All Things:AMC television

[jerseydevil]

Well, it's ok to post spoilers now cause if you did not watch it immediately...shame on you.

So SPOILERS!!!!!!!


Wow. Did not expect the episode title(Face off) to be soooooo literal...well, actually I kind of did. That....was awesome. And he straightened his tie. RIP Chicken Man. Always liked Giancarlo Esposito but he really took it to a whole new level here.
And...with that lingering shot of the plant that Walt used to poison Brock he has completed his transformation. He is a MONSTER. Make no mistake. There is no longer any good there. Skyler recoiling over the phone was the first time I actually agreed with her. Straight up speculation here...that scene with Jessie holding a gun to Walts head may get a recall, Walt is now responsible for Jessie's girl's(sorry) death and the poisoning of Brock. Those chickens will come home to roost at some point. And, what of Mike? The now unemployed Mike. Do the boys resume cooking at some point? Hank? He doesn't seem likely to give this up, and finding the burnt out husk of the superlab and his being right about Fring is bound to light an even bigger fire under his ass. Just a tremendous show and such a bold move to sacrifice such a great character. This show has never been afraid to push things. Talk about a singular vision. Vince Gilligan...standing ovation. Seriously. 16 more episodes of brilliance to look forward to. And if all parties are still drawing breath at the end of this I will be amazed. And yes Kingsqueen I do intend to wear my Breaking Bad shirt(that you got me) today.


Better call Saul!

 

[jerseydevil]

http://tv.yahoo.com/news/breaking-bad-postmortem-giancarlo-esposito-reacts-season-4s-031000424.html

[WARNING: The following story contains major spoilers about the Season 4 finale of Breaking Bad. Read at your own risk.]

As Gustavo Fring, Breaking Bad's Giancarlo Esposito has embodied one of the most memorable TV villains ever. And he knows it.

Breaking Bad finale: Who will survive the "Face Off"?

"I think I've created a character that will live on for a long time in people's nightmares," the 53-year-old actor tells TVGuide.com with a laugh.

First appearing as a meek owner of a chain of fried chicken restaurants, Gus quickly emerged as a calculating — and when need be, deadly — meth distributor who put Walt (Bryan Cranston) and Jesse (Aaron Paul) to work. Whether slitting an employee's throat with a box cutter or taking out what's left of the Mexican drug cartel with a poisoned bottle of tequila, Gus was always a portrait of menace.

But almost all great villains don't outlive their opponents. Such is true for Gus, who in Breaking Bad's Season 4 finale was killed in grisly fashion when Walt rigged the wheelchair of Hector "Tio" Salamanca (Mark Margolis) with a bomb that finally took out the chicken man (and half of his face) once and for all.

We chatted with Esposito about Gus' defiance even in death, whether we'll ever see Gus again in flashbacks, and why he thinks Walt will always be haunted by Gus.

Great article and I highlighted the name of the actor who played Salamanca. Guy has been around a long time and if anyone ever acted so much without saying a word...

 

[jerseydevil]

Interview: Breaking Bad creator Vince Gilligan post-mortems season 4 - HitFix.com
Season finale review: Breaking Bad - Face Off: Say uncle - HitFix.com

BREAKING BAD Season 4 Finale Recap: “Face Off”

just when Gus was about to inject Hector with something very painful, Hector rang that bell one…last…time.

And: BOOM.

The shot of Hector’s exploding bedroom was impressive, but not as impressive as what immediately followed: after the door to the bedroom exploded out into the hall, smoke billowed from the room. Moments later, Gus emerged, looking no worse for the wear. We had just enough time to think, “Oh, come on!” and then…the camera panned around Gus, revealing that half of his head was missing. The people I watched tonight’s episode with went absolutely ape**** during this shot, but I sat there in stunned silence: I truthfully cannot recall being so utterly stunned by a TV show. Watching that shot, I had the feeling that I was watching TV history being made. I mean, even if you don’t like Breaking Bad, you’ve gotta admit that showing one of your lead villains with half his head blown off is a pretty groundbreaking bit of television. Let’s hope they steal the idea for a future episode of Two and a Half Men.

Could not have said it better myself. And that little adjust of the tie. Man I am gonna be obsessed with this for the next week or so. I resisted the impulse to rewind/rewatch that scene because I want the horror of my initial reaction to have a chance to soak into my subconscious before I go all Zapruder on the thing. But...the frantic ringing of the bell, Gus's realization and, for the first time, complete lack of composure...just a hell of a thing. I cannot fathom that there are people that do not watch this show. Serious.


Better Call Saul.


B.T.W. it was mentioned in one of the earlier links...anyone else notice that Walt has been coughing a lot? Mike too. Hurm.

 

[jerseydevil]

Breaking Bad “Face Off” Review | ApeDonkey

First off...click on the link for a nice 1/2 portrait of Gus

Second, there seems to be a lot of second guessing with the poisoning, the way it was presented, and the timeline. Interesting argument.

The other thing that truly bugged me is the revelation that Walt poisoned Brock. Now don’t get me wrong, I have no doubts that Walt had reached a point of desperation and moral depravity that he was completely capable of poisoning a child for his own benefit. What I took issue with was his ability to plan that far ahead. Follow me here. This entire season, Walt has been two steps behind Gus, completely frazzled, paranoid and prone to rash half baked ideas. Poisoning Brock, removing the ricin from Jesse’s cigarettes and then staging that entire confrontation with him would take a level of planning that I don’t think Walt was in the state of mind to pull off. Even in his encounter with Saul’s secretary you can see how Walt’s propensity towards single mindedness and a general density towards personal overtones works against him. I get the purpose of revealing that to us. Walt has entered the realm where Gus lives. He’s broken completely bad. It’s no longer a means to and end. It is who he is. It’s a powerful tool to push the series into the next and final season. However, for the sake of this season, Brock’s poisoning works better as a fortunate accident. The little lucky break that Walt and Jesse needed to survive. Perhaps if this had been the series finale that final shot would have been left out but because they signed on for one more season they needed the catalyst for the final season.Even with the issues that linger, I thought the season was tied up perfectly. Going forward, Walt and Jesse had to break free of Gus and the only way to do that was to kill him off. Walt is now established as a person who know no boundaries when it comes to protecting his own interest and once again he has authority over Jesse. Walter White no longer exists. There is only Heisenberg.

 

[BigBrown]

Man, this season of Breaking Bad was SO good! And the finale was just the perfect cherry on top. The acting and character development on this show is superb.

** SPOILERS ** Man I really bought it when Walt desperately pleaded to Jesse about how he could never harm a child. Though I understood how Walt was in a downward spiral and had become quite a wicked man, I didn't quite realize just how far he had fallen until the very end. It makes Walters manic cackling in the basement even more impactful in retrospect, almost like that's the moment where his last shred of humanity finally leaves him. I knew that moment was coming but I somehow didn't quite expect to see it this soon, I was still hoping for him to be.. human. And him proudly declaring how he personally had "won" and doing it with such obvious pleasure and satisfaction. It just encapsulates the egocentric sociopath he has become beautifully.

I don't watch very many shows but Breaking Bad makes me think I really should give a few other ones a chance.

 

[Bogey]

I really need to check out "Breaking Bad." Anyone know if all the episodes are available somewhere?

Seasons 1-3 are on DVD, Netflix, iTunes, etc.

Season 4 is on iTunes.

 

[Kingsqueen]

Maybe I'll have some fried chicken for lunch today, in honor of the chicken man...

 

[Kubrick]

Breaking Bad... wow. Oh my ****ing god.

 

[jerseydevil]

Maybe I'll have some fried chicken for lunch today, in honor of the chicken man...

Speaking of...(from the article posted in #162)

There's been a lot of speculation about Gus' relationship with Max (James Martinez), who we met in the flashback. Do you think they were more than friends?
Esposito: I love that it's not so black and white. Gus took Max off the street in El Salvador and, probably more than any other chemist that Gus has hired, he nurtured Max. It was a long relationship. It's not surprising that people felt that they were lovers because ... their relationship was very, very deep. I think it's less than clear for a reason.


Obviously, Max's death haunted Gus.
Esposito: It's a defining moment in Gus' life, and it's very telling because it allows us to know what made him who he is. To see what got him to be so cool and calculating. He's been sick since that moment. He has not been able to get over it. He has lived his life [trying] to figure out how to get revenge for what happened.

Did anyone else make that connection? While I see it now I still do not think they were lovers. Pollos Hermanos means the brothers chicken, right? Somehow I doubt they would go with 'brothers' is their relationship was different. I love the monday morning dissection.

 

[Kubrick]

Man, this season of Breaking Bad was SO good! And the finale was just the perfect cherry on top. The acting and character development on this show is superb.

** SPOILERS ** Man I really bought it when Walt desperately pleaded to Jesse about how he could never harm a child. Though I understood how Walt was in a downward spiral and had become quite a wicked man, I didn't quite realize just how far he had fallen until the very end. It makes Walters manic cackling in the basement even more impactful in retrospect, almost like that's the moment where his last shred of humanity finally leaves him. I knew that moment was coming but I somehow didn't quite expect to see it this soon, I was still hoping for him to be.. human. And him proudly declaring how he personally had "won" and doing it with such obvious pleasure and satisfaction. It just encapsulates the egocentric sociopath he has become beautifully.

I don't watch very many shows but Breaking Bad makes me think I really should give a few other ones a chance.

I just keep going back to the scene of Walt in the crawlspace (symbolic of the pits of Hell, anyone?) laughing as he shook loose his humanity (the death of mild-mannered Walt, the husband and father) and his acceptance of his life new life as a no holds-barred criminal. I have a feeling Walt will claim responsibility for the death of Gus and seize control of the cartel. He is Scarface, after all.

 

[SWBKings]

 

[JDawg]

Very glad people are talking about this episode/spoilers now. I apologize as I know this is going to be a long post but I have a lot to say about this show .

Great great finale. Not surprised that Gus died. I think that was inevitable, and as all the various interviews with Gilligan acknowledge, it kinda had to be that way. I think it was an appropriate death. He was so cold. So calculating. The man planned for everything and even had teh much discussed "gus/spidey sense" in the penultimate episode. BUt it was his full unadulterated hatred for Tio that was his downfall. Absolutely thought of the movie Heat while watching the finale and how Gus met his demise. Sometimes you have to just walk away and not let your emotions get the best of you. I do admit then when I saw Gus walk out of the room I thought back to the scene before in Gus' office where he starts to change. For liek 3 seconds I thought.. no way.. this guy put a bomb suit on?? Just goes tos how you how good this show is. As implausible at it is that Gus figured that Tio might have a bomb in there to blow his ass up, I would have totally gone with it had Gus walked out unscathed.. damn.

As for the poisoning/issue with timing of everything/could Walt do this. I read that some people thought that this was a cheat, or were unhappy with how this went down, but I personally was not at all. I was willing to go with it. I also agree that how Walt acts in the last 2 episodes was completely set up by the final shot of him cackling under the house with 2 episodes left. THat was Walt finally fullyl breaking bad. He is now all Heisenberg IMO. And if you go with the logic that Walt is now fully Heisenberg, that he has given over, he is MUCH more calculating and he is now ready to match wits fully with Gus. This is how it has to go down. This is how he becomes Scarface. I liked the questions that Sepinwall asked in both his review and his interview with Gilligan. How the show sets up everything so meticulously and we see everything, and for the first time here, we were left in the dark. Totally OK with this. The show is allowed to do this IMO. It is plausible that Walt had time to do everything as the show leaves it purposely ambiguou where he was for large chunks of time. I think in the penultimate episode, when he is spinning the gun, he has already formulated the plan. The first 2 spins land on him, and karmically, he probably realizes that he should just kill himself. It synches up with what he told Skyler about this all being his fault and how he hast to handle everything. But Walt's ego/pride won't let him go down that path. So he keeps spinning until the gun points at the plant. This is his excuse for going forward with it. "well.. the gun randomly pointed at teh plant. So its the kid or me." I think Walt was genuinely relieved that Brock didn't die because its how he justifies it to himself. BUt it was really the only move he could make. I also liked Gilligan's explanation that Walt coudl easily have decided to dump the ricin knowing that it would implicate him more.

Hank. Hank will end up looking like a genius in that he had tied it all together. I think the underrated brilliance of Walt's play is that by having Tio take out Gus it looks like total retaliation for Gus taking out the cartel down south. We have to remember that the DEA is still way in the dark about everything. My guess is that the DEA will not suspect Walt at all and will think everything calms down now.

Walt/Jesse and next season. When the show was initially created it was only supposed to be 4 seasons. I would bet that all of this stuff with Gus/the cartel/etc. was what the writers came up with to get an extra season out of everything. Now, we get back to teh core of the show for the end. I would not be surprised if when the show returns we find out that Gus and JEsse have not been cookign for a while and are laying low. Mike will have a say in this somehow. Saul will bubble back up and really want to become the consigliere to Walt now and will push Walt to take over. I do think that the big reveal has to be Jesse at some poitn connecting the dots about the poisoning and that Walt did it. I have no clue how this show will end but I cannot wait to find out. What. A. Show.

Thanks for indulging me on a long rant .

 

[jerseydevil]

Well said. Yeah, the fact that the story has been told almost exclusively through Walt's p.o.v. and then changing the game to hide their hand...I had no problem with that. it was so seamless. And, this season, as Walt has been finding his order turned to chaos and his every move checked he has become a little unhinged, which allowed for a change. And I think overall the whole season was told through many perspectives. Gus's certainly, Jesse's, Hank's(with Walt as a passenger)...so I did not even notice that Walt disappeared from his own story. Gilligan speaks about the 'long con' idea where the writers are constantly thinking in advance. I just don't see any seams. I hate to use LOST as an example, but it is the most obvious...while I loved that show it really illustrates just how hard it is to keep all the threads tidy. Add in tv decisions about how long the show will continue and it seems almost impossible. I think that you are right about Gus/Mike/Tio providing Gilligan & company with enough great acting to really pad things out. Reading between the lines, Esposito seems to affirm that. I have to figure that Gilligan has pretty much the entire remaining run mapped out. And that scares me. This season was SO good. So solid. I just know that those last 16 are going to be better...and that bar is set so high already.


Any chance Mike decides that 'here's the new boss, same as the old boss'? I find his character fascinating and he was missed in the finale'...but i really think he is being held for bigger things. God it's going to be a long year.


Shed a tear for the chicken man...rest in peace Gus Fring (hey, it's hinted that isn't really his name. Do you think he purposely chose to name hisself after the yummy combo of fries/rings???)

Ok, Better Call Saul.

 

[JDawg]

I think you are bang on with the point about how throughout the season we are treated to the p.o.v. of all the characters. Sepinwll I believe made this point during a mid season review, and i have discussed with some friends, how within episodes this season Walt would just disappear. And how the action could be focused on other characters like Skyler/Gus/Jesse/etc. and now because teh show has been going on so long you didn't even really notice. When you combine this with reading Gilligan and how everything is so planned out... it really is like chess. These writers are just 5 moves ahead and really plannign things out and introducing things subtlely.

Interesting that you used LOST as a comparison as I have read people using LOST as an example of how they don't want BB to become that. You risk too much filler and losing people mid way thru. Absolutely would rather have 5 totally connected, tight seasons, then having a couple just OK ones in the middle and getting frustrated by the show.

Mike is a real wild card here going forward. I'd be the proverbial $1 that the writers don't even know how they want to use him yet. I have read interviews where Gilligan says that altho they have some overarching idea where to go, the show really is very much in flux when they write it (see my above post about them adding in Gus) and how they write themselves purposefully into corners and then figure out how to extract themselves. The only obvious non-enlightening thought about Mike is that there will be some sort of pay off there and it will be epic. How's that for a hard hitting prediction!

 

[jerseydevil]

In his own way...Mike the fixer is really the only one with a true sense of honor. He knows what he is, and in certain moments you can see that it weighs on him, but you always get the feeling that he is unswerving in his beliefs. It was clear when Walt tried to appeal to him that Mike does not betray. He gave Walt an ass whupping in kind of an 'I'm doing this for your own good...now straighten up' way. He did that with Jesse a few times too. I would almost be satisfied with him being the one person who walks away at the end of this. There is a tremendous backstory there in my opinion.

 

[lunchbox]

ok ya, that was f***ing awesome how he walked out of hector's room and i thought to myself "you have got to be f***ing kidding me" and then they show his blown off face and i'm like "HA!" i feel the same, JD, where i don't want to watch that again so that i'm left with the first reaction.

and omg, walt is diabolical in getting jesse to side with him by poisoning brock. leading him on to think it was the ricin but using something ultimately much less harmful. i agree with the shaking off of humanity when he's in the money pit maniacally laughing, but i think he had an ounce of good in him still by using his chemical know-how and using an everyday garden plant to poison the kid and not the actual chemical poison he'd wanted to use on gus. make no mistake though, i still think he's a conniving bastard.
he's a bumbling fool at times, but he's also very clever.

i can't wait to see what the next 16 episodes hold.

 

[jerseydevil]

Yeah, just because the poison was from a plant don't fool yourself...i'm pretty sure it was still fairly deadly. Not like the Ricin, which is lethal, but still. And just the fact that he could do that to Jesse...and Jesse legitimately looks up to him and cares for him in his own sick way. Walt is a cruel man. What he once did out of necessity he now does so he can 'win'. The way he sent his neighbor over...the way he casually dispatched the two thugs guarding Jesse. He was so close last week when he gave Skyler the 'consequences' speech. That was his last shred of humanity. And now Jesse, who started out a typical waste/druggie has become a tragic sympathetic figure. The final arc of this story is going to end in tears.

 

[Kubrick]

In his own way...Mike the fixer is really the only one with a true sense of honor. He knows what he is, and in certain moments you can see that it weighs on him, but you always get the feeling that he is unswerving in his beliefs. It was clear when Walt tried to appeal to him that Mike does not betray. He gave Walt an ass whupping in kind of an 'I'm doing this for your own good...now straighten up' way. He did that with Jesse a few times too. I would almost be satisfied with him being the one person who walks away at the end of this. There is a tremendous backstory there in my opinion.

Mike and Jesse's, mentor/mentee relationship evolved into a mirror image of the relationship that Walt and Jesse used to share. Jesse has moved on from being Walt's apprentice to being Mike's. There seems to be a very strong bond between Mike and Jesse, which has be to crystallized due to Jesse apparently saving Mike's life in the desert, right? Could we be on a collision course pitting Mike and Jesse versus Walt?

 

[jerseydevil]

He really is the wild card in the mix. I don't expect them to all go happily skipping off hand in hand. 300 or so more days...sheesh!

 

[lunchbox]

Yeah, just because the poison was from a plant don't fool yourself...i'm pretty sure it was still fairly deadly. Not like the Ricin, which is lethal, but still. And just the fact that he could do that to Jesse...and Jesse legitimately looks up to him and cares for him in his own sick way. Walt is a cruel man. What he once did out of necessity he now does so he can 'win'. The way he sent his neighbor over...the way he casually dispatched the two thugs guarding Jesse. He was so close last week when he gave Skyler the 'consequences' speech. That was his last shred of humanity. And now Jesse, who started out a typical waste/druggie has become a tragic sympathetic figure. The final arc of this story is going to end in tears.

oh ya, just looked it up and it is in fact deadly. whoops, my bad. i somehow thought maybe there was a bit of walt left where he might use something that would severely sicken the boy, but not straight up kill him like the ricin would. guessing he didn't use a chemical compound or it'd be clearly obvious he did it then.
and yes! i forgot about the neighbor. i kept thinking when he called her and asked her to check on the place how truly careless of him that was. they could've killed her as collateral damage and he did not give a f***! wow, haha!