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I'm no expert and make lots of lousy casts. Maybe Big Dave or Reelin' Rod can chip in, here. I'm likely to get beyond what I know here, but maybe people will think about it some.
In #4 I think the rod has unloaded early (probably because of his long drop, limited footing, and partially obstructed back cast) and the cast will lack power. Likely he (like the rest of us) senses this and adds some oomph and push to correct it, but that means the tip reloads with the plug low to the blank, resulting in # 5 where all the load is on the tip. Look at how short a section of the rod is bent so severely. Imagine if that plug was even a foot or two lower and you can see it is equivalent to high-sticking a fish. POP.
Compare picture 4 to someone like Arra casting and you will see that good casters fully load the rod before their top hand passes their shoulder. Obviously they add punch to the end of their cast as well, but do it a time the tip is already pulled fully down and back towards the plug and their power is delivered to the mid shaft of the rod (which is likely why when they get it wrong the midshaft explodes).
Mostly this is a mental thing. We think of putting power towards where we want the plug to go as a way to get distance, when actually we are supposed to be putting power upwards away from the plug to fully load the midshaft of the rod and capture the power of the cast. More arc, less thrust is the key.
One cause of poor rod loading I suffered from was starting my forward cast when the plug was still not under or inside the tip, so that my shoulder turn would pull the plug towards me, rather than up and over (Flap would have pointed out that being weak, short, uncoordinated, and ugly were problems, too). I'm pretty sure that ideally your first motion with the rod should be more up than forward.
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