fett on 15/6/2010 at 19:15
Haven't read the thread to avoid spoilers, just wanted to chime in and say I'm halfway through season 1 and it's the first time a character has reeled me in so thoroughly since The Wire. Looking very forward to catching up on this one.
Muzman on 16/6/2010 at 09:11
Yeah, I'm ignoring you all as well damnit. I have watched past the introduction of the 'cousins' though.
At first I thought that was all dream sequence, but most of it isn't. Coincidentally enough there was a piece in the latest National Geographic about the death cult of north Mexican gangsters. Although I don't really get the part where everyone has to crawl to the shrine on their face. Was that part real? Maybe Ducky knows something about it.
Scots Taffer on 16/6/2010 at 14:31
Just finished s3e10. Fucking hell, wow, just wow. The character development in that episode alone is amazing.
Scots Taffer on 18/6/2010 at 01:43
Quote Posted by smallfry
I haven't been too crazy about season 3 so far, but the latest episode (the one with the fly) was just so damn good it made up for it. Great show!
I wasn't a huge fan of this episode actually, while it yielded some worthwhile character insights (through somewhat contrived methods) - I just felt they stretched the premise of the episode too thin. As damning as I can get, I'd say it was a bit of a filler episode though there was some palpable tension when Walt was sleepily dancing around admitting his culpability in Jane's death and the early episode stuff with the fly was good too.
However, it did provide another Jesse Pinkman classic in the "Yo, Gatorade me, bitch!" line.
That said, Abiquiu (ep 11) was fucking insanely good. I love the way it's so suddenly turned the barely established conventions on its head yet again... AV Club makes the point frequently that what
Breaking Bad does so well, in Season 3 particularly, is sow seeds that you expect to slowly come to fruition but instead burst forth in the same episode and then turn into something completely unexpected by the next episode.
Case in point:
Skylar's transformation around the Walt card-counting story to her putting forward a "more believable cover" to going further and offering to be the new money-laundering front, getting her hands dirtier than one could have ever imagined. And then she admits what we all suspected, that she hadn't filed the papers.Also, I'm just loving Gus Fring's character as it emerges. It's such a lovely counterpoint to Walt.
Renzatic on 18/6/2010 at 06:02
Quote Posted by Scots Taffer
there was some palpable tension when Walt was sleepily dancing around admitting his culpability in Jane's death...
I loved Fly simply because of the strengths of that scene alone. The whole of Fly was really just a buildup to Walt's bleary, meandering monologue that skirted around the biggest potential point of contention between he and Jesse. If he said one word too many, just went one step farther than what he did, it would've resulted in Walt's eventual and total ruin. As corny as it sounds, I felt actual relief by the time the credits started rolling.
And all of that done without any excess drama. Just a tired old man talking over dead silence. Simple, but so damn effective.
Rug Burn Junky on 18/6/2010 at 06:17
Quote Posted by Scots Taffer
I wasn't a huge fan of this episode actually, while it yielded some worthwhile character insights (through somewhat contrived methods) - I just felt they stretched the premise of the episode too thin. As damning as I can get, I'd say it was a bit of a filler episode though there was some palpable tension when Walt was sleepily dancing around admitting his culpability in Jane's death and the early episode stuff with the fly was good too.
Once you've finished the season, check this (
http://www.avclub.com/articles/vince-gilligan,42064/) interview with Gilligan, where he goes into the reasoning for it.
It boils down to two reasons:
1) budget - He flat out states that it's a "bottle episode" (doing cheap already-made-set episodes with a limited cast saves money to be used for other episodes - fairly self-evident). That is different than "filler" though.
But if the savings went to that crane shot over Hank's car in the parking lot (which is physically impossible based on the action just preceding it ;)), I'd like my money back.
2) Palate cleanser, to bring the mood down and amp tension just before the big dramatic ending.
The heart of the show is Walt and Jesse, and they've shared very little screen time this season. Seeing them interact in this episode brought those bonds to the fore, and the aforementioned near confession was gold, as was the whole "perfect moment" speech. Not to mention the little notes, like the hinting and then warning about skimming, or the "it's all contaminated" line, pregnant with meaning.
It's a shame you didn't like it, but I loved it, especially after seeing the rest of the season. If they are going to have to scrimp on an episode, this one didn't suffer for it. I think the comparisons to "Pine Barrens" are absolutely warranted.
Scots Taffer on 18/6/2010 at 07:11
As I say the character insights were worthwhile, there was a point about fifteen minutes in where I felt the premise was too thin (probably around the time where Walt locks Jesse out of the room and forces all the power tomfoolery) - it really picked up again around the time of Walt's "perfect moment" speech and then as it ambled towards the near-confession. Again, the nature of how the revelations were revealed (drugged coffee) were a bit cliched but the end result was important. Despite it being one of the my least favourite episodes of the season, I am thinking about it a lot and I think visually it was pretty amazing - though a lot of that is probably down to Rian Johnson.
When I say I wasn't a huge fan of it, it's still an excellently written and directed episode of TV in a show that has started to redefine my expectations as a TV watcher - however I think the episode that followed was just as powerful for character insights and motivations in a whole number of ways that weren't as contrived as the set-up of Fly.
Muzman on 18/6/2010 at 21:11
Quote Posted by Renzatic
The whole of Fly was really just a buildup to Walt's bleary, meandering monologue that skirted around the biggest potential point of contention between he and Jesse. If he said one word too many, just went one step farther than what he did, it would've resulted in Walt's eventual and total ruin. As corny as it sounds, I felt actual relief by the time the credits started rolling.
Ain't that the truth. How this show can manage time and again to sit on that wincing point where you don't want the arguable "right" thing to happen, for the sake of characters who you were just starting to think you might not care about so much about. Kind of amazing.
Scots Taffer on 21/6/2010 at 01:42
Holy Fucking Vehicular Manslaughter
ONE EPISODE LEFT GNNNNGGNNNNNGGNNNNNGGNNNN
edit: most importantly, I think we see the downfall of Fring's economies of scale when he chose NOT to provide a veggie platter with dips at the meet between Jesse and the hoods
edit edit: Mike's monologue was one for the books, he's definitely a full-blown character now
ps edit triple: The only thing that has rung really hollow and untrue so far in this season of Breaking Bad is Gus having any interaction with the low-level scum pushing his stuff on the streets, a man of his position would have little/no contact with that level of the operation, not without several buffer layers in place.
That's not to say he doesn't. It's possible that he could have them pulled in off the street by Mike in much the same way as Jesse was, but then it would make the whole "shake hands and make up" playground style reconciliation a lot harder to pull off when no parties are familiar with anyone.
Anyway, that's just the necessary bit of overanalysis out of the way so I can enjoy the finale tonight. :D
Muzman on 21/6/2010 at 04:46
They are very lean, personal operations aren't they (particularly when you saw Gus' extra spooky introduction implying labyrinthian levels of organisation). There was a running joke over on Alan Sepinwall's blog during the first two seasons, every other episode you'd just have to say "Man, these guys really need to watch The Wire"
