'Breaking Bad': Once upon a time in the West

"Breaking Bad" creator Vince Gilligan grew up in a small Virginia town where he watched "Star Wars" and westerns and spent his summer vacations making backyard movies with a Super 8 video camera that he borrowed from a teacher. From the third grade on, he knew he wanted to be in show business. 

Well, lucky us. 

Sunday night on AMC, Gilligan put his own personal touch on the third season finale of "Bad," both writing and directing for the first time since he did so for the pilot three years ago. And although it may have been "Star Wars" that primarily fueled Gilligan's childhood dream of show business, it was clearly his love of the western that colored this very solid season finale. 

Admitting recently that he watched the 1968 classic "Once Upon a Time in the West" for inspiration, Gilligan began with a standoff of sorts in the beautiful, untamed desert and then ended with a climactic showdown that led to the barrel of a gun and a gunshot. Just like that, it was over, the third season now gone. 

But before we move on, let us look back, one more time. ... 

-- A long, long time ago, Walter Hartwell White was an optimist. "Why be cautious?" he said to his pregnant wife in the hallway of what he considered to be a too-small "starter house" for their boundless future. "We've got nowhere to go but up." This came during the opening flashback teaser, a Season 3 staple. Going back even to prior seasons, "Breaking Bad" has always mastered the flashback, and Bryan Cranston has always been remarkable within them, portraying a Walter White who is so different from the one we normally see. The younger Walt has always been relaxed, confident, bold. And it's just another testament to the infallible Cranston that as such, these flashbacks have always been so jarring because of the stark contrast; the Walt we're used to is something of a tense, conflicted, broken individual. 

-- After the nowhere-to-go-but-up opening, we came to the nowhere-to-go-but-down present. Arriving in the desert in his poor, poor Aztec, this is where Sergio Leone's "Once Upon a Time" influence was clearly felt; the whole sequence was marvelous and played so much like the opening of Leone's masterpiece. And goodness, did we get a delightful shiver when Walt reached for his Heisenberg hat and made that long walk toward those headlights in the distance. Kudos to Cranston, who suggested the hat for the scene. "We hadn't had the opportunity to wear it all throughout the third season," he said recently. "I thought, 'Here's a genuine opportunity where he needs all the power he can get going into this negotiation with Gus.' ... And it's much like if a man is wearing a tuxedo, you sit differently, you act differently, you present yourself differently because of how it makes you feel. And so it's the same thing with the Heisenberg hat and glasses. It has that same effect." Wearing the hat, Walt negotiated the temporary reprieve from Gus (Giancarlo Esposito). It should also be noted that the hazy early-morning sky that hovered over them was absolutely stunning, lensed beautifully as always by cinematographer Michael Slovis. 

-- Rare gripe, Part I: For all of Mike's talk about how Walt needed to get his car fixed, I'm a little disappointed that we then immediately cut to Walt pulling up at the laundry, his car fully repaired. It's a minor thing, I know, but "Breaking Bad" is usually good at filling in these cracks. In this case, I'm sure Saul Goodman knew a guy who knew a guy ... who knew another guy, but some kind of explanation would have been nice. In fact, I probably would have preferred such a scene to what happened next, which leads me to ... 

-- Rare gripe, Part II: As Mike, Jonathan Banks is a wonder to watch. There is just a richness about his character, a cool confidence that always plays so well. Plus, he's just a bad, bad man when the situation calls for it. But I think "Breaking Bad" may have dipped into that well when it wasn't wholly necessary here, as Mike showed up at a random warehouse and coolly erased four apparent members of a cartel at the drop of a shoe. It's not that the sequence wasn't cool or occasionally funny; it's just that it seemed to come out of nowhere. And dare I say it was a little too cool? On rare occasions -- and I do mean rare -- "Breaking Bad" can get a little too Hollywood for my taste, going for an exclamation point when all that's necessary is a period. The cousins coolly walking away from that exploding truck at the start of the season was one such overcooked instance that made my eyes roll a little, and this shootout -- beginning with the ol' balloons-in-the-power-lines trick and ending with a bullet in that poor man's hand -- was another. There was no buildup and little explanation. And we're still not exactly sure how that man behind the desk and his assistant (or wife?) fit into Gus' whole operation, though I suppose the "chemicals" mention led us to believe that they're either a supplier of some of the meth-making material or possibly even a distributor of the meth. That aside, if we needed to be reminded that the cartel was still involved in this whole mess, I think there could have been a more subtle and not so showy way to pull that off. Now, back to the good stuff... 

-- As I first watched this episode, I actually wrote this down: "Gale. Perfect. I want Gale as a regular. He just adds so much and is so interesting, in a completely different way than Mike is interesting." Well, so much for that, but David Costabile's guest turn here should again be celebrated. The scene in Gale's home in which he happily watered his plants while singing along with that Spanish tune was just priceless and made us fall in love with the guy even more. Little did we know this was just the bait that we were biting. 

-- Favorite Saul Goodman quote: "Do not touch anything on my desk. I'm gonna leave the room, make myself a Nescafe." 

-- As for the lovable Gale, well, shoot. "When it comes down to you and me versus him, I'm sorry, I'm truly sorry, but it's gonna be him," Walt said to Jesse (Aaron Paul). They needed to kill Gale, who was being groomed as Walter's replacement. It was the only leverage that remained. "I saved your life, Jesse. Are you gonna save mine?"

-- Mirroring the opening teaser, one of the most beautiful shots in the history of this show was the proverbial calm before the storm, Walt holding his baby daughter, her tiny hand reaching up and playing with his glasses. With Skyler (Anna Gunn) and Walter Jr. (RJ Mitte) in the background, this was precisely the image of what Walt was trying to provide for and protect: his family, and these little beautiful moments. 

-- 6353 Juan Tabo Blvd., Apartment 6. Gale's address. 

-- "You don't have to do this." Twice in the final 10 minutes, this line was uttered by a desperate man. First it was Walt who said it at the laundry, Mike asking him to go fix a chemical leak that was obviously a setup. Then it was Gale, standing in his own doorway, a gun pointed at his head. For Gale, these were his final words. For Walt, these are the words that will continue to hang over his existence and the choices he's made. 

-- We may one day look back on this as The Season of Jesse. "I'm the bad guy," he plainly said to Walt early on, accepting his role in the world. Willingly back in the meth-making game even while sobering up himself, Jesse became so interesting this season and has come so far as a character. He was so sweet (to the kid), so cruel (to his parents), so loyal (to his friends). When it came to Walt, Jesse was all of those things. And here, Gale was right: Jesse didn't have to pull that trigger. He could have taken his money and ran away from this. But in the end he was there for Walt just as Walt had been there for him. Loyalty came at a price, though, and the tragic look on Jesse's face as he held the gun with a trembling hand told us what that was; if it wasn't already, Jesse's innocence is now gone. And this violent ending certainly puts our two main characters in an especially precarious position heading into next season, another dark corner from which they must escape. 

In all, this was a great finale to a marvelous season, one that further solidified "Breaking Bad's" place among the very best that television has to offer.  

Your move, "Mad Men." 

-- Josh Gajewski

Photo: Walter (Bryan Cranston) and Mike (Jonathan Banks) part ways in the desert during the season finale of "Breaking Bad." Credit: AMC

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Comments

[Fred Bonspiel]

Breaking Bad is my fav show. It's the only one that has got me out of my funk since Deadwood was cancelled. I feel blessed to watch something of this quality and enjoy the corners the writers paint themselves into and get out of only to go deeper into hell. I assume Jesse lowered the gun and shot Gayle in the heart.
great article ,thanks.

[fixer upper]

''... while singing along with that Spanish tune..."

Not sure how hard it is for you to distinguish languages, but that song was actually in Italian; titled Crapa Pelada.

[pam]

I honestly thought that the previous week's episode should have been the last. While the artistic screen shots and the little bits of business, such as the hat, were wonderful to watch, I'm not sure we were left with more to worry about or ponder than we would have had the season ended with Walt ramming the bad guys with his car and telling Jesse to run. Perhaps too formulaic but I just didn't get enough new or fascinating from last night's episode.

[babushka]

Crapa Pelada - hmm where can I get this CD? At the end of the episode, when Jesse is pointing his gun at Gale, is it just me, or did he move the gun from being pointed to Gale's head and then just before he shot it, he moved it to his right (pointing away from Gale) and missed on purpose? Until Jesse showed up at Gale's door, Jesse's seemingly soft side showing up when his partner, Walt needs him the most was really getting me mad... and when Gale was about to open the door, I was expecting Gus' foot soldier (I thought Jesse ran away after talking to Walt on the phone). With the cartel "poking for weaknesses" and Hank continuing his rehab, I can't wait until next season starts. Breaking Bad is a rare treat - the twists and turns in the writing, acting, and directing sets its own standard for excellence in a TV series. I hope Jesse gets an Emmy this season, yo.

[BB_fan]

On gripe 1 and 2. I see where you are coming from but one thing that breaking bad has always done, as you mentioned, is to patch up all questions. This has been masterfully done through the use of flashback teasers. I'm sure that at some point in season 4, they will flashback to Mike's Rambo moment and shed some light on how this moment fits the bigger picture. Despite the hollywoodness, one thing was definitely established: Mike is a BAD, BAD MAN.

[fabiola]

Breaking Bad is a great show. Just love it ! I soo glad to hear that it was inspired by Sergio Leone's "Once upon a time in the west". Leone is such a great director who didn't get the deserved credits while he was alive!

[BB_fan]

another thing: it's easy to assume that pinkman shoots gale in the last scene but I just dont think that he has "it" in him to pull the trigger.

did victor catch up to him?
did jesse miss on purpose?

there's room to speculate...

[stephanie bellnash]

so are we to be expecting more? I was told this was it, that last night was the last episode.. I really hope they keep going, I have to say I strongly agree that this is the best show EVER..... if anyone knows, please let me know if there will be another season thanks

[tim]

yeah, maybe when jesse moved the gun he was aiming for gale's heart---either that or he didn't shoot him---the movement of the gun confused me.

[Ray]

I still consider this to be the best show on TV, but I agree with your gripes. Mike at the warehouse: what the heck was that? It did feel like it was just plopped in the middle of the other stories. That was overplayed, didn't fit in any kind of context, and didn't deliver any real payoff.

And, I never found Gale to be all that engaging. He's more of a one-dimensional nerd to me. They went through all that trouble to humanize him just so it would be more tragic when Jesse killed him. That felt contrived and formulaic to me.

Maybe I will see things differently after a second viewing, but this might have been the weakest episode of an outstanding season. I found it to be unsatisfying.

[Boss Brew]

@ babushka

I thought the same thing, but after re-watching the final scene 4 times, its clear that Jesse's hand never changes position. The POV of Gale is the only thing that moves, with Jesse's hand pointed directly at Gale's face. I was thrilled to see that Jesse chose to step up to the plate. Jesse knew that Walt needed him, just as Jesse has needed Walt countless times throughout their relationship. I am interested to see if Jesse will continue using meth in Season 4, but I do know that their relationship will only grow tighter after this fiasco. They need each other.

[Josh Gajewski]

Two things:

First off, my thanks to "fixer upper" on correcting me on the song mistake. I'll have you know that I barely passed high school Spanish and quit Italian after three classes in college. So there's that.

In fact, reader Erin DeRuggiero was also kind enough to e-mail me the following about the song: "It's called Crapa Pelada, which literally means "bald head" in Italian. It's basically about a bald guy that cooks omelets and won't share his cooking with his brother."

A link to another version of it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2tUF5a1pD_M

And "babushka," the final shot with the gun was more of the camera moving itself into Gale's point of view rather than Jesse actually intentionally missing. You're not the only one to think otherwise, but Gilligan has assured in other interviews that Gale is in fact goner.

[cyberchica]

Last night Breaking Bad reached Soprano's preportions. And Mike the cleanup man might be a bad man but Walter White is a bad MOFO. RIP Gale but ya had to go and I really hope someone takes out Victor!

[babushka]

Thanks for the info, Josh and "Boss Brew"... the look on Jesse's face just prior to pulling the trigger... I was yelling at my T.V at almost 2 in the morning to Jesse... 'pull the trigger!'... I hope I didn't scare the neighbors - hee hee. Can't wait for next season! Keep up the great articles! Watching Walt in the flashback in the beginning had me thinking - wait, is this Malcom's dad with a new wife and kids? Such dramatic juxtaposition - I just can't praise this show enough.

[vegasgirl]

The ending was gripping and a little sad -- while Jesse is trying to reclaim his soul, Walt has totally lost his.
I do think the critics' gripes were valid, even though overall, the finale was stellar. Basically, it just shows how evil the drug trade is, and what it will do to any and all involved it.
Somehow, I get the feeling Gale will survive -- and become a new bette noir for Walt & Co., and maybe even Gus (who needs his comeuppance, soon).

[Mad for AMC]

@ Stephanie,

Breaking Bad has been renewed for a fourth season. We just have the wait for the next nine months or so for the next season to start. Sigh.....

@ Babushka

I couldn't agree more...Aaron Paul deserves the Emmy after his work in season 3.

Incredible episode last nigh

[Gabrielle]

They renewed the conttract for season 4

[waylon]

wow. totally great ending! there is no way jesse shot gale, is there yo?

[HPM]

Wonderful read. Thank you!

Just one thing, though, that I feel a lot of poeple don't fully remember/get about Jesse.
He wasn't cruel to his parents. The house he was living in was given to him by his aunt, becuase he was the only one out of the family who lived with her and nursed her as she was dying of cancer. He didn't care for her in order to live there, he cared for her out of love and in gratitude she left him the house.

His parents decided the junkie was a lost cause and may well learn a valuable lesson by getting kicked out and into the street, or whatever the hell it was they told themselves to justify their greed and making their own child homeless.
By getting the house back Jesse was cold hearted and harsh, yes, but in no way cruel. Or rather, Jesse extended just as much cruelty to his parents as they've showen him.

[serio serio]

"with that Spanish tune" Seriously? Until that point I was enjoying the review. "Los Angeles time" and you don't know the difference between english and spanish. Just keep perpetuating the ignorant american stereotype