Ozymandias

When we're on the internet in the year 2013, I don't think it's required of me to describe how amazing and beautiful the cult phenomenon Breaking Bad is. Anyone who regularly goes on social networking or forum sites are well aware of its popularity. 

That said...

Breaking Bad is the one of the greatest shows in television history and quite possibly the most spectacular narrative of the decade. Each episode, especially in the final season, has been edge-of-the-seat drama, fantastic story-telling, fascinating character development, and has brought out more emotions in me then any television show I've watched before. The easily missed symbolism, unique camera work, and other little quirks to the show just add to the show's beauty. While those who aren't fans of the show may be tired of hearing it, I'm far from done saying it: Breaking Bad will go down in history as the greatest stories of all time.

 

And if there is one episode that every event in the show has been leading up to, then it was 'Ozymandias'. It was the culmination of every mistake Walt's ever made, every choice he chose wrongly, every action he took to further satisfy his ego while telling himself its for his family. His brother-in-law, the one person he wanted more than anything to keep away from all the shit he started, is dead. His partnership with Jesse has finally ended with his reveal to him that he watched Jane die. His family has finally fallen apart after his wife and then his son turned against him. Everything he has ever worked for has gone to shit.

The use of the flash backward in the beginning of the episode perfectly shows it too. He's just begun his new lifestyle, completely oblivious to how fucked up his life is to become. He has a normal, happy conversation on the phone with his wife, and we witness them deciding on the name Holly for their daughter. Flash forward to the end of the episode, and he's having a different conversation with his wife. Arguably in an effort to toy with the police, he insults her and blames her for everything that's happened, with Holly still being the center of the conversation in a twisted way. 

One can only wonder what direction they'll take in the next two episodes, now that every part of Walt's life has crumbled from beneath him. The king has fallen; all that's left is revenge and retribution. Ozymandias has been one of the greatest episodes of Breaking Bad thus far, and I hope that 'Granite State' can earn that title as well.