The Gretchen Connection

I'm sure I'm not the only person out there intrigued by the crucial question:

Why is Walt where he is now? Why he is hustling for meth money when he should be sitting in an upholstered office in downtown ABQ watching his stock returns pile up? In other words: WHY DID HE LEAVE GRAY MATTER?

And I'm equally sure I'm not the only person who has fixed on the lovely Gretchen as a likely answer.

But if she IS the reason Walt and Elliot parted ways, what are the details? Two broad possiblities strike me as likely:

Walt and Gretchen were involved pre-Elliot, and Elliot stole/attracted her away from him (i.e., he actively seduced her, or she spontaneously fell in love with him and left Walt).

OR. Elliot/Gretchen was the original relationship and Walt had a thing with her on the side, and Elliot may or may not have found out. If the second case, Walt may have deliberately distanced himself from Elliot out of guilt.

I lean toward scenario 2b, imagining that in any of the other above plot lines, the open bitterness between the two men would have been too deep to be bridged by an occasion like a corny gift at a birthday party. But I could be wrong. In fact it might have nothing to do with Gretchen at all. We have virtually no information on the matter.

The point is, I want to know what you all think. :D

By the way, it's great to join the discussion. I've been a fan since before the first episode, actually, just from watching the previews, but I only discovered this talk forum recently. Breaking Bad is easily one of the best television shows ever made, and I'm on tenterhooks awaiting Season 2.

Character Development Challenge

Which character (not a main one) would you like to have more information about? Or, is there a character that you think should be introduced to more fully develop the story? Who is this person, and how will they contribute to what we already know?

Saint Walt?

Have you ever heard of the concept of "sainting"? It refers to someone removing evidence after a person's death, so that a secret life can be kept from loved ones.

In the event that Walt is not found out before his death, do you think he would ask Jesse to clean up his effects so that his family didn't find out about the meth cooking? Would Jesse do it on his own, without being asked?

I've said several times before that Walt seems to be just a little scared of Skyler. To be fair, what I've really meant is that he doesn't want to disappoint her. He wants to meet her approval and to protect and provide for their family. The idea that he might not be able to frightens him, but he's also frightened that she might find out how he chose to meet his obligations. I think even death wouldn't remove this fear.

OK, one more spin on this topic: Skyler DOES find out. Would she hide the information from their daughter, Holly, as she grows up?

Dreaming of Season Two

Just for fun, as we WAIT FOR CONFIRMATION (sorry...that's me getting impatient) of a second season, how about a lil' viewer speculation and or fan wish lists.

To encourage plenty of participation I'll make it very easy to play along.

You must:
~Choose four different characters
~Make a prediction or season two wish for all four characters
~Mark each one, next to the name, 'Speculation' or 'Wish' (feel free to do one or both) and keep each thought to a 25 word max.

Example:
HANK-Speculation - Hank will find out about Walt but keep his mouth shut about in exchange for Walt staying quiet on his wife's lil habit.
HANK - Wish - Hank, seeing Walt and Jessie together, will start pressing Jessie on Walt is up to.

Sound like fun?

While I'll need a day or two to mull over my own predictions and wishes I look very forward to reading all of yours as we WAIT FOR CONFIRMATION! (Yeah! I'm still impatient but I want more... AMC should be flattered and pleased we want it that *BAD* ) on a second season of Breaking Bad.

Skyler Finds Out: For Non-Majors

First, I want to give a brief explanation of my post title. When I was in college, there were several elective courses labeled as subjects for non-majors. To my knowledge, they were mostly science courses. It wasn't intended to be a lighter version of a subject, but rather a survey for those who were interested from an avocational point of view. Also, I saw it as taking the pressure off the professor, allowing him or her to present the topic in a more casual manner.

I won the RV about the 5th week of the season, but I've still been interested in some of the questions. It's not fair for me to be in with those who haven't won yet, so I'm setting up this topic for others like me. Also, we can continue to discuss it after the week is up.

For me, the easy answer is that Skyler can't find out about Walt's moonlighting. That's too simple, though. Another thing to think about is WHEN she finds out. If another principal figure (Hank, Marie or Walt Jr.), figures it out first, that will likely soften the blow, because that person will be able to offer their opinion to Skyler.

If Skyler finds out first, it's going to be a big blow to their relationship. Like any big secret revealed, it will be a shock and she will have to figure out what to do with the information. Unless Walt is also caught by the police or turned in, he's not off the hook. He has obligations to his family. If he can't take care of those, they'll have to develop a different strategy to survive. Any way it happens, it will be unpleasant.

Please Be Careful...

I cannot say enough great things about this show. I come from the meth and marijuana capital of Canada. You have managed to grab the attention of a 'lot' of people here I thought would never own a TV. Here are some of of our thoughts:

1. The relationship between Bryan and Aaron is awesome and what you would expect. Please expand, and don't have anyone busted too soon; we like them together and splitting them up should be the Season 2 finale.

2. Walt needs to start smoking marijuana. He has cancer and rad-pacs; hello!? Anyone there ever had radiation nausea?

3. Someone buy them a friggin' Police Scanner for heavens sake!

4. Please be careful. Too many sub-plots will mess this up. Everyone in this show (so far) is a victim of something, so its time to show some of their victees.

Cheers!

Hank: Snitch or Sneak?

There is a reason why Hank is a DEA agent and his main focus is on meth. This is not just a coincidence. The question is, what will Hank do once he realizes how involved Walt is in the meth scene? I think Hank will discover that Walt was responsible for the missing chemistry lab supplies, then it snowballs from there and he finds out how involved Walt really is.

Does Hank look the other way? After all, Walt's dying and won't be around long. (not likely) Will Hank arrest him on the spot? It is his job to protect and serve. Or will he become involved? Once he sees how well Walt and Jesse are doing, he may want a piece of the pie.

We all know Hank isn't a saint, considering he accepted illegal cuban cigars for doing a favor for somebody else, and he even laughed it off when he found out Walt is smoking pot. So it seems he doesn't care about the little things if nobody is getting hurt. So, how will he respond to the fact Walt is becoming a meth kingpin? It will happen and I would imagine it will happen early or mid-way through next season. So do you agree? I'd love to hear everyone's take on this.

Tuco is on Walt's List

Tuco is too evil to live. The end of the Finale was Tuco huffing some of Walt's super-potent Blue meth and then winding up into psychotic brutality whereby he assaults one of his henchman within an inch of his life, all because Walt asked him to mellow out.

Remember that Walt's primary consideration upon entering into the meth business a second time was "No Bloodshed". Whoops. The problem with Tuco is that he is going to kill Walt or kill somebody else in such a way that it gets Walt implicated and arrested. Walt knows this and he also knows that he hates Tuco. And he knows that Tuco is very careless about how he samples the product when he buys it.

So here's how I think it goes down: Walt is going to produce a batch of something that when Tuco sticks his face into the bag it will so severely incapacitate him Tuco will either die or be reduced to a harmless zombie. At that point either of two things will happen: Jesse will take over the selling part of the operation or the henchman who Tuco messed up in the Finale will take over, now beholden to Walt for his destruction of Tuco. You won't see this coming and it won't be easy, it will just create a bunch of new problems and the chemical mixture of this show will remain as volatile as ever. This despite the very satisfied feeling we will all have when we see Tuco get the ultimate morality play.

Do You Want Walt to Get Away?

Or do you want Walt to get caught?

Will the powers allow Vince or anyone else make a series like Breaking Bad and allow the bad guy to win?

Episode 7 (Season Finale)

The preview synopsis says (among other things): "Skyler's sister, Marie (Betsy Brandt), throws Skyler a baby shower and gives a questionable gift. "

I'll bet it's a pair of stolen high heels.

Breaking Bad Is a 10+

I'm not worried like some people that Breaking Bad not will be picked up for a second season. With all the reviews and buss that it's getting in just six episodes it will be AMC's number one moneymaker in its next season. I just hope that the new shows start back soon. Breaking Bad will put AMC on the map. I read that FX turned it down. I bet someone at FX will get fired for turning it down if not they should.

I would never do meth because I know what it does. Meth is bad in my county and a school teacher was arrested a few months ago for making meth here. But If I were in Walt's shoes, I would try to take care of my family also.

This story is about a good man that has been dealt a bad hand. He only wants to make sure that if he dies that his family is not left owning doctor bills and broke. Meth is bad but people who do it are going to buy it from someone, somewhere. I do not think the show glamorizes meth in anyway. I think it shows what it does to you. Like all the other fans I'm so disappointed that they are only one more episode left this season.

Tell Them You LOVE Breaking Bad

With all this talk of when and if Breaking Bad will return for a second season I thought now might be a good time to remind my fellow fans that positive feedback is a powerful thing.

While people will go out of their way to complain the same is not often said for offering praise.
Praise is a GOOD thing.
There isn't a soul out there that doesn't welcome it when it comes their way.

That in mind I suggest we all take a lil' time to offer up our viewer praise to the people that need to hear it most. Saying nice things is good for the soul and can only help when it comes to getting more of this wonderful show.

Nothing fancy needed.
Just drop a quick email -- tell them who you are ... demographics are always a big deal -- of praise to those who need to hear it telling them how much you love this show.

So, head off to those websites, track down emails (everyone has a contact us) for all those oh so influential entertainment reporters and publications and let your viewer voice be heard.

Off the top of my head I'd suggest...
AMC (of course!)
TV Guide
Entertainment Weekly
Your hometown newspaper entertainment reporter.

While it seems like a little thing that would hardly make a difference, remember, everyone loves praise and little things can often go a long, long way.

Afraid of Cancellation

I absolutely love this show. This is from someone whose family has just had a loved one diagnosed at the age of 33 with stage 3 lung cancer (and who died 2 weeks ago) , and whose father is a 30+ year retired school teacher.... it is amazingly accurate... from the diagnosis with the audio hum blocking out every word to the idiot "cancer education" pamphlets and every other "published" book out there claiming to be an "authority"....feeding right into the manufactured hope for "its all about me Skyler" psyche. I literally wanted to take the talking pillow and beat her with it when I was watching Gray Matter.

This show is so great in the cerebral area of showing real science, and the well-written dark plots that I am afraid the Candy-TV addicted American public will pass this by as being "too smart". It seems like any show that makes you think gets canceled. I really hope it catches on like Six Feet Under.