And it's been missing a hubcap for most of if not all the seasons. Probably some deep symbolism that I'm not going to try and come up with.
If the producers and writers go through this whole routine of Walt's clothes being green and Marie is purple and Hank is succesfull when he ignores Marie but gets shot when buys her flowers… then the cars definitely have some meaning.
I agree with Chet, the show has a lot of little background symbolism stuff and I like it. That's why I was pissed at the end of season 4 when they blatantly zoomed in on the flower so you could see it was lily of the valley. Would have liked it better if they kept it subtle right there with just the wide shot
They kind of had to hit you over the head with that to help the viewer fully realize the extent Walt had "broken bad".
Walt's car is a well-used 2003 Pontiac Aztek that has been repainted in a non-factory color chosen by series creator Vince Gilligan, perhaps to mimic the look of a badly-faded factory paint job or as symbolic of Walt's previously bland existence. The windshield has been broken and replaced several times due to various acts that have been a result of Walt's descent into the drug world. The show's production team has at least 2 Azteks equipped for different filming situations. First time reading BB trivia on IMDB, not sure why I haven't read it before but there's some cool stuff there if you guys haven't read it http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0903747/trivia
One last thing about the cars, from another perspective. Spoiler WALTER WHITE famously drives a Pontiac Aztek with an oft-smashed windshield (or missing hubcab or dented door or...-CF) The Aztek is a car entirely about exterior image – a shitty car in an inauthentic wrapper that was meant to re-position Pontiac as a hip brand for Gen Xers. Walt’s life was all about maintaining an image of a mild-mannered school teacher while repressing his inner rage (the Heisenberg persona). The cracked windshield represents Walt’s inability to keep his true self hidden under his exterior image. JESSE PINKMAN goes from driving a Monte Carlo to driving a Toyota. Again, this is no accident. When we first meet Jesse he is playing at being a ‘bad guy’, so he drives a Monte Carlo, the official car of 20-something bad boys in AC/DC shirts that creep around high school parking lots looking for underage girls. Ultimately Jesse accepts that he’s not really a bad guy (regardless of what he says) and he gets a dependable, boring family sedan – a Toyota – because all that Jesse really wants is to love and be loved. He craves a normal, dependable, suburban family life. HANK SCHRADER drives a late-model Jeep. Jeeps are macho sporty cars for adventurous people who don’t like doors or roofs (but love Dave Matthews). Hank is the moral center of the Breaking Bad universe – a solid guy with a solid car. But Hank’s Jeep does have doors and a roof, because we all know that Hank is not really as macho as he seems, suffering from PTSD and anxiety. SKYLER WHITE also drives a Jeep, but it’s an old junky model. It’s no accident that Skyler and Hank drive variations of the same car. That’s because we initially see Skyler as a paragon of virtue (like Hank) but we ultimately come to realize that she’s bad. Bad, I tell you! (She was even mean to Sherriff Seth Bullock, and he’s just dreamy.) GUS FRING obviously drives a Volvo because he is a cautious man, and Volvos represent safety. Plus, they have large cup holders for Los Pollos Hermanos take-out. MIKE THE CLEANER drives a classic old man American car – probably a Lincoln – because he represents old American power and dependability, just like when Lincolns, Caddys and Buicks ruled the automotive world. I could keep going with the minor characters (MARIE SCHRADER drives a new VW Beetle because she’s a flake; TED BENEKE drives a BMW because he’s a cheating, embezzling asshole, etc.) but I think you get the idea: the cars onBreaking Bad matter. UPDATE: Now that WALTER JUNIOR has turned 16 he’s finally gotten his car. Well, two cars actually. The first car was a Dodge Challenger, courtesy of Walter Senior. Senior, in one of his now-patented “bad decisions spurred by a bruised ego” impulsively bought a modern muscle car to prove that he can control his own destiny. This is a manifestation of Walter Senior’s desire for power and recognition in a season where he’s seriously lost his mojo. After Skyler made Walter return the car (with a little help from Mr. Fire), Skyler buys Walter Junior a Chrysler PT Cruiser. The PT Cruiser does a nice job of illustrating Skyler’s two overriding character traits: cautiousness and obliviousness. Skyler is an extremely intelligent woman that refuses to accept some obvious facts: 1) the drug trade is violent by definition; 2) Senior can’t get out even if he wanted to; and 3) PT Cruisers – even with CD players – aren’t cool. Please note that we don’t really learn anything about Walter Junior through these cars, aside from the confirmation that he likes pancakes.
I can't ever remember watching a show where the main protagonist is a bad guy, like Walt (even though he starts out a good guy). whole different perspective, and I think it's what makes the show so intriguing. just awesome
First three episodes ran on AMC last night. Looks like they are airing them in order and picking up again tonight (early morning) 3 a.m. est. Just in case anyone wants to DVR from the beginning.
TV Shows where the protagonist is a "bad guy"? At the top of my head: The Wire-Kind of, there really is no main character, but arguably the "best" characters were stone cold killers The Sopranos-The show glorifies mob life and the protagonist is a narcissistic sociopath who kills friends and relatives with little to no remorse. Dexter-The protagonist is a serial killer. There are countless others.
I"m finally catching up on season 4 and just got past the episode Spoiler where Gus has his flash back to his first meeting with the Cartel down in Mexico. After they shoot his buddy the guy says "You're only alive because I know who you are, but this is not Chile". Do they ever go into the back story about who Gus was or what he did in Chile?
I thought I read somewhere that Gus will be back for an episode or two. So maybe they have another flashback to his days in Chile.
all these immediately came to mind, as well as Sons of Anarchy, Weeds...pretty much 1 out of every 3 modern adult drama features a criminal as a leading character
None of the leads from the shows you guys have named are "bad guys" they are like what Hank Scorpio called and what is referred to in literature as an antihero. These are characters who go against what is usually called a "hero". You can not look at any of them as see them as only good or evil. What makes them intriguing is that they are grey and not solely black or white individuals.
I agreed. That is why I wrote "none of the leads". I meant it to include every character (including WW) that has been mentioned since the "Walt is the only bad guy lead on tv" post. None are good or evil.
I don't know, at this point, I think Walter White is definitely just evil. Whatever good intentions he may have started with, and they were pretty tenuous really, he's turned all the way to the dark side of things. Different than most anti-hero characters on TV I think.
What are we going to do when Jessie and Walt drive off the side of the road and Walt kills him by squeezing his nose.
Their relationship has to be the most confusing and complicated relationship on tv. One minute it seems like there is a father son relationship going on between them, the next Walt lets his girlfriend choke on her own vomit and poison's his new girlfriend's 6-year-old son.
everything Walt does wrt Jessie is in his own self interest Walt needed a junkie like Jessie to be his partner, instead of someone smart like Gale. That way he kept himself indispensable.
And having a family and caring for them doesn't make Walt less evil, less sociopathic maybe, but not any less evil. Plenty of villains have had soft spots.
Walter serves only Walter. I can't see the show ending any other way then Walter or Jesse killing the other.
But what really is driving Walt? He doesn't spend any of his money, he used to total up the amount he needed before he died, but he doesn't do that anymore. Was he ever really going to flee at the end of s4?
Just my guess, but the show ends with Walter dying, not at the hands of Jesse, rather withering away due to cancer - back where the show started.