Last night saw the final episode of Breaking Bad, a show I heard about for two, three years before I finally gave in and started watching it, a show that I found to be a complete, grab-you-by-the-throat experience. In its five season run, I don’t think I ever found myself thinking, “Well, that episode was kind of lame.” My attention didn’t wander, I didn’t feel like it got lost and started wandering aimlessly, it never really lost forward momentum–or, if it did, it was so well done that I didn’t notice.
I approached the last few episodes with nervous excitement, and a sense of impending doom. That sense of doom was not so much for the characters and their potentially ugly fates, but for the show itself. Good endings are hard to get right, and when you know your show is serious water cooler fodder, and that millions of people will be tuning in and talking about it afterwards it’s easy to choke. Executive Producer Vince Gilligan and his team of writers did not choke. They gave us an ending that was both fair and appropriate given the characters and where they were on their personal journeys at that point in time.
Fairness is an important part of getting it right. If there’s one quibble I have with the ending ***MINOR SPOILER, but no major plot points*** it’s that Walter perhaps got too much of what he wanted.***END SPOILER*** If I say that, however, it’s because there was a part of me that was screaming out for justice, But justice and fairness are not the same thing, and I think ‘fair’ was better.
What say you? Did you watch Breaking Bad? Did you think the end was fair? PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE, if you comment, remember that not everyone may have watched the ending yet, and tag your comment for potential spoilers. Thanks!
8 Responses
My husband and I have been on a BREAKING BAD marathon for the last couple of weeks, watching episodes every night in the run up to the finale.
Love this show so much.
I think the ending was not just fair but just. Walter's family will be taken care of and an evil crime family is taken out to boot. Plus Walt's gone so that should be justice for those who wanted him to pay for his crimes. Excellent work and the finale was perfect.
I haven't watched that one – there's just not enough time! I've heard so many good things about it now! 🙂
That can be a grueling experience! I started watching it in chunks, and found my desire to see what happened next was often at war with me needing a break from the tension.
Dang it, I got confuzzled by the new placement of the 'sign out' button and lost my response. Now I'm too scrambled to respond properly. Oh, right, yes, I will certainly shed no tears for *those* people. It's interesting how they worked at returning Walt to 'hero status' here; this was a prospect I was really worried about in the run-up to the finale, and might be fodder for another post….
It was a show that was really well done. Not for everyone, though, that's for sure.
I've been banned from our communal kitchen/living room area on res a couple of times for an hour while my housemates watched the last few episodes as they came out, because they knew I wasn't up to date and they didn't want anything spoiled for me. I've heard the ending was good, although people have been careful enough not to give anything away and I've managed not to stumble upon anything serious on the internet.
Can't wait to finish watching it! I'm still all the way back in mid season 3. :p Thanks for the post, JeffO 🙂
Good to know you've got people watching out for your best interests!