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How Breaking Bad convinced Damon Lindelof to give up defending Lost | Blastr

Lindelof's made plenty of self-deprecating remarks about Lost in the past, but he didn't have to say anything for plenty of Twitter users to lay into him about the Breaking Bad finale Sunday night. All that fan rage came without a word about Lost from Lindelof, so why wouldn't it come again when he launched into in-depth, printed praise of another show's ending? Whether it's the right time to bring it up or not, Lindelof is still tethered to the Lost finale and all the fan anger he's taken because of it, so much so that he can't ever talk about pop culture without being reminded of his own most infamous contribution to it. So what's he going to do about it? Apparently he's going to make a deal with all the Lost haters out there, and the deal goes like this:

"I'd like to make a pact, you and me. And here's your part: You acknowledge that I know how you feel about the ending of Lost. I got it. I heard you. I will think about your dissatisfaction always and forever. It will stay with me until I lie there on my back dying, camera pulling slowly upward whether it be a solitary dog or an entire SWAT team that comes to my side as I breathe my last breath.

"And here's my part: I will finally stop talking about it. I'm not doing this because I feel entitled or above it -- I'm doing it because I accept that I will not change hearts nor minds. I will not convince you they weren't dead the whole time, nor resent you for believing they were despite my infinite declarations otherwise."

Sounds like a fair deal, right? We can all step away a little and get on with loving or hating other series finales yet to come. Of course, there are plenty of Lost fans who simply won't be able to help themselves, or won't care how Lindelof feels, but for the more reasonable among us, this could work. Maybe it will work, but not before Lindelof gets in one last bit of defense for the story he spent so long telling, with a little Breaking Bad reference thrown in for good measure.

"I'm done. I'm out. Just one last thing before I go …

"I stand by the Lost finale. It's the story that we wanted to tell, and we told it. No excuses. No apologies. I look back on it as fondly as I look back on the process of writing the whole show. And while I'll always care what you think, I can't be a slave to it anymore. Here's why:

"I did it for me. I liked it. I was good at it. And I was really … I was alive."

For those who spent so much time being invested in Lost, be they viewers or people who helped create the show, that finale will never really go away. Whether you loved it or hated it, that episode will stick in your brain, but even if it's still there, can you just let it go and move on to something else? What do you think? Is Lindelof's "pact" realistic, or harder than it sounds?
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Lost jumped the shark so many times we just didn't care anymore.

I couldn't even tell you how it ended. (were... nazis involved at all?)
 
RoyalSubject said:
So Jesse Pinkman, the guy who was caught chucking $5 million in cash out of a car window right before he started working with two DEA agents that were murdered by the great Heisenberg, suddenly shows back up in society and the DEA/police don't bother with him at all? I just don't see it happening that way. He's a person of interest, plain and simple. Even if the authorities aren't actively looking for him, there's no way he just goes back to life as normal without the authorities being all over his ass at some point. The best we can hope for Jesse is that he lams it, gets a new identity, and manages to lead a quiet, law abiding life. The idea that he's totally scott free is just a fandom fantasy.
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It had been mentioned on Reddit already that someone transcribed a number of the newspaper headlines from the papers Walt received during his time in NH. In them, there were a number of news stories about Heisenberg/Walter White and his family, as well as mention about his associate, Jesse Pinkman, who was "assumed on the run" by federal authorities.

Jesse's fingerprints were all over the meth lab and other areas of the Nazi's compound; but even the most basic forensic team would easily be able to deduce that:

1) Jesse was being enslaved to cook meth there, due to the elaborate cable rigging system
2) Jesse was being kept in a hole in the ground, as he rarely was ever afforded the ability to venture out of that area.

So, Walter wouldn't have been covering for Jesse in the sense of trying to deceive law enforcement that *he* was doing the cooking, not Jesse. It's more likely that Walter was simply taking ownership for the entire enterprises' existence, which led to Jesse being there and cooking for Jack's gang. So Walter merely was content going "down with the ship", even though in reality, he didn't physically BUILD this ship (aka, the Nazi Meth Lab); but it was essentially, all his creation.

As for Jesse, he is by no means getting off scot free from a legal standpoint; but from an spiritual standpoint, he's as free as he's ever been. He's a caged bird that's endured so much pain, anguish, and torture, that the mere concept of "happiness" is a LONG WAY OFF from ever finding him. At this point, the mere freedom of being released from being under someone else's control is cathartic for him; it was what he needed as a mechanism to make his transformation. What's so odd is, there are SO MANY LAYERS to Jesse's situation at the end, that you could write a whole damn thesis on it. As a viewer, at first you relief for him and a sense of joy that he's free. Then you're overtaken by dismay and dread that, a) he'll still be on the lam forever, b) he has no friends c) he has no financial werewithal to assist him in rebuilding his life. Once that all settles in, you're ironically filled with comfort too, knowing that, while he's been through a tremendous amount of pain and loss all this time, he's grown exponentially as a human being. You see Jesse as a capable, highly intelligent, compassionate person. He's always "gotten by" and survived on his guile before, but now he's developed the requisite life skills to know how to turn such a dour situation as his going forward, into something useful. He'll never escape his demons, and he won't ever clear his name, but there's hope that somewhere (Alaska, maybe?) a young, talented artist? wood craftsman? etc. will ply his trade, with a name no one's familiar with in a small town he's never been in before.

There are so few "happy" outcomes that could've come from a Breaking Bad finale; and anyone half-expecting a "feel good" ending clearly didn't grasp the over-arching concept of the show's moral bent. Conversely, those that criticized VG for closing the final chapter in an "all too clean and convenient" manner, are echoing their sentiments at the wrong stanza. In Gilligan's Magnum Opus, "Tohajiilee" & "Ozymandias" were the show's true crescendo moment. "Granite State" & "Felina" were intended as reprises on the show's recurring themes (just like any great work of classical music). Sure, there were bold strokes in "Felina", but it's themes were riddled with somewhat mirror image callbacks throughout the earliest parts of the show.

I could go on and on; and that's the beautiful thing about a tremendous work of art; it's roots promote wonderful artistic growth and inspire beauty all around it.....which is the most ironic thing a show about a dying chemistry teacher turned meth dealer can do to those who enjoyed it. :)
 
KFIT said:
It had been mentioned on Reddit already that someone transcribed a number of the newspaper headlines from the papers Walt received during his time in NH. In them, there were a number of news stories about Heisenberg/Walter White and his family, as well as mention about his associate, Jesse Pinkman, who was "assumed on the run" by federal authorities.

Jesse's fingerprints were all over the meth lab and other areas of the Nazi's compound; but even the most basic forensic team would easily be able to deduce that:

1) Jesse was being enslaved to cook meth there, due to the elaborate cable rigging system
2) Jesse was being kept in a hole in the ground, as he rarely was ever afforded the ability to venture out of that area.

So, Walter wouldn't have been covering for Jesse in the sense of trying to deceive law enforcement that *he* was doing the cooking, not Jesse. It's more likely that Walter was simply taking ownership for the entire enterprises' existence, which led to Jesse being there and cooking for Jack's gang. So Walter merely was content going "down with the ship", even though in reality, he didn't physically BUILD this ship (aka, the Nazi Meth Lab); but it was essentially, all his creation.

As for Jesse, he is by no means getting off scot free from a legal standpoint; but from an spiritual standpoint, he's as free as he's ever been. He's a caged bird that's endured so much pain, anguish, and torture, that the mere concept of "happiness" is a LONG WAY OFF from ever finding him. At this point, the mere freedom of being released from being under someone else's control is cathartic for him; it was what he needed as a mechanism to make his transformation. What's so odd is, there are SO MANY LAYERS to Jesse's situation at the end, that you could write a whole damn thesis on it. As a viewer, at first you relief for him and a sense of joy that he's free. Then you're overtaken by dismay and dread that, a) he'll still be on the lam forever, b) he has no friends c) he has no financial werewithal to assist him in rebuilding his life. Once that all settles in, you're ironically filled with comfort too, knowing that, while he's been through a tremendous amount of pain and loss all this time, he's grown exponentially as a human being. You see Jesse as a capable, highly intelligent, compassionate person. He's always "gotten by" and survived on his guile before, but now he's developed the requisite life skills to know how to turn such a dour situation as his going forward, into something useful. He'll never escape his demons, and he won't ever clear his name, but there's hope that somewhere (Alaska, maybe?) a young, talented artist? wood craftsman? etc. will ply his trade, with a name no one's familiar with in a small town he's never been in before.

There are so few "happy" outcomes that could've come from a Breaking Bad finale; and anyone half-expecting a "feel good" ending clearly didn't grasp the over-arching concept of the show's moral bent. Conversely, those that criticized VG for closing the final chapter in an "all too clean and convenient" manner, are echoing their sentiments at the wrong stanza. In Gilligan's Magnum Opus, "Tohajiilee" & "Ozymandias" were the show's true crescendo moment. "Granite State" & "Felina" were intended as reprises on the show's recurring themes (just like any great work of classical music). Sure, there were bold strokes in "Felina", but it's themes were riddled with somewhat mirror image callbacks throughout the earliest parts of the show.

I could go on and on; and that's the beautiful thing about a tremendous work of art; it's roots promote wonderful artistic growth and inspire beauty all around it.....which is the most ironic thing a show about a dying chemistry teacher turned meth dealer can do to those who enjoyed it. :)
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Definitely a deeper analysis that I was making, but spot on all around. Thanks for taking the time to type all that.
 
KFIT said:
It had been mentioned on Reddit already that someone transcribed a number of the newspaper headlines from the papers Walt received during his time in NH. In them, there were a number of news stories about Heisenberg/Walter White and his family, as well as mention about his associate, Jesse Pinkman, who was "assumed on the run" by federal authorities.

Jesse's fingerprints were all over the meth lab and other areas of the Nazi's compound; but even the most basic forensic team would easily be able to deduce that:

1) Jesse was being enslaved to cook meth there, due to the elaborate cable rigging system
2) Jesse was being kept in a hole in the ground, as he rarely was ever afforded the ability to venture out of that area.
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Also the chains and bindings that clearly killed Todd would have Jesse's fingerprints and DNA all over them.
 
KFIT said:
As for Jesse, he is by no means getting off scot free from a legal standpoint; but from an spiritual standpoint, he's as free as he's ever been. He's a caged bird that's endured so much pain, anguish, and torture, that the mere concept of "happiness" is a LONG WAY OFF from ever finding him. At this point, the mere freedom of being released from being under someone else's control is cathartic for him; it was what he needed as a mechanism to make his transformation. What's so odd is, there are SO MANY LAYERS to Jesse's situation at the end, that you could write a whole damn thesis on it. As a viewer, at first you relief for him and a sense of joy that he's free. Then you're overtaken by dismay and dread that, a) he'll still be on the lam forever, b) he has no friends c) he has no financial werewithal to assist him in rebuilding his life. Once that all settles in, you're ironically filled with comfort too, knowing that, while he's been through a tremendous amount of pain and loss all this time, he's grown exponentially as a human being. You see Jesse as a capable, highly intelligent, compassionate person. He's always "gotten by" and survived on his guile before, but now he's developed the requisite life skills to know how to turn such a dour situation as his going forward, into something useful. He'll never escape his demons, and he won't ever clear his name, but there's hope that somewhere (Alaska, maybe?) a young, talented artist? wood craftsman? etc. will ply his trade, with a name no one's familiar with in a small town he's never been in before.
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My concern with Jesse's "freedom" is that he's now quite literally all alone in the world with only those demons to keep him company. Those same demons had him on the path to suicide before the FBI picked him up with the duffel bag of money. Now he's got the death of Andrea and the knowledge that Brock will grow up without a mother weighing down on him. That's some heavy ****. Yes, he's free but everything else in his life is ****ed. It's bleak and all it takes is a moment of weakness for an addict to revert, as we saw in ep 12 "Rabid Dog." I'd say the odds are high that Jesse will go back to using.

Damn. Now I'm depressed.
 
Kubrick said:
My concern with Jesse's "freedom" is that he's now quite literally all alone in the world with only those demons to keep him company. Those same demons had him on the path to suicide before the FBI picked him up with the duffel bag of money. Now he's got the death of Andrea and the knowledge that Brock will grow up without a mother weighing down on him. That's some heavy ****. Yes, he's free but everything else in his life is ****ed. It's bleak and all it takes is a moment of weakness for an addict to revert, as we saw in ep 12 "Rabid Dog." I'd say the odds are high that Jesse will go back to using.

Damn. Now I'm depressed.
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I dunno. I didn't get that impression. I get the impression he wants done with that world. He is an addict, so there's always going to be a danger there, but he was this close to letting Robert Forster disappear his ass to go start a new life and I (like to) think that that's what he'll do now. Make a fresh start as best he can.
 
adgy-san said:
I dunno. I didn't get that impression. I get the impression he wants done with that world. He is an addict, so there's always going to be a danger there, but he was this close to letting Robert Forster disappear his ass to go start a new life and I (like to) think that that's what he'll do now. Make a fresh start as best he can.
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Absolutely! And the only thing that stopped him was the thought of Brock being poisoned by Mr. White. Jesse couldn't control himself once he figured it out. He threw away his best shot at absolute freedom because of the rage he felt. Now maybe that rage has been exercised because Mr. White is dead but Jesse's always been one to carry guilt like an anchor around his neck. So I highly doubt that he will ever stop hating Mr. White. It really doesn't matter that he knows he's dead. Walt, just like the guilt of Andrea and Jane's deaths, will haunt him forever.
 
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haha, being as i'm a fan of early 90s emo, i died when i saw this.
 
Kubrick said:
My concern with Jesse's "freedom" is that he's now quite literally all alone in the world with only those demons to keep him company. Those same demons had him on the path to suicide before the FBI picked him up with the duffel bag of money. Now he's got the death of Andrea and the knowledge that Brock will grow up without a mother weighing down on him. That's some heavy ****. Yes, he's free but everything else in his life is ****ed. It's bleak and all it takes is a moment of weakness for an addict to revert, as we saw in ep 12 "Rabid Dog." I'd say the odds are high that Jesse will go back to using.

Damn. Now I'm depressed.
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It's OK. He doesn't actually exist.
 
Hell on Wheels season 3 marathon followed by the season finale is tomorrow. Hope the swede gets whats comin to him.
 
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