Good observation there, it hadn't occurred to me the significance of the one-two punch: Walt ultimately does the right thing and turns himself in, only to say "nope, fuck that," and goes off on what is sure to be a rampage.

I really don't see him doing that, for some reason. I do think he's given up on his family, not because he doesn't care anymore, but because he's understood that he can't help them. His own son doesn't want anything to do with him, and I think he got the message. His whole reaction in the last part of the episode isn't "Oh, it doesn't matter, I'll find a way", but "Okay, screw this. They'll be fine without me. I'll kill everyone else".

Makes sense, but here too I saw it differently.

When he ends his conversation with Skyler on the phone, he says he still has things left to do. Then he tries to bully Saul into helping him have his revenge (which fails, thank you cancer). His initial plan was to leave Albuquerque for a while and come back to kill everyone.

Then, we have his phone call to Flynn, who breaks him by rejecting him. Walt gives up, he turns himself in. But then, we have this - convenient, we'll all agree on that - broadcast which brings his anger back, and then some. We have Gray Matter which, as has pointed out BBQ, is one of the reasons Heisenberg came to life in the first place. And here they are, saying basically that Walter White is no one. His face at this moment is pure disgust; his wounded oversized pride must overwhelmingly rush back here. And to top it off, he learns that his blue meth is back on the market; someone's stealing Heisenberg's work.

The only thing I can imagine coming to his mind here is "I will slaughter them all". He doesn't even think about his family for a second; that's in the past, it's over. Judgment time.

Last edited by Saniss (2013-09-25 19:13:07)

I dont think they ever fully went into the reasons Walt left Grey Matter, other than whatever his relationship with Gretchen was.  Still I always got the feeling that there was even more to it then just their fling.

That too.

From a writing standpoint, why bring back Gray Matter this late in the game when they've been out of the picture since Season Two?   And Walt and Gretchen's unexplained history goes all the way back to Episode Three of the first season.   Gretchen/Walt is pretty much the last unsolved mystery the show has left.   

To me, it adds up to some kind of Gretchen/Walt encounter in the final episode.    And I don't think it'll be for revenge.  It'll be Walt showing (or pretending) that the man she remembers still exists... and him using that to ask for her help.

Again, we shall see. 

Walt might be unhinged now. He's always professed that what he does he does for his family. But there's always been self-serving, ego-driven motives at play. When he phoned the DEA and calmly sat down at the bar waiting to be arrested, that was truly in the best interest of his family. At that moment, he was shelving his fantasies of tending to "unfinished business." He was ready to face the music.

Then he saw Charlie Rose and got mad, balled his fist. His oldest scab torn open. All his anger, resentment, and ego got re-ignited. Perhaps now he wants revenge, and maybe he somehow wants the world to know who he really is — like when he insisted that a certain someone "Say. My. Name." Why'd he do that? No practical reason — I suppose he wanted to emphasize that I'm not who you think I am. I'm nobody's bitch. I am the one who knocks. You're damn right. Etc. So this could be revenge tinged with some crazed ambition to make sure that, even if he goes down, the world will "say his name" right.

Fireproof is pretty correct.  THe others are...

Quick note...

'Granite State' was actually 75 minutes with commercials, and the finale is set to be the same length. So, it looks like Gilligan will have a nearly an hour to button things up.

Lev Kuleshov, please pick up the nearest courtesy phone...   

Sure, that's one way to go.  I go this way:

From the broadcast, Walt finds out three important things:

A) blue meth is still being sold - meaning the Aryans and Lydia are still at work and therefore still obvious targets for the DEA.  And potential scapegoats for a lot of things.

B) Gray Matter is giving charity to people whose lives have been affected by drugs.  Walt's family certainly qualifies for THAT.     Notice the episode also mentioned the DEA can't seize assets unless there's probable cause they were paid for with drug money.  Walt can never ever ever give money to his family, but Gray Matter can. 

c) Gretchen still remembers the good ol' Walt.  And she all but begged him to take her money multiple times, but he Heisenberg'd her.

So when Walt's muttering to himself, he's thinking "Wait, I can't just give up after all - there's still a way to make this work!"   Walt's all about making plans to "fix things", always has been.

And his reaction to Gretchen talking about old Walt being gone meant "No I'm not! And if I can convince her of that, I can save my family after all!"

Kuleshov.  Hell of a thing. 

Walt's still going to tell a boatload of lies mixed with truths, but it's all going to be in service of the family, same as ever.  First by settling their financial problems at last, second by eliminating the Aryans as a threat.  And, I suspect, his plan is to die WITH them, as part of a scheme to throw as much suspicion off Skyler while he's at it.

Todd, Lydia, and Jesse are wild cards. Their stories could go any direction - they may be part of Walt's plan, they may turn out to be the complications that derail his plan.  I have no predictions there.

Final prediction: Walt will not go out in a blaze of gunfire.   That may be his plan but it won't work out.  However, he will have covered his bets by already taking the Ricin.

I thought I had cracked the code except for WAtJ which I could not make fit any way I tried to slice it...

I know The World According to Garp and According to Jim but World According to Jim is new to me.
Wikipedia tells me the Hungarian translation gives you World According to Jim. Are you Hungarian Eddie? Are you?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/According_to_Jim

I was sure TO was  Twenty One (which Quiz show was based on) and Press Your Luck was on the list.
FireFly had to be on the list so I guessed FF was it even if the abbreviation was not in line with the others (I would put TO in there too)  cause, who would want to discuss Flash Forward for an hour

A matter of hours until the finale, folks.

I'd be interested to hear your favorite episodes and/or scenes from the series.

So...now what do we do?