Another show I like once had some voice over dialogue that said "endings are hard", and I think that concisely captures the difficulty in bringing a long form piece of entertainment like a television show to an end. The great thing about television is that it lets you explore a full, rich story that couldn't otherwise be captured by the two hour running time of a movie. The down side is that bringing a hundred plus hours of story to a graceful conclusion that both ties off all the major loose threads and feels true to the spirit of the show and its characters is super difficult, as evidenced by how few shows get it right. The ones that do, like 'Newhart' or 'Six Feet Under' get talked about forever. It becomes a cultural phenomenon that people talk about and enjoy for years.
This finale for 'Breaking Bad' may be the single best ending I have ever seen. I can still very clearly remember watching the ending of 'Six Feet Under' and being impressed, but by comparison to this it was amateurish. I don't know if it was genius or luck or the hand of god, but even now, years after the show has ended, I watch this episode and get chills. When those first few bars of 'Baby Blue' start, a song which so many people have heard a million times, it zaps you like a shock with the realization of how PERFECT the song is to close out the story, just as that first line rolls out:
"Guess I got what I deserve."
It works on so many levels of the story that it feels like divine providence. This song was somehow made for the conclusion of this story, even if that's impossible. And that is the simple cherry on top of an amazing sundae that gives the audience closure on all the main characters and let's us truly say "the end", even if we can't also say "happily ever after". Vince Gilligan and his team have created nothing short of a masterpiece that I'm pretty sure will be remembered in 'best of' lists for decades. If you're reading this then I think you probably agree, but if by some chance you haven't watched the series do yourself a favor and binge this bit*h right away.
This finale for 'Breaking Bad' may be the single best ending I have ever seen. I can still very clearly remember watching the ending of 'Six Feet Under' and being impressed, but by comparison to this it was amateurish. I don't know if it was genius or luck or the hand of god, but even now, years after the show has ended, I watch this episode and get chills. When those first few bars of 'Baby Blue' start, a song which so many people have heard a million times, it zaps you like a shock with the realization of how PERFECT the song is to close out the story, just as that first line rolls out:
"Guess I got what I deserve."
It works on so many levels of the story that it feels like divine providence. This song was somehow made for the conclusion of this story, even if that's impossible. And that is the simple cherry on top of an amazing sundae that gives the audience closure on all the main characters and let's us truly say "the end", even if we can't also say "happily ever after". Vince Gilligan and his team have created nothing short of a masterpiece that I'm pretty sure will be remembered in 'best of' lists for decades. If you're reading this then I think you probably agree, but if by some chance you haven't watched the series do yourself a favor and binge this bit*h right away.