Bryan Cranston as Walter White and Anna Gunn as Skyler White (Credit: AMC)
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The opening lines of Frank Herbert's
Dune warn that beginnings are delicate balances. But endings are just as delicate a matter. It's not only the end of a journey, but it is also a time in which many assess whether the journey was worth it. Whether a TV series "sticks the landing" can color perceptions of whether all of those episodes were really as good as they seemed.
The finale of The Sopranos was very controversial when it first aired, with some fans of the show feeling it offered no resolution while others argued it was artistic and left enough clues for the audience to fill in the gaps. During its first four seasons, Dexter was considered one of the better dramas on television. However, last week's series finale had critics almost universally calling Dexter's end a ridiculous debacle. For those shows predicated around a mystery, revelation, or goal, revisionist opinion of the series can be especially negative if the finale doesn't offer a satisfactory answer to the series' major questions. Both Lost and Battlestar Galactica had large fan followings and were at one point considered among the best TV shows of the aughts. The series finales for both shows set out to resolve the remaining mysteries and major plot arcs, but caused serious backlashes that diminished the overall perception of Lost and Battlestar Galactica. And that backlash has followed Lost co-creator and showrunner Damon Lindelof, with many blaming him for the shortcomings of Ridley Scott's Prometheus (which he co-wrote) by likening its flaws to those of Lost.
Going into this episode, the critical assessment of Breaking Bad was that it was in the argument for being the greatest drama of all time. Did the finale cement that opinion, or change it?
"A man cannot become a hero until he can see the root of his own downfall." -Aristotle
The series began with a middle-aged chemistry teacher turning to a life of crime after his cancer diagnosis. The audience's sympathy for Walt, at least in the beginning, comes from what we perceive to be how fundamentally unfair the situation seems. Here's a brilliant man, that contributed to Nobel Prize winning research, working two unfulfilling jobs to support his family in barely scraping by, only for the fates to hand him a death sentence that will leave those he cares about deep in debt from medical bills.
So if playing by the rules only gets you so far, why bother? If society, the universe, God, whatever, won't play fair with you, why should you play fair with it? Why not rage against the heavens?
However, that wasn't the entire story. Walt was such a creature of damaged ego and pride, and that became more and more apparent as the series progressed. So was it about being bad for good reasons, and rebelling against an unfair world that dealt out suffering? Or was it about rationalizing the evil things he always wanted to do, but held back from doing because of the fear of thinking of himself as "bad"? And here at the end, does Walt's original situation look that bad compared to the one he created when he tried to live the life he thought he wanted?
In this finale, the most notable thing to me is that Walt can only move forward after realizing his faults. He's only able to settle his debts to some degree, and find some form of peace when he recognizes how tragic his choices were. Walt can only achieve his original goal for his family after realizing his mistakes.
In the beginning... (Credit: AMC)
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From Donna Bowman at the
A.V. Club:
The first thing we see in [Breaking Bad's] pilot is a bewildering flash-forward to a moment of absurd crisis. How, we wonder as the show settles into its premise-setting after the cold open, are we going to get from Walter White, henpecked husband, humiliated car wash employee, and underpaid teacher, to a pantsless, gas-masked figure waving a gun on a desert road? Answer: “Buy the RV, we start tomorrow.” Breaking Bad isn’t afraid to move at light speed from action to consequence, thrilling us with its boldness, trusting us to keep up, and most importantly, leaving the characters as whiplashed by the pace as the viewers. What’s after you, whether it’s cancer or unemployment or cousins with shiny axes, is coming faster than you think. Breaking Bad makes its storytelling as relentless—and as unpredictable—as the forces of death that have been on Walt’s tail since we first met him.
That quotation also functions as a switch that sets in motion, irretrievably, the gears that will bring us to these final moments. Everything that has happened is a consequence of this decision. And yet where we find ourselves isn’t appreciably different from where we might have ended up if Walt hadn’t started cooking meth. He’s out of his family’s life; they are destitute. The only distinction is that they are notorious, bathed in shame because of their association with him. And of course, the collateral damage of the path Walt chose to take when he said those words is immense: lives taken, futures ruined; temptation, greed, fear, hatred, and vengeance driving those he loves to do horrible things of their own ... We’ve all been asking ourselves what we want from this show. I’ve tried not to commit myself in writing to wanting anything, beyond Jesse’s getting out alive, because more than anything I wanted to let Vince Gilligan take us where he wanted us to go. But now I can say what I wanted. I wanted the special thrill that comes when the forces of luck and the forces of human will coincide to make miracles happen. And on this show, that has happened to Walt again and again in the service of his own ego. The end has been dreadful, but the means have been intoxicating. When Walt pounded the window of that stolen car with his fist, causing the snow to fall away, it was like the Fonz thumping the jukebox: a moment of supreme efficacy, endorsed by the universe.
- Just Get Me Home ... Just Get Me Home ... I'll Do The Rest: The series finale begins with Walt stealing an old Volvo. He is freezing and shaking as he searches through the vehicle, and finds a screwdriver and the cassette case for Marty Robbins' Greatest Hits. (The episode title "Felina" is a reference to the name of a Mexican girl in Robbins' song "El Paso.") As Walt begins pulling at the steering column with the screwdriver to start the car, the red and blue lights of a cop car illuminate the Volvo. Walt sits silent for a moment, and then says "Just get me home ... Just get me home ... I'll do the rest," almost like a prayer towards the Powers that Be to allow him to do this one last thing. Soon afterwards the police leave, the keys drop from the overhead visor, and the snow falls from the window.
The scrape of a footstep behind you and then ... POP! (Credit: AMC)
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- Cheer Up Beautiful People ... This Is Where You Get To Make It Right: Vince Gilligan has described the moment in the first season where Walt turns down Gretchen and Elliot's offer of help as a pivotal moment in the series that defined the character of Walter White. The tragedy of Walt's life is that he is an intelligent man governed by his pride, and the morass of his life that we're introduced to in the pilot is the result of the damage to his ego from what happened with Gretchen and Elliot at Gray Matter. When he turns down their offer for help, it's Walt saying he would rather be his own man and put his family in danger than take charity. So in the series finale we come full circle. Walt forces Gretchen and Elliot into providing for his family by laundering $9,700,000 worth of drug money to his family in the form of an irrevocable trust for Flynn. Walt will never get the credit for doing it (just like he never got any credit for Gray Matter), and it's a direct contradiction of his resistance to take their help because of his pride. Although, the way the scene plays is Walt finally getting closure on his hurt feelings over Gray Matter through his control over Gretchen and Elliot, hence the reason why he tells them this is their chance to make things "right." Notably, the particulars of what happened between Walt, Gretchen and Elliot are still unrevealed. Also, with this scene, Vince Gilligan (who wrote and directed the episode) begins framing Walt as almost a ghost or apparition that's moving through his old life.
- The Two Best Hitmen West Of The Mississippi: Walt is able to secure Elliot and Gretchen's compliance through blackmail with the help of Skinny Pete, Badger and some laser pointers. Skinny Pete and Badger's moral qualms about threatening Gretchen and Elliot are quickly overcome by an influx of cash that Walt hands them. It's through Skinny Pete and Badger that he realizes his blue meth is still being made, people think it's still coming from Heisenberg, and most importantly Jesse is alive.
Escaping reality for a moment ... (Credit: AMC)
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- Woodworking: The first appearance of Jesse in the episode comes in a daydream of better times for the character. The sepia-toned sequence is a reference to a story told by Jesse at a group therapy session in season 3's "Kafkaesque," where Jesse was asked to remember a time when he felt adequate and capable. Jesse recounts the time he made a box in shop class and really tried. As we see Jesse complete the box, the snap of his chains pulls him out of the daydream and back to reality, where Jesse is scarred and disheveled still working as a slave for the Aryan Brotherhood.
- Catching Up To The Present: At about 20 minutes in, the viewers catch up to the present. We again see the moments from the flash-forwards. (Walt in Denny's, buying the M60, retrieving the Ricin from his home, etc.) The only addition to these sequences is a moment where Walt stops in his living room after retrieving the Ricin. The house is gutted, with "Heisenberg" spray painted on the living room wall. But Walt thinks back to the moment he chose to "break bad." The moment where he decided to cook crystal meth, when Hank mentioned the excitement and money that were possible in cooking. The scene not only allows Dean Norris a moment in the finale, but Bryan Cranston sells Walt's regretful expression as being "Oh my God, why did I do this?" as he stands in the destruction of his home remembering.
Chekhov's gun is finally fired (Credit: AMC)
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- The Perils Of Using Stevia: Walt next appears to Todd and Lydia. Again, it starts with him observing things like someone who really isn't there. When he does make his presence known, Walt appears to them as being desperate for money and wanting to sell them on a new process that will eliminate the need for methylamine in the cooking process. Todd seems distressed to see Walt, whom he respects, reduced to this level. While Lydia placates Walt enough to get him out of the restaurant, so the Nazis can eventually kill him. Lydia's exhibits her ruthlessness to Todd by saying they'll be doing Walter a "favor" by putting him out of his misery. But as she does that, the camera stays with her packet of Stevia, as we watch it enter her drink and dissolve. After all of these years, the Ricin has finally been used. How Walt planted the Ricin in the specific packet of Stevia that Lydia uses is like Brock's poisoning; it's one of those things left to the imagination that you just have to go with. Also interesting to note, since this scene takes place about half a year after Hank's death, Todd is still no closer to sleeping with Lydia. He's still making awkward small talk about her cornflower blue blouse.
Yeah, Mr. White! Yeah science... and engineering! (Credit: AMC)
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- Walt Finally Builds Jesse's Robot (Sorta): We see Walt in the middle of the desert with the M60, tools, a car battery, a central door locking system and a car remote. As he toils away, Walt is humming Marty Robbins "El Paso" and the string with his wedding ring pops out of his shirt and reminds him of Skyler.
(crying) "If I have to hear one more time that you did this for the family..." -Skyler
"I did it for me. I was good at it. And I was really — I was alive." -Walt
- Making Amends: As the scene begins, the audience sees a wall with familiar paintings of Skyler and Flynn. As the camera pans around, we see that this is Skyler, Flynn and Holly's new, small apartment. It's decorated with what vestiges they have left from their former life. The phone rings and we hear through the answering machine that it is Marie. She opens the conversation by saying "truce Skyler," indicating the relationship between the two sisters is still damaged from what happened. Skyler listens to Marie recount the stories of Walt's appearances around Albuquerque, as she assures Skyler that Walt will be caught. As Skyler hangs up the phone, the camera slides to the left and we see that Walt has been standing in the kitchen. One of the most striking things about the scene is that Walt is in his old clothes, in the same green and beige color pattern he started the series with. Walt wants to make things right with Skyler, by moving beyond the fight with the knife, the last ugly phone call, and getting her out of the government's crosshairs. Walt gives her the bargaining chip of the location for Hank and Gomey's bodies, and assures her there will be no threat to her or the children after the day ends. He doesn't tell her about setting up the trust through Gretchen and Elliot. I would assume that he didn't want to take the chance that Skyler and Flynn would refuse the money, if they knew its origin. But I think the fact Skyler let Walt in the house, gave him 5 minutes, and allowed Walt to see Holly, showed through action that she still cared about Walt on some level and that Skyler believed that Walt loved his family. Most significantly, I think that Walt finally sees that he became Heisenberg out of selfish reasons, just as much as he did it for family, allows Skyler and Walt to reach a place where they can end things on a good note. As Flynn comes home on the bus, Walt again is just an apparition in the distance watching his son, who becomes blurrier and blurrier as he walks away from the family for the last time.
One last redemptive act (Credit: AMC)
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- 500 Or 425? There Is No Replacement For Displacement: As Walt goes into the meeting with Uncle Jack and the white power assholes, we as the audience know that he's walking into a trap, he has "Robot Scarface" with the M60, and Jesse is being held somewhere as a slave. My biggest question as the scene began was whether Walt had pieced together that Jesse was being held as a slave when he went in to the meeting with the Nazis? Or did he improvise into protecting Jesse once he saw him? I finally realized he didn't understand Jesse's situation at all, and that he originally forced the situation by taunting Jack in order to get Jesse into the room and kill him too. Vince Gilligan has likened the situation to the one in The Searchers between Ethan Edwards (John Wayne) and his niece (Natalie Wood). Once Edwards sees his niece, he realizes that he can't kill her and that he cares about her. The biggest plot contrivance of the scene between Walt and the Nazis is the meeting itself. Why go through the motions of searching him and talking to Walt if you're going to kill him? Just put a bullet through his head in the parking lot and be done with it. Although, maybe Todd demanded that Walt be killed in a "respectful" manner.
- Todd and Uncle Jack Died As They Lived: Todd is killed by Jesse attacking & choking him with his chains while Todd's back is turned. Todd's most egregious acts of violence during his time on the show was usually against defenseless people when they were least prepared. Uncle Jack is shot by Walt in mid-sentence, just as Hank was when Jack shot him.
A final nod... (Credit: AMC)
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"Say you want this! Nothing happens until I hear you say it!!!" -Jesse
(softly) "I want this." -Walt
(drops gun after realizing Walt has been shot and is bleeding) "Then do it yourself." -Jesse
- The End Of A Partnership: After all of the Nazis are dead, Walt lowers his gun and slides it to Jesse, and tells Jesse to "do it." I know many people have thought for a long time that Jesse would be the one to kill Walt, but it never really sounded right to me. Jesse's defining characteristic has been his guilt for the things he's done. It never struck me as a fitting end for his last act in the series to be a hateful murder, even if Walt may deserve it. Instead, what happens is his refusal to be manipulated anymore by anyone by leaving and not killing Walt. The final nods between Jesse and Walt show a degree of respect between the two. With both Jesse and Skyler, Walt gets closure. Both relationships are severely damaged, but Walt does enough to where he can die in peace. However, I wonder how "happy" an ending is this for Jesse? Even though Jesse is "saved," isn't he pretty much screwed? If the authorities know Walt is Heisenberg, don't they also know about Jesse being Walt's partner? So Jesse has no money and is driving off into the night in a car from the scene of a meth lab with about a dozen murder victims (with Jesse's fingerprints on the lab equipment and the gun used to murder Jack), and Jesse's last known whereabouts before this was being in the custody of two murdered government agents. So isn't it just a matter of time before Jesse ends up in a jail for the rest of his life?
Lydia realizing just how screwed she is (Credit: AMC)
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"How are you feeling? Kinda under the weather? Like you got the Flu? That would be the Ricin I gave you. I slipped it into that Stevia crap that you're always putting in your tea. Well, goodbye Lydia." -Walt
- Owning The Blue Meth: Walt dies in the Nazis meth lab as Bad Finger's "Baby Blue" plays. The opening line to the song is "Guess I got what I deserve." I didn't realize it at first, but Walt's final act is taking possession of his blue meth. His body is found in the meth lab, and people will assume that either "Heisenberg" had been cooking the blue meth all along or that Heisenberg died protecting his product.
Overall, I thought this series finale was centered around the show's perception of morality. Some years back, Chuck Klosterman wrote a
column in which he argued that what separated
Breaking Bad from
The Wire,
Mad Men, and
The Sopranos was its belief there are real and demonstrable differences between what's right and what's wrong in this world, not shades of gray, and morality is a personal choice continually made by its characters. Those choices define not only ourselves, but affects the world we live in and the people we care about.