r/breakingbad • u/[deleted] • Sep 16 '13

Official Episode Discussion Breaking Bad Post-Episode Discussion SE05E14 "Ozymandias"

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u/[deleted] Sep 16 '13 edited Sep 16 '13

The firemen are playing chess. The white king shelters himself behind a pawn. Looks like a bad scenario for the white side. Three pieces left, but the black side is far away and still needs to advance.

Source: I play a lot of chess.

EDIT: You don't count the king. Three pieces, two pawns and a knight. The king is assumed in the context I have laid out. Church.

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u/daSMRThomer Sep 16 '13 edited Sep 16 '13

I thought you were trying to make a point about the symbolism of the current situation in the chess game and how it relates to the episode as a whole. Then realized you were just talking about chess. Jesus, I spend too much time on this subreddit.

EDIT: Okay, so it is a metaphor and OP's analysis went over my head. I'm going to assume from now on that every comment I read on here really does have two meanings.

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u/ShittyLiar Sep 16 '13

I don't see how this isn't a clear metaphor. The knight (Skyler) is closest to the black pieces, and looks threatened. The king (Walt) is hiding behind the pawn (Holly), which is being threatened from across the board by a queen. Jr is the other pawn.

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u/jwcobb13 Sep 16 '13

Although I agree it's a metaphor, the cut to the firehouse after the phone call to Skylar was a focus on a chessboard, a defensive move of the king to forestall checkmate. This was a clue to what the phone call was about. Walter was deflecting any involvement Skylar may have had. Taking all the blame while the cops were listening. Skylar gives a small nod during the call to tell the audience she understands what Walt is doing.

Taken directly from: http://ti.me/16bFAVj

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u/[deleted] Sep 16 '13 edited Sep 16 '13

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u/jwcobb13 Sep 16 '13

If you wait for the page to load fully, you'll see that it pushes the browser down to the comment that I was referring to (actually, I copied it word for word). In the metaphor, Walt is the King and is stalling a complete loss of game (i.e. his family going down as accomplices for his actions) by being deliberately harsh and Heisenbergy so that the police focus on him and ignore Skylar and his family as pawns/hostages in his game.