(this is pretty long)

Sorry for yet another BB thread, but I have avoided the other ones for fear of spoilers. I've been waiting to finally watch the show, but didn't want to start it without season five having come out on DVD. Well, that happened a week or two ago, so I fricking dove into it head first last weekend. I just finished up season four a little while ago (I'm home sick today), and am about to marathon season five and finish the series today. Here are some thoughts I was wanting to get out there/get opinions on...

- Skyler sucks. I keep trying to put myself in her shoes in having to deal with basically losing a husband to cancer, and then losing him to something else almost entirely.

- Hank is awesome. It does bother me that El Paso bothered him so much. I get that it's to show that he isn't as big and bad as he thinks he is, but damn...some police work went bad and some agents died in front of him...and that completely emasculated him? Wasn't a fan of that at all, and I had trouble buying it. I'd think the attack on his life would've scared him, but that seemed to phase him less than the Tortuga thing.

- The makers of this show are obsessed with water, especially up close shots of dripping water. I can't remember how many episodes opened with an up close on dripping water. I'm not sure if it's random, if it's supposed to mean something since the show is basically set in the desert, or what...but it is noticeable.

- The show is fricking great. Like, really legit awesome. However, it is excruciatingly slow most of the time. And don't get me wrong..that's awesome. But I definitely think it would've driven me nuts had I watched the show live. I love the buildups and the overarching plots are great, but man it's so satisfying to be able to watch episodes one after another and not have to wait.

- Part of this slowness is the makers' seeming feeling that they have to drag everything out and make it overly focused. The "Fly" episode a few threads down is a perfect example of this. Now, I assume they do this to try to show us what kind of person Walt is (and others, but mostly him). Like the fly episode, or the scene where they are in the hospital (I think when Hank was shot) and the table was wobbling...that was like a 5+ minute scene only showing Walt noticing a problem, making a decision, and fixing it. I realize that is one of the main drivers of the show, but man they beat you over the head with it sometimes.

- Okay, in the opening scenes in a lot of episodes, they start in on something seemingly small/random, then pan back to a scene or whatever and it's usually important...and most of the time the end of the episode wraps up and explains the significance of that first sort of "teaser" in the beginning. However, there was one episode (around late season two or season three maybe) where the opening part of the episode had Walt's green SUV banged up with two dead bodies in the driveway. I always wondered what that was about..?? I assume it was victims of the plane crash, but they never specifically stated that though (and they usually are so meticulous about making connections). Any help?

- How did Skiler's job at Ted's office end? I know she finally consented to signing the cooked books (with some doctoring), but what actually severed that relationship (job-wise)? At this point, a lot of the episodes are sort of running together for me and there is so much to digest I am confusing myself a little I think.

-Walt's "I am the one who knocks!" fight with Skyler was fricking awesome. May be the best scene in the series so far IMO. Just awesome, awesome shite.

- I don't think they've said who actually called Hank to warn him about the brothers and their attack. That seems to be a forgotten thing...I am hoping they address this at some point.

- Jesse's little speech to the Mexican chemist was awesome. "I'm the one your boss brought down here to show you how it's done..stop whining like a bitch."

- I was a little disappointed that Bogdon didn't flip out and knock over all the air fresheners when he gave Walt the keys to the car wash (like Walt did on his way out in episode one).

There are more things that I've wanted to ask about, but haven't yet since I wanted to be done/close to done before I brought them here. So if I remember more, I will post them. I started the show last Friday (10 days ago), and over the course of the last three days, have finished season two, started and finished season three, and started and finished season four. And I plan on starting and finishing five today. Great show, and VERY addictive. Can't wait to see how it ends...I am hoping that Walt finally embraces the complete badass that he is capable of being at times, because thus far, he's been battling with his old self and trying to stay moral. I assume that the last episode of S4 (with Walt being the one who poisoned Brock) is telling us that Walt has finally moved completely over to the dark side (he told Jesse "Who is the one who puts orders on kids...Gus" but it was actually him who did it; so I assume he now takes on the completely maniacal persona that Gus had. Also, small point of note, but it does kinda suck that I knew Gus's fate because AMC showed the "face off" scene over and over when they were advertising for season five before it aired.

Favorite characters: Walt, Hank, Mike (really hoping he comes back soon), Saul.

Hated characters: Walt, Skyler, Walt Jr. (but only sometimes), Hector Salamanca (though he went out like a boss), Badger/Combo (was glad he got capped).