9/23/13
View Logs: Breaking Bad S5.2 Episode 7
Episode Title: Granite StateBreaking Bad is something special. I suppose those reading this (and assuming you've been watching Breaking Bad with me if you are) already know that from four and a half amazing seasons. But really it almost seems like Breaking Bad's final few episodes are just a collage of many endings. Watching Ozymandius, I just couldn't help but get a Sopranos vibe. I know many are getting into TV just now so some might not be familiar with HBO's classic mob show. I won't spoil exactly what happened. But let's just say that David Chase ended The Sopranos on an abrupt cut to black.
I don't know how many out there remember how big of a deal this was back in 2007. People raged, argued, and lampooned The Soprano's ending for quite a bit before Breaking Bad started taking everyone's attention. In many ways, Breaking Bad had many endings that could have tied up Walt's character arc fairly well without wasting screen time. It's a mark of a good piece of fiction when the story doesn't take longer than it should. Breaking Bad has always been great about that. Yet somehow, I got this superficial feeling that the ending is dragging slightly at first. Especially with the knowledge that the final two episodes were going to be extended episodes. I wondered and thought... is this really necessary? Could Breaking Bad have just ended with that final shot of Ozymandius? Did Vince Gilligan not exercise as much discipline as David Chase?
Reflecting more on Granite State before writing this log (because I'm hesitating to say that Breaking Bad is weaker without proper thought), I've realized there was another ending that was right there in Granite State. Vic Mackey's ending in The Shield. I won't spoil The Shield either. But Mackey is actually very similar to Walter White in many ways. Both are overly aggressive. "ends justify the means", no nonsense type of characters that believe dominance is the best way to handle a problem. Vic Mackey's fate ends in loneliness where he is forced to ponder on his past life of misguided justice. Walter White could have very easily ended his character arc that way and actually almost did. But Walt's character didn't end there and, after Jesse witnessed the Nazis kill Andrea, I realized one thing. Walt cannot meet his reckoning the same way Tony and Vic did in their respective sagas.
Vince Gilligan isn't crumbling under the weights of previous TV legends. He's building on top of it. Tony and Vic ended their stories in hell. Walter White is in that very same hell but there's still too much to answer for. Too many things left unaddressed. The continuation of Breaking Bad after Ozymandius and Granite State isn't an example of the show losing it's efficiency towards the end. It's actually quite the opposite. It's showing how Walter White still needs to answer for more even after he's in hell.
While I can't be sure if Vince Gilligan intended this parallel to occur between Breaking Bad and the two crime classics, I know Vince has Breaking Bad's ending will likely be the kind that people will remember for generations to come. While I can't pretend to know what will happen. I predict that Walter will pay dearly for everything he's done. Vince seems to want an ending that will full avenge the injustices of Walter White and sending Walter to hell just isn't enough for that. That's what I gleamed from Granite State.
Looking back on it all, it's rare to be following a show that is this special. A crime show that is comfortable in the company of The Sopranos, The Shield, The Wire, and other giants. While Felina could very well be a horrible episode, I think Vince has proven to us he's an incredibly capable writer that doesn't leave things off sloppily. Whatever the ending, I'm sure it'll be worth living in for the next few weeks.
On a lighter note... I think it's Jack Bauer time Walter ;)
