Breaking Bad Discussion II

[7V3N]

My impression is that he had already taken it, based on what he said to Marie in the car on the way over.

Well I think that was unofficial, since the guy said he would have to submit an application.

[Anya, Vengeance Demon]

Well I think that was unofficial, since the guy said he would have to submit an application.

Right, but the application was a formality, with the guy from El Paso giving his recommendation.

Regardless, I think my complaint stands. If Hank turns down the job next episode, then we're looking at a one-episode stalling tactic. If he takes the job and gets sucked back into the Heisenberg case in the back eight, then it's a more annoying stalling tactic.

[Arbor Gold]

I actually think that the ricin is going to come in to play, but it's going to be one of the kids that finds it and accidentally ricins themself. That would be awesome - it ties right into Sky's instincts that the kids are not safe in the house without knowing what the real danger is, and it ties into Walt's arrogance regarding how they are all out of danger now that he is the Big Man. It's also ties in well with Brock almost getting ricin'ed last season. Would be a good way to end this run of episodes, and would provide all sorts of motivation for crazy shit to go down next summer.

[7V3N]

I actually think that the ricin is going to come in to play, but it's going to be one of the kids that finds it and accidentally ricins themself. That would be awesome - it ties right into Sky's instincts that the kids are not safe in the house without knowing what the real danger is, and it ties into Walt's arrogance regarding how they are all out of danger now that he is the Big Man. It's also ties in well with Brock almost getting ricin'ed last season. Would be a good way to end this run of episodes, and would provide all sorts of motivation for crazy shit to go down next summer.

Hmmm.... Seems like it'd fit perfectly. Walter Jr. is of an age where kids experiment smoking and such, so I would not put it past him finding it in the cigarette, perhaps one meant for Skylar.

[Reposado]

She's not in control of anything, though, so her insane actions seem reasonable to me. She's completely trapped - in her life, in her home, in her bed - by this monster she's married to. She's desperate for something that she feels she can control. In context, that situation would likely drive me insane.

right, but it's her own fault. she didn't have to try to become a criminal mastermind. to quote be, you can't be half an gangster. in this case, you can't be a tenth a gangster. if she hadn't been laundering money and cooking books, i could empathize with her.

in her situation, i'd probably be a wreck too. so you know what i've done, not become involved in criminal conspiracies.

it's so sad for her that it turned out there was danger in cooking millions of dollars worth of meth. who would have seen that coming.

[Francis Buck]

Or even just thinking it's some kind of drug. It is a mysterious white powder in a vial, after all...

In relation, it's also funny to think of how many times the ricin has been major plot device, and yet has never been successfully utilized on any of its intended victims (unless I'm forgetting something important).

Definitely an interesting possibility.

[7V3N]

right, but it's her own fault. she didn't have to try to become a criminal mastermind. to quote be, you can't be half an gangster. in this case, you can't be a tenth a gangster. if she hadn't been laundering money and cooking books, i could empathize with her.

in her situation, i'd probably be a wreck too. so you know what i've done, not become involved in criminal conspiracies.

it's so sad for her that it turned out there was danger in cooking millions of dollars worth of meth. who would have seen that coming.

-_-

Walt was, to her, just a cook. All she knew is that he was a meth producer and that he had safely been doing so for almost a year. So she helps. Then Gus and Hector die in an explosion in a retirement home, and Walt says "I won." Skylar had no idea how deep Walt was into this, nor how far he had gone. Suddenly, a good man with a bad job became a dangerous, crazy murder with an apparently much more dangerous job than she initially knew.

[Anya, Vengeance Demon]

right, but it's her own fault. she didn't have to try to become a criminal mastermind. to quote be, you can't be half an gangster. in this case, you can't be a tenth a gangster. if she hadn't been laundering money and cooking books, i could empathize with her.

She didn't try to become a criminal mastermind. She was put in a situation where her options were either (1) get Walt arrested and raise two children by herself under a cloud of disgrace and very straitened financial circumstances, or (2) try to handle Walt's criminal enterprises so that the risk to herself or her family was minimized. And she was faced with this decision because Walt forced it on her. Had he not done so, she would have just left him and that would have been that.

Option 1 is obviously the better choice, from a question of morality and of long-term self-interest, but I understand why she chose option 2. The real issue for her isn't just that there was danger in the meth business, although of course Walt was there every step of the way encouraging her delusions on that point. It's that Walt isn't remotely interested in minimizing the risk to his family. His decisions as a drug dealer court risk at every turn, and his behavior as a 'civilian' raise all kind of red flags that he wants to get caught.

[Francis Buck]

Did anyone else think the camera focusing on the pool via Skyler's viewpoint was making any connection to "the blue" at all?

Before she went in, I wondered if it was some metaphor for this crazy thing they got all caught up in. But once she went in I wasn't so sure and thought that maybe she was just getting lost in the appeal of going in.

Yeah, that entered my brain at the time, as did the fact that it was reminiscent of a clear, blue sky when it was zoomed all the way in.

Honestly, I can't help but look for connections everywhere in this show. It gets kinda out of hand (although being that this particular episode was directed by Rian Johnson, I'm even more inclined than normal to assume that pretty much everything is intentional).

[Sis Who Swears]

Did anyone else think the camera focusing on the pool via Skyler's viewpoint was making any connection to "the blue" at all?

Before she went in, I wondered if it was some metaphor for this crazy thing they got all caught up in. But once she went in I wasn't so sure and thought that maybe she was just getting lost in the appeal of going in.

Totally thought that.

I have always been waiting for something bad to happen to the kids, just a matter of when. Also I could totally see it somehow being Skyler's fault, and then I would expect Walt would have no qualms about offing her.

Also weird tangent time and maybe it's just cause I have a baby and notice these things but why does Holly ALWAYS have a hat on? It bothers me.

[Umel of Ys]

If Holly eats the ricin, it could give Junior a reason to stop eating breakfast and finally do something of significance like trying to kill his father. Walt killed by Walter Jr. that's the kind of irony the show is built around. Also (situationally) ironic? The baby is not actually killed by the electric socket but by what's behind.

[Umel of Ys]

A review pointed out that the blue pool Skyler was drowning in, looked like liquid meth. That would be the best interpretation if she didn't have such a peaceful look on her face.

[Arbor Gold]

If Holly eats the ricin, it could give Junior a reason to stop eating breakfast and finally do something of significance like trying to kill his father. Walt killed by Walter Jr. that's the kind of irony the show is built around. Also (situationally) ironic? The baby is not actually killed by the electric socket but by what's behind.

It would be cool if it was Walt Jr that gets it, considering how much he has always idolized his father and constantly took his side over Skyler. I kind of like him being killed by the poison his totally awesome dad brought in to the house.

[Reposado]

She didn't try to become a criminal mastermind. She was put in a situation where her options were either (1) get Walt arrested and raise two children by herself under a cloud of disgrace and very straitened financial circumstances, or (2) try to handle Walt's criminal enterprises so that the risk to herself or her family was minimized. And she was faced with this decision because Walt forced it on her. Had he not done so, she would have just left him and that would have been that.

Option 1 is obviously the better choice, from a question of morality and of long-term self-interest, but I understand why she chose option 2. The real issue for her isn't just that there was danger in the meth business, although of course Walt was there every step of the way encouraging her delusions on that point. It's that Walt isn't remotely interested in minimizing the risk to his family. His decisions as a drug dealer court risk at every turn, and his behavior as a 'civilian' raise all kind of red flags that he wants to get caught.

yeah but she chose to get involved. the game is the game. if you choose in, you are in. you win or you die. you can't get in and then feel sorry for yourself. well you can but i'm not going to empathize with that.

[Arbor Gold]

yeah but she chose to get involved. the game is the game. if you choose in, you are in. you win or you die. you can't get in and then feel sorry for yourself. well you can but i'm not going to empathize with that.

Do you empathize with Jesse?

[Anya, Vengeance Demon]

yeah but she chose to get involved. the game is the game. if you choose in, you are in. you win or you die. you can't get in and then feel sorry for yourself. well you can but i'm not going to empathize with that.

I think it's strange that you saw an extended scene in which Skylar talks about how there's blood on her hands, and how she made bad choices that led to this, and that her primary goal is not saving herself but saving Walt, Jr. and Holly from dangerous circumstances that they did not choose, and thought to yourself, "Oh, she's just feeling sorry for herself."

[Sis Who Swears]

Yeah, I totally expect it to be Walt Jr. that gets it. but that almost seems too um... obvious somehow.

[7V3N]

I think it's strange that you saw an extended scene in which Skylar talks about how there's blood on her hands, and how she made bad choices that led to this, and that her primary goal is not saving herself but saving Walt, Jr. and Holly from dangerous circumstances that they did not choose, and thought to yourself, "Oh, she's just feeling sorry for herself."

:agree:

[no more likes]

[Francis Buck]

Yeah, honestly having Walt kill Skylar probably isn't going to help convert the people still rooting for him, since it seems like most (not all) of them are also the ones that hate Sky.

[7V3N]

I see it as Walt Jr. The show has built up him looking up to Walt and defending him vs. Skylar, even calling his mom a bitch, despite her always looking out for him. We have seen Jr. grow from a lonely kid to a mature young adult. If anything will make Walt beyond liking, it would be threatening/sacrificing Walter Jr.