Sunday, August 25, 2013

Breaking Bad Confessions

This show is finishing so well, amping up the tension so brilliantly.  The update continues after break with heaps of spoilers below.

Wow.

Anyhow, what does this episode mean for our game?  No one has joined Declan, but we have some contenders.
  • Noah might have been thinking he had it made with Jesse about to leave town and hide in Alaska with the moose.  Once he realized that Huell lifted his drugs, he also realized that he could have and did lift his cigarettes including Chekhov's ricin.  While Jesse does not know the whole story, he figured out enough of it to finally snap into action.  Of course, burning down Casa de Blanco might not be the move we were expecting, but it is a first step.... to Jesse's mortality to being at risk.  So, Noah's gamble is not looking great now.
  • Brandon's pick of Saul is not looking that great either.  Sure, Jesse didn't kill him, but Saul is getting dragged in deeper and deeper.  Just that he was willing to go to the desert to meet up with Walt suggests a shocking lack of self-preservation instinct.  But Saul does keep Walt's situational awareness up, so perhaps Walt will not turn on him.  Huell is also just a bit more in danger than he was before.
  • Lydia and Todd are both in great danger.  Why? Because Todd is involved up to his neck (even if he lacks the tattoos of his relatives.  So many mistakes in such a short period of time.  Todd shares the train heist story (1), uses Walter White's name (2), in a public place (3), trusts his relatives (4), said relatives are not nearly as fastidious about washing off the evidence of their work (5), while all of this is going on,  the methylamine is just sitting outside, and Todd is likely to blow up the meth lab (6).   Oh, and Todd left a not so cryptic message for Walt.  That Lydia and her fancy shoes are tied up with Todd is bad for Todd's health and Lydia's.  
  • I would say that Hank and Marie are safer now that they are immobilized by Walt's brilliant confession video, but two things point in the other direction: Hank's determination to get Walt & Marie's, um, flakiness.  She might just put herself into danger.
  • Holly was absent, and no risk of being pulled apart.  Flynn/Walt Jr. is very much in play.  Hmmm. 
  • While the DVD was diabolical, Walt is now running around with a revolver that has been frozen over.  Does not seem like a good idea.  Sure, he has frozen Hank for the time being, but things are moving.  Jesse may be looking for some stuff to damage other than property. Plus the cancer remains back despite the rosey picture.
  • Steve Gomez is miffed but his danger status seems unchanged.
  • No sign of Badger and Skinny Pete, but given that their pal Jesse is now going just a bit bananas, they might be at risk as well.
  • No sign of Kaylee, Gretchen, Old Joe, Andrea, Bogdan, Ted, Group Leader, Brock or Lawson.
So, we really don't know that much.  Everyone still remains at risk, the pace seems to be quickening, and more folks know both more and less.  This is definitely how you end a TV series with a weekly bang and only whimpering from those who are at risk.  I don't think that Hank will stay frozen for long, but his next play will have to be pretty sharp now that he knows the brilliance of his adversary.  

Every scene crackles these days, which means that we are far from having our game resolved.  The only certainty is that Declan will stay dead.  But I am pretty certain that Todd will join him.  Other than that, who knows?

So, let me ask the players--if you could draft all over again, who would you pick to survive?  Who would you pick if this was indeed a dead pool--who do you think is most likely to go to Belize?





3 comments:

Anonymous said...

You know that Vince Gilligan is actively attempting to sell "Better Call Saul" as a spinoff, right?

Steve Saideman said...

Yes, but it might be a feint. Plus it could always be a prequel.

Rob Chasen said...

I'd have a hard time accepting a 'Better Call Saul' prequel, if only because Bob Odenkirk is definitely not looking younger than he did when he was introduced in season 2.