Anyone into 'BREAKING BAD'? (part 4)

Sad to see it end but what a finale!

 

Lots to love in this finale.....I loved it when Skyler said to Walt "You look terrible" and he replied "But I feel good"

Interesting that in the Elliot/Gretchen scene, the Skyler scene, the Walt Jr. scene and the Lydia Coffee Shop Scene he is unseen, like a ghost - there but not there until he appears like magic. That was particularly clever in the Kitchen scene with Skyler talking with Marie - I was completely unprepared to see Walt standing there...what great blocking and set work on behalf of the camera and editing teams.

Another great shout out....except for Saul and Huell, were there any major living characters that did not get a role in the finale? What a great way to honor a cast and the entire Breaking Bad universe.

 

Yeah, that was a really great ending. Way better than I expected they could pull off and they actually did wrap up most everything that was important. I was not expecting the twist with Gretchen and Elliott but did you guys notice the physical comedy from Cranston? The whole saunter over in the restaurant, pull out the chair, sit down....the closing of the door in Gretchen and Elliott's house...hilarious.

EDIT: Does anyone know how he doctored the packet that Lydia used to look real?

 

Quick thoughts from the morning after;

Walt channelling Fonzie when he knocked the snow off the driver's side window.

The scene with the Schwartzs when they weren't aware of Walt in the house yet, reminded me of Kubrick, Clockwork Orange and The Shining

The way Walt fixates on the photo on their bookshelf, like he did on the 'artwork' in Uncle Jack's place.

The knotty pine in Skylar's new digs & the way the column seperated Walt & Skylar.

Walt with Holly, and watching Jr. from a distance, 100 ft could've been 100 miles, maybe the saddest scenes in the series.

Hope Skylar at some point tells Jr, Walt didn't kill Hank (I know, it's just a show)

Badfinger, although somewhere along the line I expected It's All Over Now, Baby Blue

Vince Gilligan referencing The Searchers on Talking Bad

Gonna miss these guys!

 

For me, last night's finale was good but not necessarily Breaking Bad at its very best. At times, it felt a little too neat and mechanical, like Walt was just checking things off of his to do list before he died. He was in control of everything, though some of the more exciting moments from this season have occurred when Walt lost control (For my money, "Ozymandius" remains the real climax of the show, their most potent and explosive episode). I loved the final scene with Skyler--both actors gave great, understated performances--and was glad to see him finally take responsibility for what he'd done. I would have liked it if they'd spent a little more time with Jesse, giving him a little more closure after the hell he's been through, and somehow taking out the neo-Nazi crew didn't have quite the catharsis that I might have hoped for. And why did he feel the need to take out Lydia? Not that it's any great loss or anything, but it seemed like he was saying "This was my thing, you can't continue on without me". In the end, Walt got to go out on his own terms, which is probably more than he deserved, but it seems like he at least achieved some degree of self awareness by the end.

P.S. "Baby Blue" is a great song but somehow it didn't quite hit the right note for me at the end. That "guess I got what I deserved" felt a little too on the nose.

 

Amazon is at $209.00 and it may still drop some before it releases at the end of November. I don't have any of the blu-rays so I am getting it. Tons of bonus material, etc make it a no brainer for me.

 

I hope Pete Ham is up there smiling. He finally got some justice.

 

Hats off to VInce and the writers and the actors, a very satisfying conclusion. I'm glad it's over, and over so well.

 

Actually, I thought the Gretchen and Elliot scheme was one of the weaker points of the finale. "Yay, Walt figured out how to take care of his kids!" -- except, not so fast ... G&E will still have to launder that money somehow in order to make it "legitimate" before they can ever give it to Junior. Even a billionaire can't can't wheel a barrel of money into their broker's office and say, "I'd like to set up a trust fund."

Although, I suppose they could use $10 million of their OWN money, and just use Walt's cash as "walking around" money. I guess Walt figured, you guys are smart and rich -- you have several months to figure this out.

 

And . . . it doesn't bother Walt if G&E have to get their hands dirty a little.

 

I did like the fact that Jesse said no to Walt at the end. He wasn't willing to do his dirty work for him anymore, even though it might have been easy for him to succumb to resentment and revenge.

 

It sure hit the right note for me -- heck, that song was a music coordinator's dream come true! A love song about Walt losing his "baby blue," starting with "I guess I got what I deserved"? If you didn't recognize the song, you might think it was written for the show!

 

Good point -- maybe he wants to force them to "break bad" a little bit, and swallow the hypocrisy of their Charlie Rose comments.

 

I got chills when I heard Baby Blue.

Didn't they use that song in an episode before?

 

She always sat at the same table as well. There was only 1 packet. If someone else had shown up, I think Walt would have discouraged the from sitting there. He was keeping an eye out when he could have just shown up later. It. Is a bit of a conceit but I'm willing to forgive it.

 

When they first started playing that song it blew my mind ... absolutely one of my favorite tunes of all time. I get shivers when I hear it. It will now be forever associated with Breaking Bad.

 

God, I hope not!

 

I've been with this show since episode 1 and have only watched the original broadcasts (no reruns). Now I can't wait to get the entire series on DVD. Best show on TV bar none. After not being able to guess what was coming next show after show, I'm glad it ended the way I hoped it would have... Walt dead and Jesse lives free.

I didn't watch any of the prior Talking Bad aftershows, but I did last night. Loved what Vince said about the legacy of the show, giving kudos to the Twilight Zone's longevity.

 

Just a bit far-fetched that everything worked out perfectly for Walt in the end regarding the gang. He got to park where he wanted, got the keys back after they were taken, and could so easily have been killed before the car gun went off. And if he were to be killed, why even have him go in the house? Then Jack brings Jesse in for no logical reason. A lot of 'lucky' breaks. Something more realistic would have been a car bomb and Walt drives it into the house, blowing up himself and the gang, which is what seemed like it might be happening.

 

In this episode Walt is like a God: he's in complete control, he dictates the terms of his own end, he is the last man standing, he wins the game, he cheats fate, and even cancer falls before his mighty power, as it is his own bullet that ends his life. A nice, comfortable ending we can feel good about - a Hollywood ending; the good guys win, the bad guys get what's coming to them. A fantastical, childish ending. An immense letdown after "Ozymandius."

 

Sure, but things have been this way on the show all the time. And not just on this show.

 

No , Crystal Blue Persuasion

 

Yup. Leaves us nothing to think about, no one's fate to ponder, etc. Woulda been so cool to have some twisty ending, something go wrong like it does in real life. The puzzling thing is that Vince G. & Co. had years to decide the ending. This coulda been made up on the spot.

Even the machine gun in the car was nonsensical. Walt was a chemistry whiz, not a gadget genius. Someone in his condition woulda had a lot of trouble physically setting that thing up. Pure Hollywood.

 

Yes. Not the best part of the show. Of course we were all rooting for Walt to win this battle. A more grim and perhaps more appropriate ending would have been Walt being executed like Hank on his knees. The end.