Well, it's over. Breaking Bad came to its conclusion tonight with "Felina." It's at this point that you want to stop reading if you haven't seen the final episode because we're about to get into some major spoilers! Tonight's episode not only had a body count, but a few great moments as Walter White tied up some major loose ends to bring this story to its full close for better or worse. We'll have a full breakdown of tonight's episode posted tomorrow, but in the meantime, let's take a look at who lived and who died.
Rest in Peace
Walter White - Walt died of a gunshot wound. It looked like he took a bullet from his own machine gun when it was mowing down Uncle Jack and his band of nazis. Walt gave Jesse the opportunity to take him out later on, but Jesse seemed content to let nature take its course as he saw Walt's bullet wound. But we'll get to Jesse when we talk about the survivors. In the meantime, Walt had one last look at a meth lab before dying on the floor as the cops pulled in, a day late and millions of missing dollars short. (Seriously, where's the money?!)
Uncle Jack and the nazis - As mentioned, the nazis were sprayed with bullets thanks to Walt's mechanical abilities and a car alarm keychain. Jack actually survived the worst of the shooting and Walt had the pleasure of putting a bullet in him just as Jack was trying to bargain with him about where the rest of the money was. Walt shot Jack in the face mid-sentence, which was kind of poetic justice when we consider that Jack did the same thing to Hank.
Todd - Creepy Todd got what he had coming to him, courtesy of Jesse. Let's pause to flashback to Todd shooting that kid on the bike and killing Andrea. He was polite, but he was not a good guy. The sight of Jesse taking Todd down is just a bit sweeter with that in mind. Todd's last words were "Mr. White." Ever the polite one, right? RIP Todd. You were creepy, but you'll be with Lydia soon.
Lydia - Lydia got the ricin! Walt snuck it into her precious Stevia. Considering Lydia's always been a creature of habit and routine, it was almost too easy for Walt to know exactly where to put the ricin. He even made sure there was just one packet. I think last week's episode actually teased this moment when Lydia requested more Stevia from the server at the coffee shop when she and Todd were meeting. We saw Lydia put the Stevia in her mug and the zoom-in seemed to imply that the ricin was in there, so I wondered if we'd actually get to check in with Lydia again to show us that she was, in fact, dead or dying. And sure enough, we did, as Lydia called Todd to see if Walt was dead and got a rude awakening when Walt answered Todd's phone, delivered the bad news and told her he poisoned her. It's a horrible death, but not all that unfitting for someone like Lydia, who seemed all too willing to kill people if it was convenient for her. She'll march toward a slow and uncomfortable death, likely freaking out with anxiety every step of the way.
Survivors and Loose Ends...
Skyler, Flynn, Holly, Marie, Gretchen & Elliott Schwartz and Jesse all lived. Also Saul, though he wasn't in tonight's episode. But he's presumably off in Nebraska somewhere starting over.
The Whites - Walt paid one last visit to Skyler to admit he did it all for himself, and to give her the coordinates to his desert burial spot, which is where the police will find Hank and Gomez. He said goodbye to Holly, who was asleep and watched Flynn from afar, but knew better than to try to approach him. I think he knows his son will hate him forever.
The Schwartzes - In a scene that was so tense it was borderline comical, Walt paid the Schwartzes one last visit. I thought we might get some kind of confrontation about Walt's falling out with Gray Matter, but that didn't happen. I guess that doesn't matter. It's in the past. In the future is Walt Jr. turning 18, and when he does, the Schwartz's will gift Walt's son the sum of his cash (something like $9.5 million). Walt convinced them he put a hit man on them, which should add a bit of assurance that they'll follow through with handing over Walt's drug money to his son in a way that Flynn will accept it but not know where it really came from. Points to Badger and Skinny Pete for pointing laser pointers at them from outside to make them think there were hit-men watching them.
Jesse - I think Walt might've been planning on killing Jesse. Given what happened with Gray Matter, which also involved people thriving off of Walt's work without him, it's not hard to see why Walt would be upset that Jesse and the nazis were still cooking with his recipe. He didn't know Jesse was actually being held against his will, and while I don't know that Walt really forgave Jesse for ratting on him to Hank, it seemed like he made the choice to save Jesse from the fate Jack and the nazis were awaiting, because he threw himself at Jesse -- seemingly in a fit of rage -- just before he set off the gun, and protected Jesse from the bullets, taking one in the process. Then he gave Jesse the opportunity to kill him. But Jesse's had enough killing, it seems as he took off, hitting the road and looking thrilled, despite the scars and exhaustion. Where's he off to? Maybe to find Brock? We don't know, but he's free.
Marie - Marie only had one quick scene, but she was being protected, so she probably wasn't ever in any real danger. She'll probably have some peace of mind once Skyler hands over the coordinates to Hank's burial site. And if Skylar uses those coordinates as leverage, her legal troubles will probably clear up. By the way Skyler and Marie were talking, it seems like they're on OK terms, so maybe that's an indication that Marie and Skyler will move on from this.
And with that, the story's over. Was it the best ending the series could have had? That's something I expect will be discussed and debated in the days to come. In the meantime, what did you think of the episode?
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