Breaking Bad - The End is Near - Official Thread

[JTC228]

Great ending to a great show!  Deep down I was hoping that everything would turn out in Walt's favor (he gets his money and family back, and escapes a prison sentence), but of course I knew that wasn't going to happen.  But no comlaints about the ending, other than it ending, going to miss the show!

 

I hope that Jesse got his stuff together, hopefully he somehow managed to get a little bit of the money, I know he didn't care about the money at the end but it would be terrible if he went through all that he did for nothing.

[Dan T.]

That was Walter White's death for me. After that he basically lost his family and every human connection he had. Goes out lives like a dead man in an isolated part of NH. 

 

Everything about last night's episode was Heisenberg. 

 

When Walt tells Skylar "I did it for me.  I liked it, and I was good at it.  And I was alive"... to me that was the death of Heinsenberg.  That was Walter White finally being honest with himself and admitting that all of the ambition and sins of "Heisenberg" were his own.  Or maybe not the death of Heisenberg so much as his absorption into Walter White, the recognition that they were one and the same.

[zoony]

Disagree strongly on best show ever. This might be one of the single greatest seasons ever but come on, some of the BB seasons were average at best. Much of the series was carried by the plot. 12 episodes of Jesse Pinkman lying on a bed in a heroin haze whining like a little **** was borderline unwatchable.

Like I said before the show really found its pace over the last two years. Definitely enjoyed it and several parts of the other seasons. Thank God we didnt have to watch Jesse and Walt fight again. Dam did that get tiresome

[Dan T.]

Walt sounded JUST like Mike when he said that.  Mike would also say a line like that as well.

 

Speaking of Mike, both he and Walt had similar deaths. 

 

Very good points.

 

Jonathan Banks, who played Mike, was on Talking Bad after the show.  He seemed to be the most sentimental of all the actors on the show.  He talked about how deeply touched he was to have had the opportunity for such a great role so late in his acting career, and talked in most heartfelt terms about his love for the cast and crew.  The contrast with his character was remarkable.

 

I remember reading how sad everyone in the cast and crew was when Mike was killed off.  The whole crew wore black armbands that week in mourning.  Seeing on Talking Bad what a sweet guy Banks seems to be, I can understand why they felt that way.

[Sticksboi05]

Disagree strongly on best show ever. This might be one of the single greatest seasons ever but come on, some of the BB seasons were average at best. Much of the series was carried by the plot. 12 episodes of Jesse Pinkman lying on a bed in a heroin haze whining like a little **** was borderline unwatchable.

Like I said before the show really found its pace over the last two years. Definitely enjoyed it and several parts of the other seasons. Thank God we didnt have to watch Jesse and Walt fight again. Dam did that get tiresome

 

No season was average.  That is a stretch.  Even season 1 which was the most boring.  Certain strings of episodes had a bit less than others but nothing that was average for television.

[Destino]

Disagree strongly on best show ever. This might be one of the single greatest seasons ever but come on, some of the BB seasons were average at best. Much of the series was carried by the plot. 12 episodes of Jesse Pinkman lying on a bed in a heroin haze whining like a little **** was borderline unwatchable.

Like I said before the show really found its pace over the last two years. Definitely enjoyed it and several parts of the other seasons. Thank God we didnt have to watch Jesse and Walt fight again. Dam did that get tiresome

 

I don't know if it's the best show ever, I prefer to wait before trying to place it in that kind of a list.  I do think that a good story has to have it's slow moments though. In order to build characters the audience has to experience them in moments that aren't entertaining or exciting. You have to see them be boringly normal and you have to see them struggle. While I agree with you that some of those episodes were hard to watch, as was much of the early stuff where Skylar was so damn annoying I thought I'd throw a remote at the screen, that slow ingredient is essential to the final product.

Was Jesse the guy that shot Gabe in the face or was he the pathetic **** lost in a drug fueled haze next to Jane?  Walt wasn't hurt by his poisoning of a child or watching Jane die nearly as much as he was by the absence of eggs and bacon breakfast with his wife and kids.   

 

Books, some of the really good ones, tend to have those slow moments that establish who the characters are when things aren't moving a mile a minute.  It's not as common with TV shows and less so in movies.  

[Warhead36]

Such a great ending, such a great show. The only thing missing was the Heisenberg hat, he should have been donning that in the final scenes. But still, ahh mazing.

[Monte51Coleman]

I love the details. Some I question though. Like the arrival of the police at the compound. Who called them? Surely not the neighbors. Jesse? Lydia?

 

Why was Gretchen so hostile towards Walt?

[StillUnknown]

I don't even know how one would compare BB to The Wire.  Both brilliant/genius, but nearly impossible (IMO) to say which one is better.  Apples and oranges, to me.  Two entirely different shows. 

 

Its more comparable to The Shield than The Wire, although I put BB ahead of The Shield

[Sticksboi05]

I love the details. Some I question though. Like the arrival of the police at the compound. Who called them? Surely not the neighbors. Jesse? Lydia?

 

Why was Gretchen so hostile towards Walt?

 

Maybe because he was a known meth kingpin...or because he said "**** YOU" to her in the restaurant.

[Monte51Coleman]

Maybe because he was a known meth kingpin...or because he said "**** YOU" to her in the restaurant.

I can buy the first, when did the second part happen?

[RonArtest15]

I love the details. Some I question though. Like the arrival of the police at the compound. Who called them? Surely not the neighbors. Jesse? Lydia?

 

Why was Gretchen so hostile towards Walt?

 

Gretchen was Walt's first love.  Elliott got the company and the woman.  Also, Walt's reveal as HEisenberg (and his ties to GM) probably didn't himself any favors in that household. 

[zoony]

I love the details. Some I question though. Like the arrival of the police at the compound. Who called them? Surely not the neighbors. Jesse? Lydia?

Why was Gretchen so hostile towards Walt?

The sound of a .50 cal rattling off 5000 rounds I imagine brought some attention

[Skinz4Life12]

I've been watching this show live since season 3 (i actually watched season 3 thinking it was the first season before going back and watching seasons 1 and 2) and this is definitely one of the best series ever on TV. Top 5 in my book.

 

Last night's ending was perfectly written and almost exactly what I thought was going to happen. I did think he might kill Elliott and Gretchen so when he went to their house I thought my prediction was going to come true. I was glad that he rescued Jesse and things ended the way they did. Bravo to AMC, Vince Gilligan, and the entire cast and crew of Breaking Bad. They did one hell of a job

 

Now onto TWD in two weeks

[hockeysc23]

While I was satisfied with the ending it wrapped up a little too neatly for me. I think the greatness of BB was that several episodes throughout the years I had no idea how WW or others would get out of situations. I had almost no doubt that WW would get to the key fob. 

 

I am glad it wrapped up things with little doubt but overall I was looking for a couple oh **** moments and didn't really get them like I did in other episodes throughout this season. Maybe it's just impossible to do with such a great series, I don't know.

[No Excuses]

When Walt tells Skylar "I did it for me.  I liked it, and I was good at it.  And I was alive"... to me that was the death of Heinsenberg.  That was Walter White finally being honest with himself and admitting that all of the ambition and sins of "Heisenberg" were his own.  Or maybe not the death of Heisenberg so much as his absorption into Walter White, the recognition that they were one and the same.

 

I thought his confession was very Heisenberg-ish as well. I think Walter White was such a coward, that he would have never confessed something like that. He always wanted to bull**** and not pin any of his failures on himself. 

 

I always imagined Heisenberg as Walt's survival mechanism and only in his Heisenberg moments was he fearless and perhaps honest. He practically didn't give a **** throughout the episode. Just went about taking care of business.

[MintHillSkinsFan]

The sound of a .50 cal rattling off 5000 rounds I imagine brought some attention

The only problem with that is that it was an M60 not a .50 cal.  M60 fires 7.62mm which is not nearly powerful enough to blow through cinder block walls.  Honestly, that is the only beef I had with the entire finale.  I thought everything else was fantastic.

[Dan T.]

While I was satisfied with the ending it wrapped up a little too neatly for me. I think the greatness of BB was that several episodes throughout the years I had no idea how WW or others would get out of situations. I had almost no doubt that WW would get to the key fob. 

 

I am glad it wrapped up things with little doubt but overall I was looking for a couple oh **** moments and didn't really get them like I did in other episodes throughout this season. Maybe it's just impossible to do with such a great series, I don't know.

 

The two previous episodes gave those oh **** moments.  Those were the moments when all bets were off for any of the surviving characters.  Everything disintegrated before our eyes.  Chaos reigned.  This last episode felt like a gift-wrapped thank you present from the show for the ****storm they put us through leading up to this.

[Dan T.]

The only problem with that is that it was an M60 not a .50 cal.  M60 fires 7.62mm which is not nearly powerful enough to blow through cinder block walls.  Honestly, that is the only beef I had with the entire finale.  I thought everything else was fantastic.

 

The M60 can fire armor piercing rounds, which can punch through cinder block.

 

http://www.gun-shots.net/ballistics-chart-for-military-ammunition.shtml

[Monte51Coleman]

The sound of a .50 cal rattling off 5000 rounds I imagine brought some attention

Ordinarily, sure. But they were in the middle of nowhere. As read elsewhere, Walt told Skyler the law would be coming for him. Maybe he had someone call in a tip. Skinny Pete or Badger perhaps?

[Ellis]

One of the few loose ends they didn't bring closure to...

 

 

He's still waiting to hear from Hank.

[Destino]

The only problem with that is that it was an M60 not a .50 cal.  M60 fires 7.62mm which is not nearly powerful enough to blow through cinder block walls.  Honestly, that is the only beef I had with the entire finale.  I thought everything else was fantastic.

 

These guys shot at a cinderblock wall from 250 yards with 7.62x51 NATO which is what a M60 fires. 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JwZPJgkF6G8

 

Wall didn't do to well.  

[Sticksboi05]

I can buy the first, when did the second part happen?

 

When they met and she said "I feel so sorry for you."

While I was satisfied with the ending it wrapped up a little too neatly for me. I think the greatness of BB was that several episodes throughout the years I had no idea how WW or others would get out of situations. I had almost no doubt that WW would get to the key fob. 

 

I am glad it wrapped up things with little doubt but overall I was looking for a couple oh **** moments and didn't really get them like I did in other episodes throughout this season. Maybe it's just impossible to do with such a great series, I don't know.

 

That's a good thing.  Nothing worse then shows trying to be different for the sake of being different.  The show ended how it should've, Walt being a step ahead of everyone like he has pretty much since Season 2.

[Ghost of]

Why are people confused about how the cops showed up?  Do you need to actually see Walt make the phone call? Earlier in the show, he said they'd be coming to him.  The cops were a fail-safe so that even if something happened to him to stop his full plan from coming to fruition that Jack and Co. would still get got (they may kill two DEAs out on their own, no way they are going to try to fight it out with a couple dozen state and fed law enforcement types.) And even if they did, that means the law is doing Walt's work.

 

BTW, a couple of people with the show described the person that comes back to ABQ as neither Walter White (the one we knew) or Heisenberg but someone else (which is why he doesn't wear the hat or have that arrogant manner about himself.)  I also think that while he was being honest with Skyler about liking it, he ALSO really was providing for his family.  It's just that he wanted to do it in his own way.  There's a reason that Gus was able to convince him to start in with that lab.

 

A man provides for his family.  And he does it even when he's not appreciated, respected, or even loved.  He simply bears up and does it. Because he's a man.

 

Gus ends up prophetic because that is exactly what happens.  They may resent Walt, even despise him (though I think Skyler will eventually tell Jr that he did NOT kill Hank and took vengeance on those that did) but yet Walt will still provide, like it or not.

These guys shot at a cinderblock wall from 250 yards with 7.62x51 NATO which is what a M60 fires. 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JwZPJgkF6G8

 

Wall didn't do to well.  

 

Nice, I love hickok45!  Just looked it up, the M60 fires a 2600 fps muzzle velocity, whereas the M14 only shoots at 850 fps.  

 

That tells me it would not be nuts at all for the rounds (armor-piercing or not) to go through that wall. 

[styx491]

http://www.tvguide.com/News/Ratings-Breaking-Bad-Record-1071474.aspx

 

 

 

Breaking Bad indeed went out with a bang.

Sunday's 75-minute series finale pulled in a record 10.3 million viewers, well up from its previous series record of 6.6 million, which it delivered last week. The episode also averaged a record 6.7 million viewers in the adults 18-to-49 demographic, improving 300 percent from last year's midseason finale, and is AMC's second most-watched broadcast ever behind The Walking Dead's Season 3 finale (12.4 million). 

Breaking Bad "Felina" recap: How did it all end?

By comparison, Breaking Bad premiered to just 1.4 million viewers in January 2008.

Talking Bad followed with 4.4 million, with 2.9 million in the demo.

Despite competition from Breaking Bad, Homeland returned to 1.9 million viewers, up 9 percent from Season 2's launch for its best premiere ever. Masters of Sex drew 1 million, on par withHomeland's series premiere in 2011.