reviving my LJ to rant about Breaking Bad
Because I mentioned my dissatisfaction with something on twitter and MAN I WISH THERE WAS A GOOD, TEXT-BASED JOURNAL SERVICE I COULD USE TO EXPAND ON MY THOUGHTS.
SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS
So, the finale was... fine. I really liked a lot of moments and some of the visual stuff they did (the show's always been great at visuals). There were some things that just unfolded way too neatly -- the point where I almost started LAUGHING was Todd's uncle having to parade Jesse in front of Walt rather than kill him right away. (Maybe it would feel less absurd if Uncle Jack had some previous characterization that made it more believable that he'd flip out just from being called a liar or collaborator with a rat, but since he is LITERALLY THE MOST BORINGLY STRAIGHT-UP EVIL CHARACTER THIS SHOW HAS EVER HAD, there was no such foreshadowing.)
I'm left feeling this is another show that wanted to have it both ways with its main character (who I feel I can actually refer to as an "antihero" and not a villain-protagonist at this point), frequently acknowledging what a terrible guy he was and the harm he caused but also making it easy to 'root' for him in the end... but it still sounds miles better than what I've heard Dexter's been up to. There was a lot of just plainly satisfying, pulpy revenge stuff in the end, which the show did *well* and entertainingly whether or not they should've done it. This season as a whole has been challenging and stellar IMO, and if the final episode is the hackiest bit, I ultimately don't think it's something that's gonna kill my previous feelings about the show. P.S. I liked the song choice at the end (though not as much as the song they've been using in the trailers).
Where I keep getting most disappointed is where I think about Jesse.
Because I UNDERSTAND THAT WE ALL HAVE A LOT OF FEELINGS ABOUT JESSE, okay? That it's not just me. But I just don't feel good about how he was utilized and I feel like the show *wants* me to feel... happier or relieved that he is, at a bare minimum, ~~free~~ of the Nazis (and of Walt), and thus he is relatively okay (though he did seem a bit manic at the end).
And I've considered that part of the problem is the show writing itself into a Jesse corner where he was so constantly victimized, so irreparably damaged, that I'm not sure there WAS a decent ending they could've given him. I felt at the *beginning* of this half season that if Jesse survived the series, he might be miserable and unstable for the rest of his life. And in the end, the show never adequately acknowledged that -- just dumped MORE, simpler bad shit on him.
(Speaking of which, I continue to find the fridging of Andrea last week COMPLETELY indefensible and unnecessary. Jane too, for that matter, in the long run.)
There is a point of diminishing returns on Jesse-woobifying, is what I'm saying. All the Jesse Tears in the world are useless to me if the only result is a cliched burst-of-righteous-violence against Todd. And it's FINE if your story is about suffering being pointless and meaningless, that certainly happens in the world, but I feel like that's not the intention. Breaking Bad is a super pointed & consequence-driven show actually.
So we're glad he is "free", and Walt is quasi-redeemed by COMPLETELY INCIDENTALLY freeing him in the midst of his murder spree, but in terms of story and character, why was Jesse imprisoned and tortured at all? As a catalyst for him to forgive Walt? WALT PUT HIM THERE. As a catalyst for Walt to forgive him? That's fucking gross.
As a handwave of all the prior trauma and lost innocence he suffered, 'cause it wasn't nearly as bad as his current situation, the way Walt is bad but he's not *Nazi* bad? You are not being the show I want to love, show.
Also -- I hate to say it because I hate that the reaction of so-called Bad Fans taints my enjoyment of a series so much, but knowing there are people who deride Jesse's "weakness" and sensitivity, it troubles me that the one corner he turned in the finale was rage-murdering Evil Landry. I'm not gonna cry over a villain who was written to be loathed, but screw that pandering catharsis bullshit and media that indulges in it. Oh he got to be Manly and kill a guy with his bare hands/chains, that makes him TOTALLY FINE and not more tragic at all.
I'm not saying money is the answer because on this show it's pretty thoroughly not the answer, but like somebody asked on twitter, WHO IS GONNA PAY FOR JESSE PINKMAN'S PTSD THERAPY? You didn't have a couple extra thousand to dump on Gretchen & Elliot for that, Walt?
SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS
So, the finale was... fine. I really liked a lot of moments and some of the visual stuff they did (the show's always been great at visuals). There were some things that just unfolded way too neatly -- the point where I almost started LAUGHING was Todd's uncle having to parade Jesse in front of Walt rather than kill him right away. (Maybe it would feel less absurd if Uncle Jack had some previous characterization that made it more believable that he'd flip out just from being called a liar or collaborator with a rat, but since he is LITERALLY THE MOST BORINGLY STRAIGHT-UP EVIL CHARACTER THIS SHOW HAS EVER HAD, there was no such foreshadowing.)
I'm left feeling this is another show that wanted to have it both ways with its main character (who I feel I can actually refer to as an "antihero" and not a villain-protagonist at this point), frequently acknowledging what a terrible guy he was and the harm he caused but also making it easy to 'root' for him in the end... but it still sounds miles better than what I've heard Dexter's been up to. There was a lot of just plainly satisfying, pulpy revenge stuff in the end, which the show did *well* and entertainingly whether or not they should've done it. This season as a whole has been challenging and stellar IMO, and if the final episode is the hackiest bit, I ultimately don't think it's something that's gonna kill my previous feelings about the show. P.S. I liked the song choice at the end (though not as much as the song they've been using in the trailers).
Where I keep getting most disappointed is where I think about Jesse.
Because I UNDERSTAND THAT WE ALL HAVE A LOT OF FEELINGS ABOUT JESSE, okay? That it's not just me. But I just don't feel good about how he was utilized and I feel like the show *wants* me to feel... happier or relieved that he is, at a bare minimum, ~~free~~ of the Nazis (and of Walt), and thus he is relatively okay (though he did seem a bit manic at the end).
And I've considered that part of the problem is the show writing itself into a Jesse corner where he was so constantly victimized, so irreparably damaged, that I'm not sure there WAS a decent ending they could've given him. I felt at the *beginning* of this half season that if Jesse survived the series, he might be miserable and unstable for the rest of his life. And in the end, the show never adequately acknowledged that -- just dumped MORE, simpler bad shit on him.
(Speaking of which, I continue to find the fridging of Andrea last week COMPLETELY indefensible and unnecessary. Jane too, for that matter, in the long run.)
There is a point of diminishing returns on Jesse-woobifying, is what I'm saying. All the Jesse Tears in the world are useless to me if the only result is a cliched burst-of-righteous-violence against Todd. And it's FINE if your story is about suffering being pointless and meaningless, that certainly happens in the world, but I feel like that's not the intention. Breaking Bad is a super pointed & consequence-driven show actually.
So we're glad he is "free", and Walt is quasi-redeemed by COMPLETELY INCIDENTALLY freeing him in the midst of his murder spree, but in terms of story and character, why was Jesse imprisoned and tortured at all? As a catalyst for him to forgive Walt? WALT PUT HIM THERE. As a catalyst for Walt to forgive him? That's fucking gross.
As a handwave of all the prior trauma and lost innocence he suffered, 'cause it wasn't nearly as bad as his current situation, the way Walt is bad but he's not *Nazi* bad? You are not being the show I want to love, show.
Also -- I hate to say it because I hate that the reaction of so-called Bad Fans taints my enjoyment of a series so much, but knowing there are people who deride Jesse's "weakness" and sensitivity, it troubles me that the one corner he turned in the finale was rage-murdering Evil Landry. I'm not gonna cry over a villain who was written to be loathed, but screw that pandering catharsis bullshit and media that indulges in it. Oh he got to be Manly and kill a guy with his bare hands/chains, that makes him TOTALLY FINE and not more tragic at all.
I'm not saying money is the answer because on this show it's pretty thoroughly not the answer, but like somebody asked on twitter, WHO IS GONNA PAY FOR JESSE PINKMAN'S PTSD THERAPY? You didn't have a couple extra thousand to dump on Gretchen & Elliot for that, Walt?