Before I pimp everyone else’s content, let me pimp our own: This is my instant take for last night’s episode, and this is Jim’s. About the only thing we agree on is that this episode of Breaking Bad was terrific. I think it rates a notch below 401/”Box Cutter” for “minds blown per hour”, but only just.
You know I’m going to pimp Alan Sepinwall. He is a must read for Breaking Bad to me. Not only that, he has probably the most active comment thread on the net with a decent signal to noise ratio.
You also know Melissa Maerz is getting a nod, but the usual caveat applies with her; she can get a little spoilery with her analysis. Just found out last week that she’s married to Chuck Klosterman, and my first thought was “of course she is.” I’d love to be a fly on the wall during their dinner conversations. Did that sound weird? Anyway, she’s quickly becoming my favorite recapper, because her analysis borders on literary. Take this week’s, where she opens with applying the Kelly criterion mentioned in passing by Walt to frame the entire episode with a gambling metaphor… ““The final decision,” she says, “is whether or not to hit or to stand.” Isn’t that exactly what Walt’s doing with Gus? The fact that he tells Skyler he wants to hit—and then loses the game—doesn’t bode well for his chances against the big boss.” So jealous! And she really draws some interesting parallels between Breaking Bad and the French Connection, also referenced last night.
I’m linking to this recap by Keith McDuffee from CliqueClack largely for a) his Gale love, and b) his lengthy take on Mike. I can’t get enough of Mike.
One last recap over at the LA Times. I think this might be hitting the nail on the head for a lot of viewers frustrations with Skyler. ” It was easy to assume that the act of getting involved in the criminal life together would bond Walt and Skyler more tightly, but it, instead, seems to have made her just another imposition on him getting to live the free and powerful life he’d dreamed of at the height of his Heisenberg persona. He’s boxed in at work; now, he’s boxed in in his major relationship, too.” The people that seem most outraged by Skyler’s controll issues are the very people that want Walt to be Tony Montona. Instead, they’re getting this. I’m looking at you, Jim. 😀
I like this piece from Rob Sheffield at Rolling Stone, asking what Breaking Bad says about work ethic, fashion sense, and the “American Dream.” Personally, I don’t buy most of it, and frankly I think Rob here hasn’t seen a lot of Breaking Bad or else has seen it but didn’t pay much attention to it, BUT! I did find one thing thought provoking, is his notice that Gus and Walt share the same need to work, to provide. Remember Gus’s advice to Walt last season? “A man provides. And he does it even when he’s not appreciated, or respected, or even loved. He simply bears up and he does it. Because he’s a man.”
The Alibi ends up their fantastic week of uniquely local Breaking Bad coverage with Scott Adam’s Q&A with Vince Gilligan. What would you think of a sequel to Breaking Bad featuring Jesse? Gilligan: “I think Jesse Pinkman, played by Aaron Paul, probably could probably carry his own show… I’m not saying we’re heading down that path. Now that we talk about it, it’s definitely a new thought to me, but an interesting one at that. You never know what the future will hold.” Depending on how BB finishes, I could get on board with that.
AMC interviews Anna “Skyler White” Gunn. Shockingly, they didn’t ask “why have you gotten so fat?” or “why are you such a horrid bitch?” You know, what’s really on the fans minds.
Holy crap, have you seen this picture of Walt Jr.?! So many possibilities. To me, it looks like it might be a fake, not in the photoshop sense, but in the good old fashioned makeup and practical FX sense. But either way, could this mean Walt goes back to chemo, and Jr. is showing solidarity? Was this for a joke on Bryan Cranston, and has nothing to do with the show? Is the Breaking Bad team playing mind games with us? What do you think?
My buddy Jim is all over this news of Bryan Cranston in talks for “a small but flashy” role in World War Z. He’s the biggest zombie fan I know, one of the biggest Cranston fans I know, which has got to make him the world’s biggest Bryan Cranston in a Zombie film fan, right?
Some good news on the AMC/Sony negotiation front! “Three people familiar with the negotiations between AMC and Sony said that the tone of the talks had improved and that they were more optimistic that a deal would be reached.”
As on most Mondays, there is lots more. And if you still can’t get enough, be sure to follow our Twitter account @BreakGood, as Jim posts stuff for you all day, every day. Email us your thoughts about the show, any links or news we might have missed, or any original takes you want to get out of your system. Tonight, we cast! We’ll use as much feedback as we can by the time we start casting, which is usually about 7pm EST. I expect the cast to be up late tonight. See you then!