Breaking Bad 5/23 "Fly" *spoilers*

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Torrent.

 

Jesse wondering if an opossum is an Irish possum cracked me up.

 

I liked the episode. It was nice to slow down from the fast pace of seeing the characters a few minutes at a time over many settings, and just spend some continuous time with them in one setting. There was perhaps more that was not said than said in this episode. I found myself really pulled into how the characters must be thinking and feeling at this point in the full story.

And yep, I liked the LOST finale too.

 

This was my least favorite of any BB episode. I guess I was just annoyed that the fly was that bothersome to Walt.

 

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If you didn't understand why Walt was bugged, then you don't really understand the Walt character at all. He's been OCD about little stuff like that all throughout the show. As noted by Alan Sepinwall in his review of this episode:

 

Did not like.

 

Alan also noted that this was what they call in the industry a "bottle show". All in one place on a set they've already built and paid for, so no remote locations and all that hassle and cost. No extras they have to pay. So yeah, this was done on the cheap to save some money.

It wasn't BB at it's best, but again very powerful performances by two great actors. I felt a lot of tension in Walt's "confession" scene. Would he tell Jesse his role in Jane's death while Jesse was precariously perched on top of the wobbling ladder? Mostly character development, but the plot did inch along. Walt knows Jesse is stealing and that final warning is ominous.

To say this is a "Jump the Shark" episode is ridiculous. That's an abuse of the JTS concept. That's for long running, popular shows that have clearly overstayed their welcome by rehashing old storylines or introducing pointless new characters in an attempt to recapture past glory. How does this episode qualify as that? Not the most intense episode, I agree, but still quietly powerful. This show clearly has a devastating arc to complete before its run is over and is far from past its prime just because there weren't any body bags in one particular episode. There's no doubt the action will pick up in the final three episodes and our minds will be blown.

 

I'm really surprised that people didn't like this episode. Sure, nothing happened, but it was still one of the most compelling hours of TV I've seen. Genius.

 

Often, when I am watching BB, there is a remarkably creative camera angle or interesting perspective. During "The Fly," it seemed more like a film-school project. I found some of the camera work very distracting.

Not my favorite ep, but better than most shows even during its worst episode.

 

I did notice lots of very interesting camera angles and shots in this episode, starting with the extreme close up on the blinking light in the smoke detector and also the fly's perspective shots.

 

Put me in the "did not like" category. Part of that stems from the momentum gained with recent prior episodes that were great and fulfilling. After 15 minutes I was saying out loud "OK, we get it. Move on." Never did. Perhaps I should say they killed a fly with a sledge hammer trying to make their point.

 

Vince Gilligan blurted this out unprompted on the Breaking Bad Insider podcast. He said they were over budget for the season and were saving money.

Brian Cranston gave the name of the stuntman who performed the fall onto the edge of the tank. They said it was a shocking moment when it really happened. The stuntman merely said "keep rolling" and got up. Brian Cranston went over and assumed the same position the stuntman landed in and they continued on.

 

This captures it for me.

Some of the camera work just seemed... gratuitous. There were some good moments, but it wasn't my favorite episode by a long stretch. I liked Walt's monologue figuring out the perfect time for him to have died, and how he overshot. I liked the dramatic "what will Walt say to Jesse about Jane" tension. I liked him applying science and logic to his failed relationship with Skylar, where he feels like if he could just come up with the perfect word formula he could "solve" everything.

The show was so obviously trying to use the fly as a metaphor, though, that through it all I felt like we the audience were being beaten about the head with flyswatters wielded by writers shouting "look how clever we are!"

 

I just saw this episode and am surprised by the negative reviews here. I found this episode so taut and engrossing. I love how the show slows down every now and then and gives us character-filling stories rather than episodes that move along the plot. This show is very much structured like a play, it feels like to me.

The hour flew by for me.

 

As I've previously posted in other BB threads, I'm running through these in preparation for the new season. (This actually is my second viewing of all the BB eps)

The first half or two-thirds of the ep was slow, but still well done. But the last third was incredible...as some have mentioned, the tension-building you could cut with a knife. Both Cranston and Paul are fantastic, versatile actors, and it really showed in this episode.

 

ugh, I didn't like this episode at all

can't wait for the new season though!

 

I thought this was one of the best episodes of the series. These are two of the best actors on Television.....ever.