Breaking Bad

Grail

Feel the funk blast
Spoilers for the series finale:

"I won, for realzies this time!" :carcus:

Damn, I have to say that I was very happy with this ending. I imagined things being a bit more twisty at the end (Todd somehow surviving and then shooting Walt himself before getting offed by Jesse), but I feel that the ending we got was more poetic. Walt was, in the end, killed by his own bullet, just as his choice to make meth was what ultimately destroyed him, not the cancer. The moment he shares with Jesse at the end felt perfect, too. There was a lot of emotion there.

Did anybody else cry when Walt said, "I did it for me"? :sad: I haven't gotten that choked up since... well, a few episodes ago. :ganishka:

Edit:
Dar Klink said:
Right before watching it I was saying to my friend "It's sad we'll probably never see Skinny P or Badger again" I'm glad I was wrong.
Me too!
 
I thought they fucking nailed it.

To be honest, Jesse was starting to annoy me in this half season, and all week I dreaded the idea of Jesse killing Walt. But they did this episode so well that when it looked like he was going to kill him I was perfectly fine with it. That woodworking daydream was gut-wrenchingly sad. They started to lose me with Jesse, but this ending pulled me back in. I was cheering for him and got the warm fuzzy feeling as he drove off.

Also I thought the very end, Walt checking out the meth lab then dying, was incredible. They concluded the story perfectly, in my opinion.
 

Gobolatula

praise be to grail!
What a ride. This was the best TV show.
Walt on a rampage. Just how I wanted it to go down.

In the end, I was still able to feel for Walt when he died. This guy who's done a shitload of terrible things.

I am so glad that Jesse got away. I am extra glad he killed that fucking Todd. I was surprised to see him laughing when he drove away. Though he probably lost his mind. Where will he go? What will he do?

Anyway, I am completely satisfied.
 

Dar_Klink

Last Guardian when? - CyberKlink 20XX before dying
Meanwhile...
SDZrGhx.jpg

He's still waiting.
 

Viral Harvest

Every Knee Bent Too Shall Break
Walter White - Meth lord, or ENGINEER class? You decide. I was puzzled as to why he had an M60 to begin with, knowing that it takes a sufficient amount of training to handle a piece like that, and also that he was going up against Neo-Nazis who've had extensive combat training. Satisfaction.
 

Griffith

With the streak of a tear, Like morning dew
It was true to itself, Walt uses his brains to beat the braun of the "real" criminals, it could have just been another episode if it didn't pragmatically hit every remaining mark for what we'd want in the resolution to the series (though, as promised, Ozymandias had most of the fanfare). I appreciated that Walt was true to himself as well, admiting it was for him was cathartic all around, and even though Walt didn't get away with it scott free, I liked that they didn't go overboard with a morality message. After everything that happened Walt could still die proud and happy in his meth lab because that's who he was.
 

Walter

Administrator
Staff member
For a series finale, it was surprisingly straightforward, and covered all the ground I expected them to, which is no easy feat. Standout scenes to me were Walt and Skylar, the tension before the Eliot and Gretchen scene, and Walt and Jesse's final moment.

That being said, I felt like I sort of overhyped myself going into this finale. I was, perhaps unfairly, expecting a little more oomph.

PS: Also, this whole episode was beautifully shot. That framing when Walt is watching Walter Jr. coming home from school, then the slow walk away with the blur—fantastic. Such a sad moment too, realizing his son will never understand him.
 

Saephon

Die young and save yourself
I did it for me. I liked it. I was good at it. I was.....alive.

Thank you Vince. I can't help but ponder that this is how I'm going to feel when Berserk ends. Like there's no moving on to something better; the best has ended. Man, what a ride.
 

Walter

Administrator
Staff member
Groovy Metal Fist said:
Are the police not after Jesse as well? What outcome could he have other than being arrested?
As I recall, only Hank had specific knowledge of Jesse's involvement with meth cooking.

Saephon said:
Thank you Vince. I can't help but ponder that this is how I'm going to feel when Berserk ends. Like there's no moving on to something better; the best has ended. Man, what a ride.
It was the best show on TV, but there will be other great shows. Just... not for a few years. I've basically got zero incentive to watch TV shows right now. When I cut my cable, Breaking Bad was the only thing making me waver in my decision.
 
Walter said:
As I recall, only Hank had specific knowledge of Jesse's involvement with meth cooking.

Just to add to what Walter said, Todd and his gang raided Hank's house and took all the evidence that Hank and Todd had collected or made so any physical evidence is gone assuming they destroyed it.

And even though I can't remember if Hank ever told her what he has done or not, I honestly can't see Marie trying to go after Jesse. After all, no matter what Jesse has done I think she'll see him as the kid who tried to help Hank bring Walter down, if she even remembers him at all (and assumes he isn't dead too). Plus there's the fact that once the dust settles she'll know the person she thinks is responsible for Hank's death is dead, and the meth empire is officially destroyed so there's no real motivation for getting Jesse.

To make a short story long, he's finally free. Truly free. No more worrying about the police. No more having to worry about some bad guy killing him. The destructive force that is Walter is finally out of his life for good. He has finally escaped from hell. And to add icing to the cake he made sure Walter didn't "win" one last time, denying him his desire to be shot. Great ending for the character, in my opinion.
 

Rhombaad

Video Game Time Traveler
I loved every minute of this show. Now that it's over, I can't wait to pick up the box set in November and watch it all over again.
 

NightCrawler

Aeons gone, vast, mad and deathless
Griffith said:
I don't think Vince Gilligan would mind working with David Simon that much. :griffnotevil:

Oh you. :iva:

I'm mildly disappointed with this ending. More like a forgettable meh. For one, i don't like being right in my predictions that i wrote here before (was basically correct about the money being laundered through the Grey Matter charity, the ricin going for Lydia, and the somewhat shakespearean final minutes - although wanting Jessie to die was more of a personal wish of mine), and when that happens, it means the writers didn't put that much thought/balls into it. For a show that is basically about thrills, it ended on a bland and predictable note. A neat and well tied package for the masses (if you forgive the immense suspension of disbelief you have to have for this show to resolve its plot), with all the glimpses of grandeur running out completely on the previous, more accomplished episode.
The only thing i was unsure was how Walt would die, but thank jebus they didn't put Jessie to pull the trigger. Even playing with that was pulling the drama strings a bit too hard, to some eye roll inducing territory. But they would never end it like that without pissing people off, so again, went for the safe route.
Still, this last half season was pretty strong, and it was overall a very entertaining time spent.

Like our Walter said, this was the best show on tv. But the best of all time? Please. It's not even the best of the last 10 years. It might be giving some fight to the others runners up, but the top spot show is on a class of it's own.
 
NightCrawler said:
Like our Walter said, this was the best show on tv. But the best of all time? Please. It's not even the best of the last 10 years. It might be giving some fight to the others runners up, but the top spot show is on a class of it's own.

What takes the top spot, in your opinion? If it's better than Breaking Bad I'll definitely check it out. I'm not much into television so I don't know what the greatest shows are.
 

NightCrawler

Aeons gone, vast, mad and deathless
Skeleton said:
What takes the top spot, in your opinion? If it's better than Breaking Bad I'll definitely check it out. I'm not much into television so I don't know what the greatest shows are.

The Wire by a long, long margin. I've been watching it for the 3rd time in between the latest Breaking Bad episodes, and the difference is astonishing. In every aspect it's above and beyond any tv series i've ever seen. But i really like BB, it's a fine piece of television, one of the best for sure. I liked it in the way as i liked Rome. Entertainment with bouts of greatness. It's up there with The Sopranos, The Prisoner (the original) the first season of Twin Peaks and Six Feet Under. All fighting for the top spots.
In another level of production you have mini series like Band of Brothers and Kieslowski's Dekalog (a not very well known masterpiece).
 

Walter

Administrator
Staff member
I don't even think it's fair to compare them, honestly.

I'm sure I've said so on the podcast before, but just like I could never look at comics the same way after I found Berserk, the same can be said of The Wire and other shows for me. Meanwhile, I really enjoyed Breaking Bad.

They're certainly different shows, with different scopes. There are no "pizza on roof" moments in The Wire, for example (there is a beer bottle on roof moment though, but not nearly as memorable!).
 

NightCrawler

Aeons gone, vast, mad and deathless
Walter said:
I don't even think it's fair to compare them, honestly.

I agree, but comparisons in art are never fair. In this case it would be like comparing The Godfather to The Dark Knight.

Walter said:
but just like I could never look at comics the same way after I found Berserk, the same can be said of The Wire

I feel the same, but of course it doesn't prevent me from enjoying others, they're just on a far different level. The ways you can appreciate them are almost incommensurable. That's why they'll stand the test of time.
 

Saephon

Die young and save yourself
I've never seen a single episode of The Wire or The Sopranos, but I put them on my "To Do" list long ago for after Breaking Bad finished. Now I think I'm going to wait a couple months before I invest myself in something again, but my girlfriend and I are adamant about watching The Wire based off of everything we've heard.

I'll let you know what I think when I get there, as someone who's watching it post-BrBa.
 

Johnstantine

Skibbidy Boo Bop
Saephon said:
I've never seen a single episode of The Wire or The Sopranos, but I put them on my "To Do" list long ago for after Breaking Bad finished. Now I think I'm going to wait a couple months before I invest myself in something again, but my girlfriend and I are adamant about watching The Wire based off of everything we've heard.

I'll let you know what I think when I get there, as someone who's watching it post-BrBa.

The Wire, although great to watch, is also a slow watch.

For me, at least.
 

Th3Branded0ne

I'll be back.
Interview of Cranston and Paul about the ending


http://insidetv.ew.com/2013/09/30/breaking-bad-finale-bryan-cranston-aaron-paul/

Calling it “100 percent satisfying,” Paul tells EW: “There were thoughts I had that maybe Walt will be the only one standing. I love that toward the end, Walt’s there to go on a suicide mission and blow everyone up, including Jesse, but he sees what they have put him through. His hair’s super long, he’s vacant. There’s not a soul in him anymore, and [Walt] decides that he deserves a second chance, so he dives on him. He throws himself in front of a bullet for him — and it’s kind of beautiful.” He adds with a chuckle: “It’s good that Walt got his, because he’s an evil, evil man, and he needed to go.”

In shooting the scene in which Jesse refuses to shoot Walt, Paul wound up (semi-)fulfilling a desire he’d possessed for years. “I always had the vision of Jesse pointing a gun to Walt’s head, I really did,” he explains. “I’m like, ‘It’s got to end like this,’ and deep down, I wanted Jesse to kill Walt. But the closer we got to the end, I realized I didn’t want that. Jesse can’t kill anybody else — even though he ended up killing Todd. But that was really self-defense and he just had to get out of there. But it’s good that Jesse was put through that torture for the past four or five months, put in a hole, because Jesse’s not an innocent person. He did some very bad things. It’s good that Jesse was put through that so he did some time, but I believe that he deserved to get away from all of it and just leave. You don’t really know where he goes … ” Paul has a few ideas, though, about what happened to Jesse. “In my mind, he gets the hell out of Dodge,” he says. “He’s like, ‘Oh my god.’ I think he probably goes and says bye to Brock, if he can, or at least just sees him from a distance and then he leaves. Maybe Alaska, maybe New Zealand. Becomes a bush pilot. It’s all part of the story.”

Cranston, meanwhile, feels that Gilligan and his writers crafted both a “very satisfying” and ”unapologetic” finish to this unforgiving story. “It’s fitting. It’s complete,” he tells EW, explaining that the ending gave both characters an appropriate reunion and send-off. “When I see Jesse, this involuntary sense comes over me,” he says of Walt. “He’s been treated like a dog – like a beaten dog — and it just shocks me, and impulsively I protect him. He’s going off into the sunset. It’s fitting that the man who was so put upon and mistreated has a chance. And I like how it ends, because it’s not like, ‘Oh, he’s got the money.’ No. He’s just got his life, so he has a chance – just a chance.” He believes the finale cemented the notion that Breaking Bad is ”a tragedy of almost Shakespearean level. … Tragedy is not a bunch of bad guys doing bad things: ‘Oh, they killed the good guys!’ Tragedy is when the bad guys are sympathized, when you realize that it could have gone another way,” he notes. “There was hope for them at one time. Macbeth! Oh! In its truest sense, our story is a tragedy — an American tragedy. It’s not ‘good conquers evil,’ it’s not ‘good guys against the bad guys,’ it’s much muddier than that. Shades of gray.”

Walt’s unplanned self-sacrifice in shielding Jesse from the bullet not only exposed what humanity was left in Walter White, but underlined the significance of their relationship, no matter how fractured. “[When] he hears that the blue meth is still out there, that Jesse is still cooking, it’s like, ‘That bastard! He convinced them to be a partner with him, he’s still cooking! I’ll kill everybody!’” says Cranston. “And then when I see him, the shred of humanity left in Walter White is exposed at that moment and he acts. So if there’s any redeeming quality to him from the standpoint of the audience, it’s that moment. He even allows Jesse to kill him. Jesse has the gun and he points at me, and he says, ‘You want this?’ And I go, ‘Yeah. I think it’s fitting. Go ahead. You need to do it, go ahead. It’s okay.’ And then he says, ‘If you want this, then do it yourself. I’m not going to do it for you.’ At least there was some conclusion to their association. Their friendship did matter. And it was because of that history and friendship, that was the basis of his impulsivity. Because otherwise it would just be, ‘Jesus, look at that guy, that poor bastard,’ but I’m not going to risk my life for some stranger. There is more than familiarity. It’s deep-rooted. And it’s so true. Because sometimes you don’t know the depth of what you feel until you’re tested. That’s why I think it’s a satisfying ending. It’s still true to Walter White. Because he always possessed that. But it’s not saccharine sweet. It’s not done out of ‘Ohhh, Jesse.’ It’s just … ‘Jesus.’ If anything, it makes me hate Jack even more for his brutality.”

Did Cranston feel that the meth lord-in-chief ultimately had to die to give many Breaking Bad fans the closure they were seeking? “Because of his love for his family, there was a thought of mine that, ‘Would it be a more perfect hell for him to have to see his family die – his wife, his son, baby daughter — and he lives?’” he says. “And there’s some merit to that too. But ultimately, I think this is the best ending. A real satisfying ending. And I’m so grateful for that.”
 
Good end to a good series. Expected a little more (I think because of the way every episode was paced this entire season with those amazing cliff-hanger endings, etc. whereas in comparison, here you kinda knew what could happen) I'm still satisfied with the end,
it connected all the dots leaving no loose ends, right?

Was Walt going to kill Jesse when he got there or you think he changed his mind when he found out Jesse wasn't cooking out of free will?

Did he choose to die in the lab to take blame for cooking meth and getting Jesse off the hook? Far-fetched but that's what came to my mind cos he's tried to cover for everyone close around him.
 
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