by Lee Padrick, September 30, 2013
WARNING: This review contains spoilers
Don't make me put my watch down.
The series finale, written and directed by showrunner/creator Vince Gilligan, had the dubious task of tying up loose ends and providing a satisficing valediction to the world of television. And he had 75 minutes to accomplish this. He succeeded.
Breaking Bad is the story of a high school chemistry teacher. The teacher discovers he has lung cancer, so he decides to use his knowledge of chemistry and science to make methamphetamine to secure his family's finance. Only a strange thing happens along the way. He discovers he's very good at it. And that he enjoys it. But the cost to achieve success in this underworld is steep, and the price demands a complete transformation. In order to transform from Walter White, teacher-husband-father, to Heisenberg, drug lord-liar-murderer, he must shelve his moral compass. No half-measures allowed.
by Lee Padrick, September 29, 2013
WARNING: This review contains spoilers
OK, so I've been seeing these promos for a new NBC show called The Blacklist. And I didn't know anything about it.
I have seen its name show up on some of the Best Shows of Fall 2013 lists. But thanks to the new ways of watching TV, I have somehow avoided the ads and promos that show up every fall on the broadcast networks. On Saturday, I saw it advertise numerous times during an afternoon football game. So, I fired up the pilot via OnDemand late on a Saturday night, which is apparently not a good time to try to absorb a new show about a Diabolical Mastermind.
by Lee Padrick, September 27, 2013
WARNING - This review contains spoilers
Change of venue! We're in Tampa this week.
Our anti-hero, Nucky, goes down to Tampa to hear a proposition about expanding his empire, without newly minted consigliere, Eddie. Nuck meets up with Bill McCoy, who has set up a meeting with Gus Tucker, the local Tampa crime boss. While he's enjoying a drink, he overhears Skeeter, a young real estate hustler, closing a deal on a lot in a new subdivision. He strikes up a conversation with Skeeter and finds out about the residential development that's happening in 1920's Tampa ($1,000 lots, I'll take 10!). Armed with this information, he attends his meeting with Tucker, a rather unsophisticated (i.e. redneck) gentleman. The plan is to bring in the liquor by boat, and ship it via trucks to distribution points. Nucky's concerned about the influx of new residents flocking to the area, and turns the deal down.
by Lee Padrick, September 26, 2013
WARNING - This review contains spoilers
The serial killer arc has wrapped up and The Bridge is dealing with the aftermath. And I must say, I liked this penultimate episode.
We finally got back to the premise of the show that we started watching during the early run of the season. The El Paso/Juarez dynamic is an interesting world and as the show moves past the evil mastermind of David Tate (who has a brief scene where he smirked at Marco as he was perp walked into the courthouse), we get a glimpse of where this show may be headed in the second season.
Hey, The Bridge producers, if you're reading this. More Galvan and Linder, please.
And Sonya's character development is progressing nicely, as we see her lamenting the salvaging of her sister's Bronco and her new-found empathy for her "partner", Marco. Marco's on a month-long bender after the death of his son (he doesn't seem too concerned that his wife is gone), and Sonya's trying to reignite his passion for his work, by stopping in to see him and his Walter White-inspired beard. After a few failed attempts, I think Sonya has rescued Marco from his pity party and when we last see him, he's clean-shaven and at the courthouse (where the previously-mentioned Dr. Evil wannabe smirks at him).
by Lee Padrick, September 24, 2013
WARNING: This review contains spoilers
Dexter has ended its run, and all I can say is .. I enjoyed it.
I watched this series finale and decided to enjoy the last hour of the world of Miami Metro.
We dealing with the aftermath of the Saxon-Clayton-Deb confrontation, and Miami Metro is on the scene (its sad seeing some of my favorite characters over the past eight seasons for the last time). Deb is taken to the hospital and Quinn is with her in a touching moment. I like Quinn, his character caught a lot of grief over the years, but it was fun watching his tribulations on the force. Deb is looking like she's going to be OK, she's cursing.
And Dex, Hannah, and Harrison are in the airport. Elway stopped Blake Shelton's closet for today's clothes and is in hot pursuit. But Dexter pulls a classic Bay Harbor Butcher con and gets Elway detained by airport security. Sawyer would be proud.
by Lee Padrick, September 24, 2013
WARNING: This review contains spoilers
"Granite State" is the penultimate episode of Breaking Bad, and it is appropriately named. Because of the flashforward that kicked off the first episode of Season 5, we know that Walt is going to buy a M-60 machine gun on his 52nd birthday. He'll be going by the name of Lambert and driving a Volvo with New Hampshire tags. Until this latest episode, we could only speculate how he arrived in the Granite State.
The title also describes Walt's predicament in his New England hideout, a one room shack in the woods of New Hampshire. The vacuum cleaner repairman (we finally get to see him after speculating who he is, and he's veteran character actor Robert Forster), Ed, has to make Saul and Walt simultaneously disappear. Ed tells Saul that his new life will be in Nebraska. He later tells Walt that he's never had a client as "hot" as Walt before; we don't get to see much of it, but apparently Walt's downfall and subsequent run is a national story.
Skylar is in hot water with the Feds, as they are watching her around the clock because the cops suspect Skylar knows Walt's whereabouts. Ed, Walt's only contact to the outside world, tells him that Skylar is being charged and her case is proceeding through the court system while she works as a taxi dispatcher.
A great scene from our favorite sleazy lawyer when Saul tells Walt to not run, but instead stay in town and face what's coming, because by "hitting the ejector seat", Walt is leaving Skylar and his family "high and dry." As we saw last week, Walt/Heisenberg doesn't have the courage or moral compass necessary to make a stand in a difficult situation, so our anti-hero hightails it to the snow-covered hills of New England.
Walt arrives at his hideaway in a propane tanker (genius right there!) and Ed tells him that he cannot have any contact with the outside world or he will get caught. Walt defiantly decides to walk the 8 miles to town as soon as Ed leaves, but in his weakened state, he decides to make the trek "tomorrow." We don't know how long tomorrow is, as Walt appears to stay in the cabin for months, with Ed visiting every few weeks or so. Walt even sadly pays Ed $10,000 to stay an extra hour and play cards with him, just for the human contact. Also, Walt's cancer is back in full force and Ed is bringing him chemo. Walt is in a granite state.
Walt finally gets the energy and courage to walk into town and he stops at a bar. He calls Walter Jr. and tells him he's sending some money via Lewis for the family. Walter Jr. wants nothing to do with his father or the money. So Walt is devastated and decides to turn himself in by calling the DEA and leaving the phone off the hook so they can trace him. But while he's waiting, he sees the Gray Matter couple on TV, and they are doing everything they can to distance themselves from Walt, even suggesting that Walt's only contribution to their successful company was helping them come up with a a name for their enterprise. We see Walt bristle when he hears that, and when the cops show up, nothing but a glass is sitting at the bar. I'm guessing we'll resolve this snub in the final episode. How? I haven't a clue.
Let's get to Todd, played by Jesse Plemmons. Todd's story is the only cylinder that's not firing in this shortened last season. I don't care about the Todd/Lydia relationship, because I'm not invested in it. I don't think the writers had enough time to develop his character fully. He is easily the most intriguing character in this last season, and that's saying something considering we have Uncle Jack. But Uncle Jack's psychopathy at least has some redeeming qualities; he can be talked out of extracting payback against his enemies. Todd, other than his mancrush on Walter White, cannot. Unless he sees some gain from it, because empathy is a tool to Todd. The scene where he's wearing the ski mask and threatening Skylar if she mentions Lydia to the Feds was incredible. The tension in that scene, plus his subdued delivery of the threat, was one of the highlights of these past few episodes. And his nonchalant execution of Andrea, just to send a message to his cook/slave Jesse Pinkman, really stands out as horrific in a show that is known for darkness. I don't know who the M-60 is reserved for, but I have to hope its for that "Opie dead-eyed piece of shit." Jesse Plemmons has brought his acting 'A' game this season.
Walt's hubris has been the crux of the show throughout his run, and I can't wait to see what happens in our last 75 minutes of this great show. Let's hope all the characters that deserve it get some comeuppance. And that some of our favorite more morally centered characters don't. But I don't see how anyone comes out of this mess in good shape.
Random Thoughts:
- Todd picking lint off of Lydia?
- I love good TV, but I'm not buying that Jesse can pull himself up out of that cage once it gets it unlocked, considering the average male can only do one pullup.
- How long has Walt been in New Hampshire?
What did you think?
-----
If you like what you see here, check out The TVPhile Zone on Facebook
