So why do you think Gus killed the mexican guy?

Because he messed up and was seen? Because he was going to let Walt and Jesse cook and he didn't need someone else knowing how to do it? Do you think he was ever going to kill Walt or Jesse in the first place or do you think the mexican guy was the target all along?

Honestly, I liked the intro but found the overall episode less than what I wanted but I suspect that is only a result of the long wait. I will say, once I saw the Lab Notes book, there was an immediate "Oh shit" by those who were in the room.

7/21/2011 9:06:55 AM

i don't think that we can assume gus knows that guy was seen. mexican guy admited to mike that he'd been seen but that was way before gus arrived.

gus probably had a few reasons, but i think what jesse said was true. he did it to show how ruthless he can be, and partly out of frustration since he really can't kill walt or jesse now.

7/21/2011 10:08:09 AM

I think we can assume that Gus knew the mexican had been seen. Odds are that Mike told him on the phone.

7/21/2011 10:19:07 AM

I'm glad this is back on.

7/21/2011 11:49:50 AM

jesse said why gus killed the dude at the end..."we're on the same page...i can't kill you, but im going to make you wish i could." it was a message to them both. the mexican was expendable, but i don't think he did anything himself to get killed.

7/21/2011 1:19:14 PM

jesse's opinion on the matter doesn't make it the actual reason

im on board w/ the "he was seen" being the main reason, and it was just convenient to show them how little regard he had for taking a life if he wanted to do so

7/21/2011 1:25:47 PM

he also didn't sweep the apartment (he couldn't, but i doubt Gus cared about that). now the Lab Notes are in play.

maybe it also has something to do with how he and Mike bungled the situation at the end of season 3, when Walt arranged for Jesse to kill Gail. Victor and Mike did not handle it right, but i don't think Gus would kill Mike because he is so valuable as muscle/private investigator. Victor was expendable. being seen, not doing a sweep, and not killing Walt probably all had something to do with it.

7/21/2011 1:33:23 PM

yeah, what ^^ and ^ said...i think there were a few reasons: because Victor was seen AND because he no longer really had a use for Victor and wanted to send a message to Walt and Jesse. Plus, I think Gus was pissed at Victor and Mike for letting Walt call Jesse, which resulted in Gale's murder and fucked up their plans royally (and even MORE pissed at Victor for not doing a sweep at the scene).

Also, did anyone take that scene at the diner to mean that Jesse is having some sort of psychotic break? The way he phrased that, saying that Gus is trying to make them wish they were dead if he can't kill them, makes it sound like Jesse has some sort of death wish. I think Jesse is really reeling from having to murder Gale.

[Edited on July 21, 2011 at 1:35 PM. Reason : s]

[Edited on July 21, 2011 at 1:36 PM. Reason : s]

7/21/2011 1:35:18 PM

^Pretty much what he said.

I'm curious where this plot line goes.. seems like they (the writers) can't do more than about 1 season off this before they have to kill Gus. How long can Walter work for a guy who's going to look to replace him (and kill him)

[Edited on July 21, 2011 at 3:25 PM. Reason : .]

7/21/2011 3:25:02 PM

In the episode, there was a scene of Gus explaining how he tested that other meth sample and it was 99% pure, whereas what he could make was only 97% pure.

Was that something I forgot from the last season, or is that something new?

7/21/2011 10:59:08 PM

i think all we knew before this season was that Walt's stuff was the shit compared to everything else

all the details on comparing Gus meth before and after Walt (at least to me) were somewhat new, which is why they provided that flashback I guess

7/21/2011 11:01:11 PM

they provided the flashback to foreshadow the lab notes and to explain why Gus even bothered with Walt when he already had Gale.

7/21/2011 11:34:33 PM

ah ok makes sense now. i was just kind of surprised walt's was that much superior to what gale could do.

7/22/2011 1:24:43 AM

Quote :

"they provided the flashback to foreshadow the lab notes and to explain why Gus even bothered with Walt when he already had Gale."

And to foreshadow the box cutter.

7/22/2011 8:26:38 AM

I wonder why they talked about the blue color

7/22/2011 8:36:48 AM

blue ones taste different than other colors, like M&M's

7/22/2011 4:43:54 PM

Because the meth was known as 'Blue Sky' and was distinctive, perhaps they were going to try to replace it?

7/22/2011 4:47:12 PM

ya they wanted to copy the color because it had gotten so much street cred that people were asking for it instead of their product, so they wanted to turn it blue and kinda sneak it in the back door

7/22/2011 4:50:22 PM

Yeah, just the way he was all "I don't know how to account for the blue color" or whatnot seemed to make it a future plot point, but maybe we're expecting too much foreshadowing out of that scene

7/22/2011 5:25:38 PM

There is one thing that is not quite adding up for me:

That flashback scene seemed to be implying that Gale convinced Gus to track down Walt so that Walt could teach Gale how to make the most pure product. Here's where I'm a little confused: Wasn't Walt actually the one that asked Saul if he knew of someone that could peddle their meth (after Jesse's buds--Badger, Skinny Pete, and Combo--failed miserably), which resulted in Saul arranging a meeting with Gus for Walter? In other words, isn't Walt the one who sought out Gus instead of vice versa? Or am I misremembering that/missing something? Or maybe it's just coincidental and played into Gus' ultimate decision to hire Walt?

7/22/2011 6:36:59 PM

I seem to remember Gus and Walter having contact already and Gus deciding not to work with him, which was the outcome of Saul setting that up. I may be wrong, but it sounded like Gale convincing Gus to work with Walt came after that.

It's been a while since I saw most of season 3 though. That's my best recollection.

7/22/2011 7:34:08 PM

I'm pretty sure that is how it happened

7/22/2011 8:08:08 PM

that makes sense

gus decided not to work with walter after their first visit because jesse was high (thus him telling gale that he doesn't consider the man behind the blue meth to be a professional), so I guess the sequence of events goes:

gus and walt's first visit>gus finding gale because he doesn't want to work with walt/jesse>flashback scene in which gale expresses a desire to work with the man behind the blue meth (walt)>gus deciding to work with walt

7/22/2011 8:30:12 PM

Hank's trying to find out what makes the meth blue

can't get up to shit himself but he's going to figure out Heisenberg


that violent scene warning was kind of annoying before Gus sliced the throat. It came just after Grimes smashed a zombie's face in with a rock too

[Edited on July 23, 2011 at 9:42 AM. Reason : .]

7/23/2011 9:29:57 AM

what happened? I watched online and didn't see anything like that

7/23/2011 12:11:21 PM

right after that Walking Dead preview, a warning came up that extreme violent scenes were coming up so you knew somebody was about to get owned.

7/23/2011 12:36:54 PM

^Well, it didn't exactly say they were "coming up." It was just a general warning, so it could've just been a warning for the show in general, but it definitely seemed fishy coming in the middle of the show and did make me suspect that somebody was about to get fucked up.

And yeah, I wasn't sure what the point was of showing Hank buying a crystal (which he's apparently been doing according to Marie), but I figured it had something to do with Heisenberg and/or the blue meth.

7/23/2011 1:25:43 PM

did anyone notice that the very first time we saw Walt in the new season it was very dark, the lighting was dark, I cant remember off of the top of my head exactly (i think he was sitting) what it was like, but i remember thinking... WOW, this is the first image of the main character we see for the season, very dark, maybe showing how this season he goes off the deep end

7/23/2011 1:30:43 PM

they specified that it was coming in the next segment, so you knew it was going to be between that commercial break and the next. so it made it fairly obvious what was going to happen. while i was watching it, i figured there was about a 99% chance of it being victor and MAYBE a 1% chance it could be jesse.

7/23/2011 1:34:16 PM

i don't recall it specifying that it would come in the next segment, but i watched it on On Demand, so maybe that was slightly different from how they originally aired it.

also, ^^ you don't think he "went off the deep end" at some point during last season? i guess it depends on how you define going off the deep end; i still don't think he's an inherently villainous guy, but at this point, he seems to be willing to take whatever measures he needs to to survive. towards the end of last season, he started talking more and more like a druglord (to me, anyway) and less like the regular Joe he was at the beginning of the series, if that makes any sense.

anyway, I've been telling everybody I know who watches this show: I think there is a very, very good chance that either Jesse or Walt dies by the end of this season. It just seems to be headed in that direction to me. I personally think it'll be Jesse because if Walt is killed, Jesse will probably die shortly thereafter, and then they will pretty much not have a show.

[Edited on July 23, 2011 at 1:49 PM. Reason : s]

7/23/2011 1:42:19 PM

oh yeah, sunday night ftw

7/24/2011 9:33:08 PM

Episode was kinda meh
Favorite parts were the roomba point of view and the Saul commercial

7/24/2011 11:52:58 PM

^agree

but i guess in the early stages of a season, you have to expect that they are setting up plot lines for the entire season

i love the car wash owner's eyebrows...can't remember what Saul calls him in Season 3, but i remember laughing hysterically

7/25/2011 9:53:17 PM

I really liked the episode...lots of great shots including the aforementioned roomba's eye view and the low angle shot of the new meth courrier guy through the grates of the walkway. Plus Jim Beaver selling Walt a gun at the beginning was priceless for a Deadwood fan.

7/25/2011 11:24:25 PM

My favorite part was the car wash guy owning Walter's dumb cunt of a wife

Wtf at Hank's obsession with minerals. Blue sky I guess? And why is he so angry at his wife? I must've forgotten that part from last season, but I remember he resented her for getting him out of the hospital.

7/25/2011 11:56:27 PM

I hope Skinny Pete and Badger never get killed off. Their coke fueled debate over which zombie game is better than Left 4 Dead was gold. "At least they run a respectable 40!"

7/26/2011 12:09:55 AM

Quote :

"My favorite part was the car wash guy owning Walter's dumb cunt of a wife"

yes, that was awesome.

7/26/2011 8:05:39 AM

Jesse's descent is sad to watch.

8/1/2011 6:29:09 AM

^ Yeah it is. How is Gus/Mike not on this? Pinkman's house is begging to get raided.

8/1/2011 8:52:10 AM

i'm pretty sure they are on it...they sent Victor's replacement to watch the house. i believe it was toward the end, you saw him in his car surveilling the house. plus earlier, you got a shot from someone's perspective of Jesse coming home to his drug den.

8/1/2011 10:20:14 AM

Quote :

"Tense negotiations are underway between the cable network AMC and Sony Television, producer of "Breaking Bad," over a deal for a fifth and probably final season of the critically acclaimed drama. Talks seemed to reach an impasse last week when Sony sent feelers to at least three other cable networks about taking "Breaking Bad" should an agreement with AMC fall through, said two people with knowledge of the matter who requested anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the talks. To be sure, negotiations between networks and producers are often heated. As shows age, they become more expensive as actors' and producers' paychecks get bigger with success. Both sides have in dictated that they hope to reach a pact that will keep "Breaking Bad" on AMC. Discussions grew heated when AMC tried to convince the makers of of the show that its fifth season run only six to eight episodes instead of the typical 13. That was rejected by the creative forces behind the show, which led them to approach other outlets. "Breaking Bad" is not the only show AMC is looking to trim costs on. "The Walking Dead," which became a big hit for the network, is having its per-episode budget cut by about $250,000. Last week the show's executive producer Frank Darabont left, and there is speculation that the budget cuts were the reason. People close to AMC deny that was the case. AMC's push to lower costs on "Breaking Bad" and "The Walking Dead" comes as the price of its signature hit "Mad Men" is expected to go up: "Mad Men" creator Matt Weiner landed a lucrative new deal to stay with the program for at least two new seasons. In the unlikely event that "Breaking Bad" does move to another channel, the producers would probably have to agree to make additional seasons. It would be highly unusual for a network to commit to just one season of a show it acquires from another network. AMC is a unit of AMC Networks, which went public earlier this summer."

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/entertainmentnewsbuzz/2011/08/breaking-bad-amc-sony.html

8/1/2011 8:30:16 PM

So Skyler is mad at Walt for buying expensive champagne because they're supposed to be poor...

How are they going to explain spending 800k on a car wash? Are they taking out a loan to buy it? Are we supposed to believe a bank would give them a 800k loan?

[Edited on August 2, 2011 at 6:59 PM. Reason : .]

8/2/2011 6:59:19 PM

^i was wondering the same thing

8/2/2011 8:53:55 PM

^^ i think that's in reference to people that may know them in town and know walt doesn't have a job. I think the car wash will be done almost like a silent owner and let saul handle the money.

8/3/2011 4:04:26 PM

But her problem with the nail salon was that it wouldn't make sense for them to own that but Walt has experience at the car wash and "knows the business." Plus she'll be working there

8/3/2011 5:58:38 PM

Damn, you guys are analyzing that shit. I just chalked it up to female logic.

8/3/2011 9:52:52 PM

yeah they never really made it clear how he has the funds to invest in any sort of business.

another slow episode full of plot building though. I'm not interested at all in Hank's bullshit wife.

8/3/2011 11:15:37 PM

they will cover it next episode

8/4/2011 8:24:09 AM

okay well, reading around on various reviews/comments, somebody did point out how they asked Saul about getting fake gambling tickets made up so they could have a paper trail for Walt's "winnings" so I guess that'll be their explanation. But if they're openly using that to spend 800k, Skyler's just being a bitch making a big deal about the champagne

basically I hate Skyler

8/4/2011 8:35:50 AM

I'll be mad if they get back together.

8/4/2011 10:58:25 AM