Breaking Bad

[thistlechaser]

At least when I don't watch a show, I do it right.

Back when Breaking Bad first aired, for some reason I no longer remember, I wasn't interested in it. As the show got more and more popular, I was hearing more about it everywhere, and it annoyed me so I tuned it out as much as possible.

When the show ended, the media was covering it like mad -- NPR did an hour long show about the finale! By that point I was seriously sick of hearing about it, so did everything I could to avoid coverage just because I was so annoyed by it.

Turned out that saved me! I just marathoned all five seasons, and was able to watch it nearly spoiler-free. (Amusing timing, last week I just happened upon one spoiler, but it wasn't too terribly big.) For a years old show, I'm pleased and impressed that I was able to watch it so unspoiled!



I don't even know where to start talking about the show. There were so many characters I loved, and nearly all of them ended up dead. I think Mike's death was the worst (though I was oddly fond of Todd -- for some reason he kept pinging me as "good guy" even though he was pretty darned awful). I'm pleased and amused that Saul made it out alive, though his life is going to be pretty boring now.

I'm really not sure how I felt about the ending. The only thing I knew going into it was someone (everyone?) said "it could end no other way". And that was true. If Walt hadn't ended up dead in the end, I would have felt ripped off. But still, it was unsatisfying somehow. His death was almost a let-down? For Jesse I'm glad he didn't shoot Walt, but I think Jesse shooting Walt would have been a more satisfying ending on some level.

I'm really, really pleased at how in the end Walt realized he was doing all that for himself, not for his family. I hadn't been expecting that at all but was very satisfied and pleased by that.

The 'melting a body in a bathtub' scene in the beginning of season one had stopped me all the other times I tried to watch this series (I very much dislike gore), but I was pleased to see that there actually had been a reason for that -- melting bodies came up a number of times through the seasons.

I'm glad Jesse lived in the end, though I don't have terribly much hope he'd have a good life in the future.

I never liked Hank much, but he made a good Captain Ahab. I LOVED his death scene where he told Walt "You're the smartest guy I know, but you're too stupid to see he decided to kill me ten minutes ago."

Apparently much of fandom hated Skylar? I never liked her at all, but her actions seemed perfectly understandable. (End spoiler.)




I watched the whole series so quickly. I'm not sure when I started it, but I want to say I went through all five seasons in about two weeks. I just feel so overwhelmed right now -- so sad that it's over, but glad it was a complete story and they didn't extend it needlessly.

I sure am sorry I missed what must have been an exciting fandom for this. I could see so many potential pairings! Walt/Jesse of course, but I bet Mike/Jesse would be absolutely delicious too. I bet Jesse was the fandom bicycle, huh? I could see anyone paired off with him.

Next up: Better Call Saul! I'm so So SO happy I don't have to go cold turkey from Breaking Bad.

Edit: Beware spoilers in comments!

Comments

[twissie.livejournal.com]

Ohhh my god, this is awesome :) I was slow to get into Breaking Bad as well, but I caught up and followed along the last season. I watched the first episode back when it was first aired, but it didn't really hook me. Tried again later, and was left with the same feeling. Then got bugged by friends so much, I decided to give it yet another chance, and it just clicked. I love this show so, so, so much. Jesse is by far my favourite character. I think Hank is a good second.

What did you think of Jane?

.... I'm not really into the whole fandom thing, but I have come upon some very interesting/good/hot Walt/Jesse fics. T__T; ... so yes, it is very much a thing.

I really like Skyler. She's a pretty hard core lady, I do not understand the fan hate at all.

Better Call Saul is pretty different, but a lot of fun! I should do a rewatch to prepare for the new season :D

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

Eee Breaking Bad icon! Yay!

I'm so torn as to if it was better to marathon it or watch it live. I think you might have hit on the best of both worlds, marathoning it and then watching the last season with everyone else.

I didn't really like Jane much, and she lead to the one confusing/thing I didn't like(?). The whole plane crash thing. That took so much time, across so many episodes (even the season one finale!) and it seemed pointless? Yeah, her father was sad about her death, but to spend that much time on it? Spending most of the season two season openers on recovering all the stuff from the plane? Seemed like that all went no where.

.... I'm not really into the whole fandom thing, but I have come upon some very interesting/good/hot Walt/Jesse fics. T__T; ... so yes, it is very much a thing.

I shall begin my hunt for them soon!

I'm actually more than okay with Better Call Saul being different. If it's more light-hearted/amusing, I'll be fine with it. I feel a tad ODed on dark and heavy right now. WONDER WHY! :P

[twissie.livejournal.com]

The plane crash is pretty over the top, I must admit. If you ever get to listen to commentary tracks or watch any behind the scenes stuff, you'll understand more of where that came from. Basically they wrote the opening with the floating teddy bear and debris in the pool, and then spent the rest of the season trying to figure out how to explain where that came from. They were writing the show as it was shooting, so... yup.

I didn't like Jane either, but her death is obviously very important in the character development for Jesse and Walter, not to mention their relationship (:/ baaah). I wish she could have stayed around a little longer at least.

BCS is indeed more light-hearted and amusing! You've got lots to look forward to :)

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

Ahhhh that explains it. I haven't watched the commentary tracks yet, but I'd like to. Right now I'm downloading a copy of the Talking Bad eps, but I'd like to see the commentary as well.

Jane's death sure was! And in the end when Walt threw it in Jesse's face to hurt him? Arg...

I think I'm going to start BCS today. There are so few eps though, I don't want to get through them too quickly... (But at least another season is coming!)

[loup_noir]

LOVEDLOVEdLOVedLOvedLoved Breaking Bad. The character arcs were wonderful. Everyone changed, everyone had flaws, and it was so very, very good. I loved it so much that I bought the series and have rewatched it to study how the writers worked. I suspect that I'll need to see it a few more times to really get it.

Better Call Saul is in my Netflix queue.

Avoided the fandom like the plague.

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

On the writing end of things, have you listened to the podcast from the show's writer? I only listened to one so far, but they break down how they planned the scenes and made writing decisions and such. It's very interesting! http://podbay.fm/show/311058181

I've only seen the start of one ep of Better Call Saul, but I really like it! I can't wait to see more of it.

[gmth.livejournal.com]

I love both BrBa and Better Call Saul to absolute little pieces. I was only around for the last season of BrBa but didn't bother trying to get into the fandom, because the pieces of it I saw turned me off. BCS is definitely a different kind of show, but has the same kind of feel to it, if that makes sense. And while it is more lighthearted than BrBa there are also some heavy-ish spots in it.

If you're at all into podcasts, you might want to check out the official behind the scenes podcasts for both shows. They're hosted by Kelly Dixon, who is an editor on both shows, and has Vince Gilligan and other producers and directors and stars from the shows and they are so much fun. :D

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

I discovered the podcast, yep! I've only listened to one so far, but it was so interesting! I can't wait to hear the more of them.

I've only seen part of one ep of BCS, but I really enjoyed that too. "definitely a different kind of show, but has the same kind of feel to it" makes perfect sense -- it feels like the same world, but since we're not following Walt, makes sense it has a different slant to things.

[tersa.livejournal.com]

I watched Breaking Bad a couple years ago. I didn't like it as much as you did or the other commenters, mostly because by the time, uh, Season 4? rolled around, I was getting really, really angry at how Walt treated Skyler, raping her (or almost raping her--it's been long enougn now I can't remember which it was, specifically), and how Skyler put up with it. That was the moment I specifically wanted him to die, and the last episode couldn't come soon enough for me.

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

Yeah. During that storyline, all I could think of was the fandom stuff I had read. Some people said she was such a "bitch" and didn't understand/support Walt and stuff like that. I sat there scratching my head... I never really liked her, but her anger and "lack of support"(!!!) towards him was perfectly understandable.

If he raped her, it wasn't shown, but I sure as heck can believe it happened off-camera. That was quite icky, yeah.