if you're so smart, why aren't you rich?
So i watched s1-2 last September, and only just last week got around to watching s3 because here's the thing: THAT SHIT WAS EXHAUSTING. I literally could not bring myself to start on s3 until nearly a year later because the s2 finale emotionally wrecked me. I just remember sitting there the whole night after finishing it completely consumed by a black hole of numbness and existential despair. So. there's that. Anyway i also figured i probably ought to finish getting caught up on the show before the new season starts. :O
"You have one minute." I HAD SEEN THIS QUOTE LONG BEFORE THE EPISODE WITH NO IDEA OF THE CONTEXT, AND AS SOON AS IT WAS SAID: YEAH. ........ YEAH. That entire episode i was like "oh god Hank is so dead Hank is so dead Hank is so dead" and as he left the station after being suspended but things were kind of looking up because he confessed and oh yeah Jesse probably won't press charges, everything's fine for Hank! And as he was walking through the parking lot i was like "OH GOD OH GOD HERE IT COMES HE'S GOING TO DIE HERE IT COMES" and that was stressful enough, but then. The phone call. AND THE MOST ANXIETY-INDUCING SCENE I HAVE EVER SEEN IN MY LIFE. I am not exaggerating when i say that was the most i have ever freaked out about anything on tv ever, like even the most intense shit on Lost did not make my heart beat that fast or cause my entire body to tense up as i rock back and forth in my seat while hyperventilating with my shirt over my mouth (note: actual description of what i was doing during this scene). The last time anything close to that happened was... while watching s2 of Breaking Bad! Hahahaha. AND IT JUST. WOULDN'T. END. Like Hank smooshes the first brother with his car and of course i'm like "WHERE'S THE OTHER ONE WHERE'S THE OTHER ONE" (THEY'RE LIKE FUCKING RAPTORS. CLEVER GIRL) and then Hank's hiding and then there's shooting and Hank is down and you think it's done, he's just gonna get shot in the head and that's it BUT NO, GOTTA GO GET THE AXE, AS HANK TRIES TO GET ONE LAST BULLET IN THE GUN WITH HIS SLIPPERY BLOODY FINGERS AKJFKHLSKHFSKLFHKGFSJFJ
AND THEN AT THE END OF THE SEASON THERE WAS WALT RUNNING OVER THOSE DUDES AND SHOOTING THE ONE IN THE HEAD HOLY SHIT FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK THAT WAS FUCKING RIDICULOUS WHAT THE FUCKING FUCK!!!!!!!
And listen, i knew how the finale would end, i knew it involved Jesse pointing a gun at somebody and that being the saddest thing ever (THANKS TUMBLR, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR EVERYTHING THAT YOU DO AGRRFSSFHSFSFSFHLFSHL) BUT I DIDN'T KNOW IT WOULD BE GALE AND I DIDN'T KNOW THAT IT WAS GOING TO MAKE ME CRY SO MUCH. FFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUCCCCCCCCCCKKKKKKKKKK
I felt so, so bad for Gale when Walt broke up with him because noooooo they were perfect for each other and Gale is just a sweet nerd. But at that point i had no idea how much badness i had yet to feel. :(
One of the things i like most about this show is that everything has serious, lasting consequences. That was the thing that impressed me most in the beginning, that shit never just goes away, it only piles up and comes back around. Plus the fact that everything that happens ripples all the way through everyone Walt and Jesse know. There's so much weight to everything that happens, and so much shit that would solve problems on other shows (well that dude's dead, done and done! whew) only creates more problems. It's great but it's STRESSFUL. The only real solace in s3 was that Walt and Jesse weren't totally in over their heads at every possible turn, like for once they weren't bumbling around and fucking everything up constantly. I guess also the fact that there wasn't any cancer storyline contributed to the season feeling a little less oppressively bleak.
I was SO EXCITED when Skyler figured out the truth about Walt (AND DIDN'T JUST HAVE TO BE TOLD, SHE FIGURED IT OUT HERSELF BECAUSE SHE IS AN INTELLIGENT HUMAN BEING), and i really loved her starting to try and partner with him about the money laundering because yessss she's smart, use her logic! Honestly the whole first half of the season i was rooting for Skyler way way way more than Walt. He was SUCH A DISMISSIVE DICK about their separation and turning her into the bad guy, oh my god. It's weird because i want Walt to succeed at all this shit because he's the protagonist and it's framed that way and he's not unsympathetic... but christ he has become a despicable person. Which is the tragedy of it and a large part of what the show is thematically about, but... blerg. :/ WHEREAS JESSE JUST NEEDS HUGS. ;________;
Seriously i was not expecting to love Jesse as much as i do, which it sort of seems like happened to a lot of people with this show. He just turned out to be such a good kid underneath all his asshole posturing, and i love him learning science from Walt and figuring out that he's capable of applying himself. And then even when he tries to do good, life just ends up fucking him over and IT'S SAD.
Jaaaaaaaaaaaane :( :( :( :( :( :( I LOVED JANE AND I LOVED JANE/JESSE and i hated that she turned evil and died. (here was me toward the end of s2: NO NOT HEROIN NOOOOOOOOOO) But i did appreciate how her death affected Jesse throughout s3, even though, tell me how many times you've heard this one: female character dies to provide angst for a male character. SHOCKING.
One thing that frustrates me is that i always wish Walt and Jesse were closer than they are. Which is not to say they're not close in their own way, and there are a lot of varying complexities to how they relate to and treat each other at any given time, but it's... i dunno, it's interesting that after all this time and the weird trust that they've built that they still go back to being so incredibly cruel and distant with each other, which obviously has a lot to do with theirs being a relationship founded as a means to an end. I guess i just wish they could understand things about each other that they can't necessarily see but that the audience sees, things that would make them appreciate that they could be kinder to each other. What i'm trying to say is that i really loved 4 Days Out because DESERT BONDING awww.
Another thing that used to frustrate me was the whole stale annoyance that i associate with Dexter that "oh no, i'm close with the law enforcement that is hunting me!" It's a dynamic essentially based on stagnation, because the protagonist can't be caught or there's no show, but we're always gonna have the police reeeeally close to finding them out! Really close! Even though it obviously can't go any further than that! But Hank grew on me and i guess some of the most ridiculously intense moments of the show have been when his storyline intersects with Walt and Jesse's (TUCO! ONE MINUTE! AGSKFGKJSFGFJ) so it's not so bad.
Gus scared the shit out of me in s2, but i started to like him in s3, probably because he was on Walt's side and provided a lot of security/business legitimacy (much like the relief i felt when Saul was introduced -- someone who actually knows what they're doing! unlike Walt and Jesse!). TOO BAD THAT'S ALL GONE. hahahaha oh god D:
In conclusion, I CAN IMAGINE THIS SHOW IS AWFUL TO WATCH WEEK-TO-WEEK. Then again, it's always awful to go from powering through a full season in a weekend to one episode at a time. Not only because of instant gratification and AGH SUSPENSE AAAUUGGHHHH, but also because shows tend to flow much better narratively when viewed all at once and i love that. :(
I'm finally starting to look forward to the last Harry Potter movie. A day before it comes out. I thought i'd be more excited than this considering how much i loved the previous installment, but i guess not! It's weird, i really haven't been fazed by tumblr's obsessive "my childhood is ending, LIFE IS OVER!!!!" stuff. Partly because HP was never my childhood, partly because the books are when the series ended for me. I dunno. I'm sure i'll cry and get really into it and it will rekindle all my HP feelings like with DH part 1, but at the moment i'm just looking forward to some stuff (LET THERE BE TONS OF NEVILLE AND LUNA PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE) and otherwise fairly chill. I only just watched the trailers last week -- i usually hold off on watching trailers online because i'd rather see them in the theater, but then i realized i wasn't going to see any movies before DH so i should probably watch the last HP trailers while i still have the chance for them to be fresh and exciting.
"You have one minute." I HAD SEEN THIS QUOTE LONG BEFORE THE EPISODE WITH NO IDEA OF THE CONTEXT, AND AS SOON AS IT WAS SAID: YEAH. ........ YEAH. That entire episode i was like "oh god Hank is so dead Hank is so dead Hank is so dead" and as he left the station after being suspended but things were kind of looking up because he confessed and oh yeah Jesse probably won't press charges, everything's fine for Hank! And as he was walking through the parking lot i was like "OH GOD OH GOD HERE IT COMES HE'S GOING TO DIE HERE IT COMES" and that was stressful enough, but then. The phone call. AND THE MOST ANXIETY-INDUCING SCENE I HAVE EVER SEEN IN MY LIFE. I am not exaggerating when i say that was the most i have ever freaked out about anything on tv ever, like even the most intense shit on Lost did not make my heart beat that fast or cause my entire body to tense up as i rock back and forth in my seat while hyperventilating with my shirt over my mouth (note: actual description of what i was doing during this scene). The last time anything close to that happened was... while watching s2 of Breaking Bad! Hahahaha. AND IT JUST. WOULDN'T. END. Like Hank smooshes the first brother with his car and of course i'm like "WHERE'S THE OTHER ONE WHERE'S THE OTHER ONE" (THEY'RE LIKE FUCKING RAPTORS. CLEVER GIRL) and then Hank's hiding and then there's shooting and Hank is down and you think it's done, he's just gonna get shot in the head and that's it BUT NO, GOTTA GO GET THE AXE, AS HANK TRIES TO GET ONE LAST BULLET IN THE GUN WITH HIS SLIPPERY BLOODY FINGERS AKJFKHLSKHFSKLFHKGFSJFJ
AND THEN AT THE END OF THE SEASON THERE WAS WALT RUNNING OVER THOSE DUDES AND SHOOTING THE ONE IN THE HEAD HOLY SHIT FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK THAT WAS FUCKING RIDICULOUS WHAT THE FUCKING FUCK!!!!!!!
And listen, i knew how the finale would end, i knew it involved Jesse pointing a gun at somebody and that being the saddest thing ever (THANKS TUMBLR, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR EVERYTHING THAT YOU DO AGRRFSSFHSFSFSFHLFSHL) BUT I DIDN'T KNOW IT WOULD BE GALE AND I DIDN'T KNOW THAT IT WAS GOING TO MAKE ME CRY SO MUCH. FFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUCCCCCCCCCCKKKKKKKKKK
I felt so, so bad for Gale when Walt broke up with him because noooooo they were perfect for each other and Gale is just a sweet nerd. But at that point i had no idea how much badness i had yet to feel. :(
One of the things i like most about this show is that everything has serious, lasting consequences. That was the thing that impressed me most in the beginning, that shit never just goes away, it only piles up and comes back around. Plus the fact that everything that happens ripples all the way through everyone Walt and Jesse know. There's so much weight to everything that happens, and so much shit that would solve problems on other shows (well that dude's dead, done and done! whew) only creates more problems. It's great but it's STRESSFUL. The only real solace in s3 was that Walt and Jesse weren't totally in over their heads at every possible turn, like for once they weren't bumbling around and fucking everything up constantly. I guess also the fact that there wasn't any cancer storyline contributed to the season feeling a little less oppressively bleak.
I was SO EXCITED when Skyler figured out the truth about Walt (AND DIDN'T JUST HAVE TO BE TOLD, SHE FIGURED IT OUT HERSELF BECAUSE SHE IS AN INTELLIGENT HUMAN BEING), and i really loved her starting to try and partner with him about the money laundering because yessss she's smart, use her logic! Honestly the whole first half of the season i was rooting for Skyler way way way more than Walt. He was SUCH A DISMISSIVE DICK about their separation and turning her into the bad guy, oh my god. It's weird because i want Walt to succeed at all this shit because he's the protagonist and it's framed that way and he's not unsympathetic... but christ he has become a despicable person. Which is the tragedy of it and a large part of what the show is thematically about, but... blerg. :/ WHEREAS JESSE JUST NEEDS HUGS. ;________;
Seriously i was not expecting to love Jesse as much as i do, which it sort of seems like happened to a lot of people with this show. He just turned out to be such a good kid underneath all his asshole posturing, and i love him learning science from Walt and figuring out that he's capable of applying himself. And then even when he tries to do good, life just ends up fucking him over and IT'S SAD.
Jaaaaaaaaaaaane :( :( :( :( :( :( I LOVED JANE AND I LOVED JANE/JESSE and i hated that she turned evil and died. (here was me toward the end of s2: NO NOT HEROIN NOOOOOOOOOO) But i did appreciate how her death affected Jesse throughout s3, even though, tell me how many times you've heard this one: female character dies to provide angst for a male character. SHOCKING.
One thing that frustrates me is that i always wish Walt and Jesse were closer than they are. Which is not to say they're not close in their own way, and there are a lot of varying complexities to how they relate to and treat each other at any given time, but it's... i dunno, it's interesting that after all this time and the weird trust that they've built that they still go back to being so incredibly cruel and distant with each other, which obviously has a lot to do with theirs being a relationship founded as a means to an end. I guess i just wish they could understand things about each other that they can't necessarily see but that the audience sees, things that would make them appreciate that they could be kinder to each other. What i'm trying to say is that i really loved 4 Days Out because DESERT BONDING awww.
Another thing that used to frustrate me was the whole stale annoyance that i associate with Dexter that "oh no, i'm close with the law enforcement that is hunting me!" It's a dynamic essentially based on stagnation, because the protagonist can't be caught or there's no show, but we're always gonna have the police reeeeally close to finding them out! Really close! Even though it obviously can't go any further than that! But Hank grew on me and i guess some of the most ridiculously intense moments of the show have been when his storyline intersects with Walt and Jesse's (TUCO! ONE MINUTE! AGSKFGKJSFGFJ) so it's not so bad.
Gus scared the shit out of me in s2, but i started to like him in s3, probably because he was on Walt's side and provided a lot of security/business legitimacy (much like the relief i felt when Saul was introduced -- someone who actually knows what they're doing! unlike Walt and Jesse!). TOO BAD THAT'S ALL GONE. hahahaha oh god D:
In conclusion, I CAN IMAGINE THIS SHOW IS AWFUL TO WATCH WEEK-TO-WEEK. Then again, it's always awful to go from powering through a full season in a weekend to one episode at a time. Not only because of instant gratification and AGH SUSPENSE AAAUUGGHHHH, but also because shows tend to flow much better narratively when viewed all at once and i love that. :(
I'm finally starting to look forward to the last Harry Potter movie. A day before it comes out. I thought i'd be more excited than this considering how much i loved the previous installment, but i guess not! It's weird, i really haven't been fazed by tumblr's obsessive "my childhood is ending, LIFE IS OVER!!!!" stuff. Partly because HP was never my childhood, partly because the books are when the series ended for me. I dunno. I'm sure i'll cry and get really into it and it will rekindle all my HP feelings like with DH part 1, but at the moment i'm just looking forward to some stuff (LET THERE BE TONS OF NEVILLE AND LUNA PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE) and otherwise fairly chill. I only just watched the trailers last week -- i usually hold off on watching trailers online because i'd rather see them in the theater, but then i realized i wasn't going to see any movies before DH so i should probably watch the last HP trailers while i still have the chance for them to be fresh and exciting.