Breaking Bad (**SPOILERS MAY BE PRESENT**)

[Mebert78]

Anyone else notice that they were still showing the producer/director credits halfway through the show last night?  The above still shot reminded me of that.  It was disconcerting to me.  Blast them them in the first 2-3 minutes and move on.   

[KevShmev]

I actually thought that was neat.  The long scene with Hank dying and Jesse being found and taken away was so long, no need to distract from it with the credits.  Saving it for when Walt was rolling the barrel was genius.  Speaking of which, did anyone else notice Walt's pants from the pilot on the foreground of one of the shots when he was rolling the barrel?

[Chino]

Anyone else notice that they were still showing the producer/director credits halfway through the show last night?     

Yeah, I noticed that too. I think that's the first time they've done that.

[Chino]

I actually thought that was neat.  The long scene with Hank dying and Jesse being found and taken away was so long, no need to distract from it with the credits.  Saving it for when Walt was rolling the barrel was genius.  Speaking of which, did anyone else notice Walt's pants from the pilot on the foreground of one of the shots when he was rolling the barrel?

I thought I noticed that!! I thought I was tripping 

[KevShmev]

[jsem]

That was one of the most intense TV episodes of any series ever.

[kári]

That was one of the most intense TV episodes of any series ever.

I wouldn't say *that* ....

[Lolzeez]

I'm not even looking at the posts here. I started like 10 days ago. Currently on the 9th episode of the 3rd season.

[axeman90210]

Last night was one of the best hours of TV I've had the pleasure of watching.

[Outcrier]

Last night was one of the best hours of TV I've had the pleasure of watching.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jk0dBZ1meio

[zepp-head]

https://i.imgur.com/E60ZhXV.gif

Wow, this show is genius.

The guy in your avatar is dead.

and so is yours!

Ahh yes, and let's compare it to the Ozymadias statue.

[MrBoom_shack-a-lack]

That was one helluva rollercoaster of emotions. Very painful to watch but loved every second of it!

[NecessaryPain]

Okay, I definitely agree now that Walt and Jesse's relationship is beyind repair so I've got one final viewpoint in regards to the finale.

I see Jesse as surviving at the end, somehow. I think after the ride he's been on he will eventually find his peace. Perhaps with his girl and Brock.

Walt on the other hand will die, but I don't see this happenning on-screen unless they decide to show us brutally. I think the ricin is for no one other than himself. Who else would he use it on? Something big will probably happen in the next episode but I can't see it making a significant difference to who he wants to kill. If he's going after Jack's gang why would he need the poison? And Jesse is practically dead to him so I can't see him wanting to use it on him, either. I think the ricin will act as Walt's 'medication' and we'll all be left with the knowledge that he's taken his poison and is about to die.

As for the final scene, perhaps Walt just knowing his family is safe (of leaving them the money) will be enough for him to die in peace. I really don't think he's gonna go out guns-blazing like Al Pacino in Scarface...everyone is expecting this. If there's anything we've learnt from Breaking Bad it's to expect the unexpected.

[KevShmev]

Why would Walt take the ricin himself?  If he wanted to off himself, just about any other way would be less painful than slowly dying from taking ricin.  I just don't get that prediction.

[NecessaryPain]

Why would Walt take the ricin himself?  If he wanted to off himself, just about any other way would be less painful than slowly dying from taking ricin.  I just don't get that prediction.

Condiering the significance to his particular drug throughout the entire show, would it not be a fitting ending of sorts? People are mentioning Lydia and her cups of tea, but why would Walt even give a damn about her at this stage?

I agree with what you're saying but where does Walt explain that the ricin kills you slowly and painfully. Wasn't there a mention of your body just shutting down or flu symptoms way back in Season 1? If it's a long drawn out process then yeah, I'd take your point head-on.

[KevShmev]

If the nazis come off Skyler and his family (like, to get Jesse's confession tape or for another reason), maybe Walt agrees to meet with Lydia to work out some type of agreement/arrangement, but his actual plan is to poison her with the ricin and then go after the nazis with the guns he now has.  A lot of possible scenarios. 

Look up ricin on the 'net.  It is a pretty awful way to die.

[NecessaryPain]

If the nazis come off Skyler and his family (like, to get Jesse's confession tape or for another reason), maybe Walt agrees to meet with Lydia to work out some type of agreement/arrangement, but his actual plan is to poison her with the ricin and then go after the nazis with the guns he now has.  A lot of possible scenarios. 

Look up ricin on the 'net.  It is a pretty awful way to die.

Okay, but if you find the exact scene where Walt explains the ricin to Jesse then send me a link!

On another note, wouldn't an untraceable death be better for his family to endure? It could look more like the cancer had killed him in the end. As Walt has explained before, everything he has done is for his family. Maybe I'm reaching...I just don't see how poisoning Lydia would make sense. Wasn't it hinted earlier on in the Season at the cafe? I think Walt planned to put the ricin in her drink unless she did what he said. (which she did)

[KevShmev]

The only reason Walt didn't give her the ricin then was because of the Czech Republic deal the two made. 

Every Breaking Bad scene is not on youtube, so I doubt it is online, but I think it is the end of Season 1 when he first introduces ricin and explains it to Jesse.

[TioJorge]

NP, Walt said it would look like a heart attack, he said nothing of the pain and drawn out process. It's up to you to find the scene, we're not here for sources...c'mon now, this is pure fan discussion...you want a verified source, find it yourself on Google, which would probably take about five minutes tops (if you can't find it through video, look up scripts if you want it that badly). My memory is good enough, if yours isn't...I feel for you (/pothead). I did some research when it was first mentioned, as I'm sure many others did, and it is indeed the most moronic theory that there is. I'll bet my pair of balls that Walt does not use ricin on himself. It makes absolutely no sense in any scenario you can think of. It's idiotic, to be blunt. It's for someone else, the only question is 'who?'

The fact that Walt doesn't explain it within the show means jack shit; he's a lying, manipulative, conniving mastermind. Nothing that comes out of his mouth is believable. It's not fitting at all; in fact, it's the exact opposite. Walt quite literally has a death warrant already, he's done and finished in every way imaginable. There's nothing that cures cancer, even in this show. Why the fuck would he put himself through a torturous death when he's already guaranteed one? Stupid, stupid, stupid theory. It's not going to happen. Even if he was 'pushed' to the point to where that's literally all he had left, I can't see a single scenario where that would be better than any alternative unless the alternative is being raped by Hule for a full week and then slowly chopped up with a rusty butter knife.

I personally think the ricin can't be for anyone but Jesse now that we know that Hank and Gomey are dead. The others will suffer a much crueler fate if Walt has his way...which, I don't think will happen. I doubt I'm right, because this show stumps me every fucking time, but anyone else he needs to kill, including Lydia (which doesn't make any sense unless he randomly wants back into the game to make some quick cash) is wide open to any other attack. He clearly no longer has to hide; he's exposed beyond belief when we see him in the year-long time-skip. Completely. The ricin will be for someone who he doesn't want to know that he killed them. The only one that comes to mind is Jesse.

Even so, this show will find a way to factor in another equation entirely. I cannot wait for the finale!!! Fuck everyone's theories. These writers have our numbers, man. GAME OVER MAN, GAME OVER!

ED: Some of this sounded kinda rude, I don't mean to be, NP. I'm a bit tipsy and become blunt at that point.  Fact of the matter is that I hope each and every one of us is deathly wrong. Thus far the writers have mad sure of that. Those conniving geniuses!

[reneranucci]

Lydia WILL play a role as she will try to protect Uncle Ted's gang. They are making meth for her. And they killed Hank, Walt has reasons to go after them.

The part that bothered me from the Ozymandias episode was Walt telling Jesse about Jane, it seemed overly cruel towards a man who had a death penalty over him. I know Jesse betrayed Walt in an ugly way and that Walt is a monster now, but still, it was too much (although fitting  with the overload of emotions on the episode).

One important point: I think Skyler knew that Walt was framing the phone call to put all the guilt on himself, because he said many things he never actually told Skyler to do. So maybe there is still a possibility of Skyler forgiving Walt.

[antigoon]

Anyone else notice that they were still showing the producer/director credits halfway through the show last night?  The above still shot reminded me of that.  It was disconcerting to me.  Blast them them in the first 2-3 minutes and move on.   

Vince, the writer of the episode, and the director spoke about this on the Breaking Bad Insider podcast this week (which I highly recommend). They thought running the credits after the teaser like they do every other episode would have been inappropriate given the emotional context of what was happening (hank saying his last words, etc). Apparently they had to get special permission from the Directors' union to do so.

[orcus116]

The part that bothered me from the Ozymandias episode was Walt telling Jesse about Jane, it seemed overly cruel towards a man who had a death penalty over him. I know Jesse betrayed Walt in an ugly way and that Walt is a monster now, but still, it was too much (although fitting  with the overload of emotions on the episode).

I saw this on another forum regarding that and I completely agree:

"My feeling with that is Walt felt so betrayed by Jesse and just saw a close family member shot due to Jesse's actions (even if thats not what Jesse wanted to happen) Walt just wanted Jesse to feel the amount of hurt and betrayal that Walt was feeling from Jesse. Walt has now lost everything, and Jesse's betrayal is what led to that. Walt wanted Jesse to feel that same heartbreak, emptiness and betrayal that Jesse caused Walt."

[KevShmev]

TioJorge, I agree with most of what you said, but to clarify, there is no need for a year-long skip to get to the two flash forwards we have already seen:

-The police referred to Holly as 18 months old when giving out the Amber Alert the other day.
-Holly was not born until near the end of Season 2.
-a large amount of time was glossed over in Gliding All Over (final ep of 5a) in the musical montage, presumably to allow them to skip a bunch of time, and the montage heavily focused on meth and money, which probably referred to the big money Walt was making off of the deal he and Lydia made to sell to the Czech Republic.

So, given that the series began on Walt's 50th, I don't think we are that far away from his 52nd, which is when the first flash forward took place.

[Dimitrius]

George R.R. Martin's thoughts on Walter White: “Walter White is a bigger monster than anyone in Westeros. (I need to do something about that)”

I'm genuinely scared!

[Bolsters]

Yeah, Walder Frey sure is no Walter White.

[Dimitrius]

Yeah, Walder Frey sure is no Walter White.

Nor is Ramsay Snow.

[TioJorge]

Damn...that's saying a lot right there. I tend to agree. There's people in ASOIAF that are inherently more evil than White, to be sure, but there's no one that seems to be as equally manipulative, loving, caring, deceitful, horrific, carrying an a slight petulance with him, all the while screaming "WE'RE FAMILY, WE'RE FAMILY!!!" as he feeds you ricin. He's fucking terrifying at this point. Psychotic to the bone.

[KevShmev]

This is long, but a great watch:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HGzrUr6Id7U

[MrBoom_shack-a-lack]

Heard this question on reddit so:

Which episode shocked you the most?
Ozymandias or The Red Wedding

I must say that because I didn't read the books before watching TRW that episode just blew me away. So I think TRW wins for me but goddamn Ozymandias is a fine moment in TV show history. The whole show is.

[Bolsters]

When it comes to shock value, definitely the red wedding. I had absolutely no idea that it was coming, and watching Talisa get stabbed in the womb was shocking and fucking brutal. Then pretty much everyone else there dies aswell. Jaw: on floor.

Ozymandias is a great episode, but I'm not sure I'd say there was anything truly shocking about it.

[KevShmev]

I don't know what The Red Wedding is, but if this is another show, can we avoid spoilers for those of us who might watch whatever that show is someday?

[senecadawg2]

I don't know what The Red Wedding is, but if this is another show, can we avoid spoilers for those of us who might watch whatever that show is someday?

Amen. As someone who hates to have shocking endings ruined, I am almost equally annoyed when an ending is ruined for someone else. Let's keep Game of Thrones spoilers out of the Breaking Bad discussion.

[KevShmev]

Too late. 

But seriously, people.

[Chino]

I don't know what The Red Wedding is, but if this is another show, can we avoid spoilers for those of us who might watch whatever that show is someday?

Amen. As someone who hates to have shocking endings ruined, I am almost equally annoyed when an ending is ruined for someone else. Let's keep Game of Thrones spoilers out of the Breaking Bad discussion.

I was just starting GOT when that episode aired. It was spoiled time and time again in the following days. I stopped watching the show.

[Chino]

I laughed way harder at this than I should have