Tag Archive | Hank

Breaking Bad Episode 514 “Ozymandias”

“The reaction has begun.”

I’m just going to put this out there from the start: I haven’t recovered from the episode yet, so writing this has been difficult, much moreso than usual. My thoughts aren’t totally settled. That episode could induce post-traumatic stress, yo! How sad is it that I really wish I wasn’t single right now just so I could have someone to hold me after these epic, soul-crushing, dream-shattering, gut-wrenching, awe-inspiring final episodes? I’m kind of not okay still.

This episode was the most exquisite hour ever spent on a plummeting descent into the abyss of Hell. I was so calm after the end of “To’hajiilee,” but after “Ozymandias,” I couldn’t sleep again, all wired up and amped, wanting to stress eat or curl into the fetal position and feeling somewhat traumatized by what I’d just watched, but in the best possible way. With Breaking Bad, you get tortured in such a wonderful way you wouldn’t give it up for anything. That’s sure something. With every episode, even as it all crashes and burns, I’m even more glad that they’re taking this story to its awful conclusion.

No one on this show was having an A1 Day, except, perhaps, the writer (literally). What each character dreaded most came to pass. They pleaded to no avail, crumpled, collapsed, fell to their knees. Everybody cried. Just about everyone got dealt a fate worse than death, except of course, the one who actually got to die, and with some dignity. Yeah, Hank might be the best off out of almost anyone.

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Breaking Bad Episode 513 “To’hajiilee”

Sep10

“Hank, why is there what looks like brains in our garbage can?”

ICE IN MY VEINS

WOW. Just…WOW. What an episode. Surprisingly, I had a strange sense of calm after last night’s episode. Much moreso than last week. Slept better too and I’ve been feeling calm all day. Maybe I have more bloodlust than I thought and just need a desert shootout every now and then. Or maybe it’s because this is the first episode in awhile that felt like it included just a smidge of release instead of all buildup, despite the excruciating cliffhanger. Maybe it’s that whole staying cool in a crisis thing, which I’ve definitely experienced before in real life, and the fallout will come later. The situation on this show is definitely a crisis. Threat Level Midnight, yo.

Anyway, on to the actual content of the episode. It’s hard to know where to start. This was one jam-packed hour. Almost stuck in too much awe to write about it. A calm awe, mind you, but still.

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Breaking Bad Episode 512 “Rabid Dog”

Sep3

“Whatever you think’s supposed to happen, the exact reverse opposite of that is gonna happen.”

We finally meet Marie’s therapist, Dave.

And Jesse finally gets some lasagna sans scabs. Marie says she’ll heat some up.

This was a tough episode. It’s funny, in my big Predictions post, when I updated after “Confessions,” I was going to write (and at this point I’m not even sure I didn’t) that I had a feeling that “Rabid Dog” might be a bit of a low point, but that everything after (and I’m especially looking forward to “Ozymandias”) is just going to rock. And I’ve seen a lot of complaints already about “Rabid Dog”–and people are upset for a whole variety of reasons–and for me as a viewer, as a fan, it made me uncomfortable. It’s not a fun wild ride like some. It’s unsettling. I couldn’t sleep at all afterward. But after watching it a second time, I see it differently. I appreciated so many things about this hour of television. It’s a bitter wine, but good nonetheless

In a way, that title should’ve been plural. I look at the main characters who were featured in this episode–Walt, Skyler, Hank, Marie, Jesse and Saul–and almost all of them could be described as a rabid dog about something. In a twist, the only one who wasn’t rabid was Walt. That was a surprise.

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Breaking Bad Episode 511 “Confessions”

Aug27

“Eat me.” Jesse’s first words.

This was my favorite episode so far this summer. Holy shit. So much to discuss. But first:

I gotta do it. I TOLD YOU SO in last week’s predictions that Jesse would find out about Brock and the poisoning. Yeah bitch!

So, are we getting ourselves into a Chekhov’s Disappearer situation now? That’s the second time that someone on the show has tried to use Saul’s last resort and the second time it hasn’t worked out. Walt was going to do it back in 411 “Crawl Space” but then he went to the crawl space to get the money and Skyler had given it to Ted for his IRS fiasco.

Now Jesse gets even closer to using this “out.” Saul tells Jesse, “This is it. Once I make the call, no take-backs.” Saul makes the call and asks for “a new dust filter for a Hoover Max Extract Pressure Pro Model 60,” Jesse’s at the pickup site, it’s all good to go…and then he just wants to smoke a little pot and the whole plan goes up in smoke. (Much more on that coming up.) So a second attempt to use the disappearer is thwarted. Will the third time be the charm? Will Walt (and family?) end up using the guy later on? Is that how Walt ends up in New Hampshire? Will this “gun” ever go off?

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Breaking Bad Episode 510 “Buried”

Aug20

The question that was on everyone’s mind was answered in this episode. Yes, Saul is in fact still wearing the ribbon from the Wayfarer 515 plane crash.

And the question people didn’t even know they had was also answered. Yes, Saul’s office has a back door.

Seriously though. Lines in the sand.

This episode was all about laying out the loyalties. Everyone has chosen a side now. The only exception, the wild card, is Jesse. Jesse didn’t say a single word in the entire episode. We will have to wait and see if he starts talking once Hank enters the room. I have some theories about that, but predictions come at the end of the post. For now, Jesse’s just a money-tossing, depressed, guilty, scared Wild Card, the loyalest character whose loyalties are undetermined as yet.

Skyler chooses Walt. Walt actually assumes she wouldn’t. He knows on some level, more than he seemed to in the first half of Season Five, what a mess he’s made of his marriage. During last summer’s episodes, I was not on Team Walt at all, and I wouldn’t say that I’m on his side now, but a few things made me come around to his way of seeing things in this episode, made me feel for him, and in one instance, made me actually proud of him.

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Breaking Bad Episode 509 “Blood Money”

Aug13

“I gotta say, I don’t like the way you’re looking at me right now.”

Oh. My. God. Breaking Bad is back!!!

And holy shit, in that flashforward teaser, the White house has seen some better days. I think it’s safe to say that this scene is supposed to follow directly after the flashforward we saw last summer, where Walt, coughing and taking meds and making a 52 with his bacon, buys an M60 in a Denny’s bathroom. Not exactly a sign that times are dandy for Walter White. Next stop is his trashed house to retrieve the ricin and drive off for whatever mission or “last stand” he’s about to make. But of course, Future Walt must of course first survey the damage done to his house and the yellow “Heisenberg” painted on the wall. And scare or shock the living crap out of his neighbor, Carol.

Such a great teaser. Gives us a little continuation, a little more story, but asks more questions than it answers. Why is the house in this state of disarray? Has it become public that Walter White is Heisenberg? Did the whole family leave in a hurry together? Are the others alive? Who’s the ricin (and the M60) for? Why is Carol so startled by Walt that she drops her grocery bag (which of course contains oranges)? Will Walt survive his mission?

I wonder if there will be anymore flashforwards (my guess is no) before we catch up to this point in the story, (I’m making an educated assumption) in episode 515. It’ll be awhile before all these questions are answered. Plenty of time to guess, theorize and speculate in the meantime.

Until then, back to the present with Hank on the pot.

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Breaking Bad: Hank’s Dilemma in All its Dimensions

Jul23

WARNING: This post contains SPOILERS if you are not caught up on the first half of Season Five of Breaking Bad. If you did not see the episodes that aired in summer 2012, stop right there, watch them, and then you can come back. If the words “Hank on the pot” mean nothing to you, do not go any further!

You’ve been warned.

Okay, so, last we saw Hank, he was sitting on the toilet, just looking for some reading material while taking a dump. And let’s back up a bit before that. The Whites and the Schraders were having a poolside party. The women were talking about hair (Marie wants a halo) and the men were talking about home-brewing beer (Walt says it’s like chemistry). It was this odd, unexpected happy ending scene. Walt had retired from the meth, err empire, business after making shitloads of money. Walt had even paid Jesse back the five million he had withheld from the buyout. His debts were paid, his children were back home and life was sweet.

But then Hank just had to take a shit, and while on the pot he found Walt’s copy of Walt Whitman’s Leaves of Grass, with the inscription, “To my other favorite W.W., It’s an honour working with you. Fondly, G.B.” Gale Boetticher’s poetic justice from beyond the grave.

It left us all, at that mid-season finale, saying one thing over and over: HANK KNOWS.

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Breaking Bad Season 5 Part 2 Predictions and Detective Work: Putting All the Clues Together

Jul17

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.

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.

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Breaking Bad Episode 412 “End Times”

Jul14

Gus’s “spidey sense” must be tingling towards the end of this episode.

This is a challenging episode to write about. It’s amazing, but there’s so much I can’t say until the next one without giving too much away.

It’s interesting, the first time I watched this one, I was so caught up in what was happening, and the drama and the suspense of it all. This time around, I paid more attention to some of the small things.

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Breaking Bad Season 5 Part 2 Predictions and Wishes Post

Jul9

Just over a month away until the new season starts. You know, I remember how upset we all were when we first found out that the final season would be split between two years, and now I am so glad it was. I don’t want the ride to be over. I’m not ready to leave the world of Walter White and Jesse Pinkman, no matter how dark that world has become, or how much darker it could get before the end.

But the final eight episodes are upon us. Time to make predictions, revisit last year’s predictions and pull together everything that’s out there to try to make some guesses. Some of this, no doubt, will be pure speculation and wishful thinking.

So, let’s get right to it, bitches!

Walt dies. I said it last year, and I’ll say it this year. Walt dies. I stand by that prediction. The new “Remember My Name” poster of Walt put out by AMC only strengthens my conviction that Walt will indeed meet his end in the final episode. I know that Vince Gilligan has said a few times that he was rethinking original ideas he had about the ending, and I think that was partly to throw us off, make us think the ending could be otherwise, but I don’t think it will be. For me, it wasn’t the words on the poster but the green smokiness around Walt that cinched it.

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