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Breaking Bad 5x14

Re-Uploaded because we think we didn't dig into the review of the episode in a way the episode deserves, so we're asking you to engage with our pinned comment and discuss your thoughts on the epiode before we re-record a discussion for this episode!

Comments

THANK YOU ! đŸ«Ą seriously... for the last 3 seasons (since Jane’s death basically), it's rant after rant, over and over after Walt, EVERY TIME Walt opens his mouth
 it’s freaking annoying, and sometimes not even audible and, like you say, they don't understand some scenes because of their long (sometimes looooong) talks over him (like you said, in this episode, the scene when Walt in on the phone, I was fuckin mad in front on my screen « just listen, damn it ! »... or when Walt say to Jesse about being here for Jane’s death
 it’s obviously to make him suffer because of Hank’s death - but here, coz of « the hate », it’s simply coz he’s an asshole ;) (and he is, that’s not the point) 
 tell you something tho: good thing it's almost over, coz it's clear it’s the first and last time I watch a drama with them
. coz if it’s like this every time a caracter is difficult
 God damn it lol

Jonathan Raban

Most the of the comments I’ve seen is not people defending Walter everybody knows how terrible of a person it is. It’s more of the hate and ranting each scene throughout and to where it can take away from the scenes and missing big stuff and yelling over important dialogue. It made it seem at times yall don’t enjoy the show. And Walt on the phone w Skylar at the end was definitely trying to clear Skylar of any wrong doing and keep her out of jail. He knew the call would be recorded and she’d be with the police. Even still the reactions have been great and a lot of fun.

Jacob Livingston

So excited to watch this!!! Ahhhhh going to be a incredible reaction

Jacob Livingston

Because season 1 Walt and season 3-5 Walt are immensely different. He could have gotten out as soon as me met Gus. And even before that he was already a killer. But by the end of the show he is pure evil. Him having a small moral compass to protect Jesse, Hank, and his wife mean nothing with all he’s done.

YokoShima

Or it would be 86 episodes of them ranting about how they hate Tony S ...only thinking about it makes me want to vomit. IMO Sopranos would Definitely be horrrible choice for them.

Veli-Jussi Hirvonen

i dont understand how you dont understand people stick up for him. its a pretty standard concept to bond or even feel like you are living your life through a character on screen. their justifications and defenses of walt's actions are quite simple once you realize when you critique him they feel you are critiquing them. so naturally they would be opposed to your *against walt* viewpoint.

windextor89 .

When did anybody say Walter(the character) isn't a bad guy? Y'all are confusing people liking Bryan Cranston in this show for liking a terrible person. Many people have explained this to you and y'all still decide to mention how people want you to like and side with Walt 😂

Cactus Juice

Yeah i also feel like they put too much focus on it a lot of the time and like you said, miss the phone call and miss the baby saying "mama" to Walt etc. And of course like you said i have no idea what its like to see the show for thr first timr with thousands of people giving their takes and opinions on things after seeing the show more than once and expecting everyone else to have the same feelings they do. So its definetly tough to hear thrm complain about him as much as they do but ifi really have that big a problem with it i'd just watch another channel instead of complaining like many others seem to do instead lol

Oscar Axelsson

For me, at a certain point, it just gets old for them to keep harping on how terrible he is every single time he opens his mouth -- especially when they become so preoccupied with it that they miss important info (like the fact that his phone call to Skyler was strategic and it was killing him to say those things). Now...personally, I think Walt is one of the best characters ever put to screen, but I would never argue that he's a good person. He's a selfish, cowardly, manipulative, conniving piece of shit who manages to have a redeeming moment once every blue moon. And it's fascinating to watch. With that being said, I find it hard to put blame on the girls. I can't imagine what it must be like to watch for the first time while also being bombarded by thousands of opinions from people who have already seen the series. If I had people telling me I was crazy for giving Walt a hard time, I imagine I'd also go out of my way to emphasize how terrible he is.

GhostCat

i know im a couple weeks late to this video but i just bought the patreon a couple days ago. But what i think people's problem with you guys constantly hating on Walt is that in their eyes you are mad at a bad person for being a bad person. Like would you do the same for any other villain in any other movie/show. If Darth Vader lied to someone would you react the same way you do as you do when Walt does it, you know what i mean? Like he's now a villain behaving like a villain and i think people think that you guys are upset at Walt being a villain rather than just him making those bad decisions. Im just trying to see the other side of the coin and i hope i made it somewhat clear what i think is going on at least. Dont want this to come across as hate or negativity towards you guys at all since i bought the patreon because i really fuck with your reactions and the way you appreciates certain things with shows/movies that other channels dont. AAgain, hope i made sense lol, much love guys<3

Oscar Axelsson

Honestly , I cannot watch the parts with the baby. I get so heart broken with her crying, it haunts me. It's traumatizing. It's way too much.

Arson Stays Up Too Late Watching Video Tapes

I do applaud you both for seeing Walt for who he was very early on, so many people aren't able to see that until it's obvious, like this episode lol. He was an excessively proud man, insanely manipulative and a killer, certainly by season 2 with Jane.

Jesse

That was the cover, it wasn't about his family, it was all for his own pride. He never had to get involved in the drug trade at all, he was given an out, to come work with Grey Matter and he was offered help.

Jesse

Walter was pretty solidly an evil person when he murdered Jane. He was also incredibly manipulative to everyone around him. None of the things that happened to him, aside from the cancer, needed to happen. His excessive pride completely dictated much of this. Skyler is not guilt free, she did not have to become an accomplice but Walter is the villain of the story.

Jesse

Anyone who has seen half of this show and unironically thinks Walt is the good guy is more of a psycho than he is.

Deron C

I've enjoyed your reactions! Few things, 1) you aren't supposed to like Walt by the end. The show is about a good man becoming an evil man. Thematically, I'd argue Walt is a cancer to everyone around him minus Jesse - he brings out the absolute worst in his family members either directly (Skylar cooking books) or indirectly (Marie stealing as she tries to deal with the stress of Hank spiraling as he seeks to find Heisenberg). 2) Walt (being the raging narcissist he is) blames Hank for being there, thus blames him for being killed, so he turns Jesse over and tells him about Jane as an act of revenge. 3) Walt says what he says to Skylar on the phone because he is aware the feds are on the line. What he says is to specifically try protect her from being charged as an accomplice.

Eric Cotton

They didn't understand because they completely missed the scene where he decided to do that while they were ranting about the fans giving them shit :P. ETA: Just to be clear I don't really have an issue with them disliking Walt, he's a terrible person. The only thing that bothers me is when they miss huge parts of the show while ranting about him :).

Nume Hall

I never gave you shit for not liking walter. Iwill give you shit for thinking you are supposed to like him. The show is the best show of all time. It's about a good person that is a chemistry teacher becoming fucking Scarface. I have never understood why you two could not enjoy the show for all that it is. If you have to have some generic hero or good guy to root for this ain't that show.

Nick Kessler

I didn't say that. Walt is BAD.

Eamon

Oh yeah, Walt is the worst. But I'm pretty sure he said that shit on the phone to clear Skylar of any involvement. And I don't think people actually like Walt. They like Bryan Cranston. He acted the shit out of this role. Before this, we mainly knew him as the goofy dad from Malcolm in the Middle.

Joe Blankenship

Jesse literally rats on Walt and secretly works with Hank, which then is partially responsible for getting Hank killed, so why wouldn't Walt hate him and want him dead and want to hurt him as bad as he could? before, Walt was sad that he felt he had to put him down, after Hanks death, he is furious. maybe one of the most understandable emotions he has.

Joshua Luzania

Ted Lasso babey

Pale Ale

I gotta say this journey has been interesting haha I think I get both sides. And I think a lot of people in the 2010s watching Bb for the first time were gaslight themselves by him. Including me 😅. We just wanted him to be a powerful nd cool drug lord, except he was a conniving, and selfish. I'm getting ahead of myself. I binged Bb, I had to know what happened next and I did root for Walter- up to a certain point. But I still saw him as the main character, even though he constantly treated jesse bad, when jesse just wanted his approval. After Jane I could never forgive him of course but I was still okay with him safely poisoning Brock to turn Jesse to his side 😅😅 and though I grieived Gus for the rest of the series, I recognized that Walt won and not by a fluke. I think Bb did something no one was ready for. Where some saw raw confidence, others saw false bravado. It wasnt till after I saw Bb a second time cuz of these girls, I immediately noticed a difference in my perception about Walt. I clocked his manipulative and dismissive tactics and verbal abuse against jesse and his wife much earlier, and could not empathize with Walt at all. Especially knowing where his actions lead him to (including working with and trusting those nazis too much) had to stop watching and I just waited for the reactions to catch up. The way I see it is Walt was kind of evil /severely flawed from the start and maynr to some its a triumphant ode to a monster for breaking free of its cage and wreaking havoc on the world... The monster still has humanity. Like despite me despising Walter and actively praying for his downfall, I definitely understood the meaning of the phonecall. Even though I wanted Walt to die an agonizing death, I knew he loved his wife and his family and what he was willing to do for damage control atp. And the fall of his legend and home life was his punishment. P.S. A lot of comments on your videos have been RUDE, since very early in your reactions to this show. It's one thing to disagree or be irked by the reactions and I get it I really do but people have taken it too far and over a fictional effing hat wearing character. I'm not surprised if their input and constant negativity has impacted A&M's viewing experience and judgement of Bb. I mean I'd hate on Walter out of spite at that point

Pale Ale

Why shouldn't they complain about the frankly rude comments, from displeased people that pay to watch anyway (via membership). If anything the toxic fans could be another fuel to their hatred of Walt. Also, they are very forward and progressive thinkers. And they have a hyper aware understanding of manipulation techniques, ego-driven actions, and overall fakeness in people in media and real life before breaking bad.

Pale Ale

Wow what a switch up đŸ€Łglad you appreciate them tho

Pale Ale

To me, what makes a great work of art is its ability to be appreciated on a number of levels. Their reaction is a first viewing, a knee-jerk, emotionally-fueled response to the pain and destruction that Walt has wrought on almost everyone he encounters. I for one, am a member of this channel because the two of them are super-emotive and I have fun watching them react. I too, like others here, predicted that they likely would not catch Walt's intentional attempt to throw the police with the phone call, but that's ok. When they rewatch the show, or reflect back on the show, they'll notice and have more appreciation for the complexity of Walter's character. It's not only ok, but an important part of the process to have art affect you one way at first and grow to appreciate it more over time. Would it be ideal for a reactor to be emotive, razor-sharp, and be able to express all the brilliance of a show on the first viewing? Sure. But this is fun too.

Arthur

It's easy to miss on a first viewing. Also, they're clearly blinded by rage which is understandable in that moment, so they missed the facial cues Cranston was trying to convey in that scene.

Arthur

where is the feel-good show ):

jo and joe

How do you two not understand he knew the feds were on the line. Everything he said was to ger Skyler off the hook. It was obvious.

TigerMyth

Sure he was spiteful with the Jane comment but Jesse brought the feds to the money. He caused everything. He caused Hank's death. Nobody is innocent. And be realistic, if Jane didn't die. Jesse would have over dosed with her on another day. Jesse would have been dead SEVERAL times without Walt intervening. He saved Jesse when Gus wanted him dead. He saved Jesse by killing the 2 dealers so Gus wouldn't kill Jesse. Jesse was just as dirty as Walt and he turned on him. Sure Walt poisoned the kid but he knew the kid wouldn't die. Jesse killed happy little Gale. The had innocent blood on their hands. If Jesse doesn't turn on Walt, Hanks and his partner are still alive.

TigerMyth

Shield is so legit. Very consistent show, which followed through right up to the end which is very rare. I rate it up there with Sopranos and BB.

Richard Watts

The people who say Walt did nothing wrong, are the same kinda people who say Light Yagami did nothing wrong... It's nuts. The whole point of BREAKING BAD is that he BREAKS BAD... the interesting thing about the show is when you decide Walt is irredeemable. But, I think it must be a surprise to the creators that some people never got there...

Richard Watts

He was purposely attempting to protect Skyler on the phone call.

Aarush Azizi

Walt is definitely evil and has been for most of the series. I also think it's crazy that some people think he's a good guy even by the end. But he does have a few redeeming qualities, dismissing him as pure evil makes you blind to them. He can be very intelligent at times, especially when it comes to improvising, and he's also capable of the rare selfless act (saving Jesse from the two dealers, trying to sacrifice all of his money for Hank, purposefully incriminating himself with the phone call, etc). But he's also an impulsive egomaniac who causes most of the problems for himself and those around him. I love him not b/c I think he's a hero, but b/c he's a complex villain with one of the most dynamic arcs.

Munir

Okay I understand Walt is a piece of shit but that phone call was him purposefully acting like he was the sole owner of the meth business. He made those threats and said all those nasty things because he wanted the police to take away all suspicion from Skyler and put it on him only.

Hassam Latif

No one is saying that Walt isn't a bad guy. You're fighting ghosts. He is evil. BUT... Does that mean the every single thing he does is evil? NO. Just saying "walt bad" the whole show is kind of a reductionist view. Of course you can trace every single action back to ep 1 and just say "If Walt didn't start cooking, this wouldn't have happened". But then you eliminate all discussion and the show is just "good vs evil". The entire Sopranos series is also pointless then. Why spend 6 seasons exploring the nuances of Tony's character? He's a mob boss! A criminal! A murderer! Therefore he is evil and any other argument about his character is moot!

jonnefcb

Does he also not understand why people like The Joker? Or Darth Vader? Or Gus Fring? Is liking an evil character really an unfathomable concept?

jonnefcb

They fully understand his character, they just don’t make excuses for him like the majority of audience members. When they say ‘be for real’ after he twists the knife into Jesse’s ribs, they know that he blames him for Hanks death. They just recognize that’s it’s lunacy and pathetic to do so.

M&M

There’s a difference between badass evil and just plain cruel evil. Badass evil is Darth Vader force pulling the blaster out of Han Solos hand and saying ‘we would be honored if you would join us’. Cruel evil is Anakin slaughtering children. Walt, in that moment, was that second one.

M&M

Wait, so 'badass' and 'evil' are mutually exclusive? Can a villain never be badass then?

jonnefcb

People like main characters, and shows make them easy to like them. But even Bryan Cranston doesn’t understand why people like Walt. I think his character is absolutely genius, he was manic in these gray areas, the meth, the fact that he took Holly out of panic because he knew it was all over and he wanted to have a single moment without the chaos. But oh my god the WRITING. I think what Hank said about Walt last describes his character perfectly.

Sammy K

Hank died but still did what he wanted to accomplish most - arrest Heisenberg. This episode is a masterpiece, I cant wait for you guys to watch the finale. The best out of any show hands down

Sammy K

You can say that he's only doing this for his family, but that stopped being the case when he continued to cook meth even after reaching his initial goal. He never wanted to stop cooking meth, even at the expense of the safety of his family.

dylan s

The reaction in the comments comes from a place of valuing different things. Breaking Bad is an analysis of evil, why people are evil what makes them become evil and the nuances involved with that. When people ignore all the nuances to just say "walt is evil" over and over again, its missing what many people find the point of the show to be. If your response to that is "who gives a shit" why would the writers place so much importance on these nuances? Its completely ignoring what makes the show so great for so many people. That's why people are annoyed, they aren't trying to justify what walt is doing, they are annoyed over the ignorance of something very integral and important to the shows quality and story. A minority are just trying to justify what walt is doing though, and getting annoyed at them is fair.

nerd

btw I am Team Walt is Evil. At every chance he is only servicing his own ego. We could have accepted help to pay for his cancer, he could have stopped a lot earlier, he could of felt bad for the family of the dead boy and for the boy. He is pragmatic to a sociopathic degree.

Leenis

I did catch it the first time, but only after Walt said, "Tow the line" and threatened death. The actors did a really good job of selling his struggle to maintain this cold threat and and her starting to realize why he is doing what he is doing. I was also alone, so I wasn't feeding off of someone's energy or feeding their energy. Great reaction btw!

Leenis

The first time I saw this show, it went over my head as well. And I feel like I notice most things. My dad did notice it. I think a lot of it has to do with so much chaos is happening so quickly that it's hard to process. I remember I personally was still coping with Hank being buried in the desert. Maybe you are less emotional and therefor don't get distracted by the events and are able to follow the logic amidst chaos, but not all of us are great at processing this all at once. Also, Maples DID mention that he put it all on him.

Matthew

People arent defending walt's being bad, i dont really see that anywhere, theyre often talking about how evil he becomes with the depth and nuance of the specific events, just calling him a serial killer over and over is missing the point. The show is called 'breaking bad', we all know walt is someone who becomes 'bad'. But he also loves and cares for his family, hes trying to do right by them in fucked up ways, he is an incredibly talented and intelligent man who wasted his life being a people pleaser, afriad of life and taking risks making him miss oppertunities, barely living just drifting by struggling to provide for his dsabled son and wife, making him old and bitter with a overinflated ego and sense of pride. Its so relatable in a disturbing way because it could be any of us, and all the while the show is trying to make us have empathy and understanding for someone even though theyre objectively wrong and abjectly evil, hes a much deeper character than just, 'bad guy is bad guy'. Like at the end of this episode he is on purpose trying to get skylar clear, she recognises this and accepts his offer one more time, skylar is lying to everyone again about her involvement, you guys missed this. Dont get me wrong all of this absolutely applies to skylar too imo shes often misjudged in certain ways even if shes not the main chracter of the show. If you guys ever watch again some day in the future, i think it might be more apparent, its one of those shows you can always get something new out of.

Eamon

I don't know what it is, but the phone call scene goes about a mile over every reactor's head. Walt KNEW Skyler called the cops. That was precisely his plan in abducting Holly. He gave her a reason that will guarantee a wire tap on his home phone in which he'll call, knowing the cops are listening and recording the whole conversation. This is where he can act the part of a murderous sociopath (which these two love to remind us of, even to the point where vital dialogue is lost in the sauce due to the ranting). By seemingly taking sole ownership over the entire drug empire, this gives Skyler a card up her sleeve to possibly enter some kind of plea deal. But no, they focus on what Walt is saying at face value. It's truly insufferable and really makes me question if top notch writing will work like this again because it seems intelligence has plummeted in the last 11 years.

James

Walt probably blames Jessie for Hank's death and that's why he (out of spite) tells Jesse about Jane's death. I don't view Walt as a typical psychopath or sociopath he probably has psychopathic or sociopathic characteristics however the phone call was him portraying a typical partners abuser. He portrayed a very cliche caricature of an abusive partner not to say that he isn't abusive but the type of abuser that he portrayed in the phone call is a less nuanced and more cliche abusive partner.

Jeffrey Phillips

Love reactions are for entertainment 😉

Chad Gloria

It’s not condescending to think that a part of their reaction is based on something other than the show when the reaction is so intense despite *misinterpreting* the show. There are moments when they’ve reacted intensely to things that didn’t even happen because a previous thing that did happen triggered the heck out of them. It didn’t trigger *everyone* that hard, though. It’s something personal.

Eric Wall

There’s also a difference in how evil is presented. Once all the evidence is in, I think almost anyone would conclude that Gus was more psychopathic and more “evil” then Walt. But Gus never gets the kind of hate Walt does because people are not actually reacting to “evil”. They’re reacting to how the evil has been presented to them. The fact that Walt gets a bigger negative reaction for lying to Marie about Skylar’s breakdown than Gus or Mike get for lying to Jesse about the ambush is proof that degrees of wrongness is not what’s really being reacted to here. For most fans, one of the most unforgivable acts in the whole show is Skylar White singing happy birthday. Not because it was morally wrong, but because of how it made us feel. Most of Walt’s lies are like that too. They’re not actually worse than Gus’ manipulations. They just feel super cringe because of how embarrassingly oversold they all are. People then confuse their reaction to the cringe with a more objective stance on morality. Gus is basically Walt, but more evil and *never* cringe. And abracadabra, the character goes down like sugar.

Eric Wall

Love the dedication. I truly appreciate it. 🙏

Andrew Clifton

A lot of times it’s just emotional overload. I’ve seen reactors basically sobbing over everything that has just happened and I’ll defend that, because it can be harder to pick up on the “unsaid” nature of Walt and Skylar’s communication when part of your brain is basically on trauma overload. My issue isn’t really with them missing it. It’s that I knew they would miss it, and I was pretty sure I knew why. No matter how calmly and closely they watched, their idea of who Walt is would just not allow the scene to be understood. You basically have to remember the one thing about Walt that is human amidst his most monstrous outburst. They’d already struggled with lesser versions of this, so there’s almost no way they’d be able to see him squarely after the knife and baby snatching scene.

Eric Wall

Only a few people will understand but there is a show called " the shield " I think they could put this grossly underrated series on the map . Please consider it

Jeffrey Phillips

Yes, please give Better Call Saul a chance no matter how you feel about Walt...

JC Willard

Kim wexler the goat

Zane

LOL I guess that’s what I get for trying to comment without being an ass. Maybe keep your passive aggressive comments to people who are specifically commenting to you.

Tim Martin

My comment was directed to the reactors. Not you, Smappy. If I was out of line, I’m sure M and A are capable of letting me know. You have a great day.

Tim Martin

Respectfully, it’s just a reaction. And maybe the way they react hits close to home to Tim Martin. I don’t pretend to know what he's gone thru in his life. But, to me at least, it’s fun to watch them. I hope yall don’t take my comment as disrespect.

Stewart MacInnes

I'd argue Walt was never really a good guy.

Demented Avenger

Great comment.

Demented Avenger

It's really odd how so few people can't understand the phone call. Walt calling Skyler a "bitch" should have tipped anyone off. I don't think Walt swore once in the entire series. If you pay attention to body language, you'd see how Walt was saying what he was saying on the phone call on purpose and that Skyler catches on pretty quick.

Demented Avenger

me whenever people are arguing about Walt in the comments: "this wouldn't happen if Kim Wexler was on screen đŸ˜«"

Kara

100% agree with both your takes lol

Kara

Despite the shit-posting and critic in the comments that i have been apart of i do really like your reactions, its great, as long as they are natural so i would say a reupload is not neccessary. I have learned so much from watching shows with you because you catch so many details, angles and has way better theories than i ever think of one thing i have seen with other channels when they grow bigger is that they start to over-react to create more drama and that just makes it look too much., i have no idea if thats happening here at all just saying. Im sure you could talk it out in the pre or after talk of next episde is fine rather , also what is up with the paragraph division on patreon? it just makes us crazy people who write long essays about reactors in the comment section look so much crazier :D

sablo

BCS is definitely a different vibe though I've seen some reactors take a similarly one-sided stance when it comes to Chuck so I'm kind of worried about that. Chuck is the same sort of character that can be such an asshole that it makes some people too angry to appreciate the nuances of his character. And I absolutely love Chuck as a character, I think his dynamic with Jimmy is one of the best things about BCS.

Christophe

Idk for some reason I think they would like Tony Soprano more than they like Walt.

Donte Jackson

The point of the show is that a terminally ill high school teacher was able to defeat these deadly, cutthroat drug cartels, and that’s really really cool even if it cost him his family in the end.

ghdf hdgf

“Walt is not a badass”??? Are we watching the same show?

ghdf hdgf

What other way could it be possibly taken? You're being intensely condescending, assuming their reaction is fueled by some personal trauma. To explain away a difference in opinion by infantilizing the other person, to discredit their honest reaction, is dishonest, no matter how many heart emojis you use. "These two women are having a different reaction to a character than I wanted them to. The only logical explanation for this is that they must have been abused." Sweet Jesus.

Smapdi

That's not who said it at all. But not really surprised basic philosophy would be missed by the trolls.

Jimmy Greer

It’s less about “is Walter a bad guy?” and more about the fact that the writers and directors have spent 50+ hours putting us in his shoes. We all know drug dealing is bad, but we can’t help getting a little excited when the high school chemistry teacher defeats Gus Fring, blows up Tuco’s house or pulls off a train heist (as short-lived as that is). Y’all’s reaction to this episode was definitely way different from mine but I like seeing the different perspectives.

ghdf hdgf

Also, decorated military adviser to several fictional administrations.

Eric Wall

I’ve been sitting here thinking “have I missed something?” Maybe it’s the YouTube comments that are truly off the hook, but I *rarely* see a full throated “Walt did nothing wrong” argument in these comment sections. Especially by this point, even Walt’s staunchest defenders seem ready to admit he’s at least 80% a-hole. Like, the ratio of people ragging on Walt diehards to actual Walt diehards in here is like 10 to
 0.5 maybe? Am *I* one these supposed Walt diehards just cause I don’t think he’s 100% cartoon evil? Or maybe comments are getting blocked before I get here? I really feel like I’m missing something.

Eric Wall

Can’t comment on Sopranos, but yes BCS is a different vibe. There’s maybe one character there who is as maddening as Walt, but in BCS, you aren’t expected to route for them. I think the fans are a different vibe too. Not everyone who loved BB made the leap to BCS. As a result, BCS discusses are relatively calmer.

Eric Wall

It’s metaphorically accurate. It describes the plot progression nicely. But as character analysis, “Walt is cancer” is not nearly enough capture what’s actually going on. Cancer is sorta mindlessly malignant, and that’s not really what we’ve been watching. I would say addiction metaphors do a more accurate job of representing the kind of mental capture Walt has fallen victim to. He’s like a extreme stunt man addicted to the thrill. There’s so much dopamine being released every time he doesn’t die, that it becomes impossible to break away from. It’d be hard for anyone to pull themselves away from *the only thing that makes them feel good*.

Eric Wall

No one is demanding that it absolve him. What’s helpful though is to realize the motivation for it, which you never will if you think “Walt is cancer” rather than “Walt is human”. Walt doesn’t have to do anything for his family anymore. He could’ve taken Holly off to the vacuum cleaner guy and spent the rest of his days chilling wherever with her and 11 million dollars. He doesn’t do it because he fake “wants to look good”. If he just fake wanted to look good, he wouldn’t have admitted to murdering Hank and Gomez when that’s not what happened in the desert at all. He wouldn’t have acted like he threatened to murder Skylar if she went to the police when that also never happened. He’s not worried about how he looks in this scene. Or at least not in the way you imply. He’s actually trying to do the opposite. He’s pretending to be much *more* monstrous than he actually was. He specifically sacrifices any semblance of “seeming good” to everyone in order to actually try to do something good. And you either realize that because you realize Walt *isn’t* a simple sociopath, or you miss it because murdering Hank and threatening to murder Skylar are already how you see the character even though he never did any of those things. No one is asking that reality “absolve” anything. It doesn’t. It doesn’t absolve Skylar of the decisions she made either. They’re *both* indirectly responsible for Hank’s murder. No one is absolved of the consequences of their actions by admitting their motivations and emotions are more complicated than the most surface level thing you want to believe about them if you hate them. So Skylar wanted to shield Flynn from knowing about all this. That’s admirable. But at the end of the day she still argued in favor of putting out a hit on a someone. She still willingly participated in a series of events that led to Hank’s death. She doesn’t get a gold star because shielding her near adult child from hard truths is a more admirable motivation than the existential crisis of realizing you’re going to die a total loser. Everyone’s motivation is complicated. To act like Walt actually is as sociopathic as threatening to kill Skylar and bury her in the desert just cause it excuses the characters you like and condemns the ones you hate is in no way more accurate or sensible than spouting off dribble about how “Walt just wanted to help his family the whole time”.

Eric Wall

This is a hard one, the whole point of this is to see your reactions to things, but then it’s a problem when the reactions overtake what you need to be observing on screen. I genuinely love how into it you both get, but it is a little annoying seeing assumptions take precedent over observations. The phone call was a genuinely kind act Walt did, even though his words were harsh. You even connected the dots he cleared Skylar from being apart of it but then didn’t connect those dots to the full picture, so it just becomes a little tedious because we all agree that Walt is a monster, but he’s also still human, and seeing those shards of humanity glimmer underneath the hide of a monster is still touching to see and it’s dismissive to say he’s entirely, unequivocally evil. He pleaded with Jack to not kill Hank even though he knew that meant everything he worked for was lost. He did try in his own twisted way to do the “right thing”, but he just never knew what the right thing actually was.

cat named toebean

There is more to the definition than that and I even qualified what I was referring to regarding evil.

Zane Platt

đŸŽ¶I guess I got what I deserved đŸŽ¶

Tim Martin

If people comment in bad faith (are snarky and lack respect), will just block them.

Zane Platt

I love that you cut off the full breath of what evil constitutes. There is a difference between how someone like Joffrey or Ramsey Bolton acts and how Walt does. Walt does care about people. Walt does feel guilt. Walt does have good aspects. In totality, he is a bad person but he is not an evil person. He does not act with malice throughout. He is self serving, he is manipulative and he is narcissistic but not evil. People need to stop overusing the word because by a lot of your definitions, most people you know would be and it pretty reduces the worth of the word to zero

Zane Platt

Yeah dude I'm sure every person who commits evil acts has an internal reason for doing so. That doesn't make it not evil. There is nothing for you to "comfortably dismantle", because you apparently have no concept of what evil means. Walt could blow up a bus of children and you'd still be looking for the "reason" to try and let yourself feel better. No dude, the reason or his thinking do not matter, what matters is his actions. And his actions are evil. Get some perspective my guy 😂 I don't care about what else you had to say, I only took issue with one part, that's why I commented on it. The rest of what you have to say is a lukewarm defense of Walter which I have heard again and again for years. Good job, I guess? If you like the guy, good for you. But to say he is not evil is like saying Marie isn't a klepto. It's just demonstrably false.

John Cedar

You also ignored as much as possible because what I have said is fair and hard to argue with. I didn't go off the reservation. I made salient points and was respectful about it.

Zane Platt

Let's very quickly and comfortably dismantle this. First, the reason Walt says what he says to Jessie is because he wants Jessie to feel the betrayal he is feeling. That is the motivation. Second, I didn't say anything about utility at all... Third, Walt is the only one who argued for Jessie to live throughout. Skylar, Mike, Gus, Saul, even Hank all argued for Jessie to be killed or didn't care if he died. Fourth, you don't seem to have any clue what actual evil is.

Zane Platt

I get it
Walt is a dick. And I agree. But respectfully, it’s just fiction. And maybe the way he acts hits close to home to Maple and Arriana. I don’t pretend to know wha y’all have gone thru in your lives. But, to me at least, it’s fun to “hate” him. And with all due respect, it takes away from enjoying y’all’s reaction. I hope yall don’t take my comment as disrespect. ♄

Tim Martin

I joined the Patreon for the Breaking Bad reactions, and I love how you’ve been reacting, except for this topic about Walter that's been going around in the community. On one hand, I want to say that you are free to react as you wish, and it’s clear you shouldn’t change your stance just because of the community's views or expectations. We're here to see how this story ends and to enjoy the show as much as you do. It’s evident that the show has generated as many or more emotions for you as it does for anyone watching. The characters are undeniably well-written in detail. However, I want to mention that the discussions in the middle of the episodes could be improved because they significantly reduce the enthusiasm. It’s like when you show something to someone and want them to pay attention, but they're distracted; details are missed that I, as a viewer, would have liked to hear your thoughts on (like when Marie is sitting on the couch, thinking about what might have happened). Aside from that, I LOVE the effort and enthusiasm you put into this community. It's much better to have this level of interest than total indifference. Keep it up!

kintell33

I think they'd love watching The Sopranos. Some of the commenters would probably continue freaking out though. "Why can't they understand? Okay Tony might be a bad guy, but he loves those ducks!!!"

Stewart MacInnes

I dont really have anything new to add to the discussion except 1) I think this entire BB run has convinced me that the sopranos wouldn’t be a good watch for you guys and 2) BCS is such a different vibe, I look forward to it more and more.

cheech

Uh yeah I think you guys had a normal person reaction to everything Walt did, I cannot stand people who try to tell others how to interpet media or what to care about in a story. We don't all need to have the same experience watching Breaking Bad or have the same impression of Walter. The popular opinion online is still basically that Skyler was an annoying obstacle to Walt's shot at a drug empire, so I really don't care if other people have a completely uncharitable impression of Walt. Like, my favorite character in GoT is Cersei. I think she's awesome to watch and has so much depth. But I'm not going to spend all my time trying to convince other people who watch the show that she's an interesting character if they really hate her...because hating her is a very normal and measured reaction. Yes, you guys talked over the show occassionally, but it's a fucking reaction 😂 I think we can overlook that, it's literally your jobs to talk instead of being 100% locked in and saying nothing.

John Cedar

what

jo and joe

Evil definition - "profoundly immoral and wicked" - I'd say that fits Walt (and other characters in the show).

Stewart MacInnes

Saying that Walt is unquivocally not evil after he said this episode that he watched Jane die for no reason other tham to watch Jessie's sprit break before he is tortured...that is certainly a take 😀 Like, are you going to pretend there was any utility in that? What possible motivation could anyone have to say something like that, other than malice? That is probably the most evil thing he could ever do to Jessie...I'm honestly confused if you cannot understand that.

John Cedar

I know this is off topic but you guys should do a blind reaction to sausage party. Guaranteed million view

Eguy Igbin

It has nothing to do with being badass or evil. Walter blamed Jesse for what had just happened to Hank. Another thing they clearly didnt grasp because in their eyes Walter is just bad nothing else. Yes, he's bad, but it's called Breaking Bad for a reason. Walter isn't just evil for the sake of being evil. It's like they disregard the complexity of his entire character arc and zone in on him being bad. Yes, we get it, Walter is bad and gets more and more bad as the show progresses, if they don't like that then maybe they should find a show called Breaking Good.

ZZ

You missed the point, Ismael. It's not about how they feel about what Walter did for Skylar on the call. They didn't even understand what Walter was doing. They knew what the call achieved yet presuppose its something Walter is too stupid to have done on purpose and they assumed he was screwing up and being sloppy accidentally which doesn't even make sense given the context of what he was saying. Same thing with Walter telling Jesse about Jane, they think Walter is doing it just because. They don't even grasp that Walter blamed Jesse for what had just happened to Hank. They have blinders on with Walt. Yes hes bad, but thats the point of the show, its called Breaking Bad not Breaking Good. They have tunnel vision on the bad parts of Walter, completely disregarding his entire arc and story as if he's just bad and that's all there is to Walt.

ZZ

Could not agree more. I am excited for El Camino and BCS because I love what Vince does and this universe, but the breaking bad discourse is exhausting and sad

Zane Platt

This comment is bang on the money and is exactly how I feel. I am not a moron. I am not illiterate as an audience member. I recognise who Walt is. The issue is that just like the people who deify him, they demonise him and both are doing a disservice. In that entire fight between the family at the end for instance. Walt is not just being some evil megalomaniac. He is doing a lot of things, some awful, some understandable and some that are both. The issue is that Maple and Ariana view the situation in the most simplistic manner possible. The more rewarding, interesting and accurate analysis of that situation is more complicated and therefore, more heartbreaking. Walt and Skylar are both seeing him through different lenses. Walt isn't a ruthless criminal in his mind here. He is just a husband and father. For, Skylar, Walt is no longer a husband and father in her eyes, he is just a ruthless criminal. The fight that occurs is Walt trying to reclaim his family and Skylar protecting hers. Neither wants to harm their family. When Walt takes Holly it is because at that moment, she is the only family he has left. The reason he makes the phone call later and returns her is because he recognises that it is too late and that he is just causing more damage. All of this is who Walt is. He isn't evil, he does love his family. The issue is that he doesn't realise that that criminal side of him is a part of him and not something that he can just lie away and shed when it suits him. The next two episodes show the truth of Walt for good and bad. The issue is two sides are pretending he is just one. People are way more complicated than that.

Zane Platt

There seem to be three camps clashing against each other and making this community very volatile. The first camp justifies pretty much everything Walter does. The second group detests pretty much everything he does and the final camp believe that both sides are right and wrong in equal measure. No, Walt is not a badass. No, Walt is not the hero (wild that there are people who feel like he is justified so often). However, Walt is also not a serial killer (this is still an insane take). Walt is not evil (He doesn't act solely out of malice or to cause pain). Walt, like Gus (a character who did incredibly heinous things but is routinely respected and praised by the girls and others, this is brought up quite a bit in the comments and is a very fair critique) is a very flawed human being. They both act in their own self interest far too often. They both do horrible things to further their gains and neither is justified overall. My personal issue is that when you oversimplify a character either way, you are doing a disservice when it comes to the richness of this show and these characters. It is justified when people are frustrated at them for blatantly misinterpreting stuff because they are oversimplifying a situation. It is justified that they find people crazy who constantly excuse Walter. I really enjoy the vast majority of the girls reaction content, I really enjoy the majority of the discourse in the comments but with Breaking Bad it feels like two camps are being over the top and would be helped a lot by simmering down and recognising that absolutism is stupid either way.

Zane Platt

The discourse in the comments seems to have shifted to "Nobody's saying Walt's a good guy, you're just not understanding the NUANCES of his character. He's not just evil, he has some humanity left. He tried to give away his money to save Hank, he tried to absolve Skyler with the phone call, he apologized to Mike after fatally shooting him!" My response to that would be "Who gives a shit?" Great so he tried to row back a little bit on some of the awful consequences of the evil shit he's done, so what? It's fair enough that they don't give him the benefit of the doubt about his actions and fair enough if they don't think the NUANCES tip the scales back in any meaningful way.

Stewart MacInnes

"After all, isn't the truest judge of character is not how a man acts when he's up but how he behaves when he's down?" - No.

Stewart MacInnes

What? The call very clearly absolves Skylar of wrongdoing -- making her out to be an unwilling participant and a victim. It's weird to me that you think this is about absolving Walt, when the literal dialogue says otherwise. While the entire point of the show is more nuanced that what you said, it's very accurate to call Walt a cancer.

DinChild

That call doesn't mean a thing. It in no way absolved Walt of anything, it's a typical Walt move of doing a bunch of awful things, then attempting a make-good. The entire point of the show is this guy would rather sell drugs for a criminal empire, be involved with murders, and emotionally manipulate those around him like Jesse, all so he can fuel his ego. Rather than take a handout from Gretchen and Elliot, declare bankruptcy, or any other action that would effect his massive ego. He also may "like" Jesse and pretend to treat him like a son, but he gaslights Jesse the entire series as well. Walt himself was a cancer.

Ismael Fatah

I need better call Saul immediately 😔

Zane

Anyone who made it through the second half of Breaking Bad, or finished the series, and still justifies Walter is either gaslighting you guys or totally missed the point of the show lol. He had enough money to live out his days a rich man, family intact, futures taken care of. He instead put his own personal glory first. No matter who it hurt. Multiple characters SCREAMED this to him throughout the series lol. Walt is a POS. Not only is it not a debate, it is literally the entire purpose of the show. A once decent guy breaking bad. As in... BAD. As in Walt is no good. lol

Ismael Fatah

Yeah, they definitely see the badness. There just isn’t always an understanding of where it’s coming from or that it conflicts with other emotions. I think back to when Gus was still alive and they were talking as if Walt should just let Hank be killed by him. When Walt instead takes a big risk to save Hank, he never really got credit for caring more about Hank than even they wanted him to. So it never really got filed away as proof that Walt does care about his family underneath the thrill of everything else he’s doing. As a result, in moments where “Walt actually does care about his family” becomes an important thing to remember, they just don’t remember that he has that quality. The uncomfortable thing about Walt isn’t that he’s bad. It’s that there IS some good in him. Some flicker of conscience and awareness buried underneath all the ego and cope; looking up from The Sunken Place, relegated to passenger and rarely able to take control. “Heinsberg” effectively dies over the course of this episode. The confidence and bravado that fed that persona is impossible to maintain after Hank dies. Once he’s gone, all that’s left is that weak, scared man who was never in control of his life in the first place. Dr. Jekyll is left to pick up the pieces after Mr. Hyde has exited the building. That’s why the phone call is my favorite. Because that’s not Heisenberg anymore. That’s Walter White *pretending* to be Heisenberg, and the fact that Bryan Cranston can sell the difference is just (chef’s kiss)

Eric Wall

Rip ASAC Schrader : SWAT team leader during the 1995 raid on Cyberdyne Systems

S13 Drift

The only thing I would say is I think it's a little uninteresting and frankly a disservice to the character of Walt to just outright hate him and look at the entirety of his arc with ABSOLUTE hatred. Not that he doesn't deserve it (and please believe me I think he does) but the story and the character (when all is said and done) is way more interesting than just going "Walt sucks." Obviously he does and if people want to just keep it at that and hate him that's fine. I just think the writing earned more than that. I think discussions are more interesting when everything isn't black and white.

Justin Calhoun

Exactly... As if the show isnt called Breaking Bad. Its a show about a guy being bad what do they expect him to be a saint? They couldn't even see the call was strategy from Walter to get Skylar off the hook and notice how they were gleeful thinking Walter was being sloppy and dumb. They couldn't even understand why Walter still wanted Jesse dead, couldn't even see that Walter was blaming Jesse for Hank's death.

ZZ

If you guys think this comment section is critical, I would suggest not to read the YouTube comment section once this reaction is released there. And maybe disable the "Return Dislike" extension if you have it installed, since this will undoubtedly be your most disliked video. I'm not saying it with malice, I'm just stating the inevitable. Having said that, I'm looking forward to your discussion video, because maybe you'll address some of the critical points people posted under your original upload post.

Andrew

''They even catch that phone call completely clears Skylar, but they can’t give Walt enough credit to imagine that this might be the entire intention of the phone call in the first place'' this right here, perfectly put.

Jack Cooper

40:20 - almost 3 minutes of not even paying attention to the show and talking over everything, complaining about comments

ZZ

I don't know why people are giving Maple & Arianna grief. Ya'll know how this ends....just sit back, wait for the conclusion and then hand them a rag to wipe the egg off their face while reminding them that they had a little song & dance about him being a bitch & calling him disgusting while he was just handing his family a get out of jail free card. And I'm sure the editors won't do anything with that hit song in time for the conclusion of the series. Cause that is maybe the worst take I've seen in some time....and I used to watch Skip Bayless (that joke is probably gonna miss almost everyone here...but to the ones that know, that's a damn funny joke). Also, I've never seen someone claiming that Walt is some kind of saint. When it comes to characters like Walt, the respect comes from how they handle their downfall. The downfall is inevitable with these characters. So how do they handle it? Do they go out like a boss like Teresa in Queen of the South? Do they go down on their own terms like Scarface? After all, isn't the truest judge of character is not how a man acts when he's up but how he behaves when he's down?

Jimmy Greer

The problem is not thinking that Walt is a bad person. The problem is seeing literally nothing else in his character other than badness. Not being able to grapple with the fact that there’s any redeeming sliver living in that bald head is part of what will cause one to miss things; things like the point of the phone call. (And to be frank, I’ve know all season they would miss it, because it’s impossible to catch if you think Walt just sucks 24/7 and they obviously think that). They even catch that phone call completely clears Skylar, but they can’t give Walt enough credit to imagine that this might be the entire intention of the phone call in the first place. Now plenty of people miss the phone call. It’s not generally a big deal. But it’s been disappointing to know for basically the entire season that it would be *impossible* for them to understand the phone call because their distorted picture of the character simply wouldn’t allow the scene as written to be understood as intended. Walter IS bad. He’s just not 100% bad in every waking moment. He’s written as human, not a cartoon. Believing this “total evil” myth will cause certain aspects of this wonderful show to go completely unremarked upon or be misunderstood. Which is unfortunate. I’d encourage them to revisit the phone call knowing what’s actually going on, and more importantly, what Walter is *actually* feeling. Because it’s not a scene where Bryan Cranston plays a big ole bad guy being a super meanie. It’s complicated and conflicted and, imo, the best acting in the entire series, period. But you’re never gonna see it if you think Walt’s character has the depth of a Disney villain.

Eric Wall

Yea but he’s kinda cool and fun to root for

ghdf hdgf

We did! It says that in the description!

Chad Gloria

All together now, Walt’s a little bitch! Walt’s a little bitch! Lmao

Sara Something

The anger towards the weirdos still supporting Walt is definitely warranted, I never really understood it either. The dude did SO MUCH horrible things to people and ruined SO MANY lives. Yet somehow, there are still a great amount of people who will fight tooth and nail just to defend Walter's actions. Insane. Also, incredible reactions by the way!

jo and joe

What laugh? Why Is it funny

Raul Martinez

I think its a new policy about advertising and youtube--Chad-check me if I'm wrong about that :)

Chris Bruneau

I just watched a second time, and I think its a natural reaction for A&M to be angry at Walt's behavior--frankly, I get it. We will all take a deep breath and discuss at a later time, because like many have said this is one of the most powerful 60 minutes of TV ever made and there is a lot to discuss. Also, the fact that the writing evokes such strong emotional response from Arianna shows the writers' mad skills

Chris Bruneau

Also, on the lighter side, during the scene where Walt is rolling his barrel you can see his pants that flew off the RV in episode 1 on the ground.

M&M

What’s lunacy to me is that there are people who think that Walt telling Jesse about Jane is supposed to be a ‘badass’ moment. It could not be more clear throughout this entire season but ESPECIALLY that moment that Walt is an evil son of a bitch, and people still don’t get it.

M&M

All I can say is, this was a great reaction. So genuine, so honest, and seriously, fuck Walt. Yeah I get it, he called Skyler knowing that police would be listening so that he could clear her of any wrong-doing. Yeah, yeah, yeah. He's still a piece of shit. And anyone defending him is defending a monster. Anyway, like I said, really good reaction to an absolutely amazing episode.

Damien Lupo

Why blurr you Kith shirt? Trying not to offend Mike Tyson.. I promise he’s not subbed

TinCan Cosmanaut

Love the reaction! Only the Walter White fanatics will come into these comments and try an make you feel silly or biased for being against him. He’s a great character and very nuanced/well written but he is the villain of the show and it’s justified to hate him for his actions. Don’t let them sway y’all lol. This episode is great tho, literally everything that was built up throughout the show comes out full throttle in Ozymandias đŸ”„

Daunte Johnson

💖💖💖

Kara

Before the haters show up and start commenting, it blows my mind that there are people apparently paying for this Patreon just to be jerks in the comment section. They're ruining the viewing experience what is a great show for people. Isn’t that the point of loving art is to share it even if you disagree? We should disagree on our interpretation of the show without being disagreeable. y’all make really good content don’t let them get you down

evertt

Thank you for the kind words

Chad Gloria

I'm glad I had a tab open with the original post of this episode, since I just got around to watching it. The review wasn't too much different than what you would expect, given their reaction to the episode. I think there was some interesting discussion though

Why Do I Have Subs

DAMN sorry to have to disparage other review channels but like idk man this shit is just a cut above the rest, they’re re recording a discussion and having fan feedback because THEY felt they weren’t thorough enough. AND they’re studying up on GoT, I hope yall know how much we genuinely appreciate the care and thought that go into these reactions!!!

cat named toebean

My view of the episode: (just my humble opinions) Vince Gilligan's creation is a gripping exploration of the transformation of Walter White from a mild-mannered chemistry teacher to a formidable drug lord. The writing on this series is nothing short of brilliant and watching its memorable characters have brought me much enjoyment over the years. This is the most pivotal episode of the entire series. This episode is so important because it embodies the tragedy of the entire series. Walt “Broke Bad’ and transformed himself into the villain Heisenberg supposedly for his family, but like the ancient king Ozymandias, it is ultimately all for nothing, only crumbled ruins remain—his family and his previous life is now shattered and gone. My two favorite moments: first, Hanks’ demise. I love Hank’s Character, probably because my uncle was Chicago Police for 30 years. He gets to go out like a boss, he “got his man”—even if ever so briefly. For me, that was a heroic and satisfying end for his arc. Second, The phone call; this the greatest moment of the episode! Watch Bryan Cranston’s face, he is both angry and crying, he is both Walt and Heisenbug together, like a frightening combination of Jekyll and Hyde. Walt wants to save his wife from being implicated in his crimes, but the venom and bitterness of Heisenberg is also there. Look at the absolute hatred with which he spits out his complaints to Skyler. Yes, he is trying to get her off the hook, but he is ALSO venting pent-up frustration at never being appreciated or respected for his abilities—which is a long running theme in the entire series! This amazing duality is some of the greatest acting ever seen on screen, and is why Bryan Cranston won four Emmys and the show itself won a record-breaking total of 92 awards of various kinds. Thanks for doing this.

Chris Bruneau

I needed this laugh 😂😂

Justin

....They just cut their end ''review'' completely out..... 💀💀💀💀

Diiirk706

Dam lol. J I saw BB and freaked out thinking it was episode 15. đŸ˜‚đŸ˜…đŸ€ŁđŸ˜‚đŸ˜‚

Andrew Clifton

They full on reposted it 💀

Justin

Its a reupload

TryZeq

Man yall ain't stopping tonight lol. Fucking love you guys.

Andrew Clifton


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