Breaking Bad - Felina - series finale.
Sep. 30th, 2013 06:09 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
shadowkatDidn't sleep well last night, so did next to nothing on my day off. Played in Lj, vaccumed my floor (only thing worse than vaccuming is attempting to spell vaccuming.)
Also watched the series finale of Breaking Bad, along with a rewatch of OUAT and well my soap opera. I'm anything if not diverse in my tastes. In short spent the day not wandering around, because if I don't, I don't hurt. Nice to have one day of no pain. Digestive issues, but no pain. Struggling with the whole food thing at the moment.
Breaking Bad
Better than expected. I don't know what I was expecting - but from last weeks internet reviews and commentary, I was beginning to fear the worst - ie, a dark nihilistic episode which ended with Lydia and Todd riding off into the sunset together, while everyone else lay twisted and broken in their wake. I really shouldn't read commentary and trust my own views more in regards to television. Because the story thread clearly was not headed in that direction.
At any rate, say what you will about Breaking Bad's uneven fifth season, it did deliver perhaps the best series finale that I've seen to date. (I was not overly found of Battle Star Galatica's, Lost's, Buffy's, or various others including MASH. The finale's of televisions serials either go one of three ways: 1) open-ended (see Buffy and Angel), 2) sappy and sentimental (See MASH, LOST and Battlestar Galatica), or 3) surreal interpretative art that makes relatively little sense whatsoever to about 75% of the audience (see Sopranoes, St. Elsewhere, Quantum Leap, and from what I've read online...apparently Dexter).)
As a result, I watch them with low expectations. I don't why this is - but television writers tend to suck at two things - beginnings and endings. Except that is for Vince Gilligan and Breaking Bad - which has a very good pilot and beginning and an extremely good ending. Bravo.
If you can get past the premise, and the, ahem, unlikable characters and situations, I highly recommend the series on the writing, acting, direction and production value alone. It is to date the best written and tightest plotted television series. But you do have to get past the violence and the premise.
People have compared it to Dickens, but I think Shakespeare is a better comparison - in particular Shakespear's darker plays, MacBeth, Corianlus, Richard the III and Titus Andronicus. Dickens is a bit too black and white, too karmic a universe - GRRM reminds me more of Dickens, which may explain why I have troubles with GRRM's writing style, I'm really not a fan of Dickens - I think both overwrite. Have similar issues with Victor Hugo.
I should have foreseen the events of this episode from the ending of the previous episode, Granite State. Granite State slowly builds up to Walter White making the decision to leave New Hampshire and return to New Mexico, in order to clean up the mess he's made and attempt somehow to salvage what is left of his family.
The three events are: 1) Stan making it clear to Walt that he will most likely die up there, with no one, alone. Stan will find him, but Stan doesn't really care if he lives or dies.
And Walt knows he's dying. The cancer is back and there's no way to get treatment nor much chance it will work. Walt also discovers that Skylar is barely making ends meet and could serve time for his crimes, since she knows nothing and can't make a deal for immunity or to get off clean. 2) He calls his son - and discovers he can't give his family his money outright, they'll never except it in his name. If he wants to provide for them, he'll have to find another means. And they will never forgive him. 3) He watches his ex-business partners brag about the charities and explain how he, Walter White, was never really an integral part of their success or business. And how they've addressed his existence by creating charities to aid victims of drug abuse.
It's that television interview that finally spurs Walt to action. And that's an important point to understanding what motivates Walter White. At his core - Walter White is motivated by pride. He can't stand the fact that his ex-business partners are getting the best of him.
It's why he stayed in the meth business and turned down their money.
So his first action in Felina is fittingly to visit his ex-partners and force them to give his money to his son in a charitable trust. It's clever and pure Heisenberg in how he arranges it. Masquerading as a reporter - he gets their address and the time they are scheduled to arrive home. He gets there before they do. Follows them inside their house and sets up his two fake hitmen outside. He admittedly had me fooled. Although I did wonder how he managed it - since neither Saul nor Stan were willing to help him. This is quickly explained by Jesse's two ex-cronies popping up. Fitting that they are the hitmen that Walt threatens his ex-business partners with. (I wish I could feel sympathy towards them - but we only see them through Walt's point of view and as a result they come across as spoiled entitled brats.)
Jesse's comrades supply information on the Blue Meth - informing Walt that it is still out there and 92% - near perfect. Walt wonders who it could be, he knows it's not Todd doing it alone - and figures out that it must be Jesse. Jesse meanwhile has been pushed past the breaking point by the increasingly sociopathic Todd. Who never gets angry or shows any emotion outside of a gee-whiz look what I did, aren't I great smile or bewilderment.
Walt then goes to see Lydia and Todd. He arrives before they do. And before he visits them, he goes back inside his house and retrieves the ricisin that he planted behind the electrical switch. He also gets a gun and several rounds of amo. At the Lydia/Todd meet-up, Lydia tells Todd that scaring Skylar isn't good enough - he must kill her, because she saw her face. And she can't take the risk. Poor Lydia, Walt is actually a bigger danger. He's planned it perfectly. Put the riscin in her sugar packet. So that she poisons herself after they talk. He gets Todd's interest by playing on Todd's greed. Todd wants more, while his uncle and the gang were happy with 8 million - Todd believes that they can get so much more.
Then he sees Skylar and in beautifully filmed sequence...apologizes and informs her that she no longer has to worry about anything. After tonight the men who threatened her will be taken care of. What I love is his last line or their last exchange:
Walt: Skylar, you have to understand, I did what I did because -
Skylar: If I have to hear that you did it for your family for us, one more time, I -
Walt: No, I did it for me. I did it because I liked it. I enjoyed doing it. And I was good at it. Really good at it. And I'm sorry.
Finally, he stops lying to himself and everyone around him. Stops making excuses. His statement shocks her, as it surprised me.
His take-out of Uncle Jack and the crew - was fitting and karmic in a way. Same way they took out Hank and Gomez. He also tells Skylar to use the coordinates on the lottery ticket to aid the police in finding Hank and Gomez's bodies. Jesse is allowed to kill Todd in a brutal fashion, before racing off in his car...screaming with crazed glee, free at last from the meth and Walt or so one might hope. Knowing Jesse, I doubt it. Although his dreams of constructing boxes from wood may state otherwise.
Then Walt's final death scene, shot by a bullet from his own gun. When Jesse states do it yourself in response to Walt's request that Jesse just shoot me and get it over with - in a way he's acknowledging that Walt already has - he sees the bullet wounds and the blood.
Walt goes back to his lab and he lies the starring up, the last scene echoes the first, Walt staring up at the ceiling. Lost. Everything he built besides that lab lying in ruins around him, a modern day Macbeth.
Was Walter White at heart a good man? Was he always this bad? Did he become evil? That's such a black and white question. People aren't one thing or another, they are both. A complex series of interlocking layers more complex than an onion. And Walt did clearly have it in him. He always resented his ex-business partners. He loved playing the system or cheating it - and he had little to no respect for authority or supervisors. The ingredients were there - you just had to mix them the right way. It's like chemistry or the making of meth - you can either make meth or something else. What you choose to do with the ingredients provided is up to you. Walt became the man he wanted to be. That was no one's fault but Walt's. Walter White at the end was true to himself and was truly himself.
Also watched the series finale of Breaking Bad, along with a rewatch of OUAT and well my soap opera. I'm anything if not diverse in my tastes. In short spent the day not wandering around, because if I don't, I don't hurt. Nice to have one day of no pain. Digestive issues, but no pain. Struggling with the whole food thing at the moment.
Breaking Bad
Better than expected. I don't know what I was expecting - but from last weeks internet reviews and commentary, I was beginning to fear the worst - ie, a dark nihilistic episode which ended with Lydia and Todd riding off into the sunset together, while everyone else lay twisted and broken in their wake. I really shouldn't read commentary and trust my own views more in regards to television. Because the story thread clearly was not headed in that direction.
At any rate, say what you will about Breaking Bad's uneven fifth season, it did deliver perhaps the best series finale that I've seen to date. (I was not overly found of Battle Star Galatica's, Lost's, Buffy's, or various others including MASH. The finale's of televisions serials either go one of three ways: 1) open-ended (see Buffy and Angel), 2) sappy and sentimental (See MASH, LOST and Battlestar Galatica), or 3) surreal interpretative art that makes relatively little sense whatsoever to about 75% of the audience (see Sopranoes, St. Elsewhere, Quantum Leap, and from what I've read online...apparently Dexter).)
As a result, I watch them with low expectations. I don't why this is - but television writers tend to suck at two things - beginnings and endings. Except that is for Vince Gilligan and Breaking Bad - which has a very good pilot and beginning and an extremely good ending. Bravo.
If you can get past the premise, and the, ahem, unlikable characters and situations, I highly recommend the series on the writing, acting, direction and production value alone. It is to date the best written and tightest plotted television series. But you do have to get past the violence and the premise.
People have compared it to Dickens, but I think Shakespeare is a better comparison - in particular Shakespear's darker plays, MacBeth, Corianlus, Richard the III and Titus Andronicus. Dickens is a bit too black and white, too karmic a universe - GRRM reminds me more of Dickens, which may explain why I have troubles with GRRM's writing style, I'm really not a fan of Dickens - I think both overwrite. Have similar issues with Victor Hugo.
I should have foreseen the events of this episode from the ending of the previous episode, Granite State. Granite State slowly builds up to Walter White making the decision to leave New Hampshire and return to New Mexico, in order to clean up the mess he's made and attempt somehow to salvage what is left of his family.
The three events are: 1) Stan making it clear to Walt that he will most likely die up there, with no one, alone. Stan will find him, but Stan doesn't really care if he lives or dies.
And Walt knows he's dying. The cancer is back and there's no way to get treatment nor much chance it will work. Walt also discovers that Skylar is barely making ends meet and could serve time for his crimes, since she knows nothing and can't make a deal for immunity or to get off clean. 2) He calls his son - and discovers he can't give his family his money outright, they'll never except it in his name. If he wants to provide for them, he'll have to find another means. And they will never forgive him. 3) He watches his ex-business partners brag about the charities and explain how he, Walter White, was never really an integral part of their success or business. And how they've addressed his existence by creating charities to aid victims of drug abuse.
It's that television interview that finally spurs Walt to action. And that's an important point to understanding what motivates Walter White. At his core - Walter White is motivated by pride. He can't stand the fact that his ex-business partners are getting the best of him.
It's why he stayed in the meth business and turned down their money.
So his first action in Felina is fittingly to visit his ex-partners and force them to give his money to his son in a charitable trust. It's clever and pure Heisenberg in how he arranges it. Masquerading as a reporter - he gets their address and the time they are scheduled to arrive home. He gets there before they do. Follows them inside their house and sets up his two fake hitmen outside. He admittedly had me fooled. Although I did wonder how he managed it - since neither Saul nor Stan were willing to help him. This is quickly explained by Jesse's two ex-cronies popping up. Fitting that they are the hitmen that Walt threatens his ex-business partners with. (I wish I could feel sympathy towards them - but we only see them through Walt's point of view and as a result they come across as spoiled entitled brats.)
Jesse's comrades supply information on the Blue Meth - informing Walt that it is still out there and 92% - near perfect. Walt wonders who it could be, he knows it's not Todd doing it alone - and figures out that it must be Jesse. Jesse meanwhile has been pushed past the breaking point by the increasingly sociopathic Todd. Who never gets angry or shows any emotion outside of a gee-whiz look what I did, aren't I great smile or bewilderment.
Walt then goes to see Lydia and Todd. He arrives before they do. And before he visits them, he goes back inside his house and retrieves the ricisin that he planted behind the electrical switch. He also gets a gun and several rounds of amo. At the Lydia/Todd meet-up, Lydia tells Todd that scaring Skylar isn't good enough - he must kill her, because she saw her face. And she can't take the risk. Poor Lydia, Walt is actually a bigger danger. He's planned it perfectly. Put the riscin in her sugar packet. So that she poisons herself after they talk. He gets Todd's interest by playing on Todd's greed. Todd wants more, while his uncle and the gang were happy with 8 million - Todd believes that they can get so much more.
Then he sees Skylar and in beautifully filmed sequence...apologizes and informs her that she no longer has to worry about anything. After tonight the men who threatened her will be taken care of. What I love is his last line or their last exchange:
Walt: Skylar, you have to understand, I did what I did because -
Skylar: If I have to hear that you did it for your family for us, one more time, I -
Walt: No, I did it for me. I did it because I liked it. I enjoyed doing it. And I was good at it. Really good at it. And I'm sorry.
Finally, he stops lying to himself and everyone around him. Stops making excuses. His statement shocks her, as it surprised me.
His take-out of Uncle Jack and the crew - was fitting and karmic in a way. Same way they took out Hank and Gomez. He also tells Skylar to use the coordinates on the lottery ticket to aid the police in finding Hank and Gomez's bodies. Jesse is allowed to kill Todd in a brutal fashion, before racing off in his car...screaming with crazed glee, free at last from the meth and Walt or so one might hope. Knowing Jesse, I doubt it. Although his dreams of constructing boxes from wood may state otherwise.
Then Walt's final death scene, shot by a bullet from his own gun. When Jesse states do it yourself in response to Walt's request that Jesse just shoot me and get it over with - in a way he's acknowledging that Walt already has - he sees the bullet wounds and the blood.
Walt goes back to his lab and he lies the starring up, the last scene echoes the first, Walt staring up at the ceiling. Lost. Everything he built besides that lab lying in ruins around him, a modern day Macbeth.
Was Walter White at heart a good man? Was he always this bad? Did he become evil? That's such a black and white question. People aren't one thing or another, they are both. A complex series of interlocking layers more complex than an onion. And Walt did clearly have it in him. He always resented his ex-business partners. He loved playing the system or cheating it - and he had little to no respect for authority or supervisors. The ingredients were there - you just had to mix them the right way. It's like chemistry or the making of meth - you can either make meth or something else. What you choose to do with the ingredients provided is up to you. Walt became the man he wanted to be. That was no one's fault but Walt's. Walter White at the end was true to himself and was truly himself.
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Date: 2013-09-30 10:24 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-09-30 10:32 pm (UTC)