“Guess I got what I deserved,” sang Pete Ham from Badfinger’s 1971 single “Baby Blue,” over Breaking Bad’s final moments. And despite Walter White’s final string of mini-victories, his death was the only proper conclusion. “Felina” opens back in New Hampshire with Walt trying to steal a parked car. Police lights shine from behind and for the first time in memory Walt prays for the chance to get back to the ABQ. The police leave and through divine intervention the car keys slip from the visor. Walt starts the car, Marty Robbins’s “El Paso” blares from the stereo, and for the last time, audiences hear the opening theme. Fans were worried leading up to the finale, having felt wronged by show-runners before (Damon Lindelof’s Lost, David Chase’s The Sopranos), but having seen the episode twice now, I feel that there is only one word to describe Breaking Bad’s finale: perfect. Vince Gilligan, and his team of merry writers, were able to produce a finale that was both thematically and structurally pleasing. Some have argued that storylines were wrapped up too neatly, but I would argue in the age of cut to blacks, and lumberjacks, true closure is refreshing. The standout moment of this episode has to be Walt’s scene with Skyler. Set in her new dingy apartment, Skyler tells Walt he has five minutes to talk. Walt gives Skyler the GPS coordinates that will lead the DEA to Hank and Gomez, hoping that the coordinates will be a good bargaining chip to get her off the hook. He also starts to tell her why he did what he did. “Stop, if I have to hear one more time that you did this for your family-” says Skyler. “I did it for me,” Walt says to a stunned Skyler. “I like it. I was good at it. And, I was really… I was alive.” One of Walt’s defining characteristics throughout the show was his inability to face the truth. To justify all of his actions, regardless of their moral depravity. But in the moment where he finally tells the truth, for Skyler, as well as the audience, there is relief. In no way was Walt redeemed; he’s caused so much pain and destruction to those around him to ever be redeemed, but it completes the tragic series of events. The hero finally recognized he was the villain. There was plenty of relief this episode for fans. Walt blackmails Gretchen and Elliot into leaving Walt’s $10 million into a trust for Jr.; with the help of Badger and Skinny Pete (“I don’t know, this all seems kind of shady, like, morality wise.”); Walt uses Chekov’s Ricin against the ever-deserving Lydia; Walt’s rigged M60 takes down Uncle Jack’s (Michael Bowen) entire Neo-Nazi crew; Jesse strangles Todd with his own chains; and Walt kills Uncle Jack in a masterfully similar way that Uncle Jack killed Hank in Ozymandias. Jesse’s refusal to shoot Walt in the end was a fitting conclusion to his arc. He finally refused to do Mr. White’s bidding. The final shot of his screaming and crying, blazing out of the Neo-Nazi compound, was the perfect mixture of happiness, shock, anger and relief. As a long time fan, I was happy that there was no trip to Belize. In the end, Breaking Bad is Walt’s story. His casual stroll through the Neo-Nazi meth lab, lovingly caressing his tools, while police sirens blared, was a fitting end to his life. He died with what he loved. I’m a fan of television. My throat dried as Stringer died, my heart skipped a beat when Tony cut to black. But, without a single doubt in my mind, Breaking Bad is the greatest television series of all...

Spoiler Alert: Don’t read if you are not caught up on Breaking Bad. Also: catch up on Breaking Bad. Now. Hold off on the article and watch them all. You’re only about 58 behind. About a year ago Breaking Bad was wrapping up the first half of its final season. Walter White (Bryan Cranston) was officially done with the meth business and resigned to a quiet life at the car wash and $80 million in a storage unit. Then Hank (Dean Norris) took what may be the most cinematic and shocking dumps in the history of storytelling. The second half of the final season aired a little over a month ago. Since then viewers have not been given a chance to breathe. The inevitable confrontation between Walt and Hank took place in the very opening episode, with it’s climax airing Sept. 15, in the brilliant episode “Ozymandias.” As much as fans were cheering for Hank to come out on top, Breaking Bad is Breaking Bad for a reason. This show isn’t about Hank’s victory. It’s about Walt’s descent into darkness. And what better way to complete that than by destroying the only tether to morality Walt held left: family. Hank is dead, Walt Jr. is told the truth about his father, Skyler took a stand. So much happened last episode. For starters, The cold open flashback to the very first episode was a bit jarring, but in a good way. Having spent six years with these characters and seeing the show grow progressively darker with each passing episode made the opening scene all the more fascinating. The character dynamic between Walt and Jesse (Aaron Paul) was so light hearted compared to the very next scene. What may be the most distressing development is for poor punching bag Jesse Pinkman. As soon as Hank is buried, Walt loses his sobs and turns full on Heisenberg. He tells his Aryan partners where he’s hidden and orders his death. Having watched the show since the beginning, and experienced every single trauma right alongside Jesse, left me reluctantly hoping that they would just put the character out of his misery. So when creepy Todd (Jesse Plemmons) postpones his death to be tortured and turned into a meth cooking slave, I buried my face in my hands. Why Vince Gilligan? Why do you do this to us? But the real kicker of the episode was the long awaited reveal of Walt’s culpability in Jane’s death. Since it happened in the second to last episode of season two, fans have been speculating on just how it would be revealed. Would it be the final straw between Jesse and Walt? Would it be revealed at all? No. Just as Jesse’s being taken to his Todd induced hell, Walt stops them and tells Jesse everything with sickening delight. Jesse’s screams turn into light sobs and he’s dragged to his fate. “Ozymandias” was directed by Rian Johnson (Looper, Brick) who also directed my favorite episode of Breaking Bad, “Fly.” Under his direction, the desert has never looked as simultaneously beautiful and terrifying. The long wide shots of Walt rolling his barrel of cash alone deserves an Emmy. However, by far the most gripping shots were during Walt and Skyler’s fight for the knife. The way the camera moved and focused on the knife left millions of viewers at home waiting for someone to die. Since the beginning of the series, the popular line has been taking Walt “from Mr. Chips to Scarface.” The evolution of Walt’s character has fit that mission statement. But, the one thing people seem to forget is that Scarface dies in the...