"Live Free or Die" additional thoughts
Jul. 20th, 2012 12:48 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
chaniJust a word about the Emmy nominations first. I'm glad for the 13 nominations the show got, and of course I firmly believes that at least the series, Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul, should win for best drama, best actor and best supporting actor. I'm sorry but the others just can't compete with such brillance.
Still, a bit sad that Justified was mostly snubbed and Timothy Olyphant overlooked. He's such an underrated actor.
But this post is about "Live Free or Die". I've re-watched the episode since the review I posted, and I have new thoughts.
First off, the cold-open could be misleading the viewers. Is it really one year ahead? Can we trust what we see? Maybe we shouldn't draw conclusions from what we see, the beard, the hair, the glasses, the greenish/brownish military outfit, the fake ID...could just be that Walter is undercover, acting the part, hence his haggard look. The big tip he left might mean that he's still the king...or that he's indeed in dire straits and doesn't care anymore.
Secondly, the colour themes are back. Colours have always been important in Breaking Bad and it isn't only because of the blue meth or because of our resident Purple Lady, Marie Shrader.
When the series started, Walter was a beige/green man, but his clothes got darker and colourless with the passing of time, while Jesse's colours were red/yellow to begin with. Gilligan even explained once that they swapped colours between Walt and Skyler in season 3, giving him more blue while she was wearing his usual green, as if he was chasing her and she was eluding the man he was becoming.
At the beginning of this episode, the "I won" Walter White is still wearing his trademark green skirt, but after cleaning the kitchen he changes into a dark blue shirt, just before getting rid of the incriminating plant! I think it's highly significant. The darkening colour is there to point out the line Walter crossed when poisoning Brock with lily of the valley.
Later we see him in dark grey clothes. His partners in crime, Jesse and Mike are also wearing dark outfits: at the wrecking yard Mike is all in black, Jesse has a dark jacket and only a bit of green colour on his t-shirt. When Skyler is visiting Ted at the hospital she also wears a rather dark outfit. After all, she broke bad too.
By contrast, Hank is first introduced all in white, wearing the special lab suit that makes him look like an astronaut. He is the good guy after all, the hero whose praises Walter Junior sang.
During what could be called a heist, Walt and Jesse, of course, are wearing black ninja outfits. May I say how much I miss the skying hats from season 1?
At the end of the episode, when he's menacing Saul and giving Skyler a Godfather hug, Walter is all in grey, kinda lifeless, a bit like a walking dead. The ghost of the man he used to be.
But enough with the colour symbols. What does Wendell the chicken stand for as a metaphor?
ETA: via boingboing found this street art:
Still, a bit sad that Justified was mostly snubbed and Timothy Olyphant overlooked. He's such an underrated actor.
But this post is about "Live Free or Die". I've re-watched the episode since the review I posted, and I have new thoughts.
First off, the cold-open could be misleading the viewers. Is it really one year ahead? Can we trust what we see? Maybe we shouldn't draw conclusions from what we see, the beard, the hair, the glasses, the greenish/brownish military outfit, the fake ID...could just be that Walter is undercover, acting the part, hence his haggard look. The big tip he left might mean that he's still the king...or that he's indeed in dire straits and doesn't care anymore.
Secondly, the colour themes are back. Colours have always been important in Breaking Bad and it isn't only because of the blue meth or because of our resident Purple Lady, Marie Shrader.
When the series started, Walter was a beige/green man, but his clothes got darker and colourless with the passing of time, while Jesse's colours were red/yellow to begin with. Gilligan even explained once that they swapped colours between Walt and Skyler in season 3, giving him more blue while she was wearing his usual green, as if he was chasing her and she was eluding the man he was becoming.
At the beginning of this episode, the "I won" Walter White is still wearing his trademark green skirt, but after cleaning the kitchen he changes into a dark blue shirt, just before getting rid of the incriminating plant! I think it's highly significant. The darkening colour is there to point out the line Walter crossed when poisoning Brock with lily of the valley.
Later we see him in dark grey clothes. His partners in crime, Jesse and Mike are also wearing dark outfits: at the wrecking yard Mike is all in black, Jesse has a dark jacket and only a bit of green colour on his t-shirt. When Skyler is visiting Ted at the hospital she also wears a rather dark outfit. After all, she broke bad too.
By contrast, Hank is first introduced all in white, wearing the special lab suit that makes him look like an astronaut. He is the good guy after all, the hero whose praises Walter Junior sang.
During what could be called a heist, Walt and Jesse, of course, are wearing black ninja outfits. May I say how much I miss the skying hats from season 1?
At the end of the episode, when he's menacing Saul and giving Skyler a Godfather hug, Walter is all in grey, kinda lifeless, a bit like a walking dead. The ghost of the man he used to be.
But enough with the colour symbols. What does Wendell the chicken stand for as a metaphor?
ETA: via boingboing found this street art: