Travis Marmon
Sports Editor
WARNING: PLOT SPOLIERS
On Sept. 2, AMC’s Breaking Bad wrapped up the first eight episodes of its final season, and with them continued to cement its legacy as one of the greatest television shows in history. It is the first season in which former schoolteacher Walter White has been shown to be unquestionably evil, and it has set up the final eight episodes to be even more intense and suspenseful than the last act of season four. Warning: Major spoilers follow this paragraph!
Following an extremely heart-pounding, violent season full of memorable moments (Walt maniacally laughing in the crawlspace, Gus taking down the cartel, the climactic nursing home explosion, etc.), it made sense that season five slowed things down. That doesn’t mean the show was without intensity. The massive train robbery executed by Walt, Jesse and Todd was one of the most exciting moments in the show’s run. The brutal murder montage of eleven men in three prisons over a two-minute span (set to Nat King Cole’s version of “Pick Myself Up”) was both terrifying and darkly comedic—a combination the show specializes in.
And in a moment that might top even the infamous “I am the one who knocks” speech, Walt may have uttered his most over-the-top egomaniacal line yet, telling Jesse, “Earlier you asked me if I was in the meth business or the money business. Neither. I’m in the empire business.”
It was a season that will in all likelihood earn Bryan Cranston yet another Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor. With his ego fully swollen following the defeat of Gus Fring, Walt became the show’s sole villain. With no more drug lords to cater to, no more strangers threatening his family and— for most of the season— no more DEA to evade, the only thing endangering Walt’s empire was himself. However, Walt is not the only character that was worth watching this season. The show introduced two new characters to keep an eye on: Lydia (Laura Fraser), the Madrigal employee who talks her way out of being murdered (twice) and helps Walt’s business grow internationally; and Todd (Jesse Plemons), who goes from lowly underling to Walt’s new sidekick after his almost casual murder of a child witness drives Jesse over the edge. The show also said goodbye to Mike Ehrmantraut (Jonathan Banks), shot to death in a rage by Walt out of fear and misunderstanding. Despite being a cold-blooded killer, Mike was one of Breaking Bad’s most likable characters—a loving grandfather and the only sane man in a business of lunatics.
As the world began to crash around the White family, the mid-season finale offered hope when Walt’s wife Skyler revealed the absurd amount of cash that they had acquired without the ability to launder it. Walt was finally convinced to retire from his life of crime, but the final scene showed his DEA agent brother-in-law, Hank (on the toilet of all places), piecing together his story after discovering the copy of Leaves of Grass originally owned by the late Gale Boetticher. It was inevitable that Hank would be the final obstacle in Walt’s way, but the method of setting it up was a brilliant move on the part of creator Vince Gilligan.
The final eight episodes of Breaking Bad will not start until 2013. It will be a long wait, but the first four seasons are available on Netflix to watch over and over and over again. It will be worth it to wait for the finale of the greatest show on television.