Great read on 5 alternative endings Vince and co. had mulled over:
http://www.thewrap.com/breaking-bad-vince-gilligan-shares-5-alternate-endings/
It includes a semi-ending that Neph posted, earlier. Decent read. Gives you an idea of how they did the creative writing process. It is not nearly as one-sided as I thought it was (with Vince calling the major shots).
Originally posted by Sadako of Girth
Problem solving is intelligence. Not knowledge.Don't forget though Walt had both sewn up.
Walt had intelligent problem solving skills and chemistry knowledge. What messed him up is what he lacked, which is what Gus had, which was guile. Until Walt finally matched Gus when he killed him, but by then it was too late. It needed to be there from the beginning.
He'd of lasted longer and avoided a lot of the problems he got himself into.
For example he should cut Jesse out a long time ago. He even saw Jesse being an issue. He kinda always had. I never understood his connection to Jesse after not really needing him for distribution after like season 2. Or he shouldn't of mentioned that "w.w." may've been "someone else" during dinner Hank, raising suspicion, and killing Mike was rash as ****, he didn't have to do that. He said so himself when he said told a dying Mike that he could've got the list from homegirl he poisoned with the ricin afterwards...
Walt was book smart, but not street smart. Gus had had both sewn up.
Originally posted by ares834
Maybe I imagined it, but wasn't it said or, at least, heavily implied that it was because Walt had a relationship with Gretchen that went sour?Anyway, the biggest question I have is what was Gus' mysterious past?
Originally posted by Nephthys
Was his past that mysterious? He was part of a rich family or something, met his lov- I mean friend and tried to get into Meth.
I'd also like to add that the only person who was truly driven by luck throughout the entire show was Hank Schrader. Dude wasn't even one-tenth the cop that someone like Mike was, but he still climbed up the DEA's corporate ladder pretty quickly despite only being an average, run-of-the-mill drug enforcement agent.
He should have been dead when the Salamanca twins tried to off him. Instead, luck intervened in the form of an anonymous tip from Gustavo Fring, thereby ensuring that Hank survived until one of the last episodes of the final season.
Originally posted by TheGodKiller
I'd also like to add that the only person who was truly driven by luck throughout the entire show was Hank Schrader. Dude wasn't even one-tenth the cop that someone like Mike was, but he still climbed up the DEA's corporate ladder pretty quickly despite only being an average, run-of-the-mill drug enforcement agent.He should have been dead when the Salamanca twins tried to off him. Instead, luck intervened in the form of an anonymous tip from Gustavo Fring, thereby ensuring that Hank survived until one of the last episodes of the final season.
Wasn't Walt behind that call at some level?
Hmmmmmmm... I'll have to have a bit of a rewatch.
No doubt on the luck thing.
Regaining use of his legs...
Having the copkiller round fall to hand..McClane style from the horizontal escaltor/gun bit in the annex shootout.
Originally posted by TheGodKiller
I'd also like to add that the only person who was truly driven by luck throughout the entire show was Hank Schrader. Dude wasn't even one-tenth the cop that someone like Mike was, but he still climbed up the DEA's corporate ladder pretty quickly despite only being an average, run-of-the-mill drug enforcement agent.He should have been dead when the Salamanca twins tried to off him. Instead, luck intervened in the form of an anonymous tip from Gustavo Fring, thereby ensuring that Hank survived until one of the last episodes of the final season.
I think Hank was an average agent, for sure. But what he had was near superhuman focus and concentration. Most other agents would have dropped the case multiple times when Hank did not. Even after Gus was killed, Hank still thought there was more to it.
Originally posted by Sadako of Girth
Wasn't Walt behind that call at some level?
Hmmmmmmm... I'll have to have a bit of a rewatch.No doubt on the luck thing.
Regaining use of his legs...
Having the copkiller round fall to hand..McClane style from the horizontal escaltor/gun bit in the annex shootout.
Most of his other successes in his field he owes to Walt directly himself, because most of the crimes that he investigated, and the one which skyrocketed his career(the revelation that Gustavo Fring was a meth kingpin) all heavily involved Walt in one way or another.
Originally posted by -Pr-
That Walt died. That his son ended up hating him. The twist that "I did it for me" when I always got the impression it was both empowerment and the desire to help his family. Just imo.
That wasn't a twist. It's been evident for awhile that he was no longer doing this for his family.
Originally posted by BackFire
It began as a method to help his family, but his motivation eventually became greed.
Originally posted by TheGodKiller
Most of his other successes in his field he owes to Walt directly himself, because most of the crimes that he investigated, and the one which skyrocketed his career(the revelation that Gustavo Fring was a meth kingpin) all heavily involved Walt in one way or another.
I'm vague on some of those details (because I've only seen each episode once and had no "forum" to discuss my impressions), but wasn't it Walt that sicced Hank on Gus to take the heat off himself?