Posted on by Daniel Sullivan

“It’s just a cook …” – Victor (“Breaking Bad”, Season 4)

MP3: https://planetarystatusreport.com/mp3/20220807_Philosophy_of_Breaking_Bad_Season_4_with_Seattle_Mike.mp3

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Main theme: POWER and MANIPULATION

Outline:

  1. Can people seeking after control have friends? – Another theme: Friendship / Partnership. Discuss. Skyler, Walt, Hank, Marie, Mike, Gus.
  2. The real drug for Gustavo, Walt and Skylar: Power
  3. Skylar as master manipulator: IRS, Ted, “I found myself admiring the smooth con that Skyler pulled on the locksmith in order to get into Walt’s apartment.”
  4. Gustavo as expert manipulator: Jessie and the face robbery, killing that dude in the first episode
  5. Walt as master manipulator: ricin and the boy, Brock, Andrea’s son
  6. Black market discourse on gun control, and the New Mexico / Western culture of “stand your ground”
  7. In the game of manipulation and control: the greater sociopath wins, empathy loses
  8. Mike E. arrogance is cover for his past guilt.
  9. Madness as a coping mechanism …
  10. The car wash is a money laundry
  11. Walt expresses a common frustration of modernity: “I’m done explaining myself.” Supposedly in the past, asking for an explanation was also an invitation to a duel. Is that good or bad?
  12. Man in waiting room: “Man Plans, God laughs.” Walt: “That…is such bullshit.” Walt says that he’s in charge of his life regardless of cancer.
  13. Walt says he “won”, but what was his victory? What did it cost him?

Notes:

  1. Skylar as manipulator: the locksmith, the time at the jeweler … with pretty much everyone …
  2. A discourse on gun control and self defense … 38 snub …
  3. “White Residence” … when answering the phone … is there an undercurrent of racial commentary threaded into the show?
  4. The Greater Sociopath wins: Gus VS Walter
  5. Mike E. is smarmy and self-righteous by default. A form of arrogance that covers his past wrongs.
  6. I found myself admiring the smooth con that Skyler pulled on the locksmith in order to get into Walt’s apartment.
  7. Gus: “Well, get back to work.” Why did he kill that guy? What does it say about organizations? Is there an analogy to American Business in general?
  8. Madness as a coping mechanism is a theme of the show.
  9. Pride and Madness are closely related? Is pride Walt’s main downfall, his “Achille’s Heel?”
  10. The Car Wash is a Money Laundry. LOL
  11. Walt: “I am the one who knocks!”
  12. Gus channels Zig Ziglar! “I like to think I see things in people.” BS
  13. Man in waiting room: “Man Plans, God laughs.” Walt: “That…is such bullshit.” Walt says that he’s in charge of his life regardless of cancer.
  14. Walt expresses a common frustration of modernity: “I’m done explaining myself.” Supposedly in the past, asking for an explanation was also an invitation to a duel. Is that good or bad?
  15. Another theme: Friendship / Partnership. Discuss. Skyler, Walt, Hank, Marie, Mike, Gus.
  16. Walt says he “won”, but what was his victory? What did it cost him?
  17. With Gus out of the way, Walt takes a short trip to Hell and madness.