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Post by Yossarian on Aug 7, 2012 4:12:08 GMT -4
I actually think they need to do a little more Walt character development. He's turned into this complete sociopath which is at odds with the loving family man we saw from first season. I know that a lot of it is down to his belief in his own invincibility and his greed, but eh, I still need a bit more convincing that a man like Walt would change so rapidly. That's not really a criticism of the show: I'm assuming/hoping Walt's character will be filled out a bit more this season by the time we get to his next lonesome birthday in the diner.
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Deleted
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Dec 1, 2024 6:13:06 GMT -4
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Post by Deleted on Aug 7, 2012 10:46:12 GMT -4
I've gotten the sense that Walt has always had a huge ego, and has always screwed it up when he got something good (the whole Grey Matter debacle that they talked about in season 1 I think.) The meth king stuff is only bringing out the absolute worst in him.
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Post by Smilla on Aug 7, 2012 13:59:28 GMT -4
I thought the flashback to the first years of their marriage (at the end of S3) showed us that Walt has always wanted much more than was realistically possible--Skyler wanted to buy the modest house next to the good schools and Walt wanted five bedrooms. He was thinking their lives would take off in the next couple of years and a decade and a half later he was stuck with that we saw in S1. So, not just a big ego, but someone who had settled for a lot less than he thought he was entitled to. What we're seeing now is the fall out from all those years of "unfair" living close to the bone, which is part of why he can't hang on to any of the money.
We've also gotten references to his not-so-comfortable upbringing, during which he apparently developed an absolute aversion to accepting any kind of charity. Sounds like a strict environment, and not one in which he would have garnered much compassion for others.
Maybe all that doesn't equal totally believable sociopath, but I think it explains most of his behavior.
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Post by kostgard on Aug 7, 2012 15:10:32 GMT -4
I've gotten the sense that Walt has always had a huge ego, and has always screwed it up when he got something good (the whole Grey Matter debacle that they talked about in season 1 I think.) The meth king stuff is only bringing out the absolute worst in him. That's the impression I got too. Walt is the stereotypical Beta male who always dreamed of being the Alpha. He always thought he deserved more and never realized that it was his own actions that kept him from achieving it. And when he doesn't get it, he wallows in sad-sack misery (like, why was he teaching high school when was so brilliant? He could have been working in research or at least teaching college where he would be making a lot more money and there would be no need for the humilating second job at the car wash). Now that he's getting a taste of the power and money he always felt he deserved, and in typical Walt fashion, he's screwing it up by letting his ego take over. Walt is brilliant, and he could have been really successful, but he always shoots himself in the foot. |
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Post by LAX on Aug 7, 2012 16:14:27 GMT -4
Speaking of Walt's teaching job, I've always wondered how he got there. Was that explained somewhere and I missed it? All I know is he was brilliant and had a start in a promising company, then he ends up out of that company and in a position that seems far removed from his talent and skills. While Walt actually seemed like a good teacher and even seemed to care about the success of his students and trying instill a passion for science in them, he also seemed pretty bitter about his lot in life as a humble teacher/modest suburbanite.
I hate Walt now, but I would really like to know much more about him.
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Post by kostgard on Aug 7, 2012 21:45:42 GMT -4
I always assumed that after things went pear-shaped with Grey Matter, Walt just wallowed in his misery over the unfairness of it all and just took the job that he could land in his sleep instead of putting in the effort to find something better/more challenging and then just got deeper and deeper into the rut.
He loves science and is a perfectionist, so I can see how he'd be motivating students to do well.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 13, 2012 0:24:22 GMT -4
This show! That last scene, holy crap! I had forgotten about the cold opening by the end and was just thinking that this was a more light hearted Breaking Bad then we've seen for a while. Should have known better.
It will be interesting to see everyone's reaction to the kid's death. Jesse will be devastated of course. Walt looked suprised but will he be upset? If he is than maybe he still has a bit of his humanity left. I have a feeling he will be upset at first but he'll get over it as he convinces himself that was the practical thing to do. Walt and Jesse made it clear to Todd that there could be no witnesses so they are definitely responsible too even if they did not explicitly tell him to shoot the kid. I would hope that is enough for Jesse to want to get out for good. I don't know how Walt could manipulate him into continuing.
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Post by Yossarian on Aug 13, 2012 7:05:52 GMT -4
OMG, that poor kid.  |
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Post by bklynred on Aug 13, 2012 7:45:16 GMT -4
I broke my rule and after watching the first 3 eps of season 1, watched last night. DAAAAMN, yo! I was all, "Go heist!" in Ocean's 11 mode and then... no.
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Post by WitchyPoo on Aug 13, 2012 9:59:59 GMT -4
Damn! Jesse has another traumatic event to deal with.
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