When I read news about AMC picking up another original show about a high school teacher who makes crystal meth to support his family I'll admit I was dubious. That was before I saw that Bryan Cranston can really act and now I'm hooked. The new season premieres on Sunday, have at it.
They're currently airing 2-3 episodes a night (starting at 3 or 4 in the morning, really only good for recording for the next day). I think they're in season 2 now. Its been nice to get reaquainted with the storyline. I'm pretty damn excited to see what's coming up. I feel like with the exception of the Spoiler plane crash, which felt a little much , I've loved the writing for this show.
I have been chomping at the bit for this show to come back on the air, and I can't fucking wait. Easily one of top 3 best written shows on TV. I thought all of last season was superb. I still don't understand why some of you guys didn't like the whole plane crash thing, I thought it was foreshadowed brilliantly and played out to perfection.
Everything about this show is awesome. It's my absolute favorite show on TV. Cranston is fantastic and the storyline with the girl friend dying was shocking but absolutely necessary. I also like that just as he starts getting ahead something major happens and he loses all his profit. Apparently this is still a part of the storyline as they show a huge pile of cash being burned up in the promos. If you don't want to wait for the re-airing of the episodes they're all on Graboid.
I was seriously skeptical about this show when I first heard about it. But honestly, it is freaking epic. The season finale left so much in the air about what is going to happen this season. I really hope Cranston turns into the ultimate badass in this season. Fuck his bitchy wife..
I don't know how much you could blame Walt for her death. No, he didn't save her when he could have. But she knew too much. It's not like Walt put a bullet in her head. He just watched her die and didn't intervene. I guess we'll see how he deals with it this season. But if I were to guess I'd say it won't bother him too much. edit: Jesse is such a fuck up. His character tends to irritate me. Walt just ended up getting stuck with a shitty partner. But it seems like he does all the work while Jesse burns out on drugs all day.
I don't blame Walt, but that scene was probably one of the most important scenes from last season. Walt, a father himself watches a young girl choke to death on her own vomit. Now, Walter the high school teacher and all around good human being would have intervened. Walt the drug dealing (gangster? I think he's crossed the line) did not. It was a huge turning point in the show and completely necessary if his character is going to continue this evolution.
Spoiler Does anyone know anything about the scene at the cold open? It seems like it might be a cultural thing that I'm not aware of. I think that it was a decent way to start the season. I like how it picked up only a couple of weeks after the plane crash, it's the right amount of time to skip in order to let things feel like they've been sitting for a bit. I was confused about Walt's decision to put Jesse in rehab immediately, it seemed to me like he was fishing with dynamite in order to get Jesse back into a state where he's useful but not cured of what makes him an asset. I don't know why but I am beginning to dislike Anna Gunn. She's playing the character right but I just feel no sympathy for her. I find her scorned woman act to be pretty accurate but really annoying and the fact that she's not even making up a fake reason for seeking a divorce from Walt doesn't help me feel sympathy for her. These next couple of episodes are going to be clutch for R.J. Mitte as Walter Jr. I think he did a really great job with this first episode. I can imagine that divorce could be a lot rougher on a kid who understands what's going on and would like to be included in the discussion. He might be looking at an Emmy nomination if he gets enough screen time and keeps getting it right like this. There were a couple of trademark whizbang close shaves with Hank that I thought were pretty cool. First at the pool where Walt just finished cleaning the last of the money scraps out of the pool trap and then when he bluntly says that he has a half-million dollars in the duffel bag both of them were holding. The scene at the school assembly was pretty good. First you have that asshole kid proposing the school take the Dead Man on Campus route and just cancel classes. It was inarticulate and uncouth and exactly what some idiot kid would say in high school. Then Walt trying to rationalize what he is essentially responsible for was weak and evil and exactly something he would do. It's a good start, I just want to see where it's going to go from here.
So that there is a point of reference: I have never seen a minute of Deadwood, Dexter, The Wire, The Sopranos, Weeds, or any other serial show on premium cable. That being said, Breaking Bad and Sons of Anarchy are the two shows I consciously watch because I think they are the best out there, by a significant margin. After watching tonight's episode, especially after Walt confesses to Schuyler, I am in uncharted territory for a TV show. This may sound hyperbolic, but instead of flipping to a back up program during commercials, I stayed on AMC throughout the show. The theme of this season is to follow Walt down the rabbit hole, so to speak, but I may need to get a group together for post-viewing discussions if I have to get punched in the face every week like this. Apologies if this comes off as fanboy, I'm still digesting tonight's episode
Walt's wife is a giant fucking cunt. The fucking guy had CANCER and thought he was going to DIE, and she won't even listen to what he has to say. Fuck her. I was really glad when Walt put the money out. This season is going to get intense fast.
I don't think the opener was meant to be understood yet. They'll expand on that later on. The two scenes where Walt burns the money and tells hanks what was in the bag was a turning point in Walt's character. It's like he's lost everything and just doesn't give a fuck anymore.
Great season premier. The Silent Mexican (twins?) are scary dudes. I don't think they would have wasted so much time introducing those two if they weren't going to play a central roll in this season. With Gus looking to bring Walt on for one more big score I figure Walt will end up needing Gus for protection and will have to make 3+ months of meth to cover the cost. Looks like we'll be getting a little border drug war.
He's cooking meth! There isn't even a grey area on that -- meth is a terrifying, predatory drug. If my spouse told me she was cooking meth, I'd be out the door, too. Add to that that he's clearly been keeping secrets from her, I don't blame her for jetting. The writers are going to have to be aware of how irredeemable Walt is. If they aren't careful, they could write him into Bill Henrickson, and nobody wants that.
Yes, he's cooking meth, and he was doing it because he was trying to provide for his family AFTER HE WAS GONE. The guy thought he was going to die. Shouldn't that count for something? If he just decided out of the blue one day to start doing that shit for no reason, okay, I could see her walking, but not under the circumstances he was in.
What's wrong with cooking meth? He's just supplying a demand. He didn't force his customers to smoke/snort/shoot it.
I don't want to turn this into a drug/harm debate but there was certainly a reason the writers wrote is so she asked... Marijuana?... Cocaine!!?... It's methamphetamine. In Albuquerque, where this takes place the majority of all violent drug related crimes are from meth. She is well aware of the super pure meth problem because of her DEA brother-in-law. From her point of view Walt is even guiltier because he sat there the entire time these things were going down and played the innocent "sick" victim. Plus she probably feels like a fool since this has had to have been going on for a LONG time.
The fast-food restaurant scene between Walt and Gus was eerie. It seemed like they were setting it up where Walt will be able to call on Gus's help in the future, but with all the misdirections this show pulls, he could end becoming the enemy.
When that scene ended I said to myself "Walt is totally going to wake up with a severed human head in his bed in an episode or two." And what was up with that scene with Jesse at Walt's bachelor pad? I took it to mean that he's accepted his place as a necessary vector for all things illicit. There might be a small role reversal in the first couple of episodes of this season where now it's Jesse who wants to expand the business while Walt backpedals.
Oh yeah, I know Skyler is definitely mortified. I just look at it more from Walt's perspective I guess. Meth does destroy a lot of lives. But if I was Walter I would just rationalize it by saying if I didn't do it someone else will. Which is true. He might as well use his skills to make bank, as long as he's willing to take the risk. Either way, I can't wait for next week's episode.