Because this post is getting so complicated and involved, here’s a little Table of Contents so you can easily jump to any section you are interested in right off the bat. I’m going to keep updating as the season progresses, and promotional pics and teasers come out for each episode, so this will come in handy.
Table of Contents
Introduction
General Pre-Seasons Teasers and Trailers
Episode 509 “Blood Money”
Episode 510 “Buried”
Episode 511 “Confessions”
Episode 512 “Rabid Dog”
Episode 513 “To’hajiilee”
Episode 514 “Ozymandias”
Episode 515 “Granite State”
Episode 516 “Felina”
Overall Season Predictions
Spoilers (mostly relate to the premiere)
UPDATE SEPTEMBER 18: Pics, teaser and updated predictions for episode 515 “Granite State” added to the section below about that episode.
UPDATE SEPTEMBER 12: Pics and video teaser for episode 514 “Ozymandias” added to the section below about that episode. Updated predictions added for “Granite State”.
UPDATE SEPTEMBER 5: Pics and video teaser for episode 513 “To’hajiilee” added to the section below about that episode. New info added for “Granite State”.
Also, no idea in what episode, but Gretchen will be returning! You can read the article here. It mostly focuses on another upcoming project for actress Jessica Hecht but at the very beginning, it says that she was in Albuquerque filming for an appearance in the final season. What do you make of that? What episode might she appear in? My thought is that Walter’s crimes become public knowledge and Gretchen finds out what she was inadvertently helping to cover up so long ago. I just imagine that finding out the truth about Walt could bring her out of the woodwork. As could Walt’s funeral, but I’m leaning more towards the first guess. Thoughts???
UPDATE AUGUST 29: Pics and video teaser for episode 512 “Rabid Dog” added to the section below about that episode. New cast member listings at IMDB and updated predictions added for “To’hajiilee” and “Granite State”.
UPDATE AUGUST 22: Pics and video teaser for Episode 511 “Confessions” added to the section below about that episode. And a tiny little thing is added to the section for “To’hajiilee”. Betting Bad results added for “Buried”.
UPDATE AUGUST 14: Pics and video teaser for Episode 510 “Buried” added to the section below about that episode.
I’m also going to start posting my Betting Bad results after each episode airs. For others that are playing, please share your updates as well.
UPDATE AUGUST 7: A few more teeny, eensy little spoilers have leaked out about the first episode. Critics got advanced copies of 509 “Blood Money” and wrote reviews and tried not to say anything, but some couldn’t help giving a few things away. Even though these all relate to the first episode, I’m putting them down below in the Spoilers section so people who want to avoid them can, and those who want to know can read on.
UPDATE JULY 27: I did come across some actual spoilers (Comic-Con). The new info raises more questions than in answers, but I’m going to add it at the very bottom to be sensitive to those who don’t want any, even tiny, spoilers (and I’m usually one of those people but BrBa and this long wait is just killing my willpower).
BEGINNING OF ORIGINAL POST: In less than four weeks, the final episodes begin. It’s getting so close but it still feels like an eternity, all this waiting. So what to do in the meantime? Dig, dig, dig up every clue and try to figure out what it means. And there are several clues to find, so let’s put it all together and make some predictions, even though we know that Vince Gilligan and co. will no doubt prove us wrong and surprise us with things we never would’ve thought up. Still, mysteries are fun, so let’s at least try. I have gathered up a LOT of little tidbits for you all.
Last week, you got straight up predictions. This week’s post involves a little more digging. Things included here aren’t based on just trying to surmise or wish where the story will go. Everything in today’s post has been sussed out from actual promo material and articles and interviews and some general internet sleuthing.
See the thing is, I hate spoilers, and I don’t intend for this post to contain any spoilers aside from things that AMC, the actors and writers have already put out publicly. But, I also love mysteries and trying to solve puzzles and have a little too much time on my hands waiting for the final episodes, and this naturally led to a fair amount of digging and putting different things together. So if you really don’t want to know ANYTHING, you probably shouldn’t go any further.
Keep checking back, as there will be updates, as more info, videos and pics come out!
Still, these are tiny little pieces they are giving us to go on, and they’re all up to interpretation, and I’d love to hear everyone else’s take on all these little clues so please comment below with your own predictions. Let’s get some crazy, fun, probably all wrong (including mine) predictions and theories going!
First, here’s the short video, “A Look at the Final Episodes: Inside Breaking Bad.” Notice that we again see Walt getting a scan. Cancer’s back, yo.
And here are two quick teasers, one of Jesse, one of Hank
And one more ten-second look, this time at Walt
Maybe the best way is to go episode by episode, especially since the titles were just released. It’s good to keep in mind though, that names are still subject to change. Last year, 507 was called “Everybody Wins” instead of “Say My Name” for a really long time. If I had to guess which episode title would change, I’d go for the finale, 516, possibly 516. More on that below.
Episode 509 “Blood Money”
The description on AMC says, “As Walt and Jesse adjust to life out of the business, Hank grapples with a troubling lead.”
This episode was (up until today) listed on IMDB as “The Decision,” and was for awhile, listed on wikipedia as “A Rock and a Hard Place.” I am thinking it will focus on Hank’s decision about what to do going forward, and the title “Blood Money” suggests that he may find or figure out that his treatment money’s been coming from Walt. Will he have a talk with Marie this early where he hints at or overly states his suspicion of Walt? Seems too early for that. What else would get her to tell Hank now after all this time that the money is from the Whites? I could see Hank confiding in Marie, thinking back to “One Minute” and seeing as how the family ties are really hers, but again, this seems too early and I think it will come out in some other way. I do think the “blood” in “blood money” could mean family, as well as other implications.
Here’s a link to all the released pictures from the episode.
Already love Saul’s outfit, the mint green. What’s he up to though? If everyone’s out, and there’s no more criminal advice to give or incoming money to launder or what-have-you, what’s his deal? We only see him interacting with Jesse. Is this more of the same from the “Chicks ‘N’ Guns” extra scene? Is he trying to warn Jesse about Walt some more? Might he tell Jesse about Brock to convince Jesse what a danger Walt is?
Other than the main characters (Walt, Skyler, Jesse, Hank, Marie, Jr and Saul), this episode also features Todd, Lydia, Badger, Skinny Pete and someone named Agent Artie who’s never been in a previous episode, and a carwash patron. Agent Artie might be a new DEA agent buddy, maybe someone Hank talks to off the record or something, since he can’t pursue Walt openly, at least not yet.
I’m psyched to see Badger and Skinny Pete again since we barely saw them in the first half of Season Five (but when we did, it was awesome, remember Skinny Pete’s piano skills?) and they’re always fun to hang with. It looks like Jesse’s in a pretty bad place though, reminiscent of the beginning of Season Four when he was feeling so so guilty over Gale and was just having a drugged-out crazy-ass house party so sketchy even Badger and Skinny Pete had to check out. It looks like Jesse’s character could be sliding back into a similar state of mind and substance now, but it doesn’t look like he’s surrounding himself with hobos and strippers this time around. He’s alone. I’m also kinda psyched to see Jesse in this storyline. I love his character and always want Jesse to come out of things alive and all right in the end, but how powerful would it be if he just goes to the darkest depths we’ve ever seen Jesse go? I’m hoping for it. Big time. Bring on the despair and depravity.
Walt visits him, according to the pictures. Is he trying to help Jesse? Threaten him? They had their sort of “break up talk” in 508, reminiscing about the Bounder and all that, and Walt gave Jesse his money. So what’s he back for? These two never stay apart for long. Maybe he just wants to keep tabs on Jesse to ensure his continued loyalty? It’s also possible that Walt is genuinely trying to help Jesse.
Update: Details about the Walt/Jesse conversation are included in the spoilers section below, as are a few other choice details about the episode.
Could it be that Walt wants to cook again? I sort of doubt it, but you never know. Or does Walt figure out early on that Hank’s onto him? I doubt that too, but again, ya never know with this show.
This is the only episode that lists Lydia and Todd. What do you make of that? Will they be loose ends that Walt ties up in his usual way?
BETTING BAD RESULTS: So far, I’m in the top 5%! 3000 points out of a possible 4000 so far. Winning bets: Cancer is back, We will see Walt in a medical facility, Walt will find out that Hank knows within the first four episodes, Walt will appear in the first scene, We will hear Walt threaten someone, and We will see someone doing drugs.
Correct bets that I did not make: We will see Pollos Hermanos logo, We will see Leaves of Grass book, Walt will figure out Hank saw the inscription in Leaves of Grass.
Bets that were wrong: None so far, bitch!
Episode 510 “Buried”
AMC says, “While Skyler’s past catches up with her, Walt covers his tracks. Jesse continues to struggle with his guilt.”
Skyler’s past? It has to be Ted or the IRS, doesn’t it? What other past does she have? I always thought Ted would only be quiet for so long, and maybe the time has come for him to try to blackmail her again. It would be great if they wove him back in. Ted is the character who comes back, season after season, to play a slightly different part in the story. He knows about Walt’s “gambling” and tried to blackmail Skyler once before. Don’t trust that dude, just don’t.
Jesse’s…guilt? Hmmm. It’s been awhile since Gale, and the tarantula kid, so I’m not sure exactly what Jesse is feeling guilty over, unless he’s just finally realizing all of it. Remember in “Buyout” when Walt said that once they were done cooking through the methylamine from the train robbery and making their millions off of it, there would be time for soul-searching. Has Jesse come to that point? He has nothing in his life now. Walt manipulated him into breaking up with his “instant family,” and it looks like he may go back to the crystal (and more?) and maybe he just has too much time on his hands and too much time leads to too much thinking about everything he has done. At least in Season Four when he was all fucked up over Gale, Jesse had a job to go to at the superlab, something to do to make him feel productive or at least take his mind off things a bit. But now, as Walt told him, he has nothing.
Looks like Hanks is back at work. What’s he going to do?
Walt covering his tracks – more barrels? Hence the title?
This episode doesn’t list any additional characters outside of our lucky seven.
Here’s the very short teaser:
What do you think?
BETTING BAD RESULTS: At 5000 points out of a total possible 6800. Doesn’t sound great but now in the top 2.8%, you know, somewhere between Jesse’s and Walt’s levels of meth purity. Winning bets: Hank will investigate Walt without the DEA, We will see a conversation take place in a desert, Hank tells someone Walt is Heisenberg.
Correct bets that I did not make: Declan will be involved in the plot, someone will be murdered by a gun, someone will be murdered outdoors.
Incorrect bets: Still none so far, bitch!
Episode 511 “Confessions”
AMC says, “Jesse decides to make a change, while Walt and Skyler try to deal with an unexpected demand.”
So this episode, I think, is where shit hits the fan. Awhile back, AMC released A Day on Set – Part I and A Day on Set Part II and it was immediately clear that though it wasn’t stated, these both referred to this episode, 511 (the giveaways were Slovis as directer and Genni Hutchinson as writer, all this info had already been out on IMDB for awhile). So because of that, there may be a little more to put together about this episode than others.
First, in Part I, they talk about the scene where Jesse has to make a decision. From the title confessions, it seems that maybe he confesses, probably to Hank. But is that too obvious? I still grapple with the thought of Jesse really turning on Walt. Not that Walt doesn’t deserve it, and who knows what he may have learned from Saul, and maybe it could happen. It’s just that he’s not a guy who rolls, you know? Maybe the stakes have just gotten that high.
Or this could be totally misleading. Maybe Jesse’s decision is something else entirely, like he decides to get clean again and get his shit together, or he decides to warn Walt, or who knows. And the title refers to something else someone else confesses. It’s hard to say, and the writers are always so surprising.
From the Part II, we know that Walt, Skyler, Marie and Hank have dinner together. This is really hard to imagine now that Hank knows, and Walt and Skyler know he knows, and Marie knows he knows and knows Skyler has known about Walt since before Hank got shot. Marie has slapped Skyler and tried to kidnap her baby. It is really, really hard to predict what could possibly get these four to have dinner together. I’m wondering if the dinner itself is the unexpected demand.
I still haven’t given up on the idea that Ted might come back into the story somehow. He was just so hard-headed and money hungry, and it’s now been several months, and I just don’t see him as a guy who will just stay silent, so it’s possible he comes back with some blackmail demands. Who knows, the demand could even be Jr figuring something out and demanding answers from his parents. That would be pretty awesome. There hasn’t been a lot of Jr so far, so he needs to come back into the main plot more.
What do YOU think the demand will be?
One thing that struck me in this picture immediately was how Skyler and Walt have similar color palettes. The Whites are unified in beige. Also notice in this other photo from the restaurant scene released by AMC, Skyler looks nervous.
There are two extra characters in this episode. One is a carwash customer, probably not significant, and the other is listed as Jack’s Man. Jack, if you’ll recall, is Todd’s uncle, the man who helped Walt arrange the prison killings in 508. This guy is in several upcoming episodes (though Jack himself isn’t listed) including all of the last four. So he’s likely to be involved through the end of the series. It must relate to fallout from the shootout in the desert in 511, no? I doubt Todd’s cooking will cut it with Lydia’s buyer in the Czech Republic. And just from a writing perspective, this whole thread wouldn’t be introduced unless it somehow tied into the endgame, and tie back into Walt, his family and Jesse.
Here’s the video teaser for “Confessions.” I am going out on a (probably wrong) limb and say that what I think Saul is talking about is the poisoning of Brock.
Episode 512 “Rabid Dog”
AMC says, “An unusual strategy starts to bear fruit, while plans are set in motion that could change everything.”
This doesn’t give us much. We don’t know whose strategy bears fruit. I was originally guessing the rabid dog would be Hank, when I first saw the episode description before the season started. Now it looks more likely to be Jesse. That could be too obvious though. Really at this point, just about anyone could become a rabid dog. Things are coming apart at the seams for a lot of characters. Skyler’s freaking out, and can see through Walt’s terrible lying. Lydia could freak out, especially since, let’s be real, Todd’s 74% isn’t that much above Declan’s 68% and he starts fires and her buyer in the Czech Republic seems pretty demanding. It could be Walt, trying to go after Jesse, manage his family life, field offers or demands from the Lydia/Todd operation if some should arise, covering his tracks if Hank goes to the DEA despite the confession video. And it could still be Hank. He’s pushed into a corner. It could be Marie. Or it could be Jesse, the obvious choice, but there will have to be some sort of twist.
There are two extra characters credited in this episode. One is called Hard Looking Dude’s Kid. The fact that he’s there but Hard Looking Dude isn’t does indicate that these lists may not yet be complete. Not a lot we can gleam from that except that there will be a kid in the episode. Another kid for Jesse to bond with?
The other extra character is called Carpet Cleaner Boss. At first, this sounded like another name for Saul’s disappearer guy. The code for someone needing to disappear has something to do with a vacuum service. Sounds pretty similar. And we can guess pretty clearly from the infamous flashforward in 501 that Walt does indeed disappear at some point. But given the events at the end of 511, I think this will be a literal carpet cleaner, needing to clean up all the gasoline all over the carpet.
Here’s the teaser for “Rabid Dog”
Vince Gilligan said on Talking Bad that the Whites will go on “staycation” which I guess means they’ll be at a hotel in town, probably as the house is getting cleaned up. Something stops Jesse from actually setting a fire. A lot of people are saying Junior could come home while Jesse’s pouring the gasoline, and I believe that would stop Jesse, that he’d never knowingly cause harm to either of Walt’s kids. Or does Hank go to watch Saul’s office and follow Jesse himself when he goes on that walk? Does Jesse stop himself? Some have suggested he comes across the DVD (or Jr does) though I’m not sure what that would exactly do. Others have suggested he sees Holly’s playpen and stops in his tracks. From the preview, it does look like Walt is looking around his house with a gun, and no Jesse is there.
The one thing I’m betting is that Walt doesn’t catch Jesse in the act and kill him. Just not happening. And that’s not out of my undying love for Jesse and wish to see him survive it all, but because of something Aaron Paul said, that Jesse would get some great “bitch!” moments this summer, one being especially epic, and none of these have happened yet. So there’s no way Walt immediately finds Jesse pouring gasoline and shoots him then and there.
Walt Jr does seem to be asking questions, maybe because of the state of his house, maybe because of something Hank says, maybe he finds the DVD (that would be kind of priceless if he really believed that about his Uncle Hank). But watching the teaser again, Jr’s tone seems too subdued for him to have (at that point) discovered anything seriously shocking about Walt, yet. I think he wants to know what happened to the carpet, that’s the truth he’s asking about.
In “Blood Money” the first words are from Marie to Walt. “You’re the devil.” In the previews, we see Jesse saying, “Mr. White, he’s the devil,” but who is he saying it to? Will the Brock poisoning push him to talk to Hank? I think it’s more likely to be someone else, that “Not to you” bearing out. Liquid Victor at the AMC BrBa forums suggested that maybe he talks to his old rehab counselor (rabid dog bringing up the old “problem dog” which was the last time he was there). I really like that idea. He could also talk to someone at APD or someone else at the DEA, which would get Hank and Walt both in trouble. I just keep thinking of Marie’s comment that if the DEA finds out Hank was sitting on this information, he could go to jail too. Whatever he’s doing in that preview, he’s wearing the same clothes he did in the last episode.
Walt says something like, “Do not float that idea again.” My first thought was that Saul suggests sending Hank to Belize again. But it could be something else, even something we haven’t seen yet. It could even about Lydia trying to get him back in again.
I still think that Walt’s (and his family’s?) disappearing is the plan set in motion that could change everything. I always thought he might fake his own death somehow too. But if he decides to do this, I think the plan comes at the very end of the episode. More has to happen first for him to decide to leave.
Episode 513 “To’hajiilee”
AMC says, “Things heat up for Walt in unexpected ways.”
Totally vague description. Not much to go on with this one. And the title (had to google it) refers to a Native American reservation in NM, which is hard to know how to interpret. As said in the podcast for 510, the place where Walt buried the money is in the To’hajiilee reservation (also the same location as Walt and Jesse’s first cook). So perhaps the money is involved in some way. Maybe Walt goes there to retrieve some, or it’s discovered, or something happens with that lottery ticket. If he does put a plan into place to disappear with the family, maybe he’s back to dig up some money for the disappearer fee, which should be half a million for all four of them. Or to pay for the hit he ordered on Jesse?
Are things heating up because of Jack’s man? He’s back for this episode. Lydia and Todd’s crew? Do they want something from Walt that’s not money (or is in addition to money) in exchange for killing my sweet Jesse-pie? Lydia, Todd and Jack have been way in the background for the last two episodes (and really all half-season) so they almost have to become more prominent now. They have to be involved in the endgame or why involve them in the story at all once Walt retired? I think they’ll be back this episode in some major development.
I also have this perhaps off-the-wall theory that Todd and crew bringing the blue back to ABQ could be big trouble for Walt. It’s clear that when he retired the cook moved to that underground bus of Declan’s in Phoenix. But after that diner scene where Todd talked about the heist, they’re bringing the methylamine back to NM, presumably to set up back in ABQ, maybe even to go back to Vamonos Pest and keep using that cover since he was already involved there? This could be bad for a few reasons. One is that Gomie suggested looking into Vamonos in the last episode, so if they’re back there and he does investigate, that could be bad news bears. Also if the blue is back on the streets of ABQ, could Hank use that in some way to make someone, perhaps Skyler, think that Walt’s not actually in retirement and is lying about it?
Another character was just added to the IMDB page for the episode: Andrea. Does Jesse tell her about Walt poisoning Brock and she causes some trouble for Walt? Does Jesse get back together with her?
Here’s the teaser, probably the least telling of any we’ve had this season:
The dijon mustardy colored house Walt’s in front of is Andrea’s apartment, as first pointed out by Hank the Tank at the AMC BrBa forum. Last week everyone was SURE that shot of Jesse walking around was in front of the DEA office, when it turned out to be in the Civic Plaza, so I wasn’t sure if I should believe this but it’s a for sure. The only time I remember seeing Andrea’s apartment is in 408 “Hermanos” when Saul drops off some cash and tells Brock some story about elementary school crushes of his past. Then Saul convinces Jesse to go talk to Andrea and here’s a screenshot of Huell in Saul’s car as they drive away from her place. Definitely the same building as in the 513 promo. Is Walt there looking for Jesse? Would he do something more to Brock to call Jesse out of hiding?
Who do you think says, “Remember, no fear”? No matter how many times I play it, it still sounds like Walt to me but a lot of others say it’s not.
Two main questions linger. The first one: What exactly does Walt ask Uncle Jack to do? I think we can safely assume it’s a hit on Jesse but is it direct or is there more to it? Does he have to do something to get Jesse out of hiding?
The other big question is: What’s Jesse’s plan? How’s he going to get Walt “where [he] really lives”? The family somehow? The only thing I can think of is telling Jr the truth, which would hurt Walt but wouldn’t “get” him. The money? Some convoluted plan to get Walt to go dig some up? He does know that Saul’s guys moved it (Saul mentions this after he throws out Hank and the ricin cops) but how? And why threaten a man he knows has zero tolerance for threats? The only thing I can think of is that Jesse WANTS Walt to order a hit, knowing he’ll have to pay for it and thus will have to go get some cash and they can track him. That seems incredibly risky though? How does he know Walt won’t just murder him himself? He already thought Walt was going to do that at the square. Unless at the same time he has Hank do something to show he’s watching Walt (that way Walt can’t do it himself and would have to hire someone instead). Still seems risky. It would “get” him though–Saul said a few episodes back that the money was the only proof (when he was reasoning that Skyler talking to Hank wouldn’t actually do Hank any good, because they were moving the only evidence she could lead him to). And it could be something Hank could get behind but there is that confession video, which of course Jesse doesn’t know about. The other thing would be to attack the Heisenberg legacy, but it would have to be in a way that would cause Walt to either admit something or go digging up the money.
I’m kinda at a loss on this one. That preview doesn’t help much either. Jr at the carwash though, with Skyler, that’s unusual. They look scared. Is this when he suggests that they might have to leave town? I’m stuck on that too though. From the flashforward it really seems that they have ALL left. But I truly think that Walt will fake his own death, and soon. The following episode “Ozymandias” is about the fall of empires, so maybe he doesn’t go on the run until (the first half of) 514 but things have got to be leading up to it soon.
There’s an interesting tone to Walt’s voice when he says, “I don’t know where he is,” in the preview. Presumably he’s talking about Jesse but he doesn’t sound angry or desperate, more resigned. Maybe even as if he’s having second thoughts? I get the same sense in his voice when he says, “Do you understand?” Actually, upon another close listen with headphones, I hear that tone in just about everything Walt says. A sadness, a resignation, maybe fear. I don’t think this will be a happy Walt. And what does he have a bad feeling about?
On Talking Bad, Vince Gilligan teased that Lydia will learn a lesson about farm-raised salmon. Knowing that he’s obscure and doesn’t like to give much if anything of importance away, I think this can mean one of three things. One is that someone uses farm-raised salmon as a metaphor. Maybe akin to Walt’s metaphor of classic coke vs. generic cola that he used on Declan? Or there is some restaurant scene and Lydia is picky about whether her salmon is fresh, in the same way she was persnickety about her tea in her first scene. Or could if have something to do with shipping since Madrigal is in the restaurant business? Is something to do with salmon part of her cover? Is there where the Czechs become involved? I have said it in comments but I really believe that whoever’s involved in the end game has to become a player by this episode. Otherwise there just isn’t enough time for it to develop.
Most of this is more speculation than prediction. This upcoming episode is a tough one with SO many possibilities. You know what’s sad though? I think as soon as the “previously on” is shown, too much might become clear. For example if they show a clip of Todd’s crew driving back to NM, we can assume that the blue showing up in ABQ will be trouble. If they show Saul saying the thing to Jesse about moving Walt’s money, we know that’ll be part of his plan somehow. If we see Gomie suggesting to look into Vamonos Pest, there’s that. But now, there are just so many unknowns and so many things that could happen.
I’ll say this though, for something more definitive. I think Walt will either put his plan to leave in place by the midway point in “Ozymandias.” I think his crimes will become public knowledge either before then or after he goes away. I think he will fake his own death. Blame could be placed on Hank because of the confession DVD which starts with, “If you’re seeing this, I’m probably dead, murdered by my brother-in-law Hank Schrader.” Or possibly blamed on Marie if he finds out about her poisoning fantasies (if that gets amped up and Dave puts a few things together and informs Walt). Or he could even frame Jesse, if Jesse’s still alive at the time (think he will be).
Episode 514 “Ozymandias”
AMC says, “Everyone copes with radically changed circumstances.”
Had to google this title too. It’s a poem by Percy Shelley from 1818. Here’s the text of it:
I met a traveller from an antique land
Who said: “Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desert. Near them on the sand,
Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown
And wrinkled lip and sneer of cold command
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,
The hand that mocked them and the heart that fed.
And on the pedestal these words appear:
`My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings:
Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair!’
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare,
The lone and level sands stretch far away”.
And for a special treat, here’s Walter White reading this poem and a compilation of amazing time-lapses.
It’s supposed to represent the fall of kings and empires. Remember how in that 501 flashforward, Walt was looking very…Walt? Not Heisenberg at all? He had hair again and was looking all haggard. The king has fallen.
This has to be when Walt disappears, right? I’m still thinking he fakes his own death. And that his crimes somehow become public.
What we know is that the gunfight continues in “Ozymandias.” In the post for “To’hajiilee” I put up detailed predictions of who survives the gunfight and who doesn’t, but even if all of that is correct (and it goes without saying that it probably isn’t), there are still so many questions. How does Walt get away? Who undoes his handcuffs? What happens with Jack and Todd and their crew? What about Jesse? What is the fallout going to be when Marie reacts to whatever happens? What’ll become of any of the confessions–Walt’s fake one, Jesse’s real one, the real one Walt made on the phone just now?
I have a feeling that a lot of this episode will focus on the family. Things are going to fall apart if Hank dies. Marie knows he just arrested Walt, and she will blame him. She might go a little crazy. She might actually try to get some poison and in that case, I think either a) she attempts to use it and the wrong person, Junior or Skyler, ends up dead (thanks Nomad for floating that theory) and Walt could be a suspect, or b) Dave informs Walt of her intentions. Also, if Skyler suspects that Walt is in any way involved with Hank’s death, I think she could flip. And if Hank does indeed die, it’s going to have a huge impact on Junior, which could shake up the family dynamic for sure. Maybe Marie will tell Jr about his father? Will someone find the false confession and believe it?
Now this episode has, by far, the most interesting list of extra characters. Gale. Tuco. Jane. Mike. Krazy-8. WHAT?!?! Aren’t all these characters DEAD? Maybe Walt, the fallen king, is finally starting to grapple with his own guilt? Is he now left with time for soul-searching? The man who posts as Don Eladio over at the AMC BrBa forums said there was an interview where Vince Gilligan said Walt will be having nightmares, but now neither of us can find said interview. If someone finds it, please send it in and I’ll link it up. Anyway, it seems a pretty good bet that maybe Walt’s conscience is catching up with him, and maybe he’s having nightmares of these people he killed directly or indirectly.
Rian Johnson directs this episode, and he’s the same director who did “Fly” and “Fifty-One” and I could totally see him directing the shit out of a dream sequence if that’s what happens.
The hint that Vince Gilligan dropped on Talking Bad was that we’ll look on Walt’s past and despair, clearly a reference to the poem, and another indication that Walt may be haunted by his past in some way. Maybe this will all be triggered by his crimes becoming public? I feel so convinced that will happen but still can’t quite figure out how. Maybe Gomez will survive the gunfight.
The teaser gives us almost nothing, only that Walt must not come home quickly (or ever) since Skyler’s trying to reach him and not for the first time. All the visuals though, are from the previous episode. These teasers are going to get sparser and sparser, I think. Here’s the teaser anyway:
There are a few other extra characters: An APD Detective, First Detective, Baby Holly and Jack’s Man. And there are police involved, which can’t be good. Investigating Walt’s disappearance? All of this must somehow be leading up to whatever brings Walt back to ABQ to buy that M60
Baby Holly is very telling as a credited actress. In the timeline of the story, by the end of “To’hajiilee” we’re still about seven or eight months away from Walt’s 52nd birthday. That means there will have to be a significant time-jump or two coming up soon, and I think that it will happen in “Ozymandias.” Before now, the character of Holly has been young enough to be played by multiple babies, twins and plastic dolls. But with a time-jump of several months, that’ll have her character old enough to be played by one actress. I think that’s what’s going on here. And the time-lapse scenery in the promo is probably the real footage from this episode, meant to show the passage of a lot more time than usual time-lapses.
Episode 515 “Granite State”
AMC says, “Events set in motion long ago move toward a conclusion.”
I would bet money this is where we return to that flashforward. Partly because New Hampshire is the Granite State, and partly because this episode was originally listed as “Fifty-Two” on IMDB. I bet that Walt’s return will be the end of the episode, and all the characters get set up for the final drama of the last episode.
Extra characters on this one: Jack’s Man, Baby Holly, The Grove Patron (?) and Kid. And now Andrea’s been added to this episode as well. Someone in the comments mentioned that The Grove is a restaurant in ABQ.
Here’s the teaser video:
I like something that BettyD on the AMC forum said about this–that Walt and Saul in the same scene will probably be a flashback to before his disappearer appointment. We never did see him call for a new filter, and the writers have done a lot of episodes this season where the teaser is a slight jump back in time. So I’m going to guess this will be the teaser, Walt talking to Saul before disappearing. I also think when Saul says they’re going to be looking at Skyler, this was BEFORE Walt’s phone call to her at the end of 514 to try to take any suspicion off her. It also sounds like the cancer’s still going strong, which we haven’t seen a lot about in awhile.
Thoughts September 18th: I’ve been wrong about timing before–I originally thought Walt would disappear in 512, and that there’d be a big time-jump in 514–usually thinking things will happen earlier than they really do. But it still seems to me that the very end of 515 will have Walt heading back to ABQ, catching up with the flashforward. And that would mean there has to be a significant time-jump in 515. We also know that Charlie Rose is in this episode (article linked at the end of this episode’s section), and that Andrea is back. And at this point, it’s 50/50 on whether Gretchen comes back for this episode or the finale.
Still so many ways the story could go. I thought by this point, because there’s so little story left, that it might be easy(ish) to figure out. Of course that’s not gonna happen! There are still lots of loose ends from the previous episode–Huell and the agent watching him, Walt and Jesse’s confession tapes, the fact that Jack’s boys may go to the Schrader house to try to retrieve Jesse’s tape, everything Walt said on the phone to Skyler that was overheard by the police, all but begging them to ask a lot more questions. I think one thing is for certain (though I say this knowing there are no certainties in predicting this show): Walt’s crimes will go public this episode. That’s assuming Charlie Rose is playing himself, which is a safe bet (otherwise why would VG have been upset that he said he was appearing).
So who will go on Charlie Rose? I’m thinking…Marie? The wife of the missing-presumed-dead DEA agent, and she’s probably the person to go public. The other guess would be Skyler but I think she’s going to be under too much suspicion even with what Walt just did for her.
But a lot more has to happen. They must abandon the house, but why, where do they go? Are Skyler and Junior still alive? Did Walt leave some money for Saul to disappear them if need be? Do they go into witness protection? I keep going back to that first flashforward. I really felt, and still do, that Walt is missing Skyler, that either she is dead or has left and he won’t see her again. Still thinking that she’s not the one he comes back for. I just sense mourning in that breakfast scene.
So why does Walt come back? The big question. We know a bunch of time passes before he comes back. I still think he comes back for Jesse, as unrealistic as that seems now. In fact it’s partly because it’s so unbelievable now that I think that’s what happens. Walt has had two adversaries this season–Hank and Jesse–and Hank’s dead. It just makes sense to me that whatever the final story point is about, it makes sense that it takes place between Walt and the person he has the most dramatic, contentious relationship with, and that’s Jesse. He did something very kind (in a twisted way) for Skyler at the end of the last episode, so that even with that knife fight, they are on a more positive note at the moment. And Skyler’s been on his side all season, so I don’t think it’s her.
But then I question that, because it seems there has to be SOME more resolution with Walt and Jr. But I just don’t see it relating to the whole M60 thing. Walt took his barrel with him, but I do think that he will try to get some of his money to Skyler and Jr, or already left a lot for them (perhaps $737,000?) with Saul before he left? Maybe Skyler loses the carwash in everything that happens and he needs to come back to provide? I don’t know. But my bet is still that he’s coming back, for good or evil intentions, for Jesse.
The other thing is, Walt’s not rushing around. We have seen Walt trying to save people (and his money) and drive like a freakin’ maniac. But in these flashforward scenes, he’s stopping for breakfast, taking his time getting the ricin. That makes me think no one’s in immediate danger, and definitely not Skyler or Junior because in that case, he would be a racing fool. But a situation like Jesse’s–which is terrible but not looking to change anytime soon–would make sense with him coming back but not rushing around like a madman.
If he comes back to protect Jesse, WHY? Has he had a change of heart while on the road after time to think and reflect? Is the rest of his family totally gone and Jesse’s the only person he remotely has left? Hmmmm.
If he does come back for Jesse, the question would be how does Walt even figure out that Jesse’s alive? The person most likely to figure it out, IMO, is Lydia but she’s going to want him to stay right where he is. I originally thought the ricin might be for Walt but I now think it’s for Lydia. She’s the only person, aside from Todd (who’s psycho but not going to sell out his uncle), who knows where the compound is. So I think he’ll meet with her, just like he did in 508, get the info out of her (like he did with the names of the guys in prison) and then find a way to put the ricin in her tea.
Maybe Walt comes back to kill Jesse himself? But again, why? He surely wants Jesse dead now, but I think he would know better than anyone that Jesse’s situation now is actually worse. Ahhhh! WHO THE FUCK KNOWS WHAT’S GOING TO HAPPEN AND WHY?!?!
I also have this crazy idea that Walt will want Jesse to kill him. WHAT?! I know, it’s just this thought that’s been lurking for weeks now. And if that’s the case, I have no idea what Jesse would do. It’s a crazy theory, even crazier now, but I thought I’d post it anyway.
Anyway, all this stuff probably won’t even happen in 515 but 516. But it’ll be set up in the next one, I think.
It would be kinda funny if the “someone” he’s “protecting” is actually not a person at all but his barrels of cash. It’s also possible that they dropped the whole protecting thing and Walt’s just back for vengeance. But why so much later?
Here’s my thoughts as of August 29th:
I’m still stuck on what Bryan Cranston said in last year’s Rolling Stone article, that VG told him Walt was coming back to Albuquerque to protect someone. Here’s the direct quote:
Source: Rolling Stone magazine – Issue 1163 – August 16, 2012 – page 83
Filming that scene [referring to the 501 flashforward] was perhaps the only time Cranston asked for information that wasn’t in the script. “I asked Vince several specific questions. I asked, ‘Am I alone?’ And he goes ‘Yeah.’ I said, ‘Why am I coming back to Albuqueque?’ He said, ‘You’re coming back because you need to protect someone.’ And I went, ‘OK. Is the cancer back?’ He didn’t quite answer that. He said, ‘Possibly.'”
My guess is it has to be Jesse or Hank or possibly Skyler, in that order. Story-wise, for the drama to play out, he has to be coming back to protect someone that we, and the story, have cared about for awhile. This is the final showdown and for us to be invested in Walt going through all this trouble to protect someone, we have to be invested in that someone. So it has to be a major player in the story. It also makes sense if it’s someone Walt has wronged and been on the outs with, and these three characters could all place in that competition. If I HAD to guess, I’d guess Jesse. Jesse and Skyler have always been the most prominent characters other than Walt; they’ve both been in every single episode while Hank hasn’t. And Jesse and Hank are the two who Walt is now most at odds with, and I see that dynamic being good for the drama, the story. So with Jesse being in both of those categories, I’d put my money on him. Jesse’s also the most universally sympathetic (not to everyone but to most) of the three. I’m just playing out probability now.
Trying to go totally on storytelling logic (and not on my attachment to Jesse) but all of this could change so much with each new episode as the landscape of loyalties and character connections shifts. And it wouldn’t be unlike the writers to throw typical story convention out the window either. So this is just it for now.
As for who he’s protecting Jesse from? I’d say it has to be the Lydia/Todd/Uncle Jack/possible Czech connection crew. HOW exactly that’ll happen, I don’t know. But I think all of the sprinklings of this storyline into every episode so far has got to be leading to a big confrontation, and will tie back into the Walt storyline sometime soon.
Update Sept 5: Sorry this is a bit late, this has actually been out for awhile, I just kept forgetting to include it. Charlie Rose will appear in this episode. Here’s the article. This does make me even more convinced that Walt’s crimes will in fact become public. Who knows, they say he may not be making a cameo as himself but I’m pretty sure he will. Who do you think will be the guest on his show?
Episode 516 “Felina”
AMC says, “The series finale.”
Well, that’s telling. This episode also had an alternate title awhile back on IMDB, which was “Crystal Clear” and I kinda hope it goes back to that. It’s kinda lame to just name the finale finale (in Italian). Maybe they are holding off on the title, afraid it’ll give something away. I still think Walt dies.
Vince Gilligan has said the ending will be very unambiguous (yay) and will feel strangely victorious. I’ve also read (though I read so much that I can’t remember where this tidbit came from) that there may be a lot of callbacks to the pilot in the finale. I’m almost wondering if there’ll be a lot of flashbacks and if that will take up a lot of time. I still think the victoriousness of the finale will be that the legend of Walt lives on, that he will be remembered. Or it could be the sense of justice coming down on Walt. Or that he dies doing something, finally, heroic and redemptive.
Still, I think the final episode will have plenty of its own drama so I do think Walt will die in this one. I think he goes in for a last stand type of thing with the machine gun and ricin. I don’t think he plans to get out of it alive. And the ricin may be for himself if he does get out alive. Maybe he’s in a situation where if he makes it out alive, he’ll immediately get sent to jail (this is a last stand after all, he may be reckless) and he wants a quick(ish) death. Maybe he wants to suffer. Who knows, but as of now, I think the ricin’s for himself. Not sure on the why as of yet though.
As far as callbacks to the pilot, I wonder if Walt’s “Confessions” video (the one that implicates Hank) will come back in some way as it’s definitely a callback to the pilot and Walt’s original video.
RJ Mitte said the ending will leave people satisfied or a little hostile, and I’m hoping for a healthy mix of both. But what does it mean?
The only extra characters listed for this one are Badger and Jack’s Man. Does Jack’s man kill Walt? Hahahaha, does Badger? That would be a huge surprise! And why no Baby Holly in the finale?
Overall
I am sure these lists of extra characters are incomplete. For example, there was a character named Lester who was listed in several of the final episodes, especially towards the end. Somehow, that name is now totally gone from all the lists for all the episodes. There are also people who could show up (varying degrees of probability) who aren’t listed, like Ted, Gus as ghost, Gomez (why isn’t he in any of these??), SAC Ramey (Hank’s boss, seems inevitable he’ll be part of it), Andrea, Brock, Declan, the actual Jack, Tim the APD detective who’s been in all the police scenes in the past (Walt going missing, Gale’s murder investigation), any cartel connections or links to Gus’s past, Gretchen and Elliot.
Another interesting thing is that in that Day on Set (I think it’s in Part II), Michael Slovis says that lots of threads come back in the final episodes, that things we forgot about in Season Three may come back now. I’m really psyched for that. Sounds like it’ll be some awesome writing.
And if you want to get real with your predictions, there is Betting Bad. It’s for candy, not money (kinda bummed, lol, I want high stakes and intrigue) and it’s very cool. There are three different levels of bets you can make, based on how likely each outcome is – Safe, Risky and Lethal – and there are five categories you can make bets in – Final Fates, Justice, See & Hear, Murder and Loose Ends. Should be fun. Who’s joining me in this?
And most of all, what do YOU make of all these scattered clues?
Spoilers
Here’s a thorough description for the teaser for 509 “Blood Money” that was shown at Comic-Con. It looks like this is another flashforward to the same time as the flashforward from 501, Walt’s 52nd birthday. What’s interesting is that the whole family has abandoned the house in a hurry, in a drop everything and go now sorta deal. Maybe I was wrong and the disappearer is for the whole family. Also, Walt’s going back for the ricin, which means it doesn’t come into play until the penultimate or final episode. Is Walt planning to use that on himself? Seems a pretty un-fun way to die. I never thought Walt himself would end up ingesting ricin, and that could be a great twist, if it happens.
A few more spoilers from 509 “Blood Money” include:-Hank takes the Leaves of Grass book with him. Actually that’s an assumption. What I know for sure is that Walt realizes it’s missing.
-When Walt goes to Jesse’s, he basically tells him they need to move forward, but not “move forward” as he’s meant it in the past, as in get back to cooking, but rather move forward in terms of resuming their normal lives now that they are both out of the meth business but Jesse is steeped in sorrow and regret. Walt really seems to think he can just go on with his old normal life as if this whole meth cook murderer thing was just a blip. This seems SO true to Walt’s character, and I’m glad to hear that’s the direction he’s taking at first. He has always told himself that he’s not a criminal, after all. Just so spot on to who Walter White is. And so spot on to Jesse that he can’t rationalize his way out of the guilt.
Thoughts?
~Emilia J
Related articles
- Hank’s Dilemma in All its Dimensions
- Breaking Bad Season 5 Part 2 Predictions and Wishes Post (from July 2013)
- My Official Breaking Bad Season 5 Predictions Post (from July 2012)
- Why Breaking Bad Needs Season 5
- How Walter White Poisoned Brock and What Happened to the Ricin Cigarette
- Walter White’s Moral Demise and the People Jesse Pinkman Loves
- Chekhov’s Ricin
- AMC Gets it Right with Breaking Bad and The Walking Dead
April Julia 
BrBa episode titles are usually layered with meaning, “like nachos,” as Jesse says.
“Confessions” (note, plural):
Jesse comes out of his funk by reuniting with Andrea. Brock off-handedly mentions (read confesses) that the bald man gave him–what? Candy? That’s how Jesse learns who really poisoned Brock. And, coupled with the knowledge of what actually happened to Mike–another confession? Todd maybe?–that gives him the emotional impetus to talk (read confess) with Hank. “Walt’s a meth kingpin, a murderer, and he poisons little kids to get what he wants.” Imagine Jesse giving up that earful to Hank. Can you say awesome TV?
Also, Walt probably unloads his guilt on someone–Skyler?–because he ain’t so Scarface after all. And if Ted decides to pony up Sky to the IRS, well, that’s a type of confession too. But that’s really a pat plot development, and I really don’t like it. Besides, that move hurts Ted more than it hurts Sky, because his IRS debt is paid in full. With the most to lose, why would he drag that heat on his head?
No, I think the unexpected demand on Skyler is Hank soliciting her help to collar Walt, not knowing that she is complicit in her husband’s meth empire. Does she “confess” or does she play mum and warn Walter that Hank’s on to his sorry ass? My money says she confesses, finally unburdening herself of the weight around her neck.
“Layered, like nachos, exponential growth.”
Nice work, Martin Barkley! Love the “like nachos” reference. Great catch on the plurality of “Confessions,” that didn’t even register. Now of course I’m thinking of early in Season Three when Jesse yells, “Plural, bitch!”
It’s so hard to imagine Jesse confessing to Hank, but you’re right, it would make for some awesome television. How much would he tell? Or (and maybe I’m thinking about this because I just watched “Hazard Pay” last night, which includes the scene where Walt manipulates Jesse into breaking up with Andrea and part of that plan is telling Jesse that he should tell Andrea about everything, even Gale (by the way how shady is it of Walt that in Season Five Part A whenever he mentions people they’ve killed, he only mentions Gale by name, never the ones that he himself killed, what a master manipulator that Walter White)) maybe he tells Andrea everything? I have some doubt as to Andrea and Brock coming back for the second half, but it seems like all story threads are on the table. Maybe he confesses to both Andrea and Hank.
I think any sort of confession scene is going to be AMAZING.
And I agree that as cold and self-serving and arrogant and in love with his ego and even murderous Walt has become, he’s not truly Scarface. In his twisted way that’s not exactly normal, or doesn’t preclude him from using people around him like pawns, I think Walt really loves a lot of the people in his inner circle. That fact could somehow lead to redemption in the end if he does something to stand up for and defend others. He still has humanity.
I don’t think Ted would do anything directly involving the IRS – if the IRS audit stuff comes back, it won’t be because he said or did anything, and it’s probably not too likely. But Ted has plenty of ammo to just straight up blackmail Skyler. He knows that the carwash was paid for with illegal gambling winnings (I just watched “Crawl Space” and that’s what she tells Ted), and once he gets over how afraid of her he was in 501, well, Ted’s a greedy bastard, and I could see him trying to blackmail her, or something.
From that extra “Chicks ‘N’ Guns” scene it looks like Saul is hinting hard to Jesse about his own suspicions about Mike, so I think that Jesse wouldn’t need much more to figure that one out, if he doesn’t already suspect.
GREAT thought about Skyler and Hank – could totally see that. That whole part feels especially spot on.
So many characters with so much to confess. CAN’T WAIT!
~EJ
Whoa, MB, I just reread this and realized that though it wasn’t in the way you predicted, you nailed down when Jesse would figure out the Brock poisoning way before we saw any previews. Good job!
~EJ
I have a couple thoughts on the “heat up in an unexpected way” line in the ep513 description.
I’m almost certain that the unexpected “heat” is encountered in an Indian sweat lodge. I’ll bet near the end of the episode Walt will visit a lodge (possibly for holistic cancer treatment, or on some kind of spirit quest) and the episode will end with him sliding into a hallucinogen/heat-induced dream world.
At the start of the following episode, he’ll awake as a disassociated self, wandering in a vast desert landscape, haunted by the spirits of those he’s wronged, and free to observe true nature of his crumbling ego — the monolithic force which drove him down the path toward evil.
I vaguely recall Walt using a sweat lodge as a cover story for his wife when he was actually going to the desert to cook meth with Jesse a long time ago. It makes since that the writers would bring back that plot element.
I enjoyed your post! Can’t wait to see how this season plays out.
You know that could make sense, especially as it’s the episode after To’hajiilee that’s the one where all the past dead characters resurface so that could definitely be a hallucination. And it was in 107 “A No-Rough-Stuff Type Deal” where he says he’s going to a sweat lodge for cancer treatment. And your theory would give extra layers to the word “heat” in that description.
~EJ
I am from Albuquerque and there is a restaurant called The Grove. So I bet the patron is a customer from there. Hope that helps!
Awesome, great info. Thanks Doll!
~EJ
A few things to add. In one of the behind the scenes clips, Bryan Cranston mentions the scene where Walt buries his money is in To’hajiilee. Also “Felina” is a Marty Robbins song about getting shot by a sheriff in El Paso.
I think the unexpected demand is for Walt to return to cooking with Todd. Maybe that’s what Jack’s man is there for
Great points Bob. I definitely don’t think Lydia and Todd and their crew are done trying to get Walt (or even possibly Jesse) back to work for them. Todd’s 74% and fire starting isn’t going to cut it for Lydia’s buyer in the Czech Republic, I don’t think.
And yes, I heard that in the podcast about To’hajiilee. Need to add that into the post and update with the previews for 511.
~EJ
Todd and the skinheads abduct Jesse because of Walt’s refusal which is the reason Walt goes back to ABQ to get the gun and ricin
Hey ranrandrandy (great name, btw), I think this is a definite possibility.
~EJ
Just wish to expand on the comment made above by Bob Loblaw. I think the “Felina” title is significant, given that in the Marty Robbins song “El Paso” that Bob references, the final line uttered by the dying narrator ( who has just been fatally wounded in a battle against foes closing in on him from all sides) is : “One little kiss and Felina, goodbye..” Which sounds ominous for Walt, when you add in the big gun and the Ricin cigarette.
Hey Gordon,
Oooh, great comment. I do think things will be closing in on all sides for Walt. We can already see the stage being set for that – Hank and Marie opposing him, Jesse seeing through him, and the Todd/Lydia storyline will have to tie back in to Walt pretty soon.
I still wonder if there is any significance to the fact that the finale was originally titled “Crystal Clear.”
~EJ
The following is regarding this Sunday’s episode Rabid Dog.
I definitely agree that the Carpet Cleaner Guy will be a literal cleaner for Walt’s gasoline covered house. This cleaning evokes Vamonos tents – I hope they are involved for the callback satisfaction and as an extra layer of significance to them. And I reckon Jesse won’t burn it because he most likely hear a car pull up outside the house which will be Walt with the revolver he retrieved at the end of Confessions, which will probably cause Jesse to flee. I completely agree that Jesse will not be terminated by Walt in this episode. Too soon for him.
I saw that bit on Talking Bad and it definitely seems like Walt Jr and Skyler have exiled to a hotel room for their own good.
I agree that Hank is stuck in a corner but the way he could get out of it is Jesse, after last episode’s events – Jesse could just go back to Hank and tell him about Brock, a crime unrelated to the meth operation that could put Walt behind bars. If they meet, then I’m guessing the devil line about Walt will be said to Hank. The going in/coming out of the DEA office shot in the promo definitely suggests this but sounds like a far fetched location for them two to have a personal meeting to me. It’d more than likely arouse suspicions and possibly have Jesse thrown back into interrogation.
5B has had a few callbacks to the older episodes already such as the footage of Jesse and Hank looting in ski masks that Hank finally saw in Blood Money and of course, the confession (from Pilot) and I think Rabid Dog will have another throwback – last time Hank had reached the lowest of lows, getting fired from his job and almost sinking into depression, the episode ended with a shootout.
So I believe that at the end of Rabid Dog, Hank will have another shootout but the two Salamanca’s will be Todd and Uncle Jack. Todd will be executed like Marco was but Uncle Jack will finish Hank off. This is the end for him. One contextual factor that makes be believe Hank will die this Sunday is that he started filming on Under the Dome about the same time as Breaking Bad. I’ve also considered his dialogue in the last episode – “That was the final nail in the coffin.” So, would that be a hell of a way to go out?
Hey Musanna, wow what a great and detailed prediction! That would definitely make for an amazing hour of TV, especially if it ends that way. I didn’t think about connecting it to Hank’s last low point. If it’s connecting back to that, I wonder if he’ll decide to turn over all the evidence (with or without Jesse’s help), even knowing what Walt might do with that confession. In “One Minute,” before the shootout, Hank has that talk with Marie where he says he thinks he’s done as a cop, that he’s going to go in and tell the truth (about beating up Jesse), regardless of the consequences. There could definitely be a similar scene here, as long as it’s not too similar.
I think the writers like to walk that line between having awesome callbacks and character consistency, and repeating plot points too closely. Whatever they have in store will surely surprise us. I have to say that I think this next one, “Rabid Dog” is the one that I have the fewest actual predictions for. I feel like I have stronger thoughts on what happens towards the end of the series (final two episodes) than I do for “Rabid Dog” – that whole section up there for 512 is really more discussion that prediction because I just don’t know! But I like the element of surprise, like Walt’s confession video. That was amazing.
Two more days till the next “hit” errr I mean episode.
~EJ
Okay so it didn’t happen that episode.
But then I read an article on Uproxx that said 5 Things We Know About Breaking Bad and one was that none of the central characters were going to die in the first four episodes so that explains why. So now I’m still counting on either Hank or Todd to die next episode, maybe both. The theory of Walt taking dead person’s characteristics also implicates that Skyler is to die and maybe in the next episode but I’m not counting on that because the shot of her and Walt Jr in the promo seems like their reaction to hearing some horrific news – perhaps someone has died.
I now think Gomez is a possible casualty for the next episode. If he was the one to be hit by Todd and Jack due to Walt’s calling then that would seriously heat up the tension and fire between Hank and Walt in their showdown. But the thing that makes me doubt this idea is that Walt doesn’t even know that Gomie is aware and a part of this attempted prosecution of Walter White but maybe something could develop in the next 35-40 minutes.
Right, Walt still thinks that Hank hasn’t told anyone at the DEA, as Jesse told him in that desert scene. But now there are SO many moving pieces that it’s just so hard to say anything for sure. We don’t know exactly what Walt wants Uncle Jack to do in his hit on Jesse, or if Walt will find out where Jesse’s been hanging out. We don’t know what Jesse’s plan is. Or how Walt’s plan and Jesse’s will clash.
Do you have that article? I’d love to see it. I don’t remember reading anything about no main characters dying in the first four. That kinda implies one might in the fifth.
~EJ
Indeed we do not his either man’s true intentions. Still wondering what Jesse is referring to in saying he’ll hit him where he “really lives”.
I feel like I’m at the point where rather than I’m saying “I think this will happen” I’m just saying “I want this to happen” because the show is so unpredictable and could throw any curveball at us any minute. So what I hope happens next episode is the hit on Jesse by Jack and Todd is botched and Jesse commits his second murder in the series, this time on Todd. That would certainly “heat things up for Walt in unexpected ways”, as Jack may interpret this as a set=up if he has an idea of how manipulative Walt can be,
And here it is – http://www.uproxx.com/tv/2013/02/breaking-bad-deets/
Definitely implies a major character’s death in the next episode.
Thanks for the article!
And that’s a great thought about Jack thinking that Walt could have set him up. This would definitely be plausible and bad for Walt.
I wonder if it will be a death in this episode or the next? It could almost be anyone. I’m still just hoping it’s not Jesse.
I know what you mean about predictions though. I almost feel like I’m getting prediction fatigue at this point.
~EJ
Woww……Good predictions, Emilia. There are lot of unanswered questions about what stops Jesse of torching that house. One, if Skyler is at the car wash and Jr. is out, there where is Holly? First, I thought that she might be at home but Jr. is not there at home. Maybe he has gone out with Holly. Also, we know that WW is gonna come at home with that frozen gun. So, the only thing which can stop Jesse is WW and no one else. I don’t think that Jr. will come home and that makes Jesse to stop. It won’t work like that because Jr. has never seen Jesse. As soon as he sees Saul’s car in that condition outside his house, he might call the police. What do you think?
Hey Sanket, sorry I didn’t get back to you before the episode airs. I guess Holly was at the carwash having an A1 day with Skyler. Or in daycare. They could certainly afford it now. Either way, Skyler comes home with her.
Again, so sorry for the late reply! So much to keep up with!
~EJ
Seems that now that the entire operation is in Todd’s hands, it’s equally clear that Lydia will approach Walt once again to persuade him to help Todd. But now that Walt knows Hank is on to him, he is in a far shakier position that he was before. He may be able to convey some of that risk to Lydia… but I doubt that Jack or Todd will appreciate that subtlety.
Here’s a link to a photo of the actor who plays Jack’s man:
…and I think it must be significant that he is listed as appearing in the last four episodes, but the actors who portray Todd & Jack are not.
I think Declan’s statement about Todd starting a fire may be significant… if Todd is still cooking in houses tented for fumigation (and there’s no reason to think he isn’t), then maybe he starts a fire that gets out of control, and the fire department response to that fire uncovers their meth-making operation, resulting in Todd (at least) being arrested or maybe dying in the fire. Lydia and Jack will blame Walt partly for this, because of his refusal to help Todd fix the problems with his cooking process. And they will take steps to put even more pressure on Walt because of this.
Also, the actress who portrays Andrea also make appearances in two of the last four episodes. I think that after Jesse calms down, he will re-establish contact with Andrea. I can see how connecting Walt to Brock’s poisoning might be another way to bring heat down on him, but as far as we know, there is no evidence to implicate Walt (but that doesn’t mean there couldn’t be an investigation of that matter that could turn up something else to connect him to the meth business).
My predictions:
Skyler is killed, either by accident or intentionally, in an effort by Lydia/Todd/Jack to persuade Walt to help improve the quality of Todd’s product. After this happens, Marie is distraught over the loss of her sister and the idea that Walt has/will have custody of the kids (if Jr. is still alive), especially baby Holly. Marie wants to take over Skyler’s role as the mother of baby Holly so badly that she herself “breaks” and threatens or attempts to kill Walt, which inadvertently throws Hank for a loop and also somehow allows/helps/motivates Walt to escape (without the baby).
Walt returns and buys the M60 to exact retribution for Skyler’s death (and maybe Jr’s. death too) and to retrieve his infant daughter Holly. But ultimately, the result is that both end up dead. His efforts to provide for his family have all produced an outcome that is badly broken.
Wow Nomad, so much to reply to!
I’ve noticed some of the IMDB listings are incomplete so I wouldn’t make too much of Jack or Todd not being listed, because they’ve been left out of episodes they’ve shown up in. The characters they list do appear but often the list is not complete. I think we’ll see more of Todd and Jack.
I definitely think that they could try to get Walt or Jesse cooking again somehow. And neither of them would do it out of the kindness of their hearts for the poor fumbling meth cooks. Either one would have to be extorted.
I think that Andrea may come back into play soon. Will she and Jesse reunite (I’d like to see them together, esp after watching “Rabid Dog,” Jesse needs at least one person to care if he lives or dies). But could she be involved in Walt’s plan to get Jess?
And I do think Sky or Jr is next to go. Or they leave Walt for some reason. I think the he has to feel he has lost them or they are in major danger for him to leave.
~EJ
I just finished watching ‘Rabid Dog’ and I thought it was pretty predictable, considering that the previous episode showed Hank leaving unexpectedly (even cancelling a meeting) after telling Gomey to pull his two agents from their surveillance of Saul’s office (where else could he have been going but to pick up where they left off?).
But considering the title of the next episode (“To’hajiilee”) now I’m wondering if Jesse knows of some evidence left behind out there where they originally cooked? Surely he doesn’t know anything about the money being buried there too. So the only other way to hit Walt where he really lives might be the car wash, but although Jesse probably does know Walt & Kyler originally bought the carwash to launder the meth money, I sure don’t see Jesse getting the IRS involved. That would be neither certain enough nor quick enough to satiate Jesse’s desire for a type of revenge that Hank would also participate in.
Yeah, Jess has enough money trouble, no way he’s going to the IRS with anything. Maybe he does something to cause Walt to need to dig up the money and they follow him? Where he lives could mean just about anything–the money, his family (Jesse won’t hurt his family though, it’d have to be something else), the Heisenberg legacy, someone even suggested Gray Matter somehow, which of course ties into ego and legacy.
I’m going to add this when I update tomorrow but Gretchen is coming back. I don’t know what episode but there’s a NY Times article with the actress saying she’ll be reprising her role as Gretchen.
As soon as I saw Sky and the kids, I knew Jesse was with Hank. Like you said, with that walk he took, it was the only thing that made sense.
~EJ
I think Hank will get caught hanging out with Jesse, unintentionally providing more validity to Walt’s “confession” video. Perhaps someone from the DEA will run into Hank in the car with Jesse? Or stop by Hank’s home to check on him since he has been acting strangely lately. This will send Hank into a deep depression as he stresses about how badly he seems to be implicated. He will kill himself. Marie stumbles into his dead bod, possibly hanging?, and will kill herself too. Romeo & Juliet style. (Could that be why Marie wears so much purple? Royalty? Wasnt Juliet royalty?) Anywho, Jessie calls Andrea because he has nowhere else to hide. He convinces her to let him stay. Skylar is so stressed she starts smoking cigarettes again (like in the pilot) and finds a pack in Walt’s bag. Maybe she accidentally smokes a ricin cig? Was there more than one vial of ricin? Anyways, Walt Jr is now confused and going crazy and shoots and kills Jesse trying to help his father, and ends up in prison for life. Holly goes to an orphanage, and Walt calls the disappearing guy to get a new life. Then realizes how lonely he is, and comes back to ABQ to get the other vial of ricin (still not sure if there is even more than one bottle) and ingests the poison to go out in the same manner as his wife. Romeo & Juliet style, just like Hank & Marie. While waiting for his ricin to kick in, he thinks about his life (here’s the flashback or dream sequence). As for Todd & Lydia, they get hit by a bus. Or better yet, make that an RV.
THE END …or should I say FELINA
Wow EyeowaNix, that would sure be a wild ride. And what a good point that Hank and Jesse could get seen together. Or that Hank could have some visitors from work. He sure has missed a LOT of work lately. Someone’s gotta look into that before too long.
I think there’s only one vial of ricin. There was the one cigarette, and Walt put that into one vial in “Madrigal.”
There would definitely be some poetic justices in your scenarios!
~EJ
Predictions (building on what I said in a previous post above a few days ago):
Some people have suggested that Jesse will get Hank to publicly arrest him and make him out to be “the great Heisenberg” but I’m sure Walt would be completely happy if Jesse took that rap. Others suggest that Walt still has pride for the quality of his product, and would hate to see the declining quality of the blue meth produced by others. Nope, as the scene with Lydia in the car wash showed, Walt already gave away his recipe and methods (leaving Lydia/Todd/et al with a viable operation), and has washed his hands of that business. Recent developments must have only reinforced his inclination to stay out of it.
Jesse’s ‘better way’ to get Walt ‘where he really lives’ must have something to do with Walt’s family situation, but NOT by directly ‘going after’ any member of his family. It could be an effort to ruin his family situation (as exemplified by the happy Skyler & Santa-Walt photo), by revealing to everyone who Walt really is (Jesse must have no idea that Skyler already knows), something that if done in a plausible way would also cause Walt to freak out. How Jesse could do that is beyond me, but I could expect VG to come up with a very creative yet reasonably plausible way for that to happen. I guess it would be plausible for Jesse to give some type of interview (maybe a face hidden & voice disguised interview) but without any other evidence, I don’t believe ANY station would ever air such an interview. My question is: Does Jesse have ANY evidence, any photo or anything, that could corroborate his story? Or maybe Jesse’s ‘better way’ plan is already staring us in the face: He already is very worried that Walt might try to have him killed. Maybe that phone call was intended to push him over the edge, and try something along the lines of what Hank talked about (without actually succeeding). Hard to see Jesse wanting to make himself a target, though.
I’m pretty sure that Skyler dies. Probably by accident, killed in an effort to take out Walt, or to deliver a warning to Walt about what could happen. IMO, the reason Skyler has to die is because then Marie will go completely ape-shit to gain custody of the kids (especially baby Holly). While I first thought the perp might be Lydia/Todd/Jack, now I’m considering the possibility that Marie might actually try to poison Walt, and that could go wrong with tragic results for Skyler. After the rather icy Schrader/White family meeting, followed by the videotape, I don’t see how Skyler would give Marie an opportunity to pull this off though. Sure seems like there won’t be any more happy Schrader/White family get-togethers out by the pool in the remaining episodes.
Marie ends up with custody of baby Holly after Skyler’s death and Walt goes on the lam. This wll be especially ironic if it was her botched attempt to poison Walt that causes Skyler’s death.
Walt-jr. may die or may not die, but it doesn’t make too much difference. If Walt-jr.dies (perhaps along with Skyler), then Walt’s loss is magnified and his grief will be greater. But if Walt-jr. doesn’t die, and if the end plays out the way I think it might, Walt’s shame will be greater.
Jesse – I have no good feel for whether he lives or not. I tend to think he does end up contributing to Walt’s ultimate undoing, which suggests that he makes it to the final episode.
Hank lives. And he also brings down the Lydia/Todd//Czech meth pipeline. Probably also contributes to the take down of Jack, Kenny & the NeoNazis, too. But I’m thinking his ‘reward’ will be a demotion (or maybe even being fired, or in some other form of trouble).
Walt – After Skyler’s death, he is forced to flee, either for his safety or because he is a fugitive from justice. returns in the final episode to reclaim his daughter Holly. The ricin may be to kill someone (Marie?) but it may also be intended to treat his cancer (but I think that’s doubtful) because low-dose ricin does have anti-carcinogenic properties. Walt ends up having lost his family (literally losing Skyler, and maybe Walt-jr.) and losing custody of Holly, who ends up being raised by Marie (but probably not if Marie was responsible for Skyler’s death, unless Marie is the only one who knows that).
There is a foreshadowing of the series finale in S5E10 when Walt, after having collapsed on the bathroom, says ‘please don’t let all of this be for nothing’ so I think the great irony of the series will be exactly that: Walt ends up with his cancer in remission, but has lost everything and is forced to go back to doing what he was doing when the show started: teaching. There is a difference, though, as we see when the final scene comes to a close: Walt is shown in front of a class, but as the camera pulls back we see that all the students in this class are all inmates. So Walt survives the cancer that started all this, only to have his infant daughter grow up to knowing only that he is a convicted meth-maker whose criminal activities resulted in the death of her mother (and maybe her older brother; if Walt-jr. survives, he too suffers the shame of knowing all the very bad things his dad has done).
Hey Nomad,
I also had the idea that maybe Jesse wanted to push Walt over the edge towards killing him. I don’t know what purpose that would serve. I don’t think he wants to die, and I don’t think he’d risk being a target of Walt’s because if that’s the game I don’t know how great a plan that is for Jesse. BUT what else could have been the result of that phone call? He didn’t just say hey I’m not playing by your rules, I don’t want to hear your explanation bullshit. He said he was coming for Walt and sounded really ominous. He has to know, what with what he said earlier about Walt’s zero tolerance policy on threats, that this makes him a target. So why?
I also thought he could somehow tell Jr about who his dad is. That would get Walt’s family. I actually think he knows that Skyler knows, at least to some extent. Walt’s shared enough–Jesse knew that they were separated in the beginning of Season Three and in “Fly,” Walt talks about how he wishes he could’ve died before Skyler found out. And then when she was there when he was moving the methylamine in 507, I just think Jesse’s pretty aware of Skyler’s involvement.
I actually don’t think Walt would be okay with Jesse claiming to be Heisenberg, at all. But that was a total joke when I suggested that was Jesse’s plan. I don’t think it would bring Walt out but I do think it would drive him crazy. Walt has to be the genius. Also he may have been a little blase about the purity because it was no longer in his territory (Declan was operating out of Phoenix) but I don’t think that would do it either. I think it could have something to do with getting Walt to go get some of the cash and following him.
That is a pretty good story for how the rest of the season plays out! What about this twist? Marie tries to poison Walt and Skyler dies and NO ONE else knows it was Marie and the prime suspect is Walt! It’s not just that Hank is onto him but the cops think he’s good for his wife’s murder.
Jesse is the wild card, isn’t he?
~EJ
re: “BUT what else could have been the result of that phone call? He didn’t just say hey I’m not playing by your rules, I don’t want to hear your explanation bullshit. He said he was coming for Walt and sounded really ominous. He has to know, what with what he said earlier about Walt’s zero tolerance policy on threats, that this makes him a target. So why?”
Jesse said ‘I’m coming for you. I decided that burning down your house is nothing. Next time I’m gonna get [Walt] where you really live.’
IMO, only two things fit Jesse’s perception of where Walt “really lives”:
his lifestyle/reputation, or
the money that provides that lifestyle.
Jesse also may be trying to make Walt THINK he is coming after Walt’s kids (which corresponds to what Walt did to Brock).
Whatever the next move is, I think that it’s intended to put pressure on Walt and make him break character, to slip up. It also has to happen quickly because Jesse probably can’t stay at Hank’s house for too long. Just the fact that he was there at all (and was Jesse under oath? or mirandized? probably no and no) probably makes his video confession inadmissible (not that Hank cares about that at this point).
…although I guess it is true that Jesse need not be mirandized unless he is under arrest. It’s no different than a cop asking somebody questions. Jesse is shown voluntarily giving that statement. Besides, the whole point was to help Hank get some tangible evidence, to know where to look.
I don’t think miranda will be an issue. I just don’t see any of this actually going to court.
Jesse can’t stay at Hank’s for long I don’t think. At least he better have somewhere else to go as soon as Walt figures out they’re working together. If they can be smart about it, somehow keep it looking like Hank is boxed in by that false confession, then Hank’s will be the last place Jesse will look. But if he figures it out…
~EJ
I think the line where Jesse says “whatever you think he’s gonna do, he’ll do the complete exact opposite”, or however he so eloquently put it is extremely important. It certainly seems as though Walter ordered a hit on Jesse, and that may still be the case, but I’m convinced Walter is going to be faking his own death in the very near future, and maybe Todd’s crew will be helping him with this. Thinking back to the cold open in the first episode of this season’s second half……..when Walt says “Hello Carol” to his ex-neighbor, I don’t think she drops her groceries out of fear. She is truly stunned that she is seeing a ghost……..someone she thought was dead. It’s shock, not fear. It would be best for everyone (except maybe Jesse because it would be hard for him to strike a deal with the DEA if Walt is “dead”) if Walt is presumed to be gone. Something truly crazy would make him come out of hiding, and saving Jesse from Todd/Lydia’s crew seems like the best way to wrap the series up (accompanied by Walter’s death, of course).
The other angle is that Walt is coming back to save Skylar. Especially with what we know about the title of the finale being “Felina”, and old Mexican song with these possibly telling lyrics:
I saddled up and away I did go,
Riding alone in the dark.
Maybe tomorrow
A bullet may find me.
Tonight nothing’s worse than this
Pain in my heart.
And at last here I
Am on the hill overlooking El Paso;
I can see Rosa’s cantina below.
My love is strong and it pushes me onward.
Down off the hill to Felina I go.
Off to my right I see five mounted cowboys;
Off to my left ride a dozen or more.
Shouting and shooting I can’t let them catch me.
I have to make it to Rosa’s back door.
Something is dreadfully wrong for I feel
A deep burning pain in my side.
Though I am trying
To stay in the saddle,
I’m getting weary,
Unable to ride.
But my love for
Felina is strong and I rise where I’ve fallen,
Though I am weary I can’t stop to rest.
I see the white puff of smoke from the rifle.
I feel the bullet go deep in my chest.
From out of nowhere Felina has found me,
Kissing my cheek as she kneels by my side.
Cradled by two loving arms that I’ll die for,
One little kiss and Felina, good-bye.
It does seem pretty clear that Walt goes on the lam, but it’s also clear that because his alter-ego Heisenberg has been revealed. Neighbor Carol would be truly stunned just because that’s the first time she’s seen him since that happened. But of course it’s also true that Walt’s disappearing act would have a greater chance of success if he credibly faked his own death.
But considering the events at the end of S5E11, and considering that both Saul and Skyler just tried to convince Walt that Jesse was such a big of a threat to their safety that he had to be ‘dealt with’ and considering that Jesse just told Walt that burning his house down wasn’t enough, and that he’d get him where he really lives, I don’t think Walt’s response would be to hire a Jack’s crew to do ‘another job’ that consists of helping Walt disappear, especially not when the only jobs we’ve seen them do is murder.
Not everything in the show, or everything Walt does, needs to be an unexpected plot twist just to fool the audience. When they does stuff like that often enough, it probably won’t be long before they ‘jump the shark’ and become a tired cliche.
If Walt does fake his own death–and I think he does–the one person that could be terrible for is Hank. He won’t be able to get Walt, and if that DVD comes back into play, that could be very, very bad for Hank.
I also read Carol as having seen a ghost. I wonder if the actress who played Carol was told anything about the details of her reaction to Walt and why?
Something more, and bigger has to happen for Walt to disappear or fake his own death. His crimes becoming public? A much bigger threat to his family? B/c right now Walt thinks he’s sitting pretty, the only threat is Jesse who I’m sure he thinks can be easily neutralized, aka put in a barrel.
~EJ
re: “I also read Carol as having seen a ghost.” Yep, very well could be.
But just seeing the former neighbor for the first time since she found out he was a drug kingpin might produce the same reaction. But since her first reaction was not to just ‘run for her life’ you may well be right.
Come to think of it, when Walt is faced with a problem so dangerous that he decides to disappear, there’s really no reason why he *wouldn’t* fake his own death, simply to help throw his pursuers off his trail. So I am now 100% in agreement that Walter White “dies” before being reborn as “Mr. Lambert.”
But I still don’t think any public claim intended to ruin ‘the Heisenberg legend’ will cause Walt to break cover. It might tick him off a bit but he’s far enough removed from all that to not risk everything because of something like that.
IMO, the only announcement about Heisenberg that would make Walt go ape-shit would have to be about a seizure of millions in cash purportedly belonging to the elusive Heisenberg, who still remains at large.
OK, I can’t believe I overlooked this, but Walt has already told us that he’s going to fake his own death before he goes on the lam.
At the beginning of his “confession” video Walt says:
“If you’re watching this tape, I’m probably dead, murdered by my brother-in-law Hank Schrader…”
Walt’s plan to fake his own death (his “Plan B”) must have been hatched when he was coming up with the script for that “confession” video (his “Plan A”). Walt figures that if Hank is too “slick” for the drug kingpin charge to stick, maybe the murder rap will do the trick?
Yeah, yeah, I’m a poet but didn’t know it ;)
YES! EXACTLY!!! His faked death would be perfect! Plus that way no one’s looking for him in New Hampshire or anywhere else. And he can blame it on Hank, and use Saul’s disappearer for the new identity.
The question is, where do the rest of his family go? We know Skyler and the kids don’t stay in the house from the flashforward where we see it’s abandoned. If the family were still intact, I can’t imagine Walt wanting to leave without them unless he absolutely HAD to. So what makes him have to? Do they desert him? Does Skyler die and Hank and Marie take the kids?
I think there has to be some death or other major loss for Walt to choose “Lambert” as his last name b/c as we were saying earlier, it’s not exactly the smartest, most logical move. It’s emotionally motivated, probably by grief?
As for Carol, I read it as both–she’s shocked because his crimes have become public AND she thought he was dead.
~EJ
Yep, I agree with all of that, except that Walt may not use Saul’s “disappearer” (but I guess they’ve clearly set a precedent for that, with Walt having asked about it before, and Jesse having almost done it. I think the use of the last name “Lambert” may indicate it was a D-I-Y job.
Seens certain that Walt goes on the lam solo. As I mentioned before, I think Skyler dies (but you’re right that it MIGHT be a case where she too had to disappear with the kids for her own safety), and Walt comes back to either try to retrieve the baby Holly (who will almost certainly end up with Marie, if Sklyer dies and Marie is alive), or Walt comes back to exact revenge on whoever killed Skyler (and any other family member who also died). If Nazi or Czech thugs are responsible for Walt having to go on the lam, then I think he revenge will be aimed at them. But that just seems far too formulaic (and thus, disappointing) for VG.
I also like your idea ( a lot!) that builds on my suggestion that Marie tries to poison Walt but accidentally kills Skyler instead: that Walt is then implicated in that death (since spouses are always the prime suspects), and then has to go on the lam for a crime he did *NOT* commit.
Then we’d have to see if therapist Dave breaks confidentiality (which he could do about a potential future crime). They sure did expend a lot of time last week on that scene, so It makes me wonder if we’ll see Dave again as a snitch. I don’t know if Marie’s job as a radiology tech gives her access to anything she might use.
I think if they disappear separately it might be because Skyler takes the kids and leaves him. It really seems they are all gone, and they all left in a urry because of the state of the house in the future. So that part makes me think they leave (or the surviving ones do), but I agree that’s Walt’s alone out there in NH. In fact, I have this picture in my head for “Ozymandias” that I can’t shake, and it’s Walt alone, far from ABQ in a hotel room at night feeling haunted by his demons. I’ve had this picture in my head since about the time the episode titles come out. It doesn’t even really make sense but I can’t shake it.
Hahaha, yes, I love the idea of Walt going into hiding over something he didn’t actually do. But I’m sure he would still feel responsible, knowing Marie’s poison must’ve been meant for him. That would almost be perfect. Wouldn’t it be GREAT if this scenario plays out? The Schraders would end up with both kids (if still alive). I am not the biggest Hank fan, never was, but I do think it’d be better for those poor kids to end up with them. If they survive.
I’m sure Marie has access to poisons at her job, but she’d have to be really careful. And she definitely wouldn’t have access to shellfish toxins.
~EJ
re: “Does Skyler die and Hank and Marie take the kids?”
I think the fact that ‘on-the-lam-Walt’ takes the last name “Lambert” indicates that Skyler is dead. Even though Walt will not have killed her, he will have indirectly caused her death.
Alternate possibilities:
Skyler has a brother who donates his ID (unlikely, and too risky).
Marie is the one who dies (probably only if she inadvertently poisons herself, which seems very unlikely).
VG appears to have picked the M60 mainly because he wanted something bigger & badder than Scarface’s M16 (without much consideration of the practical use of an M60 by one man who isn’t Rambo), but I do recall that in an early episode, when Hank is showing jr. his pistol, Hank makes a comment (to Walt & jr.) to the effect, ‘if you’re gonna use a gun, make sure you use ENOUGH gun’ and the M60 certainly should fill that bill.
I think Skyler will be dead too. Been thinking that ever since the Denny’s flashforward. It’s way too late for them to bring in a brother of Sky and Marie that we’ve never heard of, that would be some lazy writing.
I can possibly see a scenario or two where she’s not dead but it’s goodbye forever and he still does what he does (her maiden name, playing with bacon) but I think she’ll be dead.
We’ll have to see how the M60 plays out. I think it could be fun to see Walt try to operate it himself. Could see a definite callback to the pilot perhaps.
Less than 36 hours until we get some more pieces to the puzzle. I actually think we’ll get a lot of info out of this next one, more than with any other so far (or perhaps even after). I bet the stage is set in this one and part of the next.
~EJ
BTW, I’ve noticed a lot of speculation elsewhere about what it is that Lydia learns about farm-raised salmon (since VG mentioned it in the podcast), as if that means she’s going to be drowned and then eaten by them (or something like that), but I also remember VG made a similar comment about ‘nobody orders the guacamole’ so that sounds to me like VG was just throwing off a little teaser about something inconsequential, especially considering what a fussy eater she has been shown to be.
I really think it’s either going to be a metaphor (farm-raised vs. wild could be a metaphor for different meth production processes or something?) or it will just be her being persnickety at a restaurant and wanting to know if her food is wild or farmed. I really think it’ll be the latter. But I do realize I’m swayed in that direction because I live in Portland where people talk about that sort of thing all the time, so it’s my natural tendency to think in that direction.
~EJ
Havent read all the comments but here are a few of my thoughts!
Is the cartel going to come up again? Is Steve Gomez the cartels inside guy?
Is Beneke the real father of Holly?
Does Jesse get kidnapped by Todds Uncle to cook,because Walt doesnt have the heart to order the hit?
Is the video of Jesse cooking down in Mexico going to surface?
Does Hank know Jesse killed Gale?
Will Walt use the ricin on himself?
Will Skyler kill Jesse or Hank?
Did Sauls guys put tracers on the cash barrels? Walt didnt have time to check the bottoms of the barrels..
Did Jesse get a call out to anyone when he made a point of using the bathroom at Hanks house?
Does Marie end up pregnant?
Is there vamanos pest nanny cam footage of the guys cooking?
I think Walt fakes his death to get Hank in trouble, then comes back to save Jesse and use the ricin on himself;)
Summarizing what I think is going to happen soon, along with more questions:
Todd is going to have trouble even getting the new lab set up again (i.e.: little or no production right now), so the pricetag for the ‘another job’ Walt has for Todd’s uncle will include Walt’s help in re-constituting the lab, putting Walt in an even more precarious position.
Peter Gould mentioned the fumigation tents again in a recent interview that makes it seem to me as if they are going to be shown again. So maybe that’s where Todd is trying to do his cooking, but just isn’t able to make it work. Whatever plot device is used, I think the problem that causees Lydia to be even more demanding is not just insufficient purity, more likely a drastic supply shortfall
Even if Walt doesn’t pay for a hit on Jesse with lab setup tips, Walt should not need to to go out to where his main money stash is buried. Lydia paid Chris Mara $30k for the hit on Mike, and I doubt that Jack’s Neo-Nazi gang would charge more for Jesse (if they could get to him). Surely, Walt has more than enough emergency cash on hand without having to go out to the desert. This begs the question, what does the Episode name “To’hajiilee” mean if not the buried cash? Well, anyone else think it’s a huge risk for Walt to bury millions in cash in some place that he has no control over? Something could happen by coincidence to put his money at risk. Or like I mentioned before, Hank/Gomez may try to fake Walt out by announcing a huge money seizure, which might cause Walt to lead them right to it. Surely Hank/Gomez could manage to plant a more sophisticated tracking device on Walt’s car where he can’t find it? Or they could track Walt some other way. Hank already has the number of the cell phone Walt used to call Jesse. He could probably get the records of the incoming and outgoing calls for that phone without even getting a supeona.
What is Jesse’s plan: whatever it is, it has to be intended to cause Walt to do something too overt, to make a mistake that gives Hank the eividence he needs to take the case further (make it official). If Jesse’s threat to Walt wasn’t enough, giving Jesse’s confession video to Walt (since Jesse doesn’t know about Walt’s phony confession) or posting it online should do the trick nicely. Sure it paints a huge target on Jesse’s back, but as long as Walt can’t find him, it won’t matter. Maybe Jesse goes into hiding out in “To’hajiilee” ? Hank would never let him go by himself though. And Hank also knows that Walt could basically reciprocate this move, publically implicating Hank, and causing major problems for Hanks thus-far off-the-books use of Jesse Pinkman as an informant.
When Walt does disappear (by the end of 514 or the beginning of 515): he is going to fake his own death, but he will need to leave a body behind in order for law enforcement (especially Hank) to believe Walt is really dead. Maybe a fire in a meth lab will once again to make some bodies unidentifiable, but I don’t think that would be good enough in this case (not for Hank, anyway). Walt is not some unknown henchman like the guys he shot in the superlab before torching the place. There are lots of X-Rays & CT scans of Walt that could be used to rule out other bodies, even if they are burned at high temps. So, how does Walt pull this off? In the middle of New Mexico, he can’t exactly fall overboard from a cruise ship! It might be poetic justice if the same event that takes out Todd, Jack and most of Jack’s crew (except that new guy who we have only seen once before) also furnishes Walt with the body he needs to substantiate his faked death.
Bryan Cranston stated in recent interviews that the end of BB will be decisive and polarizing. To me, this means Walt must end up alive, but others who were innocent end up dead (like his wife and/or kids?). That (plus his alias “Lambert”) is why I think Skyler dies by the end of 514 or the beginning of 515. It’s even possible that Holly ends up dead, though I think it’d be worse for Walt to be behind bars as Hank & Marie raise Holly. I think there’s a clue to all this in what Walt told Sklyer after he collapsed on the bathroom floor, to the effect that: ‘please don’t let all of this, everything I’ve been through, all be for nothing.’ So it seems to me that is exactly what is going to happen: Walt ends up worse off than if he had done nothing. I think there’s some foreshadowing of this in how Walt shot Mike but then realized – after it was too late – that he didn’t need to have done that. Walt may not survive his cancer, but I don’t think we’ll see Walt succumb to cancer by the end of the last episode.
Last thought… Seems to me that M60 is intended for that character “Jack’s man” (probably to be used on him rather than by him). I can’t figure out what would happen to make Walt be so at odd’s with one of Jack’s crew, unless they decided to try to pursuade Walt to help them cook, and then maybe “Jack’s man” was the sole survivor of the “event” that freed Walt from that obligation and also produced the body Walt needed to fake hgis own death? I sure wouldn’t be the first time Walt has cooked up something that wasn’t meth to take out people under circumstances like that, including in the first season when he trapped the two guys in the RV.
Less than 17 hours to go now until we likely (hopefully?) find out a lot more than we did last week…
The site of the shooting is also a callback to the pilot, Jesse says it’s the same place. Maybe he goes back there to get the money?
Just rewatched To’hajiilee..ugh. WW is losing his touch. Looks like Hank,Gomez and Todd are gonna die? I thought WW calling ia a hit on Jesse was too predictable. So is Hank calling to say “i love you” to Marie too predictable? Does Hank die? Maybe the writers wanted Marie to know that WW is the reason Hank dies so she can get revenge by killing Skyler? Jesse knows that Hank called the Nazis in to kill him, so if he makes it out alive will he be more pissed or will he drive off and never look back(Alaska?)
If Jesse doesnt die now will the Nazis take him too cook then kill him because he is a RAT? Does Marie out the great Heisenberg or is it Huell who vandalizes the house? Does Jesse tell the Nazis about the money so they dont kill Hank? Or does Jesse offer to cook for them to spare Hank? If Hank and Gomez die will WW fake his death, and have Saul release the confession to counter anything Marie or Jesse might tell the DEA? Does WW have the Nazis guard his family until they all meet up? Something goes wrong and WW uses the M60 to get revenge?
To’hajilee!! Wow! I haven’t been able to think about anything else since Sunday’s episode (and absolutely genius move on the writers’ part to cut off the episode in the middle of the gunfight). My predictions for next episode: 1) Hank and Gomie are goners. Gomie, as many have mentioned, is sadly expendable. I think the phone call to Marie is pretty much a giveaway that Hank dies, and storywise, I think it fits. Hank’s arc is over. It started with him all the way back in Season 1, when he was the first one to predict that there were new players in town. Since then (and with a new found drive after Season 4’s “maybe he’s still out there” moment), his whole mission has been to catch Heisenberg. He never believed that Heisenberg was that other bald guy that went to prison for money. That’s what those minutes before the shootout were all about – catharsis and resolution for Hank. He finally caught Heisenberg; arrested him and put the cuffs on him. He got his man. It is a victory for him, although I think it will be an empty one. Also, taking into account that they are outgunned and outmanned, I see no realistic way that they make it out. 2) Jesse I’m not so sure about; it could go either way. Walter had already put a hit out on Jesse; if the Aryans kill both Hank and Gomie, why leave Jesse alive? I mean, he can cook Walt’s blue meth, but using Walt’s Coke analogy, why have Sam’s Choice (Jesse) when you can have real Coke (Walt)? Killing Jesse also closes one of Walt’s outs – he can’t say “Well Jesse can cook just as well as I do, take him”, and will be forced to cook by the Aryans. On the other hand, I can see Walt bargaining for Jesse’s life after seeing Hank dead – Walt might not have it in him anymore, after being pushed over the one moral line he wouldn’t cross (killing family). So I’m still iffy on this one.
3) Marie definitely won’t kill Skyler. It would be COMPLETELY out of character for her. Really, I don’t see her capable of violence at all. Sure, she mentioned the poisons she had been looking at on the internet, but that’s all it is – fantasizing about something she would never do (not that any of us have ever done that, am I right?). Also, she loves the hell out of those kids; I don’t see her taking their mother (or father) away. She doesn’t have it in her to murder. Finally, while I haven’t researched the poisons Marie was talking about with her therapist, I’m pretty sure they’re either a) not easy to make for someone with minimal knowledge or b) not easy to acquire. However, Marie is the only one that knows that Hank has caught Walt. When he, Gomie and Jesse don’t show up after a while, she is going to blame Walt. My idea is that when she realizes Hank isn’t coming back, she’s going to go public, but not to the DEA – to the media. My guess is that she’s going to shout it from the rooftops that Walter White is Heisenberg, which (among with the problems with the Aryans) will force Walt to run. From the flashforwards, we see that Walt = Heisenberg is public knowledge. I believe that Marie going to the media will cause this to become a nationwide case, similar to high-profile cases in the past few years (like the Casey Anthony case). This also jives with the Charlie Rose spoiler. We’ll see come next Sunday. Can’t wait!!
That’s a great point about Marie going to the media! She’s the one who had someone being the press in for Walt Jr’s website.
And totally agreed about Hank. I really think he’s dead. And that Jesse lives but not sure how or why just yet.
~EJ
Once Marie realizes that Hank is not coming back, if Marie finds finds (or already knows) where a copy of Jesse’s confession video, she will definitely at least make sure the cops/DEA know about it and she might make it public, too. But I think her first move will be to contact her sister, so we’d have to see how that plays out first. If Skyler knows at that point that Walt is still alive, but Hank is missing, she’ll probably try to stall Marie as long as she can.
re: “who will go on Charlie Rose?”
It might not be anybody. Charlie Roses still occasionally does 60 minutes segments, and the unsolved murders of two DEA agents, and the disappearance of the presumed perpetrator might qualify, and even more likely if Jack’s crew murder’s Marie while looking for the Jesse’s confession video. We can be pretty sure that Jack’s crew is heading over to the Shrader house to recover Jesse’s confession video. Considering their normal ‘brute force’ M.O., it seems likely to me that they will also grab every single computer & CD/DVD they find, and somewhere in that haul will be Walt’s fake ‘confession’ video. They might find Jesse’s video first, and not be too diligent about looking through ever thing else after that. But IMO, Walt’s video will eventually be made public, because it provides Jack’s crew with the perfect alibi (especially if they had to kill Marie).
Rose would probably cover Walt’s background with an “unflattering” slant, maybe even interviewing Gretchen & Elliott, who might tell a story about Walt that would infuriate him. Rose might also reveal something that makes Walt realize that Jesse is still alive (Maybe the resurgence of the blue meth? …which Walt would not know about otherwise. Or maybe something else, maybe airing parts of Jesse’s video, or Walt’s video). Considering the fact that Jack robbed Walt of most of his money (though Walt’s “rescue” would have had a hefty price tag anyway), and considering that Jack did not do what Walt asked him to do (first, “don’t come” and then not killing Jesse)
All of this might be enough to set Walt off, especially if he believes he will be dead soon anyway from the cancer. But I think his mission is not going to be to rescue Jesse, but to kill him (that IF, IF, IF, he knows Jesse is still alive), as well as Jack (who didn’t fulfill his end of the bargain they shook on).
It might make a better story if Walt had sort of reconciled somewhat in his mind about Jesse (though that seems implausible UNLESS Jesse somehow does Walt a huge favor, which he hardly seems to be in a position to do). And then when he comes to exact revenge on Jack, he belatedly finds out that Jesse was there too. Walt will have ended up getting almost everyone close to him killed. With each episode, the casualties get closer to home. That’s one reason I expect Marie to be the next to die…. but it could EASILY be someone else (like Skyler or Jr.) IF they decided to go to the Shrader house. Safe to assume they are going to be somewhere other than Negro Arroyo lane.
To recap: In the next episode (Granite State) or the very beginning of the finale at the latest, one of Walt’s four remaining immediate family members will die.
I could even see Marie being killed by Jack’s crew when they are at her house looking for Jesse’s confession video, and then Jr. dies several months later in a drug-related incident (either OD’ing or being killed in a traffic accident caused by a spaced-out driver).
I think there are some photos somewhere that show Skyler and Jr. living in austere circumstances after they are forced to leave their house, so I doubt that either of them could be killed at Marie’s house by Jack’s crew, because that should have to happen within a day or so of where the last episode left off. So Marie is the most likely victim of that fateful circumstance. While that’s hitting the Schrader family twice in a row, it would also amount to deaths getting steadily closer to Walt’s own family.
After rewatching last year’s episodes, I’m now thinking that Walt’s barrel of money won’t be as much as he expected. Or maybe the guy in the red van will charge millions for somebody as hot as Walt? Anyway, I have a sneaking suspicion that Walt will very soon be down to about the same $5 million he could have gotten if he’d taken the ‘$5 million each’ deal from Declan right after they robbed the train.
I really, really like that thought. It wouldn’t be too surprising if Walt ended up with LESS than his $11 million now, maybe even less than the five? It just seems like the kinda thing the writers might do.
~EJ
Yeah… there’s NO reason to think that each barrel has anywhere close to the same amount of money in it, considering that Huell & Kuby are the ones who filled those barrels. It wouldn’t surprise me at all if Walt ends up with a barrel that has very very 100s in it! It would fit in quite well with the way his luck has been going lately.
“very very 100s in it!” = “very FEW 100s in it!”
Knew what ya meant :) Yeah, something is going to happen with that money. I’d like to see him be able to give SOME to his family but I think it’s not going to be nearly as much as he wanted.
Walt has already learned that money can’t buy him everything.
~EJ
http://hollywoodlife.com/2013/09/20/breaking-bad-series-ending-rj-mitte-finale-spoilers/
“RJ assures us that things will only get better. Well, maybe not better — but definitely more shocking! “It’s an amazing ending,” RJ says. “It really was an inevitable ending. It was fun and I’m happy with it. I think everyone’s going to really enjoy it.”
Inevitable? Hmmmmm…
Walt dies.
Maybe? That’s the most inevitable thing I can think of.
~EJ
He’s been dying a slow death for the entire series, first from cancer, and then from the path he chose in his effort to provide for his family, so for Walt to die would be the inevitable end.
The most ironic end would be for Walt to lose everything he worked for (including his family), only to die of cancer anyway.
In order for it to also be amazing, I’d think Walt would have to die in a least expected way. Maybe that promo photo: http://i.imgur.com/SAiJrna.jpg
of Jesse in chains/shackles (which match those shown in the last episode) and pointing a gun at the camera is a scene that actually happens and that gun is pointed at Walt.
It wouldn’t surprise me if Walt “rescues” Jesse as a side effect of taking out Jack’s crew, and then Jesse pays Walt back by killing him. Maybe by that point Walt even wants to die that way.
I think part of Walt’s demeanor shown in the flash-forward is a reflection of his belief that he is going to die very soon.
Updated prediction:
Since Marie managed to avoid being home when Jack’s crew came to ransack her house, it looks like no other immediate family member needs to die. It now looks like VG is using their vehement disassociation with Walt to produce the same effect on Walt’s psyche as if they had actually died.
In ‘Granite State’ Walt demonstrated his lack of perspective by being ready to hire mercs to take out Jack’s crew for ‘stealing his entire life’s work’ and for killing Hank, when they had in fact ‘rescued’ him from being arrested, and as far as he knew they were also going to kill Jesse (as per his request). True, Jack did take advantage of the situation, but then again Walt is the one who called them in the first place BEFORE he really knew for sure that Jesse was actually there. When Walt called Jack, all he had seen was an SUV on that road. It could have been anybody.
By the way, if Walt didn’t want Jack to come to those coordinates, why didn’t he just tell him that it was a false alarm, that he had just seen some random vehicle on the road, and that Jesse wasn’t actually there at all? Walt’s excessive tight-lippedness after he saw who was in the SUV has never made any sense.
Predictions for the the finale:
IF Gray Matter has any kind of retail products (since they’ve never revealed what exactly Gray Matter does), then I think Walt will use the ricin to somehow taint their products. Otherwise, Walt will devise some other way to cause Gray Matter’s stock price to plummet. Walt intends to get back at Gretchen & Elliot, but I don’t think he plans to do that with violence (nor will he have the chance to do that). He will get even some other way.
Walt points the Feds toward Lydia in exchange for them not trying to prosecute Skyler
Marie once again confesses her willingness to poison “a family member” to her therapist (just kidding!;)
Jesse kills Todd (duh!)
Seems to me that the final scene is going to be all about Walt & Jesse’s final confrontation. Maybe Jesse does something that in some way helps Walt kill Jack & his crew… maybe with the M60? Or maybe we’ll see Walt fall back on the offensive weapon he knows best: chemical explosives.
Walt still wants to kill Jesse, but hesitates, then Jesse kills Walt.
Or maybe Jesse turns Walt in, and Walt is shown in a flashforward teaching a class of students who turn out to be fellow inmates.
I really can’t decide whether Walt dies violently at the end, or is shown slowly succumbing to cancer.
I guess we’ll all have to wait no until this Sunday but until the DVD comes out, because it supposedly will have alternate endings on it.
I’ve come up with the notion that after Walt finds Jesse, he begs him give half of the $10 million (or whatever) that he has left to his family. I also wonder if the other $70M that Jack took is still laying around their compound where Walt can find it? I’m also thinking that Walt might actually want Jesse to put him out of his misery. Assuming that by that point, Jesse will have already vented his anger at Todd (with a bullet), the question is, could Jesse actually bring himself to kill Walt? Somehow, I don’t think Jesse will do it. That just seems too easy.
Also am thinking there’s probably too little time left for Walt to get any real retribution involving Gray Matter. It sure would have been nice to find out that something Gray Matter did actually wound up being used to the detriment of mankind (like maybe their research was misused in some way that created more addictive drugs?), but it just seems like there’s no way they’re going to have anywhere near enough time to delve into something like that.
Hey Nomad,
I agree with all of these predictions. I said after “Ozymandias” that I think Walt will want Jesse to kill him. I don’t think Jesse could, but I’m iffy on that nwo with everything he’s recently going through–he could lose his humanity. Still, he never wanted to kill Walt just get him arrested or set his house on fire. He also may not do it because it’s what Walt wants him to do.
I don’t think Gray Matter will come back. I think it was just the push Walt needed to go after Jack who has his more current millions. Also on the podcast they were talking about how it was hard to get them for the Charlie Rose bit because Jessica Hecht (Gretchen) is doing a play in NYC right now and I think Elliot was up to another project too. I think that clip was there to light a fire under Walt’s ass and renew his revenge on Jack plan so that he can claim the $ for his “life’s work.” And Jack did kill Hank in front of him.
I was also thinking the ricin is for Walt. Yeah I’m back to that thought but with a twist. I think he plans on turning himself in at the end, because it seems clear that would help Skyler and the kids. He can’t obviously kill himself b/c he needs to turn himself in, so he takes the ricin right before so it’ll look like he died mysteriously of illness.
~EJ
re: ‘Walt plans on turning himself in at the end… so he takes the ricin right before so it’ll look like he died mysteriously of illness.’
Yep. That thought crossed my mind too. Ricin takes a while to work, so that part fits.
My big question, which I mentioned somewhere in one of my other posts, is how the Feds really have much to do all this to Skyler. Except for Walt saying in the phone call to Skyler that ‘Hank crossed him and now he’s not coming back’ there’s really not much actual evidence out there to implicate Walt, unless…
…maybe another copy of Jesse’s video was left behind?
I say this because after Jesse gave that confession, Hank asked Gomez for another SD card. He could have been making another copy. And the scene showing the aftermath of the break-in at the Schrader house clearly shows a disk and some other media lying on the floor. And Kenny is shown playing the video from the video camera itself. Without that confession video, the Feds have damn little more than suspicion to implicate Walt. Hank said so himself a few episodes back.
But without Jesse himself to back that up, the case would go nowhere. Marie is the only other one who could probably recount the substance of Jesse’s confession (along with what she coerced Skyler into telling Jr.). But Skyler wasn’t under oath, and everything Marie “knows” is hearsay. It’s a lot of smoke, but no fire.
Of course the Feds will go all-out to prosecute someone suspected of murdering two federal agents, but as far as we know, their bodies haven’t even been found yet. Solely because of what Walt said in his last phone call to Skyler, he would be a suspect in that. But as far as RICO being used to take their house, there is *no* evidence of any racketeer-influenced corrupt organization. None. It’s true that the IRS could investigate Skyler for the source of the funds used to purchase the carwash, but it cost less than a million dollars (making it something of not exactly earth-shaking significance in the overall scheme of things). That purchase also was what Saul was supposed to take care of, to make that purchase look legit. In any real-world situation like that, it would be done in the form of a loan to an off-shore lender.
Bottom line is that for all the headlines on those newspapers showing how much trouble Walt had gotten Skyler into, there is just not that much there. Those trying to follow in Hank’s shoes don’t even have as much to go on as he did. I guess we’ll have to chalk this gigantic plot hole up to artistic license.
That’s a good point about the second SD card. Could there have been any recording of the phone call between Walt and Jesse on the way out to To’hajiilee?
It also seems that Skyler has been saying stuff too. Todd says to her, (paraphrasing) “We know you’re talking to the cops and that’s okay, you need to do that…” So we don’t know how much but it seems she’s giving up some info on Walt, but can’t give up where he is.
But it also could be something that’s not filled in. The same sorta thing happened after Gus died. They had all the pieces put together, and a lot of that was set up with Hank’s investigation but the dots weren’t connected.
I think part of it is that this is a story about Walt, Walt’s family, Jesse and the meth business. Police work only comes in when Hank/etc are on their trail but large portions of it aren’t shown, even early on–we don’t see the investigation into Gale’s death just the file, or investigation into Tuco’s henchmans’ deaths. And when we do, it’s pretty cursory. It’s not a police procedural show, you know? The story has to mostly stay with WW, the fam, Jess and WW’s empire.
re: “It also seems that Skyler has been saying stuff too”
I don’t think Skyler is saying much of anything to the cops. Walt set the stage for that in his last phone call (“Oh, what the hell do you know anyway?”) And while he also said that Skyler told him what he was doing was immoral, illegal… he didn’t say what that was about. Like she said, the cops want Walt and she can’t give them Walt.
It just seems to me that without Jesse’s video, they have no case. If Marie had seen Jesse’s confession video (and it’s reasonable to assume that she had), Marie “knows” MUCH, MUCH more than Skyler. So my guess is that the case against Walt is at this point built solely on that, not what Skyler told them. But we saw Marie leave the house before Jesse gave his statement, so she never actually saw him say any of that stuff. The only actual witnesses (who might be able to answer questions about whether or not Jesse was coerced) are not available to testify before a grand jury.
As it stands now, Walt would actually be wanted for taking Holly, and as a suspect in Hank’s disappearance (and that would be serious, but the only evidence is because he foolishly said what he did about Hank in his phone call to Skyler).
Walt was (not surprisingly) tight-lipped about what he was up to, and with good reason: for his own protection as well as Skyler’s. And Skyler had already demonstrated several times that she was on the verge of bolting, and even when Walt was lying on the bathroom floor he said he thought Skyler had snitched to Hank.
All of this is one reason (aside from time constraints) why they didn’t show Skyler telling Jr. anything. This is sort of like Jesse’s miraculous escape from that cage (something else that they didn’t show).
But, as you said, it’s not a police procedural show, so we’ll just have to roll with it, and let VG have his plot line because it makes for a much better story.
re: “Could there have been any recording of the phone call between Walt and Jesse on the way out to To’hajiilee?”
That phone call absolutely would have been recorded, but it seems reasonable to assume they’d be using the same equipment Hank was shown using in the previous episode: a recorder mounted in the vehicle that Jack’s crew shot up and towed away.
Of course I guess we could also assume that the since NSA probably records all phone calls (not just the metadata they will admit to), a recording of that call would be available to to the DEA just by asking. It’s not like they need a warrant or anything, right ;)
Kidding aside, one other thing the DEA absolutely would have available to them is the location (within 100 yards or less) of Hank’s last phone call. Marie knows he called her when he said he had Walt in handcuffs, and she will surely tell the Feds that. There is no doubt that within a couple days they’d go over the entire area with a fine-tooth comb, and they’d find H&G’s bodies. They’d also find some plastic fragments from the vehicles Jack’s crew was in, along with shell casings that would point to the guns that fired them (the extractor marks are relatively unique).
Seems to me that the biggest thing Walt can do to get the heat off of Skyler is give up Lydia, but it will have to be in a way that includes hard evidence. He could also do the same for Jack & Todd, but direct intervention with the M-60 seems to be his plan.
The Feds needs to catch Lydia in the act, or find the right shipment in some way the conclusively implicates Lydia. As it stands now, we have no idea how Todd’s 50-lb. bags are inserted into Madrigal’s logistics stream. Surely Lydia isn’t doing that herself.
Of course, this assumes that a spurned Todd doesn’t off Lydia first. ;)
But that seems too easy.
I do think that Todd’s soft spot for Lydia will prove to be his undoing in some way, though.
Todd has also not been exactly careful enough about keeping Jesse locked up, though presumably that will be ramped up now.
I suspect Jesse is going to construct a trap of some sort for Todd (somehow tangentially involving “woodworking” as VG mentioned, maybe like the intricate box), and Jesse may be able to spring this trap on Todd because he is focused on his nascent crush on Lydia.
I’ve been going back and watching much older episodes. It’s interesting how the early episodes laid the groundwork for so many things. It’s also sad to see how much airtime they wasted on soap-opera-level diversions that contributed nothing to the overall narrative. I bet VG wishes he had those wasted hours back for the final season.
I think I forgot to mention this, but I had this thought:
After finding out what happened to Andrea, Walt give Jesse $ millions (especially if he finds some of the money Jack took) with the stipulation that Jesse make sure that Holly & Brock are taken care of. Maybe Jr. and Skyler too but I’m not so sure about them. Maybe after the how Jr. treated Walt on the phone, he might just think, “FU, you’re on your own, son.” But Holly and Brock are totally innocent, and also will have the greatest need.
I would like to see that happen. I think it would be good for both Walt and Jesse. And I think WW would still want to make sure his son was provided for, even if his son rejects him (going back to something Gus said about how a man provides even if he’s not loved or respected for it, the thing that got WW back cooking again). I really want Holly and Brock to end up okay.
~EJ
re: “I really want Holly and Brock to end up okay.”
I keep wondering what happened to the lottery ticket.
It looked like Walt put it back in his wallet (or in his jacket pocket).
But I guess too much time has elapsed for it to show up and pay off.
I also wonder if Kenny took more than Gomez’s ID off his body. If Jack & Kenny didn’t take everything out of Gomez’s pockets, then Walt’s wallet was buried with his body. When they feds find their bodies, that *WOULD* be pretty incriminating evidence. But I assume they took everything off of them.
Oh well, it’s all just speculation that will never be answered (unless maybe in the DVD extras!)
FYI: http://previously.tv/breaking-bad/breaking-bads-upcoming-felina-finale-explained/
Since I have been hoping that the finale would feature the Marty Robbins’ song (El Paso or Feleena), I previously stated that I thought the woman named Feleena mentioned in the song was a metaphor for Holly (or maybe Skyler). However, I do like how the author of this article tied it together with Felina being a metaphor for Walt’s other true love, his Heisenberg alter-ego.
But as much as I’d like the time spent on Marie’s death wish for Walt to mean something, I have a hard time figuring out how they’ll make that happen. I guess Walt could take one last chance to see Skyler, Jr. & Holly, and then Marie shows up at just the right time and kills him (with her purple pistol)? Of course, then SHE ends up in jail, for killing a man who would have died soon enough anyway. Or maybe Marie sees Walt and calls the cops? Not exactly the same as exacting retribution.
Still seems like a stretch for any of that to fit in 52 minutes, but we’ll find out tomorrow!
VG clue for this week is woodworking. What does that refer back to?
Jesse Pinkman: I took this vo-tech class in high school, woodworking. I took a lot of vo-tech classes, because it was just big jerk-off, but this one time I had this teacher by the name of… Mr… Mr. Pike. I guess he was like a Marine or something before he got old. He was hard hearing. My project for his class was to make this wooden box. You know, like a small, just like a… like a box, you know, to put stuff in. So I wanted to get the thing done as fast as possible. I figured I could cut classes for the rest of the semester and he couldn’t flunk me as long as I, you know, made the thing. So I finished it in a couple days. And it looked pretty lame, but it worked. You know, for putting in or whatnot. So when I showed it to Mr. Pike for my grade, he looked at it and said: “Is that the best you can do?” At first I thought to myself “Hell yeah, bitch. Now give me a D and shut up so I can go blaze one with my boys.” I don’t know. Maybe it was the way he said it, but… it was like he wasn’t exactly saying it sucked. He was just asking me honestly, “Is that all you got?” And for some reason, I thought to myself: “Yeah, man, I can do better.” So I started from scratch. I made another, then another. And by the end of the semester, by like box number five, I had built this thing. You should have seen it. It was insane. I mean, I built it out of Peruvian walnut with inlaid zebrawood. It was fitted with pegas, no screws. I sanded it for days, until it was smooth as glass. Then I rubbed all the wood with tung oil so it was rich and dark. It even smelled good. You know, you put nose in it and breathed in, it was… it was perfect.
The flashback in Ozy, besides evoking how places are a part of our lives, shows what a miserable chemist Jesse is. By the end of Granite a transformation is disclosed-Jesse is making the blue persuasion. He knows the only one who can save him from being killed when the precurser runs out is Walt. How to get a message to him? Make meth that makes the media proclaim Heisenberg is out there. We heard two different reports about the purity, each one higher than what was done before. Better boxes. The woodworking theme is already playing out, so why does VG peg it to the finalelina? That’s the payoff–when Walt comes to save Jesse and tells him I knew you were alive.
Sure Jesse doesn’t know Walt won’t kill him. But he has no other hope. And Walt can use his help to wipe out the Jack Pack. I”ve read gunhead posters say it takes at least two to run the M60 (need a reloader). Think…why would Walt buy a gun like that knowing in his wasted condition he could not handle it? It weighs 23 pounds, then there’s ammo. Because there will be two men for the job. He plans to take out the entire building (armor piercing rounds) to insure no one can survive. Can’t wait for the fireworks.
re: “Sure Jesse doesn’t know Walt won’t kill him. But he has no other hope.”
And Jesse has been in this same situation before… in the season 4 finale, he had been abducted and was handcuffed in the superlab when Walt came to rescue him. This was almost exactly the same as his current situation.
Someone on the AMC board pointed out the saying that “The enemy of my enemy is my friend,” meaning that much as WW and Jess may hate each other right now, they both hate Jack and his crew more. So in that, they could team up…potentially. But I think after that, one may try to kill the other, or one or both may want to be killed by the other. I see some sort of moment between them after Jack and them are taken care of. I was going to say showdown but I’m not sure it’ll be that sort of moment. Some final drama b/w the two after the smoke clears.
It’s the same situation, but different. Jesse was only handcuffed for a short time then, and knew WW was working on something, and that they were on the same side. This time, it’s kind of anyone’s guess as to how the loyalties or lack thereof will play out.
~EJ
The “gunheads” are right about Walt’s likely inability to handle an M-60 – IF he had to use it on the move. But from a fixed position, it would be entirely possible for Walt to use it by himself. All he’d (maybe) have to do is use his left hand to help the ammo belt feed out of the box. But firing that weapon on the move is something only a Rambo or Arnold could do. I guess all Walt would have to do is concoct some ruse to draw Jack & crew out into the open, then open up on them from a concealed position a couple hundred yards away.
re: “why would Walt buy a gun like that knowing in his wasted condition he could not handle it?”
…maybe because he doesn’t yet realize how difficult it will be for him to handle?
It’s not like he had the opportunity to try it out first.
I’m hoping that Walt somehow ends up facing off against Jack with his Browning Hi-Power pistol, and is able to tell him what Hank said in the first season: ‘If you’re going to use a gun, be sure to use enough gun.’ Seems almost certain just like Hank lived long enough to have a few choice parting words (i.e.: a ‘yippee ki yay MF’ moment) – with Jack, Jack will live long enough for that to happen between him and Walt.
It also wouldn’t be unlike Walt to overestimate his capabilities and badassery. He thinks he can do A LOT out of will and intellect and may just be a bit deluded about the gun.
I thought of Jesse’s speech immediately in response to the clue of “woodworking,” but I don’t know how it will come into play. Or even could.
Re: Nomad – Marie and poison:
I can see a few scenarios. She could get blamed for whoever WW kills with ricin. For that to work, he’d have to use it on someone like Jesse or himself, possibly Skyler (though I doubt he’d do that at least not on purpose) b/c those are people Marie could have motive against.
Or if something happens or is said to make Lydia suddenly rethink Todd’s assurances re: Skyler’s silence, she might try to go after Sky herself b/c Todd won’t. I could see her using poison (usually a very female choice for murder), and Marie gets implicated.
Or Marie does try to kill someone.
I’m still holding out hope for that to come back into play somehow. Time on screen is money, and esp with a scene like that where they had to build a set for it, so I think it has a purpose.
~EJ
re: “I thought of Jesse’s speech immediately in response to the clue of “woodworking,” but I don’t know how it will come into play. Or even could.”
My guess is that it doesn’t have anything to do with Jesse’s speech about his shop class from several seasons ago. Seems to me that speech was too long ago and not really significant enough in the overall narrative.
I think it’s more likely to be a reference to what Jack said about Lydia’s “woodchipper” and Todd being distracted by thinking about it. Jesse, who has repeatedly been shown to come up with innovative solutions to difficult problems, will find a way to take advantage of Todd’s lapse. The irony of all this is, if it weren’t for Todd’s intervention, Jesse would already be dead. And Todd has certainly been shown being gentle, even kind to Jesse. But although Jesse owes his life to Todd, Andrea’s needless death makes Jesse’s intentions clear: he will kill Todd even if he has to die in the process.
That would build on the scene in the last episode where Todd was clearly trying to get her attention, and also hoping to get her affection (as if she had any). Todd’s behavior is somewhat analogous to Walt’s in the previous episode (when Hank told him he was too stupid to realize what Walt wanted was not going to happen). Walt’s weakness is what caused him to lose (almost) everything. And I think an even more conclusive fate will befall Todd due to his rare lapse into letting his emotions get the better of him.
He could use it alone but when the 100 rounds run out in about 10 seconds (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M60_machine_gun) he’ll take a while to move from firing position, reload, and resume firing position. A loader can have a belt ready to feed instantly when the time comes.
He plans to reload up to three times.
In his trunk are two ammo cans with 200 rounds in each. The cans hold two 100 round belts.
.http://www.guns.com/2013/09/26/guns-breaking-bad/
Also note he has tracer rounds (1 of every 5 rounds in tracer).
That’s what I meant by fireworks. Sure to be a nighttime attack.
“…he’ll take a while to move from firing position, reload, and resume firing position.”
That won’t matter if he in a concealed position a couple hundred yards away.
If the spare cans are open and at the ready, that “while” is only a few seconds.
Based on how the last shootout turned was portrayed, if we see another one involving the M-60, I expect each of those cans will last a lot longer than 10 seconds. That’s the universal rule of TV shootouts: magazines last several times longer than their actual capacity.
re: “…especially with a scene like that where they had to build a set for it, so I think it has a purpose.”
Yep. Even if they recycled an existing set, it seems incomprehensible to have a scene like that lead nowhere this late in the game.
Maybe it’s as simple as this: Since Walt actually has the poison, and Marie has expressed a desire to poison Walt (but didn’t name him specifically), maybe Walt does poison himself, and Marie is implicated in his death?
The problem with that is that I’m sure not expecting a scene about Marie’s legal problems after Walt dies.
So that seems to argue in favor of Walt poisoning somebody else, with the likely suspect being Lydia. The thing is, Walt should not have any kind of grudge against Lydia. Let’s not forget: Lydia was apparently one of two main buyers of Walt’s post-superlab product (the other being Declan). Lydia paid Walt tens of millions of dollars for his product. The only caveat is (maybe) her need for higher purity is what caused Todd to keep Jesse alive.
So who else could Walt poison that Marie could be blamed for? I can’t think of anybody else besides G&E, and I think they’re out of the picture (and Marie doesn’t even know them, either).
Your idea about Lydia going after Skyler to silence her makes a lot of sense. Right now, I’d say that murder is the next most likely, after for Jesse killing Todd, and Walt killing Jack. But look how Lydia tried to take care of that the last time: she hired a hitman. I doubt that she’d try to kill Skyler herself, but I guess the person she hires might try to poison Skyler. But Marie & Skyler are sisters, and they have both lost their husbands, so it doesn’t seem to me that anyone would think Marie has any motive to kill Skyler.
^ “…likely suspect being Lydia” s/b “…likely victim being Lydia”
FWIW, it occurred to me that most of the predictions we’ve made (things that did not happen in the actual storyline of the show) here would have required far more episodes than were allocated for Season 5b.
That’s a good point. I wish we had gotten a full season 5 and 6 – that probably would’ve fit the story a little better, but I think they did a great job with the time they had. I’m looking forward to watching the series as a whole, and even season 5 as a whole.
~EJ