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The final season kicks off this weekend, folks. After the premiere airs on Sunday, I'd love to hear people's reactions/predictions/analysis/superlatives-about-Walter's-badassery/favorite-Saul-Goodman-quips on this thread. Goddammit I'm excited.
Rewatching the last season on netflix confirmed it as possibly the best season of television I've ever seen, I'm talking The Wire season 4 levels of greatness.
Seriously, from Salud (the mexico expedition episode) onwards is like you're watching an amazing 8 hour crime epic.
Last season was definitely top-notch, but it did break my heart when
If you're going to predict, step up:
I predict:
Jesse ultimately kills Walt.
Oh well, doesn't hurt to place a bet. Haven't looked at that betting site, and haven't seen this one anywhere else, but.
Oh well, doesn't hurt to place a bet. Haven't looked at that betting site, and haven't seen this one anywhere else, but.
I've got Walt killing Hank in the first episode.
I bet
I saw Gilligan on Charlie Rose's program last week, and he was careful about revealing anything about the end of the series, but he hinted, in so many words, that what happens to Walt at the end is not exactly what you'd call a happily-ever-after resolution.
Last edited by Rob (2013-08-11 23:07:07)
If you're going to predict, step up:
...can't believe I spent an hour on that. 
My prediction on how the wacky adventures of MacGyver and Cartman will end:
fuck they are not wasting time, this show has just been speeding up exponentially since the middle of Season 4, so refreshing to have 0 filler.
Also that Star Trek conversation was both accurate and hilarious, felt like something out of a Tarantino movie
I think the Star Trek thing went on a bit long, but it was definitely hilarious. Seeing the scene in context of the whole episode, it's a great moment, but as I was watching, I was wondering why they were spending so much time with it and not with the main plot threads.
But then
Oh hell yes.
* The Star Trek "script" that was pitched in Jesse's house seemed to be about main characters (Kirk, Spock, etc.) who were supposed to be allies sabotaging each other. Did other people hear it that way? (I need to re-watch it; it was hard for me to follow.)
* Saul Goodman apparently gets "happy ending" massages in his office while a waiting room full of clients are outside. I love that character. As an alternate title for this episode, I nominate "Barn Door Open."
* Lydia's not the loose cannon. Jesse is. And Walt knows it. A guy who will forfeit millions of dollars is a guy who will do anything. (I wondered why Jesse, with all that moolah, didn't just try to pay Saul to deliver that money.) Walt's gonna Ricin Jesse's ass, dontcha think? (Also it's obvious that hiding things behind electrical outlet faceplates is extremely effective.)
* My girlfriend and I have officially started rooting for Hank. I'm kind of ashamed to admit that, but I think this may or may not be what the writers are going for. I view Hank and Jesse as heroes way more than I do Walt. Jesse has a functioning conscience and Hank apprehending Walt could save lives. (After the kid on the bike got killed, I went from disapproving of Walter to hating him. The Walt who killed Gus Fring became a different person—he became Gus Fring, someone who views the deaths of innocents as the cost of doing business.)
* The garage door closing! Shit yeah. It was an unexpected beat, too. Walt discovers the device, and promptly confronts Hank first thing in the morning.
SPOILERS (unless you've watched seasons 1-4):
Last edited by PorridgeGun (2013-11-19 16:00:45)
If Badger and Skinny Pete die, I'm going to be depressed. Everyone else can bite it but those two deserve to keep getting high and discovering the meaning of life until they die of natural causes.
It's amazing that I am routing for Walt when I have no more sympathy for him.
Must be a train crash type of deal.
Last edited by JessicaMonroe (2013-08-13 00:22:14)
I have missed this show so much. Holding my breath all the way through. As Mike said on Twitter, it feels good to await something with high expectations, and not be disappointed. This ending is going to be huge.
I like what Rob and Kyle said about Walt. It's exactly how I feel about him. During the last seasons, we gradually became estranged from him. He's no longer the guy we're following and hoping for, but the man we're scared of and don't know anymore. When he was trying to convince Jesse he didn't kill Mike, I stared in awe at his lying face. I wanted to believe him and forget the past for a moment, buying into this good side of him and yet, knowing the truth, telling myself what a piece of shit this bastard is. Bryan Cranston truly is the man.
Oh hell yes.
spoiler
* All these flash forwards of the bearded Walt we've been getting continue to be difficult to decipher. Although (with a nod here to PorridgeGun's above prediction) it's telling that Walt has a full head of hair in addition to the beard, which indeed indicates that his cancer will at some point go away and not be a factor in the home stretch of the story.* My girlfriend and I have officially started rooting for Hank. I'm kind of ashamed to admit that, but I think this may or may not be what the writers are going for. I view Hank and Jesse as heroes way more than I do Walt. Jesse has a functioning conscience and Hank apprehending Walt could save lives. (After the kid on the bike got killed, I went from disapproving of Walter to hating him. The Walt who killed Gus Fring became a different person—he became Gus Fring, someone who views the deaths of innocents as the cost of doing business.)
Responses to those two comments:
Second, and this isn't meant to be an overly harsh judgement or anything, but it's actually kinda bad that it took you this long to start hating and rooting against Walter. He's only a sympathetic figure through about half of the first season. There are several points later in the first season where he's clearly transitioned into cooking meth as an ego-trip instead of actually taking care of his family -- he's warping the concept of taking care of one's family into an excuse to become the monster he clearly wants to become. He gets progressively worse every season, shedding any pretention that he cares about anyone other than himself (he only cares about his family because "it's what a man does" -- thus again making it about himself).
So really, you (and everyone else) should have been rooting against Walter for several seasons now. 
I predict:
Jesse ultimately kills Walt.
My really dark prediction:
I gotta say it, while Season 5 has been my favorite up until this point, I thought this final cliffhanger episode in particular was super inconsistent and disappointing. Lots of character motivations that don't make sense, and suddenly the show is using time-lapse like crazy and jumping super quickly through pretty important details.
SPOILERSo Lydia, who has been paranoid as hell, near nervous breakdown, and begging to leave the business, is suddenly a criminal mastermind who wants to expand operations like crazy despite her company being under investigation? Bullshit. Then Walter, finally decides to get out of the business, despite being megamaniacal and not caring about the money earlier. Ok, I'll give them that one, but you're telling me that A. he's able to just stop cooking without any repercussions from the massive enterprise he just set up? I'm sure they'll get into it more next year, but not even having a scene of him telling Lydia and Todd that he's out seems like pretty important details. And B. Skylar just takes him back, like nothing's happened? She's been shown to be near suicidal and wanting him dead, but the second he says "I'm out", it's all water under the bridge? Don't buy it.And I'm really not digging the way the big reveal happens at the end. I'd kind of hoped that Hank would start to put the pieces together through his own detective skills. Having it be just this random object that was barely even setup earlier seems kinda lazy and short-hand to me, although I get what they're going for.
Next...can you tell I have no one to talk to about Breaking Bad in my area?
I think Walter giving up is "meh" believable. I mean, it was pretty clear that the amount of money was more than they'd ever need (or even could use without getting caught). The blow up with Jesse, the things he's had to do in the first half of the 5th season...the idea that he simply saw a way to get out and took it is a leap, but not a huge one.
I think the logistics of him quitting are a bit of a magic bean. I mean, the new cook/distributor would be happy Walter's not cooking anymore, Jesse is gone, Mike is dead, Todd is with Lydia and while Lydia tries to get him back, she's not the type to (at first) strong arm someone into doing something the way the rest of the guys Walter has worked with would. So, you kind of just have to take it at face value that if he simply walks away, no one is really left to tell him what to do. Also, I'm not sure what a scene about him telling Lydia/Todd would really add -- so I'm not disappointed that it wasn't shown.
Skyler hasn't "taken him back like nothing's happened". She's broken and waiting for him to die. She's a subdued prisoner in Walter's world -- but now that she has a goal in mind, all she has to do is endure. The best course of action for her in this situation is to not rock the boat. She clearly doesn't love Walter anymore. While she's not walking around shooting "I loathe you and want you dead" looks at Walter 24/7, that doesn't mean she's forgiven him. Remember, she's a mother. In X amount of months Walter will be dead, she'll be filthy rich, and her family can move on with the rest of their lives out from under Walter's thumb...being agreeable now is about protecting the family unit and keeping everyone (including their children) in the dark about the situation.
The "reveal" seems perfect for the show. Keeping that book, and keeping it in such an accessible area, was the last shred of hubris Walter had held on to after quitting. So of course that's what gives him away...his downfall comes from his underlying flaw. The theme throughout the show has been Walter's decisions, and how his selfishness and ego have destroyed everything around him. He finally steps away from everything -- and the ONE piece he keeps sinks him. Poetic.
Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand lastly:
+1
First, the fact that Walt has hair in the flash-forwards does NOT indicate that his cancer is back in remission -- it only indicates that he's no longer undergoing chemotherapy. That could mean that the cancer is in remission, but it also could mean that he volunteered or was forced to stop undergoing chemo.
Ah hah, good catch.
Totally—my mental shorthand of cancer = bald was too presumptuous. It's the chemo, not the cancer itself that = bald. I believe you may have keyed into a key detail here: The cancer might be here to stay (I think Vince Gilligan has dropped a hint to that effect), and if that's the case it's a good bet that Walt will simply be forced to stop treatments when he goes on the lam. Shit those flash forwards fascinate me. It's pretty clever how they're using that device to show us Walt's future but not his ultimate fate, almost the way he might have a vision of his future without fully knowing how it will play out.
spoilerit's actually kinda bad that it took you this long to start hating and rooting against Walter. He's only a sympathetic figure through about half of the first season. There are several points later in the first season where he's clearly transitioned into cooking meth as an ego-trip instead of actually taking care of his family -- he's warping the concept of taking care of one's family into an excuse to become the monster he clearly wants to become. He gets progressively worse every season, shedding any pretention that he cares about anyone other than himself (he only cares about his family because "it's what a man does" -- thus again making it about himself).So really, you (and everyone else) should have been rooting against Walter for several seasons now.
If the point is that it is itself alarming and sort of fucked-up that I've taken this long to hate Walt, then we agree. I've engaged in pro-Walt apologetics for far too long, no doubt (at the time, I even rationalized Walt's actions w/r/t the whole Jane Margolis thing; I was shameless). So, yeah, I plead guilty to being in love with the character from day one, hating the sins but loving the sinner. I have no excuse.
But I do think the kid-on-the-bike thing, which made me move from disapproving of Walt to hating him, marked a new low point for Walt: the utter lack of any human response, and moreover, the inability to relate to someone (Jesse) who was actually having a real human response to what happened. The Walt of even just a couple seasons ago would have been more affected by it, but the post-Fring Walt doesn't lose a wink of sleep over it. Of course, this viewer experience—one of constantly performing the moral calculus it takes to figure out just how much you want to root for a protagonist whose actions you find increasingly reprehensible, and even what that might mean about you—is something Gilligan and the show's writers have always seemed to be going for. They've done the whole anti-hero thing really well.
After the premiere, I said "That's it. I'm officially rooting for Hank. He's now my protagonist in this story." But after this latest episode, and his icky, self-serving diner discussion with Skyler, I'm not so sure anymore. He and his wife are both starting to lose their shit, I think. Okay, so Pinkman. I'll root for Pinkman. How can you not love a dude who drives around the neighborhood tossing cash out of his car?
So...uh, that happened.
I require a couple more viewing before I comment on anything.
5 episodes left.
Jeez, these final episodes are moving at a breakneck pace. Can I sue Vince Gilligan for whiplash? Because the DVD scene caused my jaw physical pain from how much it dropped.
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