Breaking Bad (AMC)

[NJCardFan]

I agree completely. This was no where near the caliber of Dead Freight, Crawl Space, Face Off and Ozymandias. I think last weeks episode was better than this one, but it was still a great episode. There were still some great surprises and twists though, and yeah definitely the best show of all time, at least for me.

I have no doubt that people will be let down by tonight's show because of the expectations, but for all intents and purposes the series finale was Ozymandias (incredible episode, three weeks later and still can't stop thinking about that episode), everything else since then has been filling in the blanks, dotting the "i"s and crossing the "t"s.

Actually, this ended exactly the way I thought it would.

Spoiler

I thought Jesse would be the last man standing, Walt settles the score with Jack and the peckerwoods, Skylar is dead broke, Marie gts closure, Walt redeems himself before dying. Great ending to a great series.

 

[Cheesebeef]

I agree completely. This was no where near the caliber of Dead Freight, Crawl Space, Face Off and Ozymandias. I think last weeks episode was better than this one, but it was still a great episode. There were still some great surprises and twists though, and yeah definitely the best show of all time, at least for me.

I have no doubt that people will be let down by tonight's show because of the expectations,

I could see this, but not because of expectations. I think people could be let down because this was a relatively clean ending to the series. I actually didn't think there were a whole lot of surprises in the episode. things just kinda fell into place...never more clear then in the tease when something just drops into Walt's lap.

 

[JerkFace]

I though the last episode was pretty much perfect.

 

[D-Dogg]

Excellent. Skylar's hand trembling but not reaching out as walt left Hollys room was beautiful.

 

[Phrazbit]

It was very very good, well acted, well concieved, well written, I enjoyed it.

But... I have to admit, I wanted to come away from that episode feeling dead inside. I kinda wish they'd had the guts to go the super depressing direction. But all in all, it was excellent.

Spoiler

It did make sense that Walt, with a very long car drive under his belt and knowing he is about to die, would want to tie up some loose ends, set his ego aside and make some amends... but I did like that in his final moments his ego popped back as he lovingly caressed lab equipment and admired his product even though it ruined his life.

And along the lines of "Crystal Blue Persuasion", a song played that fit so perfectly with the scene you'd think it was written for the show.

 

[sunsfan88]

Amazing show and a great finish. I think I almost shred a tear at the end of it knowing its all over.

I want to know what happens to Jesse and all the money that uncle Jack stole. I thought Walt wanted to kill Jack to get the money back to give back to his family.

And the part where he watched Flynn go home but couldn't go and say good bye...wow...so heart breaking.

 

[Phrazbit]

Spoiler

I cant see Walt using the ricin on himself, if he goes out via suicide I dont see it being portrayed nobly. It would be too much of a departure from his character for him to wipe out the bad guys, be the hero, then kill himself, he'd want some praise and recognition first. IMO the ricin is for Lydia. The gun is for Todd and his biker gang but Lydia would be no where near that shootout. Walt arranges for one of Lydia's awkward coffee shop meets and slips her the ricin, just like he almost did last year.

Well, I nailed who the props were meant for, misjudged Walt though.

 

[carrrnuttt]

Well, I nailed who the props were meant for, misjudged Walt though.

Spoiler

Actually, you were spot-on about Walt.

Him dying in the lab makes the Nazi gang a footnote to Heisenberg's "legacy."

The world will now automatically equate all the recent meth being produced to him, instead of the Nazis, while absolving Jesse from it all.

 

[Cheesebeef]

Spoiler

Actually, you were spot-on about Walt.

Him dying in the lab makes the Nazi gang a footnote to Heisenberg's "legacy."

The world will now automatically equate all the recent meth being produced to him, instead of the Nazis, while absolving Jesse from it all.

I'll be honest, the more I get away from the ending, the less I like it.

Spoiler

everything feel into place SO easily...I mean, even the car keys literally fell into place for Walt. And ultimately, an entire series coming down to Walt versus the Nazi's/Lydia just wasn't overly satisfying in the grand scheme of things. And he pretty much won, and died at peace with himself having set up Flynn, making himself look like the mastermind, even getting a begrudging "we're okay" nod from Jesse, which didn't feel totally earned. The last hour or so seemed like Walt's redemption...but I just don't feel like he could be redeemed after everything he had done.

What I did LOVE was Jesse finally breaking himself free from Walt's prison, finally spurning Walt's last request. LOVED the scene with Walt and Skyler. Liked the twist with how WALT got the Schwartzes involved.

Otherwise...this felt...I don't know...nice and neat, from a series that lived down and dirty.

None of that changes my mind that it's the GOAT for any TV series, but as far as finales go, it wasn't as epic emotionally as I expected it to be.

 

[Southpaw]

Watching reruns of Homeland. What is it with eldest sons and staring into cereal on acclaimed dramas?

Asked and unanswered by me when Brock was transfixed on the Fruit Loop box. I sorta figured Brock was left a little slow after his encounter with the Lilies of the Valley coma and that was a side effect. Never viewed Homeland.

 

[Southpaw]

my only nitpick...there seemed to be a TON of commercial breaks.

That is why I made it a habit to DVR the episode and break into the recording 25 minutes into the recording. This way I could FF through the breaks. Watch and record simultaneously.

 

[Southpaw]

I'll be honest, the more I get away from the ending, the less I like it.



None of that changes my mind that it's the GOAT for any TV series, but as far as finales go, it wasn't as epic emotionally as I expected it to be.

Same here. It came off as neat and a winding down, but totally necessary. Only loose end is Jesse.

Greatest series ever.

BTW. Anybody catch the significance of the watch left on top of the phone booth? V G explained it in Talking Bad finale. By the way also, seems the title of the last episode, "Felina" was an anagram for finale.

 

[D-Dogg]

Felina was the Marty Robbins' song, in addition to the Finale anagram. But "El Paso" is basically the show's last season. When that tape fell out of the glove box, I thought "oooooh, FELINA!!" My dad loved Marty Robbins, and that song is awesome. Go check out the lyrics. His ego/meth success was his Felina.

Regarding the tight bows on some of Walt's life; I am good with it. He was finally honest about it all with Sky...he liked it. He got his pride fix from it and a LOT of people suffered so he could feel "alive." He was with his Felina at the end, his ego, his accomplishment. While Walt got his somewhat redemption, he still effed over soooo much. Family, Hank, Jesse, etc. Even Lydia's kid is blowing in the wind.

Having Jesse kill Todd was awesome (talking bad was hilarious...aaron paul was very happy about that). Having him NOT kill Walt was even better. Jesse had the best ending of all of them because he got to reclaim a lot of himself there, and he's clean slate from here on out, to be an Alaskan carpenter with Brock.

Things I still wish were tied up:

WTF was the personal stuff at Gray Matter. How personal?

How did Walt get the Lilly of the Valley to Brock - I think the way Brock acted around him always showed that Brock knew it was Walt that made him sick, but Walt threatened him. It was always set up as awkward between those two.

Huel? Still sitting in an apartment scared?



The further away I get from the finale, the more I like it. It was true to Walt, which was important. He was always a bit lucky, with some brilliance. It stayed in character to him to the end, even to the split decision to save Jesse...his adopted son.

 

[HoodieBets]

Sad to see no Saul in the finale and badger and skinny pete made no sense

 

[D-Dogg]

Sad to see no Saul in the finale and badger and skinny pete made no sense

Saul is in Nebraska...though it would have been nice to see a shot of him doing his cornhusker thing it really would have detracted from the pacing of the episode. He got his nice send off last week. He's safe and bored.

B & SP were nice to tie up; they got to comment on the entire show at large (felt kind of shady, morality-wise) and got fat stacks, yo to go on. I LOVED using them as his laser pointer assassins. It made total sense, because he didn't know a lot of living non-enemies to use in that scenario, plus it furthered the plot of the blue meth on the streets=jesse cooking=call uncle jack a liar = save jesse at the end

 

[Southpaw]

Sad to see no Saul in the finale and badger and skinny pete made no sense

Rumor about a Saul before Walt series. Saul is watching wheat grow in Nebraska. With Walt's diminishing cash stash, he had to go cheap with his "hitmen".

 

[slinslin]

This series has been frustrating to no end.

The only characters I liked were Mike and Hank (and MAYBE GUS), all others pissed me off to no end.
Heisenberg the apparent genius who almost never acted like a genius but instead like an irrational greedy jerk. Jesse with his stupidity and annoying ghetto slang etc.

 

[crisper57]

Sad to see no Saul in the finale and badger and skinny pete made no sense

Made absolute sense for nostalgia purposes. And even if Gretchen and Elliot saw through Walt's obvious ploy, they'd never really know for sure if he was lying. He planted enough doubt in them.

 

[Southpaw]

Gretchen & Elliott Schwartz = Melissa & Bill Gates

 

[D-Dogg]

Made absolute sense for nostalgia purposes. And even if Gretchen and Elliot saw through Walt's obvious ploy, they'd never really know for sure if he was lying. He planted enough doubt in them.

Dude, HEISENBERG came to their house, not Walter White. Heisenberg was already a legend in ABQ, no doubt. And jeez, after this?

headline news: Meth druglord Heisenberg found dead in ABQ tonight, after an apparent gun battle where he dispatched a large nazi-leaning white power drug gang. Details at 10.

Dude, he's legend...wait for it............DARY. They aren't doing squat, because HEISENBERG threatened them.

That's kind of the thing on this show...Walt's alter ego is a bad, bad man. The scene with Saul last week was amazing, because he was under the Heisenspell until Walt started coughing and showing weakness...then Saul had the balls to walk out. But until then, he was going to go with walt, no doubt.

 

[CtCardinals78]

I'll be honest, the more I get away from the ending, the less I like it.

Spoiler

everything feel into place SO easily...I mean, even the car keys literally fell into place for Walt. And ultimately, an entire series coming down to Walt versus the Nazi's/Lydia just wasn't overly satisfying in the grand scheme of things. And he pretty much won, and died at peace with himself having set up Flynn, making himself look like the mastermind, even getting a begrudging "we're okay" nod from Jesse, which didn't feel totally earned. The last hour or so seemed like Walt's redemption...but I just don't feel like he could be redeemed after everything he had done.

What I did LOVE was Jesse finally breaking himself free from Walt's prison, finally spurning Walt's last request. LOVED the scene with Walt and Skyler. Liked the twist with how WALT got the Schwartzes involved.

Otherwise...this felt...I don't know...nice and neat, from a series that lived down and dirty.

Spoiler

None of that changes my mind that it's the GOAT for any TV series, but as far as finales go, it wasn't as epic emotionally as I expected it to be.

Spoiler

I have an opposite feeling as you. The more I get away from this episode the more and more I see the genius of it. I appreciate it more than I did last night. This was the first episode we have seen in a long time where I could start to feel sympathy for Walt again, maybe for the first time since season 3. Here was Walt at his core no more masquerading behind Heisenberg, or being run over by people. The scene with his family may have been the most powerful moment of the whole series. He realized what he did and found himself at the same time.

He made things right with himself and Skyler and to some extent Jesse. He took pity on Jesse in the end. True to Breaking Bad roots it was more psychological than anything. Whether it was intended or not I think Gilligan is a genius for the way this episode was hyped and what he has given us over the years. I believe the hype was part of the experience and suspense in this final episode. How many of you were expecting the Nazi's to burst in the apartment and do something to his family, or were expecting them to just kill Walt at the end? That's the mastery behind this show, the writers made us expect the unexpected and it had me on the edge of my seat until the very end. We may never see a show like this again, but man was this finale executed flawlessly

We really didn't know who Walter was until the last episode of the series and neither did he. The fact that he found out after it was too late was the great tragedy of the show. He tried to do the best he could to right his wrongs when he got in way over his head and his ego took over.

 

[crisper57]

I have an opposite feeling as you. The more I get away from this episode the more and more I see the genius of it. I appreciate it more than I did last night. This was the first episode we have seen in a long time where I could start to feel sympathy for Walt again, maybe for the first time since season 3. Here was Walt at his core no more masquerading behind Heisenberg, or being run over by people. The scene with his family may have been the most powerful moment of the whole series. He realized what he did and found himself at the same time.

He made things right with himself and Skyler and to some extent Jesse. He took pity on Jesse in the end. True to Breaking Bad roots it was more psychological than anything. Whether it was intended or not I think Gilligan is a genius for the way this episode was hyped and what he has given us over the years. I believe the hype was part of the experience and suspense in this final episode. How many of you were expecting the Nazi's to burst in the apartment and do something to his family, or were expecting them to just kill Walt at the end? That's the mastery behind this show, the writers made us expect the unexpected and it had me on the edge of my seat until the very end. We may never see a show like this again, but man was this finale executed flawlessly[/spoiler]

I am with you. After "Ozymandias", I knew they wouldn't go out on their highest note, but the finale managed to tie up loose ends in a very satisfying way.

 

[Cheesebeef]

I have an opposite feeling as you. The more I get away from this episode the more and more I see the genius of it. I appreciate it more than I did last night. This was the first episode we have seen in a long time where I could start to feel sympathy for Walt again, maybe for the first time since season 3. Here was Walt at his core no more masquerading behind Heisenberg, or being run over by people. The scene with his family may have been the most powerful moment of the whole series. He realized what he did and found himself at the same time.

He made things right with himself and Skyler and to some extent Jesse. He took pity on Jesse in the end. True to Breaking Bad roots it was more psychological than anything. Whether it was intended or not I think Gilligan is a genius for the way this episode was hyped and what he has given us over the years. I believe the hype was part of the experience and suspense in this final episode. How many of you were expecting the Nazi's to burst in the apartment and do something to his family, or were expecting them to just kill Walt at the end?[/spoiler]

Maybe, I'm confused, but I didn't expect any of this at the end. It kinda went out pretty conventionally speaking, IMO.

That's the mastery behind this show, the writers made us expect the unexpected and it had me on the edge of my seat until the very end.

i think that's where we differ. I just didn't find myself on the edge of my seat and pretty much got what was expected, but almost in a bad way. Maybe not bad. It all felt good to watch at the time, but nothing in the episode truly blew me away or surprised me.

 

[Superbone]

I am with you. After "Ozymandias", I knew they wouldn't go out on their highest note, but the finale managed to tie up loose ends in a very satisfying way.

It's just like great books and music. It climaxes and then there's the denouement.

 

[D-Dogg]

i think that's where we differ. I just didn't find myself on the edge of my seat and pretty much got what was expected, but almost in a bad way. Maybe not bad. It all felt good to watch at the time, but nothing in the episode truly blew me away or surprised me.

cheese I understand that. I have been trying to come to terms with why I was still somewhat rooting for Walt for weeks now. I think the finale kinda did it for me. he finally admitted what I always knew about him: he was a prideful, egotistical, complete a****** who hid behind his family in order to do what made him feel good. however at his core he did care at his very deepest for them. the show was about him and his family. However the meth (and moreso the success of his meth Empire) was part of his family. when he died he really was about his family. those family scenes in the finale blow me away; they were not o powerful.

Saying goodbye to all and his pseudo father-son relationship with Jesse was also just heartbreaking and thank goodness Jesse didn't have to kill him...even though I kind of wanted it to happen. that wasn't Jesse Jesse was so broken. it was an amazing ending. I think that Vince Gilligan is a genius and I really don't understand how someone is going to capture me into a story/show again in the same way.