Breaking Bad, Season 1, Episode 2
I can't commit to promising that I will write about the show every time we watch a new episode, but I am starting to get a glimmer of understanding as to why people were/are obsessed with this show. We watched the second episode last night, and when that show is on, it's impossible for me to do my usual things while watching TV such as eating Frosted Flakes or playing on my phone or braiding my hair. I just have to watch.
In this one, Walter White is faced with a conundrum--he's got one dead guy in the van, and another almost dead guy heaving in Jessie's basement. I won't recount the whole thing, because that alone is enough--the moral dilemma posed by the man in the basement, and all that he represents. In most of the scenes, you can hear the guy coughing and wheezing from the air ducts, so he's like this monster in the basement, but also a helpless victim secured to a pole with a bicycle lock around his neck. Walter wrestles with the idea of trying to reason with the guy--like maybe they can strike a deal with him where if they let him go, he won't come back with his posse and waste them and their families. It seems like an unlikely possibility. So, instead, he gives the guy some water and a baloney sandwich, and the one moment of humanity is when you see the guy taking off the crusts of his bread, because he doesn't like to eat that part. Meanwhile, Jessie, who has won the coin toss, must dispose of the body, and since he can't decide on what kind of plastic container to use, he puts the corpse in the bathtub and pours hydrocloric acid on him so it will eat through his bones. Here's where you learn a chemistry lesson--the body dissolves, as does the entire bathtub and the floor beneath it spilling the rest of the remains on the first floor when it breaks through the ceiling. Who knew that this acid was only resistant to plastic? Walter White knew, but his job is to kill the monster in the basement. And you can sympathize with him, because what else can he do? He can't set him free and he can't keep him alive indefinitely. What would you do and if you are going to kill a guy, what's the most painless, easiest way to do it? He thinks about using a plastic bag, but loses his nerve because the guy is awake. I'm thinking poison or some other chemical solution--that would make the most sense given what the character knows and is familiar with. We're watching the third episode tonight, so I will know more later.
In other but related news, one of the actors from Breaking Bad, Giancarlo Esposito, will be appearing at Rider on Saturday night for a discussion. I probably shouldn't go because I haven't been introduced to him yet in the series, and it may ruin the surprises to come. But what else can I do? It's the guy who plays Gus, I believe he's one of the central villains. Don't ruin it for me, let me ruin it for myself.
Uh-oh, see what happens when you even Google Gus from BB--you learn that he dies. The first thing that comes up is "death of Gus" and these images. Oh, well. I'm guessing from his face that he gets burned by acid. Don't tell me!
In this one, Walter White is faced with a conundrum--he's got one dead guy in the van, and another almost dead guy heaving in Jessie's basement. I won't recount the whole thing, because that alone is enough--the moral dilemma posed by the man in the basement, and all that he represents. In most of the scenes, you can hear the guy coughing and wheezing from the air ducts, so he's like this monster in the basement, but also a helpless victim secured to a pole with a bicycle lock around his neck. Walter wrestles with the idea of trying to reason with the guy--like maybe they can strike a deal with him where if they let him go, he won't come back with his posse and waste them and their families. It seems like an unlikely possibility. So, instead, he gives the guy some water and a baloney sandwich, and the one moment of humanity is when you see the guy taking off the crusts of his bread, because he doesn't like to eat that part. Meanwhile, Jessie, who has won the coin toss, must dispose of the body, and since he can't decide on what kind of plastic container to use, he puts the corpse in the bathtub and pours hydrocloric acid on him so it will eat through his bones. Here's where you learn a chemistry lesson--the body dissolves, as does the entire bathtub and the floor beneath it spilling the rest of the remains on the first floor when it breaks through the ceiling. Who knew that this acid was only resistant to plastic? Walter White knew, but his job is to kill the monster in the basement. And you can sympathize with him, because what else can he do? He can't set him free and he can't keep him alive indefinitely. What would you do and if you are going to kill a guy, what's the most painless, easiest way to do it? He thinks about using a plastic bag, but loses his nerve because the guy is awake. I'm thinking poison or some other chemical solution--that would make the most sense given what the character knows and is familiar with. We're watching the third episode tonight, so I will know more later.
In other but related news, one of the actors from Breaking Bad, Giancarlo Esposito, will be appearing at Rider on Saturday night for a discussion. I probably shouldn't go because I haven't been introduced to him yet in the series, and it may ruin the surprises to come. But what else can I do? It's the guy who plays Gus, I believe he's one of the central villains. Don't ruin it for me, let me ruin it for myself.
Uh-oh, see what happens when you even Google Gus from BB--you learn that he dies. The first thing that comes up is "death of Gus" and these images. Oh, well. I'm guessing from his face that he gets burned by acid. Don't tell me!
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