The whiny son? You mean the teenager with cerebral palsy who's been lied to and manipulated by both his parents while dealing with his parents splitting up then reconciling, all while his father is fighting cancer? Yeah -- clearly an unsympathetic character.

Pinkman started cooking because he was a fuck up who had no legitimate skills and was trapped in a shithole world where drug dealing is seen as one of the only ways to make enough money to get out. He may not care about money now, but he did when it all started. He was never concerned with building an empire, but he always was looking for a payday. Several times he's had "enough" and tried to get out, but was pulled back by Walter or other circumstances...again, Jesse is a bit of a fuck up. The fact that he's been thiiiiiiiiis close to being free and in decent shape several times by now and just hasn't been able to close the deal is probably the most frustrating and heartbreaking things about his character.

Really, despite some of their flaws and some bad moments, really everyone other than Walter and Saul deserve some sympathy. Sklyer's ship is sailing as she gets more and more on board with Walter...maybe she's there now.

Which brings me to this week's episode...

Hank has difficulty handling his anger. This has led to him being an asshole in many ways -- his treatment of Marie when he was injured and his at-all-costs pursuit of Walt. However, is there anyone in their right might who doesn't think his anger is justified? Even a normal person, one who doesn't have a history of being unable to control their anger, would probably react in very similar ways...if slightly less extreme. Yet, because he's willing to let Jesse die or tries to bully Skyler a bit to flip on Walt -- admittedly both uncaring/unsympathetic moves -- he's suddenly as disgusting as Walter or Saul?

The only thing I'm not sure Agent Gomez knows is the DVD Walt made. I'd think that he would have told him about it, especially once Gomez stated that he believed Jesse's story. This operation still seemed pretty much on the down low, so telling Gomez about the dvd wouldn't be a major risk -- and gives Hank cover later if it comes out on it's own. But they don't spell it out, and I could see Hank's pride keeping him from sharing what he might hope would be seen as a desperate move once they have Walt anyways.

Speaking of close calls -- can we acknowledge that everything after this point can be pinpointed to Jesse's decision to not talk to Walt? The bald guy not being a hitter was a bit of a throwaway amusement, but if Jesse had walked up to Walter...this could/would likely be all over for Walt. The second he admits to poisoning Brock, and the reason why, EVERYTHING Jesse said on that tape would have credibility. They might not get Walt for everything, but he'd be in jail for sure until his cancer got him and all the details would have been aired out during a trial...Jesse/Hank would have made sure of that.

I'm all for badass-Jesse, and his call to Walt (calling him "Asshole" instead of "Mr. White") was freaking great...but damn, he was SO FUCKING CLOSE to sinking Walt. I'm really curious what sort of plan he has in store -- because it seems clear that whatever it is, it's the driving force to what we are seeing in the flash forwards.

*quick-side note: As a quick magic-bean moment...when Hank and Gomez are talking about how to go after Walt, they mention the pest control place and the Drew Sharp disappearance. I think both of these are solid leads that could factor in later. However, can I just say that part of me laughs at the idea that no one has thought to simply throw an anonymous tip to the IRS about the White's car wash. Tax evasion is how they got Capone, and they would most assuredly would collapse the Whites. Skyler would get busted for not just the car wash, but it would likely force them to look more closely at her previous job and Ted's "accident". Either way, that's not nearly as good a payoff dramatically, but I found it amusing.

Not even a red herring. He's merely asking for another SD card because Jesse filled up the first one with his confession. He doesn't indicate the first SD card is missing in any way, nor does he behave as if Jesse's massively important confession is suddenly missing.

Nothing to see here.

My guess is that we catch up to the beginning of the flash forwards with 2 episodes left. That means 2 episodes of craziness, ending with Walt going on the run. Then the flash forwards happen. Then we get 2 final episodes setting up the crescendo and giving the payoff/aftermath.

I can't wait to see the full tape that Doc mentioned -- but I'd imagine it has "everything" on it. I mean, Jesse isn't the lying type in that sense. He's hurt and scared and angry. When Jesse is a raw nerve, he has no mind to play a game of chess, it's a straight line.

= = = = = = = = = = = =

I had the great pleasure of -- for the first time since watching BB -- watching it with someone else. I got to catch it with Brian while he was in town, and it was awesome to have someone to chat with during the episode.

He also made one of the best observations I've seen so far regarding the episode -- a musing about whether the Skyler hate will continue now that she's "Let Heisenberg be Heisenberg" as it were.

I commented in the other thread that I thought Skyler would go further in order to protect "her plan", especially if the situation seemed within their control. Killing Jesse definitely falls into that category. The way she did it was particularly cold, though. That moment, along with her willingness to dupe Walt Jr., has me thinking she might be willing to go even further than I initially thought.

Speaking of Walt Jr...I'm really struggling to figure out how he's going to react to all this. I mean, for all the crap we've seen on the show, Jr. has really been put through a lot off camera. He's basically kept in the dark about everything, but also kept at arms length by everyone while trying to deal with his father having cancer. How is he going to react when he finds out the truth, and that not only are his parents terrible human beings, but that they've been lying and in some ways manipulating him for a year. He clearly loves his parents, but is it enough to keep him from disowning them? Will it be enough for him to "buy in" as it were to protect the family? Breaking Bad has done such a great job of keeping character moves believable (even when they aren't, really) but I can't even begin to imagine how a person would handle this sort of revelation, much less how to mold that into a character and plot device. It does seem like at some point he's going to find out -- and I would think that his reaction is going to be a major pivot point of what happens as this show comes to a close.

Either that or he's just super sad and stays on the peripheral as he's done so far. It'd be a little disappointing, but there are so many other major things being tied up I would understand.

This was a lower-key episode in the sense that there wasn't as many "HOLY SHIT HOLY SHIT HOLY SHIT" moments as we've had in this season. However, some of the character decisions -- Jesse confessing to Hank, Skyler's falling to the Dark Side, and Gomez being brought in on the case -- really set the stage in a way that made this yet another amazing episode.

Shit's about to get real.

I'd rather see Bryan Cranston play an old/retired Bruce Wayne in a live-action version of "Batman Beyond".

Terry McGinnis would be played by Nicholas Hoult.

Ok, after 3 viewings...some thoughts:

Ugh...so much more. But I'm gonna stop there.

Isn't this a normal Hollywood thing? Signing someone for a potential recurring character for a bunch of appearances, even if there's no current intention to use them that much?

Doesn't automatically mean that there will be 6 films with him in it.

Considering I've yet to find someone, anyone, who started a description of what they like about Amy Pond with anything other than her physical attractiveness...I guess that worked out exactly like he thought.

Chalk it up to yet another thing Moffat did that hobbled the series during his run.

(that's not a knock on Karen Gillian, but rather on the story/character aspects that were likely borne out of the fact that the companion was a model)

THIS. THIS. THIS. THIS. THIS.

I'd also add that the 9/Rose relationship was also more grounded, nor particularly romantic.

That's because River Song wasn't a character, she was a plot device.

We're in agreement 100% on this.

We're also in agreement on this, as well. I'll go one step further though, and note that they've actually ruined some amazing villains by overuse...

I don't claim it's easy developing a new villain for every episode, nor do I think it's impossible to return to a villain more than once (especially when it's a race of villains) -- but how the villain is designed is incredibly important on how you use them and how often you can use them without mangling the character.

I do think it's time to design a new villain in the Dalek/Cybermen mold, intending to use it as a long-term recurring threat. They are basic designs -- genocidal destruction and the destruction of free will -- grand themes of which there are numerous others you could tap to create another equivalent character design.

Yeah, I'm pretty sure this clip is the last thing I watch regarding Gravity until I see it in the theater.

This clip/teaser/trailer is so much better that the first one, though. Not only does it show you less of the movie (it really is just 2 min of the film, as opposed to a bunch of clips from different points), but unlike the first trailer there is no sound other than the music and the coms. Cuarón has stated that the movie won't have sound in space, which is great, and this trailer reflects that, while the first trailer didn't.

Either way, can't wait to see this in IMAX 3D.

IGN game it a positive review and said it was the best Superman movie since the 1979 version.

I'm going in with reasonable expectations of it being entertaining but not amazing. I'm not heavily invested as a Superman fan either, so if it's fun and decent, I'll be happy.

I'll have to re-watch the latest season, but did the TARDIS ever actually "protect" Clara though? I remember once it wouldn't let Clara in, but that was about protecting itself. Other than that, most of the friction between Clara and the TARDIS never felt like anything other than a foil for adorable banter. Which, I mean, I enjoyed and it was adorable, but it never felt (even in retrospect) that it was a part of some grander story line.

I'm ok with a certain amount of retcon action...especially considering the nature of the show -- both it's longevity and dealing with time-travel. The thing is, the specific continuity issue I'm talking about isn't based on something that was created 50 years ago. It happened LAST SEASON.

[edited to hide something that might be considered a spoiler]

If there was ever a movie I wish I could have sat in with y'all on, it would have been this one.

Demolition Man is one of my favorite movies. At first it comes off as a standard 90's "Action-Comedy", but once you realize it's actually an incredibly clever satire on both society & it's own film genre...it just goes to another level.

Nah. One of the most interesting aspects of the Doctor (to me, at least) is the concept that he's totally alone.

The Master as a one-off wasn't too bad, but it suddenly starts losing it's impact if they start bringing back the Time Lords. I get annoyed enough when it's the Daleks or Cybermen every 3rd or 4th episode.

I feel like the show needs a refresh in more ways than just a new Doctor, at this point.