I don't think you quite get Sutter's …mode yet.

They should crossbreed Justified with Dear John.

Justified had Elmore Leonard.

So I totally buy the Johnny Cash legend ( my Dad lost it laughing to "Boy Named Sue" back when that was current and I've been a huge fan ever since. ) and that's what made that powerful.

No, it's not. It's just that it's Johnny Cash doing it.

Breaking Bad is a black comedy. It's been a physical comedy in spots, especially when there's a lot of dramatic tension.  If what you say about character development going forward remains true ( and I agree to this point ) then yes- it's a wasted effort.

Agreed 100% about "not done enough" - I am drawing to an inside straight with that. I just thought it was one of the freshest and most innovative things ever done. You can have mythic elements in a straight plot reveal. It's probably too Jungian for TV, though.

I think the show is architected around the sort of cast from the old show Gunsmoke. They had a half dozen or so this trope in the life of that series ( which, when it ended was the longest running show ) . Matt Dillon would nearly die of exposure now and again, usually while tracking a baddie.  I do not recall…

As a demonstration of thier economic prowess, the writers have cloned Ambrose Bierce, who will be the featured write on the final season.

It does not need to be explicitly anti-Christian, but it needs good compare-contrast, with the Viking stuff being the dominant theme of the show. Why? We don't get a lot of that, so it will maintain interest. Viking mythology and the Old Religion are interesting stuff.

The watchman was the sole guy earlier before the behorsed men showed up who saw the longship. This was the team sent to greet them after the longship had been detected.

Nah. Rollo wanted blood. Ragnar seemed to be tending his options. Floki just lit the fuse.

They tried to use their words. It didn't work. So swords. See also two-year-olds. I expect Athelstan will be convinced to go on future raids because the language barrier will be identified as a source of bloodshed. There were also references to the beginnings of Danegelt. Denmark is quite close to due east of…

I wonder if the monk character isn't a lot like the protagonist on "Black Robe", one of my favorite movies.

I see him as a possible Clay Morrow figure.

It could be nothing more than underlining how weird celibacy was even then. Remember also that at least the Icelandic Sagas are a large part of *gasp* Libertarian tropery, and that some measure of … openness might be something like that. I am only vaguely familiar with "Deadwood" but it is alleged to also be somewhat…

Arlo was something have never seen on television before in my opinion.Had they clothed him a bit more shabbily ( like they do Johnny ), he'd be *the* perfect hick town gangster.  Having encountered a few* in my younger days, Raymond J. Barry just had the thing nailed. Johnny's character has this vibe, too. Most of the…

So the best thing about this episode:

"Selfishness" does not mean that in Objectivism. "Selfishness" means egoism.

"Selfishness" does not mean that in Objectivism. "Selfishness" means egoism.