COFFEE TALK

Chip, you and I may be the worst bloggers ever.  We need to stop talking amongst ourselves and actually post some of our discussions, don’t you think?  I’ve gone back through some of our emails discussing recent developments on Breaking Bad and posted a few here.  We really need to get out of this slump, though.


AFTER “KAFKAESQUE” (S3, Ep 9)
Holly said:
Have we ever discussed that hermanos means brothers?

Do you think Walt would kill Jesse? Or try to? He's a real cold blooded bastard anymore.

That major puss Ted Beneke is back. But still a bridesmaid, not a bride. Bless his embezzling little heart.

The nail salon.....that was hilarious!

So I guess the war's on like Donkey Kong. About damn time. Walt definitely proved himself a worthy adversary in figuring all that out.

Your thoughts and observations?

Chip said:
I think Walt would entertain thoughts of killing Jesse, but I don't know if he could go through with it. Despite everything, they have a bond. I liked Jesse's development early in the season, but now he seems to be headed back to dipshitdom.

Yes, I was thinking about the puss Ted today. I think I am just jealous. I would not mind warm bathroom floors and spending time with Skyler.

The nail salon was kind of funny. I thought the scene setting up the recovering addicts to want Blue Sky was even funnier.

Overall, I have to say I just did not get into this episode very much. They cannot all have the dramatic audacity of "IFT" or the violent intensity of "One Minute" but this was a particularly slow episode. I can see they are setting some things up, but in the meantime...yawn. It was very Kafkaesque. By that I mean I was as bored watching this as I was learning about Kafka. Literary references alone cannot carry a show. Even Mad Men would get tedious without an occasional office lawn mower incident.

Still, just like a bad day of golf is better than a good day at work, a bad "Bad" is better than just about anything else on TV at the moment.

What was up with Walt's "suicide" attempt in the car? That did not ring true to me.

Did you find Walt's elementary deduction that Brother Chicken was the anonymous caller unsatisfying? Is it even true? He did not exactly confess...just not object.


THEN, AFTER “FLY” (S3, Ep. 10)
Holly said:
Hello McFly!!!!

Chip, will you ever look at a housefly the same way again? Last Sunday's Breaking Bad creeped (crept?) me out. Jesse and Walt locked in that tense menage-a-fly for the better part of an hour was excruciating. I was so worn out about half-way through that I started cheering for the fly. By the time it was over, I had to indulge myself in a Keeping Up with the Kardashians marathon just so I wouldn't feel like I wasted my evening watching TV.

So what was going on here, anyway? Walt was so fanatical about ridding the mega-lab of the "contaminant" that I almost believed his speech to Jesse about the two of them ending up pushing daisies over the fly in the ointment, er, lab. Somehow though, Jesse nailed it (again) with his statement that they cook poison for people who willingly ingest it. Gus seems like a reasonable sort of sociopath - I can't help but think he'd agree with Jesse on this one. So has Walt really lost it? I'm gonna go with the obvious answer - yes.  What say you? Has our beloved Breaking Bad actually fallen so far as to be predictable?

Okay, there were a few things I liked about the episode. The first was Walt's shoe dangling from the ceiling. The second was the lightbulb shower falling from aforementioned ceiling on Mr. Lost-His-Marbles. Then there was Walt locking Jesse out of the lab, leading to the scene where Jesse finds the biggest, baddest hammer on the tool shelf (who does THAT remind you of?) and using it to shut down power to the lab. Priceless. But my favorite had to be the scene where Walt was starting to go under from the roofie-laced coffee and almost confessed to killing Jane, Jesse all the while teetering on the world's most precariously placed ladder to kill a damn fly. Okay, so maybe I did like this episode a little.

What have we learned this week? Hmmm.....(1) Walt's scared shitless of Gus, his recent tough-guy act at the meeting with Gus notwithstanding. (2) Jesse is not going to be Walt's bitch, yo. (3) Walt knows Jesse is skimming. Yikes, this isn't going to end well. (4) We haven't seen the last of Jane's dad, otherwise why do mentions of him keep popping up along the way? Or did he die?  I can't remember now....

And speaking of characters who aren't getting face time on camera, who besides me thinks we haven't seen the last of Gale the eager beaver lab assistant? He's a loose cannon and a lab tech scorned. I can't wait to see where he turns up next.

And speaking of peeps on the wrong side of the law who know their chemistry....Chip, to you have any current theories on who the "outside help" was who helped Gus set up the Taj Ma-lab? I was intrigued a few weeks ago by a friend's suggestion that it might have been Elliott, but now I'm wondering about your favorite alleged dirty lawman the sheriff. Is he capable of understanding how to set up a state-of-the-art meth lab so impressive that even Walt acknowledged its superiority? My brain says no, but my gut says.....maybe. I want to believe this show is still unpredictable.

So Chip, you have any predictions or observations for me to poke holes in? You know I'm here for you.

Peace, Holly

Chip said:
Dearest Holly,
My experience kind of echoes yours. What I thought was going to be a momentary diversion turned into an episode long quest. I used the word "quest" on purpose because for some reason I had Don Quixote come to mind. I think it may have been the sight of Walt and his homemade swatter/lance. It was not as engaging as many episodes have been, but then I did find many indelible images stuck in my head. Walt clearly has some OCD tendencies as evidenced by his meticulous shearing off the bread crust of his peanut butter sandwiches. This seems to take things to a whole new level. Jesse is justifiably concerned that Walt has lost his marbles.

I find it touching that while Jesse thinks the quest is pointless or mad, he still humors Walt. Before it is over, he seems all in for the journey. You asked me once if I thought Walt could hurt Jesse. I still do not know because their is a bond there in spite of themselves. However, I found myself clearly thinking that Jesse would lose his mind on Walt if he found out his complicity in  Jane's death.

To directly answer some of your questions...

I think you want me to say the hammer scene reminded me of the ax wielding cousins, but it honestly reminded me of Bruce Willis in Pulp Fiction when he makes a weapon selection.

I think Gale will make his stormy return by being the one who drops the dime on Jesse's skimming. You are right, this will not end well.

I am not sure Gus needs any help. He has got the cash, so he would just have to pay Gale to set it up.
That's all I got for you now.

Chip

AND AFTER SPENDING TOO MUCH TIME READING STORIES ABOUT STUPID CRIMINALS
Chip said:
There was a story on the news this morning about a couple of idjits trying to steal an ATM machine from a convenience store. Survellience cameras recorded how as they were wheeling it out, one tripped and the machine landed on him! Isn't that a hoot?

Holly said:
They must not have cable.