14 DAY TRIAL // When he sat down at the table with the writers of “Breaking Bad” to come up with ideas for the final episode of the series, the one that would close the book on Walter White’s troubled history, series creator Vince Gilligan knew he was in for a challenge.
As he says in a new interview with Entertainment Weekly, they all set out to work knowing that, no matter what idea they eventually adopted, they would still disappoint some fans, if only for the mere fact that they had another ending for their favorite anti-hero in mind.
However, Gilligan knew that he wanted “a definitive ending to the series,” he says. And that’s exactly what he delivered last night.
*Those who have not seen season 5 / series finale, are encouraged not to read any further, because major spoilers are included.*
The idea when working on the final episode of the show, Gilligan explains, wasn’t to offer cheap thrills or to create something that would shock the viewer out of his or her seat, but rather to offer closure to a troubled story in a way that made sense.
So, even if fans are not happy that Walter White died and Jesse Pinkman got away, Gilligan says he’s happy with the ending.
It was inspired by the classic “The Searchers,” the series creator explains.
“The wonderful western The Searchers has John Wayne looking for Natalie Wood for the entire three-hour length of the movie. […] It just gets me every time — the ending of that movie just chokes you up, it’s wonderful. In the writers room, we said, ‘Hey, what about the Searchers ending?’ So, it’s always a matter of stealing from the best. [Laughs]” Gilligan recalls.
He could argue that Walter “got away with it” by dying, in the sense that he wasn’t caught by the police for his many criminal acts, meth cooking being perhaps the least of it.
He could also argue that, by dying, Walter finally paid a price for the evil he brought upon his family, when all he claimed to be doing was providing for their future.
As Gilligan sees it, it’s a matter of perspective but he, for one, is happier that Walter accomplished at least one thing he set his mind to.
“But the most important sequence in the episode for me probably was Walt succeeding at his 62-episode long task, which is leaving money to his family. The sequence with Gretchen and Elliott at their house was the hardest thing of all for the writers and I to figure out,” he says.
He insists he doesn’t regret ending the series when it’s most popular (thanks to Netflix, ratings for “Breaking Bad” have been going up with each new episode) because that’s the key to good television: knowing when to say goodbye.
“I feel very happy and satisfied by the fact that we’re wrapping up now. I can’t even believe that the ratings have increased with each episode — I just think it’s wonderful — and people have asked me, ‘Does it make you want to go on and do a bunch more episodes now?’ Just the opposite. It makes me think, through quite a bit of good luck being involved, we really did pick the right moment to exit the stage, and I feel even more confident of that now than I did before,” he says.
So, what did you think of the “Breaking Bad” finale? Was it everything you expected and more, or the exact contrary of that?