Breaking Bad, Season 5, Episode 15, “Granite State”

We have seen the ‘happy ending’, and Walt passed on it

When speaking about last weeks “Ozymandias” episode creator Vince Gilligan said that it would be impossible for Breaking Bad to make an episode that good again with the episode being highlighted as a standout in the last run of episodes. While it may not have surpassed or matched the intensity of “Ozymandias” the penultimate episode of the series this week was a huge achievement in a very different way which left me in no way disappointed or feeling like the series had peaked. What I have been most impressed with in this last block of episodes is that the show has never been forced to change. Often in the run up to the end of a show things can get manic and rushed as lose ends and plot points are quickly and sometimes messily resolved and brought together. While this can help build to an action packed conclusion it can lose some of the magic that possessed and characterised the shows best moments early on. What “granite state” represents is how Breaking Bad has managed to avoid this and stick to its guns right until the end, and as a fan I am truly grateful. Nothing is rushed here, the show takes its time as it always has, which helps highlight that this is and always was a story about characters, not action

The penultimate episode is a slower paced affair as we are finally brought up to speed with the early season teases of Walt  returning to an empty white house with a full head of hair and trunk filled with guns. Walt’s recent actions have made him America’s most wanted for the time being with the empty house Heisenberg graffiti revealed to be the work of kids while the rest of the Whites have moved out.

The episode begins with a look at the set-up of Saul’s go to guy for all your disappearing needs as Saul himself has opted for the same escape plan as Walt. The hoover repair business that fronts the real operation is an actual running business which also temporarily houses its special clients downstairs while their new identities are created above. Walt being a meth kingpin and currently top of the DEA’s most wanted list is a slightly trickier man to vanish than Saul leading the two to collide at the vacuum shop. Saul at this point is the only one of the two who actually can accept the situation that is facing both of them while Walt is still looking for a way out. By this point however Walt has already dug such a hole that this vanishing act is the only option left to him. There is a great moment in this scene where Walt flicks on the Heisenberg switch to intimidate Saul before collapsing in a heap of coughs mid threat reminding us that however badass Walt has become, at the end of it he is a dying man. All he has left is that barrel of cash, which at this point can buy him nothing except an hour of company in his new residence in the snowy hills complete with a wood burner, a TV without reception, and a new name. At this moment Walt is given an ultimatum; either he stays here and dies peaceful without having any way to return his money to his family or to leave and forever lose Saul’s contact and the option to vanish forever. This is a decision Walt wrestles with in this episode with him not prepared to go beyond his own gate and back to the real world.

Jessie’s situation in this episode is also further worsened in a brutal scene which sees more death at the hands of Todd and his uncle’s men as Jessie happy ending seems to be slipping away from him. Todd is now becoming the biggest villain in the show as it approaches its conclusion with his actions seeming to have no empathy. In a way Walt’s crimes have also been able to be seen as justifiable, while Todd’s recent actions are now showing that there a far worse people out there than Walt. Todd and his uncle’s men are trying to cover lose ends and ensure that no one knows about their operation while Jessie is producing Heisenberg quality meth that can get them back into the market.

Walt deterioration in the episode is saddening watch as his health falls to such a point that his thinning fingers can no longer support his wedding ring. All Walt wants at this point is a way of getting his money to his family and learns bluntly that if he dies Saul’s man isn’t going to return it. In a last attempt Walt leaves his new home and contacts his son from a bar to tell him that he has sent a package of money to his friend’s house to avoid the DEA seizing it. This scene shows Walt defeated that all he can send his son after everything he has done is a measly $100,000, worse for him then is that his son refuses it leaving Walt entirely defeated. At this point he finally gives up, calling the DEA simply so they can track him and find him as gets a drink at the bar to await his fate. This is now what I would have seen as the happy ending for Breaking Bad. Walt, finally defeated would be arrested and that would be the end of it, no one else would die and the greatest damages to the characters would have been done. The events that follow however lead Walt to abandon the bar and head out on a vengeance mission passing on the opportunity for a clean ending. Walt has made that decision now and I can’t help feel that next week’s closing episode is going to be a brutal and tragic ending. Bryan Cranston recently said that the ending of the show was “unapologetic”, so make of that what you will. As for Jessie I’m hoping for the best for him, but I feel again that his happy ending may have died in this episode as well; we will have to wait and see.