Reactions like this puzzle me. What in the world can you imagine that is leagues better than this AND makes actual sense? (The last is critically important in the BB universe, and it is one of the things that makes the show so great: no cheating. No bullshit. No demanding that the audience suspend all awareness of real human behavior and emotion and physical reality in order to continue watching) I’m very genuinely curious at what you think you are watching that you can find this so unsatisfying. (You being you and some others that are giving this a “meh”.) What are you hoping for, imagining, longing for that actually connects to this show? What would, could these characters do at this point that would be thrilling, meaningful, and not somehow lead to the end of the show immediately?
Apparently I’m a bit thick and I like it that way 
I honestly expected Gus to take over the cook, possibly answering some the questions Walt was shouting at Victor, and thus showing that is push came to shove he could take over the cook for a while.
Ah, good call. I forgot that.
Federal law enforcement is quite different from local law enforcement. The former are salaried employees who are pretty much ‘on the clock’ as long as they are in the country. That’s not to say they would get worker’s comp if they sprained their ankle playing a pickup game of basketball, but any action related to law enforcement is considered part of the job. I have no idea how a suspension would factor into this.
All that to say the point is moot. Marie wanted the very best of everything to give Hank the best chance of walking again. The very best are almost never on insurance plans of any kind.
Only 2.1 million people tuned in?! - Dotdash Meredith - America's Largest Digital & Print Publisher
Wow… somehow that seems such a small number. But, for a violent TV show, not all that bad?
You’re right. I’d forgotten about Saul mentioning the Casino.
Absolutely correct. I liked the fact that she found the eyeball, which in previous scenes with Walt served the same purpose as the optician’s billboard in “The Great Gatsby”. Now God is looking at her.
I didn’t quite understand this. I can see how he’d be out the money of course, but what’s the expense if it slows down or stops for a week? Surely he didn’t buy the machinery with borrowed money he has to make payments on, and surely there’s enough profit to make up for some slack time.
Maybe he’d be unable to pay the salaries and overhead for the restaurants that he’s using to launder his money.
Or maybe a sudden temporary and dramatic drop in the reported income from those restaurants might look suspicious.
Clip from next week. Jesse realizes he’s “outgrown” his friends.
“Dude, you are so historically retarded!”
Giancarlo Esposito being the same general type as Barack Obama (they don’t really resemble each other but they’re both biracial, slim, 50ish, well spoken and obviously intellectual) I’m wondering if perhaps the Debt Ceiling would be raised if the President grabbed a prominent Republican and held up a box cutter. Unfortunately, Dems being what they are these days he’d probably settle for a half measure.
This has nothing at all to do with your post, but have you considered how different Breaking Bad would be if instead of Giancarlo, Gus was being played by:
Samuel L Jackson
Andre Braugher
Don Cheadle
Denzel Washington
Forest Whitaker
Ice T
Ice Cube
P Diddy
any of the guys from The Wire – especially Omar?
I can see Don Cheadle in the role, but I get your point.
Being shallow here, but why does Walt Jr. (R J Mitte) always sound like he has a stuffy nose? Adenoids? Cleft palate?
On another topic, in the last episode of S3 we see Walt and pregnant Skyler looking at their house, Walt wanting to aim higher, “Why buy a starter home?”. A deleted scene shows them getting into a Porsche convertible. Walter drove a Porsche!
I think it’s cool and realistic that Walt and Jesse (and Skyler) have kept their nondescript automobiles, without talking about why they don’t drive something better.
I liked that scene, but got something very different from it. A couple things, actually. First, it was a nice example of just what a toxic element Jesse is for the people around him. Badger and Skinny Pete are actually trying to get clean. When Jesse offers them meth, they refuse, until he pressures them into it. Admittedly, he doesn’t have to try very hard - but if he’d respected their initial hesitation, those two guys would probably still be clean.
We also see just how damaged Jesse is. Badger and Skinny Pete are using meth as a social drug - they’re having fun. (Heck, while I wouldn’t try meth, I’d be happy to talk about zombie-related issues with them. It’s an AMC program, after all - these guys probably know their stuff.) Jesse’s not having fun at all - he’s just trying to stop himself from thinking.
It’s a great little scene, actually. And it makes me want to buy a roomba.
Agreed. By “outgrown” I didn’t mean intellectually (intellect not being one of Jesse’s great selling points) but he’s now gone someplace they haven’t. He’s a killer now, or in Potter-speak he’s split his soul for the first time and he can’t enjoy the activities or the people he used to enjoy.
Or Tim Conway. As Dorf.
Actually it would be a great role for somebody like Steve Carell (not that he needs any career boost at this time) to shake their ‘nice doofus’ exterior. A pity Andy Griffith is ancient as he’d be great in it; he plays “Janus villains”* better than almost anybody.
*I use the term Janus villains for those who have two faces but, unlike most “two faced” characters, one face is just as real as the other. Gus really is as much a generous Civitan/Rotary Club businessman and philanthropist as he is a cold blooded druglord. You can imagine him feeding and babytalking a stray kitten while there’s a dead body in his trunk. The scene at his home established that he’s just as at home in one role as the other.
Question about Gus: do you believe he ordered the killing of Tomas (the 11 year old)?
I think he more or less did, albeit implicitly. Basically a “take care of this- by any means necessary” that had plausible deniability to others in his organization, but I doubt he was upset when he learned the kid was dead.
Cerebral palsy. Very common, almost automatic in my limited experience - I don’t think I’ve ever met or seen someone who had CP who didn’t have imapaired speech that sounds like some version of Mitte’s speech. Cuz you know he has CP in real life, right?
No, because there’s absolutely no reason for him to. The kid hasnt’ done anything, nothing in his world changed. He was only a topic because Jesse made him a topic, not because the kid himself had somehow changed. Also, after making the peace with Walt over it and letting Jesse shove back like that, he had nothing to gain by pressing the issue that way, there was no purpose.
It was his punkass henchmen, pissed off.
I don’t think his goons would’ve done it without Gus’ blessing. They know that it’s not good to piss off the boss. Gus may have even ordered it to force Jesse’s hand in confronting the goons which he assumed would mean the end of Jesse. Gus just didn’t expect Walt to do what he did. Just my opinion.
They might’ve misunderstood what “no more children” implied I suppose.
Re: RJ Mitte- while the voice is his, the leg braces and canes belong to his character. In real life he only has a slight limp. I’ve seen him on the cover of various teen magazines at the supermarket and think it’s great that a kid with CP is considered a teen heart throb.
His character’s never really been developed that much. I wonder if they plan on bringing him into the center board this season.