WARNING: A crap-ton of spoilers are coming your way so stop reading and watch the damn finale already!!
Can you believe it’s over already!? After 5 amazing seasons of AMC’s BREAKING BAD, we can finally close the book and look back at what has to be one of the greatest television shows of all time. Yes, even better than DINOSAURS. There I said it. The greatest thing about it all is that we actually get an ending. Instead of milking this cow for all it’s worth, the creators decided it’s time to end things and end thins RIGHT. While I love a confusing open-ended mess of an ending as much as the next guy, I think most TV fans deserve some damn closure from time to time. And if there’s one thing I can say about the ending to BREAKING BAD, it’s that we got the closer we thirsted for and deserved. So thank you for that Vince Gilligan.
The show started off just right. We were treated to a really creepy few minutes where Walter White quietly breaks into the house of Elliot and Gretchen, Walt’s old friends responsible for screwing him over in the past, and it really was a deciding point for how Walt was going to act for the remainder of the series. Are we going to get crazy murder-spree Walt, Remorseful Walt, or something in-between? I’d say we landed somewhere in-between and we got to see Walt’s brain in top form again as he really stuck it to the two of them and found a way to not only help his family, but to cause the rest of their pathetic lives to be a stress mess sandwich! It felt good revenge screwing them over without putting a bullet in their heads. Smart fun stuff.
The rest of the episode was really all about tying up those pesky loose ends we have all been wondering about. Normally, I hate it when shows reveal events far in the future because I want to know that my characters are not safe. However, the way BREAKING BAD did it was not as bad as it could have been seeing how we all “caught up” to the furthest moment we saw in the future and came back to “normal time” once again. Once I knew we have not seen past a certain moment I was all in!
So let’s get something out of the way here. I know a lot of people are going to say that this episode was predictable in some ways. And yes, you may be right, but that does not necessarily mean it was a bad thing. Sure there were nice big moments of tension, a few action bits, and some stellar acting, but overall this was not the big brain busting plot-twisting ride some may have expected. Instead we got a nice package deal wrapped up with a bow on top. We all knew the Nazis had it coming (likely by a big ass gun in Walt’s trunk), we all knew Todd had to be punished, someone was gonna get an ass full of Ricin, and yes, chances were that Walt was not going to “make it”. It was like having a nice puzzle an a snowy winters day; you know basically what it’s going to look like (because there is a damn picture of it on the box!) but that does not really matter because you like puzzles. The fun was putting all the pieces together, seeing it as a whole, and then showing mommy and daddy what you put together! The point is that BREAKING BAD is one hell of a puzzle and it looks great when finished. Stupid analogies that frustratingly make sense anyone!?
I’m glad Walt got to be a smart and nerdy bad ass one more time. I’m glad he blasted Uncle Jack straight to Hell. I’m glad Jesse choked the shit out of Todd “Jabba Style”. I’m glad Jesse told Walt “No” and got away laughing like a reborn maniac without saying “Bitch”. I’m glad Skyler got off the hook and Walt admitted he “liked it” and did it all for himself. I’m glad Marie gets to bury Hank (my favorite character) properly. I’m glad Junior will get a ass ton of money in the near future to help his family. And yes, I’m glad Walter got to say goodbye to Holly one last time because there is a good loving father inside him somewhere deep. It just goes to show us how far this character has come in such a short amount of time. A metamorphosis in the truest sense. Looking at Walt in episode 1 compared to this finale is pretty awesome stuff. A changed man. A dead man. We all knew he was going to fall sooner or later and having him crumble amidst the machinery that made him who he is was fitting.
As those credits rolled for one last time I was forced to look back at all that came before. Was the finale shocking or unpredictable? No, not at all. Was the finale satisfying? Absolutely yes. The BREAKING BAD finale really was a treat for the fans dishing up a fitting and question-free ending. The storytelling here was brilliant as always, the characters all got there closure in some form or another, the actors deserve any awards that come their way, and there was just enough tension and mayhem to satiate those in need. All I can do now (besides re-watch this series back to back) is to shake my head in approval for what will easily go down in history as one of televisions crowning achievements. Thanks for the ride BREAKING BAD.
Final Score: 10 out of 10
