First off - yay for Breaking Bad at the Emmys! Anna Gunn took home the Best Actress in a Dramatic Series award and the show took home the Big Kahuna Prize for Best Dramatic Series. Obviously, I'm pleased that the show won this very public acknowledgement of its quality, but I'm also delighted that Anna Gunn, who has faced some truly dark, nasty, mean, and downright misogynistic twaddle, is able to raise Emmy high and say, as only a winner can, "Go jump. All of you." (And by splitting the final season into two parts, Breaking Bad will be eligible for Emmy consideration again next year. No doubt that had something to do with the decision to broadcast the final season in this way.)
Also - if you're behind in your Breaking Bad viewing, you can call in sick for the next few days (not that we here at Unfettered Brilliance advocate that sort of thing) and binge-watch on AMC. Beginning tonight (Wednesday) at 8:00, the network is airing Breaking Bad from the beginning, nonstop. That's 61 episodes of Breaking Bad, with the finale left to go. I'm not sure I suggest actually live-watching that much of it - for one thing, sleep is good. Second, this show gets seriously dark and at some point, you're going to need videos of kittens and baby otters to balance it out.
Speaking of balancing . . . "Granite State" after the picture.
So - "Granite State" explains to us how Walt got across the country to New Hampshire and what draws him back to the Land of Enchantment at the start of Season 5A in "Live Free or Die" (the state motto of New Hampshire, by the way). What struck me most about this episode is that Walt really hasn't learned a thing. Yes, he's feeling sorry for himself that he's stuck in the middle of nowhere in the New England winter and yes, cancer treatment in an isolated hunter's shack is uncomfortable, but . . . this is his choice. He chose to run (Saul told him to face the music and take the burden off his family, remember, but noooo - Walt's gotta save his skin.) and, by so choosing, he chose to be alone. And he's headed back because Gretchen and Elliott publicly downplayed his contributions to the incredibly-successful Gray Matter. You remember, the company Walt claims they stole from him, although G&E generously offered him a job and gold-plated health benefits that would have easily covered his cancer treatment. Pride goeth before a firefight.
Just look at that. Mr. "Everything I did, I did for my family" has lost it all. He has to pay some stranger $10,000 for an hour of playing cards, his family has lost the house to the Feds (RICO took it as part of an "ongoing criminal activity"), Skyler's going by her maiden name, Junior is now officially "Flynn," and Walt can't even give his blood money to his family. His loving son, who always believed that his dad hung the moon, angrily asks him why he's still even alive - the odds are good that "Felina" does not include a father-son pancake supper.
And Jesse. Yikes. Poor, beaten, brave, stupid Jesse.
There's gonna be a body count next week - and I'm not willing to speculate on who's going to be left standing.
That doesn't mean others aren't willing to guess! Check out this site for 4 predictions about "Felina." Also be sure to check out Ensley's take on "Granite State" over at his blog.
And this is just fun - 10 Ways to Get Ready for the End!
Lastly - it may be too late to enter the contest, but it's a great charity and c'mon - the video is worth 3 minutes of your time. Trust me.
One to go.
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