With BCS just ending I decided to do my first rewatch of BB over the last month. Originally I binged the first 4 seasons and watched the 5th season live week to week, so it has been a long time since I've watched each episode. I also didn't follow any TexAgs threads at the time, so apologies if these thoughts are redundant.

1. The first season is worse than I remembered. Not quite sure how to put it, it just feels awkward. It goes from really boring to liquefied guts falling through the ceiling. I can definitely see how someone watching for the first time would stop and question why the show is rated so highly. Once Tuco gets involved it feels like the show finally starts to take off.

2. Oh my God, Marie and purple! I noticed it the first time through, but far more laughable on rewatch. That has got to be an inside joke with Gilligan or something.

3. With everything that happens in season 4 and 5, I feel like parts of season 3 are underappreciated, at least for me they were. I thought the end of Half Measure where Walt runs over the meth dealers was one of his most badass moments. The cousins trying to kill Hank, Hank finding the RV with Jesse and Walt inside, "Your boss is gonna need me!", so many great moments in that season.

4. I know the story arc is Walt breaking bad, but there seems to be a pretty distinct period to me when Walt "officially" becomes the bad guy season 4 right after Crawl Space. Before that he was Walt with Heisenberg moments that I still had a shred of rooting interest in, but after that he was Heisenberg 24/7 until after he gets vacuumed. He tried to get his family out during Crawl Space but the money was gone, so he manipulates Jesse by poisoning Brock and is officially off the deep end. Prior to this a lot of what he does is a move with the intention of keeping him, his family, and Jesse alive. After this moment he continually manipulates everyone just to build his empire. Just a different feel.

5. Did Brock ever know it was Walt that poisoned him? There are multiple scenes of them throughout season 5 where Brock appears to be uncomfortable with Walt. Seems like he'd say something if he knew Walt poisoned him, but maybe Walt threatened him?

6. Seeing more of Mike's back story in BCS made his death in BB that much more infuriating. And Walt did it for basically no reason.

7. Regardless of how annoying or hypocritical the character may be, Anna Gunn did a terrific job of playing Skyler.

8. The second half of season 4 through season 5 is some of the best, most intense TV that has ever been created. Just brilliant.

TL: DR Yes this is still on the mantle of best show in television history.

Awesome timing.

Just finished rewatch tonight and looked for a thread. My wife watched it for first time with me over the last month. So many great episodes.

I still love season 1, it shows them being such bumbling idiots, making so many missteps.

The series pulls no punches, shows a person truly breaking bad. There is no question WW was a decent man who is ultimately consumed by pride and ego. He thinks his motives are pure all the way through the phone call with Jr in penultimate episode "granite state". He thinks doing it for the family makes it all just and right.

Everyone carries multiple deadly sins within them and the potential to break bad, are we able to keep them at bay or not? Walter could not.

The ending scene in crawl space was one of my favorites. When he is under the house laughing hysterically knowing what just happened with the money was anxiety inducing! The music sequence in that scene was perfect and ominous.

JDUB08AG said:

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The ending scene in crawl space was one of my favorites. When he is under the house laughing hysterically knowing what just happened with the money was anxiety inducing! The music sequence in that scene was perfect and ominous.

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The theme music at the end of "Granite State" just hits different! When the cops are walking up to the bar and he gets away to return to Albuquerque. Instant chills when it fires up.

Wait, season one is boring? Are you and I remembering the same show? A dorky chemistry teacher using science poison to kill one drug dealer and paralyze another named Crazy 8 during a shoot out and then eventually strangling the survivor to death with a bike lock before Crazy 8 could kill him with a ceramic shard was boring to you?

It was a good show, but I would not put it at #1 show in history.

Malibu2 said:

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Wait, season one is boring? Are you and I remembering the same show? A dorky chemistry teacher using science poison to kill one drug dealer and paralyze another named Crazy 8 during a shoot out and then eventually strangling the survivor to death with a bike lock before Crazy 8 could kill him with a ceramic shard was boring to you?

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This reminds me of some guy on Texags who claimed to stop watching at the end of season 3 because it was "boring". Which means, he watched Jesse shoot Gale in the face and concluded "I'm out... That was boring". The guy was simply bad a trolling.

Watched Crawl Space last night. Phenomenal television.

Season 4 started off with a bang with Boxcutter. Then it kind of keeps a lukewarm boil / tension the next 5 episodes. We have a mostly broody and disengaged Jesse Pinkman, an increasingly paranoid Walter, a business-minded Skylar, an obsessive Hank. That last 4 minutes of Crawl Space is so, so good. Skylar's face as Walk proceeds to completely LOSE it - with the phone ringing off the wall to Marie crying about the Cartel. Top 5 BB episode for me.