# Breaking Bad S05E02 "Madrigal" OAD 7.22.12



## Hank (May 31, 2000)

Decent episode -- just basic "plot building" which I expected to happen. 

Also, the Super-Magnet-Truck wasn't really needed (despite what Walt thought), as Fring's notebook was definitely encrypted. 

I liked how the writers created the catch-22 for Mike getting back in.

Can't wait to see where they start cooking again. 

Have we seen the end of the German company's involvement?


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## redrouteone (Jun 16, 2001)

Like you said a plot building episode. One thing I did not like was the suicide by AED scene. My understanding is that AED have will detect if there is a heart beat or if they are not attached correctly. In that case they will not work.


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## Beryl (Feb 22, 2009)

It was good. Poor Skylar.


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## nataylor (Apr 26, 2000)

They might as well have a shark jump out of the toilet when that guy killed himself with the AED.


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## Hank (May 31, 2000)

redrouteone said:


> One thing I did not like was the suicide by AED scene. My understanding is that AED have will detect if there is a heart beat or if they are not attached correctly. In that case they will not work.


It was a very minor plot point, so I'm willing to let that one go. He did tear off one electrode and put it in his mouth, so who knows how the device would respond/malfunction to that?



nataylor said:


> They might as well have a shark jump out of the toilet when that guy killed himself with the AED.


LOL! :up:


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## bryhamm (Jun 30, 2004)

Decent to push the story along.


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## drumorgan (Jan 11, 2003)

Yes, I just got CPR certified and learned what the AED was and they were clear that you could put it on a healthy person and it would do nothing.


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## panictivo (Mar 3, 2001)

Every season has been MUCH better than the last. I don't think that will be possible this season with the loss of Gus. Every scene with Gus was exciting and unpredictable.

I am tired of the stupidity of Jesse and Walt together. It is their interaction with others that is interesting.

I hope the writers stop doing those obviously physically impossible things like the truck magnet destruction of the evidence room and the AED electrocution.



> Originally Posted by redrouteone
> One thing I did not like was the suicide by AED scene. My understanding is that AED have will detect if there is a heart beat or if they are not attached correctly. In that case they will not work.


I think AEDs shock only after detecting ventricular fibrillation or fast ventricular tachycardia heart problems. They can't be used for murder or suicide.


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## TheMerk (Feb 26, 2001)

Oh God, not another week of bickering over a plot point.

Good episode. Advanced the plot and introduced a new character.


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## rrrobinsonjr (Nov 26, 2004)

TheMerk said:


> Oh God, not another week of bickering over a plot point.


BYE!!!!!


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## danterner (Mar 4, 2005)

Perhaps the Super-Magnet-Truck was so powerful that it shorted out the safety protocols of the AED in Germany. (That's what I'm going with, anyway, and I hope others are willing to accept this explanation too so we can avoid the AED rabbit hole). Not knowing much about the operation of AEDs (or magnets, for that matter), neither of those have subtracted from my enjoyment of the show. One thing that did stand out to me was how quickly the Pollos sign was being taken down. That didn't seem too realistic, unless the closing of that particular one was preplanned and the timing coincidental.

Generally, I really liked the episode and didn't mind that it was a momentum-building episode. Dominoes have to be set up before they can be knocked down, and this is only episode two of the season.


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## Hank (May 31, 2000)

danterner said:


> One thing that did stand out to me was how quickly the Pollos sign was being taken down. That didn't seem too realistic, unless the closing of that particular one was preplanned and the timing coincidental.


That wasn't an actual location that was closing down, that was the hallway of Madrigal Electromotive (Food Division) which had signs of all their "brands" of restaurant investments.

Surely, if the owner/CEO of one of your brands was blown up in a huge meth production/dealing ring, that the upper management knew nothing about (except that one guy), surely they would be divesting themselves of all ties as soon as possible.


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## danterner (Mar 4, 2005)

Hank said:


> That wasn't an actual location that was closing down, that was the hallway of Madrigal Electromotive (Food Division) which had signs of all their "brands" of restaurant investments.


Ah, got it - that makes much more sense. I had thought it was a food court-type area, like the type you would see in an airport (or, I presumed, the interior of a major company like Madrigal).


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## MikeMar (Jan 7, 2005)

I really need to go back and watch season 4 again. But what was the exact relation to Gus was the girl that wanted the 11 killed?


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## nataylor (Apr 26, 2000)

MikeMar said:


> I really need to go back and watch season 4 again. But what was the exact relation to Gus was the girl that wanted the 11 killed?


This was the first we've seen of her.


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## nataylor (Apr 26, 2000)

So Gus smartly has his computer encrypted, but he kept the account numbers of his workers' accounts laying around in plain text? That seems like a huge oversight. The DEA really wouldn't have had much to go on if they hadn't found that money.


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## MikeMar (Jan 7, 2005)

nataylor said:


> This was the first we've seen of her.


Excellent!


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## Hank (May 31, 2000)

nataylor said:


> So Gus smartly has his computer encrypted, but he kept the account numbers of his workers' accounts laying around in plain text? That seems like a huge oversight. The DEA really wouldn't have had much to go on if they hadn't found that money.


Maybe this is a movie reality and not actual reality, but along those lines, why wouldn't have Gus just used "numbered accounts" instead of named accounts? (Like in the movies, usually Bond films) where the Swiss/Cayman accounts are just numbered? If he did that, the DEA wouldn't have had a lead on anyone (Mike, Chow, etc).

Also, despite Gus having the Cayman Island account written down in plain text behind the photo, if it weren't for the Super-Magnet-Truck, the DEA never would have found it. So most of Ep2 was a direct result of the truck caper.

Also, where can I try "Franch"?


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## David Platt (Dec 13, 2001)

Hank said:


> Can't wait to see where they start cooking again.


I speculated this in last week's thread. Spoilered because it is based on info external to the show (an interview with Aaron Paul):



Spoiler



He said that their new location was a 'blue collar' location that has been staring them in the face all along. My bet is on the car wash.


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## BitbyBlit (Aug 25, 2001)

nataylor said:


> So Gus smartly has his computer encrypted, but he kept the account numbers of his workers' accounts laying around in plain text? That seems like a huge oversight. The DEA really wouldn't have had much to go on if they hadn't found that money.


I think it was just his own account number, which led to the other accounts when the DEA followed the money trail. I doubt he would have wanted to trust that number to memory, so he would have had to write something down, either the number itself or the password to decrypt the encrypted number.

Somebody breaking into his office would focus on his laptop because that would be a source of information, but they would have no idea where to start looking for account information hidden anywhere else (if they even thought to), nor would they have had the time to do so while Gus was alive. So if someone broke in, quickly grabbed his laptop, and ran, they still wouldn't get his account number even in encrypted form.

Once Gus was dead, and the police had the right to thoroughly go though his place, they could find everything he had hidden. But I don't think Gus really cared what would happen to information about him if he ever died.


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## Hank (May 31, 2000)

David Platt said:


> I speculated this in last week's thread. Spoilered because it is based on info external to the show (an interview with Aaron Paul):
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I posted the same guess at the end of season 4. I'm not convinced, though, In the previews for next week:



Spoiler



Walt,Jesse and Mike agree on "terms" and then Mike says "Ok, let's take a tour". So I suspect that Gus had a small backup lab somewhere else, or maybe an older, previously used lab. There was actually a fraction-of-a-second shot of a small lab, like a mini-super lab.


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## gchance (Dec 6, 2002)

David Platt said:


> I speculated this in last week's thread. Spoilered because it is based on info external to the show (an interview with Aaron Paul):
> 
> 
> 
> ...





Hank said:


> I posted the same guess at the end of season 4. I'm not convinced, though, In the previews for next week:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Nah, the problem there is space. While there's LOTS of space above ground (parking lot, inside the car wash tunnel), that's all exposed. There's no interior structure other than the car was office. Anything underground would be buried water & soap pipes, certainly nothing like the laundry (which looked to be DESIGNED with the underground lab). There's no way he'd be able to build something like that without being noticed. He'd also need lots of $, which at the moment he doesn't appear to have.

Did Aaron Paul do an amazing job after emptying the Rumba or what? Not to mention, he's sounding a lot less like the doofusy kid, the opening phone call barely sounded like Jesse at all.

Greg


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## danterner (Mar 4, 2005)

I think the spoilered location is the most likely place. The only other possibilities that come to mind are the junkyard or, in an ironic "full circle twist", the chemistry lab at Walt's old school (very unlikely but very poetic if the writers can explain away multiple implausibilities/problems that spring to mind). Another possibility would be the vacant roller skating rink (that's what it was, right?) that they visited at the end of Season 3. Saul had suggested it as a laundering location. Maybe they could acquire and repurpose it?


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## nataylor (Apr 26, 2000)

How about the now-abandoned Pollos Hermanos restaurant location?


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## Gerryex (Apr 24, 2004)

panictivo said:


> I think AEDs shock only after detecting ventricular fibrillation or fast ventricular tachycardia heart problems. They can't be used for murder or suicide.


Maybe that's why the guy put one of the leads in his mouth instead of both of the leads on his chest. Perhaps this would fool the AED into reading a bad heart beat and then would adminster the jolt which would kill the guy!



gchance said:


> Did Aaron Paul do an amazing job after emptying the Rumba or what? Not to mention, he's sounding a lot less like the doofusy kid, the opening phone call barely sounded like Jesse at all.


YES!!! VERY WELL DONE!!!!

A most enjoyable episode and as others have said it mostly was setting up things for the future.

Gerry


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## Hank (May 31, 2000)

nataylor said:


> How about the now-abandoned Pollos Hermanos restaurant location?


Or even better -- how about the recently vacated APD evidence room!


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## MikeAndrews (Jan 17, 2002)

Hey, AMC, drumming into your audience WHO IS WATCHING that _they can't watch_ AMC on Dish makes as much sense as the MPAA telling the captive audience who bought movie tickets not to steal the movie.

Get it? Dish subscribers who can't get AMC aren't going to see your message that they can't watch AMC.

With that and the Small Town Security promos AMC=Aggravating Message Channel


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## formercatholick (Jul 23, 2012)

Former paramedic...the AED scene* is* BS. Even if pulling a pad off and placing the exposed wire in his mouth shorted out the AED's detect for the only two heart rhythms it _would_ shock, the shock delivered is not enough to kill a living person. I'm a former paramedic for a reason... I actually accidentally shocked someone we had just resuscitated. The patient had a beating heart, and at the same joule setting as an AED has, the shock delivered only temporarily altered the heart beat... but didn't stop it and certainly wouldn't kill anyone.

Having said that, there are a lot of little errors this show and ALL TV and Cinema makes. It's fun to spot them but let's not focus on them. Hands down, this show is nothing short of THE BALLZ.


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## MikeAndrews (Jan 17, 2002)

Talk about acting with only facial expressions...Skyler looked like she wanted to say something about 3 times. Her lips moved but she never said a word.

Methinks that's an omen that Skyler may betray Walt sometime.


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## Hank (May 31, 2000)

netringer said:


> Talk about acting with only facial expressions...Skyler looked like she wanted to say something about 3 times. Her lips moved but she never said a word.
> 
> Methinks that's an omen that Skyler may betray Walt sometime.


"may"?? She's already betrayed him at least twice (that I can think of).


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## Hank (May 31, 2000)

netringer said:


> Hey, AMC, drumming into your audience WHO IS WATCHING that _they can't watch_ AMC on Dish makes as much sense as the MPAA telling the captive audience who bought movie tickets not to steal the movie.
> 
> Get it? Dish subscribers who can't get AMC aren't going to see your message that they can't watch AMC.
> 
> With that and the Small Town Security promos AMC=Aggravating Message Channel


Unless they're at a friends house or watching via bittorrent.


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## DevdogAZ (Apr 16, 2003)

gchance said:


> Did Aaron Paul do an amazing job after emptying the Rumba or what?
> 
> Greg


Yes, that scene was amazing. Going from pure relief to horror and shame and guilt that he almost killed Walt. That was extremely impressive.


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## DevdogAZ (Apr 16, 2003)

Hank said:


> Unless they're at a friends house or watching via bittorrent.


If they're watching via bittorrent, they won't see those commercials anyway.


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## Carlucci (Jan 10, 2001)

This episode marked the turning point for me. Where Walt was once a mostly sympathetic character, either desperate or trapped, now he is just a despicable drug dealer. I pretty sure this is by design, though. The writers had always tried to make him likeable in spite of his chosen path. But, now that he has had a chance to walk away, nearly unscathed and nearly breaking even, he instead is choosing to continue to pump drugs into the community, and wants to be the kingpin.

I was rooting for Vic Mackey in The Shield through the whole show, and I believe that's what the creators wanted, even knowing he was a


Spoiler



cop killer


 from episode 1. I had a similar anti-hero affection for Walt.

But now that he's just doing it for greed, forget it! He deserves whatever he's got coming, which I imagine will be a substantial world of hurt.


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## Hank (May 31, 2000)

While I would mostly agree with that, I think he knows his days are numbered, and he wants to rebuild the nest egg for the rest of his family for when he eventually disappears by his own hand or someone else's. Like Mike says, Walt's a ticking time bomb, and I agree with that.


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## DevdogAZ (Apr 16, 2003)

So if Lydia works for Madrigal, and Madrigal has now pledged full cooperation with the DEA's investigation, does it make sense that she'd start the process of killing all the people when she doesn't know what info the DEA already has? And would she be able to provide the methylamine without being detected, given that the DEA is already sniffing up her tree?


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## Hank (May 31, 2000)

How do we know Lydia works for Madrigal? I don't think we do.


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## nataylor (Apr 26, 2000)

Hank said:


> How do we know Lydia works for Madrigal? I don't think we do.


She was sitting next to the Madrigal lawyer at the meeting with the DEA.


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## mike_k (Sep 20, 2005)

Carlucci said:


> But, now that he has had a chance to walk away, nearly unscathed and nearly breaking even, he instead is choosing to continue to pump drugs into the community, and wants to be the kingpin.


That's why the show is called Breaking Bad, not Breaking Even...


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## Hank (May 31, 2000)

nataylor said:


> She was sitting next to the Madrigal lawyer at the meeting with the DEA.


Oh, I definitely missed that. Thanks.


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## mike_k (Sep 20, 2005)

DevdogAZ said:


> Yes, that scene was amazing. Going from pure relief to horror and shame and guilt that he almost killed Walt. That was extremely impressive.


I agree. I was afraid for a second that Jesse somehow realized that the cigarette was not his original one (maybe he marked it) and he realized that Walt planted it and thus must have poisoned the kid and lied about it all.


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## JLucPicard (Jul 8, 2004)

I'm going to have to watch this ep again when I'm not drowsy because I couldn't figure how that woman fit into this at all.

And was it just me, or when the guy (I think it was Hank's boss) was talking about Gus doing all he was doing and nobody noticing what was right in front of them, it sure looked like Hank was replacing "Gus" with "Walt" in that scenario and starting to look at things differently.


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## DevdogAZ (Apr 16, 2003)

JLucPicard said:


> I'm going to have to watch this ep again when I'm not drowsy because I couldn't figure how that woman fit into this at all.


She works for Madrigal and she is the one that provided Gus with some of the chemicals he needed. She's afraid that with the DEA closing in, and her boss providing full cooperation, it's only a matter of time before they find out she is involved. So she decided to eliminate all possible ties. First, she tried to get Mike to do it, and then when he wouldn't, she hired someone else. And there's no doubt that when Mike or Chris were finished with the list, she would have hired someone else to take them out, thus eliminating everyone from the list.

Unfortunately, she didn't count on a) the DEA being able to trace the money trail so quickly, and b) Mike being such a badass.



JLucPicard said:


> And was it just me, or when the guy (I think it was Hank's boss) was talking about Gus doing all he was doing and nobody noticing what was right in front of them, it sure looked like Hank was replacing "Gus" with "Walt" in that scenario and starting to look at things differently.


Yes, the camera zoomed in on Hank and we're supposed to think that Hank is starting to realize that Heisenberg could be anyone, even people close to him. It's only a matter of time before Hank figures it out. I think we all knew that's where things were headed.


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## nataylor (Apr 26, 2000)

JLucPicard said:


> I'm going to have to watch this ep again when I'm not drowsy because I couldn't figure how that woman fit into this at all.


I think she's the head of Madrigal's US operation, based in Houston.



JLucPicard said:


> And was it just me, or when the guy (I think it was Hank's boss) was talking about Gus doing all he was doing and nobody noticing what was right in front of them, it sure looked like Hank was replacing "Gus" with "Walt" in that scenario and starting to look at things differently.


Oh yeah, Hank's gears are turning.


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## robojerk (Jun 13, 2006)

mike_k said:


> I agree. I was afraid for a second that Jesse somehow realized that the cigarette was not his original one (maybe he marked it) and he realized that Walt planted it and thus must have poisoned the kid and lied about it all.


Walter had the original ricin laced cigarette in the ziplock bag in the beginning. If it was marked Walter (and is viewers) would have seen it. I didn't see any markings. I havent played with a rumba, but if it works like any other vacuum, wouldn't it had destroyed the cigarette when if it had gotten picked up? I'm assuming Walter just put it in the waste container.



JLucPicard said:


> And was it just me, or when the guy (I think it was Hank's boss) was talking about Gus doing all he was doing and nobody noticing what was right in front of them, it sure looked like Hank was replacing "Gus" with "Walt" in that scenario and starting to look at things differently.


I wondered that too. Hank has that one moment when a drunk Walter said something about Heisenberg not being Gale. Also when Hank shot Tuco, he was searching for Walter. There's some breadcrumbs for Hank to follow, but does he want to see them?


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## DevdogAZ (Apr 16, 2003)

robojerk said:


> Walter had the original ricin laced cigarette in the ziplock bag in the beginning. If it was marked Walter (and is viewers) would have seen it. I didn't see any markings. I havent played with a rumba, but if it works like any other vacuum, wouldn't it had destroyed the cigarette when if it had gotten picked up? I'm assuming Walter just put it in the waste container.


Walt played that off really well. He spent the whole day turning the place upside down with Jesse, acting like he was truly helping to find the cigarette. And then at the end of the day, just in passing, he says, "What the hell is that thing?" as if he has no idea what it is. The way he did that it gave Jesse no way to question whether Walt planted it there.


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## Hank (May 31, 2000)

JLucPicard said:


> I wondered that too. Hank has that one moment when a drunk Walter said something about Heisenberg not being Gale. Also when Hank shot Tuco, he was searching for Walter. There's some breadcrumbs for Hank to follow, but does he want to see them?


Again, from next week's previews:



Spoiler



Marie seems like she's the one to put all the pieces together and starts questioning Walt. Maybe she'll figure it out, but keeps it from Hank, or even throws Hank off the Walt trail.


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## DeDondeEs (Feb 20, 2004)

nataylor said:


> She was sitting next to the Madrigal lawyer at the meeting with the DEA.


I was confused about that at first too, but I eventually figured out that was her. That's funny how Walter didn't have to do the whole magnet thing to the computer bc it was encrypted, but him doing that brought Mike back into the mix bc everyone lost their money due to the broken picture frame.

When that Chow guy was coming out of the police questioning and ligthing the cigarette in the police station lobby, and Mike told him he couldn't smoke in there, what was the point of that? To show that Chow was all confused and bewildered from the questioning and to give Mike doubt?

Did anyone else have really bad audio for the first few minutes of the show? That was really annoying.


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## modnar (Oct 15, 2000)

I wasn't totally clear on what all was happening in the final scene. Walt got in bed, talked to Skylar for a bit, then did something else (removed more clothing, maybe). Then, he turned back to Skylar. It made me think that the writers are implying he was forcing himself upon Skylar - a definite way to make us dislike him.

It was just a super creepy scene.


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## MikeMar (Jan 7, 2005)

DeDondeEs said:


> I was confused about that at first too, but I eventually figured out that was her. That's funny how Walter didn't have to do the whole magnet thing to the computer bc it was encrypted, but him doing that brought Mike back into the mix bc everyone lost their money due to the broken picture frame.
> 
> When that Chow guy was coming out of the police questioning and ligthing the cigarette in the police station lobby, and Mike told him he couldn't smoke in there, what was the point of that? To show that Chow was all confused and bewildered from the questioning and to give Mike doubt?
> 
> Did anyone else have really bad audio for the first few minutes of the show? That was really annoying.


Yeah audio was messed up for me too to start


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## robojerk (Jun 13, 2006)

modnar said:


> I wasn't totally clear on what all was happening in the final scene. Walt got in bed, talked to Skylar for a bit, then did something else (removed more clothing, maybe). Then, he turned back to Skylar. It made me think that the writers are implying he was forcing himself upon Skylar - a definite way to make us dislike him.
> 
> It was just a super creepy scene.


My opinion.
Walter knows she is having problems coming to terms with all the horrible things they have done, and he knows she afraid of him. At one point he too felt a lot of guilt, but now he's okay with it. I also think that having her under his thumb turned him on, but I don't think he forced himself on her.


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## modnar (Oct 15, 2000)

robojerk said:


> My opinion.
> Walter knows she is having problems coming to terms with all the horrible things they have done, and he knows she afraid of him. At one point he too felt a lot of guilt, but know he's okay with it. I also think that having her under his thumb turned him on. I don't think he forced himself on her.


That makes sense.


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## MikeAndrews (Jan 17, 2002)

nataylor said:


> How about the now-abandoned Pollos Hermanos restaurant location?


There's no (OK, little) reason that Los Pollos Hermanos couldn't keep operating. With 14 locations, Gus had to have store managers that could carry on. There's just that little issue about the breading plant having handled the blue miracle ice.


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## MikeAndrews (Jan 17, 2002)

mike_k said:


> I agree. I was afraid for a second that Jesse somehow realized that the cigarette was not his original one (maybe he marked it) and he realized that Walt planted it and thus must have poisoned the kid and lied about it all.


Except that Walt was modeling his phony cig while looking at the original. He would have copied any marks.


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## DevdogAZ (Apr 16, 2003)

DeDondeEs said:


> When that Chow guy was coming out of the police questioning and ligthing the cigarette in the police station lobby, and Mike told him he couldn't smoke in there, what was the point of that? To show that Chow was all confused and bewildered from the questioning and to give Mike doubt?


I think it served two purposes: 1) it showed that he was completely shell shocked from the questioning, and 2) it showed that he was still subject to Mike's authority.



modnar said:


> I wasn't totally clear on what all was happening in the final scene. Walt got in bed, talked to Skylar for a bit, then did something else (removed more clothing, maybe). Then, he turned back to Skylar. *It made me think that the writers are implying he was forcing himself upon Skylar* - a definite way to make us dislike him.
> 
> It was just a super creepy scene.


I didn't get that from the scene at all, but I guess maybe I should watch again.


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## modnar (Oct 15, 2000)

DevdogAZ said:


> I didn't get that from the scene at all, but I guess maybe I should watch again.


It was the extra movement....as if he was removing more clothing or something that worried me that was what they were trying to insinuate.

But, maybe I just read too much into it.


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## betts4 (Dec 27, 2005)

DevdogAZ said:


> Yes, that scene was amazing. Going from pure relief to horror and shame and guilt that he almost killed Walt. That was extremely impressive.





Carlucci said:


> This episode marked the turning point for me. Where Walt was once a mostly sympathetic character, either desperate or trapped, now he is just a despicable drug dealer.


It was actually the scene with the Roomba and Jesse's reactions (yes, awesome) that marked the turning point for me to stop rooting for Walt. Oh I get that he is "$40,000" in debt and needs money, but he is past the point of no return.


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## robojerk (Jun 13, 2006)

I think since his $40,000 debt to Jesse helped make it so Jesse doesn't need to run, Jesse would let him off. If all Walter wanted to do was cook, then I think getting back in the game would be okay, however Walter now has an ego and he wants recognition (and power) for all that he's done.


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## pdhenry (Feb 28, 2005)

robojerk said:


> I havent played with a rumba, but if it works like any other vacuum, wouldn't it had destroyed the cigarette when if it had gotten picked up? I'm assuming Walter just put it in the waste container.


The first stage of a Roomba is a sweeper that sweeps large debris into a large receptacle on the top of the removable waste bin. The second stage is a vacuum that goes to a second smaller receptacle. Jesse emptied the debris receptacle. It's reasonable for a cigarette to have been swept into there without damage. But Walt probably just stuck it in the receptacle.


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## mooseAndSquirrel (Aug 31, 2001)

TheMerk said:


> Oh God, not another week of bickering over a plot point.
> 
> Good episode. Advanced the plot and introduced a new character.


Yep. OMFG.

I loved that scene. The Germans, the sauces, the red toilet on auto flush.

Wow, what a PITA these threads are becoming.

I knew Walt wouldn't throw away the Ricin. I wonder how and when that's going to come back.


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## cheesesteak (Jul 24, 2003)

DevdogAZ said:


> She works for Madrigal and she is the one that provided Gus with some of the chemicals he needed. She's afraid that with the DEA closing in, and her boss providing full cooperation, it's only a matter of time before they find out she is involved. So she decided to eliminate all possible ties.


She should have hired a Terminator.

I thought the opening scene was torture.

Walt is creepy as hell towards Skylar. I almost like her now.


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## photoshopgrl (Nov 22, 2008)

gchance said:


> Did Aaron Paul do an amazing job after emptying the Rumba or what? Not to mention, he's sounding a lot less like the doofusy kid, the opening phone call barely sounded like Jesse at all.


Aaron Paul slayed me right there. That was some of his best acting to date in just that one scene. I'm now more convinced than ever that this show needs to end with Jesse putting a bullet in Walt's head.



JLucPicard said:


> And was it just me, or when the guy (I think it was Hank's boss) was talking about Gus doing all he was doing and nobody noticing what was right in front of them, it sure looked like Hank was replacing "Gus" with "Walt" in that scenario and starting to look at things differently.


YES! The camera zoomed right in on his face. I'm sure it's at least crossed his mind at this point. How could it not? Even if he doesn't want to believe it. The signs are all there if he really looks. The change in Walt is palpable.


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## ElJay (Apr 6, 2005)

The automatic flush as the guy fell off the toilet really had me laughing.


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## DeDondeEs (Feb 20, 2004)

After watching the episode, I now have a hankerin' for Franch dressing.


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## dswallow (Dec 3, 2000)

netringer said:


> Hey, AMC, drumming into your audience WHO IS WATCHING that _they can't watch_ AMC on Dish makes as much sense as the MPAA telling the captive audience who bought movie tickets not to steal the movie.
> 
> Get it? Dish subscribers who can't get AMC aren't going to see your message that they can't watch AMC.


There's still benefit to AMC to discourage anyone who may be considering switching from their current provider to Dish Network.


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## BitbyBlit (Aug 25, 2001)

JLucPicard said:


> And was it just me, or when the guy (I think it was Hank's boss) was talking about Gus doing all he was doing and nobody noticing what was right in front of them, it sure looked like Hank was replacing "Gus" with "Walt" in that scenario and starting to look at things differently.


I actually had just the opposite impression, that Hank had no clue. I thought that scene was more a nod to the viewers than an indicator of Hank's thought process. They were showing us Hank listening to his boss (or I guess ex-boss) describe exactly the situation he was in without him even realizing it.



mooseAndSquirrel said:


> Yep. OMFG.
> 
> I loved that scene. The Germans, the sauces, the red toilet on auto flush.
> 
> ...


I thought it was a great scene too, but I'm not sure what you mean by "are becoming". There was a discussion last year about how realistic the IRS investigation was, and for that plot point I was actually one of the defenders. But these types of discussions are nothing new.


----------



## getreal (Sep 29, 2003)

redrouteone said:


> ... One thing I did not like was the suicide by AED scene.


AED = Auto-Erotic Defibrillator. 



gchance said:


> Did Aaron Paul do an amazing job after emptying the Rumba or what? Not to mention, he's sounding a lot less like the doofusy kid, the opening phone call barely sounded like Jesse at all.


Jesse has been clean & sober for a while now, and has grown/evolved through his intense life experiences since working with Mr. White. That would explain his different sound.



DevdogAZ said:


> Walt played that off really well. He spent the whole day turning the place upside down with Jesse, acting like he was truly helping to find the cigarette. And then at the end of the day, just in passing, he says, "What the hell is that thing?" as if he has no idea what it is. The way he did that it gave Jesse no way to question whether Walt planted it there.


Thanks for explaining the obvious.


----------



## Beryl (Feb 22, 2009)

getreal said:


> Jesse has been clean & sober for a while now, and has grown/evolved through his intense life experiences since working with Mr. White. That would explain his different sound.


True and his house is now neat enough that he can use a Roomba. Except for the stray pair of panties, it is immaculate.


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## betts4 (Dec 27, 2005)

I just loved that he had a Roomba. I wonder if he has visited that thread here on TCF and UMF'd


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## Anubys (Jul 16, 2004)

Since I just started watching BB a month ago, many of the scenes are fresh in my mind. The scene at the end with Skyler is a callback to a scene very early in season 1 (also the last scene in an episode) where Walt gets frisky with her in exactly the same position and she responds with excitement and one of those "wow, where did this come from, take me you big strong man" kind of reaction.

I thought it was an excellent callback to show how much things have changed.

The scene with Hank, Steve (?), and their boss is really what is so great about this show. It's slow paced, almost relaxed, and simply brilliantly human.


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## kaszeta (Jun 11, 2004)

betts4 said:


> I just loved that he had a Roomba. I wonder if he has visited that thread here on TCF and UMF'd


We actually saw that roomba before, sometime early last season.


----------



## johnmoorejohn (Sep 13, 2001)

I hate to be one of 'those' over analyzers, and not that it really matters, but I thought most encryption methods could be broken, given enough time.

Also, does anyone find it odd that Hank seemed so 'on to' mike. Yet no one is following him around?


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## Beryl (Feb 22, 2009)

johnmoorejohn said:


> Also, does anyone find it odd that Hank seemed so 'on to' mike. Yet no one is following him around?


I thought about that. The same for Jessie. They all meet up so casually and Hank doesn't appear to know.


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## johnmoorejohn (Sep 13, 2001)

Also, due to my poor memory, I do not know the full state of Walt and Sky's relationship right now.

Can someone do a quick recap? Whom should be angry at whom? Who owes the other anything? Who was the last to wrong the other? Why are they able to even be in the same bed?


----------



## johnmoorejohn (Sep 13, 2001)

Also, I love the 'nod' to ketchup, and how it is time tested, and always sufficient.


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## SeanC (Dec 30, 2003)

johnmoorejohn said:


> I hate to be one of 'those' over analyzers, and not that it really matters, but I thought most encryption methods could be broken, given enough time.


It depends on how it was encrypted, and how much processing power you are going to throw at cracking it.

I'm not that up to date on encryption myself, but I believe that it is pretty easy for the layman to have his HDD encrypted so that even if the NSA wanted to crack it it would take years, and maybe many many years.


----------



## nataylor (Apr 26, 2000)

johnmoorejohn said:


> I hate to be one of 'those' over analyzers, and not that it really matters, but I thought most encryption methods could be broken, given enough time.


Given enough time, sure. But there are some encryption methods that, given current computer processing power, would take longer than the anticipated age of the universe to decrypt.


----------



## mooseAndSquirrel (Aug 31, 2001)

Beryl said:


> I thought about that. The same for Jessie. They all meet up so casually and Hank doesn't appear to know.


Same with the phone calls. But it appears to be hubris.

I liked Mike's use of his granddaughter's toy.


----------



## johnmoorejohn (Sep 13, 2001)

I thought mike would shoot the guy's eye out through the peep hole.


----------



## john4200 (Nov 1, 2009)

cheesesteak said:


> She should have hired a Terminator.


She could get in touch with Michael Westen (Burn Notice), I believe he knows one.


----------



## john4200 (Nov 1, 2009)

photoshopgrl said:


> I'm now more convinced than ever that this show needs to end with Jesse putting a bullet in Walt's head.


And a few minutes later, someone comes up behind Jesse and drags a knife across the front of his throat, blood spurting everywhere. Turns out to be one of the people from Jesse's addict group that Jesse sold drugs to.


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## tiams (Apr 19, 2004)

Burger Matic is a reference to Home Fries, a Vince Gilligan movie.


----------



## Gerryex (Apr 24, 2004)

I missed the part where it was revealed that the laptop was encrypted. Was the HDD taken out of the laptop and analyzed? Could someone remind me where and how it was stated that the laptop was encrypted.

Thanks,
Gerry


----------



## pdhenry (Feb 28, 2005)

Hank mentioned it in a conversation with the other DEA guys, fairly early in the episode. I think he said that sabotaging the laptop didn't do anyone any good, since the hard drive was encrypted and he thought they'd never break it.


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## Dawghows (May 17, 2001)

getreal said:


> Jesse has been clean & sober for a while now, and has grown/evolved through his intense life experiences since working with Mr. White.


I absolutely LOVE that after everything they've been through together, Jesse still always addresses Walt as "Mr. White."


----------



## getreal (Sep 29, 2003)

johnmoorejohn said:


> ... does anyone find it odd that Hank seemed so 'on to' mike. Yet no one is following him around?


I see that as Hank's police interviewing style. He acts quiet and casual at first in order to disarm the interviewee, and then when their guard is down (or up), he pulls a Columbo and throws in some crucial fact that throws them. He could be faking some of it, but there's a basis in facts he's uncovered.

I really like Hank. I don't think he's considering Walt at all, at this point, but he'll put one and one together eventually.

I foresee the final scene of BB to be Hank having cracked the Heisenberg case and taking Walt into custody.


----------



## Gerryex (Apr 24, 2004)

pdhenry said:


> Hank mentioned it in a conversation with the other DEA guys, fairly early in the episode. I think he said that sabotaging the laptop didn't do anyone any good, since the hard drive was encrypted and he thought they'd never break it.


THANKS!

Gerry


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## tgrim1 (Sep 11, 2006)

DevdogAZ said:


> She works for Madrigal and she is the one that provided Gus with some of the chemicals he needed. She's afraid that with the DEA closing in, and her boss providing full cooperation, it's only a matter of time before they find out she is involved. So she decided to eliminate all possible ties. First, she tried to get Mike to do it, and then when he wouldn't, she hired someone else. And there's no doubt that when Mike or Chris were finished with the list, she would have hired someone else to take them out, thus eliminating everyone from the list.
> 
> Unfortunately, she didn't count on a) the DEA being able to trace the money trail so quickly, and b) Mike being such a badass.
> 
> Yes, the camera zoomed in on Hank and we're supposed to think that Hank is starting to realize that Heisenberg could be anyone, even people close to him. It's only a matter of time before Hank figures it out. I think we all knew that's where things were headed.





johnmoorejohn said:


> I hate to be one of 'those' over analyzers, and not that it really matters, but I thought most encryption methods could be broken, given enough time.
> 
> Also, does anyone find it odd that Hank seemed so 'on to' mike. Yet no one is following him around?


I think that statement by Hank that he took a peek was to hint to us that he seen some of the videos.


----------



## nataylor (Apr 26, 2000)

tgrim1 said:


> I think that statement by Hank that he took a peek was to hint to us that he seen some of the videos.


No. He said he got his hands on it before ABQ PD and it was all encrypted so there was nothing they could get off it.


----------



## Hank (May 31, 2000)

tgrim1 said:


> I think that statement by Hank that he took a peek was to hint to us that he seen some of the videos.


I seriously doubt that. If there were videos on that laptop, it sure as hell wouldn't have been left in the evidence room. Hank said something like "before APD got the laptop at Fring's place, I took a peek, and it was all encrypted, so it's not like we would have gotten anything off of it anyway".

No way he saw any video. It's not like he's Dexter saving it for his own personal vigilante justice. If he saw any video, he would have arrested Walt, Jesse, and/or Mike immediately.


----------



## MikeAndrews (Jan 17, 2002)

Why didn't Gus offer to set up offshore accounts for Jesse and Walt?

Note that Lydia/Madrigal knew the 11 but not who the chemist(!) is.

Remember when Saul told Walt about the guy "who is very, very careful. Nobody knows who he is?"

And Mike seemed to work for or with Saul when he showed up to clean up Jane's place and bugged Walt's house. Wasn't that even before Walt was selling to Gus?

Consider that when Hank drove by the laundry and when the DEA guys took a look, they could have very well have seen Walt's car out front.


----------



## Hank (May 31, 2000)

netringer said:


> Why didn't Gus offer to set up offshore accounts for Jesse and Walt?


Because they were always paid in cash. If Gus could pay them in cash, the money laundering was Walt and Jesse's problem, not Gus's.



netringer said:


> Note that Lydia/Madrigal knew the 11 but not who the chemist(!) is.


Because she had no need to know. She knew who the 11 were because they were the same 11 who had offshore accounts (plus Mike makes it an "even dozen" as Hank indicated to Mike).



netringer said:


> And Mike seemed to work for or with Saul when he showed up to clean up Jane's place and bugged Walt's house. Wasn't that even before Walt was selling to Gus?


Yes, Mike is a free agent. ABQ is a small town. Saul also was hired by Gus, so I'm sure Mike worked for both. Not that surprising. It's a stretch here, but perhaps Gus arranged for Mike to be involved in the Jane mess to make sure that Walt was free/able/ready to start working for him.



netringer said:


> Consider that when Hank drove by the laundry and when the DEA guys took a look, they could have very well have seen Walt's car out front.


Just luck, I guess. I don't remember the DEA investigating the laundry anytime when Walt was there. Hank could have drove by himself, but I'm also not sure where Walt and Jesse parked was in plain sight.


----------



## DreadPirateRob (Nov 12, 2002)

kaszeta said:


> We actually saw that roomba before, sometime early last season.


Not only that, we saw a POV camera angle from the Roomba, which was awesome. 

Whenver Jesse's Roomba is shown, Alan Sepinwall's review will inevitably bemoan the fact that it isn't playing any music, as a nod to Tom Haverford from Parks & Rec's "DJ Roomba":


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## Bierboy (Jun 12, 2004)

TheMerk said:


> Oh God, not another week of bickering over a plot point...


Goody! More people I can add to the IL...


----------



## Bierboy (Jun 12, 2004)

gchance said:


> ...Did Aaron Paul do an amazing job after emptying the Rumba or what? Not to mention, he's sounding a lot less like the doofusy kid, the opening phone call barely sounded like Jesse at all....


That kid has a GREAT acting career ahead of him...IF he keeps his head screwed on straight.


----------



## Bierboy (Jun 12, 2004)

DevdogAZ said:


> ...I think we all knew that's where things were headed.


Not in Breaking Bad-land....


----------



## Bierboy (Jun 12, 2004)

Anubys said:


> Since I just started watching BB a month ago, many of the scenes are fresh in my mind. The scene at the end with Skyler is a callback to a scene very early in season 1 (also the last scene in an episode) where Walt gets frisky with her in exactly the same position and she responds with excitement and one of those "wow, where did this come from, take me you big strong man" kind of reaction...


Wasn't that the pilot (S01E01) ep?


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## uncdrew (Aug 6, 2002)

I think it ends with Walt killing Hank. That's about as breaking bad as you get.

Walt has the upper hand on Hank and is smart enough to stay one step ahead and throw him off the trail. But at some point it's gonna be "him or me". If cancer hasn't gotten Walt enough by then, he'll kill Hank.


----------



## Hank (May 31, 2000)

uncdrew said:


> I think it ends with Walt killing Hank. That's about as breaking bad as you get.
> 
> Walt has the upper hand on Hank and is smart enough to stay one step ahead and throw him off the trail. But at some point it's gonna be "him or me". If cancer hasn't gotten Walt enough by then, he'll kill Hank.


I'd buy that over Hank catching or killing Walt.


----------



## CraigK (Jun 9, 2006)

mooseAndSquirrel said:


> I liked Mike's use of his granddaughter's toy.


Read the first review...

LOL (Laugh Out Loud) Rollovers- Bacon the Pig


----------



## mooseAndSquirrel (Aug 31, 2001)

CraigK said:


> Read the first review...
> 
> LOL (Laugh Out Loud) Rollovers- Bacon the Pig


:up: I'll have to see what else Mike has bought and reviewed.


----------



## Bierboy (Jun 12, 2004)

Sepinwall's take on the ep...


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## Anubys (Jul 16, 2004)

Bierboy said:


> Wasn't that the pilot (S01E01) ep?


I think so but since I was not sure, I didn't commit too that!

Earlier in the episode, a docile Walt meekly accepted a HJ for his birthday. At the end, the "took" his wife in an authoritative and passionate way and she responded to it with surprise and welcome. This time was similar yet very very different.


----------



## betts4 (Dec 27, 2005)

"Walt is that you?" 

Her surprise that this was her docile husband and he wasn't quite docile.


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## danterner (Mar 4, 2005)

Anubys said:


> I think so but since I was not sure, I didn't commit too that!
> 
> Earlier in the episode, a docile Walt meekly accepted a HJ for his birthday. At the end, the "took" his wife in an authoritative and passionate way and she responded to it with surprise and welcome. This time was similar yet very very different.


It was discussed on the podcast for this episode (Madrigal) that the final scene with Skylar and Walt actually went longer but had to be cut for time. In the longer version, Walt continues with his advances and Skylar, obviously not in the mood, reaches behind herself and gives him a preemptive HJ before he can take things farther.


----------



## Anubys (Jul 16, 2004)

danterner said:


> It was discussed on the podcast for this episode (Madrigal) that the final scene with Skylar and Walt actually went longer but had to be cut for time. In the longer version, Walt continues with his advances and Skylar, obviously not in the mood, reaches behind herself and gives him a preemptive HJ before he can take things farther.


I'm glad they had to cut it, then. The creepiness/rape of the scene would have been totally ruined and become much less powerful.


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## danterner (Mar 4, 2005)

Anubys said:


> I'm glad they had to cut it, then. The creepiness/rape of the scene would have been totally ruined and become much less powerful.


Not the way they describe in the podcast - it was even more creepy than the edited version. They described it as "rapey." They were still happy with the edited version, too, as they felt it conveyed the same thing they were going for in the longer original.


----------



## Bierboy (Jun 12, 2004)

danterner said:


> Not the way they describe in the podcast - it was even more creepy than the edited version. They described it as "rapey." They were still happy with the edited version, too, as they felt it conveyed the same thing they were going for in _*the longer original*_.


Heh, heh....he said "longer original"....heh, heh....


----------



## DevdogAZ (Apr 16, 2003)

danterner said:


> Not the way they describe in the podcast - it was even more creepy than the edited version. They described it as "rapey." They were still happy with the edited version, too, as they felt it conveyed the same thing they were going for in the longer original.


Not sure how that would work. If she's volutarily giving him a HJ, even if she felt pressured to do so, that takes away any "rapey" feel from the scene and makes her a willing partner, IMO.


----------



## Beryl (Feb 22, 2009)

This episode motivated me to replace the batteries in my 3 Roombas and get them working again. So nice to rid my house of excess dust, dirt, & dog hair.


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## astrohip (Jan 7, 2003)

Beryl said:


> This episode motivated me to replace the batteries in my 3 Roombas and get them working again. So nice to rid my house of excess dust, dirt, & dog hair* and ricin cigarettes*.


FYP.


----------



## betts4 (Dec 27, 2005)

Beryl said:


> This episode motivated me to replace the batteries in my 3 Roombas and get them working again. So nice to rid my house of excess dust, dirt, & dog hair.


:up:

But loved the fix to this post. Though it wasn't a ricin cigarette, it was a salt filled, fake ricin.


----------



## Anubys (Jul 16, 2004)

DevdogAZ said:


> Not sure how that would work. If she's volutarily giving him a HJ, even if she felt pressured to do so, that takes away any "rapey" feel from the scene and makes her a willing partner, IMO.


wow...I'm sorry, but your opinion is dead wrong! 

Being in the same room as him makes her shake with fear. Any sexual acquiescence on her part is out of sheer terror. Absolutely "rapey" in my book and in court as well.


----------



## tiams (Apr 19, 2004)

DevdogAZ said:


> Not sure how that would work. If she's volutarily giving him a HJ, even if she felt pressured to do so, that takes away any "rapey" feel from the scene and makes her a willing partner, IMO.


If she is doing it because she is afraid of him it's not voluntary, therefore very rapey. Maybe you have to be a woman to get it.


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## getreal (Sep 29, 2003)

tiams said:


> If she is doing it because she is afraid of him it's not voluntary, therefore very rapey. Maybe you have to be a woman to get it.


A wife giving her hubby a HJ because she isn't exactly in the mood means he kinda'-sorta' raped her? 

Yeah, I get the idea that she is starting to fear her hubby, but I think "rapey" (i.e. pertaining to rape) is not the right word. It's a bit ... heavy-handed ... so to speak. She didn't tell him "NO!" and he proceeded to force himself on her.


----------



## tiams (Apr 19, 2004)

getreal said:


> A wife giving her hubby a HJ because she isn't exactly in the mood means he kinda'-sorta' raped her?


If you think Skylar is a wife who just "wasn't in the mood" then you are misunderstanding a great deal of the show.


----------



## betts4 (Dec 27, 2005)

She wasn't "wasn't in the mood" she didn't want him to touch her. In any way. We had seen that already from the hugs he gave her and she just stood there. 

If a HJ is going to stop me from getting physically entered by someone I am scared and disgusted and confused because he is not the man I thought he was (or raped as they might say), then I would do the HJ.


----------



## Hank (May 31, 2000)

Bierboy said:


> Sepinwall's take on the ep...


I guess he doesn't watch the show that closely...



> The order of the day is still cleaning up the mess that was made when Walter White destroyed a business.... _ Hank's air filter lead from Gale's apartment takes the investigation to the German headquarters of Madrigal Electromotive._


No, that's not what brought them back to Madrigal Electromotive. ME was clearly an investor of LPH, and more likely, Gus had a Cayman bank accounts (for Herr Schuler) which drew the DEA back to ME to investigate. Or maybe ME was a depositor to the Gus's account. The "air filter" lead from Season 3 was a dead lead, and had really very little to do with Season 5 (other than confirming that Hank was totally correct in his suspicion). Clearly, the DEA had evidence that Herr Schuler was connected to the meth production, as the CEO said he "acted alone" (but as the audience knows, he at least he worked with Lydia at ME, maybe others).



> (*) Two thoughts on this sequence. First, it took me a couple of viewings to feel reasonably confident that what Walt does is to hide the real Chekhov's Ricin behind an electrical socket (in case he ever needs it again without having the time or resources to make a new batch of ricin), while the one he and Jesse find inside the Roomba is a fake one to give Jesse peace of mind.


Really, that took you a couple of viewings to figure out? It was pretty obvious to me, and I'm assuming most other people.



> . Herr Schuler knows what the presence of law-enforcement in his office, studying a photo of himself with Gus, has to mean, and rather than suffer the humiliation and loss of freedom that's coming


No, that wasn't Herr Schuler looking at the photo of himself and Gus, it was the Polizei waiting for him in his office/reception area.


----------



## Anubys (Jul 16, 2004)

Hank said:


> No, that wasn't Herr Schuler looking at the photo of himself and Gus, it was the Polizei waiting for him in his office/reception area.


I missed that. I thought is was Herr Schuler as well. But you're right, he was never in his office and the picture would not have been in the bathroom!


----------



## danterner (Mar 4, 2005)

Schuler went back to his office (but did not go inside). From his vantage point, looking through the windows of his office, he could see the police looking over his things (and paying particular attention to his photo with Gus). He decided not to enter his office, and instead turned, grabbed the nearby AED, and headed into the bathroom. He already had an excellent idea what they were there about, because as his assistant told him in the tater tot room "they're back again. This time three of them."


----------



## pdhenry (Feb 28, 2005)

danterner said:


> Schuler went back to his office (but did not go inside). From his vantage point, looking through the windows of his office, he could see the police looking over his things (and paying particular attention to his photo with Gus). He decided not to enter his office, and instead turned, grabbed the nearby AED, and headed into the bathroom. He already had an excellent idea what they were there about, because as his assistant told him in the tater tot room "they're back again. This time three of them."


This.

But a reasonable parsing of Sepinwall's text says the same thing.


----------



## goblue97 (May 12, 2005)

> Did anyone else have really bad audio for the first few minutes of the show? That was really annoying.


I had the same problem. I couldn't understand what they were saying but luckily my TV turned the captioning on for me automatically.


----------



## mike_k (Sep 20, 2005)

Hank said:


> I guess he doesn't watch the show that closely...
> 
> No, that's not what brought them back to Madrigal Electromotive. ME was clearly an investor of LPH, and more likely, Gus had a Cayman bank accounts (for Herr Schuler) which drew the DEA back to ME to investigate. Or maybe ME was a depositor to the Gus's account. The "air filter" lead from Season 3 was a dead lead, and had really very little to do with Season 5 (other than confirming that Hank was totally correct in his suspicion). Clearly, the DEA had evidence that Herr Schuler was connected to the meth production, as the CEO said he "acted alone" (but as the audience knows, he at least he worked with Lydia at ME, maybe others).


It was Season 4 (after Jesse shot Gale) - Hank discovered that the manufacturer of the air cleaner was Madrigal Electromotive.  He was told by a sales rep that Gale signed for the shipment. He was also told that there was no payment info on record for the filter. That was when Hank discovered that Madrigal owned Pollos Hermanos.


----------



## Hank (May 31, 2000)

mike_k said:


> That was when Hank discovered that Madrigal owned Pollos Hermanos.


I don't believe this part that Hank got that far. But I can't go back and watch S4, so I'm not going to really challenge it other than to say that Hank got as far as the temporary employee on the phone feeding him some info about the air filtration equipment, but go quickly shuffled off the phone.


----------



## mike_k (Sep 20, 2005)

Hank said:


> I don't believe this part that Hank got that far. But I can't go back and watch S4, so I'm not going to really challenge it other than to say that Hank got as far as the temporary employee on the phone feeding him some info about the air filtration equipment, but go quickly shuffled off the phone.


He did - all of this was part of the evidence that he presented to Gomez and his boss to support his theory that Gus was the guy.


----------



## robojerk (Jun 13, 2006)

mike_k said:


> He did - all of this was part of the evidence that he presented to Gomez and his boss to support his theory that Gus was the guy.


:up:


----------



## nataylor (Apr 26, 2000)

Hank said:


> I don't believe this part that Hank got that far. But I can't go back and watch S4, so I'm not going to really challenge it other than to say that Hank got as far as the temporary employee on the phone feeding him some info about the air filtration equipment, but go quickly shuffled off the phone.


There was a LPH napkin with a number on it that was in Gale's apartment. Hank found out the number was a part number for an industrial air filter. He says the air filter is made by Madrigal. He called their Houston office and talked to a temp who said an air filter like that was shipped to ABQ 6 months ago and was signed for by Gale. On a later phone call, the temp says there's no record of the filter being paid for. He continued to try to communicate with the temp, but she disappeared and all he could talk to was a corporate lawyer and he hit a brick wall. So he investigates Madrigal. They're based in Hanover, Germany and operate many different businesses, including a "tiny little foothold in American fast food, specifically a local chain: Los Pollos Hermanos."

That's from just rewatching the scene in the season 4 episode Problem Dog.


----------



## Aniketos (Mar 6, 2006)

panictivo said:


> I am tired of the stupidity of Jesse and Walt together. It is their interaction with others that is interesting.


Are we watching the same show, the entire manipulation of Jesse by Walt is amazing, the scene with the Roomba in particular as previously mentioned.



Carlucci said:


> This episode marked the turning point for me. Where Walt was once a mostly sympathetic character, either desperate or trapped, now he is just a despicable drug dealer. I pretty sure this is by design, though.


I was actively rooting for Gus by the end of season 4. This show truly is on the level of the Wire for me, and if they stick the landing on season 5 it'll probably surpass it.


----------



## BitbyBlit (Aug 25, 2001)

> (*) Two thoughts on this sequence. First, it took me a couple of viewings to feel reasonably confident that what Walt does is to hide the real Chekhov's Ricin behind an electrical socket (in case he ever needs it again without having the time or resources to make a new batch of ricin), while the one he and Jesse find inside the Roomba is a fake one to give Jesse peace of mind.





Hank said:


> Really, that took you a couple of viewings to figure out? It was pretty obvious to me, and I'm assuming most other people.


Yeah, I didn't understand this part either. Why would Walt hide a fake tube of ricin behind the electrical socket? And even if he really wanted to do that, he wouldn't wrap it in a cigarette, then immediately unwrap it. I didn't even consider that option as a possibility.

I agree that Aaron's acting was amazing during the scene when he finds the fake ricin. As bad as Walt has been, I felt the lowest that I have ever felt about him while he was "comforting" Jessie.


----------



## betts4 (Dec 27, 2005)

BitbyBlit said:


> Yeah, I didn't understand this part either. Why would Walt hide a fake tube of ricin behind the electrical socket? And even if he really wanted to do that, he wouldn't wrap it in a cigarette, then immediately unwrap it. I didn't even consider that option as a possibility.


Actually it took me a minute to put the two together too. I was going, why hide salt? then it clicked.


----------



## jsmeeker (Apr 2, 2001)

I'm finally totally caught up with Breaking Bad. Seasons 1-4 and the first two episodes of season 5. I can now finally participate in a real episode thread!!


I too wonder if there will be more with this German company "Madrigal". Mr. Schuler was knew something. Maybe was in on it. I doubt he was alone. I hope this isn't the end of that story line.

When the woman showed up in the coffee shop and Mike started to talk to her, I wondered if I was supposed to have remembered her. Glad to know that was her introduction. But I totally missed her sitting with the Madrigal execs when they were meeting with the DEA. Maybe if she was wearing giant sunglasses.

One thing I don't get is why Walter poisoned the little kid. Was that a ploy to draw out Gus to Jesse?


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## MikeAndrews (Jan 17, 2002)

jsmeeker said:


> ...I too wonder if there will be more with this German company "Madrigal". Mr. Schuler was knew something. Maybe was in on it. I doubt he was alone. I hope this isn't the end of that story line.





Spoiler



On that ComicCon panel they say that Walt's operation goes worldwide, so we can gues that Madrigal stays in the dope business.





jsmeeker said:


> ...When the woman showed up in the coffee shop and Mike started to talk to her, I wondered if I was supposed to have remembered her. Glad to know that was her introduction. But I totally missed her sitting with the Madrigal execs when they were meeting with the DEA. Maybe if she was wearing giant sunglasses.
> 
> One thing I don't get is why Walter poisoned the little kid. Was that a ploy to draw out Gus to Jesse?


Smeeks.

The lady was in Madrigal's meeting with the DEA. Above, she's the US. representative.

Walt needed Jesse on his side and against Gus to save his own bacon. Gus would have killed Walt very soon.


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## Hank (May 31, 2000)

netringer said:


> Smeeks.
> 
> The lady was in Madrigal's meeting with the DEA. Above, she's the US. representative.


I went back and re-watched this episode -- of course she's at the table, and there's one quick scene where she leans forward, but she's otherwise non-memorable. If they had her say two words at the meeting, I would have remember her in the subsequent scenes.


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## Robin (Dec 6, 2001)

Whether or not a hand job would have been "rapey" reminds me of the first season of 24.



Spoiler



IIRC, one of the captors is going to rape the daughter and the mom offers herself up instead, promises not to fight. That scene gave me chills at the time and still does. It might not meet the dictionary definition of rape but it ABSOLUTELY is.



Like many others here I caught up on BB over the last few months and have recently read the back threads. One thing I haven't seen addressed is when Walt rapes Skylar in the first season. Not in the pilot when he takes her from behind, by surprise, but later on. She has a facial mask on and he shoves her face into the fridge. She's telling him to stop and he doesn't listen, they're interrupted by Walt Jr. coming home. I may not have all the details 100%, but again, it was a chilling scene and the one that permanently turned me against Walt.

As for the new female character, I noticed her right away in the board meeting scene. I don't know what it was, if the camera lingered on her or if she was the only woman, but she jumped out at me.


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## DevdogAZ (Apr 16, 2003)

Robin said:


> Like many others here I caught up on BB over the last few months and have recently read the back threads. One thing I haven't seen addressed is when Walt rapes Skylar in the first season. Not in the pilot when he takes her from behind, by surprise, but later on. She has a facial mask on and he shoves her face into the fridge. She's telling him to stop and he doesn't listen, they're interrupted by Walt Jr. coming home. I may not have all the details 100%, but again, it was a chilling scene and the one that permanently turned me against Walt.


Bryan Cranston actually directed that episode, and talked about that particular scene in a recent interview with Alan Sepinwall.



> *You directed the season 2 premiere, and there's a scene in there where Walt has just come home, he's had this terrifying experience at the junkyard with Tuco, he's in the kitchen with Skyler and they have this horrible, violent, ugly sex in the kitchen. And you have to both play and direct this. What are your memories of that?*
> 
> I did the character work before. So I knew what I wanted to do by the time we started shooting. So that when I'm on stage talking with Anna (Gunn) and guiding her through this, and with Michael Slovis, my DP, I wanted to make sure I was clear where I wanted to go with this. And it is a violent act. I wanted to make sure Anna was physically safe, for one, emotionally safe, number two, and then carry on with it. And from a character standpoint, Walt had this bottled-up sense of anxiety, and he just witnessed a brutal beating that was so violent to him  remember, he's new to it  that he's reeling from it, and doesn't know where to place it, and just needs comfort right now. So I wanted to specifically make Walt go to his wife for comfort, and what happens is that in seeking comfort  just come up from behind her and smell her and feel safe  what happens often with men is it gets misplaced, it gets confused. He gets charged up, kind of excited and aggressive and get this angst out, this sense of tension. And that's why he goes to that point. That's how Bryan had to justify it and then tell Walt how to play it.
> 
> ...


It's an excellent interview (and there's a companion interview with Aaron Paul as well). I highly recommend that fans of this show read both interviews.


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## Robin (Dec 6, 2001)

Thanks for that.

Did it come up here before and I missed it? I was shocked that there was no discussion of a character turn that intense.


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## DreadPirateRob (Nov 12, 2002)

The Sepinwall interviews took place relatively recently (a few weeks back, when they were doing press in prep for the season premiere), and I think they were posted here already at least once.


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## Robin (Dec 6, 2001)

not the interview, the scene.

In my world a guy raping his wife is a Big Deal.


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## DreadPirateRob (Nov 12, 2002)

Ah, gotcha. 

No idea - I just watched the entire series in about a 6 week span, so I missed all of the episode threads until the first 3 of this season.


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## Anubys (Jul 16, 2004)

Since I'm a newcomer as well, that scene is fresh in my mind. Let me first remind you that I was on the forefront of those who said the HJ or not scene was absolutely a rape (uh oh, here it comes!).

I did not see the fridge scene as a rape. He started out nice and she was receptive. It was a callback (I keep using that word!) to the first scene in the pilot where he was forceful and she responded positively. He was letting out some aggression and thought being rough was part of the excitement for both of them. I saw it more as "banging the head against the headboard" situation just by virtue of the position and the force.

He lost control. I think he was stopping before the kid came home. But she was receptive and into it until it became violent/too aggressive. I chalked that one up more to just a husband & wife not in tune than with the rapeyness of the last scene.


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## Robin (Dec 6, 2001)

I'd have to rewatch to be sure, but I recall her being very clear about wanting him to stop. I agree that it was a callback to the pilot, and I think the point was to show how he'd changed.

In the pilot he was assertive and she loved it. In s2 he was aggressive and overdid it. She wanted him to stop, but he wouldn't.


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## Anubys (Jul 16, 2004)

Robin said:


> I'd have to rewatch to be sure, but I recall her being very clear about wanting him to stop. I agree that it was a callback to the pilot, and I think the point was to show how he'd changed.
> 
> In the pilot he was assertive and she loved it. In s2 he was aggressive and overdid it. She wanted him to stop, but he wouldn't.


Please do watch it again. Never rely on my failing memory for anything! Can you post which episode it is (season, episode number), if possible?

I have the files on my computer and would like to watch it again as well. I reserve the right to completely change my mind after re-watching


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## Robin (Dec 6, 2001)

I think someone said it's s02e01. I'm going to rewatch on Netflix but I have to wait until the kids are elsewhere!


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## Anubys (Jul 16, 2004)

OK, watched the mask/fridge scene again. It was even more innocent than I remembered it!

First, she is very pregnant (not really relevant but there it is). She is standing by the fridge (on her right), facing the table and making a samish' 

He walks in slowly, near tears. He is behind her as he puts his head on the back of her shoulder and half-sobs. She leans her head back to comfort him. He starts to caress her and she smiles the laughs as he bends her over and she playfully says things like "Now?" and "let me at least clean my face" and "junior is going to be here any minute". 

Not a denial, just the normal wife/husband stuff. He proceeds to take her panties off and she is letting him, even says "ok...just..." (I would imagine she was about to say "just hurry up about it"). At this point, it's a 100% normal "gosh, here's my frisky husband, ok, let him have his fun, not really into it but it's kind of kinky too" kind of way.

He then probably enters her and things are ok for half a second but he thrusts hard and almost knocks her off balance. She says "enough. Stop it" but he is mid-thrust as she says it. She then bangs her head against the fridge. She yells "stop it" louder the second time and stands up. He immediately stops and shamefully (and slowly) walks away to the outside by the pool. She goes out and talks to him and only then does Junior come home and ask for pancakes.




ok. the pancakes thing didn't really happen.


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