At one point on the Breaking Bad series finale, Walter White breaks into his estranged wife's new home and tells her he's there for a "proper goodbye."
Which, of course, begs the question:
Did the program many consider to be the best in television history send itself off this week with a proper goodbye?
In our opinion? Yes, if you were looking for a finale that represented what made the drama so terrific in the first place; no, if you were seeking a jaw-dropping twist or bombshell of some kind.
The back half of Breaking Bad Season 5 mirrored its main character.
With his identity outed to his DEA agent of a brother-in-law, Walt was frenzied and on the edge. He was leaping from one dangerous situation to another, telling lies, coming up with plans, constantly believing that he journey wasn't over.
It was an intense a few weeks of TV as anyone will likely witness.
But finally, after months spent in New Hampshire alone and after being cursed off his own son, Walt realized that it really was time. He had one mission remaining and he fulfilled it, simple as that.
Millions of dollars will eventually go to Flynn and Holly; Uncle Jack and his Neo-Nazis are dead; Skyler hopefully has a Get Out of Jail Card Lottery Ticket. And Jesse is free. Yeah, bitches, Jesse Pinkman is free!
He really had to be, didn't he? Viewers had to be thrown nugget of happiness and even if it's hard to envision Jesse ever living a truly happy life, at least we know he'll be living.
The same cannot be said of Walter White. He accidentally died by his own bullet via a specially-made machine gun. Which is perfectly apt, don't you think? Walter White really died a long time ago via specially-made meth and got replaced by Heisenberg.
So, no, we won't be talking specifically about this finale the way many folks still talk about Lost. Instead, we'll be talking about Breaking Bad as a whole and the singular, focused vision of its creator, along with the iconic portrayal of its lead actor.
And, hey, as long as we're not talking about Miley Cyrus for a change, right?
Grade the Breaking Bad finale now:
