61 replies to this topic

[smallaxe0217]

I didn't see any questions and answers thread, so I decided to start one. My biggest question is:

What is the blue meth in real life? I'm sure they aren't cooking meth in real life, but what exactly are Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul cooking when in the RV/Gus's lab?

Edited by smallaxe0217, Jan 16, 2011 @ 10:13 PM.

[ReadIshmael]

It's rock candy. And apparently it's quite tasty...addictive in its own right, even, according to Bryan. Check out that last question in this Q&A.

Edited by ReadIshmael, Jan 16, 2011 @ 10:38 PM.

[leesha79]

The gun Jesse brings to the showdown in 3-11 "Half Measures", that's the gun Jesse pulled off Tuco in that desperate battle for his life in 2-2 "Grilled", right? The barrel looks the same.

It's a brilliant piece of symmetry (which makes me think it *is* the same gun), because in "Grilled", both Walt and Jesse looked down on Tuco bleeding out in that hole and neither of them could pull the trigger for a kill shot. Compared to Walt's natural tendency to execute the remaining gang member in "Half Measures".

Edited by leesha79, Feb 12, 2011 @ 10:45 AM.

[wingman78]

Does Heisenberg get his name from this guy?
I can´t remember correctly but the question has been flying around my mind lately.

[Unspoiled]

Wow, this is such an old thread, is it okay if I dust it off? As I asked in the "Skyler" thread:

Walt's got that Mr. Lambert alias going in "Live Free or Die" and I keep seeing posts saying this was Skyler's maiden name. I don't remember when that was shown to be the case--can someone point it out for me? Thanks!

[JOnanGoopta]

I have to admit I don't know the source of this, but found it on the Breaking Bad Wiki article on Skyler. The article on Marie also makes the same claim. Neither indicate a source.

I was watching the first two seasons for any indication of this, but either I missed it the second time around as well, or they never said it.

It may also be in some questionably canonical material like the various interactive media things on the AMC website.

I'd be interested to know where this factoid is from. It may just be a passing mention someone quicker than I caught. (I guess it might not even be a fact, but I assume whoever put it there had some reason for doing that.)

[littlespooge]

I can't remember Skyler and Marie's maiden name of "Lambert" ever being mentioned in dialogue. But maybe it appears on paper somewhere. Like, was there ever a shot of the divorce papers that might have included Skyler's maiden name?

Regarding another recent question...I've noticed since the Bin Laden remark in 5x8 there have been a lot of questions about when exactly Breaking Bad is set. Like - what year and what month is the current story happening in? Even before the Bin Laden line a few articles were trying to figure out the passage of time on Breaking Bad. Vince Gilligan has recently claimed that the writers do not know this. But I've picked up on a few little details which suggest they have placed the show in a specific timeline.

When Walt and Donald are chatting in the bar in 'Phoenix' Donald mentions that his daughter will turn "27 next month". In the next episode, following Jane's death, Donald tells a medic that Jane was born in April 1982. This would mean that Jane's death occurs in March 2009. According to the Vulture article, the passage of time from the start of S1 till the end of S2 is roughly four or five months. So Walt's 50th birthday most likely falls in early December 2008. Breaking Bad wiki also states that Jesse was born in September 1984. I'm not sure where BB wiki got this statistic from either, but in 'Crawl Space' Gus's doctor says that Jesse is 25 years old which would be correct if the end of S4 takes place around October or November in 2009. Which again, would seem to place Walt's birthday in early December. If another three or four months have passed since Walt turned 51 then I'd estimate that the last scene of 5x8 takes place in March 2010. But then - that's over a year before Bin Laden's assassination.

So, my question: did the Breaking Bad writers deliberately contradict their own timeline in an effort to make the story seem timeless?

Edited by littlespooge, Sep 16, 2012 @ 3:26 AM.

[warwick]

The divorce papers show Skyler's maiden name: http://images.wikia....orce_papers.jpg

[azure4]

At Tuco’s house he made Walt & Jesse give him their wallets. That’s when Tuco found out Heisenberg was Walter White. He riffled thru the wallets and put the items on the table. Then there was the exchange where Tuco accused then of doing something to Uncle Tio. Tuco didn't buy Jesse's story about Walt changing the TV channel. A few minutes later they all went outside, there was a fight, Jesse knocked Tuco in the head with a rock, Walt shot Tuco and wounded him and they kicked Tuco into a hole, Walt & Jesse ran, but Tuco got out of the hole and stood beside Jesse's car. Then Hank came and killed Tuco. The episode ends and we hear Tio ringing his bell. Wouldn’t Hank and the evidence team have discovered the wallet contents inside the house? This has been bugging me because there was no opportunity for Walt/Jesse to recover those wallets.

Edited by azure4, Sep 15, 2012 @ 9:28 PM.

[JOnanGoopta]

This has always appeared to be a serious continuity error to me. Unlike other cases, where it is arguable that they did something offscene to get rid of some piece of evidence, it has always looked to me like there was no opportunity whatsoever for Walt and Jesse to retrieve their wallets.

Can anyone see a time they had a chance to do that, or is this just a mistake?

The divorce papers show Skyler's maiden name

This place is nearly omniscient. I've been wondering about that since someone asked about it.

[ReadIshmael]

azure4, Tuco pushed the items they took out of their pockets back across the table to them and they put them back in their pockets.

[azure4]

Readishmael, thanks. I missed that part. I'm gonna go back and watch that again (not that I don't believe you) so I can put that issue to rest. :)

[Unspoiled]

Hooray for prompt answers! Thanks, JOnanGoopta and warwick!

[azure4]

JOnanGoopta I just watched S2 Ep2 "Grilled", and Readishmael is absolutely correct. It happens quickly, but Tuco shoves the wallets back to them. Great catch!

Edited by azure4, Sep 16, 2012 @ 3:41 PM.

[JOnanGoopta]

Damn, this site is smart. Sorry for such a zero-content post, but had to say it.

Thanks ReadIshmael and warwick.

(Forgive me if this is boards-on-boards.)

Edited by TWoP Lockley, Sep 16, 2012 @ 7:57 PM.
You're forgiven, because I agree with you. But don't make a habit of it. :-)

[Romantique]

So, my question: did the Breaking Bad writers deliberately contradict their own timeline in an effort to make the story seem timeless?

VG cops to the Bin Laden reference in this interview and also made comments in a recent Insider podcast (I forgot exactly which one) where he spoke about deliberately not making references to the current month or even season the characters are in. Also, they haven't celebrated any holidays (they even joked about not having made a "very special Christmas episode of Breaking Bad" which was a funny thought, because remember all of those that were made in the past, usually by sitcoms?), so yes, they've tried to go for a timeless story rather than to ground the show in a specific reality or time period. While it would have been nice for the continuity editor to have been able to keep the show within a certain time frame, I have to admit that the Bin Laden reference made a lot of sense to make in that episode and was a great line, and if they hadn't mentioned it, some of us might have mentioned it somewhere in these forums!

[Vandal]

(said warwick:) The divorce papers show Skyler's maiden name: http://images.wikia....orce_papers.jpg

They also show Walter's birthday to be 9/7/59, dating Walt's birthday to September 2009.

[warwick]

They also show Walter's birthday to be 9/7/59, dating Walt's birthday to September 2009.

I wouldn't put much faith into any of this show's time stamps. They're inconsistent.

Here some other examples:

Gus' case number starts with "11", which always indicates the year. The tags on Walt's car in the 501 flash-forward expire in 2013. Walt's Chrysler had a 2012 sticker on it right after he bought it. And of course, Bin Laden was killed in May 2011.

A few other time-stamps include the handicap tag on Walt's Aztek in the pilot which expires in 2007. Jane was born in 1982 and died at age 27. In "Phoenix", Walt was having a beer with Jane's father when a news report indicated that water was just discovered on Mars (this happened in the summer of 2008). There was also a sign that shows Los Pollos Hermanos was Albequerque's best restaurant in 2010.

I'm sure there are a few other things I'm missing, but you can see the inconsistency. As Vince Gilligan mentioned, the show exists in a timeless limbo.

[Bigwheels1971]

I can't remember, did they ever show or say who called Hank's cell to warn him that someone was about to kill him in the mall parking lot? Was that Gus?

Timeline: In the last episode, Marie made reference to celebrating Walt's birthday because he'd been diagnosed with Cancer last year.

ETA: Thanks All! :)

Edited by Bigwheels1971, Sep 20, 2012 @ 9:50 PM.

[JOnanGoopta]

I am pretty sure they didn't, but my guess is it would have been Mike.

From when he keeps the Cousins from killing Walt, he seems to have been the go-to guy for last-minute life-saving phone calls.

[thatguy01]

In S4, there's a flashback scene on the day of the parking lot shootout. Gus goes from the hospital and tells Hector that Hank was tipped off by a phone call. So Gus knew about the call that day, and of course didn't hear about it from Hank.

[warwick]

Tyrus supposedly made the call, even though he really wasn't introduced until season 4. I believe they mentioned it in of the insider podcasts last season.

[thatguy01]

I think the call Tyrus made was when Walt was outside Gus' house.

[Navin]

Does blue meth really exist? If so, what gives it that color?

[JOnanGoopta]

Sometimes, the dyes used in precursors like pseudo give meth a color. When they grind up the pills, the dyes get into the mix. Supposedly, Walt's method of cooking gives his blue meth that color, but I'm not sure that the method, as portrayed in the show, would actually do that.

[Cerpintaxt815]

I'm no expert but I believe I read an article somewhere that while yes it is technically possible to cook blue meth, it's rare. And I can't remember if the blue color is an unintentional consequence of a certain type of cooking method, or if it can only be achieved by intentionally using a dye. But I do remember the article saying that a blue color could actually represent an impurity, and that the purest meth would be clear.

It doesn't bother me at all, but it wouldn't surprise me if Vince chose the blue color mostly for style and thematic reasons

[azure4]

I think the call Tyrus made was when Walt was outside Gus' house.

I believe that was Mike . . ."Go home, Walter."

Edited by azure4, Oct 1, 2012 @ 11:06 PM.

[thatguy01]

http://forums.televi...post&p=14182862

According to Alan Sepinwall, it's Tyrus. It isn't an altered voice, so apparently VG doesn't mind making it clear when asked about it.

[avenger314]

Question: In 'Crawl Space' and the preceding episode, Skyler gives abou $620k to Ted Beneke. Walt has a meltdown because he needed $500k to give to the 'disappear-er.' What he has left, isn't enough. However, wasn't he already in the neighborhood of $3 million by this point? I remember thinking, "Why is he so upset? He lost $600k but he's got at least a million to spare." Is my accounting wrong? I'd have sworn he was already raking in much higher amounts by this point.

[bm232]

I just saw a gifset on Tumblr of Young!Walt and Skyler getting into a Porsche outside their house. There's a "FOR SALE" sign outside, which makes me think this is right after they came to look at what they thought was going to be their starter home.

The caption says, "You know, I used to drive a Porsche."--Walt

I could have sworn that I can't remember either this scene, or this line. Can anyone tell me which episodes they're from?