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The Silent 1
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David Chase was repulsed by Tony, but he was also repulsed by the fanbase who watched him murder and steal for years only to call for his head at the end. He didn't give it to them. Even if you believe he died in that diner, we don't see it. What we do see is Tony conquer nearly all of his enemies in that final season

I think it's reductive to say that Walt was driven purely by revenge. That interview with Gray Matter caused Walt to come up with the plan to leave his children money. It also inspired him to go after the Nazis because he couldn't stand the thought of someone carrying on his work without him again. He also went after

If you look at the reactions to the Dexter finale, one thing that's fascinating is that its not just that people didn't like it (and it is terrible), they specifically say that they didn't get the story they expected.
With Breaking Bad its almost the opposite. Gilligan gives what I thought was the most logical

Gilligan has said that he while he lost sympathy for Walt a long time ago, he never thought of him as evil, he thought of him as incredibly self-deluded. In the final season as Walt reaps what he has sowed, he finally hits rock bottom and is able to be truthful with himself for the first time. And even though he has

Exactly. We liked the tension, we liked the suspense, we were entertained by the scheming and the plotting. It was exciting and ultimately no matter what ending Gilligan choose, someone could have accused him of "pandering". Coming up with some sort of deliciously cruel punishment for Walt was no doubt what some

The reason why I specifically say the end of season 1 is because that was when Walt refused Gray Matter's offer to pay for his bills. After that point, it was clear to everyone that Walt was no longer selling meth for his family, but so he could live out his power fantasy after feeling powerless and emasculated for so

This show has been a power fantasy from day 1, and it was honest about that not only in the way the story unfolded, but also in the way that it never lost sight of the fact that after the first few episodes Walt was doing this not for his family, but to fulfill his personal fantasies.

I agree. Were those people who are complaining rooting and cheering for Hank to catch Walt and Jesse when he had them cornered at the RV in season 3? Were they hoping and praying that Walt and Jesse would get caught during the train heist in the first half of this season?

A lot has been said about whether or not Walt "redeemed" himself, but honestly I don't think redemption exists in the sense that most people are talking about. When you do something wrong, rarely do you have a chance to undo it in a way that completely makes up for whatever damage you caused. Whatever happened,

"He once again let what he considered his life's work be subsumed by Gray Matter."

Lydia has no other henchmen aside from the Nazi's that Walt just killed, and she didn't seem to have any real connections outside of Gus's guys (who are dead) and the dealers who she sells to in Europe.

I looked at it more as him willingly putting his life in Jesse's hands. After everything he did, the least he could do for Jesse was allow him to have his revenge if he wanted it. He knew that he was at death's door and would have liked to get it over with, but ultimately he just wanted to die that day and he got that.

Ah, forgot about that. Well the good thing for Jesse is that he can honestly say that he had left the meth business and was held captive there against his will for a year. He can downplay everything else and leave out the murders. Compared to all that he's done, he's getting off light and he can always go on the run.

They have no evidence to prosecute Jesse with. His confession tape is gone and all thats left is the word of Marie and Skyler, neither of whom ever saw him doing anything. Well, I guess Marie can say that Jesse was last seen with Hank and Gomez, but Jesse can easily lie about how much he was involved with Heisenberg,

Walt indirectly caused the death of his brother-in-law and though he got his kids the money, he dies with the knowledge that all of his loved ones hated him. I don't think his consequences were trivialized, the ending is bitter sweet.

I agree with Vince Gilligan in that sometimes the most satisfying finale is getting exactly what you wanted. Vince could have surprised us for the sake of it, he could have done something more arty, but instead he just gave us a satisfying conclusion.

I said from the very beginning that my ideal ending would be for Walt to go out on his own terms. I got what I wanted. Thank you Vince Gilligan for 5 incredible seasons.

When Saxon's victim stumbles into the hospital and spits up blood, one of the nurses says (in a rather uninterested monotone voice) "I wonder who could have cut his tongue out?"

The sad part is some of those core concepts that Scott Buck was discussing actually had potential. Dexter being forced to kill Deb, Dex gaining his humanity only to discover the consequences of doing this, Dex choosing to exile himself for his loved ones. All good ideas that were executed in the worst way possible.

"I can’t believe that’s really respect for Walter…"
I actually think it is. Remember Todd's respect for Walt is the only reason the Nazi's didn't kill him and take all of his money.