This article contains spoilers for the last episode of Breaking Bad!
“Breaking Bad” is finally over. The season five finale has come as a relief to some avid “Breaking Bad” fans who feared the show may continue on indefinitely, leaving questions unanswered. However, as promised by Vince Gilligan, the show’s creator, lose ends were tied up in the 75 minute extended finale.
The “Breaking Bad” finale brings Walter White (Bryan Cranston) many victories. His first comes when he blackmails Elliot and Gretchen Schwartz, leaving $10 million in trust to his children.
The chemistry teacher turned criminal is then reunited with his estranged wife Skyler. The two reach a moment of recognition when Walt admits that he didn’t do it for his family. He says, “I did it for me. I liked it. I was good at it and I felt alive.” After all of Walt’s many deceptions throughout “Breaking Bad”’s history, this moment of truth offers the character a bit of redemption.
Walter White’s search for redemption and closure doesn’t end here. After finding Jesse (Aaron Paul) imprisoned at the compound of the Neo-Nazis, he sets off a rigged machine gun from the trunk of his car. Walt dives on his former partner, saving his life and taking a bullet himself. Walt then slides Jesse his gun, telling him to shoot him. Jesse responds saying, “Do it yourself,” and drives off free.
While the Breaking Bad finale is filled with victories for Walter White, the show’s anti-hero cannot escape his inevitable death. He dies alone among the thing he loves, the meth lab that he and Jesse designed while Badfinger’s “Baby Blue” plays in the background.
