I just caught up on my dvr last night. That was a great episode!! I think you're right, it looks like Gus (Pollos) has a lot more power outside of just distributing drugs.
I can't help but think that he is going to put Walt in a make me drugs or die situation.
The preview that is on AMC's site answers the question as to Gus's power.
I would like to get into this show it looks very interesting but havent seen it yet so would have to start from the beginning, hoping to find a good price on the blus.. How many seasons in is it?
I would like to get into this show it looks very interesting but havent seen it yet so would have to start from the beginning, hoping to find a good price on the blus.. How many seasons in is it?
The first two seasons are availble separately on Blu-ray. The third season is currently airing on AMC.
Thanks, for some reason I had it in my head that it was 5 seasons in... this is better, less catching up to do.
Yeah as of last Sunday's episode the show has only aired 22 episodes, with 2 of them being in the currently airing Season 3. So it wouldn't be much catching up at all.
Another instant classic episode. Walt wasn't on very much tonight, but as usual Cranston was incredible. It was really sad to watch Jesse continuously calling Jane's phone. I knew he would continue until it was finally shut off, but damn it was as though his world just ended. Aaron Paul is just incredible and his eyes say so much even when he isn't talking. I really hope these guys get the nominations this year again. I was really shocked at what Skyler did with Ted, and judging by next weeks preview where Walt is shown storming the office and throwing a large plant at Ted's window after he can't get in and than being drug out by security, he isn't going to just take this laying down. I am very excited for what happens next. The sit down between Gus, Tio, the Cousins and who I would assume to be their boss was a great scene. Really cleared up lots of lingering questions created from last week. That's about all I got for now, make sure to check out Sepinwall's review below cause he always brings up so many fantastic points and things to help us kick off this weeks discussion. So have at it!
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A review of tonight's "Breaking Bad" coming up just as soon as I tell you how to fry your chickens...
"All that I've done, all the sacrifices that I have made for this family, all of that will be for nothing if you don't accept what I've earned." -Walt
I didn't put a stopwatch on it, but I would guess that "I.F.T." (the title is an abbreviation for the bombshell Skyler drops on Walt) features the least screentime for Walt of any episode of the series. The only other contender I can think of is season two's Jesse-centric "Peekaboo," but even there, Walt had a prominent subplot with the return of Gretchen. Walt's not absent from "I.F.T.," but more often than not it seems like characters are talking about him rather than interacting with him.
And most of what they're saying about him is that they're waiting for him to be dead.
"I.F.T." lays out two possible outcomes for Walt: either the cancer comes back soon and kills him (which Skyler assumes, and is therefore reluctant to rat him out to the cops), or else Gus Frings finishes his business with Walt and lets the Cousins (here revealed to be actual cousins of Tuco, and nephews of Tio, who turns out to be a former druglord himself called Don Salamanca) do to him what they did to Tortuga(*).
(*) And if the show were, indeed, to end with Walt's decapitated head on top of an exploding tortoise? Instant Top 5 Most Memorable Series Finale Ever. Period.
When you start with a premise like this show has, neither a happy ending nor a long run (Vince Gilligan has said in the past he envisions four seasons) are likely. And if neither of these turn out to be the exact fate Walt suffers, his end will be ugly - and deserved.
Here, even in an episode where Walt largely takes a backseat to Skyler, and Jesse, and Hank, and the cartel, you still get to see the damage he's done to those around him. Once again, he completely checkmates Skyler and makes her the bad guy in their domestic drama. Jesse spends most of the hour doing nothing but calling into Jane's not-yet-deactivated voicemail so he can hear her voice again. And when the phone company finally cuts the line - taking away the last vestige of the woman Jesse loved, and Walt killed - he heads into the desert in the RV to cook on his own, using all the lessons Walt taught him. Tio is still raging over Tuco's death (even though Hank technically fired the killing shot, Tuco was in that situation because of Walt), and that in turn is going to cause all manner of pain and heartache for those associated with Walt. And, of course, Hank's PTSD problems (which here lead to him savagely beating on a pair of tough guys in a biker bar) began not with Tortuga's death, but with him killing Tuco, which only happened because Hank was out looking for Walt.
We talk all the time in these episode discussions about the brilliance of Bryan Cranston, which at this point practically goes without saying, and Aaron Paul did get a deserved Emmy nomination last year, but damn if Anna Gunn isn't kicking ass and taking names so far this season. "I.F.T." was a great showcase for her, between her panic and frustration at the cops' refusal to kick Walt out, then her resentment at how Walt has bended Walter Jr. to his side, then her nervous anticipation as she prepares to seduce Beneke as payback to Walt, then the matter-of-fact-ness of her three-word(**) destruction of Walt's hopes and dreams for their marriage. Walt has an amazing capacity for self-denial, but even he can't ignore anymore what his drug career has done to his family. (Then again, knowing Walt, he'll just put all the blame on Skyler and/or Beneke.)
(**) As we discussed last year when Walt hurled an F-bomb at Gretchen (in the aforementioned "Peekaboo"), that word is one of the few that you can't use even on basic cable, due to agreements the channels have with their advertisers and/or cable operators, and so in both cases the sound drops out for a moment during the word. But I admire AMC's willingness to let Gilligan use it at all, since there are certain scenes - particularly ones like these two, where one character is trying to be incredibly hurtful to another - where no other word would be as effective. And the unbleeped versions will live on forever on DVD.
And how about Dean Norris? It's been a while since we dealt with Hank's emotional problems, post-Tuco and then post-Tortuga, and it felt right that the issue should be revisited in an episode that brought Danny Trejo back to portray Tortuga's very bloody end (and to again establish the Cousins' lethal bonafides). This is a character type you don't often see in American crime fiction: a cop who's good at his job and tough enough to take on and beat two much bigger men by himself, but who can't cope when things rise to a more lethal level. It's unclear exactly what Hank is hoping to achieve here - prove his manhood? get too injured or in too much trouble to go back to El Paso? - but as played by Norris, it was scary to watch, and a problem that's not going away for Hank so long as he remains as in-denial as Walt.
Some other thoughts on "I.F.T.":
• This one was directed by Michelle MacLaren who (along with director of photography Michael Slovis) was responsible for season two's gorgeous desert misadventure "4 Days Out," and it felt right that she should be behind the camera for Jesse's return to both the RV and the desert. I also loved the shot of Gus's chicken facility with its hundreds upon thousands of birds all clustered in on top of each other.
• Mike tells Gus (or one of Gus's people) on the phone, "I'm assuming Saul Goodman doesn't need to know." So does that mean he's an independent operator? Or someone whose loyalty is more to Gus than to Saul (and, by extension, Walt)? Either way, that can't be good.
• What do you suppose the Cousins did to the old woman with the scooter and the wheelchair-accessible minivan? Or am I better off not asking?
• Going forward (assuming he appears in more episodes), do I refer to the character as Tio or Don Salamanca? I'm kind of partial to Tio, even if that's just Spanish for "Uncle."
• When Walt started peeing in the kitchen sink out of spite, I immediately thought of George Costanza's, "It's all pipes!" defense from the episode where he got caught going in the health club shower.
• This is two weeks in a row with a classic rock standard on the soundtrack, this time with ZZ Top's "Tush" playing as Hank has his biker bar showdown.
I can't believe what she did. I know Walt majorily messed up but he did all that cause he was devoted to his family. She did probably the one thing that could hurt him the worst. I wasn't able to see the preview of next weeks episode but I can't wait till he kicks Ted's ass!!!
one more loss for jardine, I think he would've had a better chance if he went for a stool
his stand up w/ bottle game just wasn't enough against hank
Yeah I really laughed when I saw him at the table. I met that guy a month before his fight with Bader at a local fight event. That dude is PUNCHY! Could barely remember how to spell his own name. And that was Before Bader got his hands on him. His last couple fights have proven great falling down practice for Jardine so it looked very natural.
Great episode!
Anna Gunn was fantastic, this was her episode. The I.F.T.() line was just insanely good. During the whole buildup in that scene I was expecting here to say "I've slept with Ted" and then BAM! This is going to be interesting, especially judging by the preview for next week.
Jesse's moments were quiet but very powerful. The scene where he learned that Jane's phone had been disconnected and we see him in the RV putting on his cooking gear was so sad. And funny that at the end of the ep we see Walt also in "real" cooking gear.
Alan pretty much summed it up in the comments:
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the third season is thus far kicking the rear end of everything else on television
Which is why I'm always surprised to see only one or two comments here after a new ep.
Which is why I'm always surprised to see only one or two comments here after a new ep.
Have you not realized yet that there are very few people who watch consistent great tv? Most people here spend all their time in American Idol threads, or still spending all their time with their theories about Lost, instead of just letting the show do its job and finish, lol.
Can't read the thread, I'm avoiding possible spoilers...but I recently bought the season one & two blu-rays purely on recommendations and I gotta say, this is one great show. I am only on episode 4 (season one), but I am hooked.
Next week look's like Walt will go off on somebody, Ted maybe? I hope. Does anyone think Gus will save Walt and/or take out the twins. I think Gus is a pretty mysterious guy but I think he will at least try to warn Walt about what could be coming.
Next week look's like Walt will go off on somebody, Ted maybe? I hope. Does anyone think Gus will save Walt and/or take out the twins. I think Gus is a pretty mysterious guy but I think he will at least try to warn Walt about what could be coming.
Yeah I talked all about that when I posted last night. It's clearly Ted's office that he is trying to get into, however It's Saul Goodman that Walt rips over the desk while looking very very pissed off. Gus is strictly business if he's done with Walt why would he care if he died or not?
Yeah I talked all about that when I posted last night. It's clearly Ted's office that he is trying to get into, however It's Saul Goodman that Walt rips over the desk while looking very very pissed off. Gus is strictly business if he's done with Walt why would he care if he died or not?
Just realized we never discussed last nights episode!! Another great episode last night, Pinkman is getting closer and closer to getting busted because he's still too stupid.
A review of tonight's "Breaking Bad" coming up just as soon as I remember that the dude's name was Mel...
"Sometimes, it doesn't hurt to have someone watching your back." -Mike
"Breaking Bad" has tried to walk a fine line between black comedy and straight drama, and as Walt's heart has gotten darker, so has the show. This season has had its funny moments (roof pizza!) and of course promoted Bob Odenkirk to regular cast status, but on the whole it's felt more serious than before - not less interesting, because Cranston, Paul and company play both sides equally well, but with its feet more firmly planted on one side than the other.
With "Green Light," the funny returns in greater doses. Saul is more at the forefront, Walt is more pathetic than monstrous for most of the hour(*), and the comedy duo of White and Pinkman briefly reunited.
(*) I found it a particularly nice touch that we only heard Walt and Skyler's argument as Mike and Saul were listening to the tape of it in Saul's office. Had we watched it unfold in the White family kitchen, it would have been as ugly as much of the Walt/Skyler interaction has been this year. Seen through Saul and Mike's eyes, though, Walt's a clown with no impulse control.
I don't think it's a coincidence that the show took a darker turn after Jesse turned to heroin, not only because there's not a lot that's funny about that situation, but because it drove a wedge between him and Walt. So much of this show's comedy, even in otherwise bleak episodes like the one at Tuco's house or the one in the desert, comes from seeing these two characters drive each other crazy as they try to solve their latest potentially-fatal problem. And since Jane's death, they've been at peace with each other, but that was largely because neither was cooking meth at the time. No professional friction, just a surrogate father-son dynamic - note Walt telling Jesse, "You're good at a lot of things, son" while trying to talk him out of cooking.
But as soon as Jesse takes out that bag of blue Heisenberg meth, all paternal instincts go out the window. Walt the mentor is overtaken by Walt the aggrieved party, the man whose entire life can be blamed on others, whose stubborn pride eventually poisons every part of his life. Walt should have been proud that he had ultimately turned out to be a good teacher to Jesse - that he had taken the idiotic Cap'n Cook and turned him into an effective Heisenberg substitute. But of course he had just blown up his teaching career by hitting on the principal, and all he could see with that blue bag was that Jesse had stolen from him, in the same way that Gretchen and Elliott made their fortune on his work, and it made Walt go ballistic - and very, very funny.
Cranston's comedy bonafides got a workout in this one, not only in arguing with Jesse, but the whole scene outside Ted Beneke's office (where he assures Skyler everything's fine even as he's hunched over the potted plant he's trying to hurl through Ted's window), his lame brawl with Saul (with Mike picking up Walt like a father might pick up a child throwing a tantrum) and his disastrous attempt to seduce Principal Carmen.
But if Walt was a clown in this episode, he was the sad clown. He's lost his marriage, lost his teaching job, alienated the closest thing he has to a friend in Jesse, and even fired his counsel and money launderer. He's got nothing and no one, and something tells me Gus Frings will never have to tell him about the Cousins (even as the Cousins leave another warning on Walt's street) to get him to resume cooking. Heisenberg is the only thing Walt has left.
Jesse, meanwhile, continues to embrace his inner bad guy, potentially ruining the life of that poor girl at the gas station with his testimonial about the awesome splendor of crystal meth, just because he didn't think to check his wallet before filling up the RV. Aaron Paul has been a revelation as this dead-inside, unapologetic villainous Jesse - we knew he could act, but to be able to take the character to such a different place while still seeming clearly Jesse is no small thing.
And the gas station deal (another one of the show's marvelous short-story-as-teasers) looks like it's going to blow back on Jesse after Hank uses the return of the blue meth as an excuse to get out of his terrifying reassignment to El Paso. Hank struts through the episode being just as self-sabotaging as Walt (talking to Gomey in a similar manner to how Walt treats Jesse), because he's been to the border, and south of it, and he can't do that again - just as he can't admit to that until cornered by his boss(**). He doesn't quite wreck his career the way Walt does, but he's killed any real chance of upward mobility. (And, not that Hank realizes it, but catching Heisenberg won't do him much good, since putting the bracelets on the brother-in-law you didn't realize was the area's most notorious supplier isn't a great resume item.)
(**) Loved the moment where Hank's supervisor forces him to leave aside the macho bluster and confess that he can't go back to El Paso... and how, after a moment, Hank's personality reboots and he tries to act like the confession never even happened.
Walt's got no one, Hank's got no future prospects, Jesse's got no soul, and Skyler may as well put on a scarlet letter at Beneke after Walt's outburst. Not a good place for any of these characters to be, even if "Breaking Bad" rediscovered its sick funny bone while putting them all there.
Some other thoughts:
• What a great addition Jonathan Banks has been as Mike, whose loyalty is again confirmed as to Gus first and everyone else a distant second. His unflappable, completely professional demeanor stands in stark contrast to the excitable, bumbling amateurism of Walt, Jesse, and even Saul, who's only slightly less in-over-his-head than his two favorite clients.
• Is it any surprise that Jane's father would attempt suicide after all he's been through (and caused) over the last few months?
• And is it any surprise that, while Mr. Margolis would respond to the Flight 515 tragedy by trying to kill himself, Saul would try to make a buck off of it?
• Very nice transition between Skyler standing over the copy machine, realizing how much all the women at Beneke hate her, followed by the copy machine's whine intersecting with Skyler and Ted's moans during sex as the camera passes over pictures of Ted's kids.
• A mark of how effective the teaser was: I was actually relieved when Hank went to the gas station and it turned out the girl gave the meth away after sampling a little. On the other hand, it does metaphorically take Jesse off the hook for what he just did. If there's one area the series has shied away from, it's showing the effect of Walt and Jesse's product on its users (unless we count Skank and Spooge). We get to see how their behavior destroys the people immediately around them, but are kept from having to confront the broader destruction they cause. The users of the blue meth are as abstract as the people on the plane.
Hank is obviously getting close but will he get close enough to catch Walt or jesse or anybody else without something happening to him first. It's going to be interesting. Also when does the assistant to Walt come into play. I remember seeing something about a new character but he hasn't made it on to the show yet.
Hank is obviously getting close but will he get close enough to catch Walt or jesse or anybody else without something happening to him first. It's going to be interesting. Also when does the assistant to Walt come into play. I remember seeing something about a new character but he hasn't made it on to the show yet.
Yeah, I too have been waiting for Gale (new assistant) to show, but my guess it'll be a few more weeks. They needed to establish the major tension between Jesse and Walt, and how they are no longer able to cook with each other. I don't think Hank will catch on this season, probably save it for the end of the series. Even if he does find out Pinkman was slinging Sky Blue, he will automatically assume he's way to stupid to actually know Heisenberg. So most likely he will just continue to follow him and surveil his every move. Which is why it's really good that he's not meeting with Hank all that much anymore.
Anyone notice that shot of the squad car outside the gas station? It's shown for about five to ten seconds. Squad car.. camera... license plate!
Lots of awesome moments. I laughed my ass off when Walt tried to drag that plant across the floor while Skyler yelled at him, asking what he's doing and then Walt's deadpan response: "I'm talking with Ted." LOL
This ep marked somewhat a turning point I suppose. According to the Insider Podcast "Green Light" stands for Walt putting an end to his inactivity. Fittingly the next episode is called "Mas".
Anyone notice that shot of the squad car outside the gas station? It's shown for about five to ten seconds. Squad car.. camera... license plate!
Lots of awesome moments. I laughed my ass off when Walt tried to drag that plant across the floor while Skyler yelled at him, asking what he's doing and then Walt's deadpan response: "I'm talking with Ted." LOL
This ep marked somewhat a turning point I suppose. According to the Insider Podcast "Green Light" stands for Walt putting an end to his inactivity. Fittingly the next episode is called "Mas".
I didn't think much about the squad car, nice catch. The plant scene was great, that secretary really hates Skyler and justifiably too. Sky is becoming a very very hard person to like, not that I actually ever liked her, but we're seeing how deliberately cruel she can be lately.
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) line was just insanely good. During the whole buildup in that scene I was expecting here to say "I've slept with Ted" and then BAM! This is going to be interesting, especially judging by the preview for next week.
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