Anyone into 'BREAKING BAD'? (part 3)

Discussion in 'Visual Arts' started by MilesSmiles, Aug 12, 2013.

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  1. rburly

    rburly Sitting comfortably with Item 9

    Location:
    Orlando
    I haven't liked Hank since the first episodes when he essentially made fun of Walt being a high school Chem teacher and belittles almost everyone. Bad things happen to people like that, and it hasn't bothered me a bit when he gets his comeuppance in whatever form it is. I don't hate the character, but I don't like the character's personality. Yes, he's supposed to represent "police", but I don't think he represents the majority of actual police. If, and when Hank takes a bullet, or hail of bullets, I won't feel sorry for him.

    BTW, Gomez and Hank Jr. are the only two people on the show that I haven't seen "break bad". I hope they both survive through the next 3 shows.
     
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  2. Sean Murdock

    Sean Murdock Forum Intruder

    Location:
    Bergenfield, NJ
    You haven't seen any growth in Hank's character since he resigned from the DEA and almost got killed by the Cousins? I think the whole experience humbled him greatly, and I think his PTSD experiences revealed a lot of his "macho cop" persona to be a cover for a more sensitive, intelligent guy. They're MINERALS, dammit! :agree:
    I think Hank broke bad when he broke Jesse's face -- but then, unlike almost every other character on the show, he deeply regretted it, looked into his own soul, and decided to be the person he SHOULD be, and not the person he was pretending to be. He was given the opportunity to lie about the Jesse beat-down, cover it up, and keep his job, but he did the harder, more honorable thing -- he told the truth, and hit (briefly) cost him his job. I don't think Hank gets the credit he should for how he's changed in the past year (of the show's timeline).
     
  3. rene smalldridge

    rene smalldridge Senior Member

    Location:
    manhattan,kansas
    This ongoing "Hank oughta die coz his character is flawed" attitude really astounds me.
    Everybody has character flaws so I guess everybody needs to die.
    There is a HUGE difference between being flawed and embracing an evil lifestyle to the degree Walt did.
    And Hank has changed.
    Those who say Walt has changed are delusional.
    You think reaping huge amounts of cash changes who people are?
    Yeah, like lottery winners?
    It just allows them to express what and who they have always been to an undreamed of extent.
    Vince Gilligan and his writing team have put a lot of effort into creating one hell of a morality tale but that is what it is, whether any particular viewer is comfortable with that or not.
     
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  4. Old Mac

    Old Mac Forum Resident

    Location:
    Brady Montana USA
    I don't think that Hank has changed for the better. He seemed to have no problem with the possibility that Walt might have had Jesse killed at their little non-meeting. This is much more chilling to me than punching Jesse. Also Skyler suggested that Walt get rid of Jesse and Marie thought it was a good idea for Walt to kill himself. Not a lot of noble thoughts going around these days.

    Heck, it's only a fictional TV show, I have no problem admitting that I'm rooting for Walt. Wouldn't be the first anti-hero I've sided with.
     
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  5. rene smalldridge

    rene smalldridge Senior Member

    Location:
    manhattan,kansas
    Ok.
    But Walt is not an anti-hero to me.
    He is a villian.
     
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  6. rburly

    rburly Sitting comfortably with Item 9

    Location:
    Orlando
    I didn't see him "resign" from the DEA. I saw him not tell what he knew about Walt and then walk out on a 3 pm. meeting. Hank humble? Not in my book. Embarrassed and abdicating the responsibilities of his job, yes. Humble? Hank?! Never.

    I'm sorry Sean. I wrote Hank Jr. when I meant to write Walt Jr. I'd think you'd especially pick up on that. :)
     
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  7. rburly

    rburly Sitting comfortably with Item 9

    Location:
    Orlando
    Who says "Hank oughta die?" I didn't say he should die. I said it wouldn't bother me at all if Hank dies tomorrow night.

    Also rene, if Walt hasn't changed, why would he call the neo-Nazi's, after realizing that Jesse is with other people, Hank and Gomez, and tell them the whole thing is off. He gives up completely. Who sees that coming? And does that make sense? But he does and then screams at Jack's gang to back off and to go away. Would the "empire building" Walt do that?
     
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  8. Sean Murdock

    Sean Murdock Forum Intruder

    Location:
    Bergenfield, NJ
    Although I agree that it was chilling when Hank expressed indifference over Jesse getting killed in their sting, I had to look at it from Hank's perspective, not mine as a viewer. WE know all the "good" things about Jesse (relatively good, of course, for someone who has done the things Jesse has done), but Hank only knows the BAD things about Jesse (screwed up his Heisenberg investigation, is a drug addict and dealer, etc.). From HIS perspective, Jesse isn't exactly a valuable member of society who needs his compassion. Not the way I'd handle it, I don't think, but I'm not Hank.
    I suppose that debate will be the show's legacy -- do you end up rooting FOR Walt or AGAINST him? I'm rooting against him at this point, but I do admit that he has shown a couple shreds of humanity in the past couple of episodes. He doesn't want Hank to be mowed down by Nazis (and have that on his conscience), but he's still willing to put a kid's life in danger to get what he needs. (Besides the obvious poisoning in Season Four, by now using Andrea to "flush out" Jesse, he's made the Nazis aware of both her and Brock -- which puts them in serious potential danger. Not a good argument for the "New Re-Humanized Walt.")
     
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  9. Sean Murdock

    Sean Murdock Forum Intruder

    Location:
    Bergenfield, NJ
    We're talking about two totally different events. I was talking about Season Three, when the DEA was investigating Jesse's beating. Hank was quietly encouraged (wink, wink) to lie about what happened, so he wouldn't get suspended, and he didn't -- he told the truth and turned in his badge. I'm not sure if he actually resigned or was just accepting suspension there, but regardless, with Jesse's lawsuit hanging over the DEA, Hank was screwed. He probably WOULD have been terminated if the Cousins didn't try to kill him immediately after that.

    You're talking (above) about recent events, and I still don't agree. While Hank is definitely on thin ice with how he's handling his DEA duties, I don't think he's "abdicating" his responsibilities -- I think he's dealing with the Heisenberg revelation the only way he thinks he can. Hell yeah, he's humbled -- one of the first things he said to Marie after he told her the whole story is that no matter what happens, his career is over. He just wants to spear his white whale before it takes him down, which I think is totally understandable. He's willing to be fired, he's willing to be a laughing stock -- as long as he can say he caught Heisenberg, who was, let's not forget, the biggest drug kingpin in the Southwest.
    I did pick up on that; I knew you meant Walt Jr. -- I was saying that while Hank DID "break bad" (per your point), he repented, which is more than you can say for anyone else on the show (except maybe Jesse).
     
  10. rburly

    rburly Sitting comfortably with Item 9

    Location:
    Orlando
    What about Walt calling off the neo-nazis when he sees that it's not just Jesse coming to him in the last episode? He saw that it was Hank and told Jack et al that "it's off", to stop, in essence. And he screams at Jack throughout the time they're getting out of the truck and car that "its over", again to stop. I can't think of another possible reason, given the firepower that Jack's squad has to call it off other than either Walt is thinking of family, i.e. Hank and Jesse, or has had a true change of heart. Who would give up when your chances of getting away with everything, money and your life as a free man, when you see the cavalry coming? I sure wouldn't have. That wouldn't have been the decision the "old" Walt would have made when he was an empire builder. It seemed out of character for Walt to just... give up, to me. But he did. It made know sense whatsoever to me. But I trust the writers to make this thing to still have twists and turns we aren't capable of making.
     
  11. Sean Murdock

    Sean Murdock Forum Intruder

    Location:
    Bergenfield, NJ
    We'll have to see how the gunfight plays out before we can guess at Walt's motives, but I don't think that he was ever so evil that he would welcome a bunch of neo-Nazis mowing down his brother-in-law. This wasn't "the cavalry" -- they're arguably the nastiest, most amoral group of people Walt has ever aligned himself with (and that's saying something). I think when Walt was full-on Heisenberg, he was able to justify doing evil things (like poisoning Brock) as long as he felt the big-picture situation was under HIS control, where he could predict and manage the outcome. The Nazis are a wild-card he never counted on, but should have. Even when he surrendered to Hank, I don't think he was "repenting" -- I think he was just in "problem solving" mode, where he submits to one "loss" while figuring out how to get out of the larger mess. He's done this many times throughout the show. He called off "the cavalry" because he figured (probably correctly) that he could figure his way out of this without them complicating it further. I think his true feelings came out when he sneered at Jesse, "Coward" -- that's not exactly, "Thank you, Jesse, you've saved me from myself" is it?

    When the Nazis showed up, and Walt knew he COULDN'T manage the situation to his liking, he tried to stop them, because he didn't want to have caused bloodshed that HE didn't want to cause. Remember, even Kinder Gentler Walt doesn't mind ordering a murder now and then (Jesse), but he's outraged if anyone else (Saul, Skyler) suggests it -- it has to be HIS idea, HE has to be the one who knocks. Because he's Walt, and he knows best.
     
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  12. rburly

    rburly Sitting comfortably with Item 9

    Location:
    Orlando
    I can't argue with that. I can't wait to see how tomorrow plays out. And remember, they're two more episodes after tomorrow. I'm sure the "wild ride" has a lot bigger fireworks than we've ever seen. Based on the writing for the whole series, they won't disappoint.
     
  13. gates69

    gates69 Music Junkie

    Location:
    Wisconsin
    This is how it ends??

    [​IMG]
     
  14. Sean Murdock

    Sean Murdock Forum Intruder

    Location:
    Bergenfield, NJ
    Yep. :righton:
     
  15. malcolm reynolds

    malcolm reynolds Handsome, Humble, Genius

    Location:
    Oklahoma
    They are all going to die in a meth lab explosion and wake up in the church on Lost.
     
  16. Sean Murdock

    Sean Murdock Forum Intruder

    Location:
    Bergenfield, NJ
    Why'd you go and do that?! You're gonna get Vidiot all upset! :shake:
     
  17. Lonson

    Lonson I'm in the kitchen with the Tombstone Blues

  18. Sean Murdock

    Sean Murdock Forum Intruder

    Location:
    Bergenfield, NJ
    Wonderful! The only thing that could make this better would be if you replaced the "boy" and "girl" figures with a scene of Walt berating Jesse.
     
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  19. rburly

    rburly Sitting comfortably with Item 9

    Location:
    Orlando
  20. Lonson

    Lonson I'm in the kitchen with the Tombstone Blues

    No no no the "for girls" and "for boys" makes it the real deal!
     
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  21. Vidiot

    Vidiot Now in 4K HDR!

    Location:
    Hollywood, USA
    Say it ain't so!

    I think that's the skill of great writers, to force the audience to overcome their revulsion and make them secretly hope for Walt to succeed. Under any other circumstances, we'd hate and despise what Walt has become and all the terrible things he's done. But because we understand all of his background and decisions that led to this point, we have empathy for him. I personally don't like him, and in fact he's a detestable human being, but I do feel I understand the character, and I applaud the whole crew (and especially Bryan Cranston) for having the skill to make me believe in Walter White.

    That's a good T-shirt: "I Believe in Walter White."
     
  22. Lonson

    Lonson I'm in the kitchen with the Tombstone Blues

    I'll be wearing this t-shirt tomorrow.

    [​IMG]
     
  23. Gems-A-Bems

    Gems-A-Bems Forum Resident

    Location:
    The Duke City
    I can't believe it took this forum to convince your wife we live in a sick society.
     
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  24. rburly

    rburly Sitting comfortably with Item 9

    Location:
    Orlando
    Tomorrow at this time we'll be enjoying the halfway point of the show.
     
  25. throbbin tower

    throbbin tower Forum Resident

    I think it's safe to say tonight...."buckle those seatbelts!!" :agree:
     
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