[SPOILERS] Breaking Bad - Final Season - Final Two Episodes

[Bronn Stone]

Ricin Terrorism against GM is the only way for Walt to get "legit" money to Skyler. It is going to happen.

[Independent George]

I'm watching the cast on the Conan show right now. How tall is Anna Gunn?

[Jabronius Maximus]

She was lookin good at that interview. Bryan Cranston is probably just under 6ft, and Anna is taller than him. Betsy Brandt is also pretty tall too, Dean looks like a stocky dwarf next to her lol. Speaking of Dean, looks like he's lost a ton of weight over the last couple years.

Edit: I checked and Cranston is 5-11

[Littlefingers In The Air]

He certainly would have saved at least one other person's life by taking that route.

ETA: Oh, and **I** would be remiss if I did not add that Jesse has finally become a great student of chemistry. Wasn't 96% mentioned at some point?

Yeah. In a weird way, I was proud of him.

[Ser Rodrigo Belmonte]

Uh he was producing 96% purity since season 4. Also he doesn't know jackshit about chemistry. He follows a recipe that's all. Anyone can learn cooking.

[Ser Rodrigo Belmonte]

Also heisenberg's class of meth is 99% pure. Walt knows what he's doing, Jesse is just mechanically following his methods

[7V3N]

Uh he was producing 96% purity since season 4. Also he doesn't know jackshit about chemistry. He follows a recipe that's all. Anyone can learn cooking.

Not true at all. We constantly see him picking up things that Walt has taught him. In 5A, we saw him hatching his own schemes--the train heist, magnets, designing the equipment, etc. Compare Jesse to Todd.

[Ser Rodrigo Belmonte]

But dude im talking about chemistry. I agree that he's definitely become more intuitive.

[Francis Buck]

I agree with 7V3N here. Jesse has absolutely picked up on chemistry, and he's not just "following a recipe". That was the purpose of the scenes in S4, where it contrasted Victor's actions (who was truly just "following a recipe") with Jesse later on when he has to prove himself to the cooks in Mexico. Jesse has genuinely learned. In my opinion it's actually a pretty major part of his character arc. It hearkens back to when he found the old test he failed from when Walt was his teacher, and it said "Apply yourself!". Walt knew even back then, in some basic way, that Jesse wasn't really an idiot or a robot following directions. He had a talent for this stuff, he just wasn't applying himself. Walt even confirms this during the first meeting with Declan when he says that he and Jesse are the two best meth cooks in America. Gus killed Victor because he was fucking up a batch, and all the stuff Walt said about Victor at the time was true (he's just following a recipe), and then later Gus is actually supporting Jesse in serious business transactions. He wants him to be the main cook once Walt is out of the game. Both Gus and Mike (and Walt, despite early impressions) realized that Jesse had a lot of potential. It's part of the tragic nature to his character.

[7V3N]

I'd like to add to the above comment that Victor was also the prime suspect for Gale's murder.

Jesse may not be a great chemist, but his knowledge in cooking is based on chemistry at this point, not a recipe. Why else would Todd go through such trouble to get Jesse? Because he knows Jesse is as close to Walt as it gets. You simply cannot reproduce Walt's results without knowing a good amount of chemistry.

[BaseBornBastard]

I agree with 7V3N here. Jesse has absolutely picked up on chemistry, and he's not just "following a recipe". That was the purpose of the scenes in S4, where it contrasted Victor's actions (who was truly just "following a recipe") with Jesse later on when he has to prove himself to the cooks in Mexico. Jesse has genuinely learned. In my opinion it's actually a pretty major part of his character arc. It hearkens back to when he found the old test he failed from when Walt was his teacher, and it said "Apply yourself!". Walt knew even back then, in some basic way, that Jesse wasn't really an idiot or a robot following directions. He had a talent for this stuff, he just wasn't applying himself. Walt even confirms this during the first meeting with Declan when he says that he and Jesse are the two best meth cooks in America. Gus killed Victor because he was fucking up a batch, and all the stuff Walt said about Victor at the time was true (he's just following a recipe), and then later Gus is actually supporting Jesse in serious business transactions. He wants him to be the main cook once Walt is out of the game. Both Gus and Mike (and Walt, despite early impressions) realized that Jesse had a lot of potential. It's part of the tragic nature to his character.

Gus killed Vic because witnesses saw him at the murder scene of Gale. Pure and simple.

[Independent George]

Uh he was producing 96% purity since season 4. Also he doesn't know jackshit about chemistry. He follows a recipe that's all. Anyone can learn cooking.

Todd and Declan were following recipes, and could barely crack 75%.

I have Thomas Keller's cookbook on my shelf. Even when I follow the recipes exactly, I can guarantee it tastes nothing like what they serve at the French Laundry.

Jesse's not a chemist, but he's doing more than just following Walt's instructions by rote. He understands what's happening in each step, and can spot when something goes wrong and correct it on the fly.

[7V3N]

Gus killed Vic because witnesses saw him at the murder scene of Gale. Pure and simple.

I think there are various answers for that, not a single correct one. Walt says it may have been because (paraphrasing) Victor took the liberty to cook without clearing it with Gus. I think it is a primarily because Victor being caught, but Gus did it in that fashion to send a message to Walt that Gus is willing to kill anyone, no matter how useful they are to him and nothing comes before his operation's secrecy.

[Francis Buck]

I think there are various answers for that, not a single correct one. Walt says it may have been because (paraphrasing) Victor took the liberty to cook without clearing it with Gus. I think it is a primarily because Victor being caught, but Gus did it in that fashion to send a message to Walt that Gus is willing to kill anyone, no matter how useful they are to him and nothing comes before his operation's secrecy.

Good point. I agree in retrospect, as I'd forgotten about Victor's connection to the Gale murder.

Even so I think my point stands. Gus took no risks (aside from his personal killing of Tio, which was the pride that bit him in the ass). He wouldn't have supported Jesse if he thought he was just a junkie that followed a recipe. Jesse knew, truly, how to cook the blue meth, and he proved this on several occasions. If it was a simple act of following a recipe, them Todd should have been able to do the same. And, as I said, we have multiple (very intelligent) authority figures who vouch for Jesse. Gus's entire plan to defeat the Cartel wouldn't have worked if he didn't have enough faith in Jesse to pull it off. And keep in mind, Gus wanted nothing to do with Jesse early on. He managed to get by his prejudices when he realized Jesse had genuine value.

[BaseBornBastard]

Double post

[BaseBornBastard]

I agree that Gus chose to kill Victor in front of Walt, and in such as a gruesome fashion, to send a message. No doubt about that. But either way, as soon as Vic had been seen, he had to go. As for Walter's take on the reason for Vic's death, he was merely speculating, and I think that moment was added just to show the audience what type of person Walt was becoming at this point. The kind of person who would actually kill a co-worker for taking liberties. Gus could be ruthless, but he never struck me as the type of person who would slice the throat of one his right-hand men over such a trivial slight. That type of behaviour would be more characteristic of Tuco.

[7V3N]

No, Gus wouldn't kill Victor over those points I made. However, if he was considering killing Victor already then he knew he could make a message out of it. He saw the opportunity to possibly make Walt submit to his authority. He knew that he could kill Victor and have nobody know, or he could do it the way he did and possibly get a lot more done than just solving the Victor problem. Two birds with one stone.

[Francis Buck]

No, Gus wouldn't kill Victor over those points I made. However, if he was considering killing Victor already then he knew he could make a message out of it. He saw the opportunity to possibly make Walt submit to his authority. He knew that he could kill Victor and have nobody know, or he could do it the way he did and possibly get a lot more done than just solving the Victor problem. Two birds with one stone.

I agree with this as well. Like many things in the series, a single event often has multiple layers. Gus was going to kill Victor regardless, but he saw an opportunity to send a message at the same time, and did so.

[Independent George]

Even so I think my point stands. Gus took no risks (aside from his personal killing of Tio, which was the pride that bit him in the ass). He wouldn't have supported Jesse if he thought he was just a junkie that followed a recipe. Jesse knew, truly, how to cook the blue meth, and he proved this on several occasions. If it was a simple act of following a recipe, them Todd should have been able to do the same. And, as I said, we have multiple (very intelligent) authority figures who vouch for Jesse. Gus's entire plan to defeat the Cartel wouldn't have worked if he didn't have enough faith in Jesse to pull it off. And keep in mind, Gus wanted nothing to do with Jesse early on. He managed to get by his prejudices when he realized Jesse had genuine value.

To be fair, Gus was 100% right not to want anything to do with Jesse early on, when he was still using. Even afterwards, I think Jesse was way too emotional and volatile to be relied upon without a LOT of supervision.

That's why, as sympathetic as I am to Jesse, and as much as I despise Walt, he should have let Jesse die in S3.

[Honey Badger]

Todd and Declan were following recipes, and could barely crack 75%.

I have Thomas Keller's cookbook on my shelf. Even when I follow the recipes exactly, I can guarantee it tastes nothing like what they serve at the French Laundry.

Jesse's not a chemist, but he's doing more than just following Walt's instructions by rote. He understands what's happening in each step, and can spot when something goes wrong and correct it on the fly.

Agreed. I have the same book. Yeah, I can replicate a few recipes and have it taste good. But no way does it belong in a Michelin star restaurant. Jesse somehow nailed the genius behind getting the purity high enough to nail the magic blue color. The weaker lab rats following a recipe could never get it blue.