Breaking Bad

[The Joker]

Fun little article about the music of the finale. Includes a link to the final song by Badfinger, "Baby Blue".

http://www.salon.com/2013/09/30/the_music_of_the_breaking_bad_finale/singleton/

[riddler]

Sunday evenings wont feel the same any more. I liked how this show unearthed what had been considered a dead genre since Shakespeare's days; tragedy. I was half expecting the clicheed series finale of showing the paths of the remaining characters. Instead we get to know that it's over for all of them; Jesse doesn't have to look over his shoulder any more or risk putting his loved ones in danger. Skyler and Marie will probably be close with their husbands dead.

can't wait for Better Call Saul.

[The Dark Knight]

I loved the finale. One of the best of any series. I, like Walt, am not interested in redemption. I loved how he accepted who he is and what he does. He cooked blue meth because he enjoyed it, and was good at it. If it wasn't him cooking earning a truck load of cash, someone else would have. And they'll do so after his death. Not saying it's an admirable 'job' nor am I encouraging it, but he wasn't the first or the last to do such things. There is a demand and he met the supply.

It was pretty much a perfect end. Killing the entire enemy with ingenuity, after being initially laughed at and underestimated. Getting to shoot the head off the main clever-dick mid sentence. Using ricin to poison that smug SOB's coffee that is 100 per cent doomed, rubbing in the prior deaths has just meted out as well.

Either way, Walt went into this knowing he would die, and wanting to. If it was at the hands of Jesse, which could possibly help him move on, so be it. But Jesse was sick of taking orders from people– to shoot Walt – and therefore freed himself mentally and physically afterwards.

Loved how Walt reminisced about his career at the cooking lab, and dying there. The police never caught him. As someone said to me while watching, "that's not Walt, he's gone." They have his body, and again, it is likely he will be tied into cooking that meth and not Jesse. His legend is secure, and his family is set-up as well. The cancer did not dictate his fate. He did. 'Baby Blue' was splendidly used in the final moments, and I'm giving it a good listen to now.

I don't really view Walt as a 'villain'. I view him as a terminally ill cancer sufferer who lived, did what he wanted with not much to lose in the long run. Think back to the first series. A teacher, who was disrespected, washed student cars and felt humiliated. Even though there were very tough times, he decided to empower and make something more for himself, for better or worse.

Farewell, Walt. I enjoyed the ride.

[BatmAngelus]

^ Fantastic post and I agree.

I, like Walt, am not interested in redemption. I loved how he accepted who he is and what he does. He cooked blue meth because he enjoyed it, and was good at it. If it wasn't him cooking earning a truck load of cash, someone else would have. And they'll do so after his death. Not saying it's an admirable 'job' nor am I encouraging it, but he wasn't the first or the last to do such things. There is a demand and he met the supply.

Yep and on the flip side, I'm glad Walt never became a "full villain" in these last batch of episodes.  There were theories that Walt would end up killing Skyler or others in his family and I just didn't think that would be in-character.  No matter how far down the path he went, Walt was always grounded in his love for his family. 

I think Vince Gilligan and his writers were able to walk the fine line extremely well and kept the show in the gray area.

It was pretty much a perfect end. Killing the entire enemy with ingenuity, after being initially laughed at and underestimated. Getting to shoot the head off the main clever-dick mid sentence.

It really was the perfect way for Walt to avenge Hank and a great way to sum up Walt's arc, where the money was no longer important to him. 

Also, as pointed out by others, Hank went out with his dignity.  Jack went out like a coward, trying to bargain his way out.

Using ricin to poison that smug SOB's coffee that is 100 per cent doomed, rubbing in the prior deaths has just meted out as well.

While many had predicted this would happen, due to Lydia's constant tea habit, I like how it was saved for last.

Walt's last line (and the last line of the whole series) was "Goodbye, Lydia."  Technically, this is another element that came full circle.  This story all started with a death sentence, with Walt being told that he only has two years, at most, to live. 

Now it ends with a death sentence, with Walt delivering the ricin news to Lydia as his final act of vengeance.

Either way, Walt went into this knowing he would die, and wanting to. If it was at the hands of Jesse, which could possibly help him move on, so be it. But Jesse was sick of taking orders from people– to shoot Walt – and therefore freed himself mentally and physically afterwards.

Indeed.  And I loved their final dialogue-free good-bye outside.  Nothing needed to be said after Jesse dropped the gun.  It was poignant and fantastic to see Walt set him free.

[The Dark Knight]

Yep and on the flip side, I'm glad Walt never became a "full villain" in these last batch of episodes.  There were theories that Walt would end up killing Skyler or others in his family and I just didn't think that would be in-character.  No matter how far down the path he went, Walt was always grounded in his love for his family. 

This is an important point. One of the reasons why the finale succeeded is because it remained true to the characters. What they would realistically do in certain situations, etc. Dexter's finale dropped the ball in this regard IMO. By 'playing safe', Breaking Bad ended on a worthy note that didn't leave one liking some parts but not all of it. Which, lets face it, the finale is ultimately how we remember the series, regardless of how much has gone before. It's the lasting impression.

[BatmAngelus]

The show will go down in history as one of the few that stayed consistently strong, actually grew in its audience, and ended on a high note.

Another thing I noticed (before the following picture was created) is that Gus ended up being right in Season 3:
"A man provides for his family...And he does it even when he's not appreciated.  Or respected.  Or even loved.  He just bears up and he does it.  Because he is a man."

http://imgur.com/r/breakingbad/F0xaZDw

[The Laughing Fish]

Way late to the party, but I decided to binge watch Breaking Bad last year, got it done within three weeks and then proceeded to watch Better Call Saul and El Camino.

What do I think? BrBa deserved every accolade it got. Bryan Cranston elevated himself as Walter White, absolutely brilliant, and the writing throughout the show complimented his acting.

Walter always rationalised that he got into the meth business for the sake of leaving his family behind some wealth to get by after he dies, but in reality, he was always an egomaniac. Right from the moment we saw him expressing his resentment towards the Schwartzes because of the whole Gray Matter affair, Walter looked at his life thus far and knew he had underachieved. As you can see when he tells that half-truth to that therapist about how he faked his fugue state to cover his disappearance when he freed himself from captivity by Tuco Salamanca, right to the very end when he finally admits to Skyler he risked it all to satisfy his own self-gratification. The biggest takeaway from this show is how ego can poison the mind and make a person do whatever it takes, endangering himself and his family, all because of a terminal illness shook him from his slumber.

In contrast, Jesse Pinkman, while obviously not innocent of course, develops more of a conscience towards the end of the series. Any ounce of whatever respect he had for his old chemistry teacher went out of the window once Walter further falls into deviant behaviour and greed, with his constant manipulation and abuse of trust, and getting him to do things that destroyed him emotionally. It's funny how a schoolteacher,  without any real physical strength but has lots of brains and a massive ego, can leave a trail of destruction in his wake.

Brilliant show.

I've been watching BCS, as I already mentioned, and it's great in its own way. Really great to see Jimmy McGill before he was Saul Goodman and trying to be the best lawyer possible with his heart in the right place, albeit taking an approach of ends justify the means. Until he goes back to his fraudulent ways and slowly becomes the criminal lawyer we saw in BrBa. His relationship with his brother Chuck, who looked down at him from an academic and personality point of view, was great drama and was a contributing factor that stopped Jimmy in becoming legitimate. Depending on who you ask, Jimmy's relationship with his colleague and wife Kim Wexler may have had a part in corrupting her too...or maybe she had a darker side that Jimmy helped unleash.

BCS has great world building with so many characters appearing from BrBa, and I look forward to watch the final season this year.

Anyway, here are some hilarious videos summarising the entire show.

[Travesty]

Still one of my favorite shows of all time. I've been thinking of doing another re-watch soon.

[The Laughing Fish]

For anyone who is interested, check out the Into the Gilliverse podcast on YouTube. It has interviews with actors, writers and producers who worked on Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul.

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLUnWBOQg-WyqwGTsxYBa7cxcyKx9Vvo8S

Another video I found was this great imagining of Mike Ehrmantraut's Half Measures story. This eerie illustrations capture a younger looking Jonathan Banks so well.

[The Laughing Fish]

If Breaking Bad had a longer intro, one of these fan edits would be worthy of it. I prefer the second one better with its consistent use of motion graphics.