TV: Breaking Bad

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Originally Posted by UChessmaster

You keep calling it charity... I do believe they would take care of his family, but I guess I`m alone in this one, in the end I don`t really have any solid evidence.

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I don't remember anything from the episodes that suggested they would go that far to help Walt. They are old friends and I think Walt was the wife's bf in college. Saving his life is one thing, but that's a stretch to think they'd support his family.

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Are you saying your father`s pride was bigger than the well being of your family? And this is normal? Different countries, different values I guess.

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No because he did accept the welfare checks, but it hurt his pride to have to. What he'd prefer (almost to the point that it would be bad for the family) is the opportunity to make his own way with hard work and effort. I think Walt is the same. A man wants to provide for his family, not have someone else take care of them, especially because he can't. In some cultures not being able to do that is worse than death.

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Originally Posted by Sapphire

Let's no go crazy with rage because I don't sympathize with the characters, here.

Just because the characters are written brilliantly, doesn't mean I have to like them. Shouldn't you have grown out of ur "omg this show is so smart therefore u should like it if ur smart" phase? It's like you've seen nothing but shitty anime your whole life, the first cleverly written thing you see can endure no vitriol. (Remembering ur rage at me not liking Dexter despite it's amazing and groundbreaking nature vs. nurture themes)

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For example, I am well aware that the son probably midged the story a bit (on who pulled the knife on who) to get the cops to come faster. Or he is one of those guys who think that engaging in self-defense against a woman is bad because, it's, omg! attacking a woman. However, if he went through the whole show blindly believing in his dad, he could have given his dad the benefit of a doubt for 30 more minutes to let him explain what was going on. If my panicked dad (who I had no reason to disbelieve until 30 minutes ago) comes in covered in dirt and grime and says 'we need to get the fuck out of the house NOW, I'll explain later', I'll get out of the house so he can explain, not stand around being super dramatic.

@Ani: Check your wall, love.

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It just seemed you missed the obvious intent of Walter's call to Skylar and the fact that he was crying and struggling to get through the call. You might have just been busy raging against the women or awe-struck by the events of the show to notice it. I didn't mean to be mean, was just a gut reaction post.

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Originally Posted by Carnage

Animeniax is pointing out that Walt used the phone call to wipe Skylar's plate/involvement clean as far as the feds are concerned. He cried during the phone call because it pained him to pretend that he is as cruel as his image is, whereas in his genuine anger in the house he wasn't close to crying but lashing out.

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If Walt knew the cops were on the line, he totally threw Skylar under the bus. He incriminated them both.

I don't remember anything in that phone conversation that incriminated Skylar. He seemed very non-specific throughout the whole thing. He still does seem to care about his family and isn't a complete monster (but after all the shit he has pulled, that isn't saying alot).

I have been along for the ride since season 1, but I have to say that I myself never found the characters to be interesting or likeable in the least. I guess Walt is an exception in that he is at least interesting, even if he is a bad person. The only thing that has kept me in this is the plot itself, which is great. But often times I find myself skipping scenes just to find out what happens next, because I find the characters and dialogue are not as engaging.

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Originally Posted by poopdeville

If Walt knew the cops were on the line, he totally threw Skylar under the bus. He incriminated them both.

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At first I thought maybe you misunderstood the call, but you might be on to something.

[enter internet over-analysis mode] Since the feds don't know the details of all this, they would assume Skylar's involvement is as strong as we know it is. Walt's statements could be used to incriminate her in his crimes. At best it will help convince Marie and maybe Flynn that Skylar is a victim, but how far will that go to protect her from the authorities?

At best, if the family chooses, the feds wouldn't need to find out what Hank and Gomez knew about Walt/Heisenberg. This could be just a domestic violence situation, with the disappearance of Hank and Gomez as an unrelated work-related matter. Of course, Flynn did say on his 911 call that he thought Walt had killed someone...

Did Walt said anything specifically labeling Skylar as an accomplice? it sounded to me like he was trying to make it seem like she was an abused wife that had no saying or choice in the matter but had to participate because she was afraid of her husband.

The tape on Walt's hand was a sign from the director/writer that he knows his call is being taped. There is no way Skylar was going to get off scott free. This call saved her from the worse portion of punishment.

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Originally Posted by UChessmaster

Did Walt said anything specifically labeling Skylar as an accomplice? it sounded to me like he was trying to make it seem like she was an abused wife that had no saying or choice in the matter but had to participate because she was afraid of her husband.

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"You knew. And you bitched and moaned and so on and so forth about how I make my money. It's illegal! It's immoral!" etc.

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Originally Posted by poopdeville

"You knew. And you bitched and moaned and so on and so forth about how I make my money. It's illegal! It's immoral!" etc.

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But knowing doesn't prove involvement. Under the eyes of the law, she could have acted under duress of the threats against her and her family, which is a valid legal defense.

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Originally Posted by poopdeville

"You knew. And you bitched and moaned and so on and so forth about how I make my money. It's illegal! It's immoral!" etc.

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That is still a whole lot better than "You helped me setup and run a fake business to launder money". Then he also added the bit at the end about "You have no idea what I have had to do to get where I am" implying a certain level of ignorance on her part. Really, I doubt any Fed would believe that Skylar knew absolutely nothing whatsoever, but just being the wife that chose to look the other way is a lot less damning than a being a full blown accomplice.

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Originally Posted by Splash!

That is still a whole lot better than "You helped me setup and run a fake business to launder money". Then he also added the bit at the end about "You have no idea what I have had to do to get where I am" implying a certain level of ignorance on her part. Really, I doubt any Fed would believe that Skylar knew absolutely nothing whatsoever, but just being the wife that chose to look the other way is a lot less damning than a being a full blown accomplice.

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Even better for Skylar, she didn't simply look away (willful ignorance). Instead she was forced to be involved because of threats and coercion by Walt (acting under duress).

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Originally Posted by Animeniax

Even better for Skylar, she didn't simply look away (willful ignorance). Instead she was forced to be involved because of threats and coercion by Walt (acting under duress).

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Yeah but that's a tricky stance to take. Claiming that she were forced into being an accomplice would suggest that she knew more (in spite of being under duress). That opens her up to further questioning on the exact nature of her situation with Walt. I can't help but feel that somewhere down the line, she would expose herself.

However, she can use the duress argument for why she didn't straight up go to the police with her limited knowledge on Walt being involved in illegal activities.

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Originally Posted by Splash!

Yeah but that's a tricky stance to take. Claiming that she were forced into being an accomplice would suggest that she knew more (in spite of being under duress). That opens her up to further questioning on the exact nature of her situation with Walt. I can't help but feel that somewhere down the line, she would expose herself.

However, she can use the duress argument for why she didn't straight up go to the police with her limited knowledge on Walt being involved in illegal activities.

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She was only an accomplice to a degree. She was involved in the money laundering, but she could still claim she didn't know how the money wad made. But to be involved with that much money, it would be hard to claim ignorance and excuse inaction except to claim that Walt coerced her with threats.

With his call, Walt also shielded Skylar from being used as a pawn by the prosecution to try to get to him. If they felt she was important to Walt, they could threaten to press charges against her to make Walt cave. With the tone and message of the call, Walt has distanced himself from Skylar to anyone who didn't know their background.

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Originally Posted by Animeniax

With his call, Walt also shielded Skylar from being used as a pawn by the prosecution to try to get to him. If they felt she was important to Walt, they could threaten to press charges against her to make Walt cave. With the tone and message of the call, Walt has distanced himself from Skylar to anyone who didn't know their background.

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I thought husband and wife dont have to testify against each other in the first place.

I think he meant the DEA/Cops/FBI using the threat of pressing charges against Skylar (for her direct involvement) to extort Walt into giving himself up. Because at this stage,Walt worrying about being in a courtroom with Skylar testifying against him is hardly something to be worried about (with him already dying of cancer).

Husband and wife can't be made to testify against each other, and knowing about your spouses illegal activity and not reporting it is not an offence. Add to that, that Walt made it sound like she was living under threat and abuse, making her fear for her life and the childrens life (supported by the fact that Walt kidnapped his youngest as soon as she finally took a stand). She will walk away clean from it all as long as she plays along. If she promise to testify against Walt she will even go free even if she confesses to everything. Walt Jr. will even believe she was innocent and forced to go along with it.

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Originally Posted by Carnage

The tape on Walt's hand was a sign from the director/writer that he knows his call is being taped. There is no way Skylar was going to get off scott free. This call saved her from the worse portion of punishment.

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Did you read or see that somewhere? It definitely sounds plausible and is a clever way to add depth to the scene.

Everyone should also keep in mind that no one (still alive or who would talk to the feds) knows how much money Walt made except for Skylar. Saul and his boys know of 7 barrels loaded with cash, but with the limited info the feds have (unlike all the Hank had), they wouldn't know to pursue Saul and his handymen.

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Originally Posted by Animeniax

Did you read or see that somewhere? It definitely sounds plausible and is a clever way to add depth to the scene.

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Yeah I read it. At first I thought it was meant to tape his family back together (without him).

The last two episodes are going to be 1.5 hours long.

I wonder why they chose to do that instead of making 3 more episodes. I think 1.5 hours of the crazy shit that will go down in these final episodes might be too much awesomeness that some of the awesome will get lost in the mix. It's kind of like the Super Bowl with all the pageantry and the commercials. Too much going on, so you miss some of the more nuanced greatness.