'Breaking Bad': Creator Vince Gilligan explains series finale By Dan
Snierson
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Now to give you some time to breathe and dry your tears, let's begin our analysis of Breaking Bad's brutal and sad finale. Regardless of previous predictions, you'll want to hear now what series creator Vince Gilligan has to say about the final episode, which saw the death of drug lord Walter White . "Our idea is to have a clear ending," said the planner, who wrote and directed the episode. Five seasons of "Breaking Bad" is one of the most daringly innovative and beloved and obsessed shows in television history, and now it's a huge challenge to wrap it up in an exciting and satisfying way, and Gilligan knows that all too well. He and his team of writers spent countless hours finding a perfect ending. "I think a lot of people must have had a different ending in their minds, so we're bound to disappoint some," he said, "but I can confidently say that we're enjoying the ending that's been hanging in the air for more than half a year. I'm very happy with the ending. Satisfaction, that's where my joy comes from." This Gilligan interview covers Walter and Jesse's fate, possible alternative endings, the impact of Westerns on endings, and important plot points in the finale.
How to choose the Walter ending that is supposed to accomplish some redemption before dying?
"We didn't feel like we had to let Walt die in the last episode, but we really did. Because the writers and I went through all the possibilities and thought it was right to let Walt die, but I don't think we did. It had to be done. There's a version we've been talking about: Walter was the only one who survived, he's standing in the rubble and his whole family is ruined. It's going to be a powerful ending, but right It's a sloppy ending to the audience. We talked about the version where Jesse killed Walter, and we talked about the version where Walt escaped. There's no right or wrong way to do it, the truth is: there are many in the writer's room. Smart people, I have the privilege of being in charge of them. We follow our hearts and tell ourselves how to write the ending, at least for Walter to start making changes for his life, for his suffering family and friends, so that he feels Satisfaction. Walt never set out to redeem himself, this sin has gone too far, but at least he did what he could. And one more thing that I think was important to him is that he fulfilled the first episode Original intention: to leave a lot of money to the family. Of course, Walter has been wrong all these years, he feels that as a man, a source of income, a father, all he does is to make money for the family to make a living . through his sleight of hand on Gretchen and Elliott, his family can get ten million in cash, but on the other hand, the breakup of the relationship is forever. So this is An intriguing fact. Walter failed on many levels, but he succeeded in doing what he wanted to do. He was able to give his family enough money to make ends meet after he passed away, which was his first Focus on the only thing you want to do, so, mission accomplished."
Why did you decide to let Jesse escape?
“Over the years, we’ve found that the way to please the majority of the audience is often to exclude as many outside factors as possible to please the eight people in our screenwriting room. If we can make ourselves happy all day, we can also make the majority of the audience happy, so why not? Why not? All of us in the writing room love Jesse, and we all feel he's been punished. We didn't give him a chance to escape at first. Walter said, "You either help me make a drug dealer, or I'll send you to the DEA. "Poor Jesse was devastated mentally and physically for making a bad decision. And because of that, he paid the price, so we felt we should let him run away. If Jesse paid the price for his life, right? We are too cruel to the fans." What will happen to
Jesse?
"We've always felt that the audience would want Jesse to get away. What happens to Jesse is up to the audience. Some people think he was caught by the police about two miles away, but I'm more inclined to believe he got away. After six months in the dungeon, all the beatings and seeing Andrea get killed, it will take him a long time to recover. Those things will be traumatic for him, but I'm optimistic that Jesse will eventually make it to the Alaska, live peacefully and be close to nature." Did the
writer ever think about letting Jesse kill Walter?
"We talked about having Jesse pull the trigger at the end or when Walter turned to find Jesse with a gun at him. We looked at every idea that came up and came up with this because we were arranging for Jesse to strangle Todd. (Todd) didn't want Jesse to be bloodthirsty before, that's what the writers wanted to show. Todd was likable from a certain angle, but he had to die. I think the death of their entire organization would make the world go away Even better. With this premise, we feel: Jesse is not a murderer. Jesse has had to kill more than once, the first time to save Walter and himself, it's not in his nature, it will It hurt his heart. And then we thought: Well, let's finish Todd, let him be the last person Jesse's killed, let him get out of here and start a new life. Of course, he's got enough Reason to kill Walter, he had enough killing intent too, but he said to Walter a long time ago 'I'll never do what you say again,' so when he said 'no' and put down the gun he said 'you Come on yourself, 'This is rejecting Walter, he doesn't want to satisfy Walter anymore. So it's not that Jesse doesn't have enough killing intent, it's just, 'You want this, I won't let you do it.'"
Before Why did Walter, who insisted on killing Jesse, save him out of instinct?
"A lot of viewers who know the history of movies are bound to say, 'This is the end of The Searchers.' And it is. This great three-hour Western tells the story of star John Wayne Look for Natalie Wood's story. The heroine is kidnapped and raised by Indians, and John Wayne is saying throughout the film, 'I'm going to relieve her pain. Once I find her, I'll kill her She.' And Jeffrey Hunter's all saying, 'No, she's in my blood, we're going to save her,' but the protagonist insists, 'I'm going to kill her.' So you would Think, 'Oh my God, John Wayne is a beast, he's going to kill.' The whole movie is about two people looking for Natalie Wood. And then by the end of the movie, you think the protagonist is going to mount a horse and shoot her. , but he knocked it down and took her, and he said, 'Let's go home.' Every time I see this, it strikes me, and the end of the movie chokes on me, which is amazing. We were in the writer's room and said, ' Hey, how about the ending with 'Searcher'?' Look, the ending is actually a copy of the classic. (Hahahahaha)"
Does Walter's death mean he has paid off his sins?
"It's all up to the audience. Death doesn't necessarily mean repayment. I don't think so, because even the best of people end up dying. So it's fair to say he actually got away with it because he was never actually caught. By the way, only Hank had ever handcuffed him. Walter was dead before the police came and they rushed in armed and didn't care about the dead Walter. Walter was like Lord of the Rings The Ring), drug making and labs are his favorite things in the world, and he doesn't care if he gets caught because he knows his time is running out. Anyway, you can feel that Walter paid his Sin, it can also feel like he got away with it."
Why would Lydia be a target of ricin?
"Me and the screenwriters have read the playwright Chekov's theatrical philosophy and he said that if you show a gun in chapter one, you better fire it in chapter three. We all know that ricin is hidden in Walter's hometown In the bedroom wall. We could have left it alone, but then thought, 'The audience is really nice to us, they pay so much attention, so we're going to give them back and not miss a single point in the ending.' Also, play Lydie Lydia's actor is actually a very warmhearted person, and we couldn't wait to film her asking for a lot of dessert in front of Todd. Todd was likable, so you'll even have some when he dies Contradictory feelings. What about Lydia? We all agreed that she should die. 'What's the best way to do that?' Yeah, she's not that kind of person. And then we thought, 'Is it okay to use ricin?' We were very proud when we found out that this could be both strung with the previous ricin and linked to dessert. Wanted to make every character It's really hard to get the ending you deserve, the last episode everyone has their own final moments, and putting them all into the last hour made our heads big (hahahahaha), but I think it's great because We did it."
What was the biggest challenge in the finale?
"Strange to say, the revenge scene at the end, it's weird enough because it's so violent. But the finishing touch is what the audience needs to see for their emotional needs. In the last hour, The audience needs to see Walt take revenge on the gang that killed Hank. That has become a necessity, and it's more straightforward. But for me the most important part of this episode was that Walt managed to finish him A 62-episode mission - leaving a huge fortune for his family. The ending that took place at Gretchen and Elliott's house was the hardest for the writers and me. In the previous episode , Saul Goodman did an analysis for Walt—he explained to Walter exactly why it was impossible to leave millions of fortunes to his family. He said, 'You must never It is impossible to keep this money under Tiaozi's eyes. Even if you successfully give it to your family, the note will find out, and they will confiscate the money because it is drug money. Even if a miracle happens and you successfully hide from the scribbles, Your family won't want it either, because the money is yours and they hate you, especially the son you worked so hard for! So it's impossible.' We were in the screenwriting room all the time, 'Oh my God, Saul is right on the money! No sarcasm. Walter can't get what he wants.' Gretchen and Elliott's scheme is structurally the most important part of the episode. Walter Deceiving Gretchen and Elliott and intimidating them to donate the money to their family so that it would escape the DEA, and that it was a generous, charitable donation, not Walter's stolen money. , would be accepted by Skyler and Walt Jr.. When we came up with the idea, we were like: 'Oh my God, let's go to lunch!' (Hahahaha) This should be the most important part of this episode in terms of structure, and it is also the most difficult point to overcome in this episode."
What do you think of the ending when the show was at its most popular?
"Every story has their length, and it's hard in the TV world to decide how long an episode should be. I'm actually very happy and satisfied that we're done with it now. I can't even believe the ratings are going up with each episode , that feels so good! I was asked, 'Does this make you want to do a few more episodes now?' On the contrary, it all led me to believe -- with a fair bit of luck in it, we really chose It's a good time to get off the stage, and now I'm more confident about it, more determined than ever."
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