Breaking Bad Finale Review

Written by Stu Cooper

WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD!

Well it's over. The Heisenberg saga has come to an end. Unless you live under a rock you've probably heard about “Breaking Bad” , especially over the past week. Thanks to syndication, Netflix, and DVD's, the show itself has become a binging favorite. I know a lot of people who only got into the show over the past couple months and binged watched their way all the way to the current season. Along with “The Wire” and “Battlestar Galactica” I'd say it's the most recommended show of this generation. The story itself revolves around a former chemistry teacher named Walter White who turns to a life of meth cooking in order to raise money for his cancer treatments, and to give his family something to hang onto after he passes. During this venture he meets one of the most lovable screw-ups in T.V. History Jessie Pinkman. Jessie is an addict who dabbles in the drug trade world. Once Walter and Jessie team-up they become the odd couple of the show and tons of adventure, murder, crime, and madness ensue. The show finally came to a close tonight. Unlike Dexter and The Sopranos, we got some serious resolution.

Going into the final episode Walt had very little left to live for. His entire family has exiled him, he is a wanted criminal, his legacy is in shambles, all of his business partners are dead, and his protege Jessie Pinkman is being enslaved and forced to make meth for a bunch of skinheads and an awkward Matt Damon look-alike named Todd. Walt using what is left of his genius finds a way to exact revenge on all those who have wronged him that remain in the picture. We see Walt rigging various devices and showing hints at what is to come later in the episode. Walt also threatens a rich couple he had previously been associated with and talks them into holding onto money that will be issued to his family. There is some nice shots of Walt watching Flynn from a distance. You can tell he is saying goodbye in his mind, and trying to get a few more mental snapshots of his son before it's all over. As much as I hated the Walter White character by this point, this episode made the audience sympathize with Walters final days. Soon after this we see Walt confront Lydia and Todd during one of their weekly meetings. At this point we see the camera emphasize the fact that Lydia is putting something in her tea as usual. We find out later that this is Walt's last little Ricin trick (which he had apparently been keeping in the electrical socket in case of emergencies). This was a fitting death for Lydia considering her obsession with getting her tea. I always kind of assumed that would play a role later on. Unlike Dexter, this show seems to remember little details from prior episodes.

One of the most beautiful moments of the episode came when we see Jessie woodworking and making a wooden box, unfortunately it's a daydream and Jessie awakes from his trance and realizes he is still shackled up to the meth lab, a slave to the lab. Vince Gillian (the director) does a great job conveying the sadness in Jessie and his terrible life. You can't help but root for Jessie and pray that he makes it out of the episode alive. Good news is, if you made that wish, you got it. Walt soon comes to the rescue, using a brilliant rigged automatic machine gun to take out the gang. During this fire fight, Walt dives onto Jessie, covering his body, essentially shielding him from any bullets. This results in Jessie and Walt surviving.

The only enemy that survived the gun attack happens to be...Todd! The smug bastard that kept Jessie chained up, survives the onslaught. But before Todd can piece together what happened Jessie grabs him and wraps the handcuff chain around his throat, then proceeds to brutally choke Todd to death, complete with a neck snapping noise. The audience had been waiting for Todd to finally get what he had coming, and boy was it glorious! It was so fulfilling to see Jessie get a break (pun intended). After this, Walt throws Jessie a gun and gives him the opportunity to finally put Walt down and end his pain. Jessie having witnessed and endured so much violence and death, opts not to kill Walt. His pain would not be cured by Walt's death and he realized that. We see Jessie ride off into the night, free and happy to no longer be enslaved. My guess is that he will now live out his life taking care of Brock. As a viewer I breathed a huge sigh of relief knowing he made it out alive. I've never seen a character suffer so much in a story, so he deserved a chance at a new life. Walt however was not as fortunate. It's revealed soon after that Walt was wounded in the gun fight and is bleeding out. Walt goes over to the meth lab and has a moment of happiness as he thinks about the joy he got from his skills in the field of chemistry. While Walt did commit terrible crimes, he did find a sense of purpose he didn't have prior to his chef days. This was emphasized by Walt rubbing one of the chemical tanks...breathing a sigh of relief. Soon after Walt collapses and the police arrive to a euphoric Walt, gazing into death.

An absolute roller coaster of a finale. Walt finally admits he did all of this for himself, Jessie finally achieves freedom, and every door is shut. As the credit hits, I felt like I was looking at the shattered remains of a city after a tornado struck. So much death and heartbreak took place in the last season. You know you felt a connection with all of that when you feel a weight lifted off your shoulders when things are wrapped up. I don't know if the show is one of the greatest of all-time, as many people seem to think, but there are certainly some beautiful moments in the show that prove it's a great piece of television. They say chemistry is the study of change, so it's appropriate that the audience sees Walter White evolve from a deluded family to a dying megalomaniac. The show itself truly deserves praise, and i'm glad the Emmys recently acknowledged the show's quality as well. We are in an era where TV is on par with most hollywood filmmaking, and this show proves that. The team of Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul was truly remarkable and I hope to see more work from both of them. If this show was any indication of their talent, we have a lot to look forward to. Overall it was a hell of a ride and it was the perfect amount of storytelling...BITCH!