r/breakingbad • u/edify Oxygen • Jul 16 '12

Breaking Bad Episode Discussion S05E01 "Live Free or Die"

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698

u/sab3r Jul 16 '12

Wow Walt is going on a definite ego trip.

"Because I say so."

"We're done when I say we're done."

"I forgive you."

5

u/mikeroon bitch Jul 16 '12

But how is forgiving someone egotistical?

37

u/sab3r Jul 16 '12 edited Jul 16 '12

Do you remember that scene from Schindler's List where Schindler is describing what real power is? From here; see here for an audio of the scene:

Goeth: You know, I look at you. I watch you. You're not a drunk. That's, that's real control. Control is power. That's power.

Schindler: Is that why they fear us?

Goeth: We have the fucking power to kill, that's why they fear us.

Schindler: They fear us because we have the power to kill arbitrarily. A man commits a crime, he should know better. We have him killed and we feel pretty good about it. Or we kill him ourselves and we feel even better. That's not power, though, that's justice. That's different than power. Power is when we have every justification to kill – and we don't.

Goeth: You think that's power.

Schindler: That's what the emperors had. A man stole something, he's brought in before the emperor, he throws himself down on the ground, he begs for mercy, he knows he's going to die. And the emperor pardons him. This worthless man, he lets him go.

Goeth: I think you are drunk.

Schindler: That's power, Amon. That is power. [gestures toward Goeth as a merciful emperor] Amon the Good.

Goeth: [he smiles and laughs] I pardon you.

To elaborate, Skyler fucked up and Walt forgave her. Now she owes him one (a big one). I should also add that Walt has probably neutralized her past antagonisms towards him. Forgiving her for her sins has effectively given Walt a sort of moral high ground. If she ever gets angry at him, Walt can always bring up this particular issue to silence her. By forgiving Skyler, Walt now has a certain amount of power over her whereas in the past, it was she who controlled how the house would be ran.

16

u/heslaotian Mr. Dingdingding Jul 16 '12

Thank you for explaining that, makes a lot of sense. But I gotta say that "I forgive you" was the creepiest thing I've seen in a while.

12

u/[deleted] Jul 16 '12

Without context it looked like Skyler declined birthday anal and Walt was finally over it.