# Breaking Bad 5.04 "Fifty-One" Aug. 5, 2012 **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 6, 2012, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-bad-5-04-fifty-one-aug-5-2012/630576 "2012-08-06T02:10:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![Andiethewestie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ba9def/32.png) [@Andiethewestie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andiethewestie)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2012, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-bad-5-04-fifty-one-aug-5-2012/630576/141 "2012-08-07T23:53:02Z")
> [@interface2x](#): > > Man, if they did that, it would make the darkness of season 4 look like nothing. That’d be the darkest season of any television show, pretty much ever. I tend to think it’s going to go dark. And more to the point, Vince is not going to leave any loose ends… unless there’s a movie. ---
**Author:** ![Push\_You\_Down](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/push_you_down/32/9095_2.png) [@Push\_You\_Down](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Push_You_Down)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2012, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-bad-5-04-fifty-one-aug-5-2012/630576/142 "2012-08-08T00:38:58Z")
Other than Sex and The City… has any show had a direct follow-up theatrical run movie? ---
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2012, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-bad-5-04-fifty-one-aug-5-2012/630576/143 "2012-08-08T01:31:07Z")
> [@cmyk](#): > > What a nice, 3-year decline. (2 years, actually) Didn’t he say it had just been one year since his diagnosis? ---
**Author:** ![interface2x](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c0e974/32.png) [@interface2x](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/interface2x)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2012, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-bad-5-04-fifty-one-aug-5-2012/630576/144 "2012-08-08T01:46:50Z")
> [@Push\_You\_Down](#): > > Other than Sex and The City… has any show had a direct follow-up theatrical run movie? The X-Files involving one Mr. Vince Gilligan. ---
**Author:** ![Andiethewestie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ba9def/32.png) [@Andiethewestie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andiethewestie)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2012, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-bad-5-04-fifty-one-aug-5-2012/630576/145 "2012-08-08T01:53:26Z")
This is so dopey but it’s hilarious [![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=csDM1MQ7Wt8) ---
**Author:** ![Bytegeist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9dc877/32.png) [@Bytegeist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bytegeist)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2012, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-bad-5-04-fifty-one-aug-5-2012/630576/146 "2012-08-08T02:16:45Z")
> [@cmyk](#): > > What a nice, 3-year decline. (2 years, actually) > [@Frylock](#): > > Didn’t he say it had just been one year since his diagnosis? The most recent episode does take place around Walt’s 51st birthday, one year after his diagnosis. The above image that **cmyk** refers to shows a span of two years, with snapshots of Walt’s 50th, 51st, and (presumed) 52nd birthdays. ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2012, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-bad-5-04-fifty-one-aug-5-2012/630576/147 "2012-08-08T02:44:35Z")
> [@Andiethewestie](#): > > This is so dopey but it’s hilarious > > [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=csDM1MQ7Wt8](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=csDM1MQ7Wt8) I don’t get it. Clip of BB then cut to a bunch of black kids jumping around? ---
**Author:** ![Andiethewestie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ba9def/32.png) [@Andiethewestie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andiethewestie)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2012, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-bad-5-04-fifty-one-aug-5-2012/630576/148 "2012-08-08T02:49:05Z")
> [@Rigamarole](#): > > I don’t get it. Clip of BB then cut to a bunch of black kids jumping around? It’s an acknowledgement of Skylar’s “gotcha” moment on Walt. It’s dopey but I thought funny. ---
**Author:** ![Andiethewestie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ba9def/32.png) [@Andiethewestie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andiethewestie)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2012, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-bad-5-04-fifty-one-aug-5-2012/630576/149 "2012-08-08T02:51:00Z")
I am still thinking about that watch gift from Jesse and how it harkens back to Mike saying Walt is a “time bomb” I wonder how that watch is going to figure into this season. ---
**Author:** ![Washoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ecae2f/32.png) [@Washoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Washoe)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2012, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-bad-5-04-fifty-one-aug-5-2012/630576/150 "2012-08-08T04:21:41Z")
BTW, what kind of watch is that? Is it a brand that is considered a status symbol? ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2012, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-bad-5-04-fifty-one-aug-5-2012/630576/151 "2012-08-08T04:27:04Z")
> [@Andiethewestie](#): > > I am still thinking about that watch gift from Jesse and how it harkens back to Mike saying Walt is a “time bomb” I wonder how that watch is going to figure into this season. Well, we have… 1)Symbolic Time Bomb 2)We could vaguely call it a Chekhov’s gun, so when it resurfaces later we can all say “I told you it was something” 3)We could talk about it for a week and then say it was a red herring so when nothing happens we can say “I told you it was nothing”. 4)We could really push it/over think it (go back to #2) and wonder if Jesse flipped and suggest it’s a bug. But I don’t think that’s it. Walt has been like a father to Jesse and I think he really needed that in his life, plus, I think he still really feels like crap for accusing him of poisoning Brock. So he got him a gift. Walt told him it was his birthday early enough in the day for him to run out and get it, right? Well, I think I have my bases covered. 😃 (of course, now it’ll be something else altogether). ---
**Author:** ![Erdosain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/erdosain/32/7284_2.png) [@Erdosain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Erdosain)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2012, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-bad-5-04-fifty-one-aug-5-2012/630576/152 "2012-08-08T04:55:07Z")
I don’t know if the watch will resurface later, but right now it’s a pretty good symbol of the pickle Walt is in. Walt tries to use the watch to show Skyler that her feelings toward him can change but he knows it’s a lame gesture. Because the only reason he has it instead of a bullet in the brain is that he manipulated the hell out of Jesse and endangered an innocent child. The only person who likes Walt now (except Junior, who kind of has to) is Jesse, and that precarious relationship is only built on a thin tissue of lies. One which we’re all waiting to watch explode in the next few episodes. Walt has successfully taken his circle of friends (represented by the crowd at his 50th birthday party) and winnowed it down to zero. No wonder he’s buying a machine gun in a Dennys bathroom. He’s not Scarface, he’s the Colorado theater shooter. ---
**Author:** ![pilot141](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e0b2c6/32.png) [@pilot141](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pilot141)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2012, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-bad-5-04-fifty-one-aug-5-2012/630576/153 "2012-08-08T05:29:31Z")
Re: the watch. It looks like a [TAG Heuer Monaco.](http://us.tagheuer.com/uploads/collection/000c162c864a8655319c14ce9e3f4251542ef9f6.png) Nice watch, about $5-6K retail. And yeah, I took the last scene as a metaphorical countdown on Walter’s life. I think the TAG Heuer people are thrilled to have their watch featured so prominently, but also dismayed that people might think that their watch makes SO much noise. 😉 ---
**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:** [August 8, 2012, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-bad-5-04-fifty-one-aug-5-2012/630576/154 "2012-08-08T12:59:51Z")
It appeared that the watch was in a Rolex box, so it’s almost certainly a Rolex watch. ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2012, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-bad-5-04-fifty-one-aug-5-2012/630576/155 "2012-08-08T13:24:45Z")
I can see that the harm that Walt has caused to other innocents, in the name of his family, will be mirrored on his family. He poisoned an infant, his infant will get the ricin. He let a woman choke on her vomit and die, something similar will happen to Skyler. Walt Jr? Maybe shot in the face like Gale. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2012, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-bad-5-04-fifty-one-aug-5-2012/630576/156 "2012-08-08T13:32:10Z")
> [@pilot141](#): > > I think the TAG Heuer people are thrilled to have their watch featured so prominently, but also dismayed that people might think that their watch makes SO much noise. 😉 > [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > It appeared that the watch was in a Rolex box, so it’s almost certainly a Rolex watch. Which ever one it was gave them explicit permission to do it. They don’t do a lot of (any?) product placement, but they have one person who spends their days going out and getting permission for everything you see in every shot. So, for example, when they did the scene in the bug infested house, they had to find the manufacturer of each piece of furniture, every area rug, the photographer of any pictures you might have seen, the makers of a TV if it had a brand name that you could read, the publishers of the books on the shelves etc and get a release from them. So, likely, no one is dismayed that their product is in the show because they could have just asked that it not be shown. Vince, from what I can tell, usually just substitutes something else rather then do the whole “obscuring the brand name” thing. Also, I’ve heard him say many times that they don’t do (much?) product placement, they just really like [brand] of whiskey\* or something else so they decided to sneak it in as their own little in joke or that or “Denny’s didn’t pay us, we paid _them_ to shoot there”. Regarding the whiskey, even though you could see the brand, they said they had to keep it a specific way on the desk and hold it a certain way to make it very clear it wasn’t a product endorsement. Which apparently was hard since they brought in such a big bottle. ---
**Author:** ![Bytegeist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9dc877/32.png) [@Bytegeist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bytegeist)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2012, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-bad-5-04-fifty-one-aug-5-2012/630576/157 "2012-08-08T13:41:27Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > Walt told him it was his birthday early enough in the day for him to run out and get it, right? It was the following day (or two days later?) when Jesse gave Walt the watch, so he had plenty of time. > [@Erdosain](#): > > Walt has successfully taken his circle of friends (represented by the crowd at his 50th birthday party) and winnowed it down to zero. Say now — _who were_ all those people at Walt’s 50th birthday party? I mean, the living room was practically packed with guests, most of whom we’ve never seen again. Did the whole neighborhood drop by? Were they all Skyler’s friends and family? Or did Skyler call _Rent-a-Crowd_ — for those times when you need a bunch of friendly strangers to pad out an event? ---
**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:** [August 8, 2012, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-bad-5-04-fifty-one-aug-5-2012/630576/158 "2012-08-08T13:47:22Z")
He was still a teacher then, so my guess is that many were from the school faculty. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2012, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-bad-5-04-fifty-one-aug-5-2012/630576/159 "2012-08-08T13:55:00Z")
Gomez was there. I always assumed that many of them were Hank and Marie’s friends. ---
**Author:** ![well\_he\_s\_back](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/3ab097/32.png) [@well\_he\_s\_back](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/well_he_s_back)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2012, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-bad-5-04-fifty-one-aug-5-2012/630576/160 "2012-08-08T14:37:26Z")
Doesn’t Skyler have another weapon against Walt? She could tell Walt jr about his father’s abhorrent activities, turn him against his father? Note - I’m sure some of the folks at last years party were neighbors and fellow teachers [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-bad-5-04-fifty-one-aug-5-2012/630576.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-bad-5-04-fifty-one-aug-5-2012/630576.md?page=9)