what happens to lead him to that point. Or season 2, where these tease something big happening, with a charred teddy bear in Walter's pool. The show does an amazing job of manipulating the viewer tenseness levels. I don't think this is foreshadowing per se, since the teaser is often deceptive in nature.

But yeah, I'm enjoying it. All the main characters are likeable (well, except the wife and her sister). I really like the pseudo father-son relationship between Walter and Jesse. Plus, it's all on Netflix, so I don't need to pay extra to watch it. It's in HD, but it doesn't look like it was shot with an HD cam. It's pretty grainy, at least in the first couple of seasons. I wish Netflix had an option to watch at 1.5 speed sometimes too.
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Re: Breaking Bad

Post by Catastrophe »

The Fly was filmed because they went massively overbudget that season. So technically they are still trying to hit the episode quota, but one the things that I love about Breaking Bad is that it still works as a great episode for everything that you mentioned.

It's a fantastic show. Probably my favourite of all time. The last few episodes of both the last and 2nd to last seasons are intense.
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Re: Breaking Bad

Post by takenoko »

Finale

Spoiler
Man, that was rough. No one ends up okay at the end, which is too bad. Despite the stuff Walt did, I still wanted to see him succeed. He was the protagonist, after all.

It really seems like the creator wanted to show that this is a world of consequences. It's kind of like a Greek tragedy. People ultimately destroy themselves. If Hank and Jesse had just let some things go, they'd probably be in a lot better spot.

I liked Walt's revenge on the two rich people who apparently betrayed him, despite it not being apparent what they did.

The thing with Andrea was heartbreaking.

I kind of wonder if Todd has a learning disability. It seems like he reacts to things like a child. Even his crush on Lydia seems childlike. It's almost like he doesn't totally understand the repercussions of the things that happen. Anyone else notice that about him?
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Re: Breaking Bad

Post by Catastrophe »

That's what makes him a psychopath. The things he did following the train heist and helping Walt dispose of Mikes body go to show he is apathetic. Shown with how he tortures Jessie at the end.
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Re: Breaking Bad Ending spoilers

Post by takenoko »

Yeah, but he still cared about his family, and Jesse for the most part. The only reason he tried to have Jesse killed was because it seemed like Jesse was out to get Walt. Plus he did some things in anger because Jesse got Hank killed by the white supremacists.

Think about it, Jesse is basically dead without Walt watching over him. Walt's the one who freed Jesse at the end, even taking a bullet for him. Walt has saved Jesse countless times. What's Jesse going to do now that Walt is dead?

I mean, I guess this show is a pretty good examination of what is evil. How many things can a man rationalize away before he's counted as evil? I certainly don't think Walt is a psychopath. He's always watching out for his wife and kids, even pretending to be a bad husband just to take some heat off his wife. He does all these things for his family, and they don't even appreciate it.
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Re: Breaking Bad

Post by Catastrophe »

I don't think it's as clear cut as what you're making it out to be. The beauty of this show is that everyone is two faced. You make some good points about Walt, but remember his last conversation with Skyler. He tells her he kept cooking because he was good at it and liked it. The fact that he's still trying to be a family man contrasts directly with the fact he did shit like murder Mike for no real reason.

And that's one of the reasons I love this show so much.
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