As a The Wire geek, Gus is above Stringer, but below Marlo Stanfield and Clay Davis. Right now.

Internet theories seem to be that Walt approaches Mike about taking Gus out and taking the entire operation over. It would seem to be a plot consistent with Walt's learning curve so far, season-to-season.

E2 S4 in a few minutes, fuckers! The teasers seem to bear out the theory that Walt is gonna try to align with Mike ag'in Gus...

Edit: Pretty slow-moving episode, I had my sights set too high for this show I think

LOL.

Yeah, like that ep didn't move things along or anything. Set your sights lower.

Perhaps your reaction would be noteworthy if a substantial portion of the show's fans didn't agree with me, but setting my expectations lower is a good idea nonetheless.

I don't think Mike is taking Jesse to the desert to kill him. I think he is going have Jesse help him bury the two bodies of the guys Mike killed from the shoot out in the Los Pollos truck. Plus, he's going to have a man to man talk with him and tell he needs to get act together or this will be his final chance.

Yeah there's no way one of the main characters is getting bumped this early in the biggest season yet.
I moaned about the last two episodes being kind of slow but that's par for the course in terms of where episodes sit within seasons. It'll ramp up as we go along. (and I'd like to ramp up Hank's wife if you know what I mean! )

Just finished 3 so studiously avoiding the spoilers on page 2 but a few thoughts:

Wow, that got really dark and exciting towards the end.

'Unrealistic' elements of Breaking Bad - I dig it, it doesn't set out to be a gritty realistic drama, part of the appeal is the unreal feeling that comes from the juxtaposition of Walt's humdrum life and the world he gets involved in, and the plane crash and psychotic Mexican hitmen are just an extension of that.

Walt and Jesse - I think we're supposed to see a reluctant father/teacher - son/student relationship developing. It's a 'good guy' aspect that balances Walt out as he gets mired ever deeper in vice. Then there's the other factors - at first they are linked by business, Walt (wisely) is very hesitant to trust Gus' guys and at least knows Jesse - he might fuck up but he's unlikely to stab him in the back. Add in Walt's guilt at bringing Jesse down and being complicit in the death of his lady and there's a pretty strong bond.
He replaces Gale with Jesse to soothe his controlling ego, having a peer in the lab bums him out. He may also already be anticipating the danger of having someone who could run the show on their own in competition.

As for Jesse and his friend's killer's brother meeting up - it's a small town and they move in a similar circle, so why shouldn't they meet?

Anyway I have to let my lady catch up with the end of the series, and I shall look forward to series 4.

We're halfway thru this season and I think it's the best one yet. No extraordinary leaps or cheap thrills/teasers like the plane crash foreshadowing in Season 2 or the twins in Season 3. The staff have either stepped up their game or hired better writers/consultants (most likely, with the added accolades/$$$ brought about the last couple of years).

They've shown Walt as being at a near suicidal level in his daily endevours, but Jesse going from oblivious junkie to Mike's lackey over the span of a couple of shows is a reach. It also doesn't make sense that Walt would openly conspire to kill Gus off in Saul's office and Jesse's residence, when he has to know both places are bugged to the hilt. That is a pretty big plot-hole right there. Walt knows/thinks he is a deadman in this game, but buying Skyler time while he builds his wealth would seem to be a priority for him.

Pretty good to see Hank back at it. Pretty soon it's gonna be Gus or Hank. It's looking like Hank, but he did get himself out of that last pickle.

The show was renewed for another and apparently last season. Apparently the plan is to break the last season up into two eight show runs, kind of like what The Sopranos did at the end of their run.

Another rad episode. Anytime that Gus gets the most screentime, equals an epic episode! Really great back-drop on his history and also why he has valuee Walt so much throughout all the bullshit he has piled on him. Don Eladio hasn't been presently accounted for and the actor appeared to be in the youthful makeup/hair coloring the rest of them were in that flashback, so I'm sure he's going to become a player for the rest of the serial.

That Gus would go out of his way to fuck with Hector right now defies logic. Especially when Mike advised Gus to try to hold off the cartel until they dealt with Hank. I guess all of these guys have a suicidal streak in them? Mike and Hank seem to be the only recurring characters that are consistently on point here.

Bryan Cranston was awesome in the scene where they pulled up to Hermanos and Hank spilled the beans. His mind/reality is totally blown, all the while trying to stay as calm as possible and collect/process as much information as possible. And then with Mike pulling up right next to them. A+ drama.

Holy shit. This season is amazing.

I was out of town last Sunday and just watched this On Demand. Holy shit, amazing episode!

Tonights' episode: Daaaaamn!!

JESUS FUCK CUNT! This show is awesome.

Of all the people that could possibly die on this show, Ted was the last guy I thought it would happen too.

FINALLY! Some pay off. The end of this episode with Walt losing his shit in the crawlspace is as good as it gets on this show. Cannot wait to see next weeks.

I heard something about AMC wanting to cancel Breaking Bad and having a dispute with someone or another regarding how the show will wind down. I heard something about a clash on whether to drag the finale out for two, 1/2 seasons (7 episode apiece). I noticed the 'Best show on tv' adverts are gone, as the has been in decline now for awhile, so who knows..

Re the penultimate episode of season 4....





SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER








Does anyone actually buy that Gus poisoned Brock?

No, I was kinda thinking the kid accidently got in Jesse's cigarette pack, but that doesn't make much sense either...

That was my first thought too, but I honestly don't know.

It makes sense to me either Gus or Walt would do that. Gus is indeed calculating and he seems to know all of Walts moves (see: the last thirty seconds of that episode).

I also think Walt has gone WAY off the deep end.

I'm stoked about the season finale tonight, got some blue meth and a hollowed-out light bulb, hell yeah!!

Okay, I just have a six-pack of strong ale, but still stoked !

My prediction is that somehow Walt/Jesse luck into killing off Gus and the backdrop of the fifth (16 episode) season deals mostly with them dealing with the fallout of their actions. The DEA, Hank, Gus' remaining organization (Mike will probably be a friend, the pro that he is), Skyler, Jesse's mexican girlfriend, Ted's investigations for his death and the IRS. A lot of cliffhanger scenarios right there. They can't continue to play this cat and mouse game with Gus for very long. It's already been the total fourth season right here.

Alas, I won't see it until Monday, but I'm sure it'll be good and resemble some what of the scenario.

SUPERB SEASON FINALE.

Yeah that was awesome

Ah Heisenberg, good to see you back. We've missed ya.






SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS






Seems like there's still some internet chatter expressing disbelief that Walt poisoned Brock. It was right there in the penultimate episode.

Walt spins the gun twice, it points back at him (one interrupted master shot, by the way. Wonder how long it took to get that?). He rolls his eyes, sighs, and gives it one more go.

Third spin, it points to the garden. The camera then pans OVER Walt's shoulder so we're looking right where Walter is looking:



It was all right there. I think the disbelief is more psychological. Viewers honestly want to sympathize with Walt, even though there's been no reason to do so since season 2.

Vince Gilligan pitched this show thusly: "I want to take a high school chemistry teacher and turn him into Lex Luthor." This is not a sympathetic anti-hero; this is a cold, calculating super villain in the making. He's not crying about ducks like Tony Soprano. Walter White would've used those ducks as flying suicide bombs. He's not clinging to his humanity, he's shedding it like a snake growing out of its old skin.

If anything Walter's more like Michael Corleone on Asperger's. He's vindictive and calculating but also totally narcissistic and -- like a lot of uber-left-brained scientific/mathematical/engineering geniuses -- lacking in basic human compassion. To me the genius of this show is that Walter has been this way since the first episode. He was never corrupted. The meth trade, ironically, is what allowed Walter White to self-actualize.

Why yes, that was fucking rad and yes, Gus was got. I wonder why he didn't decide to call his mole in the DEA, Steve Gomez. I guess it's possible that Gomez is really Mike's mole, who is temporarily out of the picture.

Pretty brutal to receive the revelation that Walt poisoned Brock. Overall, this has been the show's best season and next season appears to be another good one. They've killed off all the identifiable hard-case bad guys though, so I imagine the next season deals mostly with law enforcement and Walt's interactions with people trying to acclement to normal life, being a simple car wash owner.

Yep. Fucking amazing.

I told y'all. Walt went crazy.

On every level absolute genius.

I read an interview where Vince Gilligan wanted to turn Mr. chips into Scarface. Really nailed it with this doomed character who's own ego will be his ultimate demise as it has gotten him into the most stickiest of situations already. Whether it be Jessie who kills him or Hank who nails him.

This really has been the acme of Breaking Bad seasons. It rounds out all that we have seen thus far and adding to it tenfold without overloading us new characters or new story lines. Next one is probably going to be the last. And I think they knew it when they came into this season. Because Walt can't break any more bad, bad I think is going to break him.

Sorry for the rant but I also want to comment on this show's style. The Sergio Leone framing/music cues with Coen Bros. sense of violent/dark timing. Million Man has already demonstrated the very deliberate visual clues, but there is also a very deliberate mixture of spaghetti western campyness reacting with a dirty hyper-reality.