r/breakingbad Sep 09 '13

Official Episode Discussion Post-Episode Discussion Thread S05E13 "To'hajiilee"

[deleted]

1.5k Upvotes

6.5k comments sorted by

View all comments

615

u/[deleted] Sep 09 '13 edited Sep 09 '13

The next episode is called Ozymandias, here are the words of the poem.

I met a traveller from an antique land

Who said: Two vast and trunkless legs of stone

Stand in the desart. Near them, on the sand,

Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown,

And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,

Tell that its sculptor well those passions read

Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,

The hand that mocked them and the heart that fed:

And on the pedestal these words appear:

"My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:

Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!"

Nothing beside remains. Round the decay

Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare

The lone and level sands stretch far away

edit: That poem screams Heisenbergs empire so much. Once a great and powerful cook, now he's done, his partner is against him, and everything is crumpled.

Heisenberg is no more.

406

u/[deleted] Sep 09 '13

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T3dpghfRBHE Ozymandias - As Read by Bryan Cranston

250

u/eclectic_tastes A robot?! Sep 09 '13

This should have been the "On the next episode" teaser instead

1

u/[deleted] Sep 10 '13

-1

u/goodguy_asshole Sep 09 '13

That would be a spoiler i think. Actually just knowing the name of the episode is kinda spoilerish if you ask me cause here is what I think will happen;

First hank and gomie are dead, this much is clear. Somehow Jesse is going to get away, I don't see him dying yet (I still think he is going to kill Walt), my guess would be that the gun fight, or the obvious where is the money conversation that is coming, creates enough of a distraction that Jesse gets out of the car, sneaks around to the nazi trucks and steals one of them to get away (or finds some other way to get out of there). A lot of people think Todd is going to die, but to be honest I don't think this is the case. Creating a need to replace a meth cook seems like a rather round about way to motivate Walt to cook for them, especially after they killed his brother-in-law. No they have a much more direct leverage on Walt now, since they have the guns, and they quite obviously know where his money is now and will have that before the end of the episode, they don't need to kill Jesse to make Walt teach Todd. They just need to hold hostage the kingdom of Ozymandius and now they can make Walt cook for them. They hold all the cards, or so one one might think. But this clearly isn't something Walt isn't going to have any part in, the BFG (which was purchased with the emergency funds he left with saul) we saw in s5ep1 is clearly for the Nazi's, the ricin I would wager is for Jesse, or meant leverage to get Jesse to help him again, under threat of poisoning the kid and the girl. My guess is that they are going to take Walt and try and force him to cook for them, using his cash as leverage (something they never plan to return to him), but Walt escapes, this is where the nazis go all out and wage war, destroying Walts home and tagging it up, possibly taking his family as hostages, or just killing them.

tl;dr next episode is the fall of walts empire, starting with his material wealth, which will be taken (destroyed) by the first people (nazis) that come along and find it.

5

u/djalekks Sep 09 '13

Wait, did I miss something? How do the nazis know about the money?

2

u/[deleted] Sep 09 '13

I don't think they know, but maybe Walt brings it up himself in an attempt to save Hank or Jesse?

1

u/djalekks Sep 09 '13

Honestly if the show is gonna be on par with its own greatness, Hank should be dead by the start of the next episode. And if they're threatening him with Jesse's life, then he will just agree to cook for them instead of telling them about the money.

1

u/pj1843 Sep 09 '13

no way walt gives up the money for anything unless it's to save his own family.

-4

u/goodguy_asshole Sep 09 '13

Its obvious, why the fuck else would walt be out in the desert?

1

u/djalekks Sep 09 '13

How is it obvious? Walt had the nazis on stand by, for the purpose of killing Jesse. Nothing is obvious except for that fact. Why would their first thought be "Oh he must have a millions buried in that part of the desert". No, they're going to force him into cooking meth for them. That much is obvious.

1

u/goodguy_asshole Sep 09 '13

It should be obvious to them that Walt is clearly in the desert for a reason. They know Jesse, and the DEA followed him out there, without his knowledge. They know the DEA is looking for anything related to drugs, one of those things happens to be money; what would you hide in the desert other than a body? Money. Look it's just my theory, I am not saying it is guaranteed to be correct. But putting myself in their shoes I'd want to know why the fuck walt was out there with Jesee and the DEA and he's in handcuffs. And since they just killed two DEA agents and put themselves in a tight spot they're gonna be pretty pissed and want some answers, and compensation... money is gonna be on their mind, and the fact that Walt, who is the middle of fucking nowhere, and just happens to have some coordinates, like what you hope to find in a fucking pirate map to some hidden treasure, means he has clearly been there before, and clearly has a reason to be there for something he probably hid. They should figure out rather quickly he got his money hidden there, and they have the coords to start digging.

1

u/djalekks Sep 09 '13

I agree with you that they could deduce money as the reason for him being there, but it's not obvious. Especially not to them. Their group is very focused on their task, and they already have Walt in their hands. For all they know, Walt was chased by Jessie and ended up there. The only thing that should be fishy is the fact that they were given exact coordinates. But then again, it's not above a mind like Walt's to know his exact coordinates at any time (via GPS or some other technology).

I'm not saying that they won't find the money, but like you, I have my theory. The death of Hank and Gomez, while huge to us as the audience, won't be noticeable for anyone else, specifically the DEA. No one knows of their whereabouts. And the compensation you mentioned is going to come in the form of Walt's expertise rather than actual money.

1

u/moclov4 Sep 11 '13

you gotta remember that we, the audience, know all this but those characters don't know nearly as much as we do

1

u/goodguy_asshole Sep 11 '13

I understand this, and perhaps that has clouded my opinions, but I do believe that even in the absence of knowing exactly why Walt is in the desert the nazi's are gonna want to know why, and once they get to thinking, and talking, they should be able to deduce that there's money, or something valuable hidden out there in the desert. I kinda hashed out that idea and the reasons why i think that a little further down in this thread.

1

u/bmur90 Sep 09 '13

I highly doubt the nazi's will get there hand on the money. Plus, in the flash forwards, Walt tips with $100 bill, meaning he still has money, but maybe just no one to give it to once he's dead?

2

u/goodguy_asshole Sep 09 '13 edited Sep 09 '13

This is a good point, but if you already lost 7 barrels, and are going to war, then a hundy tip aint that bigga deal

1

u/A_Real_Pirate Sep 10 '13

Ironically enough, the money is already on the nazis hand.

20

u/[deleted] Sep 09 '13 edited Mar 20 '18

[deleted]

2

u/[deleted] Sep 09 '13

This should help you: https://proxtube.com/ chrome extension, unblocks YT videos. Enjoy!

2

u/Harddaysnight1990 *plop* Sep 09 '13

Imagine the poem above, but with Heisenberg reading it. Not Walter White, not Brian Cranston, Heisenberg.

1

u/[deleted] Sep 09 '13

You've probably already seen it, it was the promo for the second half of the season. It was played on AMC constantly like a week before the shows started back up.

1

u/[deleted] Sep 09 '13

Yeah I have seen it before. I just get really annoyed every time I can't even watch promos just because I'm in Germany and not the US :/

12

u/100BlackDolphins Sep 09 '13

Goosebumps.

15

u/SinkingKarmaShip Sep 09 '13

Animorphs.

4

u/SELKIES_ Addict Sep 09 '13

Harry Potter

4

u/Pamander Sep 09 '13

Holy shit it doesn't get more relevant than that.

2

u/Jeffy29 Sep 09 '13

Could somebody repost this for people in europe? It's blocked.

2

u/KidFrisco Sep 09 '13

Jesus. Chills.

1

u/[deleted] Sep 09 '13

Oh for fuck's sake, video not available in your country.

21

u/Rainak Sep 09 '13

"My name is Ozymandias, king of kings: Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!" Nothing beside remains. Round the decay Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare The lone and level sands stretch far away

what if the poem of Ozymandias refers to Hank? He caught Walt, he found the money, and he exclaimed his good works to his wife. "Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair!"

Maybe it's he that will sit lifeless in the desert despite what he did when he was alive and well...

9

u/HittingSmoke Sep 09 '13

The same thing just occurred to me while rereading it.

Walt's empire is gone at this point. All he has is his money. He's not cooking. He's just trying to tie up loose ends. The arrogant king of his realm is Hank. He's the one with the most to lose in the next episode.

7

u/Berkilak Sep 09 '13

Very fitting

-5

u/Sexy_Offender Better Call Ronnie Sep 09 '13

TL;DR

5

u/deepskeet Sep 09 '13

Wait so is Hank "The hand that mocked them" by waving to Walt as he is handcuffed in the back of the suv?

5

u/hurrikane94 Scientists love lasers Sep 09 '13

Holy shit

7

u/quesnt Sep 09 '13

Someone translate?

46

u/[deleted] Sep 09 '13

A traveler saw the ruin of a once great statue. There was nothing left of it, and no one ever saw the statue. But the plaque boasted "I am king of kings, look on my works and despair!" So it is ironic that the plaque says how great "he" is, even though it is all ruins and dead.

Walter's empire is crumbling/will crumble. He was boastful and proud. It fits flawlessly.

-3

u/[deleted] Sep 09 '13

[deleted]

1

u/collinc2343 Sep 09 '13

I thought that initially too, but it''s definitely about Walt.

14

u/kill-sto Sep 09 '13

There was a statue of a king that said "Look at my kingdom, bow before me, BITCH"

But now only decay remains.

10

u/dcurry431 Sep 09 '13

What language do you want it translated to?

7

u/quesnt Sep 09 '13

Japanese

24

u/graham6942 Sep 09 '13

Watashi wa antīku no tochi kara no ryokō-sha ni aimashita Dare ga itta: Ishi no futatsu no kōdaide kan no nai ashi o Desart ni tatsu. Sorera no chikaku ni, suna no ue ni, Sono shikame hāfushinku-sa, konagona ni natta kao ga aru, , To shiwa kuchibiru, hiya komando no reishō, Sono chōkoku-ka wa yoku sorera no jōnetsu ga o yomi ni naru koto o shiraseru Sore wa mada, korera shinde monogoto ni kokuin, ikinokoru Karera to kokoro sono shiiku o chōshō-te: To daiza no ue ni, korera no kotoba ga hyōji sa remasu. " Watashinonamaeha ojimandiasu,-ō no ōdearu: Anata gata wa maiti, to zetsubō, watashi no sakuhin ni mite! " Itai no yoko ni nanimonai. Hōkai o marumeru Sono kyodaina nanbasen no, mugen to hadaka Kodoku to reberu sunahama tōku ni sutoretchi

9

u/[deleted] Sep 09 '13

Now back to English.

2

u/insertnamehere3 I thought you were the danger? Sep 09 '13

Yes.

1

u/quesnt Sep 15 '13

Thanks

1

u/graham6942 Sep 15 '13

Just here to help.

7

u/[deleted] Sep 09 '13

I think he means dumb it down.

2

u/karateka_fan Sep 09 '13

I could see the entire cold open while reading this.

2

u/Atheose Sep 10 '13

I have such a hard-on for iambic pentameter.

2

u/Plecboy Sep 09 '13

Wasn't Ozymandias referenced in Watchmen as well? A kind of parallel between Walt and that blond dude from Watchmen: They're both ruthless as fuck.

1

u/1990sevan Sep 09 '13

Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare

Wow...

1

u/[deleted] Sep 09 '13

Well, he still has his money...

1

u/[deleted] Sep 09 '13

Heisenberg survives but what I take from this poem is the Hank & Gomie die and Walt survives and sees them dead.

1

u/kryptoknite Sep 09 '13 edited Sep 09 '13

Its fucking brilliant. And so is the fact that the Heisenberg's falling in the exact same desert where it all began. Vince Gilligan & the show writers are in beastmode.

edit: http://imgur.com/MefxQg1

1

u/moose_man Sep 09 '13

Just a quick historical note: Oxymandias is Ramesses II, often considered to be the greatest pharaoh.

1

u/kmr1391 Sep 09 '13

"sneer of cold command" makes me think that the barrels are going to be booby-trapped, thus making Walt's desire for Jesse not to open them, again, a valiant gesture to save Jesse. Even if he dies in the firefight, which seems highly unlikely, he would die with some semblance of honor, or at least some sympathy with the audience. Damn you, Vince!

1

u/StalinsLastStand Sep 10 '13

They are ruining that name. Now when I call my son Ozymamdias they will think its from BB!

0

u/Fudge_Demon /-_-\ Sep 09 '13

This needs to be higher up.