The Breaking Bad finale was an incredible piece of filmmaking (even if it was a TV show). Unfortunately, as is often the case with the web, you’ll run in to a few morons who take the contrarian view just because they’re delusional and think it proves some kind of mental superiority to hate on something everyone else loves.
One of the things I’ve heard the most (from the smallest group of people): it was predictable.
Predictable. Try Inevitable.
[ WARNING: This review contains spoilers. ]
Series creator (and the finale’s writer-director) Vince Gilligan was telling a story. He was not trying to shock you or outsmart you or engage in any kind of gimmicky storytelling. He was allowing the tale to unfold the way Walter White had lived it.
From the strains of Marty Robbins’ “El Paso” in the opening scene to that old glimmer of Heisenberg evil in Mr. White’s eye as he masterfully and obviously set a plan of vengeance in motion, Gilligan was allowing us to enjoy his creation’s final piece of criminal ingenuity without the all-too-common idea we must “outsmart” the storyteller.
In fact, being a Marty Robbins fan and wholly familiar with the concept of foreshadowing, I knew this story was going to end with Walter White dead in the arms of his true love. (As it did.)
And you know what? I was supposed to know that. It’s laid out in the very beginning with the lyrics to that beautiful country-western song.
See, the show has never been a mystery or a whodunit, and the Breaking Bad finale was no exception.
It’s a character piece about a loving family man who becomes totally consumed by greed and power. Were there surprises along the way? You bet there were. But surprise has never been what the show is about.
So, if you felt Sunday night’s Breaking Bad finale was “predictable,” well, let me put this in the simplest of terms.
“Figuring out” anything about the final episode, and then crowing about how predictable it was, is like calling your English teacher an idiot after they’ve taught you how to read.
Congratulations. You “figured out” exactly what Vince Gilligan wanted you to. Aren’t you special?
