Christmas Break Means TV
Long time, no post, but I thought now would be a good time due to the holiday break and all. I have been marathoning quite a few TV shows and I have managed to finish season 4 of Breaking Bad and I am now watching season 4 of Friday Night Lights (I got the complete series for Christmas!). Some specific thoughts with serious spoilers for all the shows/seasons I just said after the cut.
The end of Breaking Bad was fantastic, but I do say that with a few reservations. I'll start with the good: Aaron Paul and Walter White's transformation. I though Walt was bad by season 3. I mean, I stopped rooting for him and instead cared all about Jesse, but he got even worse and it's absolutely chilling. In the finale, "Face Off", he ends up killing his boss, shooting two goons dead, and it's revealed that he poisoned an innocent child just to get his way. Wow. And the last line of the season being Walt saying, "I won" sent chills down my spine. With Gus out of the way, Walt has become his own boss and he has in essence become Gus, which is terrifying. My fear is that Walt will become just like Gus and his partner will be killed. I don't want Jesse gone, in part because I love the character and also because Aaron Paul is mindblowing. I think he is probably the best actor on the show and he had so many fantastic moments this season, but none better than when he comes to kill Walt in "End Times". I have nothing to say about that scene except for that I basically stopped breathing in it. It was soooo good.
But I have to say I'm upset to see Gus go. I was just starting to really love him and he got a lot of my sympathy over Walt in the second half of season 4, but I do understand why he had to go. What I was annoyed with, on the other hand, was Ted Beneke. I mean, I didn't really hate the storyline with him and Skylar, partly because I still really like Skylar, but it wasn't great. It had potential, of course, and the moment that it was all leading up to at the end of "Crawl Space" was fantastic (really, Walt laughing maniacally while Skylar shouts, "I did it for the family!" is chilling, creepy, and shows how far this family has fallen), but the end to the storyline was ridiculous. Ted slips on a rug and dies? Really? I can't get over how cheap that feels. It felt like they realized they had dug themselves a whole and Ted had to die. That in itself is sloppy but understandable, but when they decide to kill Ted in that manner, it becomes ridiculous. It's like a blinking, red sign to the audience saying, "We got bored of him so now he's dead and there are no repercussions or anything". It was not a moment that felt like it was from the Breaking Bad universe. *sigh* But still, great season, maybe the best one yet, even though the first half was a little too slow for my tastes.
But that's not really why I wanted to write this post. While Breaking Bad was so, so good, Friday Night Lights is my favorite out of the two. I have just started watching the show (and by just, I mean about a month maybe) and it is one of the most emotionally charged and powerful shows I have ever seen. I never thought I would like it, but within half of the first season, I really cared about each and every character and by the end of the first season, I was head over heels in love with the show. I didn't know if the show would ever reach the magnificent highs of the end of season 1, but I think they really might have with the very end of season 3 and the beginning of season 4. I am beyond impressed by the show redefining itself and yet still making it feel familiar, comfortable, and just like the show I have been watching for the previous three seasons. And the fact that the show can still be amazing, if not better, with one of my favorite characters leaving (Tyra) is really remarkable (but I am worried for the day that Matt Saracen leaves, because I know he will and that'll be two out of my three favorite characters lost, the other one being Tami Taylor).
I loved that the Panthers lost at the end of season 3. Yes, it was sad and devastating, but it was damn good, and they already won in season 1, so I was really hoping they wouldn't just repeat the whole thing. Plus, while I love Saracen kicking McCoy's ass, it would've been a bit unrealistic for him to make that much of a comeback in the second half. It made for an amazing episode with so many amazing moments (Underdogs). But I don't know if any episode was better than The Son in season 4, which is the episode I just finished before writing this post. I'll be honest, it made me cry (and TV hasn't made me do that in...awhile) in multiple spots because it rang so true and it was so brutal. Zach Gilford's performance was just...wow. Just his eyes when he sees his dad's body say so much and it made me feel physically sick. I don't really have anything intelligent to say about the episode, I just wanted to express my love for this episode. This show is so good. I can't wait to finish it, but at the same time, I am dreading the idea of being done with this show.
Happy holidays, everyone!
The end of Breaking Bad was fantastic, but I do say that with a few reservations. I'll start with the good: Aaron Paul and Walter White's transformation. I though Walt was bad by season 3. I mean, I stopped rooting for him and instead cared all about Jesse, but he got even worse and it's absolutely chilling. In the finale, "Face Off", he ends up killing his boss, shooting two goons dead, and it's revealed that he poisoned an innocent child just to get his way. Wow. And the last line of the season being Walt saying, "I won" sent chills down my spine. With Gus out of the way, Walt has become his own boss and he has in essence become Gus, which is terrifying. My fear is that Walt will become just like Gus and his partner will be killed. I don't want Jesse gone, in part because I love the character and also because Aaron Paul is mindblowing. I think he is probably the best actor on the show and he had so many fantastic moments this season, but none better than when he comes to kill Walt in "End Times". I have nothing to say about that scene except for that I basically stopped breathing in it. It was soooo good.
But I have to say I'm upset to see Gus go. I was just starting to really love him and he got a lot of my sympathy over Walt in the second half of season 4, but I do understand why he had to go. What I was annoyed with, on the other hand, was Ted Beneke. I mean, I didn't really hate the storyline with him and Skylar, partly because I still really like Skylar, but it wasn't great. It had potential, of course, and the moment that it was all leading up to at the end of "Crawl Space" was fantastic (really, Walt laughing maniacally while Skylar shouts, "I did it for the family!" is chilling, creepy, and shows how far this family has fallen), but the end to the storyline was ridiculous. Ted slips on a rug and dies? Really? I can't get over how cheap that feels. It felt like they realized they had dug themselves a whole and Ted had to die. That in itself is sloppy but understandable, but when they decide to kill Ted in that manner, it becomes ridiculous. It's like a blinking, red sign to the audience saying, "We got bored of him so now he's dead and there are no repercussions or anything". It was not a moment that felt like it was from the Breaking Bad universe. *sigh* But still, great season, maybe the best one yet, even though the first half was a little too slow for my tastes.
But that's not really why I wanted to write this post. While Breaking Bad was so, so good, Friday Night Lights is my favorite out of the two. I have just started watching the show (and by just, I mean about a month maybe) and it is one of the most emotionally charged and powerful shows I have ever seen. I never thought I would like it, but within half of the first season, I really cared about each and every character and by the end of the first season, I was head over heels in love with the show. I didn't know if the show would ever reach the magnificent highs of the end of season 1, but I think they really might have with the very end of season 3 and the beginning of season 4. I am beyond impressed by the show redefining itself and yet still making it feel familiar, comfortable, and just like the show I have been watching for the previous three seasons. And the fact that the show can still be amazing, if not better, with one of my favorite characters leaving (Tyra) is really remarkable (but I am worried for the day that Matt Saracen leaves, because I know he will and that'll be two out of my three favorite characters lost, the other one being Tami Taylor).
I loved that the Panthers lost at the end of season 3. Yes, it was sad and devastating, but it was damn good, and they already won in season 1, so I was really hoping they wouldn't just repeat the whole thing. Plus, while I love Saracen kicking McCoy's ass, it would've been a bit unrealistic for him to make that much of a comeback in the second half. It made for an amazing episode with so many amazing moments (Underdogs). But I don't know if any episode was better than The Son in season 4, which is the episode I just finished before writing this post. I'll be honest, it made me cry (and TV hasn't made me do that in...awhile) in multiple spots because it rang so true and it was so brutal. Zach Gilford's performance was just...wow. Just his eyes when he sees his dad's body say so much and it made me feel physically sick. I don't really have anything intelligent to say about the episode, I just wanted to express my love for this episode. This show is so good. I can't wait to finish it, but at the same time, I am dreading the idea of being done with this show.
Happy holidays, everyone!