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Review: 'Breaking Bad' season 5 presents a Walter White in triumph

Even in Walt's apparent victory, AMC drama remains spectacularly tense

By Alan SepinwallTuesday, Jul 10, 2012 9:00 AM

Aaron Paul and Bryan Cranston are back on "Breaking Bad."

Credit: AMC

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(Note: This column contains mild spoilers for the upcoming season of "Breaking Bad." If you don't want to know anything at all, don't read.)

Through four seasons of "Breaking Bad," Walter White has been many things: Teacher. Husband. Father. Cancer patient. Meth cook. Aspiring drug lord. Frustrated employee. Mentor. Killer.

Most of all, though, he's been an escape artist.

Time and time again, Vince Gilligan and the rest of the "Breaking Bad" writers have placed Walt in one trap after another where the only apparent outcomes have been death or prison. And time and time again, Walt has found a way out of the trap — sometimes through his skills as a world-class chemist, sometimes just through sheer force of will.

These threats to Walt's life and freedom have been relentless, and they've only increased over time, peaking last season as he engaged in a battle of wits with his ruthless, calculating boss Gus Fring. That season concluded as it had to — and yet more memorably than anyone could have expected — with Walt figuring out how to kill Gus with a bomb in a nursing home.

When Walt's wife Skyler — whose horror towards her husband has only grown the more she's learned about his second life as the drug dealer known as Heisenberg — asked him what had happened with Gus, Walt's answer was simple, and chilling:

"I won."

So we enter the series' fifth and final season (eight episodes will begin airing Sunday at 10 p.m. on AMC, and the remaining eight will air next summer) with Walt in an unusual circumstance: for the first time since he began cooking meth, no one is angling to kill him. And all of the major players in the local meth trade are now dead at either Walt's hand or Gus's. His cancer is in remission, he has no enemies that he's aware of, and as he looks out at the wide-open drug market, he says, "There is gold in the streets, just waiting for someone to come and scoop it up."

This is Walt flush with victory, and even more arrogant than ever. There are still hiccups, still problems to be solved and straightjackets to be escaped, but he no longer acts like a cornered animal. Instead, he sees himself as the undisputed master of all he surveys, whose victories will now seem inevitable rather than improbable.

When a colleague asks Walt why he should believe a plan of theirs has succeeded, Walt replies smugly, "Because I say so?"

This is fascinating new terrain for "Breaking Bad" and its Emmy-winning star Bryan Cranston to explore. The series has carefully, brilliantly chronicled Walt's descent from unassuming teacher to the murderous Heisenberg. And though Walt's behavior has crossed one moral line after another over the years — last season, part of his plot to kill Gus involved poisoning a little boy (non-fatally, but just barely) to regain the loyalty of his partner Jesse — there's always been someone in his path who was even worse, relatively speaking.

I don't expect Walt to stay unopposed for the remaining 16 hours of the series. Sooner or later, he'll run into trouble with Jesse, or with Gus's former henchman Mike, or Walt's DEA agent brother-in-law Hank. In the early going, though, there is no one to match the great and terrible Heisenberg.

In the battle of the little monster versus the big monster, you tend to root for the little monster. But what happens when there's only one monster left, and he's the guy you've been rooting for all this time?

Cranston embraces the opportunity to play a Walt seemingly without limits, and the rest of the cast continues to rise to match him. As Jesse, fellow Emmy winner Aaron Paul also gets to play multiple roles — at various points, he's been Walt's student, partner, surrogate son and enemy — but ultimately, he's Mr. White's emotional victim, and Paul finds new depths of pain to put on display as Jesse ponders all that he's been through and done, always feeling things more deeply than Walt can. Skyler is more knowing of what Walt's become than Jesse, and Anna Gunn does some of her best work in the role to date in the season's early episodes.

And just as Gus only turned into the role of a lifetime for Giancarlo Esposito after plot logic forced Gilligan to bump off season 3's original villains ahead of schedule, Jonathan Banks gets added responsibility, and reward, as Mike has to adjust to a world where his omnipotent boss got half his face blown off by Walter freaking White. Banks' performance is so weary and lived-in that it barely even matters that Mike so often seems superhumanly competent.

Even with Walt's apparent victory over all who would seek to deny him, his genius and his strength, "Breaking Bad" is still a perfect model of filmed suspense. There are still moments where you may forget to breathe, like a "Sopranos"-esque scene in a diner where a character is very concerned about who's coming through the front door. And it's still a series that trusts its beautiful visuals to tell the story, like a trip to a foreign country where the subtitles are almost besides the point.

That international trip eventually leads us to the season's first major new character, Lydia, played by Scottish actress Laura Fraser. Without revealing too much about who she is and why she matters, I'll just say that she's the kind of character we haven't seen before on this show: a high-strung professional who's no doubt supremely confident in her own world, but whose nerves make her seem wildly unsuited to be anywhere near this business.

Walter White, on the other hand? He was born for this business, even if we couldn't see that when "Breaking Bad" began. Like many niche cable dramas, the show's reputation has only grown over time, which means new viewers initially sample it well after the fact. I've gotten to witness many friends and relatives catch up on episodes I first saw years ago. Inevitably there's a moment in their marathon viewing where each of them will email me to express dismay that this guy they empathized with so much at the start has turned out to be such a horrible human being, but that moment varies from person to person.

By the time this fifth season begins, though, there's no doubt we're watching a show about the bad guy, and one who's been absolutely corrupted by the absolute power that's close enough to taste.

The only questions that are left are about how long he'll be able to hold onto that power, how many people around him will suffer in the process, and how many of them will figure out what we've come to know about The One Who Knocks.

Alan Sepinwall may be reached at sepinwall@hitfix.com

Alan Sepinwall
Sr. Editor, What's Alan Watching

Alan Sepinwall has been reviewing television since the mid-'90s, first for Tony Soprano's hometown paper, The Star-Ledger, and now for HitFix. His new book, "The Revolution Was Televised," about the last 15 years of TV drama, is for sale at Amazon. He can be reached at sepinwall@hitfix.com

Related Searches: Breaking Bad, Bryan Cranston, Aaron Paul, Vince Gilligan, Jonathan Banks, Anna Gunn, Dean Norris, Betsy Brandt, RJ Mitte

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Hatfield

You are seriously skilled at writing the least revealing pre-air reviews. I'm eating it up like a starving man while I read it, only to realize at the end how little new information was really in there. In case it's not clear, this is a compliment. Bravo. I will now go crazy with anticipation until Sunday.
July 10, 2012 at 9:08AM EST Reply to Comment
- goodhorse I second Hatfield's compliment, Alan! A great preview, whetting our appetite without spoiling anything.
  
  It was your reviews that pushed me to check this series out on DVD... it was like a hit of the blue meth - ruined every other TV experience out there (except for Parks and Recreation and Community of course, which are both good to cleanse the palate after a sampling of Walter White evil!).
  July 10, 2012 at 8:47PM EST
- Charles Yes, well done Alan. When I saw the dreaded term 'spoilers' I held off on reading this to avoid damaging the excitement, but then curiosity got the better of me.
  
  So, we have a new female character, and at some point someone walks in the front door of a diner. I think I can live with knowing that in advance :).
  July 12, 2012 at 8:54PM EST
Kendra

I've been waiting for this. I don't have much to say except that it feels like I've been waiting forever for this even though I waited longer between Seasons 3 and 4.

Thanks for the review/preview.
July 10, 2012 at 9:09AM EST Reply to Comment
Dean Winchester

Alan, does Breaking Bad end up on iTunes or Amazon the day after it airs? I'm a long-time fan, yet more recently a victim of the AMC/Dish slap fight, so it doesn't seem like I'll be able to see the broadcast on my tv.
July 10, 2012 at 9:16AM EST Reply to Comment
- CaptainCanada It did for past seasons.
  July 10, 2012 at 9:29AM EST
- Weck I subscribed via iTunes last year and it would usually download around 3:00 a.m. CDT, although it would occasionally be later. I'm going to try Amazon this season to see if it's any more consistent.
  July 10, 2012 at 9:30AM EST
- Ryan I watched all of season four on Amazon, and it was always available the day after it aired. I usually wouldn't be able to check until after I got home from work in the early evening, so when during the day it popped up I don't know.
  July 15, 2012 at 7:42AM EST
Teklanika

Giddy with excitement!

But, not at all happy about AMC splitting this season. I already know I will be disappointed after these first 8 episodes that I'll have to wait a year for the next 8. If it's one season, SHOW IT ALL NOW!
July 10, 2012 at 9:18AM EST Reply to Comment
- Cordy Yeah but if they showed it all we would have no more Breaking Bad after some time in Oct/Nov. Nobody wants that.
  July 10, 2012 at 9:46AM EST
- Kendra I think I'd be okay with that. There's no TV show that I look forward to more than Breaking Bad but I love the fact that, unless the show stumbles in its fifth season, it's going to complete its arc in the fifth season and be done without scrambling to find a way to extend it. It may end up being the most perfect show I've ever watched from start to finish.
  
  And I want it all. Now. No point in putting off the withdrawals for another year.
  July 10, 2012 at 10:02AM EST
- Superfan I'd like it all now, too. Who knows what will happen between parts one and two--we could all be dead (at least if the Mayan calendar proves true). (And how twisted is it that one of my main concerns in life is seeing how this show ends??) Can't wait for Sunday.
  July 10, 2012 at 11:41AM EST
- Vera Superfan - Wow, I had never thought about the fact that if the world ends his year, I won't get the see the conclusion to Breaking Bad!! Now I really, really don't want the world to end, hopefully the lack of big natural disasters so far this year speaks well for our chances of the planets allignment not damaging us too much. I'd like to be alive to watch Catching Fire as well, so 2013 better get here.
  July 10, 2012 at 12:25PM EST
- buckbeat DVD Sales :-/
  July 10, 2012 at 3:32PM EST
- superfan well, I have every season on DVD (Blu-ray), so I've done as much as I can.
  July 10, 2012 at 7:10PM EST
- brian You do realize human beings have to actually take the time to create Breaking Bad, right? It's not shat out into existence purely because your desire to see it all now. I couldn't be happier or more pleased with the fact that Gilligan and his team have all the time they need to properly finish what has become a masterful and iconic story. It was my only concern. Writing/producing half and then having time to let that settle before diving back in to deciding on exactly how to finish the final 8 sounds about right.
  July 10, 2012 at 9:45PM EST
- buckbeat Well Brian, I agree with you, but they wrapped Season 5.1 2 weeks ago and and only took a week off before starting 5.2
  July 10, 2012 at 9:48PM EST
- Kendra For the past three seasons they've managed to put together thirteen episode seasons. Sixteen episodes is longer but not that much longer that it'd be impossible for Gilligan & Co. to put it together for a continuous run.
  
  That said, it's only a preference of how I'd like to see the final season just as it would have been a preference not to have to wait a full year in between Seasons 3 and 4.
  July 11, 2012 at 2:00AM EST
- JohnnySack @BuckBeat. They may be starting on 5.2 preproduction next week, but according to Aaron Paul and Bryan Cranston. They start filming these episodes in November.
  July 16, 2012 at 4:59AM EST
- buckbeat Oh ok...I just heard from one of the crew they were shooting them together to save money.
  July 16, 2012 at 5:02AM EST
Weck

Great stuff, Alan. Very excited.
July 10, 2012 at 9:28AM EST Reply to Comment
JREinATL

Alan - How many Season 5.1 episodes got advanced to critics?
July 10, 2012 at 11:25AM EST Reply to Comment
Jared K

Very excited to have my favorite show back, even if it's only for eight weeks before another excruciatingly long hiatus (I've already steeled myself for a truly wicked cliffhanger to close out the first half of the season).

I'm especially curious to see how Mike works his way back into the story. He's smart enough to figure out how Walt set up Gus - a boss he both liked and shared a strategic mideset with - to be murdered almost immediately. Combine that with his personal distaste for Walt, I can't imagine him being thrilled to start taking orders from the man. On the other hand, he's a very pragmatic guy with a very specific set of skills, so maybe he'll be willing to stick around and help set up the new operation as long as he can make it clear to Walt that he will be a partner, not an employee. He'll take that from Gus, but he won't take it from Walt, regardless of how much money there is to be made. At the very least, his personal affection for Jesse might compel him to stick around and try to minimize the fallout when things eventually/inevitably start going to hell.
July 10, 2012 at 11:54AM EST Reply to Comment
Dezbot

This is going to be fantastic! I'm almost rooting for Jesse to kill Walt. Almost. Poor guy's been through so much that I don't want one more murder on his conscience; OTOH, who better to rid the world of the monster Walter White's become?
July 10, 2012 at 12:09PM EST Reply to Comment
- dunesbury Poor poor Jesse, the most undeserving, overrated character in the history of television. I'm spazzing and trembling here trying to eke out a tear for his poor soul, kind of like Aaron Paul's 'acting'.
  July 10, 2012 at 3:43PM EST
- Em @Dunesbury
  Insinuating that Aaron Paul is a bad actor through a thin veil of pretentious sarcasm shows everybody two things...1) You wouldn't know good acting if it smacked you in the face, and 2) you're a snob. Congrats on both!
  July 10, 2012 at 4:16PM EST
- Loretta_ @EM: Not really sure who coined the phrase "sarcasm is the lowest form of wit" but it does seem really applicably to Dunesbury's comment.
  July 10, 2012 at 4:58PM EST
- dunesbury I'm not insinuating it, I'm spelling it out. The amount of hyperbole among the fans of this show is way worse than anything that ever had to do with The Wire. It makes me sick. But I assume anyone who would agree with me has just long since stopped watching the show to avoid the vacant, crazy-eyed stare constantly getting more and more screen time.
  July 10, 2012 at 10:20PM EST
- John Dunesbury, with all due respect, you have no idea what you're talking about. Aaron Paul is great actor (they don't just give out those Emmys for acting to terrible performances--at least not in recent years), and Jesse is a great character. Are you going to try to convince us that Bryan Cranston is a bad actor also?
  July 11, 2012 at 1:39AM EST
- Tedd Dunesbury, if that makes you sick you must have a very delicate constitution. I'd avoid bumpy vehicles and foreign foods.
  July 11, 2012 at 4:35AM EST
- Tim Isola Rewatch this series from the beginning and count how many times Walter White has saved Jesse Pinkmans life, most of the time out of pure love and caring, even as recent as the season 4 premiere when gus had them both at his mercy in the lab and walt is screaming out "if u kill jesse, u dont have me". Its so tiring. Jane had Jesse shooting Crank and Heroin at the same time, if you know anything about drugs you'd know that thats about the most toxic combination possible especially for someone who just started using needles, like jesse did at that point, walt let her die out of love for jesse first and foremost. Rewatch the series, he loves this kid and has looked out for him at every turn. Its Jesse whos the ungrateful disloyal scumbag, he forced walt to do what he had to do to get him back on his side in order to defeat Gus. Walt has been underestimated from the beginning and has come out on top every single time....All Hail the King.
  July 11, 2012 at 10:56AM EST
- dunesbury Yes Tim, and his hospital whining was one of the most ridiculous entitled rants I've ever heard. For me it did the exact opposite of what Gilligan, who has a big enough mancrush on Aaron Paul to literally make Jesse the Chosen One Who Will Prevail At The End, intended. Cringeworthy scene, with no depth at all.
  July 11, 2012 at 4:29PM EST
Mia Monroe

OMG I'm so excited!! This review is completely Walt focused though, and I was hoping for some more tidbits about Jesse, who is a MUCH bigger reason for why I love and watch the show than Walt is. I hope Jesse has a bigger presence than this review indicates.
July 10, 2012 at 12:15PM EST Reply to Comment
ChampSkins

I wonder how they are going to split up the this season. I imagine there will be a big cliffhanger after the 8th episode to get everyone amped for the final 8, but it is somewhat dissapointing to have to wait a whole year for those episodes. I understand why they are splitting it up, but only 8 episodes this summer feels like a tease!
July 10, 2012 at 12:33PM EST Reply to Comment
ron mexico

The quality of BB is so amazing, and I can't wait to see what happens. Gilligan has earned a lot of currency with me as a viewer, and I hope he continues to take more risks in his storytelling. I predict that Walter will indirectly/directly kill Jesse, and probably destroy Hank's career, and thoroughly corrupt Skyler even more than he has. I don't predict a Scarface like blaze of glory for Walter White, but probably an end more similar to the muted one experienced by Vic Mackey, where the series closes with perhaps a little contemplation of the damage he's wrought to everyone around him.
July 10, 2012 at 12:38PM EST Reply to Comment
bin

Alan, I read your tweet in which you wondered about your slowness to warm up to the show initially and I recognized my own reaction. I stopped watching after a few episodes because my empathy for Walt as a "good" man in a bad situation made me so uncomfortable, I couldn't enjoy it. It wasn't until the next season after hearing such good things that I sampled it and then went back and faced those early episodes that felt so fraught with horror and danger and tragic underpinnings.

Wow, what an amazing journey from there to here.

It's actually shown me some things about my own processes - about how I relate to and empathize with the various pulls being created by the story. The transformation of Walter White has been so skillfully done on all fronts that I've learned some things about myself. My own vicarious journey from feeling Walter as trapped, horrified and committed to survival to feeling Hiesenberg as ruthless winner has been illuminating. In one character I've made the transition from the archetype of the underdog to the archetype of the villain. Initially I liked Walt and even though I was engaged by the story, I hated the feeling of being him. I rooted for him because I liked him. Now, as Hiesenberg, I certainly don't like him, but I don't hate the feeling of being him. I like the vicarious feeling of winning, of being the shot caller. It's, well ... powerful. I can't help but feel triumph and Pyrrhic though it may be, victory feels good. I'm not pulling for the smaller monsters.

Well, except for Jesse. The journey with him has been all about loss and heartbreak and never about clear power. It's the emergence into clear power with Walt that's been so revealing to me. I've wondered how I could root for a character like Tony Soprano or Jax Teller who are clearly doing damage and wrong in the world. I had thought it was just because they were written in nuanced and sympathetic terms and working against larger wrongs. Now, I realize it's also because I like the feeling of winning and I'm being shown the view and given the feeling from within the villainy - willful villainy. It's not just the sympathy, it's the power that's engaging. Despite my moral understanding of what's right and good in real life, there's a lot of release in being "the one who knocks."

It's been personally illuminating and that is television on a whole other level. I'm looking forward to Sunday night and I'm totally committed to the rest of the journey, but there's a wariness too. It's brilliant stuff that can make me feel strongly enough to view it as part of MY journey of self-examination, not just the characters.

Know what I mean?
July 10, 2012 at 12:42PM EST Reply to Comment
KobraCola

In case anyone else is worried (like I was), Alan's review is super minimal on spoilers. In fact, I can't imagine him revealing much LESS while still reviewing a season we have yet to see, so I'd definitely recommend reading this (if anyone is on the fence and checking the comments to see how spoiler-y this is). Great piece of writing, Alan, can't wait for the season to start this Sunday!
July 10, 2012 at 12:58PM EST Reply to Comment
- Sareeta Thanks, though I would point out that there is a mild spoiler about a new character. It didn't bother me much, but it might bother some who want to go in completely fresh.
  July 10, 2012 at 1:20PM EST
Chanter

This is going to be spectacular. Great write-up Alan, though I wonder how many episodes have you seen?
July 10, 2012 at 4:02PM EST Reply to Comment
Sareeta

Am I the only one who doesn't think Walt is evil? Everyone he has killed so far needed to die. Jane was going to extort him, Gale was going to replace him/free Gus to kill Walt and Jesse, the people he ran over with the Aztec deserved it, Gus had threatened to kill his whole family, etc. Sure, poisoning Brock was pretty dark, but he knew what he was doing and probably only gave him enough to make him sick. Can't wait for season 5.
July 10, 2012 at 8:37PM EST Reply to Comment
- dunesbury Don't even bother, if they didn't throw him under the bus so spectacularly, perhaps there wouldn't be such a lynch mob after Walt now. Personally, though, I don't care if there is one anymore.
  July 10, 2012 at 10:43PM EST
- tek Now you're talking, Sareeta. I don't see the "evil" so much. He's a fascinating character. I don't so much watch with or without empathy for him, but just because the show is so riveting and well done.
  July 10, 2012 at 10:43PM EST
- sedeyus I'm not trying to be too mean but what are you gonna say after the end of the premiere when all of Walt's enemies are smoked, his cancer's in remission, he's still a couple hundred grand flushed, and he decides what one more time to go down the rabbit-hole of dealing? If Walt was a good guy he would stop.
  July 11, 2012 at 12:09AM EST
- John I completely agree with Sareeta's position. So far, I've been able to justify everything Walt has done. Maybe if he had actually killed the kid, that would have been a bridge too far. But he's a master chemist. I put the chances of the kid actually dying at zero percent. With that said, I think this is going to change this season because I think Walt will be the final major villain of the show. It's only a matter of time before he does something that even his most ardent defenders can't justify. Can't wait.
  July 11, 2012 at 1:33AM EST
- Kendra All of the deaths are related to Walt's choice to be involved in illegal activities. So I don't agree that they all needed to die. Walt didn't need to threaten Brock but that was the path he chose to take and it was always a risk that things could have gone horribly wrong. Just because he can justify it in his mind doesn't mean it's not evil. But hell, even Jesse has some evil in him. That's why I love this show so much.
  July 11, 2012 at 2:16AM EST
- Sareeta This all started with Walt wanting to leave his family financially secure. That's why he got into the meth business. He did not start out intending to kill people, but it became a necessity to protect himself, his family, and Jesse. It's pretty much unavoidable in this business. Killing in self defense does not make a person evil, nor does making bad choices. When he starts murdering people just to protect his drug empire or to keep people in line that I will consider him to be evil and nonredeemable. As of the end of season 4, I find Walt to be one of the most fascinating characters in TV history. Cocky? Yes. A jerk? Yes. Evil, not yet.
  July 11, 2012 at 7:29AM EST
- waltwhite11000 Jesse told Walt to go to the DEA, but Walt wanted to kill Gale instead. Walt could've taken Gretchen & Elliot's money to pay for the treatment, but he chose to keep on cooking meth.
  July 11, 2012 at 8:41AM EST
- Kendra Jane presented no physical threat to Walt. None at all. That's not self defense. Brock posed no physical threat to Walt. Before he killed Gus, he had tons of leverage to approach the DEA.
  
  And as WaltWhite11000 pointed out, Walt had numerous opportunities to back away from the business but he went back every time. "Doing it for the family" was his initial excuse but it soon became apparent that's not why he kept doing it. It was about the power and recognition for him. That's how Gus knew how to lure him back. Walt couldn't stand the thought of anyone cooking 'his' meth.
  July 11, 2012 at 10:55AM EST
- dunesbury She wasn't a physical threat to Walt, she was a blackmail threat. God, people are special.
  July 11, 2012 at 4:38PM EST
- Kendra Yes I understand that she was blackmailing him. But that wasn't a threat to his ability to live which is a requirement for self defense. So she didn't need to die. She died because Walter wasn't ready to walk away from his illegal activities.
  July 12, 2012 at 11:50PM EST
- Ryan Walt didn't need to kill Gale. What Walt did was the equivalent of grabbing an innocent bystander and using them as a human shield while you're in a shootout with the cops. "Well, what was I supposed to do?! Better than innocent person gets shot than ME!" Instead of owning up to his responsibility and dying with some dignity, he chose to kill an innocent person (oh, right, he was cooking meth so he TOTALLY deserved to die...*rolls eyes*)
  
  I'm not saying what he did to Jane was ok, but at least she wasn't completely innocent. Gale was. So was Brock. So was the little old lady he had walk into his house where he thought murderous goons could be waiting to kill whoever walked through the door. Or how about the potential innocent bystanders at the nursing home?
  
  July 15, 2012 at 7:56AM EST
dunesbury

Whatever they come up with regarding Walt's "rise" to power is too little too late. This guy has been presented in some of the worst light possible for more than 2 seasons now, cowering more than half the time while the show's advertizing posters kept promising levels of badassery that we never saw. At the same time, the show kept introducing more mysterious, tougher adversaries that we only saw enough of to intrigue, scare, or intimidate both us and Walt. As such, he is already a compromised, even ruined character, someone we know too well as a weakling and who we can't even sympathize with anymore unlike in seasons 1 and 2 because Vince Gilligan helpfully told us he would just become worse as the show went on so why bother.

I don't think Gilligan realizes that you cant just turn someone like Walt into what a Gus was, because we, in contrast, barely saw a single moment of weakness from Gus.

And I'm sure at this point the only thing Cranston "embraces" is the paycheck. It looks like all they give him in the next couple episodes is opportunities to act like a petulant five year old, and he gives about as good as he gets: a once brilliant, now wasted TV character.
July 10, 2012 at 10:42PM EST Reply to Comment
- John I'm not sure Gilligan is trying to turn Walt into Gus. His stated goal is to turn Walt into Scarface, and Gus certainly wasn't that. Like Scarface, Walt is much too reckless to ever be like Gus was. It's just that Gus was in the way and had to be removed. But I would be shocked if Walt operates the way Gus did. He might at the beginning to try to make a point that he knows how to do this, but it won't last.
  
  Seriously, though, you need to get over your issues with this show. If you don't like it, fine. But you're decidedly in the minority.
  July 11, 2012 at 1:42AM EST
- Tedd I don't get your argument. You're disappointed that Walt isn't some sort of ass-kicking Nietzsche-ian ubermensch? He's been "cowering" because he's a middle-class suburban father of two who is being targeted for execution by an international drug cartel. As Britta would say, duh-doy.
  
  As for being "compromised/ruined", the character has developed quite a bit from where he was in seasons 1 and 2, but isn't character development what we want from a show? And agreed with John above, Walt isn't becoming Gus. And we certainly did see weakness from him--his obsession with taunting Hector was the weakness that lead to his death.
  
  You're mad that he isn't as consistently confidant as he is on the posters? I guess that's true, but I don't quite understand why it bothers you.
  July 11, 2012 at 4:51AM EST
- dunesbury 'He's been "cowering" because he's a middle-class suburban father of two who is being targeted for execution by an international drug cartel. '
  
  ...and now he's what? Has he ever been Scarface? Will he ever be? No. It makes no sense what they're trying to do in this home-stretch. Yes, he killed a drug lord. With Science. From his suburban genius upbringing. Going further than that will never make any sense. Least of all in 16 more episodes.
  
  He shouldnt be an "ubermensch" but promising it to excitable boys just so they tune in is dishonest and loses the focus on who Walt truly is.
  July 11, 2012 at 4:30PM EST
- Will You must be the biggest troll I've ever encountered on this site. Walt not a badass? Poisoned a child, ran over two gang members, set off a bomb IN A NURSING HOME to kill off his main advesary, stabbed a man to death with shards of a broken plate, melted a body in sulfuric acid in a bathtub, watched a girl OD on heroin, etc. I could go on and on.
  And on your point of Cranston only "embracing a paycheck", I honestly do not even know how to respond. Who do you consider a good actor? Or at least one that embraces their role? Please do enlighten us.
  July 11, 2012 at 6:01PM EST
- dunesbury Will, reading comprehension is not your strongpoint. I said he embraces the paycheck AT THIS POINT. When an actor gets a meaty 3-dimensional role, Will, he embraces it. When 5 seasons pass and the same actor is told that, for the finale, they will get to act like a stereotypical evil villain and throw away all character development, they tend to go on autopilot and give up. Which is exactly what Cranston looks like he's doing in these promos.
  
  And if you consider poisoning a child, et al, "badass" behavior, you should consider how it is done. They hype the show like Walt is a super "cool" bad guy, to try to cash in on those who like that cause they're immature. But then they write him like a cowering, whining, spiteful, out-of-his-depth jackass for almost 2 seasons. When he finally does something right, it's mainly because he used scientific methods to get there, because he is NOT a "cool" or "gangsta" guy. They have done this in order to have a semblance of staying true to a character they want to somehow "change" at the same time, for 4 years. This is the only way Walt will ever be, no matter what he does, because that is who he is. Until of course, in season 5, they try to make him fast-forward to being a careless, reckless, preening, Scarface-level drug lord. Makes a lot of sense, doesn't it?
  July 11, 2012 at 8:53PM EST
- drmrfzl "When 5 seasons pass and the same actor is told that, for the finale, they will get to act like a stereotypical evil villain and throw away all character development, they tend to go on autopilot and give up. Which is exactly what Cranston looks like he's doing in these promos."
  
  Ah, well it's good that you've decided that Cranston is on autopilot for a season that has yet to air based on out of context scenes from a promo.
  
  July 12, 2012 at 8:30PM EST
- Ryan THANK YOU. Jesus. That was the most illogical things I've read in a long time. "In the 30 second promos I saw he totally looked like he was phoning it in so IT MUST BE TRUE 'CAUSE I SAW A PROMO." Or, my favorite, "They're totally going to make him a one-dimensional villain." Says who? Do you have some psychic ability you're not telling us about? Or are you just pulling assumptions out of your ass for a season you haven't even seen one episode of?
  
  Anyway, I stopped reading there. No need to read any more of Dunesbury's posts. We get it, Dunesbury, you're a troll. Go away now and let the adults talk.
  July 15, 2012 at 8:02AM EST
sedeyus

I'm really curious about Laura Frasier for a reasons: 1. She's an actress I always liked and I haven't even heard she was appearing on the show. 2. Breaking Bad, while giving time to Marie and Skyler, is a show dominated by men so it's going to be interesting to get a new female character.
July 11, 2012 at 12:05AM EST Reply to Comment
dj

Just to warn you guys, do not read Rob Owen of The Pittsburgh Post Gazette's review, there is a huge spoiler in like the first two sentences. I stopped reading after that spoiler, but I'm sure it's chock full of spoilers so stay away from it. In my opinion there is no need to reveal spoilers in a review, but if I'm not mistaken that guy is known to drop spoilers so I guess it's my fault for even attempting to read it in the first place.
July 11, 2012 at 3:01AM EST Reply to Comment
- Chris Oooh now i'm looking that up to read it! I was actually looking for a more spoilery review than this one. Thanks.
  July 11, 2012 at 10:19AM EST
Tim Isola

I'm so tired of reading articles about this show talking about what a "horrible human being" Walt is. I hate to break it to ya, but Vince Gilligan loves this character and doesnt see him that way at all, and neither do i. I think hes so fucking cool and badass and his ascendency has been amazing to watch. So all of you good people watching in hope of walt "getting his" or whatever, i wouldnt hold my breathe.

My only problem is this final 16 8/8 business. Ive been saying for a while now that there is just so much more story to tell, still so much more they can do with this show. Walt has just finally become the boss, he's been a glorified lackey fighting for his life the last 2 seasons and now that hes finally reached the top, how far can they really go with that if its only 8 and 8.

There is a glimmer of hope, as i read a quote from Cranston himself last week saying "theres just too much story to tell in just 16 more episodes". So if that mindset starts floating around the show, hopefully they will decide to make more next summer. I dont know why they are in such a rush to end this show. Season 5 should be a full 13 episodes dealing with Walt as the new Don, letting him be as brutal and ruthless as he can possibly be. And than the sixth and final 13 episodes will be the inevitable showdown when Hank finally finds out its Walt and they go as dark as humanly possible with that, Have walt kill Hank, kill Marie, go all out. I love the dark places this show is willing to go, there is nothing else like it.
July 11, 2012 at 7:50AM EST Reply to Comment
- Kendra Tim, I hate to break it to you but this is a recent quote from Gilligan:
  
  "Honestly, it surprises me to hear people say they love Walt," Gilligan says. "I don't like Walt as a human being. I pretty much lost sympathy for him long ago. He's a damaged individual."
  
  July 11, 2012 at 12:02PM EST
- AHodges What makes Walt so despicable is that he's chosen every bit of this, despite all of the warnings and bad things that have happened as a result. Unlike people who grow up in dysfunctional families, around drug addicts, or those who do illegal things out of necessity, Walt put himself in this position on purpose. It's kind of hard to have empathy for someone who has not thought twice about the danger this could bring his family, or what it will do to his relationship with them. He can tell himself it's all about "providing," but the only thing he's provided is stress and turmoil. The White's are no better off than they ever were, in fact, they are worse off.
  July 14, 2012 at 4:14PM EST
Brandon

Considering the year between the two, why haven't they decided to name these seasons 5 and 6? I'd do that if I were them. Then I'd have 2 DVD sets to sell. And I don't really feel like 8 eps is too small to consider a season. Seems like maybe I'm missing something.
July 11, 2012 at 11:49PM EST Reply to Comment
- GarySF 8 eps isn't too small to consider a season. But they'll definitely have two DVD sets to sell...5.1 and 5.2, just like Battlestar Galactica and The Sopranos. And I think Alan explained awhile back the subtle contractual differences between calling these seasons 5 and 6 vs simply season 5 with a long break in the middle.
  July 12, 2012 at 5:05PM EST
GarySF

I used to think there were just two ways for a protagonist like Walt to end up, dead or in prison. But thanks to The Shield, I've learned that crafty writers and showrunners can deliver other forms of comeuppance while completely satisfying the audience. With that in mind, I'm very excited to see how these final 16 unfold. I have no doubt Gilligan and company won't disappoint.
July 12, 2012 at 5:07PM EST Reply to Comment
JB

Who is the clown critic that gave it a 67 on Metacritic? Lol..gotta be kidding me. It may not be a perfect 100 but come on
July 15, 2012 at 5:47AM EST Reply to Comment
- dej The clown is someone who wanted web hits. I bit. The review comes down to maybe 4 paragraphs about the episode. To put the clowns rating in perspective, said clown likes Glee
  July 16, 2012 at 9:49PM EST

Review: 'Breaking Bad' season 5 presents a Walter White in triumph

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Kendra I've been waiting for this. I don't have much to say except that it feels like I've been waiting forever for this even though I waited longer between Seasons 3 and 4.Thanks for the review/preview.

Dean Winchester Alan, does Breaking Bad end up on iTunes or Amazon the day after it airs? I'm a long-time fan, yet more recently a victim of the AMC/Dish slap fight, so it doesn't seem like I'll be able to see the broadcast on my tv.

CaptainCanada It did for past seasons.

Weck I subscribed via iTunes last year and it would usually download around 3:00 a.m. CDT, although it would occasionally be later. I'm going to try Amazon this season to see if it's any more consistent.

Ryan I watched all of season four on Amazon, and it was always available the day after it aired. I usually wouldn't be able to check until after I got home from work in the early evening, so when during the day it popped up I don't know.

Teklanika Giddy with excitement! But, not at all happy about AMC splitting this season. I already know I will be disappointed after these first 8 episodes that I'll have to wait a year for the next 8. If it's one season, SHOW IT ALL NOW!

Cordy Yeah but if they showed it all we would have no more Breaking Bad after some time in Oct/Nov. Nobody wants that.

Superfan I'd like it all now, too. Who knows what will happen between parts one and two--we could all be dead (at least if the Mayan calendar proves true). (And how twisted is it that one of my main concerns in life is seeing how this show ends??) Can't wait for Sunday.

buckbeat DVD Sales :-/

superfan well, I have every season on DVD (Blu-ray), so I've done as much as I can.

buckbeat Well Brian, I agree with you, but they wrapped Season 5.1 2 weeks ago and and only took a week off before starting 5.2

JohnnySack @BuckBeat. They may be starting on 5.2 preproduction next week, but according to Aaron Paul and Bryan Cranston. They start filming these episodes in November.

buckbeat Oh ok...I just heard from one of the crew they were shooting them together to save money.

Weck Great stuff, Alan. Very excited.

JREinATL Alan - How many Season 5.1 episodes got advanced to critics?

Dezbot This is going to be fantastic! I'm almost rooting for Jesse to kill Walt. Almost. Poor guy's been through so much that I don't want one more murder on his conscience; OTOH, who better to rid the world of the monster Walter White's become?

dunesbury Poor poor Jesse, the most undeserving, overrated character in the history of television. I'm spazzing and trembling here trying to eke out a tear for his poor soul, kind of like Aaron Paul's 'acting'.

Em @Dunesbury Insinuating that Aaron Paul is a bad actor through a thin veil of pretentious sarcasm shows everybody two things...1) You wouldn't know good acting if it smacked you in the face, and 2) you're a snob. Congrats on both!

Loretta_ @EM: Not really sure who coined the phrase "sarcasm is the lowest form of wit" but it does seem really applicably to Dunesbury's comment.

Tedd Dunesbury, if that makes you sick you must have a very delicate constitution. I'd avoid bumpy vehicles and foreign foods.

Mia Monroe OMG I'm so excited!! This review is completely Walt focused though, and I was hoping for some more tidbits about Jesse, who is a MUCH bigger reason for why I love and watch the show than Walt is. I hope Jesse has a bigger presence than this review indicates.

Sareeta Thanks, though I would point out that there is a mild spoiler about a new character. It didn't bother me much, but it might bother some who want to go in completely fresh.

Chanter This is going to be spectacular. Great write-up Alan, though I wonder how many episodes have you seen?

dunesbury Don't even bother, if they didn't throw him under the bus so spectacularly, perhaps there wouldn't be such a lynch mob after Walt now. Personally, though, I don't care if there is one anymore.

tek Now you're talking, Sareeta. I don't see the "evil" so much. He's a fascinating character. I don't so much watch with or without empathy for him, but just because the show is so riveting and well done.

waltwhite11000 Jesse told Walt to go to the DEA, but Walt wanted to kill Gale instead. Walt could've taken Gretchen & Elliot's money to pay for the treatment, but he chose to keep on cooking meth.

dunesbury She wasn't a physical threat to Walt, she was a blackmail threat. God, people are special.

Kendra Yes I understand that she was blackmailing him. But that wasn't a threat to his ability to live which is a requirement for self defense. So she didn't need to die. She died because Walter wasn't ready to walk away from his illegal activities.

sedeyus I'm really curious about Laura Frasier for a reasons: 1. She's an actress I always liked and I haven't even heard she was appearing on the show. 2. Breaking Bad, while giving time to Marie and Skyler, is a show dominated by men so it's going to be interesting to get a new female character.

Chris Oooh now i'm looking that up to read it! I was actually looking for a more spoilery review than this one. Thanks.

Kendra Tim, I hate to break it to you but this is a recent quote from Gilligan:"Honestly, it surprises me to hear people say they love Walt," Gilligan says. "I don't like Walt as a human being. I pretty much lost sympathy for him long ago. He's a damaged individual."

Brandon Considering the year between the two, why haven't they decided to name these seasons 5 and 6? I'd do that if I were them. Then I'd have 2 DVD sets to sell. And I don't really feel like 8 eps is too small to consider a season. Seems like maybe I'm missing something.

JB Who is the clown critic that gave it a 67 on Metacritic? Lol..gotta be kidding me. It may not be a perfect 100 but come on

dej The clown is someone who wanted web hits. I bit. The review comes down to maybe 4 paragraphs about the episode. To put the clowns rating in perspective, said clown likes Glee

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Breaking Bad is updated

Kendra

I've been waiting for this. I don't have much to say except that it feels like I've been waiting forever for this even though I waited longer between Seasons 3 and 4.

Thanks for the review/preview.

Dean Winchester

Alan, does Breaking Bad end up on iTunes or Amazon the day after it airs? I'm a long-time fan, yet more recently a victim of the AMC/Dish slap fight, so it doesn't seem like I'll be able to see the broadcast on my tv.

Teklanika

Giddy with excitement!

But, not at all happy about AMC splitting this season. I already know I will be disappointed after these first 8 episodes that I'll have to wait a year for the next 8. If it's one season, SHOW IT ALL NOW!

Weck

Great stuff, Alan. Very excited.

JREinATL

Alan - How many Season 5.1 episodes got advanced to critics?

Dezbot

This is going to be fantastic! I'm almost rooting for Jesse to kill Walt. Almost. Poor guy's been through so much that I don't want one more murder on his conscience; OTOH, who better to rid the world of the monster Walter White's become?

Em @Dunesbury
Insinuating that Aaron Paul is a bad actor through a thin veil of pretentious sarcasm shows everybody two things...1) You wouldn't know good acting if it smacked you in the face, and 2) you're a snob. Congrats on both!

Mia Monroe

OMG I'm so excited!! This review is completely Walt focused though, and I was hoping for some more tidbits about Jesse, who is a MUCH bigger reason for why I love and watch the show than Walt is. I hope Jesse has a bigger presence than this review indicates.

Chanter

This is going to be spectacular. Great write-up Alan, though I wonder how many episodes have you seen?

sedeyus

I'm really curious about Laura Frasier for a reasons: 1. She's an actress I always liked and I haven't even heard she was appearing on the show. 2. Breaking Bad, while giving time to Marie and Skyler, is a show dominated by men so it's going to be interesting to get a new female character.

Kendra Tim, I hate to break it to you but this is a recent quote from Gilligan:

"Honestly, it surprises me to hear people say they love Walt," Gilligan says. "I don't like Walt as a human being. I pretty much lost sympathy for him long ago. He's a damaged individual."

Brandon

Considering the year between the two, why haven't they decided to name these seasons 5 and 6? I'd do that if I were them. Then I'd have 2 DVD sets to sell. And I don't really feel like 8 eps is too small to consider a season. Seems like maybe I'm missing something.

JB

Who is the clown critic that gave it a 67 on Metacritic? Lol..gotta be kidding me. It may not be a perfect 100 but come on

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