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God DAMN. So I take it the final episode will be just Vince Gilligan whipping out his massive cock.

If anything, that last scene fits into the idea of the show being about what really happens when you go after what you think is "owed" to you.

You know, it occurs to me that, as the show's finale approaches, we'll be seeing all sorts of provocatively headlined web articles trying to score pageviews off the fact that the show will be trending insanely. Some pieces will be smart, some dumb, and some reasonable people will disagree about. Point is, there's going to be a shit-ton of them. Let's brace ourselves.

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.

I love trying to come up with cheeky alternate titles for these episodes. All I could come up with for “Granite State” was “The Heart Wants What the Heart Wants” and “Todd Talks To Women.” (I guess “AmeriCone Dream” could work.)

I wonder if Walt has figured out that Jesse is alive or not?  The fact that all of a sudden there's pure blue meth worldwide and the knowledge that Todd was fucking it up previously could easily inform Walt that Jesse is cooking for Todd and Co.   If Andrea's execution was in the paper as well, he could even deduce that it's against his will. 

I could see Walt threatening Gretchen and Elliot or outright killing them, depending on how much he's thinking or not thinking right now.  Since giving money to his family outright wasn't working, it would be interesting to see him threaten Elliot or Gretchen into giving monetary support to Skyler and the kids.

Ensure got some primo product placement.

The ending of “Granite State” was beautiful. It was mostly visual storytelling and Cranston's performance. Pretty cool how the theme music kicked in there. I'm a sucker for shit like that.

If anything will get Walter pissed off, it’s his old pals going on Charlie Rose and downplaying his role in Grey Matter. Walt’s secret criminal success compensated, to some extent, for not being the legitimate "somebody" he could have been. It's a clever touch, now, to have that criminal success be the cause of his old associates basically calling him a nobody publicly (well, on PBS, at any rate), even speculating that he's met his demise. (I love the idea of Walter White being this bin Laden-type figure — bearded, holed up, receiving portable medical treatment, watching people on TV speculating that he's already dead.) Ripping off that old scab, at that moment, might have been the only thing that could have gotten Walt off that barstool. A defeated Walt sat down, and an angry Heizenberg got up.

It’s funny to contrast Todd and Lydia’s coffee-shop rendezvous with the one Mike and Lydia once had. If I recall correctly, Lydia pulled the same you-sit-there-I-sit-here thing, but Ehrmantrout simply rolled his eyes, sat down in Lydia’s booth, and said hi to the waitress, who clearly knew him. But Todd is no Mike. Drink tea and put on a collared shirt all you want, Todd. She’s just not that into you. Is it possible Todd will do what Mike once wanted to do — kill Lydia? I can't tell whether Todd is the “If I can’t have you, no one can” type.

Is there a some kind of checklist of loose ends the finale has to resolve? The ricin. What else?