This is getting ridiculous. Given the way that "To'hajiilee" ended and that this episode was helmed by Looper director Rian Johnson (who was responsible for two of the greatest Breaking Bad eps ever in "The Fly" and "Fifty-One"), we should have known we were in some for some serious mind-numbing craziness in "Ozymandias". But the third-to-last Breaking Bad ever exceeded all expectations. There were so many bombshells in this episode that I was left breathless by the end. I'm talking about the type of wild developments that most series would save for a season or series finale, except there was a ton of them and they all happened in the span of 45 minutes. And this wasn't even the last episode! Or the penultimate episode, for that matter. We still have two of these left!
Many shows, when winding down, make the mistake of saving too much content for the final episode. I understand the intent of the creators in that regard; they don't want to tip too much of their hand, and preserve a sense of intrigue until the very end (looking at you Lost). The unfortunate by-product of that is that many great shows have a ton of filler in their final season, especially in the episodes right before the finale. Breaking Bad has deftly evading this pitfall by understanding one essential fact: it isn't the result that matters, but rather the build-up. There is a ton of speculation surrounding this show all over the world. No doubt, someone, somewhere has nailed how Breaking Bad will end with frightening detail, and written about it somewhere on the internet.
In fact, many, many people have surmised from the very first scene of this season that Walt would end up rescuing Jesse on some sort of suicide mission. The way things are going now, those people are probably right. But who cares? Who could complain about the ending of Breaking Bad when the path just to get there has been one of the most enthralling in television history? Personally, I'm running out of ways to praise this show. It feels like the last three episodes have all been absolutely perfect, and yet I never seem to be disappointed by what comes next. At this point, it seems like a foregone conclusion that this will go down as the greatest final season of a television show ever. This is the television equivalent of Barry Bonds in 2004, except there are no performance-enhancing drugs to be found anywhere.
I also want to praise the creators of Breaking Bad for how unflinching they have been in portraying their vision for the story of Walter White until the very end. It is a testament to how well-made this show is that it has such a phenomenal following despite being one of the consistently darkest shows on television. We always knew that Walter would end up destroying everything around him, but imagining it and actually seeing it play out on the screen are two entirely different things. The trail of bodies Walter has left behind him is staggering, and no one has been spared, regardless of how popular or well-liked. The shocking thing is that those he killed (directly or indirectly) may be the lucky ones. Just take a look at the "survivors": Jesse is a shell of a man, and a slave. Marie is a widow. Skyler is likely emotionally damaged beyond repair. Even poor Walter Jr. will probably never have faith in an adult again after finally learning the truth in. "Ozymandias".
Obviously, Walter has went well beyond the point of no return. At this point, there is no recapturing anything: not his family, not his innocence, and certainly not his pride or self-respect. The only question remaining is how deep the rabbit hole goes. And whether his presumed last act, the one foreshadowed since the beginning of this season, will be a magnanimous one, or just as selfishly-motivated as everything he has "accomplished" thus far in the series.
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