Now, I know this isn't quite "Film", but Breaking Bad's finale was a cleverly executed piece of cinematography, and I wanted to share my opinion on what made both the finale, season 5, and the show brilliant. For those among you reading that are not aware, this post will CONTAIN SPOILERS, so if you wish to avoid them, don't keep reading.
From the beginning, Breaking Bad has been about the journey of Walter White. Vince Gilligan, the show's creator, was very clear cut on the progress of Walt from Mr Chips to Scarface, the corruption of one so innocent and, at it's core, the results of 'breaking bad'. I always remember the pilot, and Jesse's line of 'So what, huh, you wanna break bad?'. But more so than this, Breaking Bad has been focussed, not on the destination of Walter's endeavors into crime, but the journey. From the very first episode, it was clear that the result would end in Walt's death, and it seems only fitting that Gilligan end the show in this way.
Breaking Bad has tackled numerous themes throughout it's run, and, aside from the obvious themes of 'drug abuse' and 'crime', the most notable was that of unforeseen consequences. From Season 1's murder of Crazy 8 to Hank's near-paralysis as a result of his proximity to Walt's drug empire, and even in the final episode, with Walt's own death a result of his own ricocheted bullet hitting him, unforeseen consequences are what have complicated the show and given it the level of interest that have kept fans on the edges of their seats.
Some have voiced complaints about not receiving entire closure from the show, in the form of 'What happened to Huell?' and 'But Jesse's still alive, what does he do next?'. I think that's some what irrelevant. The show is about Walt, first and foremost, and we're getting a Saul Goodman spinoff. Despite it being a prequel, what's to stop Gilligan looking forward a bit. Just be happy they're alive guys.
I think Gilligan's comments upon 'Ozymandias' being the best episode are correct, but who ever expects the final moments of a long reaching story to be the best? Is the medal ceremony of Episode IV of Star Wars better than the Opening Scene? No, not really. And while 'Ozymandias' certainly showed the height of the show, I don't think Breaking Bad peaked too early, because I view it as one story. And in the end, 'Felina' delivered what it promised, and what more can I ask then that.
The finale also marked the Gilligan's intelligence as a creator. The choice of Badfinger's 'Baby Blue' as the show's closing song was genius, with the opening lyrics of 'I guess I got what I deserve' marking clearly Walt's transformation in the final episode, from his realisation and admittance of his greed that caused him to cook, to his acceptance that he required no ego-stroking from his son, and the chorus of 'the special love I have for you, my baby blue' and the pan from Walt's face showing that, in the end, Walt truly loved what he did, and regretted nothing. The title itself was a stroke of genius - "The title "Felina" is a reference to the 1959 song "El Paso" by Western music artist Marty Robbins. The song concerns an unnamed cowboy who falls in love with a woman named Felina, gets shot by his enemies, and dies in her arms. The song plays in Walt's stolen car in New Hampshire, and is later hummed by Walt as he assembles the M60." (Thanks breakingbad.wikia) - as well as 'Felina' representing Iron, Lithium, Sodium (FeLiNa), or Blood, Meth, and Tears, which in the final scene came together as Walt died, and the simple anagram of Finale. Work went into this episode, and by god, it shows.
Interestingly, my dad is watching the show at the moment, and is currently on season 3, and when he asked me what I thought of the last episode, he instinctively knew that Walt died. To this end, he knew that the show couldn't continue past his death, and that there was no other ending that could have served to finish the show. It's this that I think made the finale great - Gilligan didn't subvert expectations. He didn't pull an 'M. Night Shamalamadingdong', or try to 'Dexter' the show. Overall, by keeping the show to it's roots and ending it how he did, Gilligan gave us the best possible ending we could have wanted, and while I doubt any fans would complain about more seasons, or extra episodes, the show lasted the exact amount of time it should have. It gave us closure. In a way, that was quite brave; despite the ending becoming more and more obvious, Gilligan stuck to his guns and ended the story the way it was set out to have ended. It's not often that a TV Show of this stature will become anything more than over-saturated (see Heros, Dexter, Firefly...[Just kidding, just kidding]), but Gilligan deserves props for his work. I, for one, could not have asked for a better ending.
Of course, I will miss Breaking Bad, for it's clever writing, dark humour and fantastic acting, but overall, I'm glad it got the ending it deserved. To Vince Gilligan, Bryan Cranston, Aaron Paul, Dean Norris, Bob Odenkirk and all the people that made the show what it is, I salute you, for making a modern day masterpiece. I doubt I will ever forget the story told here.
Good job!
ReplyDeleteI like what you said about "Felina" and it does make me like the finale more but I still feel like it was the "safe" option that Vince Gilligan went for, not necessarily the one that was most entertaining nor the most ambitious which Gilligan was all about. Having said that, the series as a whole is absolutely mind-blowing and I love him for it.
ReplyDeleteGood review, couple of things:
ReplyDeleteFirstly, you should include some criticisms, or at least bring some up from other people to shoot down.
Secondly, "cleverly executed piece of cinematography"?
Cinematography- the art or science of motion picture photography. It is the technique of movie photography, including both the shooting and development of the film.
This is not a cleverly executed piece of cinematography as it's not a film, which you even said in the same sentence.
Aye and aye captain, I definitely should have. And woops, my bad, perhaps direction was the correct term? It was just a good piece of the television I guess, haha
DeletePersonally I would argue that even in the first episodes Walt definitely wasn't innocent and always had that ruthlessness and anger in him. For example, the way in which he dealt with his 'loss' in terms of the fact he cashed in too early on Gray Matter was so incredibly unhealthy and hostile especially towards Gretchin and Elliot that it was bound to come out somehow, he needed some sort of release from all the pent-up frustration and anger he felt at not just the world but most especially at himself.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I agree emphatically with you about the fact that the end of Breaking Bad was perfectly finalised and anyone who asks "What happens to Jesse after?" is never going to be satisfied. I was slightly disappointed that you didn't mention the imagery throughout the show, as I feel it is one of the biggest selling points of the entire drama and this was especially prominent in the last episode which is why I would argue that from the perspective of a film crew the last episode surpassed any other (including Ozymandias) from the elegantly orchestrated symbolism that featured in virtually every moment (I would happily elaborate on specifics if you want). However, I think from a plot point of view Ozymandias was unquestionably the best episode as it was so built-up and climaxed in such a frankly epic way that it was a huge effort to watch in a lot of ways. Again this does feature some strong symbolic imagery (for example, when Walt is rolling the barrel after Hank dies) but it just wasn't as neatly done or as meaningful as Felina in my opinion.
Really good review James I enjoyed it thoroughly, it made some good points and I especially liked the paragraph about your Dad and the fact that Walt's death was, at the end of the day, an inevitability.
Cheers Chris! I would agree that Walt has always had this darker side, but I've always viewed that as the Heisenberg-Walt difference. In some ways I reckon he has a split personality, but you're right, he showed this way before any of the Heisenberg stuff - maybe meth was the thing that brought it all out in him? I think this is a question bigger than anyone could answer, Gilligan would have to say really. The fact that we don't know is perhaps significant in the fact that it doesn't truly matter? Questions = Raised.
DeleteYeah, I should've gone into some more symbolistic ideas, they are aplenty throughout. I think you're right, I can't imagine the film crew being anything short of teary eyed throughout the filming of the last episode; it's pretty much the culmination of about 6 years of their work! I think the biggest image of all, is, like I said, the idea of FeLiNa, and Blood, Meth and Tears, and in the end, Walt dies in a lab, surrounded by both his greatest success and his greatest failure. I've said this to Alex, and I don't really separate the final episodes from each other, and I view from Ozymandias to Felina as the endgame of the entire show, but I would agree that a peak was reached at that point. People have complained that about the finale not being as good, but I feel they did a great job and that, if looking at the show episode by episode, you'll enjoy it less that imagining the final 3 or so as whole. Doing that, it becomes more closing, I feel.
Thanks again Chris! I'm downloading Requiem for a Dream now, and I plan on fully reading your review after actually having watched the film!
I like your idea that he had a split personality, perhaps Heisenberg was his ego just going out of control a bit like Jekyll and Hyde he almost wanted to be young again to make up for the mistakes he made i.e. Gray Matter.
ReplyDeleteJust because I want to put it in here as I feel the symbolic imagery was masterful here I would like to mention the symbolism of how Walt was presented throughout the last episode. For example, when he walked into E & Gs house you see him there but there is the symbolism that he is in the house but E & G do not see him because there is a barrier between them. Then later on when Skyler is on the phone and we don't know Walt is there, as soon as we see him we know he was there all along but this pillar was blocking him from sight so once again he was there but a barrier existed between him and Skyler. This is then most significant when he looks at Walt Jr. through the window and once again he is there but Walt is unaware of his presence because of this barrier between them and it goes to show Walt has created barriers between himself and those he loves so that he is always there but people just don't realise it because all they see is Heisenberg despite the fact that the real WW is always underneath.
Another brilliant bit of symbolism is when Walt lies dying in the prison compound and then Jesse literally laughing and crying hysterically simultaneously smashes down the gate and escapes the prison. However Walt is still inside and then dies which goes to show how at the end Jesse was finally able to break free of the prison that methamphetamines had become for him but Walt was unfortunately doomed to remain in that prison to his dying day although as the ending shows, he was not at all unhappy about this and was quite frankly (if you'll pardon the pun) in his element.
Thanks by the way I liked everything you said and i'm glad to see i'm not the only one with nothing but praise for the final episode! Also yeah watch RFAD it's really good and I loved it.
also, *endeavours
ReplyDeleteand *Heroes
ReplyDelete