Me007gold

They were talking about the tanker, not the tanks in the ground

silentbob007

It seems to me that Walt's handling of this situation is going to be key ... if he is not affected in a manner that Jesse sees as appropriate, it might make Jesse start to think about the whole Brock situation again in a different light. Walt's definitely gotten cocky about his manipulation ability.

Nefarious

First, I can't believe we are six pages in and nobody has mentioned Walt's comments from near the end of episode 4.

Walt: "The methylamine keeps flowing no matter what. We are not ramping down. We're just getting started. Nothing stops this train. Nothing."

Bring on episode five where they keep the methylamine flowing by doing what. Robbing a train...


Second, I read the article here linked earlier . So here's my question, because I don't think it was made entirely clear. I know they talked about robbing it in the "dark zone" but is that what they actually did? I thought the whole reason/beauty of Jessie's plan versus where she had talked about was the fact they could get it without the engineer and conductor even knowing they'd been robbed. Location could be anywhere remote as long as they had a diversion opportunity. I would have thought if it had been in the dark zone the engineer/conductor/truck driver -- one of them would have at least alluded to it by saying they had tried to call a tow truck or something.

Given such, I don't think they necessarily were that far from ABQ. At the very least, it didn't seem 100% clear that it did or didn't happen in the "dark zone".

RichC2

I honestly have no idea where this season is going But can tell this episode will be the catalyst for a lot of things to come.

I also can't tell if the producers want us to really believe Walt is badass, or just stick with "he's a badass in his own head", I'm going with the latter.

bunkaroo

LOL Walt is clapping after. Wow.

RichC2

if that gif was accurate, this title would take on a whole new meaning.

bootsy

I thought for a moment that Jesse figured it out when Walt and Mike were arguing at jesse's house. The camera panned in on Jesse's face and it looked like Walt said something that gave away something the way Jesse's face looked but that wasn't the case.

CaptainMarvel

Remember, the "dark zone" also had no cell reception. I think if it wasn't in the dark zone, they would have called for a fire truck/tow truck/etc immediately rather.

Goat3001

Another thing to point out in the scene: as Mike and Walt were arguing it started zooming into Jesse as he was playing with the straw in his drink. He would plug the top of the straw, lift it out of the glass, and let the liquid pour back in. It made me think of the ricin and how it could be administered in the drink. Probably meant nothing but just made me think of it.

Palaver

The straw play didn't mean nothing. It was what got Jesse thinking about draining the methylamine.

Goat3001

The train heist and the magnets operation were both pretty implausible in that a lot of things needed to go exactly their way for it to work. The reason it works for the show though is that it's all building into Walt's ego. At this point he feels that him and Jesse could do whatever they hell they wanted and it would work according to plan. If the show ends with Walt dead/in jail, I can see his downfall starting with a botched heist.

And for all we know, this may be the botched heist... that kid will come back into play somehow.

xVladx

I'd love to see an interview with Vince Gilligan where someone asks him about some of the train stuff. Still, for me, only one thing really stood out as a problem:

What the heck were they measuring when they were walking along the tracks? They wouldn't have needed the bridge since the liquid would still be going to an underground tank, so they weren't seeing how far the bridge was. They also couldn't have been seeing where the car with the methylamine was going to be once the train stopped, since they didn't know which car it was going to be at that point. They weren't going to know that until Lydia called them, which hadn't happened yet.

All the questions about them just "happening to get the train to stop where they wanted" don't make sense to me. Where else was the train going to stop. It was a huge stretch of flat, open country, so as long as the train's driver wasn't asleep, he'd have plenty of time to see the truck, and from there, there would be three options:

1) The train can't stop in time and hits the truck. Well, once that happens the train's going to be stopping anyway due to the accident.

2) The train screeches to a halt right before hitting the truck.

3) The train has plenty of time to stop well before hitting the truck, but it's not like the guys inside the train were just going to sit there, half a mile down the track, and stare at the truck. They would get out and try to get the thing out of their way. And if they're going to do that, then they'd just park the train right by the truck anyway.

So, scenarios 2 and 3 end up putting the car right where they wanted it (although how they knew where they wanted it when they did still baffles me). Scenario 1 would be a problem for them, of course, though.

bunkaroo

I think they were measuring whether or not the bridge was still within the "dead zone", but I'm not sure.

CaptainMarvel

They were using the bridge to hide under. I figured they were simply measuring the distance from the road to the bridge to know the maximum distance they would need to be prepared to pump over.

Larry C.

Yeah they were measuring to make sure the bridge was in the dead zone. And we have to assume that Lydia gave them the information on which car it was in before measuring.

Thos19

Interview with Laura Fraser:

http://www.vulture.com/2012/08/break...interview.html

Thos.

Jeremy517

The clapping is from before they saw the kid.

DeputyDave

I figured they did not know where in the train the tanker car would be until 6 hours before it hit the "dark zone", after the train was re-ordered. What I assumed they were measuring was the distance between the road (if the tanker was the first car) where they planned to stop it and the bridge to make sure they were able to pump that distance (length of hoses and strength of the pump). Jesse shouted at joy when he realized the bridge was within their workable zone. Does anyone remember the distance Jesse counted to when he got to the bridge?

xVladx

Why would it matter if the car they were robbing was in the dead zone? It's the people in the front of the train they've got to worry about. That, and that only seemed to be an issue of it was going to be an overt robbery, not the more subtle scam they were going to be pulling.

And if they were concerned about it, then I doubt they'd be planning the heist close enough to the edge of the zone anyway.

They were using the bridge to hide, but it's not like they had to. They could have done any number of things, like use the excavator to dig out a hole they could cover up and hide in, or disguise themselves as people driving dirt bikes around (apparently it happens in that area).

That, and if they were that concerned about their maximum pumping area (they ended up measuring something like 800 feet, correct), then they didn't bring NEARLY enough hose.

Gdrlv

The main photo for the Rolling Stone cover story sure seems to reveal that

http://peteryang.com/image/breaking-bad-2/

boredsilly

This show, you guys. I agree that the heist is a bit far fetched, but I think this show earns these moments. This show is grounded in reality, but also doesn't shy away from the more far-fetched elements. This show isn't trying to be The Wire.

Skylar is totally justified in feeling the way she does. Walter is a total black hat now. He's completely lost his way, and is addicted to his new purpose in life. Sure, he started this life to provide for his family, but that doesn't really seem like the purpose of his exploits anymore. That said, I still find Skylar unlikeable, just because she isn't a fun character to follow. To make a ridiculous analogy, she's like GI Joe, where Walter and crew are like Cobra. Cobra was always more interesting.

mhg83

Lydia even said that the time she gets the manifest they'll have 6 hours before the train comes.

bunkaroo

Ahh OK. So someone cut that GIF creatively. Good one.

conscience

Wait. Have you not seen the episode? You're okay with spoilers? Better man than me.

bunkaroo

No I saw it, I just didn't remember Walt clapping like that. Everything happened so fast between the success of the robbery to shooting the kid. I just got tricked by the GIF is all.

My problem is I have to get up for work fairly early, but I don't dare go to sleep without having seen BB for fear of being spoiled the next day, so I'm generally kind of tired when I'm watching it.