With heavy hearts, the world said goodbye to one of television’s most revered and well received shows to ever hit the screen. This past Sunday, Sept. 29, the series finale of “Breaking Bad” aired on AMC, as 10.2 million fans from all over the world watched the very last chapter of Walter White unfolded.
During its five year reign over prime time, “Breaking Bad” left audiences with their jaws dropped and fists clenched. Featuring some of the most numbingly twisted plots to ever be aired on television, the show is hailed as one of the best in the history of American television.
Opening with weary and determined Walter White, who has fully embraced his criminal doppelgänger and alias “Heisenberg,” the finale featured a beautiful and cathartic closing of plot lines. Driving from his refuge in New Hampshire all the way back to Albuquerque, N.M., armed with nothing but nearly 10 million dollars and a fierce resolve to finish what he started, Heisenberg had a long list of tasks.
Appearing for the first time in several seasons, Walter’s former friends and colleagues, Elliot and Gretchen Schwartz, were the first of Walt’s many stops. Having recently come out against the evil doings of the drug kingpin, Elliot is given all of Walter’s money under the instructions to pass it on to his family as an act of independent charity. In order to make sure they complied, Walter informed them of the imminent threat of the two best “hit men” in the region. Turning out to only be Jesse’s old friends Badger and Skinny Pete with laser pointers and ski masks, the point was nonetheless crystal clear to Elliot and Gretchen.
During the finale, Walt reached a sort of Dickensian moment of truth and confession. After years of explaining that all he does, he does for his family, Walter admitted what he was truly feeling as a brutal drug lord of the criminal underground. “I did it for me,” he proclaimed somberly to his scattered and emotional wife Skylar. “I liked it. I was good at it,” he went on. After confronting Skylar, Walt said goodbye to his baby daughter Holly and caught a glimpse of his estranged son Flynn for the last time.
Jesse Pinkman, fan favorite and overall victim of the actions of Walter White, was shown to still be imprisoned by Todd and Jack Alquist. Being forced to continue cooking batches of methamphetamine for the Aryan Brotherhood, Jesse appeared to be broken and despondent. After being led into the AB complex, Walter looked upon Jesse and made a decision that pleased audiences and Jesse fans everywhere. Before triggering a makeshift turret device in his parked car just outside the building, Walt wrestled Jesse to the ground in order to shield him. In a blast of bullets and blood, an M60 light machine gun, rigged to a rotating platform in Walter’s trunk, gunned down all the members of Jack’s crew. Only Jack and Todd were left (relatively) alive. Having seen an opportunity, Jesse uses his restraints to choke the life out of Todd, as Walt picks up a pistol and executes Jack.
With their enemies dead, Jesse picks up a weapon presented to him by Walt, who had been struck by a bullet in all the commotion. After being told by Walt to shoot him, Jesse denies him and drops the gun to the floor. Acting as a free man for the first time, Jesse enters a vehicle and drives off, knowing that the life that he deserves is finally out in front of him. Heisenberg, knowing that his job is done, walks into his meth lab, stolen by Jack. After pausing to look upon his work, Walter White takes his last breath and falls to the floor.
Ending its life in a way that satisfied all of its millions of fans, “Breaking Bad” closed with a bang. After five years of vicious entertainment, it was sad to say goodbye to such an incredible show. Without a doubt, “Breaking Bad” will live on as a pinnacle of American television and a favorite to those who experienced it.
