tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4706282221761427996.post6827382243668787167..comments2024-03-07T20:15:45.996-08:00Comments on The Bitter Script Reader: Breaking Bad's finale is about accepting defeatThe Bitter Script Readerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16575166527272639709noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4706282221761427996.post-20487105012701875252013-10-01T18:40:36.858-07:002013-10-01T18:40:36.858-07:00Like the aftermath of a gluttonous Thanksgiving di...Like the aftermath of a gluttonous Thanksgiving dinner, most of us are laying on the couch satiated with the well crafted closure of Breaking Bad. While we now say that the desire to have a meal followed by three pieces of pumpkin pie will never be justified in the future, I wonder if years down the road Vince and the BB fandom will want another helping. Are we 100% certain that Walt is dead? Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02678495102538964220noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4706282221761427996.post-8597540668404392272013-10-01T16:34:18.943-07:002013-10-01T16:34:18.943-07:00Obvious spoilers....
I'm not so sure. If he h...Obvious spoilers....<br /><br />I'm not so sure. If he hadn't been shot, do you think Walter would have killed himself? I don't think he would have. I think he would have taken off with either Jesse, or if Jesse hadn't gone with him, he would have taken off on his own. <br /><br />I think Walter was willing and ready to die to do what he had to do, but if push came to shove, and he hadn't been mortally wounded, I think he would have still tried to escape the police and get away.Mallethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14030118979605245081noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4706282221761427996.post-23123448235688498612013-10-01T15:36:55.439-07:002013-10-01T15:36:55.439-07:00SPOILERS * SPOILERS * SPOILERS * SPOILERS
With th...SPOILERS * SPOILERS * SPOILERS * SPOILERS<br /><br />With that out of the way...<br /><br />I'd counter that the finale isn't so much about Walt "accepting defeat," but rather accepting responsibility. Season after season Mr. White contended that he merely reacted to his circumstances: he needed money so he used his skills to make as much as quickly as possible, he had to save Jesse from thugs, he had to act again and again to self-preserve and "protect his family." Finally, standing like a specter in Skyler's kitchen, he was able to accept that none of it was a reaction. It was empowering. It sent fight-or-flight LIFE coursing through his veins rather than chemo. He did for himself.<br /><br />I think it's important to note the difference between "defeat" and "responsibility" because I don't think Walt would ever say he "lost," even in the finale. He accepted the fact that he could no longer ignore death's knocking, but he did not accept that it meant things were over (hence his odd little prayer in the frozen car to...just get me home). A huge part of Walt may have died when his actions led to Hank's murder, and the rest of him may have evaporated in that lonely New Hampshire cabin, but Walt willed a way to ultimately achieve his earliest goals: create something wholly HIS and leave behind a huge chunk of money for his family. Fucked up and twisted as the details are, the man succeeded. Though he'll get no credit and he'll be forever remembered a monster. <br /><br />Gliding Over All would have been a fitting title to save for the finale. Walt seemed to move like a disembodied spirt: unseen by the police, slipping through the shadows at the Schwartzes, standing motionless in Skyler's kitchen, the man was more mission than flesh and blood. Perhaps it's semantics but there is a precedent for Walt placing himself at "ground zero," evidenced by the fulminated mercury trick with Tuco. <br /><br />I'm glad Vince Gilligan mentioned The Searchers. It's an apt comparison regarding our flawed protagonist and his oscillation between self-righteousness, selfishness and self-sacrifice.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17020877365675094496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4706282221761427996.post-57651355209016190022013-10-01T15:33:56.600-07:002013-10-01T15:33:56.600-07:00This comment has been removed by the author.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17020877365675094496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4706282221761427996.post-83221589236375166772013-10-01T11:52:16.693-07:002013-10-01T11:52:16.693-07:00Uh, the headline contains no spoilers. Breaking Ba...Uh, the headline contains no spoilers. Breaking Bad is a tragedy. That this ends in defeat was baked into the show from episode 1. If the headline went into specifics, you might have a point.Depressed Existentialisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10856282225787458424noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4706282221761427996.post-15513284751429912162013-10-01T08:22:01.745-07:002013-10-01T08:22:01.745-07:00I officially declare it impossible to avoid spoile...I officially declare it impossible to avoid spoilers on the internet. I've been trying desperately not to read anything about the final, since I'm in Australia. I haven't read your article but the heading in my rss feed was enough. This is why piracy happens in the instant information age. It still boggles my mind that there's no legal way to stream the latest shows in Australia (that I know of) and that delayed releases still exist. Have they forgotten that we don't have to ship VHS tapes any more?Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06916485197877313547noreply@blogger.com