[NOTE: This article contains spoilers from AMC’s ‘Breaking Bad’.]
Breaking Bad is regarded by most as one of the best television series of all-time—a neo-Western that went from a show starring Malcolm in the Middle’s dad as a high school science teacher to a pop-culture phenomenon. Tomorrow is the five-year anniversary of the Breaking Bad series finale, “Felina”, airing on AMC, as the fates of beloved (or not so beloved) characters became known.
The Breaking Bad finale is undoubtedly one of the best series finales of all-time, holding up—if not exceeding—the standard set by the show over the course of its five seasons. Show creator Vince Gilligan helmed “Felina” as the director, putting the finishing touches on the story of Walter White. So what made the Breaking Bad series finale so great? There are many reasons, but let’s go over the five biggest points for the five-year anniversary.
From Mr. Chips to Scarface
Vince Gilligan has often compared the transformation of Walter White to going from Mr. Chips to Scarface. The last couple of seasons, we saw Walt become a figure that most viewers felt a little less sorry for, as the man known as Heisenberg transformed into a full-blown ruthless drug lord. “Felina” showed Heisenberg was a lot like Scarface—but more controlled and compassionate—with one final stand to free Jesse Pinkman one last time. Like Tony Montana, Walter White had money and power, but he went too far and died alone.
All business is handled
Part of what made “Felina” so great—perhaps the number one reason it was an exceptional finale—is that all loose ends were tied up. Walt spoke one last time with Skylar, admitting that he remained a drug kingpin because he liked it; he was able to see Walter Jr. one last time, from afar; he eliminated all of his enemies, including Jack and Lydia, saving and freeing Jesse in the process; Jesse got his redemption on Todd; Walt got to terrorize and chide Gretchen and Elliott—and Badger and Skinny Pete even made a pitch-perfect appearance to help him do so. With characters like Jesse remaining alive, we can wonder what becomes of them in the future, but overall it was an extremely satisfying end all-around. And Walt died surrounded by chemistry equipment that helped him build his empire.
Unpredictability
Heading into the series finale of Breaking Bad, everything was up in the air. With so many characters, there were thousands of scenarios and predictions of how the show would end. Also, the fact that Walt was an anti-hero made things more unpredictable, and it blurred the lines between good and evil.
Realism
That unpredictability stems from realism, as there wasn’t just some cookie-cutter mold that Breaking Bad was following for its final act. Realism and grittiness helped make Breaking Bad—and most legitimate classic television shows and movies—one of the best ever. The setting of Albuquerque, New Mexico and the world centered around the drug trade made things believable. In the finale, Walt probably would have loved to speak to Walt Jr. one last time, and it would’ve happened in a soap opera; but realistically, that wasn’t going to happen given everything that occurred in their lives. Every detail seemed to be in the show with a purpose, which also helped make the prequel series Better Call Saul possible.
“Actions have consequences.”
On multiple occasions, Vince Gilligan said a big theme of the show is that “actions have consequences.” With his back against the wall, Walt started cooking meth, and it snowballed from there until he became one of the most wanted men in America. If Walt would have just stopped selling or never started in the first place, he wouldn’t have had the thrill of being the best in the world at something and becoming someone that strikes fear in people. But he wouldn’t have ruined the lives of his family and have them hate his guts forever. Ultimately, Walt, who was at first a sympathetic figure, made his own decisions—and ultimately, he paid for those decisions.
Excellent finale.
It’s crazy how it was a hit out of nowhere.