TV Series Lounge

It is now official. Expect Breaking Bad to have another 16 episodes.

It’s unclear when the network will air the installments, or if they’ll be divided into two seasons, but creator Vince Gilligan – who made it clear he wants an end date for his series – has released the following statement:

It’s a funny irony – I’d hate to know the date of my own last day on earth, but I’m delighted to know what Walter White’s will be (episodically speaking). This is a great gift to me and to my wonderful writers. It’s knowledge which will allow us to properly build our story to a satisfying conclusion. Now, if we don’t manage to pull that off, we’ve got no one to blame but ourselves.

“Breaking Bad has been a dream job these past four years. Working with the best cast and crew in television has no doubt spoiled me for future projects. I’m lucky to get to work with them on sixteen more episodes, and I will always be grateful to both AMC and Sony Television, who from the beginning, believed in our show and supported me creatively and professionally. We have been able to take risks with ‘Breaking Bad’ which would not have been possible on other networks.

Any reactions about the additional 16 episodes?

You can check other Breaking Bad Season 4 Reviews and Spoilers HERE.

Talk about Walter White’s priorities, everything became clear on episode 5 titled “Shotgun.”

TV Fanatic: The man who got into the meth manufacturing business to help his family was embraced by his wife and son more than he had been in years. Skyler went to bed with him and invited him to move back in, Walt Jr. made a point of telling his dad how nice it was to have him around.

But did Walter care? Did this personal inclusion make a difference in his mood, actions or outlook? No. Not when faced with such exclusion in his professional life.

Walt may truly love Skyler, he likely meant every word he said in that voicemail, but it’s akin to those who have said they don’t believe in God, yet would pray to Him if ever in a life-threatening situation. Rationality is a rare commodity when one panics. You reach for anything you can just to feel like you have some kind of connection, some reason for living.

Part of Walt wants to believe his family represents that reason – remember last week when he emphasized how he’s still providing for them, a basis for his work that hasn’t been true in years – but we know better.

We know Walt only cares about his role as Heisenberg at this point. It’s the only time he feels alive, useful. The frustration over his dwindling role in Gus’ operation, and his stubborn pride at Hank’s gall to give Gale any credit, resulted in a brief dinner table monologue that didn’t just put his own life at risk.

With Hank re-inspired, and really good at his job, Jesse will be in danger, too. And Walt Jr. could end up without a father. But this is something Walter is practically incapable of even contemplating anymore. He only sees the world through his own eyes.

Through mine, though, I couldn’t help but chuckle at the utter lack of power Walt actually possesses. He’s like Coach Eric Taylor at home, a man who wants to believe he’s in control at all times, but who is actually at the mercy of everyone around him. Of course, Friday Night Lights played up that angle of Eric’s life for laughs. There’s a lot more at stake on Breaking Bad.

Elsewhere, what a genius move by Gus to set Jesse up as a hero. It accomplished two goals:

Reinvigorating an employee who was endangering himself and the operation.
Once again driving the point home to Walt: I’m in charge. I’m smarter than you are.
My only complaint centers on the unnecessary exchange between Mike and Gus. Breaking Bad isn’t typically a show that dumbs anything down for the audience or feels a need to spell out any plot points. I was fairly certain that the botched robbery was a test for Jesse – Mike did leave the keys in the ignition, and also gave Jesse that smirk of approval when he returned with the car. A simple nod between Mike and his boss near the end would have been sufficient.

But that’s a tiny nit to pick. The episode gave us Bryan Cranston in a number of moods – panicked, vulnerable, angry, bitter – along with yet another beautifully-shot, silent scene during which Jesse wondered about his fate while Mike dug a hole in the dessert and all we heard was one repetitive beat in the background.

You can check other Breaking Bad Season 4 Reviews and Spoilers HERE.

Last night’s episode of Breaking Bad titled “Bullet Points” showed us how good this series can get. I’m totally amazed with episode 4.

TV Fanatic: Consider the silence of the fourth season premiere, an installment that didn’t require very much dialogue in order to ratchet up the tension. Here, however – with the exception of the outstanding, tense, humorous, beautifully shot opening scene – viewers were treated to practically nothing but exchanges between the main characters.

And it was equally riveting.

Walt and Skyler going over their bullet-pointed, novel-length lie to their loved ones was at times funny, enlightening and fascinating. It was impossible not to laugh at these two, arguing like a regular married couple, but doing it over such pressing and even somewhat ridiculous topics. Hmmm… should Skyler pretend to cry when telling her sister than their fortune is based on a gambling problem, not a drug manufacturing one?

Of course, the misdirection was never without subtext. Why am I ashamed? I would never say terribly. I’m sorry for all I put you through, how does that sound? Walt was at his coldest and in his classic state of denial throughout the plotting.

But did that change when he arrived at dinner? After seeing Gale in his innocent, sweet singing glory, did Walt actually feel a ping of regret? It felt that way when he did, indeed, utter the double “terribly” and apologize to his son and excused himself from the table… but then we saw him rifling through Hank’s file and realized, no, Walter White is far past the point of sorrow. He was just concerned about the murder investigation.

From here, we were treated to yet another long, intense, revealing scene of dialogue. Framed by Hank’s rock (sorry, mineral!) light, Walt sifted through Gale’s lab notes. It was difficult to read what he was thinking.

Fear over Gale exposing him and Jesse? Mostly. But also some pride over the formulas jotted down, some curiosity over this unusual man who included poems and other notes in the journal. Always thinking one step ahead, though, Walt was also looking for clues. Did he really convince Hank that the “W.W.” inscription was meant for Walt Whitman? I think so. But Hank gave off an air of suspicious throughout the conversation, didn’t he?

Finally, we had the chat with Saul, a session of whining and complaining from Walt. He actually wondered how things got “so screwed up,” but he didn’t blame himself. Far from it. Everyone had had played some role. It’s not that he stayed at the table too long, or doubled down when he should have walked away; it was that the dealer dared to deliver the wrong card; the player in front of him had mismanaged his hand; heck, the air conditioning was too high. Anything except an admission that Walt should never have been playing in the first place.

And might it be Jesse whose chips will be cashed in? I doubt it (and I really am done with the card metaphors). But it wouldn’t shock me. Naturally, it would be heart-breaking to lose Aaron Paul, but Vince Gilligan continually says the show will conclude after next season. I can’t imagine either of these cooks remaining alive when it’s all over. Jesse has to die at some point.

Did you enjoy this episode of Breaking Bad as well? What do you want to see on the succeeding episodes?

You can check other Breaking Bad Season 4 Reviews and Spoilers HERE.

I was definitely satisfied with Breaking Bad season 4 episode 3 titled “Open House.” So what did we see last night?

TV Fanatic: we saw just bad Sklyer can break. And her smooth, calculated, business-like approach seemed to scare Walt almost as much as Gus does. Perhaps that’s because it was eerily reminiscent of Gus. It’s easy to imagine him hiring a fake water inspector in his early days, isn’t it?

All drugs lords start somewhere.

Sklyer started the episode in a seemingly innocent place, wondering if Walt was in danger and then accepting his (technically true) explanation for how he got a black eye. By the end of the hour, though, she was the one schooling Walt on the proper ways to cover one’s tracks.

Walt may think he’s in charge, but he’s really just a pawn in the eyes of Gus, Saul and even Skyler. He’s a means to their financial ends.

He’s also constantly in denial. Does Walt really need to be told that one mistake can bring a major scheme down, or have long-lasting, serious repercussions? Forget the Watergate example. Walt only needs to look at the season two plane crash to understand how everything he does has consequences, typically deadly ones at that.

It’s this continued lack of understanding, this attempt on Walt’s conscious or sub-conscious part to pretend like he’s still a regular guy (can’t I just celebrate with my wife?), that defines him more than any meth cooking or head shaving. He refuses to accept that he’s an evil person.

Jesse, conversely, has no such problem. He knows who he is, he knows what he’s done. And his only escape is to surround himself with people and drugs, to do whatever he can to forget about that bullet going through Gale’s head. Clearly, though, there’s no way he can ever forget.

Seriously, does any actor on TV convey more by saying less than Aaron Paul? He’s exceptional.

While Skyler spiraled toward the dark side, meanwhile, her sister returned to an old vice. But there’s a major difference between Skyler and Marie: the latter just can’t do it. She can put on a front, she can take on some other identity during a home visit and even steal a trinket, but only for so long.

Eventually, the tears and the guilt flow. Great work here by Betsy Brandt. She goes through more ups and downs than any star on the show, often from just one scene to the next. Let’s hope Hank finally sees the effect his he has on his wife, though, and cuts Marie some much-needed slack. Or at least gets distracted enough by Gale’s file to stop screaming at the woman with whom he shares a bed. Channel that anger, Hank, and shift it to the person who truly deserves it: your brother-in-law.

The season premiere of Breaking Bad gave us the foundation of this season. Then, episode 2 titled “Thirty-Eight Snub” continued with some expected drama from the cast. Jesse and Walt are back in the lab, working for a cold-hearted, vengeful Gus – “Thirty-Eight Snub” simply left these two on the ground.

TV Fanatic: That’s how episode two concluded, with our main characters physically and mentally beaten down. The hour didn’t advance the plot very much, but it did take us inside the minds of Jesse and Walt, providing viewers with a picture of how they’re reacting to an environment that is growing bleaker by the day.

Each took a different approach, but each ended in the same hopeless position.

It’s disheartening enough to watch Jesse back on drugs, but it’s downright depressing to see him drag his previously-clean friends down with him. Like his mentor, Jesse isn’t simply effing up his life by being involved in the meth distribution world. He’s negatively affecting everyone around him, as well. Willingly.

Elsewhere, what a fantastic opening scene with Walt and the gun dealer.

It was reminiscent of season one, when the show took the slow, fascinating steps that no other program would touch, dedicating an entire episode, for example, to Walt and Jesse figuring out how to dispose of a body. Remember: these two aren’t professionals, no matter how much Walt likes to pretend he is.

The mere act of purchasing a gun is a challenge for Walt, just as it would be for any chemistry teacher turned meth maker. Just great camera work all around here, and great realistic details when it had to be explained to Walt on which side one carries a holster.

Another terrific touch: Walt’s morning routine, packing both bullets and an apple. He’s still trying to straddle two worlds, even though we all know how fully and how dangerous he’s immersed in the one with the bullets.

When Gus eerily tells him to go home, it’s not hard to imagine what Walt is thinking: to where? To what? That cold, lifeless apartment? Notice how Walt didn’t have his hat on for the closing scene with Mike. He tried to be Heisenberg earlier. It failed. And now he’s left just pleading and trying to use reason, as he did in the lab last week. We all saw how that turned out.

Walt may not have been the one to get his throat slit, but viewers and the man himself are left wondering how long until Gus does take that action. And, until then, how should Walt and Jesse act?

Should they accept their fate, like Jesse tried to do through a week-long bender? Or fight against it, a la Walt? Neither move worked out very well in this case.

What’s your take on this one? Share your thoughts in the comment section!

You can check other Breaking Bad Season 4 Reviews and Spoilers HERE.

Are you still a fan of Walter White? What do you expect from this character on Breaking Bad season 4? Creator Vince Gilligan has something to say.

“If you watch enough of these episodes, you realize eventually that Walt was a good man, but this thing he’s chosen to do is changing him,” Gilligan told The New York Times this week. “He becomes harder and harder to root for.”

Saying the Emmy-winning series was “never intended to be an open-ended show,” Gilligan is also steadfast in his plans to conclude it after season five, ratings and critical acclaim be damned.

Will Walter live to see the final credits?

“I can’t imagine him not dying,” Gilligan teases. “Although it may not be from lung cancer.”

What can you say about Walt?

You can check other Breaking Bad Season 4 Reviews and Spoilers HERE.

What an exciting and insane season 4 premiere for Breaking Bad!

TV Fanatic: Think about the main characters on “Box Cutter.” Jesse said two words until the final scene; Gus uttered five; with the exception of one great, desperate, character-revealing speech, Walt remained relatively quiet.

The show has developed such confidence and such a unique style of direction and cinematography, that is scarcely needs its characters to speak. It’s almost as if creator Vince Gilligan and company are holding their breath along with the audience – and the results are simply riveting.

On the fourth season premiere, we don’t immediately learn that Gale is dead. We hear a 911 call. We see a bullet hole in a tea pot. And we’re also treated to a quick scene that makes Jesse’s actions that much more tragic:

Gale wrote his own death. This was a man so innocent, so un-Walt-like, that he essentially convinced Gus to hire the men who would eventually be responsible for his murder. Cut to his corpse and then to Jesse in the car, distraught, in shock, scarcely moving and Breaking Bad has taken just over a minute to raise the stakes on last season’s pulsating cliffhanger.

From there, it was a waiting game. How would Gus react? Walt and Jesse waited anxiously. Viewers knew neither would be killed, but did anyone see Gus donning a protective suit, grabbing Gale’s box cutter and slitting the throat of his most loyal associate coming? Not merely slitting it; but prying the neck open so the wound gushed blood and he simply stood there, staring at his captives.

Gross stuff. Shocking stuff. Menacing stuff. Well, get back to work. Point, Gus Fring.

Again, Walt was barely in the episode, but his plea for survival was pure Heisenberg. He focused solely on the job at hand, he didn’t connect his entry into the drug world with Gale’s death; heck, he blamed Gus for it. He said Jesse should be kept alive not because Jesse’s life has value, but because Walt would not work without him. This is a man who never takes responsibility. He compartmentalizes all of his choices and his ego allows him to actually look down on everyone else for theirs.

And this is the main character of the series! Amazing.

Elsewhere, we got a glimpse of how Walt’s decisions have affected those around him. Hank is bed-ridden, depressed. Skylar is lying (very well) to locksmiths. Saul is being hilariously scared for his life.

Breaking Bad mostly focuses on Walter White and his evolution into a hardened, soulless criminal, but it also takes the time to depict the world surrounding Walt, to show us how this metamorphosis affects everyone that comes into contact with the former chemistry teacher (and even those who don’t, as the season two plane crash proved).

Overall, this is one of the greatest premiere for Breaking Bad! I love it and i’ll give it a 5 out of 5 stars!

You can check other Breaking Bad Season 4 Reviews and Spoilers HERE.

Well whether you like him or not, Breaking Bad creator Vince Gilligan doesn’t really care.

This is an unusual statement for a series creator to make, but Breaking Bad is an unusual series. In all the best ways, of course.

Heading into its fourth season premiere on July 17, the drama has turned its main character darker and more despicable each year, with Gilligan recently saying that’s the goal: intrigue over sympathy.

“It’s super important to me that people stay interested in Walt,” Gilligan told ZaptIt. “It’s not quite as important to me that people continue to root for him… this show is something of an experiment in that we’re taking our good guy and turning him into a bad guy throughout the course of the series.

“It seems to me that our fans are not monolithic; they don’t think with one group mind. They all have different thresholds of tolerance for Walt’s bad behavior… all that really matters to me at the end of the day is that he remains interesting.”

Any reactions?

You can check other Breaking Bad Season 4 Reviews and Spoilers HERE.

Jesse and Walt will surely be in trouble on Breaking Bad season 4.

Considering the monumental, murderous event that concluded season three, it should come as no surprise that Jesse and Walt will find themselves in trouble at the outset of season four.

So what can expect on the season 4 premiere of Breaking Bad? See some spoiler pictures below.

We can’t wait to find out. But, in the meantime, AMC has offered fans a few season premiere teaser pics. Look for a character to die on the episode “Box Cutter” and for the following scenes to take place.

Any comment about these stills?

You can check other Breaking Bad Season 4 Reviews and Spoilers HERE.

Here are the events to expect on Breaking Bad season 4!

Following a season that saw Walt partner with Gus Fring, only to avoid execution at the hands of this drug kingpin by having Jesse kill Gale, creator Vince Gilligan says fans should expect a major battle of wits to unfold this summer between these two.

“Walt will find himself less enchanted with the world of meth production than he currently does,” Gilligan tells EW. “He journeys deeper into this criminal underworld, and then much of season 4 is Walt’s effort to get out from under and overcome in a very dangerous battle of wills.”

Here are the latest spoilers:

• Skyler and Walt will “come to an understanding,” Gilligan previews, as they grow closer via their business partnership.
• Jesse will be struggling with his “inner demons,” Aaron Paul says, while also hyping a “budding romance in the drug world.”
• Hank will be engaged in a long road to recovery.
• We’ll learn more about Gus and his past.
• Saul will be “pulled deeper and further into places he doesn’t want to go,” says Gilligan.
• Walt Jr. will turn 16!