This is the one. The episode that anyone who stuck with the lives of these characters had been waiting for. It could be said that Breaking Bad could have ended here: a torturous, dark and dread-filled hour of television. This is truly the culmination of five seasons of riveting drama.
All the pieces fall into place here. The consequences of Walter White's journey are laid bare: his family is torn about, Hank is killed, Jesse is taken hostage and his empire is tarnished. What is left is a broken shell of a man, leaving behind his Heisenberg persona and going on the run.
Rian Johnson (now of Star Wars: the Last Jedi fame) has crafted a beautifully horrific and cinematic work here: every shot is perfect and fitting, every decision, every piece of music. His cinematography perfectly encapsulates the horror and angst of the characters that we know and love or fear. The writing is tight and woundly crafted: each motivation, each character's action is perfectly clear yet complex.
Does anything need to be said about the performances? Dean Norris has never been better in the last minutes he has on-screen: accepting the inevitable but staying the morally upstanding cop that he is. Aaron Paul is at his most despairing as he finds out the true nature of Jane's death. Anna Gunn is perfect as she finally stands up to the man she once knew as her husband, at once horrified and eventually grateful at Walt letting her off the hook. And finally...
Walter White. The greatest character in TV history. This is his low point, the fall of his kingdom. Only Bryan Cranston could have ever played this character. There are truly no words to describe his performance. Every nuance, every delivery is perfect. Displaying such control over his voice and facial expressions, Cranston conveys such complexity of emotion that few could imagine was able to be acted. The climactic phone call, in which Walt must put on his Heisenberg persona in order to prove Skyler as innocent, is outstanding and perhaps his best moment in the show, other than the Crawl Space climax. Jumping between true deep loathing to devastation to regret, Cranston proves that he is one of the greatest actors in a long time. He is Walter White.
Every scene is perfect. Hank's death. "I watched Jane die". Telling Jr the truth. The knife fight. The kidnapping of Holly. The phone call.
This cannot be topped surely.
This is the episode that proved that Breaking Bad is perhaps the greatest tv show in history. Thank you Vince Gilligan. You did it.
All the pieces fall into place here. The consequences of Walter White's journey are laid bare: his family is torn about, Hank is killed, Jesse is taken hostage and his empire is tarnished. What is left is a broken shell of a man, leaving behind his Heisenberg persona and going on the run.
Rian Johnson (now of Star Wars: the Last Jedi fame) has crafted a beautifully horrific and cinematic work here: every shot is perfect and fitting, every decision, every piece of music. His cinematography perfectly encapsulates the horror and angst of the characters that we know and love or fear. The writing is tight and woundly crafted: each motivation, each character's action is perfectly clear yet complex.
Does anything need to be said about the performances? Dean Norris has never been better in the last minutes he has on-screen: accepting the inevitable but staying the morally upstanding cop that he is. Aaron Paul is at his most despairing as he finds out the true nature of Jane's death. Anna Gunn is perfect as she finally stands up to the man she once knew as her husband, at once horrified and eventually grateful at Walt letting her off the hook. And finally...
Walter White. The greatest character in TV history. This is his low point, the fall of his kingdom. Only Bryan Cranston could have ever played this character. There are truly no words to describe his performance. Every nuance, every delivery is perfect. Displaying such control over his voice and facial expressions, Cranston conveys such complexity of emotion that few could imagine was able to be acted. The climactic phone call, in which Walt must put on his Heisenberg persona in order to prove Skyler as innocent, is outstanding and perhaps his best moment in the show, other than the Crawl Space climax. Jumping between true deep loathing to devastation to regret, Cranston proves that he is one of the greatest actors in a long time. He is Walter White.
Every scene is perfect. Hank's death. "I watched Jane die". Telling Jr the truth. The knife fight. The kidnapping of Holly. The phone call.
This cannot be topped surely.
This is the episode that proved that Breaking Bad is perhaps the greatest tv show in history. Thank you Vince Gilligan. You did it.