Breaking Bad "Granite State" Recap Plus The #BreakingBadRicinPool
He’s baaaaaack!
Or at least he thinks he is.
First thing’s first – anybody who expected Ozymandias Part 2 was probably disappointed in last night’s episode. It was a drastic change of pace from the week before, and living up to the standard set by that episode was nearly impossible. The entire 2nd half of season 5 has alternated incredible episodes with plot advancement. So following that blueprint, I expected Granite State to be a an hour and fifteen to set up the finale, and thats exactly what it was. Every other TV show out there would have just ended with Ozymandias. Gone out on top with that masterpiece, the bad guy/anti-hero wins and thats that. But Gilligan and Breaking Bad are going deeper than that. 2 more episodes to show whats behind the curtain – what really happens – when shit hits the fan like it did. Show Walt wasting away, literally and figuratively. Show Jesse redefine rock bottom for the 20th time trapped in a Nazi dungeon of hell. To me, Granite State and the finale are like an epilogue after the incredible story. Like a PS on a letter. A glimpse into the aftermath post-apocalypse. So if you didn’t like the slow paced, flash forward, I think you just expected a different type of episode. And I expect the finale to be more Ozymandias than it was Granite State.
It looks like we’re coming full circle with Walter White. Back to the very beginning of his plight with Elliot and Gretchen and Grey Matter. When you really think about it, its those motherfuckers that sparked Walt to build his meth empire. Not the cancer. Grey Matter stealing his ideas and cutting him out of his fortune, or however Walter viewed that break up, was the real reason he was a lowly chemistry teacher/car wash employee. They were the real reason he couldn’t provide for his family. And so, in Walter’s mind, they are the real reason he’s now lost everything. If Gretchen and Elliot didn’t screw him, Hank would be alive and he’d still have his family. It’s their fault he’s slowly dying alone in a cabin in New Hampshire.
And so now they’re his new target. Heisenberg is back and rejuvenated with a new target. Its honestly like the man is fueled by his ego. Like revenge nourishes him. One moment he’s laying in a cold dark cabin, quite literally wasting away into nothing – the next minute he’s overcome with rage, and out the door on a one man vengeance tour before police can nab him. I think the ricin is for Gretchen and Elliot. Maybe Lydia, but I think thats too obvious of a play. I’m assuming the M60 is still for Jack and his crew. They have his money and they’re selling his blue. He’s coming back for everything – his fortune, his empire, his revenge. The only question is – can he pull it off?
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This time around he’s just a single man, closer to death than he’s ever been. No Saul Goodman to pull strings. No Walter White persona to hide behind. No Jesse by his side. I’m assuming he knows Jesse is still alive and cooking, he’s the only person who could achieve that Heisenberg Blue. But does he care? Does he want to save him? Does he want to use Jesse to help? Who knows. But all I know is that I’m very, very skeptical one man – a dying 53 year old man who’s the number 1 fugitive in the country, can somehow pull off an assassination of a couple billionaires and murder an entire gang of white supremacists. He’s not gonna go mow down dozens of meth head Nazis – he can barely breathe. So I think this is Walt’s suicide mission. He’s always been an egotistical maniac who acted irrationally based on his pride. Its just in the past he always had his smarts, his balls, his health, and an infrastructure to handle whatever precarious situation his ego got himself into. He still has his smarts, and he still has his balls, but thats it. I think Walt heading back to seek revenge and regain his empire is like his Butch and Sundance moment. Just gonna end up going out in a blaze of glory. He’s already lost his family, without his Heisenberg money and his Heisenberg pride, he’s dead anyway.
Which leaves Jesse. I think we’ve seen Jesse Pinkman’s fate. I think he’s doomed to a life meth slavery. If I were in his shoes I’d find a way to kill myself. Just pray that the Nazis wouldn’t be spiteful enough to kill Brock after the fact. Like what would they gain by killing the kid? Their cook is already gone. But I think Jesse is too unselfish to risk that. After seeing Andrea get popped (which, by the way, was some of the best acting I’ve ever seen. Similar to that Anna Gunn moment when she drops to her knees in the street after Walt kidnaps Holly. How are you supposed to capture the essence of a guy who just watched his love get executed in cold blood and its all your fault? I’m not sure exactly what that actually looks like, but Aaron Paul sure as fuck nailed it in my book.) I think Jesse will continuing to cook for them as long as he has to in order to protect Brock.
All in – I’m expecting some dark, dark shit for the finale. I want to see Walt exact revenge and Jesse escape to freedom. I want to see Todd get beaten to death by Jesse with a fire extinguisher or something. I want the meth money to go to Holly White and Walter dies a heroes death. But I dont think any of that is coming. I think the meth world is a dark, dark world and the outcome is going to reflect that. Todd and Uncle Jack are multi millionaires, Jesse is their slave, Walt dies cold and alone and broke. Thats the realistic ending, anyway.
Some cool stuff from Reddit:
The final episode is called Felina. Some people are speculating this means Iron (Fe) + Lithium (Li) + Sodium (Na), which could loosely translate into Blood, Meth, Tears. Another theory is that there’s a song called El Paso in which a hero rides out from Arizona into the land of New Mexico to save his long lost love, Felina.
Or it could just be an anagram for Finale, which is supposedly what Gilligan has confirmed.
Alright – officially prediction time. Free t shirt to whoever comes closest to predicting the final outcome of Breaking Bad.
UPDATE:
Join the #BreakingBadRicinPool. Predict who will be the victim of the ricin and what happens in the finale to win free Barstool gear. CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP