Television Breaking Bad

[Bill]

My face after tonight's episode

 

[suckerbunnie]

I'm just watching this episode as it's on now, but so far it's pretty damn funny and already ten times better than last week. The opening with Mike was awesome, and you could practically see the thought bubble over his head like 'oye, I'm so goddamn sick of this shit.':D And then Skylar taking over with the script and all was priceless, along with the thing with Gale singing Oops, it's back on. Anyway...kudos!%)

 

[34-dihydroxyphen]

This episode was so sweet. Best of the season so far, and totally made me forget about the stinker they laid in Open House. They even had Walt and Skyler in the same style of dialogue in the beginning, and while last week I was bored with the same exact writing, this week I was thoroughly engaged.

Anyways, quick observations and predictions: Walt absolutely confirmed to Hank that he is indeed Heisenberg, you can see the bells going off in Hank's head at sever moments, and Walt's anxious behavior only further gives it away. He was done the moment he mentioned he had money, but he really managed to expedite the process by being such a horrible liar (it's funny how Skyler actually sees him as this great liar).

And Mike isn't taking Jesse out into the desert to kill him, he is training him. He wants to see how much pressure he can put on Jesse before he cracks, he will eventually want to see Jesse kill somebody on orders, and, most importantly, he wants to take Jesse out to a remote location where he cannot get transport to and from so that he has time to get his head straightened out and get off the meth. I'm sure Mike really wants him dead, but I believe Gus sees some potential (and knows that there could be some serious blowback from Walt if he out and out kills Jesse, with Walt either disappearing or really trying to kill him. Walt is currently unexpendable), and will try to give Jesse one last shot in a new role, as Jesse simply cannot handle the mundane business of working a 9-5 at a corporate style methlab (being the impulsive and prone to boredom type that he is, he just had to steal meth, and he just had to get revenge on those two dealers, because Jesse wants to be an outlaw more than he wants money, which is, I suppose, understandable). Jesse is an adrenaline junkie, and Mike and Gus are going to nurture this characteristic, provided he is able to do the job.

 

[Greenstar420]

I have a question about this show nobody has ever brought up.

How the hell did they assemble the superlab for the show? I mean where is that set, did they actually spend hundreds of thousands, maybe a million or more even, to build a fully functional gigantic meth lab? You can't fake stainless steel industrial equipment they actually have those massive vats and condensers on the set for the show. What is up with that? Are they filming inside of a seized superlab? I don't think so because that would be a health hazard most likely right?

Never thought about that really, just figured that 'hollywood' has all sorts of sets, I'm sure lots of money was spent to build it, I'd bet they consulted with some chemists or a former cook on the layout. Positive it is not 'fully functioning' though. Awesome set, sure wish they would make a batch of acid ........ Anyways looks like the next episode will be pretty cool

 

[34-dihydroxyphen]

I'm sure that set cost quite the fortune, even though I would imagine that they got as many broken "throwaways" as possible. I'm not sure how accurate the estimate is (although because of the source I am assuming it is as close to accurate as we will find), but Walt cited that a lab of the caliber is worth 8 million dollars. I'm guessing they paid about half of that, as even after this equipment is broken there are still plenty of small time companies bidding on these items with the knowledge of how to repair them.

Amazing attention to detail in that lab. I hope Walt and Jesse find a way to keep it after they take down Gus, it would be a shame to see a set that great disappear. I was deeply saddened by the loss of the RV, which became a character of its own, as this lab has as well, along with the houses of the feature characters. If I walked into the White household today, I would immediately be know every inch of the household.

I suppose Jesse's place is the only one without that kind of long-standing character, as the house was sold during season 2 and they bought a similar house in a similar looking block to imitate Jesse's Aunt's house "after major renovations." It just isn't the same without the filled in bathtub hole that Emilio's decomposed remains fell through.

 

[23536]

Did Jesse buy his own meth this show, or did he steal it? When he enters his house about halfway through the episode, he tosses several small packages to the people on the floor.

 

[Max Power]

I mean where is that set

Bob Saget's basement.

 

[MrGrunge]

The last episode was easily the best of the season. I have a feeling this season started slow to balance out the balls-to-the-wall crazy shit that's going to occur in later episodes.

 

[Carl Landrover]

Did Jesse buy his own meth this show, or did he steal it? When he enters his house about halfway through the episode, he tosses several small packages to the people on the floor.

I imagine he stole it. Probably wouldn't be too hard to snatch some prior to it being binned up.

 

[Roger&Me]

How the hell did they assemble the superlab for the show? I mean where is that set, did they actually spend hundreds of thousands, maybe a million or more even, to build a fully functional gigantic meth lab?

Of course not, everything is a prop.

You can't fake stainless steel industrial equipment they actually have those massive vats and condensers on the set for the show.

Umm.. of course you can, you just fabricate non-functioning props... which is exactly what they did for the show.

They don't even show most of the equipment that a real lab would have anyways, most notably the lab isn't equipped with any analytical instruments.

 

[PepperSocks]

And if Gus wasn't such a cheap ass producer of shitty meth he'd have a preparative HPLC system

 

[qwe]

Did Jesse buy his own meth this show, or did he steal it? When he enters his house about halfway through the episode, he tosses several small packages to the people on the floor.

i was thinking that, with such large quantities being made, there is always going to be +/- at least several grams. that's pure product, and it wouldn't be too hard to steal some off the top while still giving gus the weight he expects.

 

[MrGrunge]

Still, they're reweighing every batch. Jesse's making so much money now I don't see why he can't just buy it. Obviously he's not that concerned about saving his money.

 

[PepperSocks]

I think he did it as a "fuck you, I don't give a shit" kind of thing.

He knows that Gus knows he takes a couple grams off the top of a 202 pound batch, remember Mike announcing the new policy of double weighing?

And they're definitely not killing off Jesse; he's in every episode description for the rest of the season; as has been said I think they're taking him to the desert for some education.

 

[Pegasus]

They definitely utilize long pauses followed by quippy one liners a lot in this series.

 

[34-dihydroxyphen]

Great episode tonight.


For such a smart guy, Walt can be a total dumbass at times. I cannot believe how stupid he was at the dinner party. If it wasn't already obvious, pride is what will bring him down in the end. He can't even let a dead man take credit for his work for the sake of his own safety.

And you have to feel for Jesse. Gus is playing a dangerous game with this kid. I hope Jesse makes it out alright by the end of the season, they can't kill off my favorite character. I wonder if they are just fucking with his head to turn him against Walt or actually trying to turn him into an enforcer, with a little training exercise thrown in there to fuck with his mind and make him feel capable.

 

[festivalfun]

I'm sure Jesse will be fine. In tonight's episode when Mike says "Go ahead kid, smoke up." You can see that there is respect for Jesse at the very back of Mike's mind. Although it was an entire set up, I don't think Jesse acted in a way that Mike expected.

 

[festivalfun]

I'm also loving the slow progression of the case as Hank tries to solve it, although I obviously know who the real Heisenberg is, I feel like I'm solving the case slowly aswell. Haha

 

[34-dihydroxyphen]

I'm sure Jesse will be fine. In tonight's episode when Mike says "Go ahead kid, smoke up." You can see that there is respect for Jesse at the very back of Mike's mind. Although it was an entire set up, I don't think Jesse acted in a way that Mike expected.

I know Jesse will be fine at least up to the series finale. I'm just hoping he makes it through that.



On an unrelated note, there were talks of cutting the fifth and final season of Breaking Bad down to between six and eight episodes. Those talks ended, and we will have a 16 episode final season. I'm just hoping that it is 16 consecutive episodes, and that they don't cut the season in half.

I'm very happy that they have an end date to this show, however. Many series suffer from their own success and go on way too long, with no distinct plans of ending. The Wire went out perfectly after 5 seasons. It is best to leave the viewer wanting more than to go stale. Look at Dexter: with no end in sight, it has lost almost all of it's direction and true suspense. Even The Sopranos got a little stale towards the end. I loved the finale, but it seems like every show declines either by or immediately after the 5th season. With any great drama such as this, a creator needs to resist the temptation to push the storyline further past the point where the staff and creator himself has lost any interest in making the show besides the money.

The Wire is the reigning greatest of all time because it knew when to end, although if this show ends properly it will surpass it. I already enjoy it more than I enjoyed The Wire, and it has surpassed it as far as I am concerned, but with a season and a half to go there is still more than enough time to ruin it, and allow The Wire to take back its spot at #1.

 

[DoseYouAll]

I'm fucking disappointed that they are already planning the end of this show! It took 2 1/2 seasons to really get going, and it feels to me like just now they have hit their stride and haven't even come close to what could be the climax of the entire story. 5 seasons? No way I think 6 or 7 would be better. There are still a lot of different things they could do like introduce a new lab at the end of season 4 since tonight Hank is cluing into Los Pollos as having something to do with the operation so the heat's going to be coming down on Gus. Just switching locations would totally refresh things for a 5th season. Also Jesse is due for a promotion to something more hardcore than working in a lab since he can handle a gun, take care of business and think on his feet which also adds a new dimension to things. Like someone else said, what if Walt and Jesse moved south of the border? That would work as a plot twist and give the writers a lot of new material to present. I really like this show, it's rare that something this good is on TV and I don't want it to end.