Amph [El Camino spoilers] If you don't watch Breaking Bad, then yes, you still are an idiot.

He might connect Saul, since he knows that Saul represents Jesse, and as you say he'll almost certainly connect Walt and Jesse.

Another thing he probably won't connect with Walt are the Cousins.

 

I still think the flashforward is probably trying to mislead us into thinking Walt used the "vacuum repair" guy in order to disappear.

 

I could see that. I could see Walt dying at the end of all this. Going on the run from Hank and the DEA when things start to close in, getting caught and getting shot or something.

 

The fact that it never got mentioned after he went in leads me to believe that his cancer is still in remission. It's only been a year (well a year and 3 months now) since Walt's been diagnosed and even less time since his cancer has gone into remission. He'd still be having regular checkups to monitor the cancer's growth or lack thereof. I think that scene was mainly just a reminder as to why Walt got into the meth game to begin with. It show's how his priorities and goals have changed since he first started.​

 

I think it's possible that his cancer has come back (he's coughing and taking pills in the flashforward, which, again, could be misleading). The MRI sequence was shot exactly the same way as in the pilot (I'll look for the comparison if someone demands it). Remember, lung cancer a that stage has a very low five-year survival rate, so the remission wouldn't necessarily last very long.

 

I'm already assuming the cancer's back. There's the coughing/taking pills in the season opener, and it's after the MRI last episode he gives Jesse the money-- reminiscing along the way-- and tells Skyler he's out. And that scene in the bathroom, with the towel dispenser, it...actually made me feel kinda bad for Walt again.

 

I'm surprised so many people are convinced Walt will turn him in. Think about it: the kids, the rehab money, the embarrassment of Walt living under his nose for a year...

 

Although it could potentially ruin his life and the lives of those closest to him, I think Hank is ultimately concerned about doing the right thing. And once he figures out the kind of danger Walt put(s) Skyler and the kids in, he definitely won't cover for Walt.

 

I'm thinking the flash forward is Walt on the run from the police. He know the cops are going to find him eventually, so he's buying a gun to make some sort of last stand. Which is really not how I want him to go out. I want an intense, personal end to the conflict, not some Scarface-esque shootout.

 

So I'm a little confused. 1) Walt gives Jesse the big speech about building an empire and 2) Skylar knows that Walt has murdered at least three people with a bomb.

So in the mid season finale,

1) Walt decides to quit and not build his empire. Did that huge pile of money and Skylar's plea REALLY had the power to flip the switch in his brain and show him the error of his ways? IMO, it's a hard pill to swallow. Could Walt truly walk away when he's fought so hard to be on top? For him just to give that up seems like a mistake he already made with "Gray Matter" so it doesn't make sense to me why he would do it again.

2) With what Skylar knows, she still has the ability to forgive Walt for what he's done? It felt that their relationship was WAY beyond repair because they have been cramming it down our throats in each episode of Season 5. I wonder if there was a certain amount of time between his decision to quit and Skylar and him being civil again. Did they go to counseling? The way that the episode presented it, it almost felt too quick.

Thoughts?

 

1. It's possible the cancer has returned.
2. Yeah, I agree. Almost everything felt too quick about this final episode.

 

If the show is beating you over the head with the possibility that a Scarface-esque ending will happen, it probably won't happen.

 

I don't think Skylar is anywhere near forgiving Walt - she just wants the kids back in the house safely, so if she believes that Walt's out, that's enough.

I think that's the genius of Hank figuring it out at this moment; just as they start to make noise about taking the kids back, he'll now have to keep that from happening without being able to reveal what he knows.

 

It's a double-bluff dude.

 

1. He realised that when he won- when he really, truly won- then what was the point of victory? He kept himself going by overcoming the next obstacle. It was always "if I could just make X amount of money/be rid of Tuco/do this last deal for Gus/remove the contamination/kill Gale/kill Gus/be my own boss/expand my operation/get rid of Mike...then I'll be happy". But when he runs out of obstacles to overcome and finds himself on top, there's nothing left. Jesse's gone, the kids are gone, his wife's gone. Even his enemies are gone.

I think this exposes the Gray Matter speech as what several people said it was at the time- not a conscious lie, but yet another self-serving justification that we can't take at face value. Whatever void Walter White has been trying to fill in his life, he's realised that he can't fill it even by building the empire that he thought he wanted.

2. I think Skylar always hoped, deep down, that her husband would return to who he was. They've been married for almost twenty years. It's only in the last year that he's become this monster. That doesn't mean she's forgiven him though. A contemplative smile at a family get-together does not equal forgiveness. She's probably willing to tolerate him and give him one final chance, simply for the sake of getting her children home.

 

Yeah, I didn't get the impression that all is forgiven. Skyler's not an idiot... she just wants her kids back.

 

i bet the Big Gun in the future is for rescuing jesse/taking revenge for jesse from the phoenix drug boss. im tellin you, we havent seen the last of louis ferriera. he's too big a deal and has been set up too well to just disappear like that

 

I'm sure not all is forgiven, but to see them all together, laughing, talking, smiling, etc was way different than the scenes earlier in the same episode where it was just Skylar and the kids OR just Walt and the baby, totally separate, no feeling of cohesiveness. I got that feeling in the final scene at the pool that something bad was going to happen. I seriously thought a meteorite was going to fall and kill Walt Jr and Holly. I was just waiting for something bad to happen to the kids after all the other threats had been eliminated. But maybe that was the point because then it allowed for the awesome book reveal scene.

 

So it only took like four months* but I am finally caught up with everyone else! Yaaaaay!!!

I'm still wondering if there will be anything further going on between Jesse and Skyler. I think someone in the temp boards thread mentioned how this season there have been a few scenes with them together, suggesting it's not the last we'll see of them.

*Considering how slow I am at watching shows that's pretty good for me.

 

Hard to say... I thought so, at first, but now I have no idea. I thought Jesse could help Skyler out a lot... he seemed to have a genuine compassion for her. After this last episode, though, who knows?

 

This is only season 1-4, so we unfortunately don't see the lawyer's "sleeve cam" shot from season 5:

 

Spotted this tonight on the Boston University Bridge:

 

What is with the Breaking Bad graffiti around major cities? Do people do this with other shows?

 

I'm bitter that there's no Breaking Bad this week.