Beautiful.
Each week, after every episode, I've said the same thing. Breaking Bad is the most beautiful show to have ever come to television. I don't think there is any need to elaborate on that this week; it's been said enough. Therefore, for once, I shall cut right to the chase.
This episode could have been a bit better
Now, don't get me wrong, I loved this episode. I've never been disappointed by an episode of Breaking Bad. However, I've always been disappointed in finales, as many people have. We get ideas in our head of how our favorite shows should end, and its hard to let go of them. I had a very ideal ending In my head that I hoped beyond hope would end up true, but as with most cases, it was not. I'll share that idea in a bit, but first, let's analyze this episode in full.
The episode opens with a scene in Walt's car, almost praying as the police drive by to let him get home. It shows how desperate he is to finish why he's started. We then see him at a gas station, on the road home, using a pay phone to call someone. He poses as someone else, and its unknown at first what its all about, but it soon becomes clear. He the leaves his watch on the pay phone, and its left to the viewers imagination as to why (though I've heard it has to do with continuity)
We then cut to Gretchen and Elliot, coming home to their huge, fancy house. Walt lurks in the shadows behind them. They don't see them, so he wanders around their house, looking at all their nice things, imagining what could have been his. He is then spotted, but rather than killing them, he uses them. He scares them into promising to deliver his 9 odd million dollars to Flynn on his 18th birthday. To top it off, he claims to have hired hit men to ensure they go through with it, and puts on a show with laser targets shining through he windows. Of course, we later discover that these hit men are merely Badger and Skinny Pete with laser pointers.
We then see Jesse, in a wood shop, happy. He looks at his work with the kind of pride only a artist can appreciate. He turns to walk, but snaps back. We then see the real picture. Jesse, shaggy and weary, holding a batch of meth, chained.
We then see Walt In the desert, building some contraption hooked up to his car keys. Next we see Walt interrupt one of Lydia's meetings with Todd, asking to cook for them again. Lydia lies and agrees to meet him, actually planning to kill Walt. She won't get the chance however, because a shot of her stirring sugar confirms exactly what I was thinking.
Walt then goes to talk with Skylar. He gives her the location of Hank's body, and then proceeds to say the most important line his character has ever spoken.
"I did this for me. I liked it. I was good at it. It made me feel....alive."
He has finally come to terms with who he is and what he loves to do. He knows now why he does it. This whole time, he's been telling himself it's for his family, but now he finally understands that it wasn't to leave behind a fortune for his family, though that was a bonus, but it was to satisfy a man with a bruised ego whose life didn't turn out the way he had planned. Skylar breathes a sigh, knowing that he is finally telling the truth, and depressingly realizing that it's far too late. Walt then visits his daughter one last time, watches his son walk into the house, and then departs.
At last, we get to the end. Walt goes to the Skinhead's facility to discuss his 'new cooking techniques'. We as an audience know that the Skinheads and Walt are really planning to kill each other. Walt is almost dragged away, but calls Jack out by reminding him that he owes him Jesse's death. Jack, hating to be called a liar, brings Jesse to Walt, in chains. Walt then tackles Jesse to the ground, and presses the button to unlock his car. His trunk flips open, and reveals a machine gun hooked up to the rotating device. It rotates back and forth, mowing down all the skinheads from outside. When it finally stops, Todd, Jesse, and Walt appear unscathed, with Jack very seriously wounded. Jesse then strangles Todd to death with his chains, and in homage to Hank's death, Walt shoots Jack in the head mid-sentence.
Then, the big showdown. Walt slides a gun over to Jesse, telling him to kill him if he wanted. Jesse, the broken, battered, shell of the man he once was, replies "Nothing happens until you say you don't want this". Yet Walt insists that he wants this, and Jesse sees that he's already been shot in the gut, so Jesse drops the gun, says "Then do it yourself", and leaves. Walt then hears Todd's phone ring and answers it. It's Lydia, who we see is not looking so hot. Walt tells her that he poisoned her, says goodbye and throws the phone away. He walks outside, him and Jesse exchange looks, and then Jesse gets in a car and drives off, laughing and screaming.
Walt then walks into the skinhead's meth lab. He looks at all the equipment, Baby Blue plays, and he seems at peace. He then balances himself on one of the large pieces of lab equipment. You see his reflection fall to the ground, and his hand tracks blood on the equipment as it slides down. We then get a final shot of Walt's body, with a peaceful, happy expression on his face. He died where his heart was from the beginning: a meth lab.
And while this was probably the most fitting end for a television show like Breaking Bad, and while it filled me with feels, I felt like it lacked the emotional punch the show is known for. Things wrapped up too nicely; too much closure. For a show that had me going "Holy Shit!" for most of its run, the last episode felt a little less dramatic.
There were rumors of the show ending in a scene where it flashes back to Walt teaching Jesse's high school chemistry class. It's the last day of school, and Jesse and Walt argue a bit before Jesse storms out of the classroom, saying "Thanks for nothing, Mr. White".
I believe that had the show ended on such a gut-punching emotional line like that, it would've been a much better episode. Had they not shown Walt's body, and had only shown his reflection falling to the floor, giving the viewer that tiny bit of interpretation, and then cutting to the flashback to give the gut-puncher, it would've been the perfect ending.
That's not to say I wasn't satisfied with the show's conclusion. Everything came together nicely, and while I wish a little more was left off-screen, I was happy with the way it ended. I'll say it one more time, since it's the last time I'll get to say it: Breaking Bad is the greatest television show ever made and one of the most spectacular narratives of all time. Each episode has been exciting and interesting, all while toying with my emotions and sense of morality. Vince Gilligan is truly a mastermind of the likes of Heisenberg for creating this masterpiece of a series. I'll miss it, but there is no way I'll ever forget it.
