Support NeoGAF

[Blader]

This comes across to me as the same sort of reasoning as the poster a couple posts above you talking about Nucky being unlikable. Unlikable or not, both Nucky and Margaret are both fascinating characters to me, which I don't find Skylar White to be in the slightest.

Skylar (save for a couple of moments in this 5-season series) is a shitty character because she doesn't feel fleshed out in the slightest. I don't know who she is outside of her implications to Walt's plans. She's no Carmela Soprano. She's a boring, walking, talking plot vice for Walt that I wish had more time dedicated to fleshing out exactly who she is beyond thinly-drawn housewife. Anna Gunn deserved better material.

And speaking of The Sopranos, that provides a perfect example. Janice Soprano is one of the most annoying fucking characters ever. But goddamn is she a well-written and interesting character. She's super-unlikable as a person, but admirable in terms of just how well-written she is. And I feel the same way about Nucky/Margaret in Boardwalk Empire. They might not be the most likable people, but I find their development very interesting to watch.

I didn't say a thing about likability, and my lack of enthusiasm towards Margaret and Skylar has nothing to do with whether they're likable people and everything to do with not finding them very interesting as characters or (especially) as performances.

I get your point about Carmela/Janice/Margaret being more three-dimensional characters than Skylar, and I agree. At the same time, if given the choice, I'll always take Skylar over Margaret because she's always connected to the driving plot of the show. Margaret may have more meat on her bones as a character, but not is she dull to watch but her stories are often divorced from Nucky's and co., making her digressions feel like a waste of time.

 

[Gozer the Gozerian]

If Gomez dies I'll throw my remote through the TV and cry until my stomach hurts and I throw up

 

[JohnDoe]

If Gomez dies I'll throw my remote through the TV and cry until my stomach hurts and I throw up

Gomez dying would be the worst that could happen to Hank's investigation (next to him or Marie dying of course).

 

[CharminUltra]

I hope Gomez is not a rat. Way too predictable.

 

[AniHawk]

i think the next episode will be something of a two-parter where shit goes down in a bad way.

Spoiler

ozymandias

sounds like things will be in ruins and dealing with the aftermath. i think

Spoiler

granite state will be the flash forward and how things have changed, leading up to the reason he leaves new hampshire and the last episode will see walt return to new mexico

 

[WarrenMax007]

No one saying Justified? Watch Justified

"I am the outlaw, and this is my world"

 

[timetokill]

So I'm the only one who liked the Marie/Therapist scene?

I think it was okay, it just could've been handled better. I can think of a few other more interesting ways for Marie to bring up that she's been looking up poisons and wants to kill Walt. She could do it at the Radiology Center, for example... which would give us another look into her life and how it's affecting her work, which we see ever so rarely now. She could bring it up to Hank and see how he reacts, or... whatever else.

I think the purpose of the scene was right, though. It's good to get more of what Marie is going through.

 

[CharminUltra]

Yisssss, today is done. Tomorrow is payday and a short day at work, so it won't be as unbearable as today.

SUNDAY I'M COMING FOR YOU

 

[Intheflorsh]

I don't get why Gomez gets so much love in this topic. He's probably the worst actor on the show, and his character is largely irrelevant.

Who doesn't like to root for the underdog?

 

[kehs]

I don't get why Gomez gets so much love in this topic. He's probably the worst actor on the show, and his character is largely irrelevant.

Is skylar so bad you don't even notice her?

 

[CrunchyFrog]

dammit dammit, 3 more sleeps til football and BB night

 

[zero shift]

So I just got done with episode 11 and I'm confused. Why is Jesse missing a cigarette? Didn't they throw it out at the beginning of the season? Also what was the "Lilly of the Valley" thing about earlier? I recall that you saw the plants in some house but I couldn't make the connection.

 

[Robot Pants]

So I just got done with episode 11 and I'm confused. Why is Jesse missing a cigarette? Didn't they throw it out at the beginning of the season? Also what was the "Lilly of the Valley" thing about earlier? I recall that you saw the plants in some house but I couldn't make the connection.

Damn you.
Just...just damn you.

There's numerous posts about it in this thread somewhere and I want to help you by quoting it for you, or typing it alllll out again but it's just too much work. If you can go back and watch the parts of season 4 involving Brock's poisoning. You'll get it.

 

[zero shift]

Damn you.
Just...just damn you.

There's numerous posts about it in this thread somewhere and I want to help you by quoting it for you, or typing it alllll out again but it's just too much work. If you can go back and watch the parts of season 4 involving Brock's poisoning. You'll get it.

Can't you just give me the TLDR version to make it easier for you?

I searched posts about Brock on this thread but most of the posts involve spoilers for episode 12.

 

[rekameohs]

Can't you just give me the TLDR version to make it easier for you?

I searched posts about Brock on this thread but most of the posts involve spoilers for episode 12.

You must have really forgotten some scenes.

Episode 412 - Jesse goes to Saul's, Huell pats him down, steals the cigarette. Jesse confronts Walt after Brock goes to the hospital, Walt convinces Jesse that Gus did it.

At this point, Jesse believes that Tyrus stole the cigarette from his locker.

Episode 413 - Jesse finds out that Brock was not poisoned through ricin. Walt tells Jesse that Gus had to be killed regardless.

At this point, Jesse does not know how he lost the cigarette. His only two beliefs were that Huell stole it or that he himself lost it.

Episode 501 - Saul gives Walt the cigarette that Huell had lifted, but was appalled by the fact that the kid ended up hospitalized from the Lily of the Valley.

Episode 502 - Walt plants the fake ricin in the Roomba to convince Jesse that he had just lost it and that its disposed of.

Since Brock was not poisoned because of ricin, Jesse's main idea that Huell stole it from him goes to the wayside. Why would Huell have stolen it if it were never used? This is why he believed that he himself lost it, and believed Walt's lie.

Episode 511 - Huell steals the weed from Jesse, Jesse finally connects all of the dots.

Huell's theft reminds Jesse of his initial idea of what happened to the ricin. And knowing now that Walt killed Mike and that he can happily whistle after witnessing the murder of a child, his idea grows stronger. He realizes that his initial plan was right - that Huell stole the ricin. But then, how could he have found the ricin in the Roomba? Was that a fake? Who was with him at that time? Who is the man who would have really poisoned Brock and caused this entire string of lies to lead him off course? Dear old Mr. White.

.

 

[zero shift]

.

Great summary but I see one problem. How and why Brock was poisoned in the first place? Where did the Lily of the Valley come from (it is shown in the end but I'm not sure of what house it was). I remember most of what you posted but those two things are my mani concern. In short. How did Brock come into contact of Lily of the Valley and why was Brock harmed?

 

[rekameohs]

Great summary but I see one problem. How and why Brock was poisoned in the first place? Where did the Lily of the Valley come from (it is shown in the end but I'm not sure of what house it was). I remember most of what you posted but those two things are my mani concern.

Really? Did you not see them literally spell it out to you in the final scene of Season 4 or Walt get rid of it in the first scene of Season 5?

 

[zero shift]

Really? Did you not see them literally spell it out to you in the final scene of Season 4 or Walt get rid of it in the first scene of Season 5?

I saw Lilly of the Valley but I'm not sure what house. Brock's I assume? And yes Walt gets "rid of it" but why exactly did he plan to kill Brock in the first place? So Jesse would not actually get a life and leave cooking?

Because so far I have:

- Walt sees Jesse moving away from cooking and starting a family and gets concerned
- Jesse gets his ricen stolen so it can't be used against Walt
- Walt asks someone to plant Lilly of the Valley in Brock's house
- Brock gets sick and Walt plays dumb

EDIT - I looked it up. So Lilly of the Valley was at Walt's house. He poisoned Brock to finally turn Jesse against Gus.

 

[Guess Who]

I saw Lilly of the Valley but I'm not sure what house. Brock's I assume? And yes Walt gets "rid of it" but why exactly did he plan to kill Brock in the first place? So Jesse would not actually get a life and leave cooking?

Because so far I have:

- Walt sees Jesse moving away from cooking and starting a family and gets concerned
- Jesse gets his ricen stolen so it can't be used against Walt
- Walt asks someone to plant Lilly of the Valley in Brock's house
- Brock gets sick and Walt plays dumb

The Lily of the Valley was at Walt's house.

- Walt sees Jesse getting closer and closer to Gus.
- Walt wants to kill Gus.
- Gus wants to kill Walt.
- Jesse won't cook for Gus if anything happens to Walt.
- Children have died under Gus's command.
- Walt poisons Brock with Lily of the Valley and takes the ricin cigarette.
- This makes Jesse think Walt poisoned Brock with the ricin, because the cigarette is gone, Walt's the only one who knew about it, and the symptoms of Brock's poisoning are similar to ricin.
- Jesse comes to Walt's place to kill him.
- Walt convinces Jesse that he'd never hurt a child and that Gus has, so Gus must have poisoned Brock and made it look like Walt did it so that Jesse would kill Walt himself and thus have no qualms about continuing to work for Gus.
- Walt successfully turns Jesse against Gus.

 

[blainethemono]

I saw Lilly of the Valley but I'm not sure what house. Brock's I assume? And yes Walt gets "rid of it" but why exactly did he plan to kill Brock in the first place? So Jesse would not actually get a life and leave cooking?

Because so far I have:

- Walt sees Jesse moving away from cooking and starting a family and gets concerned
- Jesse gets his ricen stolen so it can't be used against Walt
- Walt asks someone to plant Lilly of the Valley in Brock's house
- Brock gets sick and Walt plays dumb

The plant was at Walt's house. When he's sitting at the pool spinning the revolver around, eventually it lands on the plant and he gets the idea.

Walt's plan wasn't specifically to kill Brock, it was to make Jesse think that Gus poisoned him so that Jesse would turn against Walt and probably kill him. Walt needed to get Jesse back on his side, because otherwise he was fucked.

 

[zero shift]

The Lily of the Valley was at Walt's house.

- Walt sees Jesse getting closer and closer to Gus.
- Walt wants to kill Gus.
- Gus wants to kill Walt.
- Jesse won't cook for Gus if anything happens to Walt.
- Children have died under Gus's command.
- Walt poisons Brock with Lily of the Valley and takes the ricin cigarette.
- This makes Jesse think Walt poisoned Brock with the ricin, because the cigarette is gone, Walt's the only one who knew about it, and the symptoms of Brock's poisoning are similar to ricin.
- Jesse comes to Walt's place to kill him.
- Walt convinces Jesse that he'd never hurt a child and that Gus has, so Gus must have poisoned Brock and made it look like Walt did it so that Jesse would kill Walt himself and thus have no qualms about continuing to work for Gus.
- Walt successfully turns Jesse against Gus.

Wow thanks for the explanation guys. I just thought it was odd that Walt would take the chance with Jesse to kill him but considering that he yelled "Do it!" while pressing the gun against his forehead he was confident. Wow mindblown!

 

[CrunchyFrog]

- Today: 'Breaking Bad' reveals secrets behind Walter White's evil genius (Peter Gould interview)

“That was a real struggle,” Gould recalled. “We realized that Walt has realized the same thing everyone who has watched the show realizes: Jesse has a real tender spot for kids. And so we thought about whether there’s a way to make Brock sick. Of course, he could poison the kid with Ricin. But then we decided that Walt would find another way.”

The producers asked writer Gordon Smith to find out if there’s a household plant that would get someone sick briefly but would not kill them.

“And he came back with Lily of the Valley, which is not something you see a lot of in New Mexico,” Gould said. “But the Whites do have some of it, apparently. The whole point is to get the kid sick but not to kill him. You can argue about how bad Walt is, certainly. He got a kid sick but he didn’t kill him.

While Walt's actions are despicable regardless, it does lend a little more sympathy to #TeamWalt's assertion that he never truly meant any serious harm to the boy.

 

[BocoDragon]

So I'm the only one who liked the Marie/Therapist scene?

I liked it. I don't think it's there just to spell out Marie's murderous thoughts. It's also because, for once in the entire show, we have a woman who is kind of normal, kind of mainstream. All the rest of the players who have been brought in on Walt's lifestyle have all had motivation to keep it quiet ... But she is the first one who maybe reacts to it like an average American woman. She tells her therapist.. And it will be interesting to see if this is how it finally leaks our into the wider world.

 

[Souless_PJ]

Anyone that has issue either figuring out the initial poisoning or the subsequent recent revelation by Jesse please never ever watch The Wire. Thank you in advance.

 

[Freewheelin']

Looks like the Complete Series has gone up on Play.com for pre-order.

here

Hopefully it goes down in price before the release.

 

[Robot Pants]

Sorry to be a sour puss here but going back to the last episode, I really feel they wasted the little time they have left a bit. I mean only four episodes left and it sure seems like a lot is going to have to happen to get us from now til Walts birthday a year later with the M60.

Yea the information in this last episode was important but it all could have been done with more urgency and still gotten the point across. I thought we were in panic mode for these final 8?

What do I know? I'm just a GAF poster and not a BB writer. I guess I trust em.

 

[CassSept]

- Zap2It: 'Breaking Bad' is running out of time to catch up to its flash-forwards

This photo made me realise just how much like hell Walt looks in the flash forwards. Different lighting and he goes from looking bad to looking like he's on the verge of death.

 

[T.O.P]

Looks like the Complete Series has gone up on Play.com for pre-order.

here

Hopefully it goes down in price before the release.

I'm waiting for some Limited Edition or something at this point, i already got the entire series minus the second half of the fifth one on BD, there's no point in buying that instead of a stand alone :/

 

[minor effort]

I don't understand why people say "nothing happened" in the past episode.

Skyler basically advocated murder. That's a first.

Marie's at least fantasizing about it.

Jesse teamed up with Hank. He's even crashing at his place.

That was a pretty massive episode, and absolutely necessary if the crazy is coming. All eight of these episodes can't just be dudes shooting each other with no buildup.

 

[Vintage_Creep]

Yea I thought about that alot. They will probably be some insane time jumps and montages to prove time passes between the cold open and current.

Yeah let's hope it's not awkward like the one in 5x08 lol

 

[inm8num2]

All eight of these episodes can't just be dudes shooting each other with no buildup.

That seems to be what people want, though. Guns, death, and explosions.

They'll probably get their wish in the next episode.

 

[Higgins113]

rabid dog is the worst episode in the series

 

[Cornballer]

- Interview Magazine: How to End It All

With the highly anticipated series finale of Breaking Bad set to air later this month, we assembled the show's executive producer, Vince Gilligan, along with Six Feet Under and True Blood creator Alan Ball, and two of the prime movers behind Lost, Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse, for a little inside TV talk about making television in this goldening age, wrestling with expectations, and the very difficult, quasi-existential task of ending it all.

Presumably there are ending spoilers for a number of different shows in the article, so read at your own risk.

 

[QuicheFontaine]

I liked it. I don't think it's there just to spell out Marie's murderous thoughts. It's also because, for once in the entire show, we have a woman who is kind of normal, kind of mainstream. All the rest of the players who have been brought in on Walt's lifestyle have all had motivation to keep it quiet ... But she is the first one who maybe reacts to it like an average American woman. She tells her therapist.. And it will be interesting to see if this is how it finally leaks our into the wider world.

Eh? She didn't give the therapist any details, despite him asking for them.

 

[T.O.P]

rabid dog is the worst episode in the series

I don't get it, it has some of my favourite moments from the entire show

 

[Cornballer]

I don't get it, it has some of my favourite moments from the entire show

He's just angry that they didn't answer his question from last week:

The next episode is called Rabid Dog so I think they're finally going to explain why Jesse killed that dog

 

[faceless007]

Eh? She didn't give the therapist any details, despite him asking for them.

I don't know if it's significant at all, but it struck me as odd how the therapist kept pressing for details that Marie clearly didn't want to divulge and weren't necessary to understand her feelings. Most therapists would know better than that. Whether that's just a quirk in the way they chose to write him or a clue to something, I have no idea.

 

[T.O.P]

He's just angry that they didn't answer his question from last week:

oh shit lol

 

[QuicheFontaine]

I don't know if it's significant at all, but it struck me as odd how the therapist kept pressing for details that Marie clearly didn't want to divulge and weren't necessary to understand her feelings. Most therapists would know better than that. Whether that's just a quirk in the way they chose to write him or a clue to something, I have no idea.

Yeah, I don't really know much about therapy but it got a furrowed brow from me. Marie even says something like, "the details aren't important, I was just very wrong about this guy and feel betrayed". Surely that's enough info?

 

[Higgins113]

He's just angry that they didn't answer his question from last week:

Next you're gonna tell me they never explain how Mike knew about Jane's death.

"Just because you shot Jesse's Jane, don't make you Jesse's Jane"

 

[ThanksVision]

The next episode is called Rabid Dog so I think they're finally going to explain why Jesse killed that dog

you've got to be joking

e: wait there are multiple people who didn't understand that scene

I don't even know anymore

 

[Cornballer]

Next you're gonna tell me they never explain how Mike knew about Jesse's death.

"Just because you shot Jesse's Jane, don't make you Jesse's Jane"

I wish that I had Jesse's girl. Where can I find her, a woman like that?

 

[BenjaminBirdie]

- Interview Magazine: How to End It AllPresumably there are ending spoilers for a number of different shows in the article, so read at your own risk.

GREAT read.

 

[Cornballer]

- AMC Q&A: RJ Mitte (Walter White, Jr.)

 

[shamanick]

I wish that I had Jesse's girl. Where can I find her, a woman like that?

I`d rather get some head

 

[The One Who Knocks]

I don't know if it's significant at all, but it struck me as odd how the therapist kept pressing for details that Marie clearly didn't want to divulge and weren't necessary to understand her feelings. Most therapists would know better than that. Whether that's just a quirk in the way they chose to write him or a clue to something, I have no idea.

I thought it was pretty important for him to do so due to the clear angst that she was displays with regards to the situation and the extreme effect it was having upon her life yet she was unwilling to tread into the topic at anything more than a surface level. Marie has seemingly been talking to Dave about rather inconsequential things ('last time you mentioned you were annoyed by the parking' paraphrasing it) yet now she has something extremely significant that's heavily weighing upon her and he doesn't know how to handle it since it's so uncharacteristic of her, he needs more details to properly advise/assist her (there was also the threat of murder looming within the scene and that certainly needed to be clarified). Of course, he had a very vague set of events but he wasn't able to properly help Marie without her being willing to divulge more information and approach the situation honestly (for example, she had insisted that 'he won'; the therapist cannot comment on whether it is a defeatist attitude, being overly pessimistic, or if it genuinely is the case and if she needs to find someway to put it past her/cope with it). He did back off after she insisted it wasn't necessary, but I merely took it as a genuine concern for her over an issue that was clearly the cause of great immediate distress as opposed to the generally mundane issues that she raises. Perhaps my view is out of the ordinary or a misreading of the scene though.

 

[JohnDoe]

The next episode is called Rabid Dog so I think they're finally going to explain why Jesse killed that dog

 

[Cornballer]

- Rolling Stone Interview: 'Breaking Bad' Q&A: Partner Up with Steven Michael Quezada's Gomez

GREAT read.

I just finished up - good stuff and well worth a look.

 

[Cornballer]

- Hot Press Interview with Gilligan: Screen in All The Right Places - Pt. 2: Breaking Bad

The beauty of Breaking Bad’s constant subversion of expectation is that at this point no eding feels predictable or inevitable. But regardless of the strength of the conclusion, it’s clear that the fervour surrounding the show won’t dissipate after that final shot. For fans left feeling particularly bereft, they can console themselves with the promise of both foreign adaptations and a spin-off featuring lawyer Saul “Better call Saul!” Goldman, played by fan favourite Bob Odenkirk.

“There is a Colombian version called Metastasis that’s based on the pre-existing American scripts. They’re shooting episode six as we speak. I’ve also heard talk of a Turkish version. I’ll have no involvement with them. I’d love to see as many versions as anyone would care to make! I also have a great hope that we will do a Saul Goodman spin-off; I’m working on it with a writer called Peter Gould. We’re waiting to see if it will happen. I’d work on that personally.”

Crazy that they've already shot six episodes of Metastasis.

 

[-griffy-]

Saul “Better call Saul!” Goldman

It's all gold, man!