Breaking Bad: The Final 8

[MikeK]

Just because YOU hate Hank doesn't mean Walt did. Hank was just doing his job.

I believe it is the natural impulse of any psychologically healthy individual to despise Hank because of what he represents, which is brutal authoritarian sadism. He derives intense pleasure from hunting and imprisoning others -- and it doesn't matter to him in the end if the quarry turns out to be his own brother-in-law whose generosity has enabled him to walk again. His instinct is to hurt. If you have read Victor Hugo's Les Miserables, or seen the play, you will recognize Hank as the embodiment of Inspector Javert. Only another authoritarian personality will fail to respond to the Hank character with revulsion.

Also, it's not quite correct to say Hank was just "doing his job," which is the typical rationalization offered by his kind. If he were interested in doing his job, per se, and in accordance with the rules, he would not have been conducting the Heisenberg investigation autonomously. Instead he would have kept his superiors apprised of his activities in his weekly report and he would immediately have notified his superior upon realizing his own brother-in-law was a prime suspect, which would have recused him from the case. And while you might not be aware of it, what Hank failed to do is a serious violation of the rules in any law-enforcement investigative capacity.

So he wasn't just "doing his job." He was using his job to facilitate his perverse personal pathology.

Marie didn't deserve to go to prison. That would have been a bad ending. An innocent woman going to jail? That's the ending you were hoping for? How sick.

Put yourself in Marie's place. Consider the generosity Skyler and Walt demonstrated by paying for the physical therapy that enabled Hank to walk again. Marie totally ignored that and maliciously turned against Skyler and Walt, immersing herself in Hank's perverse authoritarian preoccupation, knowing the harm it will do to her sister. How would you have dealt with the same situation?

I think imprisoning Marie as an accessory would have been poetic justice. She more than deserves it. And if you are oblivious to the glaringly malicious pathology in her behavior you really shouldn't be tossing around inuendoes about" what is or isn't "sick" but should be looking more closely at your own values and reasoning.

 

[Trajan]

So, I watched it last night, we had it tivoed and I stayed away from anyone and anything that would spoil it.

I thought it was well done……. …..the 2 dummies he had use the laser pointers, he had me fooled, I am sure he fooled Elliot and his wife too. Classic, great move.

So to was a great move, getting the Ricin into Lydias sugar substitute. Fuck her.

He appeared to tie up a loose end for Skylar with hanks grave site….the result left to our imaginations.

I had the nazi part right, although I thought he would get the money and give it to jesse, but then that would have taken jesse ‘out of character’ that he had worn over the last episodes if had taken it, he just didn’t give a shit, he just wanted to be free…….glad he offed Todd too….


He died pretty much where it began, in a lab, a moment to self-reminisce……fade to black.

 

[bayoubill]

Just because YOU hate Hank doesn't mean Walt did. Hank was just doing his job.

I believe it is the natural impulse of any psychologically healthy individual to despise Hank because of what he represents, which is brutal authoritarian sadism. He derives intense pleasure from hunting and imprisoning others -- and it doesn't matter to him in the end if the quarry turns out to be his own brother-in-law whose generosity has enabled him to walk again. His instinct is to hurt. If you have read Victor Hugo's Les Miserables, or seen the play, you will recognize Hank as the embodiment of Inspector Javert. Only another authoritarian personality will fail to respond to the Hank character with revulsion.

Also, it's not quite correct to say Hank was just "doing his job," which is the typical rationalization offered by his kind. If he were interested in doing his job, per se, and in accordance with the rules, he would not have been conducting the Heisenberg investigation autonomously. Instead he would have kept his superiors apprised of his activities in his weekly report and he would immediately have notified his superior upon realizing his own brother-in-law was a prime suspect, which would have recused him from the case. And while you might not be aware of it, what Hank failed to do is a serious violation of the rules in any law-enforcement investigative capacity.

So he wasn't just "doing his job." He was using his job to facilitate his perverse personal pathology.

Marie didn't deserve to go to prison. That would have been a bad ending. An innocent woman going to jail? That's the ending you were hoping for? How sick.

Put yourself in Marie's place. Consider the generosity Skyler and Walt demonstrated by paying for the physical therapy that enabled Hank to walk again. Marie totally ignored that and maliciously turned against Skyler and Walt, immersing herself in Hank's perverse authoritarian preoccupation, knowing the harm it will do to her sister. How would you have dealt with the same situation?

I think imprisoning Marie as an accessory would have been poetic justice. She more than deserves it. And if you are oblivious to the glaringly malicious pathology in her behavior you really shouldn't be tossing around inuendoes about" what is or isn't "sick" but should be looking more closely at your own values and reasoning.

Has anyone ever told you that you're a long-winded, self-important sumbitch who's full of shit, Mike...?

this last post of yours, as well as many others, certainly proves it...

 

[Politico]

Speaking of saying stuff on the internets.

 

[bayoubill]

I fuckin' love the pleased look on Walt's face as, just before he dies of his bullet wound, he surveys the state-of-the-art meth lab that nobody but him could have conceived of...

'n also love the way he took out the bad guys...

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=twSfxmpXVZY]Breaking Bad Final Ending Full Scene HD (Felina) - YouTube[/ame]

 

[bayoubill]

[MENTION=23819]MikeK[/MENTION]

regarding your disbelief that Walt could have rigged the machine gun in the trunk of the Cadillac...

Walt was a true engineer...

he thought things through and came up with solutions...

I too am an engineer... with an advanced degree... and I'm in awe of Walt's engineering prowess...

and, from an engineering standpoint, his gun-in-the-trunk idea is completely believable... and brilliant...

and if you can't see that, well then that's your problem, you small-minded piece of shit...

 

[Billo_Really]

[MENTION=23819]MikeK[/MENTION]

regarding your disbelief that Walt could have rigged the machine gun in the trunk of the Cadillac...

Walt was a true engineer...

he thought things through and came up with solutions...

I too am an engineer... with an advanced degree... and I'm in awe of Walt's engineering prowess...

and, from an engineering standpoint, his gun-in-the-trunk idea is completely believable... and brilliant...

and if you can't see that, well then that's your problem, you small-minded piece of shit...

What kind of engineer?

I've been an Electrical Engineer for the last 30 years.

 

[bayoubill]

[MENTION=23819]MikeK[/MENTION]

regarding your disbelief that Walt could have rigged the machine gun in the trunk of the Cadillac...

Walt was a true engineer...

he thought things through and came up with solutions...

I too am an engineer... with an advanced degree... and I'm in awe of Walt's engineering prowess...

and, from an engineering standpoint, his gun-in-the-trunk idea is completely believable... and brilliant...

and if you can't see that, well then that's your problem, you small-minded piece of shit...

What kind of engineer?

I've been an Electrical Engineer for the last 30 years.

26 years ago, following the breakup with my first wife, I was wondering what to do with myself... I'd been a self-employed electrical contractor for more'n a dozen years up to this point...

an artist friend of mine, at an art show opening, told me about his nephew who was doing well as a computer engineer...

I said to myself "I can do that"...

so I went back to college part-time to pursue a degree in computer/telecomm engineering...

I'll tell the rest of the story later...

 

[bayoubill]

I love watching this again...

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=twSfxmpXVZY]Breaking Bad Final Ending Full Scene HD (Felina) - YouTube[/ame]

 

[Mr. Sauerkraut]

I love watching this again...

Breaking Bad Final Ending Full Scene HD (Felina) - YouTube

i just wanted to post the same.

YEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAHHHH EAT THIS DAMMNED ......


But if you like scenes like this, maybe this is something 4 u.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CuGvVJhhedE]Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels Shooting Scene - YouTube[/ame]

 

[candycorn]

I can't think of anything that didn't make sense in the last episode.

Okay. Let's consider one component of that episode -- the machine-gun in the trunk.

You are a girl, so it's not likely you are interested in or familiar with either firearms or the level of advanced and experienced mechanical expertise it would take to produce such a contraption. These are guy things so it follows that guys will be more concerned with such details. Even if it were possible to produce it the odds of it functioning reliably are far less than good. And presuming it would function as intended, what are the odds of getting it properly positioned and having all the ducks in a row? I would suggest those odds are about equal to having Batman crash through a window and save the day.

Aside from that single consideration, the idea that the weakened-and-dying-from-cancer Walt is riding around with a trunkful of money in a stolen car for as long as it takes to achieve all the things we're seeing in this final episode reaches significantly beyond being simply far-fetched. I would say it crosses the border from fiction into fantasy. It appears to me the writers ran up against time constraints and were forced to expediently wrap it up.

If that is your threshold; you probably should have been disgusted with the entire series. I know of no wife that would have put up with Walt's excuses for five minutes. It's your business but you seem to be engaging in selective outrage.

As for the "ducks in the row", Todd survived; so did Uncle Jack (sp?)?

 

[Snookie]

In guns and blood we trust!

 

[MikeK]

If that is your threshold; you probably should have been disgusted with the entire series. I know of no wife that would have put up with Walt's excuses for five minutes. It's your business but you seem to be engaging in selective outrage.

As for the "ducks in the row", Todd survived; so did Uncle Jack (sp?)?

As I've repeatedly explained, I was able to enjoy the series, much of which tended to stretch credibility but remained within the realm of perceptible possibility and may be thought of as high-anxiety fiction. But for the reasons I've already laid out I lost interest in the series when the final few episodes shifted from fiction to fantasy by stretching credibility further and further as it approached the end. In fact, it became nonsensical. A video comic book.

As for Skyler's putting up with Walt's excuses, I would agree with you except for one thing -- the stacks of money Walt was bringing home. I'm sure you could find a few (quite a few) wives who might be induced to stick around by that.

I'm not being paid to criticize the Breaking Bad series. I'm simply and candidly expressing my individual opinion of it. I realize there are many who enjoy watching tv series about zombies and vampires, but I'm not among them for approximately the same reason why I'm critical of the conclusion of Breaking Bad. It could have been done much better.

 

[YWN666]

I've never seen the show but have heard so many people say they are addicted to it, I'm going to start watching it with my cable "On Demand" feature.

 

[candycorn]

If that is your threshold; you probably should have been disgusted with the entire series. I know of no wife that would have put up with Walt's excuses for five minutes. It's your business but you seem to be engaging in selective outrage.

As for the "ducks in the row", Todd survived; so did Uncle Jack (sp?)?

As I've repeatedly explained, I was able to enjoy the series, much of which tended to stretch credibility but remained within the realm of perceptible possibility and may be thought of as high-anxiety fiction. But for the reasons I've already laid out I lost interest in the series when the final few episodes shifted from fiction to fantasy by stretching credibility further and further as it approached the end. In fact, it became nonsensical. A video comic book.

As for Skyler's putting up with Walt's excuses, I would agree with you except for one thing -- the stacks of money Walt was bringing home. I'm sure you could find a few (quite a few) wives who might be induced to stick around by that.

I'm not being paid to criticize the Breaking Bad series. I'm simply and candidly expressing my individual opinion of it. I realize there are many who enjoy watching tv series about zombies and vampires, but I'm not among them for approximately the same reason why I'm critical of the conclusion of Breaking Bad. It could have been done much better.

Okay.

The lies preceded the fat stacks by several episodes however.

 

[Trajan]

 

[Samson]

If that is your threshold; you probably should have been disgusted with the entire series. I know of no wife that would have put up with Walt's excuses for five minutes. It's your business but you seem to be engaging in selective outrage.

As for the "ducks in the row", Todd survived; so did Uncle Jack (sp?)?

As I've repeatedly explained, I was able to enjoy the series, much of which tended to stretch credibility but remained within the realm of perceptible possibility and may be thought of as high-anxiety fiction. But for the reasons I've already laid out I lost interest in the series when the final few episodes shifted from fiction to fantasy by stretching credibility further and further as it approached the end. In fact, it became nonsensical. A video comic book.

As for Skyler's putting up with Walt's excuses, I would agree with you except for one thing -- the stacks of money Walt was bringing home. I'm sure you could find a few (quite a few) wives who might be induced to stick around by that.

I'm not being paid to criticize the Breaking Bad series. I'm simply and candidly expressing my individual opinion of it. I realize there are many who enjoy watching tv series about zombies and vampires, but I'm not among them for approximately the same reason why I'm critical of the conclusion of Breaking Bad. It could have been done much better.

Clearly Skyler's interest in the money was simply stacking it out of sight.

Her main concern was for the kids, who Walt held hostage, predicting (rightly so, as it turned out) that Walt Jr., would be emotionally scarred by the reality.

I'm curious how you may have done much better with the series?

 

[MikeK]

If that is your threshold; you probably should have been disgusted with the entire series. I know of no wife that would have put up with Walt's excuses for five minutes. It's your business but you seem to be engaging in selective outrage.

As for the "ducks in the row", Todd survived; so did Uncle Jack (sp?)?

As I've repeatedly explained, I was able to enjoy the series, much of which tended to stretch credibility but remained within the realm of perceptible possibility and may be thought of as high-anxiety fiction. But for the reasons I've already laid out I lost interest in the series when the final few episodes shifted from fiction to fantasy by stretching credibility further and further as it approached the end. In fact, it became nonsensical. A video comic book.

As for Skyler's putting up with Walt's excuses, I would agree with you except for one thing -- the stacks of money Walt was bringing home. I'm sure you could find a few (quite a few) wives who might be induced to stick around by that.

I'm not being paid to criticize the Breaking Bad series. I'm simply and candidly expressing my individual opinion of it. I realize there are many who enjoy watching tv series about zombies and vampires, but I'm not among them for approximately the same reason why I'm critical of the conclusion of Breaking Bad. It could have been done much better.

Clearly Skyler's interest in the money was simply stacking it out of sight.

Her main concern was for the kids, who Walt held hostage, predicting (rightly so, as it turned out) that Walt Jr., would be emotionally scarred by the reality.

I'm curious how you may have done much better with the series?

In spite of a number of hyper-imaginative events and circumstances, such as the elaborate underground setup in a laundry where dozens of employees would unavoidably notice the tilting access doorway to a secret place, the very redundancy of such a lab setup for simply cooking meth (which is not necessary), and the need for a second cook (which is not necessary), I was able to accept such stretches as being improbable but possible and therefore residing within the realm of high-anxiety fiction.

I was able to live with such routine excesses for one important reason, which I believe accounts for the broad popularity of Breaking Bad, that being the exceptionally good acting by the entire cast. Those people brought that story off so captivatingly well their performances were worth the price of ignoring the more questionable elements of the tale.

But you've asked what I would have done differently and I'll begin by saying I would have used Walt's confession disc to eventually send Hank to Leavenworth, because that little surprise was a master stroke that erased all the troubling little excesses from my mind. But instead they allowed Hank to meet a much too merciful end in the concluding scene, which was a totally incredible gunfight. And if you are fairly well acquainted with firearms you know what I mean. Neither Gomez nor Hank could possibly have survived the volley they showed in that closing scene -- which snapped me right back to my prior state of disappointment with all the incredible excesses. For me, that was when Breaking Bad took on a video comic book aura.

Something else I found a bit off the wall was that rural New Hampshire cabin the so-called disappearance expert stashed Walt in with nothing but a wood stove and a case of diet drink. That made no sense at all. I outlined a much more interesting and credible way for Walt to hide in Message #138 if you'd care to read it.

And that famous final scene with the machine-gun-in-the-trunk contraption, conceived and constructed in a desert sand-pit by a man with no mentioned mechanical experience, was the cherry on the charlotte-russe for me. That shoved Breaking Bad right into the Spider Man category. Don't you think Walt could have taken out that gang in a much more credible manner by simply ambushing them with the M-60?

Again, it was the acting, not the script, that made Breaking Bad so popular.

 

[dblack]

Again, it was the acting, not the script, that made Breaking Bad so popular.

Only if you're preoccupied with the technical aspects of the plot. The writing was outstanding where it mattered most. I actually appreciated the fact that they never seemed to care about trivial technical issues. Take the last several scenes where Walt is saying his 'goodbyes'. How did Walt drive all the way across the country in a stolen car? How did he walk right into Grechen and Elliot's estate? How did he walk in and out of his wife's apartment under the nose of a manhunt aimed at catching him?

Who cares? I'd even go so far as to say that the implausibility of these scenes was itself a deliberate choice, underlining the ghost-like nature of Walt's state of mind. He 'died' when his son finally rejected him. The rest was simply epilogue.

 

[MikeK]

Again, it was the acting, not the script, that made Breaking Bad so popular.

Only if you're preoccupied with the technical aspects of the plot. The writing was outstanding where it mattered most. I actually appreciated the fact that they never seemed to care about trivial technical issues. Take the last several scenes where Walt is saying his 'goodbyes'. How did Walt drive all the way across the country in a stolen car? How did he walk right into Grechen and Elliot's estate? How did he walk in and out of his wife's apartment under the nose of a manhunt aimed at catching him?

Who cares? I'd even go so far as to say that the implausibility of these scenes was itself a deliberate choice, underlining the ghost-like nature of Walt's state of mind. He 'died' when his son finally rejected him. The rest was simply epilogue.

I have no argument against what you've said here.

What you've presented is an argument in favor of the capacity to accept and enjoy fantasy -- which some have and some do not. I do not. And there is nothing wrong with either status.

The only point I've tried to make here is Breaking Bad began as well-crafted fiction but gradually resorted to fantasy to work its way through some hard spots in the tale. This is why I do not share the enthusiasm many (most?) have expressed for this production.