A Trope I Dislike

[lightofdaye]

As TV Tropes would have it the Ten Minute Retirement, where the main character decides they will no longer do what the series is about. No heroics for them. And of course it usually ends with them getting back in the saddle by the end of the episode and hero0ing up. Which means their previous hestiancy was just a big ol' waste of the watchers time.

I remember being especially annoyed with this mid-Series 7 of Doctor Who, it didn't help that his impetus for his retirement was the loss of his companions, Amy and Rory, in an equally horribly contrived episode.

But mostly this post is brought to you by Walter White who has started and stopped cooking meth at least three or four times by episode 2 of season 3.

Comments

[tamlane.livejournal.com]

That's it! That's the entire reason I could never get into BrBa!

Walt's conscience feels contrived to me. His entire purpose for cooking meth in the first place feels contrived. He didn't do it for his family. He did it because he was facing death and realized how void of glory and adventure and excitement his life was.

[lightofdaye]

Well I think that dichotomy between what he says he's doing and what he's actually doing deep in his creaking heart is the appeal for some.

But it just seems silly dithering for a few episodes until the next big calamity forces him back in.

[tamlane.livejournal.com]

That same dichotomy makes me melt when it's Michael Corleone.

Maybe because Michael never dithered, you know? From the moment he pulled the trigger in that trattoria, he was hardcore, and his hands just kept getting dirtier and dirtier, and he never looked back.

It's probably not fair to make the comparison, though, because I haven't watched more than a handful of episodes of BrBa.

[luna-plath.livejournal.com]

I'd say this is a pretty good comparison. I've seen all of BrBa and read/watched The Godfather and I always loved Michael whereas I hate Walt. I think part of it is that Michael never pretended that he was a good guy, he does what he does because he was born into this family and he admittedly likes it, while Walt is convinced that he's not doing anything wrong and is totally justifiable in his self-obsession.

[luna-plath.livejournal.com]

I guess the difference in Walt's case is that he is given so many outs, so many opportunities to do the right thing and protect his family (quit while you're ahead) but his greed and his pride take over and he just keeps going. It's part of the nature of his character and part of why I hate him.

[lightofdaye]

It is more understandable in Breaking Bad where the whole thing is supposed to be about Walter slowly descending into criminality. But still its a pain for waiting him to get around to getting involved again.

[hollywoodlawn.livejournal.com]

Well, I get the dislike for such an overused trope, but I think in BrBa, you can't really say the protagonist 'hero's' up. In this regard, they are kind of twisting this trope on its head. Walter needs to believe for a while that he's still a good guy (remember, he's still reeling from watching a young woman die in front of him and then running from his guilt at the possibility of causing two planes to crash).

But of course, while he is technically "out" of the meth-making business, we watch as his marriage falls apart, and he is a complete ass about that - moving back in to the house as if he didn't do anything wrong. Then we watch him get absolutely incensed that his protege is not only still making his formula, but did it just as well.

And then along comes Gus - the master. With just a little stroking, some dazzling equipment, and a good 'excuse' for Walter to believe, he gets the guy back in. I thought that scene was brilliant. I didn't see Walt's 'waffling' as a waste of time, because the payoff was so rich.

And let's not forget - 'stay out of my territory'. That line, all by itself, seals Walter's fate. We know he'll return to the cook, but what's worth watching is how Walt convinces himself that he's still doing it for reasons.

[lightofdaye]

Oh yeah. I was using Hero as a shorthand there. Not really meaning to imply Walt's actions are heroic as such. Even if he reasons were as crystal clear as he says.

I get what you're saying about the motivations and Walt's disintegrating personal life but the show does like to take it slow. And a couple of scenes Walt's 'Can I talk to you?' and Jesse's 'why you got to be this way' gets repeated thorough out the first few episodes nearly the same with Skyler remaining entirely unresponsive.

I just hit Green Light and there's some actual progress there which is nice to see and Mike is enjoyable to watch with his complete deadpanness. And poor Jesse's just made a big mistake and got Hank on his trail.

Thinking about Walt being an ass, its true but then I wouldn't say that Skyler is not being an ass either. But she's a bit like Walt everyone seems to think of her as having this great morale authority. But she's willing to overlook Ted's and to extent Walt's illegal activities.

[hollywoodlawn.livejournal.com]

but then I wouldn't say that Skyler is not being an ass either. But she's a bit like Walt

You hit the nail on the head. Keep watching her in season three. Skyler breaks bad in her own way. All of the fan sentiment against her is reactionary - no one actually seems to pay attention to who Skyler is. She's either the biggest bitch in the world because she has a problem with Walt cooking meth and endangering their family, or she's a saint who is only looking out for that family. I like to see her somewhere in the middle - it makes her more interesting. And she and Walter absolutely are a pair. It makes sense that Walt would be attracted to her.

[notsocraven.livejournal.com]

Walt's journey to start cooking meth again, was a bit frustrating, because we all knew he would eventually go back to it. However having it play out that way seemed true to his former persona of being this normal school teacher. But yeah, frustrating.

[lightofdaye]

Thinking about it, it is the kind of pacing the show uses. Slow bits punctuated by episodes with an awful lot happening. I guess you could almost call that 'realistic'.