I feel like Todd waved for 2 reasons dramatically speaking: One, because it makes him super creepy to wave so casually then pull out the gun. Two, to show he DID have time to react, and his decision to shoot wasn't panic, but a "rational", intentional decision.
hah theres a reason this episode won Skip Macdonald the ACE editing award. Such a burner from start to finish. When this originally aired, you knew something messed up was going to happen because they kept alluding to "no witnesses" so many times. But honestly with the commercial breaks, I totally forgot about the motorcycle kid. And then when he was revealed at the end, it was a real "OH SHIT" moment where you had NO idea what was gonna happen. Like a lot of episodes, the week's wait between this ep and the next one was absolute torture.
Also - with the masks, I think they are so far behind the locomotive and out in the middle of the desert that nobody would be able to see their faces. I guess? Also figuring the heat and physical exertion, wearing masks out there might impede you more than help.
I know it's fked up but no half measures. Sure, the kid wouldnt know what exactly but he witnessed something there and there is a chance he might tell the story. Not justifying the kill but it's really risky especially for them running a big drug operation.
@@azuneyukirito8972 Man, gtfoh 😂 What's the kid gonna say, I saw 3 guys stealing methlomene? He had no idea what was going on, he was just being friendly.
@@cavaughngrace1488 yes, thats what i meant by no half measures. The kid doesnt know what is going on. So he wont be telling others like "look!! I saw these guys doing something with the train". And if you were in their place, would you be able to know how long has the kid been there for? Maybe 10 mins, 5 mins or worst more! The 3 guys were focused on stealing the stuff and replacing it with water under a lot of pressure too. Logically it makes sense they wouldnt know how long the kid was there for. He couldve seen the entire stunt or maybe he just arrived. But would you take that chance? Supposed they just said they were railway workers and the kid just told the cops just that, the alibi wont match and they could be traced. The scene shows how normal Jesse is, how fked up Todd is and how calculating Walt is seeing he saw that outcome long ago.
@@cavaughngrace1488Yes he was witness, if ever police comes around for investigation and ask everyone around the place. He might say he saw 3 dudes holding pipes and have a motor easily. As he's not too young to not see that and not too old to not remember faces
for all the kids that would for some reason be on this random reaction channel for an old ass show: NEVER TRY TO LAY DOWN UNDER A TRAIN. i know this is obvious but some of us are idiots. youll never know if a chain is hanging, the train is pulling debris, trees, etc. it takes just one rock or stick to kill you at that speed.
32:20 I think the most reasonable counter argument is that it doesn't really matter if they have masks or not, because the plan requires them to go entirely unseen. If anything tips the authorities off to the fact that there was a robbery, there's going to be an investigation which will likely expose Lydia (how did they know which tanker to rob?) Plus, who wants to wear a mask in the middle of the desert in New Mexico?
I agree. I worked in a desert and had to wear a mask for dust storms when it got windy. The heat is brutal. In my opinion, even if they brought them they would have bailed on the masks to focus better on the time sensitive work, right away. Plus, I think Walt and Mike were just gonna kill the crew if they got caught. The biggest wild card is the kid showing up, plus Todd going rogue.
About them not wearing masks: They were working under the assumption that "If anyone sees them, it's over". Whether that assumption was correct or not is debatable, BUT from their point of view, "If they're seen = they're done for". So the masks don't really help. In fact the masks might make it worse... In this case they shot the kid so it wouldn't make a difference, BUT in an alternate timeline in which they don't, not wearing masks gives them an out; As you said, they could just go with the "We're working, don't ride your bike around here it's dangerous!" angle... But if they wear masks, they lose that option. If they wear masks they may as well wear a neon sign that says "Gangster", and then the kid won't come anywhere near them, instead he'll turn 180 and go tell "Dad, I saw some guys with a masks around the train track!" and if the dad takes it seriously he'll at least contact the police, and keep in mind, the Methylamine is still there. All this to say... I do not know whether that was the reason for them not wearing masks (it can also just be an actor thing, like actors who never wear helms in medieval movies because we have to see their faces), but if you're trying to find a reason for them not wearing them, I think this explanation does make sense! In short: If they're not seen, masks or no mask doesn't change anything. If they're seen: Masks don't really help, and 'no mask' can give them an additional 'out'.
"If they wear masks they may as well wear a neon sign that says "Gangster"" they could just wear breathing masks - like those for working with chemicals and stuff. Then they would seem as some people doing some work
Movies and tv shows often try to not use masks where possible, because although it might sense (as it would do here) you lose a lot of the actor's facial expressions and character recognizability. This is why helmets and masks are avoided when you can get away with it as a director.
@@foljs5858 Well they’re out in the middle of the desert and didn’t expect any civilians to be out there during the robbery besides the train conductors. And at that point, if the train conductors spotted them it wouldn’t make a difference if the they were wearing masks or not. They’d automatically know they’re being robbed
10:00 the building tension is immense and you can see it reflected in your faces. Not so long ago Mike had Walter exactly in that position. Also one of the best episodes, with a devastating ending. 31:50 the pure shock. Also, nice braid.
Did _The Tarantula Kid_ even know wtf he even witnessed? Foor all he knows, they could've been train employees/mechanics/whatevers. As far as the mask thing goes, I agreee... They're in the middle off nowhere, and the odds of them bumping into anyone else I felt they figured were slim to none. And if an adult is would've happened to be out there witnessing this, im sure they would've all been in agreement with taking them out.
Jesse did say no one can find out... Jesse's character arc over this whole show is remarkable. He's unrecognizable from the stonebag you meet in season 1. For that final sequence I love how much time they spend on the train coming down the tracks, it really sets the tone for the scene and builds tension beautifully- nothing feels rushed or drawn-out. It looks like an old western- with Heisenberg being the Jesse James. I also like the correlation between Todd & the tarantula and how they took opposite decisions when placed in similar situations. In the beginning the spider has a perfect opportunity to bite Drew & at least try to escape being caught in the jar. Todd is also given an opportunity to hurt Drew so they don't get caught, and he does so. Todd is presented as scarier or more of a threat than the spider. At the end the spider is trapped in the jar & Todd is a free man...
It’s crazy how he and Walt develop into such different people over the course of a year(in tv time). Just think back to one year ago,could you imagine now being a 180 of who you were then?😅. The name Heisenberg didn’t exist within the criminal element of ABQ but a few months later he’s an underworld boogie man feared by all but seen by few,so cool
BMX is bicycle motocross. B stands for bicycle. M stands for moto. X stands for cross. They race bicycles on a dirt track, the track is not a straight line, its a loop so they can do laps, the tracks consist of high berms and jumps and is the bicycle equivalent of "motocross". Yes... its odd that BMX uses the word "moto" when bicycles don't have motors. The M is retained because the racing style is "Motocross" and thats where the "M" comes from. Motocross is one of the many racing styles that people on motorized dirt bikes race. A motocross track is layed out just like a BMX track, with berms and jumps but its scaled up because... you can race a dirt bike 5 times faster than you could on a bicycle.
They show the crew measuring at least 800 feet, lets assume they measured out 900 feet. Thats close to a quarter of a mile. They are doing this heist way out in the desert, where 99.99% of the time no one is around so would they don't have to worry about being seen by anyone but the train guys, who are nearly a 1\4 mile away and are planned to be concerned with the broken down truck blocking the road. Factor in that the train tracks probably have some curvature, factor in that there's desert scrub brush everywhere... AND they're a 1/4 mile away from any possible witnesses. Wearing a mask seems like overkill. There is no way that anyone on the planet could identify someone from nearly a 1\4 mile away. Plus... if they train guys WOULD happen to see the shenanigans and started approaching Walt's crew, well I'm sure Mike's plan would be put into action at that point. The only possible people who could ID them are the train crew. Wearing a mask seems very unnecessary. Obviously they didn't account the for the kid on the bike.
If they had wanted masks they could have just had the guys remove them during the celebration so the kid could just see their faces after. So I don't think it's a "hole"
Oh wow, forgot the running order of these episodes, and I wasn't sure if it was this one or the next that had the most shocking sick-to-your-stomach gut punch of the show until I saw that title. I remember watching it the first time thinking of Mike's line "Just because you shot Jessie James it doesn't make you Jessie James" and chuckling at the fact that he's robbing a train a mere few episodes later. Obviously, my brevity was really short-lived. The road certainly gets bumpier from here, if it can even said they're still on it. I'd usually say I'm looking forward to your guys reaction, but that'd be too vindictive for this episode 😅
What so tragic about this episode is that even if they just waved and said nothing to the kid, and the kid went home and described the scene to his parents exactly as he saw it, it would just sound like train workers/construction crew doing their thing. The odds that a child's story about seeing guys working on a train in the desert would somehow travel to someone who would be able to connect it to the "marginally weaker" batch of methylamine some company received are so, so low.
Arguably with Walt being Dutch that would make Mike Arthur and Jesse's closest parallel is Lenny if i had to give him one, maybe even Eagle Flies. Hank is Milton, Gus is a longer-term Bronte, its actually a very solid comparison if you dive into it
I have watched dozens and dozens of reactions to this episode (and that number is no exaggeration, either), but as this episode began, I thought to myself, I bet Kailyn calls it, and by the middle, you did! If memory serves me right, that has only ever happened one other time here on RU-vid (certainly to my knowledge), where someone called the ending by the middle. I certainly didn't the first time I watched it. Now wondering what bright spark, Kailyn, will also call out on later episodes.
Yes I was absolutely stunned the first time I saw this episode. And I believe you are the first reactors to call it perfectly. And it's also a nice call that Todd was just a random person who no one could have imagined had that in him...until he suddenly did. What a sociopath, waving back at the kid before shooting him without batting an eye. I love watching season 5 play out for people. No one has any idea who Todd or Lydia were going into this lady season and they both are very key to the entire story.
They could have just told the kid they are construction workers and they just fixed the train so they are excited, that's all they need to tell him he won't know what else they were really doing but Todd didn't stop to ask them about what to do he just thought well we were seen he needs to die.
I think even if they wore masks. It could be problematic if the police kew that the train got robbed at all. The guy in the truck would be sus then. Also lydia getting in touble. Perhaps police could investigate the crime much more if they knew it happned.
Yeah basically the investigation would very likely lead back to Lydia if anyone knew anything happened at all, and depending how recognizable that truck is, Bill Burr also. Still, if they had masks they definitely had more options. But they are working in the sun, so no masks can probably be chalked up to "we'll take that chance for the sake of comfort".
Out of the 10+ reactors I've seen of this show, you guys were not only the first ones to even *remember* the kid at all, but predict almost exactly how it would go down edit: still shocked them though lol
36:44 - I love it when you two keep referring to LOST. I wish I could have seen your reaction to LOST! Have you seen Dark? It's very similar to LOST in many ways except much shorter and better made. Think LOST with the quality of Breaking Bad.
@@nerdymarriedcouple Yeah, LOST is my favourite show, though admittedly it's not the same quality as Breaking Bad. LOST just has more sentimental meaning to me. Dark is a mystery, sci-fi show sharing many of the same themes as LOST. It is arguably more complex than LOST and it's definitely an even more convoluted story BUT it is so well made. Unlike LOST there are no plot holes, no 'filler' episodes and the production is excellent. Like LOST it does also have excellent music, a huge cast of great characters and will punish you if you don't pay attention. It's well worth reacting to. If you like LOST then you will love Dark. Just make sure to watch it in the original German audio with English subtitles and NOT the English dubbed audio version, which is terrible (no emotion to the dubbed audio).
Every time Jesse has a good idea to try not to hurt anyone something bad happened in effect but no matter what way they did the robbery the kid would have still been there but maybe Todd would not have been there if they had done it a different way like tie the train guys up but so the kid would not have died but then again they would have known the train had been robbed sooo no matter what something was bound to go wrong Jesse's idea was the best the kid was just there at the wrong time and because they had crazy Todd things went wrong
Kind of fun fact - There is a Colombian version of Breaking Bad called "Metastasis". They tried to do it almost exactly shot-for-shot to the regular version (it was an approved/authorized version), and seriously, they tried to replicate the original as closely as possible. In this episode, trains don't really run like this in Colombia, so they did their heist with a convoy of tractor trailers. You two ought to react to some Metastis vs Breaking Bad videos. You can see the Colombian versions of everyone including Walter Blanco, Tuco and the Salamanca twins (yikes), and more. Here's a video that will show the "tight tight tight!" Tuco scene as well as the Salamanca twins going in the parking lot to kill Hank. It shows the original Breaking Bad version scene followed by the Metastasis scene. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-6wAemWygsUc.html Oh...and as a bonus clip. Here's the Metastasis scene where Walter Blanco throws the pizza on the garage roof. I guess maybe there's no pizza-to-go places in Colombia either! ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-1SCP7dlHD9k.html
If they were wearing masks, theyd immediately have attracted negative attention if someone saw them. Without masks at least there's a chance they might be given the benefit of the doubt.
Exactly. If the train engineers saw them, they would have to kill them whether they were wearing masks or not. There's literally nothing to be gained by wearing masks.
"It just happened to be the one" as in the one barrel they tagged that they pulled out. No. He just said "how many did you tag?" "We tagged all of them. All of them leaving that warehouse anyways" but you missed that whollleee convo talking over it
yeah my first thought for excuses was always something like Walt and the gang were doing training exercises and they worked for the train company. then todd just shoots the fuckin kid and its just welp. no excuses needed i guess.
I don't know what it is about this episode, but it feels like a miniature movie. Never had a TV show pull that off. And yes, *completely* forgot about the kid. Just that simple camera truck to the right shifts you completely from rooting with the guys that they pulled it off, straight into "oh shit...." Masterful storytelling and direction.
35:20 - It makes sense to me that they wouldn't have masks on. They were too far back for the engineers to see them and they didn't expect anyone to be around out there. Also if they had worn masks and someone did see them then they would look more suspicious and have less chance of being able to talk their way out of it. No plot convenience in my eyes.
If they were wearing a mask, it would be more suspicious than not wearing one, as it would show that they have something to hide. The right call was to play cool he did not know what happened
It would make sense that they wore masks but initially its TWO guys at the front of the train thats IT. There so far back no one would see them. They aren't next to homes they aren't next to farmers with tractors its legit open dead country. Nothing, no industries no busy street its legit back open nothing. Theres no reason to wear masks and to do this work fast I feel like masks would hinder their work to get that wagon open.
I think they could have dressed up with safety vests and some electronic gear to make them look like some railroad maintenance crew. It would have been ignored by witness because its just some boring guys at work. Not dressing up was their mistake.
In the middle of nowhere, where no one should see them. No reason to wear them. You only wear masks in situations you absolutely know there would be witnesses. The whole premise of the plan was to do it invisibly.
You guys didn't mention Jesse Plemons appearing in this. Do you...not know Jesse Plemons?! Say it ain't so. Until this, I think most of us only knew him from Friday Night Lights, where he played a super sweet guy. This character (Todd) was a remarkable turn. Incredibly talented actor.
There are good arguments for and against wearing masks, but I think their exclusion has more to do with TV being a visual medium than with the plot. We want to see the actors' faces, so we can feel their emotions through all this. The script could just as easily have Todd shooting the kid WITH a mask on.
Todd is a stonecold psychopath. In his own mind Todd did absolutely nothing wrong. It was stressed by Jesse & Mike that no-one can ever find out about this. The kid saw them - So Todd killed the kid and Todd genuinely doesn't understand why anyone is pissed at him.
Bro why yall comment stuff like this? This makes sense if you've WATCHED the entire show. This isn't apparent this far into the show. Its essentially character spoiler
As fucked up as it is, I laughed in that final scene only for the fact Jessie just stood there and shouted no as if he was on some sort of paralysis, meanwhile I'm watching this thinking bro why are just standing there, you can literally walk up to him and take the gun away if you're trying to stop him from shooting the kid
Todd shot him in like 2 seconds, sometimes you can't immediately take an action to something you don't know it's about to happen that fast. Jesse was looking at Walter when Todd was pulling his gun and noticed him when he was already about to take the shot. Todd was also waving at the kid right before that so there was no indication he would do that on his own, plus nobody knew he was even carrying a gun. They also just did a high adrenaline train heist so their emotions are thru the roof, Todd however is a psychopath, he is detached from emotions like empathy so he took "there must be no witnesses" literally, even if it was a kid that didn't understand what even happened. Something a normal person wouldn't do and try to find another way to resolve the situation so nobody expected Todd to murder a kid in cold blood.
Bro if they were wearing masks it would've looked way sketchier if someone saw them. If the train engineers see them, wearing masks would be irrelevant because they would have had to kill them mask or no mask. Not a plot hole or convenience at all.
Kudos on picking up on the ending ahead of time, called it all except that Todd would do it. And wearing masks would've been smarter for sure, but I'd bet Todd would've shot the kid even if they were wearing masks...
It always rubs me the wrong way when people compare Breaking Bad to some video game. Breaking Bad came out in 2008. Red Dead Redemption was 2010. GTA5 was 2013. RDR2 was 2018. If those games have similarities to Breaking Bad, it's because they were inspired by and/or blatantly ripped off this show.
Their entire plan was based on the idea that nothing happened, no one was there to do anything, they never expected that anyone would see them messing with the train, and like Mike said, his initial plan was to kill the peopple on the train to "leave no witnesses". Basically, if someone doesn't wear a mask, that means they wouldn't attempt to leave anyone alive that sees them, masks are for situations where they leave people alive, such as if they robbed or kidnapped someone or people and left them alive. There was no reason for them to think of wearing a mask when their plan was based on 1. no one except them knowing what has happened, and 2. not leaving any witnesses.
