Breaking Bad

Haha, he couldn't get that plant vase thru the window. Maybe next episode.

One of the funnier episodes in a while. Walts reaction when hearing the air traffic controller tried to commit suicide was strangely funny. I saw Bryan Cranston on the daily show and it reminded me what a great actor he is. Sometimes it's easy to assume an actor is just playing a version of himself but Cranston isn't like Walt at all. His demeanor is different, his voice, his whole aura...He really created a complete character.
 
One of the funnier episodes in a while. Walts reaction when hearing the air traffic controller tried to commit suicide was strangely funny. I saw Bryan Cranston on the daily show and it reminded me what a great actor he is. Sometimes it's easy to assume an actor is just playing a version of himself but Cranston isn't like Walt at all. His demeanor is different, his voice, his whole aura...He really created a complete character.

Yeah, I saw him in some BTS stuff and in a cancer commercial, and it's really amazing how different Walt is.

This is another thing I love about TV these days though. Shows like this give character actors like him a chance to shine. No movie would have ever given him the chance to show off what he's capable of like this. Same with Gandolfini, Clark Peters, and so many others.
 
Damn that was an intense episode! Great opening scene that tells you all you need to know about those brothers. Aaron Paul has never been better. He's got two emmy worthy scenes right here. And it's amazing how they've taken what at first was kind of a jokey side character in Hank and turned him into a compelling, full bodied character. I love how this show gets unexpected comedy out of things, like the way they cut Hank bawling his eyes out in the elevator, then back to the door opening like nothing's happened. Hilarious. And the little details, like Jesse looking at the pain chart. And the shootout! So much great stuff...I could go on. I wonder who called Hank on the phone? My money's on the private detective working for Saul.
 
Damn is right.

*SPOILER*

That last scene may have been one of the best five minutes I've ever seen on TV.

You know that creepy guy with the hookers in his basement that bashes all the Star Wars movies? He is dead on in his value of character development. Breaking Bad gets it right on all levels.
-I actually care about Hank.
-I actually want to see those two brothers die. And violently at that.

This episode delivered, big time.

There's always great cinematography on BB, but last week's show and this one really had some great shots. Like when the kid's head was underwater. And there was a shot a few weeks ago where the brothers walked by some laundry hanging out to dry, looked great.
 
For one thing, this great last scene teaches how vital camera angles and POV are to storytelling. The violence begins as we see, through Hank's rear-view mirror, brother #1 begin to shoot at him. There is under-the-car POV as Hank backs up into brother #1. We get several views from the rear window as brother #1 gets trapped between cars. There is behind-the-gun POV as we follow brother #2 towards Hank. Trunk POV when brother #2 pulls out the shiny pick axe. Behind-the-axe POV as we follow the brother returning to Hank. And behind brother #2's head as the bullet exits. There are probably some I've missed.
 
Hank has become my favorite character on this show, the writers and Dean Norris have done amazing things with that character. Those last 5 minutes were stunningly awesome.
 
Hank has become my favorite character on this show


I always kinda thought he was a jerkoff and didn't care about his character one way or another. But when presented with his potential death, I didn't want to see it happen. So yeah, they have done some amazing things.

Nice shot breakdown, Jordan.
 
Hank has become my favorite character on this show, the writers and Dean Norris have done amazing things with that character. Those last 5 minutes were stunningly awesome.

Agreed, they've taken a potentially flat character and really given him depth. I think they've done that from the beginning though. He's always had more going on than meets the eye, I think.

But hoooooooooooly shiiiiiiiiit!!!!! What an episode.

A friend of mine cannot watch this show week by week because he says it's too slow. he has to save them up and watch all at once. I now kind of see what he means. There has been so much tension building for weeks...a lot of eps feel slow. But they are contributing to the overall tension. Easily my favorite show on right now. Wow.
 
That legless Mexican assassin crawling after Heisenberg like the T-1000 at the end of Terminator was one of the greatest moments in the history of great moments in this show...And Gustavo is a stone cold, Machiavellian badass.
 
I love how Walt's SUV still has the blue tape on the new windshield.

Jesse messing around in the lab while waiting for Walt was pretty funny. I'd probably get bored and do the same thing too.

I also really liked how last night's episode brought everyone together, all in the hospital, or at least their paths crossed in interesting ways.

Mad Men, you've got your work cut out for you when you debut this summer after this season of Breaking Bad. Not an act I'd want to follow.
 
The last episode was directed by Rian Johnson of Brick and Brothers Bloom fame. Coincidentally, or not so coincidentally, it was one of my least favorite episodes in a while. They did a "ship-in a bottle", what they call an episode in series TV that takes place with few actors on one set, usually done so they can conserve their budget for later episodes. Still, lesser Breaking Bad is better than most shows, and the suspense when Walt was fading, telling Jesse about the night Jane died, and hoping he doesn't spill the beans was pretty intense and redeemed the episode. Bryan's performance there was fantastic as well. Too much showy camera work from Rian that seemed out of character with the rest of the show, though. It's what often happens when you have guest directors on TV shows.
 
The last episode was directed by Rian Johnson of Brick and Brothers Bloom fame. Coincidentally, or not so coincidentally, it was one of my least favorite episodes in a while. They did a "ship-in a bottle", what they call an episode in series TV that takes place with few actors on one set, usually done so they can conserve their budget for later episodes. Still, lesser Breaking Bad is better than most shows, and the suspense when Walt was fading, telling Jesse about the night Jane died, and hoping he doesn't spill the beans was pretty intense and redeemed the episode. Bryan's performance there was fantastic as well. Too much showy camera work from Rian that seemed out of character with the rest of the show, though. It's what often happens when you have guest directors on TV shows.

Agree 100%.
 
Back
Top