September 30th, 2013 at 12:56 AM ^
The trend for "epic finales" is to introduce ambiguity (Sopranos is an example)-- I loved the fact Gilligan was willing to commit to a narrative that was an actual ending instead of just the last show. That means closing family business, so to speak. I thought it was highly satisfying, and I didn't see anyone on the board (or anywhere else) predicting he'd hand over his remaining millions to the Schwartzes. Of all the people that could have been targeted with the ricin, I never saw the speculation pointing in Lydia's direction. All in all, brilliantly executed, right down to the smile on Walt's face in the final shot.
September 30th, 2013 at 1:08 AM ^
but more than one person in last week's BB thread pointed out how many times they focused on Lydia pouring sugar into her drink and predicted the ricin would be used on her.
I'm just saying, going into the episode, we knew Walt needed to do what: get money to his family, say goodbye to skylar, kill the nazis, and free Jesse.
In what other single episode has Walt been able to do everything he tried to do?? Why choose the finale to be so clean and tidy?
September 30th, 2013 at 1:19 AM ^
Really? The finale is supposed to leave things tidy because... there isn't another opportunity to continue any of the storylines. It's the finale.
September 30th, 2013 at 1:55 AM ^
September 30th, 2013 at 1:17 AM ^
Sorry, but there was nothing ambiguous about the Sopranos finale. I can't believe some people still can't see this.
September 30th, 2013 at 7:10 AM ^
This. If you pay attention at all to the editing, the references to death in many previous episodes, the overall tone of the show, then you know the Sopranos ending was not ambiguous.
September 30th, 2013 at 12:21 AM ^
September 30th, 2013 at 1:12 AM ^
and thought one of the best lines in the whole show was back in the first season.
Walt: "this guy (Crazy 8)... does he have... a violent nature?"
Jessie: "Well, he did try to kill both of us yesterday, so there's that."
This show may never get the credit it deserves for being as funny as it was at times.
September 30th, 2013 at 1:31 AM ^
September 30th, 2013 at 1:33 AM ^
September 30th, 2013 at 2:01 AM ^
September 30th, 2013 at 1:42 AM ^
Did anybody else love that Jesse wood shop scene? I know it was minor, but I thought it was really cool to bring that back in
September 30th, 2013 at 4:07 AM ^
I thought it was a great finale, unlike most shows where the finale disappoints.
September 30th, 2013 at 4:11 AM ^
Solid finale. The only thing I feel I can nitpick is the almost complete disregard of Jesse's character after he sees Todd kill his love interest. That was such an emotional point for Jesse's character, then afterwords he's thrown in a shed to cook meth and on the finale he gets 2 minutes screen time and drives off in a car screaming.
WTF?
He was a main character, only a nudge behind Walt and we're left feeling like the writers left a huge gap as to Jesse and what happens to him with the last 2 episodes. It did his character ZERO justice. Does anyone else think it felt a little rush to the ending to wrap things up?
September 30th, 2013 at 5:38 AM ^
September 30th, 2013 at 6:25 AM ^
Show felt a tiny bit rushed trying to get everything in, but I don't think anything got left out. In the end, it was always a show about Walt and the ending reinforced that. Not sure what adding more Jesse would have done. We knew he was stuck as a prisoner cooking meth and his life sucked, they didn't need to waste time showing it.
September 30th, 2013 at 8:16 AM ^
...finales need closure to satisfy most viewers, so I don't really have an issue with the way it worked out. Walt tied up a variety of loose ends and ended up saving Jesse rather than offing him, which was likely a spur-of-the-moment decision based on the fact that Jesse was an unwilling prisoner-participant.
The Bad Finger song "Baby Blue" at the end was stunningly perfect. I grew up with that song.
So good.
One final observation: Throughout the show, Walt liked to think of his craft as a successful business with a superior product and he took pride in that. I kept thinking how seemingly arbitrary it is that our politicians decide what chemically-based products are good for us and which ones aren't and are made illegal. I'm not saying meth is good for anyone, but there is a libertarian streak in me that gets angry when idiots in Washington who can't even balance a checkbook tell me what is good and what isn't. I think Walt's libertarian streak strengthened throughout the show as well to the point where he completely justified his occupation to himself.
Fascinating character study.
September 30th, 2013 at 8:51 AM ^
Nice choice...Scorsese also thought so, because it was on The Departed soundtrack.
September 30th, 2013 at 9:06 AM ^
justified murder and everything else he did with a political view. it was definitely more just an "I'm-gonna-die-and-give-zero-fucks" view, ie selfish.
September 30th, 2013 at 10:40 AM ^
I agree ... if a political motive or message was intended, it was muted and secondary to the story of the inward focus of Walter White.
That's the story arc of Breaking Bad from the beginning to the end -- the transformation of Walter White from a outward-focused, giving man to an inward-focused selfish man. He retained a glimmer of the old Walter until the very end, as evidenced by his engineering a way to get tainted money cleansed so his family would be taken care of, the providing Skyler with a tool to negotiate a plea bargain, and by his saving Jesse. Still, the lure of selfish satisfaction is strong, and as the series unfolded Walter increasingly gave into that impulse, regardless of the cost to others.
September 30th, 2013 at 1:06 PM ^
The Bad Finger song "Baby Blue" at the end was stunningly perfect."Guess I got what I deserved...." Just awesome
September 30th, 2013 at 6:32 PM ^
September 30th, 2013 at 9:42 AM ^
Season 5, Episode 17 now available exclusively on YouTube.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oP_4z4IoYHs
September 30th, 2013 at 10:16 AM ^
I thought it was a really good finale. While there were no crazy plot twists and with the foreshadowing of the M60 and ricin you had a pretty good idea of what was going to go down, the actual execution of the plot was exquisite. The acting in the scene in the kitchen was probably the highlight of a series that consistently featured great acting. "I did it for me" was an absolutely killer line. It was such a simple thing to say, something we knew all along, but also incredibly powerful in terms of what it meant to Walt's and Skylar's relationship.
The phone conversation with Lydia was also brilliant. "Is it done? Is he gone?" "Yeah it's done, he's gone. They're all gone." *chills*
September 30th, 2013 at 10:38 AM ^
September 30th, 2013 at 1:11 PM ^
Yeah, that's what I mean, that whole line was incredible, and so was the acting of Skylar as she received it. You can see her transforming from this hollow shell and finally be able to start healing and moving on. Anna Gunn and Bryan Cranstan have both been absolutely amazing in 5b. I thought they're scene over the phone in Ozymandias was one of the most emotionally intense scenes ever and they really out did themselves in the finale.
September 30th, 2013 at 11:24 AM ^
Gilligan's pitch line of "Mr. Chips to Scarface" is pretty well known at this point, but after the finale, I think the more apt comparison is The Godfather II. In the end, Michael settles all "family business". Walt settles all his business. Both men were initially morally ambiguous (even good), but suffered through a long, slow turn to the dark side out of lust for money and power.
Perfect finale. Best television show I've ever had the pleasure of watching.
September 30th, 2013 at 11:42 AM ^
September 30th, 2013 at 6:28 PM ^
September 30th, 2013 at 6:45 PM ^
Season 5 had its good moments and was good overall, but season 4 was the best. Gus and Mike and their story was just too awesome.