Post your "Breaking Bad" finale reactions here! SPOILERS!

MsMary

Just getting ready... so there won't be spoilers for us late-time-zone folks on the other thread.

SO EXCITED!!!

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12 years ago

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36 replies

Latest reply was from Sara L.

MsMary

Veteran

Holy cow, it turns out I have the East Coast feed so I've got it now!! Woo-hoo!! Started a little late but I'm in!!

And having nobody to talk to, I think I'll do a little live-blogging...

"Elliott, if you're going to go that way, you're going to need a bigger knife."

And OMG! When Walt saw Elliott and Gretchen on "Charlie Rose" last week and left the bar in such a hurry, it wasn't because he was pi$$ed off and went to get revenge, it was because he had that great idea about how to launder his money and get it to his family! SO FUN!! I love you, Vince Gilligan!

12 years ago

MsMary

Veteran

Todd + Lydia = So dumb they deserve every bad, bad thing that is about to happen to them.

Aaaand.... the stevia!!

12 years ago

MsMary

Veteran

MARIE!! I love you!!!

But not as much as I love Vince Gilligan...

12 years ago

Mochi

Veteran

NOT what I expected. I guess it's a good thing. I need to process it. I'm glad the bloodshed was kept to only the most deserving parties.

12 years ago

MsMary

Veteran

"I did it for me. I liked it. I was good at it. And I was really ... I was alive."

OMG. I'm weeping here...

12 years ago

Janet

(website)

Veteran

I couldn't have asked for more.

So much poetic justice. Lydia and Stevia. Jesse and Todd. Walt and his Precious (the lab).

12 years ago

MsMary

Veteran

Oh. My. Gawd.

LOVE!!!

So happy.

And by "so happy," I mean "crying like a baby!"

12 years ago

Claudia

Veteran

Fantastic. Intense and completely satisfying. Wow.

12 years ago

(website)

Veteran

Got a bad cable feed Missed a lot of dialogue. BOO. No clue what the sisters said to each other, for instance. Hoping the encore showing comes through clear.

12 years ago

Eliza

Veteran

Very well done. We will miss it.

My only nagging thoughts about an hour after it ended were:

-Not super thrilled with the way the car was rigged up, though it did set a perfect stage.

-Wait! You mean everything went how Walt wanted? Am I okay with that? Then it hit it me: How is it that there is so much overlap between what I wanted and what Walt wanted?

It was perfect when Walt offered Jesse the gun. Loved how Jesse responded. Plus it allowed Walt to be re-united with his one true love for a final caress.

Mo- of all times!

12 years ago

Nicole D

Veteran

Loved it. I am so glad Gilligan et al went with the "tying up loose ends" scenario, rather than leaving a bunch of unanswered questions. It was just the perfect ending to a great show. Especailly the Lydia bit.

12 years ago

Janet

(website)

Veteran

Eliza, I know what you mean about everything going the way Walt wanted it to in the end. My husband sent me this link, and I thought this piece made some great points. Even though I can agree with the criticisms, I really can't say I wanted to see it end any other way (except yes, I would have loved to see more Jesse in the last episode):

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/....._hp_ref=tw

When I saw Todd looking out the window, I actually yelled at the TV, "Get him, Jesse!"

12 years ago

Eliza

Veteran

Interesting link, Janet. I hadn't read any of the critics' responses yet.

More Jesse would have been good, though the Jesse there was (killing Todd and telling Walt to do it himself) was powerful.

12 years ago

catgirl

Veteran

YAY! I was really happy with the ending too. and the fact that Walt finally admitted to Skyler that it was all about him. Also good to see Badger and Skinny Pete back for a moment of comic relief.

Skyler and family alive.
Lydia dead.
Nazis dead.
Todd killed by Jesse.
Jesse free (Did anyone else think of Thelma and Louise?)
Walt dead, but of his own accord.

Yep, my checklist is complete! I wanted to see Marie pregnant and Jesse find Brock, but you can't have everything.

12 years ago

MsMary

Veteran

The backlash is definitely beginning among the internet chatterati, about how it was too neat and too much what we wanted. But I am super okay with all of that. It was absolutely what I wanted and I wouldn't have had it any other way! I'm okay with mopping up! (Although yeah -- would have liked more Jesse.)

And yes! So happy Badger and Skinny Pete got their curtain call!

12 years ago

catgirl

Veteran

Me too! The Sopranos ending sent me over the edge.

The unresolved questions DH and I had:

Who was Gus Fring back in Chile? There was a reference to that back in Mexico, and they never spelled out whether he had been some kind of bad-a$$ before the debacle with his friend/brother.

What really happened with Grey Matter? Did they rip him off, or did he take the buyout at the time? He broke up with Gretchen, it seemed - but we will never know.

It was a bit irksome that Walt got to control his end so completely, but he wouldn't be Heisenberg if that didn't happen. I feel like the hard lesson here was that he still had some redeeming qualities. I didn't want to tear up when he said goodbye to Flynn and the baby - but I did.

Looks like Jesse will be heading to Alaska after all!

12 years ago

pil

Veteran

I liked the ending too, though I was surprised that there weren't really any big shockers. I also wondered about Gus' past.

In the Talking Bad love fest that followed, Mike Ehrmantraut was certain that Jesse was headed straight to Brock.

And for you Mike Ehrmantraut fans a little blast from the past......
http://www.theatlantic.com/hea.....dy/280101/

12 years ago

catgirl

Veteran

Yes but how will he ever get custody of Brock??! Fingers crossed!

Oh right, it's just a show.

12 years ago

donnat

Veteran

I Loved it. If jesse was smart he'd be in alaska by now. Jesse is still a criminal. He could never get custody of Brock.
I was surprised how Walt managed to kill Lydia, shoot the nazis, launder his money, save Jessie, and die in his lab.
He really is a criminal genius!
In his mind Walt was a mousey, math teacher, with no respect from anyone, he went on to become notorious, feared and respected.
The comedic relief with Badger and Skinny Pete was also a nice touch. I am going to miss them all .

12 years ago

Jules

Veteran

Ok this is a total aside and going back aways, but since Gus and his "friend/brother" were mentionned, I totally read that as Gus being in love with that character. Too much hanging around queer English majors? Not sure, but for me the subtext was NOT brotherly.

12 years ago

Mochi

Veteran

Just some random thoughts:

I believe(d) that Walt had decided to cash in and buy out of Grey Matter very early on. Money problems. Maybe I am misremembering whether he was forced out or not?

I like Jesse, but just a little. I know he's the moral center of the show, but somehow I can't warm up to him as much as others. I do agree with some critics that it would have been better to have more of a face-off/resolution between him and Walt. It got barely enough time.

I was wondering why Jack and associates would have allowed Walt to come to their place, seeing how "hot" he was with the police, FBI, etc.

I also have to think somewhat differently on Lydia. Not sorry to see her go. She is another stone-cold socio and unlike Todd can't even look at the mess she's made. However, maybe I am missing something on whether it was imperative to have her dead (apart from personally disliking her). It wasn't her fault that Todd killed and did all sorts of things to impress her. It wasn't her fault that Todd threatened Skyler over her. I think she just didn't want Walt anywhere near her, but didn't get the sense that she was intent on causing him harm. Am I wrong? She did have a daughter. I remember in the past season when Mike was about to kill her (in her own home), how much dread I felt. I honestly am not shedding tears for her...she did have a killer wardrobe too, by the way!

I think ultimately I was satisfied with the finale, and it didn't seem too artificially neat in tying up all the ends.

12 years ago

Mochi

Veteran

So the more I think about it, the more I think Lydia got iced as punishment for being a Bad Female, not because she was an imminent threat to Walt. But if I'm forgetting some blatant thing, please let me know.

12 years ago

MsMary

Veteran

I think in Walt's view Lydia had to die because she dared to [try to] take over his business empire.

I think they left Walt's departure from Gray Matter unexplained.

I loved Jesse. And I would have loved to have seen more of him in the finale. I was petrified he was going to drive his car into a tree or off a cliff at the end.

And yes, I totally got the "not friends/brothers" vibe from Gus and Max.

Finally, I read once that most of the time when you see a movie or play, you can't remember the characters' names. You'll come out of the theatre and say, "Oh, man! It was so cool when Brad Pitt went after that guy with the eyepatch!" But if the show is really extraordinary, and is able to bring its characters to life, you WILL remember their names. And I am here to tell you I remember EVERYBODY's name in Breaking Bad! Walt, Skyler, Walt Jr,/Flynn, Holly, Hank, Marie, Gomie, Jess, Badger, Skinny Pete, Jane, Tuco, Gus, Lydia, Hector Salamanca, Saul, Todd, Uncle Jack, even the kid who got shot by Todd after the train robbery: Drew Sharp. I think that's quite a tribute to the quality of the writing and acting.

12 years ago

DeclawedJaguar

Veteran

Mochi, it was Lydia who told Todd that Walt had to be killed (the scene in the cafe, just after Walt leaves and before Lydia puts the stevia in her tea). To me, Walt knew that Lydia would try to kill him, and he was just one step ahead of her. He was wiping out the entire operation, his empire, if you will. Lydia was a large part of that. It was also because of Lydia that the production continued, and a big reason why Jesse was enslaved.

As far as Lydia being punished for being a bad female, I don't see it that way at all. She was a nasty piece of work. She wanted Mike dead, she wanted the eight men who were in prison dead. In a way, she was not that different from Walt, so it's only fair that they both meet the end.

12 years ago

donnat

Veteran

Why was Jimmy Kimmel on the couch for the after show "talking bad"?

12 years ago

Mochi

Veteran

I figured there was something I missed or forget. I'll blame it on my mom running the dishwasher while the show was on. I have it streamed so Ill go back and take another look.

Believe me, I realize she's a piece of work. But yet you're manipulated into despising her for not being any outwardly worse than Walt.

Again, would have to review, but would Walt have known Jesse was enslaved at that point? And wasn't that all about Todd, and not her? And at that point, wasn't Walt still pretty much hating on Jesse?

I still think she died simply because she's odious to all of us and we get satisfaction out of her comeuppance--she's not on the same threat level. But I'll watch it again.

12 years ago

Mochi

Veteran

I mean that as a general "you're" who's being manipulated, not you personally!

12 years ago

DeclawedJaguar

Veteran

Mochi, no offense taken.

I guess my dislike of her stems from her inability to face the consequences of her actions. She wants people to be killed, but she can't bear the sight of blood. She gives no thought to whether her victims have children or not, but does not want her daughter to think that she abandoned her. The way she talked to the babysitter when Mike was waiting for her at home to kill her also rubbed me the wrong way. Her obsession with healthful food (the stevia! the camomile tea!), while being absolutely fine with spreading the plague that is crystal meth. Ugh, she repulsed me.

Her actions were as monstrous as those of any other villain on the show, but she wanted to maintain a facade of primness, propriety, and order. Walter was similar to a degree, but even he didn't mask his true nature as much.

Todd was infatuated with Lydia, which is why he was so keen on improving his cooking quality. He wanted to please her so badly that he jumped at the opportunity to keep Jesse alive to produce the purest meth possible. So I wouldn't say that Jesse's predicament was entirely because of Todd.

I've heard the hypothesis that Gus was gay before too. He may or may not have been. I don't think it affects his character or the plot development that much. Having his partner/brother/(lover?) shot in front of him was a traumatic event - that much is enough for me.

I enjoyed the finale and was glad they didn't veer into the schlocky territory by making Marie pregnant or showing Jesse with Brock.

For the people who enjoyed Badger as comic relief, have you seen the BB minisodes available on YouTube? One of them is of Walt with Badger, and it's hilarious.

12 years ago

Jules

Veteran

I agree that Gus' sexuality and actual relationship with that character were not pivotal. I just thought it was a nice little nuance they threw in there.

12 years ago

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