A little late, but... Breaking Bad???

[Dickie Dunn]

I'm certain that Gilligan and co. had a better idea of the end than most show runners and writers do, but...

In the flash-forward at the beginning of Season 5, Walt has hair, so maybe he doesn't have cancer anymore, or at least he isn't in chemotherapy. He tips a waitress $100, so either he has plenty of money or is he’s giving it away because he's about to die. Did you add all of those elements thinking, "Here's how this will pay off," or did you, as you love to do, write yourselves into a corner?

I hate to admit it. [laughs] We were writing ourselves into a corner a little bit. I don't spend weekends in Vegas gambling the mortgage payments, but I kind of get why some people do, why some people crave that excitement.

The closest I ever get to it, I suppose, is the "Breaking Bad" writers' room. We come up with an image — for instance, the Denny's scene where Walt buys a Cadillac with an M60 machine gun in the trunk. We come up with these scenes, my six writers and I, that intrigue us and resonate with us, and then we say, “OK, what does that mean? Where does that go?”

I'm not going to lie and say we had no idea whatsoever. We had some broad-stroke ideas of how and when that would pay off. But we knew surprisingly little about how exactly and in what precise detail it would pay off. And so those kinds of moments where we risk painting ourselves into a corner are ill-advised.

I wouldn't suggest that someone about to start the job of showrunner come up with stuff without knowing how and when it's going to pay off.

But in our case we painted ourselves into a corner and then for many weeks or months on end had low-grade anxiety attacks. I banged my head against the wall in the writers' room. And finally we figured out how it all paid off. That's my form of middle-aged excitement, I guess.

So, while some rough points were known, the flash forward to start season 5A came before a lot of things were fleshed out, which makes the ending all the more impressive for me. They were able to take what they thought was a powerful scene and make their ending fit around it perfectly.

[pressure=9Pa]

So is the big guy with the nimble sausage fingers still in the motel room?

[count2infinity]

I think the Grey Matter was another reminder to Walt that he was once again "bought out" of a very lucrative business of his creation. Granted the buyouts were very, very different situations, but they were similar as well. If the Nazi's continue to cook the blue meth with Jesse, all of a sudden Walt is once again just a name that may get mentioned as a co-founder of the crystal, but really didn't do much but add the blue color. It will become Todd (or Jesse) that get the credit for the meth empire and business. I think the combination of Grey Matter and the announcement that Heisenberg level meth is still being produced, and people are questioning if Walt even was Heisenberg as the meth is still around is what caused him to be so angry.

[Gaucho]

It's all about Walt's legacy now. Or Heisenberg's. Whichever.

I was fist-pumping when Jesse made his escape, and I seriously needed to take a break when that $%&$ shot Andrea. Let's face it, the author's aren't about to spare as any grief or heartbreak.

[count2infinity]

When Jesse got out, I was celebrating and my fiancee goes, "don't celebrate yet... he's not out." Sure enough, they catch him.

[count2infinity]

so the ricin... any chance that's going to Gretchen and Elliot?

[Gaucho]

I have a bad feeling the Nazis will just keep on keeping on and Jesse kills himself or something like that. He'll take some of his 95% pure meth and commits suicide by OD.

[DontToewsMeBro]

so the ricin... any chance that's going to Gretchen and Elliot?

At first I thought it made sense--simply because I didn't see it's use for anyone other than Lydia. But then I thought about it and it really would be pointless...they were doing the rational thing to save their company.

I think the thing about losing out on two lucrative businesses and learning the blue was still out there was really what changed his mind.

[shmenguin]

i get the sense that the grey matter thready is closed. i think they were just a vehicle to get him back to new mexico.

my prediction is that he's just intent on killing jesse and the nazis. but once he sees the wreck that jesse becomes, he spares him...or mercy kills him. the ricin though...who knows. maybe he puts it into a batch of meth.

[Kraftster]

The one thing I didn't really care for last night is that its really not clear at all how the case against Walter as Heisenberg would be made and how the feds would so quickly be moving in on Skylar. Hank and Gomie are dead. The Nazis have the video made by Jesse. All that remains to put together a case against him would be Marie, Saul (gone), Huel (no sign of him), and Hank's files. Yet, it seems that rather quickly the Walt is Heisenberg story has hit the nation -- America's most wanted, house becomes a tourist attraction, etc. I dunno, I just felt like this didn't really get much attention. I felt that it also would have better explained Saul going to the vacuum dude.

[count2infinity]

The one thing I didn't really care for last night is that its really not clear at all how the case against Walter as Heisenberg would be made and how the feds would so quickly be moving in on Skylar. Hank and Gomie are dead. The Nazis have the video made by Jesse. All that remains to put together a case against him would be Marie, Saul (gone), Huel (no sign of him), and Hank's files. Yet, it seems that rather quickly the Walt is Heisenberg story has hit the nation -- America's most wanted, house becomes a tourist attraction, etc. I dunno, I just felt like this didn't really get much attention. I felt that it also would have better explained Saul going to the vacuum dude.

The cops have a recording of Walt essentially stating that he's the one that built the entire empire.

[Kraftster]

Huh?

[Kraftster]

Huh? The phone call was pretty nondescript.

[count2infinity]

[youtube][/youtube]

"I warned you for a solid year, you cross me there will be consequences."
"Oh no... Walt, Walt, you have to stop, you have to stop this. It's immoral, it's illegal."
"I built this. Me, me alone. Nobody else."
"Tow the line or you will wind up just like Hank."
"You're never going to see Hank again. He crossed me. You think about that. Family or no..."

You've got Marie telling the cops everything that she and Hank think Walt has done. You've got Hank missing, presumed dead. And Walt makes that phone call... Even Cheif Wiggum would be able to put that one together.

[Gaucho]

It was enough to warrant a nation-wide manhunt, I'd say.

[the wicked child]

Marie, Skyler or Walt Jr could have told them what they knew... granted, they would still need evidence to go after Skyler I would imagine. Hank had all of the evidence from the Heisenberg case in his garage last we knew, so not sure if it was still there and the Nazis got it or what. But even still, we know that they didn't have enough to arrest Walt based off of that so... I dunno.

It didn't overly bother me, but I'm not a lawyer.

[Gaucho]

[count2infinity]

Turns out the feds don't like it too much when their agents are dead/missing. I'm sure that Hank and Gomez are part of the reason for this nationwide man hunt. Plus... it's a good story! Why else are we watching this show? The media loves crazy stories like this, I'm sure they'd be going hog wild over it.

[BurghersAndDogsSports]

Well, Marie knew pretty much everything. She would have told the cops what happened. And there is some evidence, plus him admitting to killing Hank on the phone is a pretty dig deal.

Add in Heisenburg/blue meth was a huge DEA deal and that storyline is entirely possible.

Highly sought after drug lord kills two DEA agents in the desert including his brother in law. The guy in your backyard, your chem teacher nerdy, lower middle class neighbor is one of the most powerful drug lords and a murderer - of his own kin.

I think this would be plastered everywhere.

[Kraftster]

Marie? Nothing about Marie being the key witness in the case against Walt bothers anyone? Or wouldn't you at least like to see how batty Marie makes out the case against Walt?

I don't have any confidence in Marie's ability to explain to the DEA why Hank was convinced that Walt = Heisenberg. I get that Hank and Gomez are missing and he's admitted to having involvement in that, but this is not like "Walter White: Wanted for Questioning" this is "Walter White: Is Nation's Biggest Drug Lord." It sort of makes a mockery of the careful steps that Walt took throughout the show if Marie, of all people, can piece together the case against him.

[shmenguin]

skylar told them everything she knew - and that was quite enough to build this traction.

i don't love the angle of walt becoming this nation-wide celebrity, but i suppose it's necessary.

[count2infinity]

I don't find it as big of a deal as you do. I think it's one of those things that were fairly well known by local authorities that there is this man making extremely pure crystal meth named "Heisenberg". All it would take for the media to take this story and run with it would be one little release that say "There is a possibility that Walter White is Heisenberg."

[Mr. Colby]

There's enough evidence for an arrest. ConvictIon? Maybe not Considering its all circumstantial. But that's inconsequential anyway

[count2infinity]

The media definitely doesn't need "evidence" to take a story and run with it. I think we're all aware of that

[BurghersAndDogsSports]

Marie? Nothing about Marie being the key witness in the case against Walt bothers anyone? Or wouldn't you at least like to see how batty Marie makes out the case against Walt?

I don't have any confidence in Marie's ability to explain to the DEA why Hank was convinced that Walt = Heisenberg. I get that Hank and Gomez are missing and he's admitted to having involvement in that, but this is not like "Walter White: Wanted for Questioning" this is "Walter White: Is Nation's Biggest Drug Lord." It sort of makes a mockery of the careful steps that Walt took throughout the show if Marie, of all people, can piece together the case against him.

???

Marie wouldn't have had to say much at all. Her husband figured it out and here is what he told me and what i saw. Walt admitted everything on the call to Jess and on the call to Skyler. Both taped. There was some real evidence out there, plus circumstantial evidence (carwash, skyler saying how much money). Not to mention whatever else Skyler said.

chem nerd dying of cancer becomes highly sought after drug lord for a year. and then gets found out, murders DEA agents including his brother in law. And is now on the run.

This would be a huge national story.

Not trying to disagree otherwise just think its being overly looked into or over thought.

Pretty simple - dead DEA, key witnesses who know basically everything equals manhunt - that's easy. National story is the only "stretch" and my opinion is that's it not really a stretch.