I wholeheartedly agree with Dorkman's comments.

I'll also note that I really am not sure I would have bought into the film as much if it had been Jolie and RDJ -- the two original "goal" cast members. I thought Bullock and Clooney worked amazingly well for the characters.

I was also impressed with how much of a "ride" it was. I, and several people I know, were worried it would get too introspective and "deep" to really just sit back and enjoy. However, there actually was very little of that, all things considered. There was the gratuitous "womb" shot (note to those that haven't seen it, it's not actually a shot of a womb), and clearly some high-concept exposition, but it fit in really fairly seamlessly with the madness that was happening.

This really was a technical and storytelling masterpiece, the likes of which we haven't seen a long while.

Can I also say -- I'm so incredibly thrilled it's doing well at the box office! From opening day to this past Thursday (one calendar week of showing) it's already surpassed it's production budget worldwide. Rumors were that they were hoping for it to clear $40 mil on opening weekend and it did $55 mil domestically and $85 worldwide. Considering the buzz that's been created -- I've yet to see a bad review or hear anyone not tell others to see it -- it might actually have some staying power, as well.

Both Cuaron & original Sci-Fi totally deserve this win. I can't wait to see what his next project is.

Agreed. Either Walt needed to say it, or someone needed to call him out on it. We got both, as Skyler (either her or Marie had to be the one) started to call him out on it, then he admitted it himself. Solid closure and a bit of a kick in the face to those that have defended Walt all this time as "he was doing it for his family", using the same twisted rationalization as he was.

I'll have to re-watch that scene, but I thought it was the same table as usual.

My thing about that scene was that there was no reason for Walt to interact with them at all. He could have been sitting in the background, we could have gotten a little meaningless "update" conversation from Lydia & Todd, then at some point she sips her tea and Walt leaves quietly. It would take up slightly less screen time, and would be just as effective. In fact, there'd be some irony in that she would die via such a "hands off" approach that she's normally on the other end of. A little line between her and Todd would also explain why she was calling him later that evening, too.

Walt shows up at the camp and the guards draw guns and say "who the fu---oh, holy shit it's you!" a quick radio to Jack and he's let in, makes his pitch about a new method directly to Jack, and bam you're back at the same scene in the clubhouse as before.

Again, the scene wasn't terrible or anything, but very few times have I been watching BB and thought "There could have been a better way to handle this..." The fact that it happened in the finale was a bit of a bummer.

Also...was I the only one that thought the "I need to show him we're not partners with Jesse" felt a little contrived? Maybe it was because I was already a little disappointed with the episode so far, but I was fine with the convenient Charlie Rose interview, but this one bothered me. //shrug

The same way he got it into Brock's juice at school?

Agreed! I especially liked how the column was just huge in the frame. It occupied nearly all the space between them. It wasn't subtle at all, and it shouldn't have been.

What is Jesse a wanted fugitive for? He was busted earlier in the season for throwing the cash out of the window, but other than that, he's basically clean. The DEA never found the tape (I guess they could find it at the Nazi camp? Loose end) and with Walt dead on the floor of the Nazi lab, I imagine all the blue meth Jesse was making for Jack's crew would get pinned on Walt.

As far as I can tell, Jesse is getting away relatively clean.

Two final thoughts:

First...Felina was directly tied to the song "El Paso" by Marty Robbins. This was predicted by Andi Teran over at http://previously.tv/breaking-bad/break … explained/

Some of his predictions are off, but "El Paso" was the song playing in the car Walt stole, and it what he was singing to himself while building his garage door opener of doom.

Second, and lastly (for now)...

Can anyone explain how Walt got shot exactly? He was laying face down on Jesse, yet seemed to be shot in the stomach. If he was shot in the back, it would have meant the bullet had to go all the way through and would have hit Jesse. But being shot in the front while laying face down on top of Jesse seems rather unlikely.

It's a bit of a nit-pick, I guess...but BB is generally so good at details like this. I mean, to have Walt go out by some random ricochet and a wound that doesn't logically line up with the situation?

I must be missing something, right?

Low Winte....LOL, no.

Quick note...

'Granite State' was actually 75 minutes with commercials, and the finale is set to be the same length. So, it looks like Gilligan will have a nearly an hour to button things up.

When Charlie Rose is going over the fact that the blue meth is still around, we're on a close up of Walt's face and there's a very distinct moment of confusion, followed by understanding. There's only 2 people on the planet that can make that meth.

While I guess it's possible that he could have read about Andrea's murder, it seems unlikely. I would think if he read that she was murdered, he would have assumed that Jack's crew was cleaning house -- thus he would also assume they were going to try and kill his family as well. That would lead to a whole different arc, it think.

I think he knows Jesse is alive and cooking. Logically it could be either a) Jesse doing it just to stay alive, or b) Jesse is being forced to do it. I'm not sure it matters to Walter at this point -- he wants Jesse dead for betraying him to Hank. The fact that he's alive, for whatever reason, is an affront to Walter and adds even more reason to go after Jack's gang (who swore they'd kill Jesse).

Great great episode.

I got it totally wrong that we would catch up to the flash-forwards with 2 episodes left. Luckily we got the set up for the climax that we needed.

First thoughts:

Walt Fucking Junior! Way to go Flynn. He hasn't been the most dynamic or important character on the series, but I'm kind of glad my prediction that he would kill someone by the end of the series (thus corrupting everyone in the White family) seems as though it won't play out. Granted, there's an episode left, but at this point it seems that his role was to be the one who finally pushed Walter over the edge into suicide-run territory...and that's awesome.

I actually jumped in my seat when Skyler walked in to check on Holly. I was genuinely surprised.

Todd is so crazy. The tiny smile he flashed when everyone found out he gunned down Drew Sharp might have been the creepiest thing anyone has done on the series.

It looks like basically every reason we could come up with about why Walt would come back was there: His family is in danger, revenge for both Hank's killing and the theft of his money, and his old buddies at Grey Matter pissing all over even his old legacy.

I'm wondering if Walter pays Elliot & Gretchen a visit before he goes balls to the walls against Jack's crew. I can't fathom Walt will let that slight go, considering the Grey Matter issue is one of the fundamental seeds of Heisenberg's character. It seems like a large detour to take (don't they live somewhere else?), but I feel like the writers couldn't hit Walter over the head with that so blatantly and then drop it.

Poor Jesse. Despite the fact that he's a fuck up and has made his fair share of bad decisions over the series (he should have just talked to Walter with the wire!)...that kid has just been through so fucking much. I was going "fuck yeah Jesse!" until I saw the camera come into frame, and immediately knew there'd be hell to pay. Still, it was brutal to watch the punishment. This show sure as shit doesn't pull punches.

I wonder if Saul stepping out means that's the last we'll see of him in the series. It'd be fitting, since he's been so utterly fucking terrified of Walter for so long. Walter tried to pull the normal power play and it just fell apart, finally allowing Saul to get out from under his thumb. It seems like a fitting end, much like Hank, if it is indeed the end.

I wish it was a 2-hr finale if only because I don't want there to be a single hour of this left.

It might be Jack's gang doing the stealing, but there's clearly a family-dynamic theme, and as Jack says...Todd would never forgive him if he killed Walt. Todd more than respects Walt, there's some serious hero worship going on. That's the reason he teared up in the desert, he saw his hero utterly broken as a result of Hank's death.

Jack covered it when he said that Todd wouldn't forgive him and yea, he was in a great mood in that he just made $70 million. It's true that Walt may not be happy, but it's not like these guys are not chess playing criminal masterminds. In their minds it's as simple as: "We're stronger, we've proved it, we'll take what we want and if they come back we'll kill them."

Yeah, admittedly I really thought we'd end this episode in a way that has the start of the next episode pick up where the flash-forwards ended...but it seems more likely now that we'll catch up either somewhere in the middle or even at the end of the next episode. Still could be possible that they pick up the flash forwards and reveal the mysteries around why/when he's come back as the episode unfolds.

I'll note that it seems like what a character deserves on Breaking Bad means nothing about the outcome of their story. For the briefest of moments in this past episode, I thought Jesse wasn't making it out of that desert..even though every story-telling aspect of my brain knew better.

On the phone call, Walter says that he still has things he needs to do...so I'm not sure there's a "revelation" that needs to happen to bring him back to Albuquerque. He could very well be leaving town as a way to regroup and prepare. He may not have the plan yet, but it's entirely possible that the "goal" is already decided.

Though, the most obvious revelation would be finding out the Nazi's went back on their promise to kill Jesse and that he/they are cooking his formula. That said, he could go back to enact revenge on Jack's gang for Hank and the Money -- only to discover once there that they've put Jesse into slavery...which could be an interesting dilemma.

IS IT SUNDAY YET?

It seems logical that Marie would know about the tape and give it to the DEA. At this point Skyler can confirm a handful of things on it, particularly the "Walter White is a meth cook" aspect...the rest of the tape gains pretty solid credibility after that part of it is confirmed. Especially with Jesse, Hank, and Gomez all missing and presumed dead.

Agreed. At this point Walt realizes that there is truly no way out for him. Skyler's realization of what he was doing was pretty awesome to see, as well. The "I'm sorry" meaning she understood was incredible.

One thing that bothers/worries me is that both returning Holly and taking the heat off Skyler are both redeeming acts...and honestly I don't think Walter should really be redeemed in any way. He's gotten worse and worse and worse as the series as gone on, even at a breaking point in his character I feel like him turning "good" just isn't believable to me anymore.

That said...no one who works on the show seems to indicate that Walter will rise from the ashes to be seen as a hero at the end, so it's totally possible that these could be the final two acts of goodness Walter ever performs, before going on a rampage that leaves even more destruction and horror in it's wake.

Yeah, 2 episodes left and we caught up to the flash forwards. Probably close the loop in the next episode while setting the stage for the climax and aftermath in the final hour.

Jesse is a weird situation. Todd got the cook to upper-70's in purity on his own, so I can't imagine it would take too long for him to learn how to keep it blue and get the purity up a little more (the blue is more important according to Lydia). If Todd can cook it, I can't think of a reason why they would keep Jesse alive. He's nothing but a loose end. Maybe Lydia steps in, because she's the only one that would actually care about "blue & 85% pure" vs "blue & 96% pure".

I do find myself interested in seeing how Todd would take it if Lydia was the one demanding Jesse live.

Speaking of Todd...holy shit, dude. "I'm sorry for your loss." Holy shit.

Still have to go read the ThinkProgress post, but it wouldn't surprise me at all if that was the sentiment of the comments.

I think it speaks to how ingrained traditional storytelling is on a majority of the viewers. I mean, Walt is set up at the start as the sympathetic protagonist. I remember reading an interview with Cranston about Walter White, and he said flat out that part of the show itself was to just constantly make Walter worse and worse, to see how far they could push the audience before they gave up on the notion that he was in any way the hero. I imagine many of the rationalizations by viewers defending Walt are done because they simply can't wrap their head around the idea that he's actually the bad guy.

I mean, no one wants to see someone they care about fall from grace, and we all make excuses for friends and loved ones regarding their motives and actions -- to some extent. There's a softer line when it comes to a tv show in terms of being ok with something that you wouldn't be in real lift, obviously...so when I see people defending Walter or projecting blame that deservedly belongs on Walt (not that there isn't enough blame/mistakes to go around), then I think about how the show actually goes beyond just an art form in terms of the media itself, but also in that it's actually folded the audience itself into the performance.

More thoughts to come, I'm sure. A second and third viewing should happen in the next few days...

OH WAIT!

Also...Hank is awesome. He could be kind of a jerk at times and certainly his anger issues and pit-bull tenacity caused some problems, but he was always the hero in this. I'm glad he got his high-note closure, I'm glad he got to go out like a fucking bad-ass, and I'm glad that he got one last dig in on Walter before he died.

It's a shame to see him go, but other than him making it to the end, this was probably the most satisfying conclusion for his story.

Christian Bale as Patrick Bateman (American Psycho)

Michael Keaton as Beetlejuice (Beetlejuice)

Bryan Cranston as Walter White (Breaking Bad)

Tom Hanks as Josh (BIG)

...to start off, at least.

My only theory about how Hank/Gomie/Jesse walk away from this gun battle is that they surrender and Walter bargains with Todd's crew -- saying he'll go back to cooking for them if they let the others live, but if they kill them then Walter will never cook for them again.

That's the only feasible way I can see the situation playing out without all of them dying.

Any other ideas?