# Breaking Bad 4/19: Negro Y Azul **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 20, 2009, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-bad-4-19-negro-y-azul/493694 "2009-04-20T03:04:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![UncleRojelio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unclerojelio/32/3160_2.png) [@UncleRojelio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleRojelio)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2009, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-bad-4-19-negro-y-azul/493694/41 "2009-04-22T19:05:37Z")
> [@II\_Gyan\_II](#): > > I don’t know if all this is sloppy writing or deliberate setup, but for a guy of Walt’s cerebral calibre, it seems awkward. I think that the writer’s are trying to show that Walt is in a hurry. He is bulldozing his way forward, cutting corners and picking up useful information along the way but burning bridges behind him because he really doesn’t need to sustain the facade once he gets what he needs ($62,000?). He even uses the word ‘exponential’ to describe the kind of growth he needs to see. ---
**Author:** ![Noelq](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/noelq/32/16438_2.png) [@Noelq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Noelq)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2009, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-bad-4-19-negro-y-azul/493694/42 "2009-04-22T19:16:53Z")
> [@AuntiePam](#): > > It does – even for a desperate, terminally ill man. Do you think he’s getting a God complex or something? Is he feeling invincible? He’s gotten himself out of everything so far. Don’t forget. The man has a _brain tumor_. He’s not acting in a most rational way in the first place. The brain tumor could be pressing on the wrong part of his brain, and turning off his common sense or judgement areas. Walt is definitely not completely sane. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2009, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-bad-4-19-negro-y-azul/493694/43 "2009-04-22T19:56:58Z")
> [@UncleRojelio](#): > > I think that the writer’s are trying to show that Walt is in a hurry. He is bulldozing his way forward, cutting corners and picking up useful information along the way but burning bridges behind him because he really doesn’t need to sustain the facade once he gets what he needs ($62,000?). He even uses the word ‘exponential’ to describe the kind of growth he needs to see. Much more than $62,000. A couple of episodes ago, he calculated how much he would need for in-state tuition for his two children, plus other expenses and determined that he needs to raise over $700,000. ---
**Author:** ![BMax](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bmax/32/4267_2.png) [@BMax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMax)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2009, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-bad-4-19-negro-y-azul/493694/44 "2009-04-22T19:58:04Z")
> [@Noelq](#): > > Don’t forget. The man has a _brain tumor_. He’s not acting in a most rational way in the first place. The brain tumor could be pressing on the wrong part of his brain, and turning off his common sense or judgement areas. > > Walt is definitely not completely sane. I thought it was lung cancer. I didn’t know it was in his brain too. ---
**Author:** ![singular1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ba9def/32.png) [@singular1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/singular1)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2009, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-bad-4-19-negro-y-azul/493694/45 "2009-04-22T20:02:08Z")
> [@Noelq](#): > > Don’t forget. The man has a _brain tumor_. He’s not acting in a most rational way in the first place. The brain tumor could be pressing on the wrong part of his brain, and turning off his common sense or judgement areas. > > Walt is definitely not completely sane. [nitpick] - lung cancer. And Spooje was the guy that the Skank family jacked the meth from, with Mr. Skank ending up under the ATM.[/nitpick] It’s really worthwhile to listen to the weekly [podcasts](http://blogs.amctv.com/breaking-bad/2009/04/episode-7-podcast.php) for this show. This week had some great insight and background that answers a lot of these questions, as well as info about the turtle and his workday. ---
**Author:** ![Carol\_the\_Impaler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Carol\_the\_Impaler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carol_the_Impaler)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2009, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-bad-4-19-negro-y-azul/493694/46 "2009-04-22T20:05:52Z")
Yay!! Podcasts! I had no idea. Tomorrow is my planned day-o-filing. Like, all day. At least now it’ll be a bit less grim. Yay!! Breaking Bad podcasts!! ---
**Author:** ![BMax](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bmax/32/4267_2.png) [@BMax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMax)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2009, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-bad-4-19-negro-y-azul/493694/47 "2009-04-22T20:08:59Z")
> [@singular1](#): > > [nitpick] - lung cancer. > And Spooje was the guy that the Skank family jacked the meth from, with Mr. Skank ending up under the ATM.[/nitpick] > > It’s really worthwhile to listen to the weekly [podcasts](http://blogs.amctv.com/breaking-bad/2009/04/episode-7-podcast.php) for this show. This week had some great insight and background that answers a lot of these questions, as well as info about the turtle and his workday. Not according to the AMC website. > **[AMC | Watch TV Shows & Movies Online | Stream Current Episodes](https://www.amc.com)** > > Watch the latest full episodes and video extras for AMC shows: The Walking Dead, Better Call Saul, Killing Eve, Fear the Walking Dead, Mad Men and more. > [@](#): > > “I’m Heisenberg,” Walt tells Badger, Skinny Pete, and Combo at the National Atomic Museum. Handing over the latest haul, Skinny Pete tells Walt, “Usually I gotta chase dudes down for their money, but today everybody’s paying up.” People are saying that Jesse killed Spooge, the guys explain, and everyone is afraid of him. Walt doesn’t let on that the rumor isn’t exactly true. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2009, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-bad-4-19-negro-y-azul/493694/48 "2009-04-22T20:23:45Z")
By the way, I was wondering about the scene at the end, where Jesse and his neighbor sat there watching the “trying to connect to satellite” message. Did he not have a satellite dish and was he stupid enough not to realize he needed one? ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2009, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-bad-4-19-negro-y-azul/493694/49 "2009-04-22T20:53:24Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > By the way, I was wondering about the scene at the end, where Jesse and his neighbor sat there watching the “trying to connect to satellite” message. Did he not have a satellite dish and was he stupid enough not to realize he needed one? It sorta looked that way, but would you even **get** that message without a satellite hookup? “Trying to connect” – maybe that’s a metaphor. I’m getting a lot out of this thread. You guys have great insights. ---
**Author:** ![Rubystreak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Rubystreak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rubystreak)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2009, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-bad-4-19-negro-y-azul/493694/50 "2009-04-22T23:17:42Z")
> [@nivlac](#): > > Walter is filled with rage which was clearly displayed in his lunch scene with Gretchen in last week’s episode. To me that was the most revealing scene about Walter’s true nature at this point of his life. It shocked me how he turned someone’s sincere attempt to help him into a profane tirade. This rage has been eating at him all these years, but after his cancer was diagnosed he felt liberated to take extreme risks with his life. I think that the opening song foreshadows the eventual fate for Walter. I saw that conversation completely differently. I think that there was some sort of real betrayal at the heart of his split with Gretchen and Elliott, and Walt is still deeply hurt and angry about it. He believes they stole his ideas and made billions, leaving him with nothing. If that’s even remotely true, he has every reason to be pissed. Then there’s the fact that his ex married his best friend, so who knows what was going on there, though obviously he’s also angry about that. As soon as Gretchen got all hurt and said condescendingly said she felt sorry for Walt, I knew he was going to unload. It’s really never the right thing to say to someone who is angry at you, especially when that anger might have some real justification. His rage at her is his rage as a life gone wrong, with Gretchen representing the life he could have had, maybe should have had. Of course he said “Fuck you” to her. I would have too. She was trying to hurt him with her pity. Despite what Walt is doing to get that money, no, he doesn’t owe Gretchen an explanation of where he got his chemo money. The only person he owes that to is Skyler, and if she’s not getting it, Gretchen sure ain’t. An apology, yes, and I think the first one was sincere, mostly because I’m sure he is sorry now that he involved them, but groveling to her was not going to go over well, was it? Nor were her demands for information. That entitled attitude, like he’s beholden to her and owes her, really stuck in his craw. She played that conversation totally wrong, and alienated him further. That “profane tirade” (really? one swear word = profane tirade?) was a long time in coming, and not entirely unprovoked. My theory about the Gretchen/Walt break up is that her father and brother said something to him when they were out together, because Gretchen said he came back from being out with them and immediately packed and left. Time will tell if I’m right. She comes from a wealthy family (“a rich girl adding to her millions” Walt called her) so maybe they thought Walt wasn’t good enough for her. Walt feels like he has nothing to lose. When my mother was dying of cancer, she sure let loose with a lot of pent-up rage, some of it understandable, some of it totally misdirected. Having a terminal illness doesn’t automatically ennoble you. What it does is give you a lot of time, seasoned liberally with great pain, expense, and bitterness, to think about everything that went wrong, what you won’t have now, and what you should have done. It also gives you license to lash out at people who’ve pissed you off but with whom you’ve made nice for years, because fuck it, why bother now? That’s where Walt is. Gretchen got caught in the cross fire, but part of me feels like she was asking for it. ---
**Author:** ![singular1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ba9def/32.png) [@singular1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/singular1)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2009, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-bad-4-19-negro-y-azul/493694/51 "2009-04-23T21:00:24Z")
> [@BMax](#): > > Not according to the AMC website. > [AMC | Watch TV Shows & Movies Online | Stream Current Episodes](http://www.amctv.com/originals/breakingbad/season-two-episode-7) :smack::smack::smack: ---
**Author:** ![nivlac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/3bc359/32.png) [@nivlac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nivlac)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2009, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-bad-4-19-negro-y-azul/493694/52 "2009-04-23T23:49:03Z")
> [@Rubystreak](#): > > I saw that conversation completely differently. I think that there was some sort of real betrayal at the heart of his split with Gretchen and Elliott, and Walt is still deeply hurt and angry about it. He believes they stole his ideas and made billions, leaving him with nothing. If that’s even remotely true, he has every reason to be pissed. Then there’s the fact that his ex married his best friend, so who knows what was going on there, though obviously he’s also angry about that. … My theory about the Gretchen/Walt break up is that her father and brother said something to him when they were out together, because Gretchen said he came back from being out with them and immediately packed and left. Time will tell if I’m right. She comes from a wealthy family (“a rich girl adding to her millions” Walt called her) so maybe they thought Walt wasn’t good enough for her. … If your theory’s correct (which sounds reasonable to me) then it was Walt who walked out on Gretchen. Any subsequent misfortune (losing out on a fortune, losing Gretchen, etc.) is his own fault. It could be this regret and self-pity, along with his cancer diagnosis, that is fueling his rage and reckless actions (peddling meth and committing murder). Regardless of the reasons why (legitimate or not) he’s smoldering in a rage and hurting people who want to help him. He’s a fascinating, but not very sympathetic, character at this point. But the plot can change quickly in this show. That’s one reason why it’s so good. ---
**Author:** ![Rubystreak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Rubystreak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rubystreak)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2009, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-bad-4-19-negro-y-azul/493694/53 "2009-04-23T23:51:17Z")
> [@nivlac](#): > > If your theory’s correct (which sounds reasonable to me) then it was Walt who walked out on Gretchen. Any subsequent misfortune (losing out on a fortune, losing Gretchen, etc.) is his own fault. Walking out on Gretchen would not justify Gretchen and Elliott not paying him for his contributions to their company. If he invented things that they used to make a fortune, they should have paid him. That seems to be Walt’s side of things. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2009, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-bad-4-19-negro-y-azul/493694/54 "2009-04-24T01:07:25Z")
> [@Rubystreak](#): > > Walking out on Gretchen would not justify Gretchen and Elliott not paying him for his contributions to their company. If he invented things that they used to make a fortune, they should have paid him. That seems to be Walt’s side of things. On the other hand, his alleged contributions may actually have not been that significant. Or he did something stupid like having Elliot buy him out of his share before they made it big. ---
**Author:** ![Rubystreak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Rubystreak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rubystreak)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2009, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-bad-4-19-negro-y-azul/493694/55 "2009-04-24T03:43:28Z")
> [@friedo](#): > > On the other hand, his alleged contributions may actually have not been that significant. Or he did something stupid like having Elliot buy him out of his share before they made it big. We don’t really know what he actually contributed. What we do know is that Walt feels strongly that he contributed significantly and was not compensated accordingly. Gretchen never really refuted it, just sputtered, “But you can’t really think that!” I have a feeling she doesn’t really know what went down, either between herself and Walt and between Walt and Elliott. She doesn’t know why Walt dumped her, and she doesn’t know why Walt feels so robbed by them. I doubt the whole betrayal was fabricated by Walt. That’s just my feeling. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-bad-4-19-negro-y-azul/493694.md?page=2)