Shall we anticpate the AMC series "Breaking Bad"? I think I may.

well if they lose walt's paycheck that mortgage + childcare costs probably become pretty hard to deal with but yes, i think that a lot of walt's ideas about needing to "provide" at all costs is largely a function of his own psyche rather than anything in reality.

i don't remember what book skyler was supposed to be writing?

yeah garda i got that too, about skyler probing ted to discover something about how people justify it when they break bad.. but it seemed tactless.. but i guess skyler doesn't really care about tact in some situations! she's not a gray area kind of person.

I didn't get the impression that they were in bad financial straits before the cancer, though. I did find the Skyler career change/retcon to be a little weird. It wasn't until the expensive cancer treatments came in that the family was in danger in bankruptcy. Once that was mostly paid off, it should have been fine, but Walter's goalposts kept moving up (now he had to also support his unborn daughter and HER college education as well as Walt Jr.'s) and seeing as how he was making crazy money and not expecting to live longer than a year at that point, it was easy to see how he would give in to that temptation to leave his family a huge nest egg. Then he had that final surgery to pay for as well. This was discussed between Walt and Jesse last year, about when would there would finally be enough money to stop. But when you're gonna die so soon, why not go for some super high risk / high reward stuff?

But still, those are just the immediate justifications - the fact that Walt DOES just immediately start using his PhD skills to make meth speak to those feelings of of underachievement/entitlement that Walt feels and essentially propel his character through the show. His rooted anger and greed seem to take over more as the show goes on.

Popper - wasn't skyler's previous "prominent finance job" essentially being head accountant for happy-hands beneckie?

(btw does anybody remember what beneckie's company actually does/makes?)

Well I didn't mean she was in a hedge fund or anything, but she did go from being seemingly dependent to having a job with its own office in the space of half an episode. I think it changes Walt's motivations, he was never really looking to save his family, and more that his life while working in the car wash and scrubbing his own students cars was a failure on his part.

I'm sure I'm over thinking this but Walt wasn't just caring for his family after he died, he wanted to make sure he would be the only one who did it. Walt basically got into making meth for himself.

"Walt basically got into making meth for himself."

Yeah I think this is pretty clear at this point.

to the extent that he's making meth "for himself" it's for the pride he feels at being able to do something like this for his family - if he loses that justification, however fictional it may be at this point, i don't see how he holds the pieces together. sure, he likes feeling like an independent badass but without the telos of his family walt wouldn't even have an identity left. when saul walks him through the lay of the land (it's pretty sad that saul's his only confidante in this) he can't even conceive of any goal other worth having.

shoot, i totally forgot about the whole car wash thing. yeah, it does make it look like Walt just stubbornly wanted to be the sole breadwinner, since he didn't even know the real reason Skyler left her job

tracer otm about walt's pride and his family

but then again, skyler seemed pretty OK with their setup, so who knows

i do like her more so far this season than in the others, at least

The amount Walt has made from dealing meth (500k-ish after laundering) is probably the amount they needed to pay for his treatment and not be so deep in a financial hole that paying for the baby is going to be rough.

So I'm interested to see why he'll inevitably go back to making meth.

I really was delighted by the "restrain this!" moment. How far Walt has gone from the milquetoast science teacher.

The core of this show is about a man trying to find a way to earn his living and keep his pride and take care of himself and his family and everything else comes out of that. Now: no family. No pride. So I won't find it out of character when he really loses his shit.

finally watched this last night... one of the funniest episodes I've seen in a long time. another scene that cracked me up was Hank's comments about the sushi.

don't forget there's a whole sub-plot of his ex-gf and her husband fucking him over and starting some chemicals company or whatever. another reason he's like fuck tha world, first u make the meth, then u get the money, then u get the power

yeah, the people he was supposed to be okay with mooching off of for his treatment. many layers of resentment there. I'm kind of rooting for Walt to accept his fate, and get ruthless, but it's hard to imagine where the show would go at that point. like, where would the tension come from if that happened?

i think walt and jesse are gonna switch roles, jesse becoming the "bad guy" and having to coerce walt back into cooking, which is ultimately what saul (and gus) wants

kinda surprised walt hasn't hit the pipe yet, just out of curiosity

they've been sort of vague about it - but i'm not sure how much was them fucking him over and him leaving of his own accord - for whatever reason. that reason being, i think, his ex leaving him for the other dude.

he is, to be fair, kind of an asshole.

hey lay off, he has cancer

but yeah he should totally come full circle and pick the pipe up, finally. apartment floor's already dirtbaggy enough what with all the popcorn. he could be like kevin spacey in american beauty, quit his job at the high school and deliver pizzas (and dipping sticks) for venezia's full-time, spend his nights lifting weights while smoking pot crystal

http://hphotos-snc3.fbcdn.net/hs426.snc3/24569_10100193053630850_7905994_60054578_245191_n.jpg

I think I'd quit watching if he got hooked on meth.

yeah, that would be too obvious. besides, they already sort of did this with Jesse's addiction

i don't think that walt is gonna enjoy that pot roast.

haha, a very awkward pot roast indeed. seriously though walt couldn't have asked for that any more than if he had literally asked skyler "would you please fuck beneke?" oh yeah spoiler alert

when the salamanca cousins converged on that nice handicapped lady in the parking lot i was positive it was walt's mom. we weren't supposed to think that, were we?

gus peeling back the cellophane from a nice store-bought veggies & dip tray in anticipation of his business meeting with the drug cartel was just so gus

& walt peeing in the sink was just so nu-walt

the prevent child abuse ribbons were a strange addition, i am surprised that the twins weren't sporting them.

http://somewhatmanlynerd.com/gifs/waltquitscaptionedmore.gif

evolution of walt's crotch-grab

xpost

Prevent child abuse ribbons? If you mean those blue ribbons most characters are wearing, those are for victims of Wayfarer 515, as clarified in the last episode.

Loved this episode a lot.

You are right. The big blue ribbons have just gone up around town here so i was confused.

Hah why didn't they pick a less common ribbon color? Come on people be creative!

that music video opening for that season 2 ep was so great (catching up on season 2 right now)

"I f--d Ted"
i think we're finally past the warmup stage; the table is set and the show can start moving again.

xxpost

I noticed the ribbons have an orange stripe on them watching this last episode. So, that's something.

I'm terrified of everyone on the internet who watched that episode and went Skyler you fuckin slut how could u

She's a repulsive person but that particular episode didn't really change the way I saw her at all

^kind of agree. She's even worse this year, but her actions at least make a little more sense than they used to. But you know I already hate Skyler!

I mean more like, buying all of Walt's cuckoo rationalizations at face value, ignoring his Lifetime tv movie husband antix in the scene with the cops, "he laid his heart out there and she cheated on him." like, go rent falling down instead you weirdos

don't forget that she smoked in front of the baby. HOW COULD SHE DO THAT

I'm terrified of everyone on the internet who watched that episode and went Skyler you fuckin slut how could u

― A B C, Tuesday, 6 April 2010 04:22 (2 hours ago)

my girlfriend said "cheating is way worse than making meth."

So I'll take that under future advisement I guess.

office party blowjob >>>>>killing a couple of guys in mexico

Hah why didn't they pick a less common ribbon color? Come on people be creative!

― Fig On A Plate Cart (Alex in SF), Monday, April 5, 2010 7:19 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

its a blue ribbon w/a pink ribbon underneath, aka a lol abt how all the ribbon colors have been taken

don't forget there's a whole sub-plot of his ex-gf and her husband fucking him over and starting some chemicals company or whatever. another reason he's like fuck tha world, first u make the meth, then u get the money, then u get the power

― ☀ ☃ (am0n), Wednesday, March 31, 2010 5:58 PM (6 days ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

they've been sort of vague about it - but i'm not sure how much was them fucking him over and him leaving of his own accord - for whatever reason. that reason being, i think, his ex leaving him for the other dude.

― The Cursed Return of the Dastardly Thermo Thinwall, Wednesday, March 31, 2010 6:12 PM (6 days ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

iirc correctly they kinda strung you along thinking walts friend took his girl but when walts bitching to her abt taking up w/the friend and the two of them using his research - shes all you left wtf was i supposed to do - so it seems like at some point walt was in a pretty sweet spot doing important work w/a great gf and he just couldnt deal - he wanted to be a hs chemistry teacher living in a generic subdivision - like hank said last ep 'classic underachiever'

btw this show is hella sweet, lol roof pizza

walt's house on google street view, and 28 more show locations around albuquerque

i am squinting looking for pizza stains on the garage roof

cooool

i like skyler a lot but this is pretty impeachable imo -

montanatorice4/5/2010 4:18:52 PM
I would like to point out that Skyler is cooking the books for her boss, which is BREAKING THE LAW, and sleeping with him. Sure Walt made some dirty money, but let face it Walt made the LOGICAL choice to make sure his family would finicial set if died of cancer. It wasn't easy for him to do. You might say Walt had a mid-life crises, but so what. It never to late to be the MAN YOU ALWAYS WANTED TO BE, or the WOMEN YOU ALWAYS WANTED TO BE. Lets face it Walt had a dead end teaching job, a brother a jerk brother in-law, and wife that punked him around. For the first time in his life Walt took some risks, grew some big brass balls, and won some respect. He had none of the traits when the show began. Skylar should just take the half million dollars Walt risked his neck for and keep her mouth shut. Money talks and BS walks!

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It is getting increasingly harder to have to wait a week for each episode. Like, near-excruciating. Best show on television, and boy oh boy does it crush the show I WAS following (Big Love). Jesus did season four fucking suck.

er i meant to say UNimpeachable!!

xpost

I'm watching all three seasons of Mad Men ATM so i'm cool with the wait.