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Post by BaneTheDestroyer on Jan 12, 2014 21:23:58 GMT -5
It is an excellent show.
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Post by miketheratguy on Jan 12, 2014 21:25:54 GMT -5
I'm glad that I finally listened to what seemed to be the universal hype on this one. Even though I'd sat down and read the synopsis of the whole show and remembered most of the major bullet points, there were several that I'd forgotten and the ones that I didn't recall felt surprising. The ones that I did remember were still done so well that they came across about as compellingly as I think they possibly could have. There was one single episode that I didn't like (the one with the fly in the lab, which I looked up to see whether it was just me that disliked it and which I was amused to see described on Wikipedia as the most famously polarizing episode of the series) and I think that the show was hitting such a narrative peak by the last episode that I would have liked to see some things given just a bit more time to unfold {(COMPLETE SERIES-SPOILING SPOILER)}(For example I would like to have seen Walter and his son at least have a face to face conversation and I wish that Jesse had been given more time to process the killing of his two girlfriends, but more than anything I wish that he and Walter would have had one last, good conversation to wrap everything up and part on somewhat more respectful terms to acknowledge their history together) but that takes nothing away from the fact that it was a completely brilliant show and still ended in a really satisfying way. |
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Post by BaneTheDestroyer on Jan 12, 2014 21:28:46 GMT -5
I loved the fly in the lab episode, lol.
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Post by miketheratguy on Jan 12, 2014 21:38:56 GMT -5
I didn't hate it but I can distinctly isolate that episode as the one that I didn't greatly enjoy. Since we're talking specifically about the show again and since people shouldn't be reading this far into the topic if they don't want to see spoilers, I'll just go ahead and discuss it openly. Anyone not wanting to have the show spoiled should stop reading this thread now, lol.
The reason why I didn't like it is that it felt as if it added nothing to the show, it was just a filler episode. I'm fine with the fact that the whole thing took place in Gus' lab, this was a "bottle show" and those need to happen sometimes. I thought the acting was good, as always. But it took forever to say basically nothing. Probably ten minutes are spent screwing around and chasing the fly before the plot starts to really go anywhere and even then it's basically just "So Jesse, here's my crazy philosophy about life and the cleanliness of this lab" and "Mr. White, are you okay?" That's really it. Only in the last few minutes of the episode, when Walter is finally drugged up and showing some emotion about what he's done in the past (yet stopping short of coming clean about Jane) does it finally seem as if the episode actually has a point.
It became a little more frustrating in retrospect when I saw that, aside from the brief moment of agony that Jesse experienced when confronted with the truth of Jane's death near the end of the series, it was never brought up again or resolved in any way. The episode could have been more important in the grand scheme of things if, as I said in the spoiler above, the show had spent more time on Jesse's processing of this information and how Walter had almost given it to him back in the lab. Since that didn't happen the fly episode feels like basically the one episode of the show that could be skipped completely without really changing a whole lot.
What did you think? Why did you love it?
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Post by BaneTheDestroyer on Jan 12, 2014 21:41:45 GMT -5
I didn't hate it but I can distinctly isolate that episode as the one that I didn't greatly enjoy. Since we're talking specifically about the show again and since people shouldn't be reading this far into the topic if they don't want to see spoilers, I'll just go ahead and discuss it openly. Anyone not wanting to have the show spoiled should stop reading this thread now, lol.The reason why I didn't like it is that it felt as if it added nothing to the show, it was just a filler episode. I'm fine with the fact that the whole thing took place in Gus' lab, this was a "bottle show" and those need to happen sometimes. I thought the acting was good, as always. But it took forever to say basically nothing. Probably ten minutes are spent screwing around and chasing the fly before the plot starts to really go anywhere and even then it's basically just "So Jesse, here's my crazy philosophy about life and the cleanliness of this lab" and "Mr. White, are you okay?" That's really it. Only in the last few minutes of the episode, when Walter is finally drugged up and showing some emotion about what he's done in the past (yet stopping short of coming clean about Jane) does it finally seem as if the episode actually has a point. It became a little more frustrating in retrospect when I saw that, aside from the brief moment of agony that Jesse experienced when confronted with the truth of Jane's death near the end of the series, it was never brought up again or resolved in any way. The episode could have been more important in the grand scheme of things if, as I said in the spoiler above, the show had spent more time on Jesse's processing of this information and how Walter had almost given it to him back in the lab. Since that didn't happen the fly episode feels like basically the one episode of the show that could be skipped completely without really changing a whole lot. What did you think? Why did you love it? Basically, I loved it because it was the first episode I watched and it got me into the show. I liked the kind of heat the two had between each other and how Walter was so intent on making sure the meth was perfect. The fact that he wasn't even willing to have a fly be in the same room. But, yeah...mainly because it's the episode that got me into the show. |
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Post by miketheratguy on Jan 12, 2014 22:03:40 GMT -5
Ah. Well you've got your own reasons and I can appreciate that, I just don't understand why anyone would really dig it from a critical narrative perspective but it seems that there are many who do.
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Post by wildknight on Jan 12, 2014 22:18:08 GMT -5
My wife didn't like the fly episode either. It sticks out because its the only one she specifically said she didn't like.
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Post by miketheratguy on Jan 13, 2014 15:28:49 GMT -5
Yep, after posting about it last night I went and looked up some episode reviews just to see what other people thought and that one made many people's top ten lists- which were berated mercilessly by other people who kept saying "WTF the fly episode!?"
What did you think about it?
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Post by wildknight on Jan 13, 2014 16:03:35 GMT -5
I have a feeling that I napped through the middle or something, because I remember distinctly him being distracted by "the fly" but my only real impression of the episode at all is that it was bizarre that he seemed so out of it in that episode but considerably more lucid from then after.
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Post by miketheratguy on Jan 13, 2014 17:23:33 GMT -5
That's pretty much it. He's in full control of his faculties in the bookending episodes yet in this one Walt is aloof and oddly obsessed. The entirety of the episode is literally his single-minded quest to kill the fly because of contamination concerns, with a little bit of philosophy and introspection over some recent deeds a few minutes before things wrap up. That last bit IS a little interesting but it could have been included in any other episode, there's pretty much no other forward momentum of any kind. If this episode was actually left out of the dvd new fans would never know the difference.
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muta75
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Post by muta75 on Jan 15, 2014 19:23:18 GMT -5
i liked the fly episode, because Walt has very little (if any) control over the direction of his life. his work in the lab was the one thing he has control of, so it must be perfect. it must be his way.
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Post by miketheratguy on Jan 15, 2014 21:24:13 GMT -5
That's a perfectly acceptable and interesting concept, I just don't really understand why it needed to be stretched for 45 minutes.
It wasn't a terrible episode, I can't honestly say that any of the show's 62 episodes were. I just found it to be the lowest point, the least interesting. Sadly Hank's recuperation / Jesse's endless house party phase came not long afterward and continued to keep the show from hitting its highest potential, but fortunately this general epoch (which, interestingly, came pretty much right in the middle of the show's run) didn't last very long. Certainly not enough to stop me from considering Breaking Bad one of my top five most beloved shows of all time.
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Gmensox007
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Post by Gmensox007 on Jan 15, 2014 21:35:25 GMT -5
Bryan Cranston = greatest television actor of this generation
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Post by SoonDragon67 on Jan 15, 2014 21:38:32 GMT -5
Bryan Cranston = greatest television actor of this generation He's 57 so he technically counts as the last generation. |
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Post by wildknight on Jan 15, 2014 21:58:46 GMT -5
Cranston may be Luthor in the new Superman movie. Which will be a HUGE mistake.
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Post by Gmensox007 on Jan 15, 2014 22:02:02 GMT -5
Cranston may be Luthor in the new Superman movie. Which will be a HUGE mistake. Sounds like a decent idea to me..........
What is your problem with it.......oh wise one.......
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Post by wildknight on Jan 15, 2014 22:04:12 GMT -5
Cranston may be Luthor in the new Superman movie. Which will be a HUGE mistake. Sounds like a decent idea to me..........
What is your problem with it.......oh wise one.......
Cranston is a good actor, but not every good actor is right for every role. Luthor is more than just a bald guy. Cranston is soft-spoken and timid... that's why it worked so well when he broke out of that and became bold and/or intimidating as Heisenberg. If he doesn't have that shell to break out of, his "scary guy" thing isn't nearly as strong, and Luthor needs to be a man of gravitas, a guy who fills up a room with his presence. |
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Post by miketheratguy on Jan 15, 2014 22:06:26 GMT -5
Yeah I can see that too. I thought he was perfect for Walter White / Heisenberg, as discussed earlier, but I don't think every actor can pull off every part. It would be an inspired casting choice but I can't help thinking that the idea simply came about because look! Cranston is bald.
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Post by wildknight on Jan 15, 2014 22:07:53 GMT -5
They already tried the whole "this guy is a great actor, CLEARLY he'll make a good Luthor!" thing in Superman Returns. I think everyone who cares about Superman as a character in any way would agree that as good of an actor as Spacey is... his Luthor was shit.
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Post by miketheratguy on Jan 15, 2014 22:21:15 GMT -5
Yeah I knew where you'd be going about three words into that last post there. I remember Roger Ebert saying something akin to "When Kevin Spacey even looks bored, he has failed".
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