All Bad Things have Come to an End. (Breaking Bad finale discussion. Spoilers ahead)

[AlbertoDeSanta]

Loved it. As a recent watcher of all 5 seasons of Breaking Bad, it was magnificent. The whole show, from start to finish was impeccable, and it ended very nicely. I was slightly dissapointed, as it did feel more of a "Walt's Ending" episode then any of the other characters (which is dis-heartening due it being a SERIES finale), but overall it was great. Jesse is now living free, and Heisenberg is dead. Walter truly did win in the end. Dying of his own terms.

I was super late to the party, I've watched the entire series over the last month, and I loved every second of it, literally finished watching the second to last episode about 3 days before the finale.

Saying that, I was a little, underwhelmed? I dunno, just felt a little weak, but I suppose, that may have been the intention.


Walt didn't really go out with a bang, but more of a whimper.

Spot on. It was slightly underwhelming, but not so much that it ruined the whole show. IT was a good ending, but for Breaking Bad, it could have been better.


Farewell to Breaking Bad, nothing can ever replace the hole in my heart.


(Something will but LOL MELODRAMA)

 

[Olas]

9/10

It would have been 10/10 but we never find out what happens to Huell. What happened to him? Is he still back at the safe house waiting for Hank to give him the all clear? Maybe he starved to death sitting on that bed. Oh the cruel irony.

All kidding aside I think this ending was as near perfect as it was going to get, I could gush over all the things I thought were brilliant but that would be pretty much just a recap of the episode.

Walt didn't really go out with a bang, but more of a whimper.

But the whimper was preceded by a bang, more specifically a 32 second continual succession of bangs.

 

[Daystar Clarion]

I was super late to the party, I've watched the entire series over the last month, and I loved every second of it, literally finished watching the second to last episode about 3 days before the finale.

Saying that, I was a little, underwhelmed? I dunno, just felt a little weak, but I suppose, that may have been the intention.


Walt didn't really go out with a bang, but more of a whimper.

How so?

He gunned down like 10 people, poisoned someone and made sure a part of his money would go to his son.

What exactly is going out with a bang then? Gunning down 100? Nuking New Hampshire? Cooking up a kilo of crytal meth and setting it on fire in an orphanage?

I don't mean it in a bad way.

It was sort of fitting, he tied up loose ends, and died quietly, on his own terms.

It didn't blow me away, but I wasn't disappointed either.

 

[Erttheking]

I was super late to the party, I've watched the entire series over the last month, and I loved every second of it, literally finished watching the second to last episode about 3 days before the finale.

Saying that, I was a little, underwhelmed? I dunno, just felt a little weak, but I suppose, that may have been the intention.


Walt didn't really go out with a bang, but more of a whimper.

How so?

He gunned down like 10 people, poisoned someone and made sure a part of his money would go to his son.

What exactly is going out with a bang then? Gunning down 100? Nuking New Hampshire? Cooking up a kilo of crytal meth and setting it on fire in an orphanage?

I don't mean it in a bad way.

It was sort of fitting, he tied up loose ends, and died quietly, on his own terms.

It didn't blow me away, but I wasn't disappointed either.

I kinda get what you mean. I was expecting Walt to kick in a door and gun down the Nazis with that M60 before dying in a hellfire of bullets. That didn't happen, and while what did happen made sense, part of me wanted him to pull a Scarface. Then again I suppose that's the point, Breaking Bad has always been really good at playing with my expectations. So I'm like you. Not blown away, but satisfied.

 

[irishda]

Yeah, I'd say it was a solid B episode. Not great, but not terrible. For a show where everything was always going wrong and people had to improvise, the finale just played out too perfectly. It went against the grain of the show. Personally I would never have swapped out Hank for Nazis though, and the series probably should've ended with Ozymandias instead.

 

[ToastiestZombie]

It was shit, the most terrible episode I've seen of anything all year. Mainly because they didn't use any one of these songs when Walt was dying. Fucking Vince, you missed an opportunity there.

Spoiler

Spoiler

Nah, but seriously it was the perfect ending for me. The show didn't need a "big reveal" or some shit like that, it was predictable as fuck but I still didn't want it to end. I gotta admit, I cried like a baby when the credits started up. That song choice was perfect.

... and Walt saying goodbye to Holly.

 

[Esotera]

The only thing that annoyed me is that he explicitly told Lydia that he'd poisoned her with ricin. There is an experimental antidote available and with that knowledge she could quite easily get it a hospital. It would also have been way cooler if it was a bit more ambiguous on that point.

All in all, a really good series, and the ending was decent...which is a rarity these days.

 

[AT God]

I didn't watch it, I am waiting for the entire series to be available on Netflix so I can go on a bender and watch it all. However I did read the ending and was hoping Walt would go down swinging. Its cliché so it shouldn't have ended that way but I was secretly hoping he would die in a huge gun battle where he threw his little chemical bombs at people.

 

[debtcollector]

Far from the best episode, but that's still an incredibly high bar. My only real complaint was the lack of Jesse. Yes, I'm glad he killed Todd, yes I'm glad he didn't kill Walt, and I was really glad for that box flashback/dream sequence. But I was hoping for more of a resolution than him just blasting out of there laughing. Maybe a teensy bit more closure between him and Walt? Maybe he goes to find Brock?

But other than that, it ended exactly as it should have. I never expected Breaking Bad would have a happy ending, but it pulled it off! Walt provides for his kids, pulls some science kills on Jack and the gang, Jesse finally kills Todd, and Walt gets to smile again.

Wait, my other complaint is the lack of hat. I would have loved one sequence (similar to the last episode of season 4, when Gus walks into the nursing home) where Walt--no, Heisenburg--puts on his hat one last time before driving off to the neo-Nazis. And then some dramatic hat removal when the smoke clears.

 

[cojo965]

Post t.v. show existential-crisis mode activated.

So who's looking forward to Better Call Saul?

As someone who has never watched Breaking Bad, I'm pleased that Brian Cranston can focus more on Godzilla 2014 now.

You mean press-wise? Godzilla finished shooting already I believe.

Not quite, Godzilla comes out on May 16, 2014, I think in that time something will surface that needs improvement.

 

[shootthebandit]

good points:

- everyone who deserved to die died
- everyone who deserved to live lived
- skylar got the money and safety
- walt redeemed himself (partially) and died with respect
- todd gets strangled
- walts auto-turret
- badger and skinny pete
- everything is wrapped up nicely

bad points:

- kind of predictable for a BB ending(apart from the automated gun and the badger and skinny pete scene)
- end of an era

overall i thought it was the best way to wrap up the program, no stone is left unturned and walter has at least partially redeemed himself. A notable point was when uncle jack asked him if he wanted to know where the money was, it was nice to know that his intention was purely to save jesse and stop the skinheads from threatening skylar and the family

 

[XMark]

It ended somewhat predictably, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. I feel like the show's real climax was the shootout with Hank and Gomie vs the Nazis. Everything since that point was a much more intimate, personal story of Walt facing the consequences of everything he's done through the series, and his final chance at redemption.

He owned up to his selfishness, managed to find a way for his money to go to his family, saved Jesse, and eliminated Lydia and the Nazis, which tied up all the loose ends. Basically, perfect ending.

 

[irishda]

It ended somewhat predictably, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. I feel like the show's real climax was the shootout with Hank and Gomie vs the Nazis. Everything since that point was a much more intimate, personal story of Walt facing the consequences of everything he's done through the series, and his final chance at redemption.

He owned up to his selfishness, managed to find a way for his money to go to his family, saved Jesse, and eliminated Lydia and the Nazis, which tied up all the loose ends. Basically, perfect ending.

I don't think we needed two episodes of that though. The finale just felt like it lacked any sort of oomph or emotional weight to it, because the whole series was Hank chasing after Walt, and then once that was over, it was like, "Wait, there's more?"

 

[mmmikey]

It was satisfactory at least in that it's the end of Walt's story. I'd say that the most intense part for my viewing experience was Walt appearing out of the shadows at the Schwartz's, close the entrance and just let himself in knowing from the previous episode that there was something in their TV appearance that set him off after he was willing to let it all be over.

While the shootout was a big moment, I think it pales in comparison to other similar moments in the show. I'd say it had to do with only giving a last minute rival for Walt to take his last stand against. Although knowing the show undercuts expectations a lot I kind of wondered if they would execute Walt and have one of the neo-nazis see what was in the trunk and inadvertently kill the rest of the camp.

I would've liked more on what happened to other characters from the show. There were parts of the show that seemed to plant moments that were meant to be followed up on in the finale or epilogue. Walt's message to Holly at his party. His confessional video from the pilot. A followup on Saul. What happens when Flynn gets the trust fund money. And probably just some aftermath footage about the neo-nazi camp shootout.

The last song going into the credits took me out of the experience. It didn't really fit the mood of the show for me. This is surpising for a show that had done so well with its choices all along.

When Vince talked about having an extra scene in the script from the gas station where he knew a former student had recognized him and he puts the fear of Heisenberg in him, I kind of hoped they had the kid who took a picture of him from the pilot at the car wash.

If you mashed this episode with Ozymandias and cut out what I thought was a lot of fluff in Granite State it would make for one great last episode for the show.

 

[SuperUberBob]

The worst thing about the ending is that it ended.

 

[norashepard]

I liked it a ton, but there was one thing I will say I didn't like: everyone else's ending. Walt dies in a blaze of glory which is totally rad, but literally nobody else got anything from the experience. Jesse is free, but free to do what? Return to his shitty life? The same life he had before all of it? (If only they hadn't killed Andrea!) Skylar is free from Walt's evil, but her house is destroyed, her life is destroyed, she's still a fresh victim of abuse, it's awful. Marie, too. She gets to bury Hank, but then what? She's a widow now, who's only potential support is her abused sister. Nobody but Walt got a satisfying ending in my opinion. Well, except Badger and Skinny Pete.

But yeah killer show.

 

[FrozenCones]

I really enjoyed it. There was just the right amount of action and drama and science to do it justice. The last thing I wanted was Walt "honey badgering" into Jack's compound in a blaze of glory. The show isnt Scarface.

Now i'm going to start from the beginning and pick up on all the subtleties that I missed out the first time around. I still have a couple of unanswered questions but i'm sure its all there.

 

[SuperUberBob]

You do realize that Skylar and family will get 10M right?

Marie now has some closure as to what exactly happened to Hank and where he is located.

Jesse isn't a slave.

Sure their lives aren't perfect, but better than what they had.