Did Breaking Bad's ending lessen the series as a whole or was it on-brand for what it was?

[Deleted member 4976]

I disliked most of the last season, thought it was sloppy, and as a result, view Breaking Bad as a good show – not a great one. And certainly not at the level of some of the other greats.

Though to be fair, I don't think it was a show on the level of other greats without the last season either.

 

[captive]

The ending was goat tier. Walt fixes the problem he helped create, kills himself in the process, saves Jesse. Manages to finally pull his head out of his and get money to his family. Saying Sopranos ending is good because its controversial is ridiculous. I didn't even watch Sopronos when it was on and people hated that ending. Even family guy made fun of it. People were pissed though.

lol at Breaking Bad not being considered a Goat tier show.

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seriously people have huge hard ons to try and devalue the show, like 2 seasons in to better call saul people are like ITS BETTER THAN BREAKIN BAD!!! Can we let shows breathe before we declare them better.

 

[snausages]

Tbh even as a big fan of the series I never understood where the GOAT accolades came all of a sudden. As time has passed I notice people talk about Breaking Bad way less, but you still hear a lot about other 'GOAT' tier shows. I really think BB ended up being a bit of a flash in a pan in that regard and is way less impressive after the fact and not necessarily just because of season 5. Season 4 had some horribly laborious pacing issues until the last 5 episodes or so

 

[Patitoloco]

I personally love El Camino because it's the epilogue the season needed. The ending itself is, IMO, quite anticlimatic and kinda the lowest part of the series for me.

 

[Idde]

Not really sure how to answer the poll. I don't think the ending to BB was the best ending of any show ever (that title goes to Spartacus), but I do think BB is a GOAT tier show, and the finale didn't do anything to devalue the series.

 

[Solo]

I always thought of Breaking Bad's finale as having two endings. First one being Ozymandias, and then the following final episode.

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The follwong episode wasn't the final one though lol

People out here forgetting Granite State!

 

[Quinton]

The show is still regarded as highly as The Sopranos and The Wire in many circles -- at least, anecdotally?

 

[The Unsent]

Walt dying in a bed, seccumbing to his illness, would have been a good ending. No one gets the money and his evil actions just end up being pointless. No bad arse denouncement or going out in a final blaze of glory, just dying alone.

 

[Conciliator]

It's a good and appropriate ending.

I think people put too much emphasis on endings in general, like they watch 100 hours of a show just to prep their minds to be blown by some mindfuck ending. Breaking Bad's ending doesn't reframe the entire show or blow your mind open, but it's a solid, appropriate ending that brings some closure and makes sense based on the trajectory of the characters and plot.

 

[Foltzie]

I am curious why people view the machine gun as weirdly impractical?

Someone with Walt's resources (Millions of $) should have easily been able to acquire an automatic weapon.

 

[Tiny Chihuahueño]

The follwong episode wasn't the final one though lol

People out here forgetting Granite State!

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It's been a while lol, but yeah it should be those two episodes then

 

[Virtua Sanus]

I did not get the impression at all that it was no longer considered one of the all-time greats. I personally was totally fine with the last season, and I liked El Camino a lot too.

As others mentioned the plane crash stuff in season 3 has really been the only thing that has left a sour taste in my mouth over the show.

 

[RROCKMAN]

Totally on brand. Walt became a self destructive nutcase so he was going to die period. I did like that Jesse did get a happy ending though, I was fully expecting him to get wasted like everybody else

 

[jett]

By *way* before you mean... since the first four seasons, which are arguably the best?

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[captive]

I am curious why people view the machine gun as weirdly impractical?

Someone with Walt's resources (Millions of $) should have easily been able to acquire an automatic weapon.

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mythbusters literally duplicated it too.

its probably the most accurate thing Walt did. Mythbusters tested the make shift bomb he threw in Tuco's, that was busted. The acid melting through a bathtub was busted.

 

[Sabercrusader]

There's absolutely nothing wrong with Breaking Bad's ending I would say. It doesn't need to be controversial and it doesn't need to cause a huge stir.

I would also put Breaking Bad in the GOAT tier. I think it absolutely deserves that.

 

[Ramala]

Goat tier. The neo nazis were a means to an end.

 

[Lockheartilly9799]

I loved the show and I loved the ending. Definitely top 10 all time show for me. The acting was amazing. Some of the scenes were far fetched but in that universe, you suspended disbelief. The song that played after Walter died was chef's kiss.

 

[Pacote]

Ending was not goat.... season 5 is the worst season....

gtfo here... I start to get why people say Era sometimes is indeed a bubble

 

[Vincent Grayson]

I'm a big fan of when stories come to their logical conclusion based on good, consistent writing. BB wasn't perfect, but it did a damn good job of this overall, and I felt like the ending made perfect sense.

Nothing about the show ever felt like it needed to focus on a big twist or surprise for the ending, at least to me.

 

[danm999]

I will Say this I just finished The Wire and I am on the first episode of the 5th season of breaking bad I would say the highs of The Wire are greater which make the low points more glaring. To me breaking bad is a lot more consistent but I would consider the 3rd and 4th season of The Wire some of the best television ever made. From the tone of this thread i really hope Breaking Bad can wrap up in a way that was not nearly as a let down as the 5th season of The Wire.

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The end of Breaking Bad is the end of a characters journey.

The Wire's ending is unremarkable compared to say Breaking Bad or the Sopranos because the Wire is a show about systems and institutions and by their nature those things are harder to concluding!

 

[Deleted member 81119]

There was a brief moment in time while Breaking Bad was airing when people compared it to GOAT shows like The Sopranos and The Wire, but I don't think anyone could say that with a serious face after the series ending.

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Whatever you think of the ending personally, it should be pretty obvious that Breaking Bad is still generally regarded as being on the same level as those two shows.

 

[FlowersisBritish]

I've recently been doing a rewatch.... and honestly I think the ending might be good? I loathed it at first, but its definitely grown on me the more I think about the structure of the series. I know everyone hates the neo nazis cause they kinda just show up and fuck all of Walt's shit.... but that is also exactly what Walt did Gus. And what Gus did to the cartels. I think the ending was trying for a cyclical "there will always be someone to usurp you" kinda story, and what held it back was just that.... well no one liked the neo-nazis lol. Does anyone even really remember the big bad? Outside of Todd (who is just such an amazing illustration of a psychopath), none of the new villains were memorable.

I am curious why people view the machine gun as weirdly impractical?

Someone with Walt's resources (Millions of $) should have easily been able to acquire an automatic weapon.

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For me, it wasn't so much that the machine gun didn't make sense, it just didn't feel very in-line with Walter White, evil super chemist. I had thought he was gonna get them with some loose science like he always did.

 

[Antrax]

I've recently been doing a rewatch.... and honestly I think the ending might be good? I loathed it at first, but its definitely grown on me the more I think about the structure of the series. I know everyone hates the neo nazis cause they kinda just show up and fuck all of Walt's shit.... but that is also exactly what Walt did Gus. And what Gus did to the cartels. I think the ending was trying for a cyclical "there will always be someone to usurp you" kinda story, and what held it back was just that.... well no one liked the neo-nazis lol. Does anyone even really remember the big bad? Outside of Todd (who is just such an amazing illustration of a psychopath), none of the new villains were memorable.



For me, it wasn't so much that the machine gun didn't make sense, it just didn't feel very in-line with Walter White, evil super chemist. I had thought he was gonna get them with some loose science like he always did.

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That's the idea, yeah. Walt dies in a dumb shootout no different than any other drug dealer who goes 1 for 1 in a gunfight. Gus, Walt, Cartel, etc... all think they're untouchable but guns and bombs are all equalizers. Just takes one dude to pop them. Gus could've been killed at one of his restaurants by a meth head taking a bribe. Walt goes down to skinheads who just beat him up. They in turn go down to a guy who bought a gun pretty easily obtainable in America.

Cersei's "Ned Stark had a piece of paper" line fits here. There's power and there's power

 

[mantidor]

This is quite literally the first time I've heard anyone saying the Sopranos ending was "good" and BB was not. I've always heard the opposite.

I was very LTTP with Breaking Bad, I think its a tiny bit overrated but its a fantastic show.

Also relevant:

 

[Mcfrank]

Breaking Bad is absolutely a GOAT tier show.

The Wire is way too inconsistent (and has whole seasons which are mediocre to bad) to be a GOAT show. It has GOAT seasons, but not a GOAT show.

People hated the Sopranos ending, so not a GOAT ending.

Mad Men is the only show I can think recently that delivered as consistently and on the ending as Breaking Bad.

 

[RedHeat]

Wait people consider the Wire, on the whole, as a GOAT show? I'm pretty sure most people only like SE1 and 3

 

[Vilam]

Imagine creating a thread slandering Breaking Bad while simultaneously putting The Wire on a pedestal, a show which had an absolutely rancid second season.

 

[DevilMayGuy]

Imagine creating a thread slandering Breaking Bad while simultaneously putting The Wire on a pedestal, a show which had an absolutely rancid second season.

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Pssh no love for Ziggy?

 

[Uzzy]

What a bizarre thread. Breaking Bad is absolutely one of the GOAT shows, I'd put it above The Sopranos and The Wire easily.

Still, none of them have an ending as good as the actual best ending of a show in the past hundred years, The Shield.

 

[BeeDog]

The ending of Breaking Bad was pretty good, but I agree with everyone saying the nazis weren't up to snuff. Simply not captivating as the end-game baddies, especially compared to what came previously.

 

[Imperfected]

Loved the ending. Was perfect.

The only thing I didn't really like was the plane crash storyline. Thought it was reaching.

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This. I get it was meant to create a hard break in tone from the Zany Meth Sitcom Antics of the early seasons leading into the Serious Prestige Drama of the latter seasons, but the plot point itself is just sort of disjointed and feels detached from reality.

Which, I mean, is kind of how a plane crash be, but I sort of want more cohesion in narrative than in real life.

 

[Gaucho Power]

Still, none of them have an ending as good as the actual best ending of a show in the past hundred years, The Shield.

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I loved the ending of Shield. Basically everything about the last episode was great. Especially the part where Vic sells Ronnie out. It really made clear that Vic was all about himself.

 

[breakdancing duck]

I am curious why people view the machine gun as weirdly impractical?

Someone with Walt's resources (Millions of $) should have easily been able to acquire an automatic weapon.

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Agreed. It's actually one of the more practical things Walt ever did.

Breaking Bad Finale Breakdown | MythBusters

Adam and Jamie take on one of the biggest TV myths around, Walter White's booby trap from the Breaking Bad series finale.Catch all new episodes of MYTHBUSTER...

youtu.be

 

[breakdancing duck]

The Neo Nazis stand out because every awful thing they do in the series is only possible because of Walt. He created the power vacuum. He brought Todd on. He hired the gang to be his hit squad.

 

[Donepalace]

There was a brief moment in time while Breaking Bad was airing when people compared it to GOAT shows like The Sopranos and The Wire, but I don't think anyone could say that with a serious face after the series ending. Now, there is nothing wrong with Breaking Bad or its ending. It's a good show. This isn't a thread to shit on the series, but it is definitely not a GOAT tier show. And I've wondered whether the ending sealed its fate as merely good or if the series had already cemented itself in that area long before it. Could a more daring ending have elevated the show into that upper echelon?

Now some might ask what's wrong with the ending? Well, it is 100% safe. It played out exactly as everyone expected. Again, not a bad thing by any means especially when we've seen so many shows shit the bed by the end. However by going the well-trodden path, it ignored any possible avenue of a more unique and possibly controversial ending to be talked about for ages to come. When you look at something like how The Sopranos ended, you cannot help but notice the vast gulf that exists between the two series endings. And thus I question whether Breaking Bad could've played with something similar in terms of boldness. Or if it was already too late for the series to try and pull such a thing?

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Just curious if BB wasn't a goat tier ending for you what do you consider a GOAT ending

endings are always tricky especially for TV shows that last multiple seasons and gain huge rapid fan bases

 

[Dr PeterVenkman]

There was a brief moment in time while Breaking Bad was airing when people compared it to GOAT shows like The Sopranos and The Wire, but I don't think anyone could say that with a serious face after the series ending. Now, there is nothing wrong with Breaking Bad or its ending. It's a good show. This isn't a thread to shit on the series, but it is definitely not a GOAT tier show. And I've wondered whether the ending sealed its fate as merely good or if the series had already cemented itself in that area long before it. Could a more daring ending have elevated the show into that upper echelon?

Now some might ask what's wrong with the ending? Well, it is 100% safe. It played out exactly as everyone expected. Again, not a bad thing by any means especially when we've seen so many shows shit the bed by the end. However by going the well-trodden path, it ignored any possible avenue of a more unique and possibly controversial ending to be talked about for ages to come. When you look at something like how The Sopranos ended, you cannot help but notice the vast gulf that exists between the two series endings. And thus I question whether Breaking Bad could've played with something similar in terms of boldness. Or if it was already too late for the series to try and pull such a thing?

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the foundation of your argument is faulty as breaking bad quite literally is the GOAT tv show. the ending is not on the level of say...six feet under...but it's still very good. safe is a fair criticism though.

honestly your first sentence should swap the wire in for breaking bad. the final season of the wire was ATROCIOUS

 

[Trey]

Breaking Bad's ending was justifiably focused on its main character and his many eccentricities, dovetailing his final arc in a manner consistent to the show's overall tone and narrative flourishes. For any program, being able to say it understood what it was is a high compliment, and Breaking Bad certainly rates in that pantheon of all time television shows for exactly that reason. Ozymandias, the true climax of Breaking Bad, is widely considered one of the best episodes in television history. Breaking Bad was masterful in managing its tension, paying off established scenarios is a variety of ways that inform the characters involved and makes sense to the audience. And to this day, Breaking Bad maintains that distinction.

And while Breaking Bad's finale is memorable in its own way, it having a discrete and even "predictable" ending is simply a fundamental function of the show's core cause and effect feedback loop, not unlike the chemical reactions Walt manufactures across the series' five seasons. You get out what you put in, even if the end product is a foregone conclusion given the precursors involved.

 

[Sande]

I felt like the neonazis out of nowhere were a bit too convenient and conventional final boss to end the show on.

 

[IrishNinja]

not goat tier for me, but that depends on where your bar is

for me, the shield was much closer (and i was certain that one had painted itself into a corner at the time too)

 

[TarpitCarnivore]

I recently re-watched Breaking Bad and realized what makes the final season an overall let down. There's a tone and build to the show for the previous seasons, things feel calculated and planned out. Something about the final season just feels rushed, like a mash up of a few overarching plot points. I don't dislike as much as I did but it's definitely a totally different vibe and feel to the previous seasons.

The end of Breaking Bad is the end of a characters journey.

The Wire's ending is unremarkable compared to say Breaking Bad or the Sopranos because the Wire is a show about systems and institutions and by their nature those things are harder to concluding!

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Technically you could argue The Wire's main character is Baltimore

Wait people consider the Wire, on the whole, as a GOAT show? I'm pretty sure most people only like SE1 and 3

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I'm pretty sure you're wrong

Imagine creating a thread slandering Breaking Bad while simultaneously putting The Wire on a pedestal, a show which had an absolutely rancid second season.

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Season 02 is a fantastic season and a vital key to the rest of the show

 

[Freezeezy_Gold]

Because of the ending and everyone who celebrated the series as a whole after that, Breaking Bad is the only completely fictional show that can compete with real life.

I mean look at this, you got life on Earth itself, World War 2 and the Chernobyl disaster….

The only way Breaking Bad could have achieved this is by being better than the Wire, Sopranos and LOST combined.

 

[BossAttack]

Just curious if BB wasn't a goat tier ending for you what do you consider a GOAT ending

endings are always tricky especially for TV shows that last multiple seasons and gain huge rapid fan bases

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Well, to start, there's a difference between a GOAT ending and a GOAT show. Endings are really hard, especially for a long-form TV show. Plenty of GOAT TV shows have mediocre endings. And sometimes mediocre shows can have GOAT endings. That said, my list of GOAT TV endings is pretty short:

(In no particular order)
The Sopranos
The Wire
Cowboy Bebop
Star Trek: TNG
Battlestar: Galactica (I know hate me)
The Shield

 

[sappyday]

I agree with many that season 5 is the worst season of the show, but I never let it drag my love for it. And I think the finally (last 3 episodes really) make up for most of the season. I actually think it's quite fitting, and satisfying in many ways.

 

[Servbot24]

The ending lessened the series by 1%. It was a fine ending, but I never think of the ending when I think of BB.

 

[Broseph]

Still a fantastic show that's up there in quality programs but imo it was never at the same level of Sopranos or The Wire or even Mad Men. That said, I'd still put it on the next tier

 

[Deleted member 8752]

The scene in the finale with Walt and Skyler is what the writers were building towards since episode 1. And they nailed it so damn hard.

This right here is why it's a GOAT ending, better than any other show. The "action" part at the end is just extra.

If you're focused on the "outcome" rather than the character development aspects then you really missed the point of that ending, and are just watching for plot twists.

I truly do think the job they did of showing the viewers that they were rooting for a complicated monster the entire time was phenomenal. It's unlike anything else I've personally seen before. The sheer horror of realizing what Walt truly was has been foreshadowed throughout the series in conversations with Hank and other characters.

 

[EntelechyFuff]

Nothing about the show ever felt like it needed to focus on a big twist or surprise for the ending, at least to me.

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I agree, but part of what dings S5 for me is that I felt that it did have a twist/surprise, in that the Nazis show up as a quantifiable bad in the end. They were such a clean antagonist compared the (deepening) grey areas the show was built around.

I also Walter got too much of a hero's sendoff--not just in how the final episode resolved, but also in how he engineered a way to still transmit his wealth to Walt Jr.--whether or not that was intended. Still love the show and think of it as one of the GOATs, but it didn't quite stick the landing.

 

[Legacy]

100% on brand ending

 

[Rendering...]

The scene in the finale with Walt and Skyler is what the writers were building towards since episode 1. And they nailed it so damn hard.

This right here is why it's a GOAT ending, better than any other show. The "action" part at the end is just extra.

If you're focused on the "outcome" rather than the character development aspects then you really missed the point of that ending, and are just watching for plot twists.

I truly do think the job they did of showing the viewers that they were rooting for a complicated monster the entire time was phenomenal. It's unlike anything else I've personally seen before. The sheer horror of realizing what Walt truly was has been foreshadowed throughout the series in conversations with Hank and other characters.

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You're absolutely right.