Now that you describe it that way, I realize that he probably has ADD or ADHD. Untreated ADD would explain a lot about his character. He’s certainly intelligent and intellectually curious, but can’t channel it very well. Has he had periods of “hyperfocus?”
Are people with untreated ADD more likely to abuse drugs? Hmm…
Wouldn’t that be an interesting storyline development? Jesse is diagnosed with and appropriately treated for adult ADD, including one-on-one therapy. What would happen if he was able to calm down and focus? And how would he deal with his occupation with regard to talking to his therapist? It would certainly give us a chance to learn more of his character and his backstory–and also his feelings and impressions with regard to Walt.
That would be ironic. Stimulants are the first line of treatment for ADHD. And for adults, amphetamines (including meth for severe cases) is the common medication prescribed.
Wow. That’s one hour of my life I’ll never get back. This is one of those episodes that, if you happened to miss it, you would have missed absolutely nothing. Things will go back to the way they always have been next episode. There were no breakthroughs, no epiphanies, and I’m willing to bet no growth whatsoever will be evident next Sunday. A total waste of time, and not even terribly enjoyable.
One he’s had – and lost sight of – what, a dozen times before? And really, isn’t “Man, I shouldn’t have done all this bad stuff” really just an updated version of the “Man, I really should do this” moral dithering he’s done… well, pretty much throughout the series?
But maybe I’m wrong, and he’ll see the error of his ways and stop making meth and start making amends. I rather doubt it, though, because that’d be the end of the series, barring some massive overhaul. As it stands, we might as well have watched Walt cook and eat breakfast for an hour (which I bet some of the fanboys and fangirls here would love, given the responses thus far in this thread*). Same effect on the overall series, really.
I don’t have any idea how they filmed that scene where Walt bounced off the Vat and onto the floor. The camera dolly tracked straight onto Walt’s face, and I saw no break upon repeated DVR rewinds. Surely they did not let Bryan Cranston do that stunt himself?
That’s not how I took it. We’ve seen him dither and rationalize and make excuses, but this felt different. It seemed that he was seeing things clearly, and not rushing past his thoughts. We’ve seen that he knows he’s done wrong, but he’s always just gone on. He’ll keep making meth, but it’ll hurt him more now, I think.
Morbo, I’d like to know too. Even a stunt actor would have needed protection for his chest and back.
Did anyone else notice that Jesse with the respirator on his head (with the two red filters atop his head)…while trying to sneak add the chemicals to the vessel looked a lot like the closeup of the eyes on the fly?
The fly closeups squicked me out. It’s that time of year and I’ve been swatting a few. I’d rather think of them as black blobs with wings instead of complicated creatures with lots of parts.
You’d really enjoy the podcast I linked to earlier - it toke about this scene and a couple others. In this week’s, it talks about exactly how that scene was filmed.
They talk about that stunt in the Insider Podcast at AMC.com. It was a stunt double who actually fell from the rails and landed on the floor. He was then replaced with Walt, who matched his position on the floor. The switch was cut out and the two scenes were later merged in the editing room.
Sometimes an episode can be enjoyable in and of itself without actually advancing the storyline.
Although to be precise, it did advance it a little. Walt knows (or at least strongly suspects) that Jesse is skimming, and Jesse knows that he knows, and it looks like Walt isn’t going to take any real action to prevent it other than warning Jesse that he can’t protect him if Gus learns of it.I’d say that’s advancing the story line.
Besides, if Bryan Cranston had done it himself, he would have done it in his tighty whiteys.
I FINALLY watched it! It was boring and exciting at the same time. It was good to see Jesse maturing a bit. I thought sure drugged Walt would accidentally let Jesse know that he could have prevented Jane’s death but didn’t, especially since earlier he berated himself for letting it slip to Skyler that he had a second cell phone. I can picture it happening yet in an angry yelling match or something.
I too didn’t see much reason for this episode, but maybe it will all become clear down the road.
Is there any affection between Jesse and Walt? I think Jesse respects Walt- still calls him Mr. White in spite of all they’ve been through- but I’ve never sensed that Walt cares anything more about Jesse than what’s in his self interest. While not unrealistic, that’s somewhat unusual for a partner show.
Yes, of course. Most extremely, and recently, Saul basically offered to kill Jesse, which would’ve solved a lot of Walt’s risks/problems, but he went out of his way, knowing he would harm his standing with Gus, to try to get him under his control so he wouldn’t be killed. He definitely cares about him.
It may be just me, but I don’t believe either of the main characters (Walt and Jesse) deals in affection as such. I see Walt as having obligations and responsibilities toward his kids, and that might involve some affection, but not demonstrable. He may have had affection for Skyler along the way, but I think that’s gone. I sense his relationship with his in-laws is perfunctory and heartless.
Jesse had affection for the dead girlfriend and I suspect he’s “buddies” with some of his gang, but his relationship with Walt is just business with a speck of that respect you mention. No affection as such.
I enjoyed the episode. Sure, you could argue it didn’t advance the overall storyline, but to me, it still had tension and excitement in the monologues.
I say that because I enjoy 2-actor shows, or at least scenes (this episode reminded me of Sleuth, not for the plot or any direct reason other than it was a 2-actor show, in much the same was the afore mentioned My Dinner with Andre, which I also love).
I also agree with Sepinwall, who raved about Aaron Paul’s monologue–he (Paul) just did a helluva job when he was talking about his aunt, and Walt was doing nothing but listening.
