WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.020 Welcome back to the Deep Dive. Today, we aren't 00:00:03.020 --> 00:00:05.160 just looking at another piece of television. 00:00:05.280 --> 00:00:08.199 We are looking at a, well, a seismic event. Oh, 00:00:08.259 --> 00:00:13.000 without a doubt. It's arguably the hour of television 00:00:13.000 --> 00:00:16.059 that really took that golden age of TV and just 00:00:16.059 --> 00:00:18.800 blew the doors off the hinges. And we have a 00:00:18.800 --> 00:00:21.399 massive stack of notes, production logs, and 00:00:21.399 --> 00:00:24.199 articles here to help us unpack it. We are diving 00:00:24.199 --> 00:00:26.579 into the season four finale of Breaking Bad, 00:00:26.879 --> 00:00:29.969 the episode titled Face Off. It really is the 00:00:29.969 --> 00:00:31.870 chapter that changed everything for the show. 00:00:32.229 --> 00:00:34.990 If you look at the architecture of the entire 00:00:34.990 --> 00:00:37.350 series, this is the keystone. Because before 00:00:37.350 --> 00:00:40.310 Face Off, the show is this really tense cat and 00:00:40.310 --> 00:00:43.590 mouse thriller. But after Face Off, it becomes 00:00:43.590 --> 00:00:45.789 a tragedy of completely Shakespearean proportions. 00:00:45.990 --> 00:00:48.109 It's that exact pivot point where the chrysalis 00:00:48.109 --> 00:00:50.829 breaks and the monster finally fully emerges. 00:00:51.130 --> 00:00:53.210 And just to set the context for you listening, 00:00:53.289 --> 00:00:56.869 this originally aired on October 9, 2011. Which 00:00:56.869 --> 00:00:58.869 honestly feels like a lifetime ago, doesn't it? 00:00:58.929 --> 00:01:01.270 It really does, but the tension holds up perfectly. 00:01:01.630 --> 00:01:04.310 It really does. And our primary source material 00:01:04.310 --> 00:01:07.670 today is the detailed record of the production, 00:01:08.150 --> 00:01:10.709 the plot, and the critical reception of this 00:01:10.709 --> 00:01:13.790 specific hour. It was written and directed by 00:01:13.790 --> 00:01:19.060 the series creator himself, Vince Gilligan. Usually 00:01:19.060 --> 00:01:20.980 when the creator steps behind the camera for 00:01:20.980 --> 00:01:23.040 a finale, you know they aren't messing around. 00:01:23.260 --> 00:01:25.739 Absolutely. Gilligan directing is always a massive 00:01:25.739 --> 00:01:27.780 signal to the audience to pay attention to the 00:01:27.780 --> 00:01:30.299 visual language. He's incredibly precise with 00:01:30.299 --> 00:01:32.840 his framing. Right. So our mission for this deep 00:01:32.840 --> 00:01:35.040 dive is to do more than just recap the plot. 00:01:35.209 --> 00:01:37.349 Because, let's be honest, you already know what 00:01:37.349 --> 00:01:39.510 happens. You know who blows up. Yeah, that's 00:01:39.510 --> 00:01:41.769 not a secret anymore. Exactly. We want to understand 00:01:41.769 --> 00:01:44.310 how it works. We want to analyze the production 00:01:44.310 --> 00:01:46.950 details behind that truly gruesome final image, 00:01:47.390 --> 00:01:49.489 dissect the strategy of the season -long chess 00:01:49.489 --> 00:01:52.290 match between Walter White and Gus Fring, and, 00:01:52.290 --> 00:01:54.030 you know, really get into the weeds on the moral 00:01:54.030 --> 00:01:56.090 complexity of that final twist. Because it's 00:01:56.090 --> 00:01:58.430 not just about the explosion, is it? It's about 00:01:58.430 --> 00:02:00.829 the debris field left behind in the character's 00:02:00.829 --> 00:02:02.870 souls. That is a great way to put it. So let's 00:02:02.870 --> 00:02:05.920 start with the title itself. Face -off. I feel 00:02:05.920 --> 00:02:08.659 like Vince Gilligan really loves these little 00:02:08.659 --> 00:02:11.219 word games. He does. It's a classic double entendre, 00:02:11.340 --> 00:02:13.400 and it serves as a total trap for the audience. 00:02:13.599 --> 00:02:15.659 On the surface level, Face Off is a standard 00:02:15.659 --> 00:02:18.060 action movie trope. It suggests a confrontation, 00:02:18.240 --> 00:02:20.599 right? A duel. You have Walter White, the unstoppable 00:02:20.599 --> 00:02:23.840 force, and Gus Fring, the immovable object. They're 00:02:23.840 --> 00:02:26.560 finally facing off. Right. It sets you up for 00:02:26.560 --> 00:02:29.599 a Western. The showdown at high noon. Exactly. 00:02:29.979 --> 00:02:32.340 But then you get to the final five minutes and 00:02:32.340 --> 00:02:35.020 you realize the title is a literal grotesque 00:02:35.020 --> 00:02:37.699 description of the injury Gus sustains. He literally 00:02:37.699 --> 00:02:39.979 has his face taken off. It shifts from a metaphor 00:02:39.979 --> 00:02:42.740 to a medical reality in a split second. It's 00:02:42.740 --> 00:02:44.379 almost, well, it's almost a sick joke by the 00:02:44.379 --> 00:02:46.639 writers. It is a sick joke and it completely 00:02:46.639 --> 00:02:49.259 signals the tone. High anxiety mixed with this 00:02:49.259 --> 00:02:52.639 very dark, almost graphic novel sensibility. 00:02:52.879 --> 00:02:54.960 Let's jump into segment one here. The setup. 00:02:55.460 --> 00:02:58.020 Because when things begin, Walt is not the one 00:02:58.020 --> 00:03:00.379 in charge. In fact, he's pathetic. We are picking 00:03:00.379 --> 00:03:02.780 up right where the previous hour, end times, 00:03:02.939 --> 00:03:05.520 left off. Walt is in the parking garage. He's 00:03:05.520 --> 00:03:08.039 removing the bomb from Gus's Volvo. And that 00:03:08.039 --> 00:03:10.860 context is so vital. Why is he removing the bomb? 00:03:11.419 --> 00:03:13.960 Because he failed. Right. He had the track set, 00:03:14.159 --> 00:03:16.639 but Gus didn't take the bait. Gus had that sixth 00:03:16.639 --> 00:03:18.939 sense, that tingle, and just walked away from 00:03:18.939 --> 00:03:21.340 the car. So Walt starts this whole thing in a 00:03:21.340 --> 00:03:24.469 position of total defeat. He is scrambling. The 00:03:24.469 --> 00:03:27.490 imagery there is so stark. You have the vast 00:03:27.490 --> 00:03:30.189 New Mexico sky, the empty desert where he takes 00:03:30.189 --> 00:03:33.669 the bomb to disarm it. He's just a man in khakis 00:03:33.669 --> 00:03:36.210 with a bag of explosives and absolutely no plan. 00:03:36.969 --> 00:03:39.310 He asks Jesse, where does he go? Where is he 00:03:39.310 --> 00:03:41.889 vulnerable? And this is the central conflict 00:03:41.889 --> 00:03:45.319 of the first act. Gus Fring is a ghost. He doesn't 00:03:45.319 --> 00:03:47.280 make mistakes. He doesn't have sloppy habits. 00:03:47.599 --> 00:03:49.979 He's surrounded by security constantly. Walt 00:03:49.979 --> 00:03:51.939 is looking for a gap in the armor, but there 00:03:51.939 --> 00:03:54.680 simply isn't one. And because Breaking Bad loves 00:03:54.680 --> 00:03:57.300 to tighten the screws... Just when they start 00:03:57.300 --> 00:03:59.539 brainstorming, the universe throws a massive 00:03:59.539 --> 00:04:01.900 wrench in the gears. Jessie gets picked up by 00:04:01.900 --> 00:04:03.759 the police. Which is a master stroke in writing 00:04:03.759 --> 00:04:05.960 because it completely isolates the protagonist. 00:04:06.580 --> 00:04:08.620 Jessie is interrogated by detectives regarding 00:04:08.620 --> 00:04:11.560 Reisen. Right, because of the kid. Exactly. Remember, 00:04:11.599 --> 00:04:13.780 Jessie told the doctors that Brock, the child 00:04:13.780 --> 00:04:16.339 who is currently in the ICU, might have been 00:04:16.339 --> 00:04:19.120 poisoned by Reisen. This obviously flags the 00:04:19.120 --> 00:04:21.339 authorities. So now you have a physical separation. 00:04:22.079 --> 00:04:24.620 Jessie is in a cold fluorescent -lit interrogation 00:04:24.620 --> 00:04:27.569 room. Walt is outside, completely in the dark, 00:04:28.170 --> 00:04:30.769 desperate for information. He has lost his inside 00:04:30.769 --> 00:04:33.449 man. And notice the contrast and power dynamics 00:04:33.449 --> 00:04:36.970 there. In the interrogation room, Jesse is terrified, 00:04:37.209 --> 00:04:39.829 but he's actually safe from Gus for the moment. 00:04:40.310 --> 00:04:42.410 Walt is technically free, but he's a sitting 00:04:42.410 --> 00:04:44.870 duck. He desperately needs a bridge to get to 00:04:44.870 --> 00:04:47.670 Jesse. Enter Saul Goodman. The essential pog 00:04:47.670 --> 00:04:49.709 in the machine. Saul is the only character who 00:04:49.709 --> 00:04:52.149 can move between these worlds. He goes to the 00:04:52.149 --> 00:04:54.410 police station as Jesse's lawyer. And this is 00:04:54.410 --> 00:04:56.829 where the breakthrough happens. Jesse, despite 00:04:56.829 --> 00:04:59.350 the immense pressure from the detectives, feeds 00:04:59.350 --> 00:05:01.670 Saul the golden ticket. He tells him about a 00:05:01.670 --> 00:05:04.300 place Gus visits personally. a place that might 00:05:04.300 --> 00:05:06.459 not have the same level of security surveillance. 00:05:06.860 --> 00:05:09.819 Casa Tranquila, the retirement home. Specifically, 00:05:10.120 --> 00:05:13.399 Gus visits Hector Salamanca. This is the massive 00:05:13.399 --> 00:05:16.399 aha moment, and it leads to this incredible enemy 00:05:16.399 --> 00:05:20.139 of my enemy dynamic. Walt realizes he has a resource 00:05:20.139 --> 00:05:23.019 he hasn't tapped yet. He visits Hector. Now, 00:05:23.040 --> 00:05:25.139 for anyone who needs a quick refresher, Hector 00:05:25.139 --> 00:05:27.980 Salamanca hates Walter White with a burning passion. 00:05:28.220 --> 00:05:31.379 Hates him. Walt killed Tuco, Hector's nephew. 00:05:31.860 --> 00:05:34.019 Walt is the reason the Salamanca drug -running 00:05:34.019 --> 00:05:37.199 operation fell apart. Walt represents absolutely 00:05:37.199 --> 00:05:39.699 everything Hector despises. So why does this 00:05:39.699 --> 00:05:41.699 scene work? Why does Hector agree to help him? 00:05:41.759 --> 00:05:44.300 Because hatred is hierarchical. Oh, that's interesting. 00:05:44.560 --> 00:05:47.660 Yeah, Hector hates Walt, sure. But he loathes 00:05:47.660 --> 00:05:49.779 Gus Fring. You have to remember, Gus has kept 00:05:49.779 --> 00:05:52.699 Hector alive specifically to torture him. He 00:05:52.699 --> 00:05:54.560 visits him just to taunt him with the deaths 00:05:54.560 --> 00:05:57.360 of his family members. He has turned Hector into 00:05:57.360 --> 00:06:00.329 a pet. A relic. It's a fate worse than death 00:06:00.329 --> 00:06:02.970 for a proud cartel boss. Exactly. So when Walt 00:06:02.970 --> 00:06:04.529 walks into that room and you really have to notice 00:06:04.529 --> 00:06:07.509 the acting here, Bryan Cranston drops the Heisenberg 00:06:07.509 --> 00:06:09.670 act completely. He talks to Hector almost like 00:06:09.670 --> 00:06:12.850 a peer. He says, I know you want to see me dead, 00:06:13.269 --> 00:06:15.529 but wouldn't you rather see him dead? It's a 00:06:15.529 --> 00:06:18.449 transaction. He's offering Hector agency. He's 00:06:18.449 --> 00:06:20.949 giving Hector the one thing Gus took away, the 00:06:20.949 --> 00:06:23.610 ability to strike back. And Mark Margolis, the 00:06:23.610 --> 00:06:26.009 actor playing Hector, he doesn't say a single 00:06:26.009 --> 00:06:28.959 word. He can't. But if you watch his eyes in 00:06:28.959 --> 00:06:33.699 that scene, the journey from suspicion to realization 00:06:33.699 --> 00:06:38.639 to pure hateful joy, he realizes he can use Walt 00:06:38.639 --> 00:06:41.500 as the weapon to kill Gus. It's the ultimate, 00:06:41.620 --> 00:06:43.600 the enemy of my enemy is my friend scenario, 00:06:44.000 --> 00:06:45.800 but it's really more like the enemy of my enemy 00:06:45.800 --> 00:06:48.560 is my suicide bomber. Precisely. So the alliance 00:06:48.560 --> 00:06:50.879 is formed, which moves us perfectly into segment 00:06:50.879 --> 00:06:53.699 two, psychological warfare, because simply knowing 00:06:53.699 --> 00:06:56.529 where Gus is isn't enough. Gus is surrounded 00:06:56.529 --> 00:06:58.430 by guards. They have to lure him in. They have 00:06:58.430 --> 00:07:00.149 to make him vulnerable. They have to bait the 00:07:00.149 --> 00:07:02.569 hook. And the bait they choose is purely psychological. 00:07:02.870 --> 00:07:04.709 Hector requests a meeting with the DEA. Which 00:07:04.709 --> 00:07:06.649 is absolutely unthinkable in the cartel world. 00:07:06.889 --> 00:07:08.769 No snitching is the first commandment. That's 00:07:08.769 --> 00:07:10.850 why it's so brilliant. Gus Fring is a genius, 00:07:11.129 --> 00:07:14.290 but his paranoia is his fatal weakness. If he 00:07:14.290 --> 00:07:16.949 hears that Hector Salamanca, the old guard, the 00:07:16.949 --> 00:07:18.790 man who knows where all the bodies are buried, 00:07:19.230 --> 00:07:22.069 is at the DEA office, he has to assume the worst. 00:07:22.529 --> 00:07:25.009 He assumes Hector is finally breaking the code, 00:07:25.189 --> 00:07:28.370 just to spite him. We, the audience, get to see 00:07:28.370 --> 00:07:31.069 the actual meeting at the DEA. And it's honestly 00:07:31.069 --> 00:07:33.110 one of the funniest scenes in the entire series. 00:07:33.649 --> 00:07:35.689 You have Hank Schrader and Gomez leaning in. 00:07:35.850 --> 00:07:37.629 thinking they're about to get the confession 00:07:37.629 --> 00:07:39.990 of the century. And Hector is just toying with 00:07:39.990 --> 00:07:42.050 them. He demands the spelling board from the 00:07:42.050 --> 00:07:44.310 nurse. The nurse is so patient, too. She's going 00:07:44.310 --> 00:07:48.410 row one, A -E -I -O. And he spells out S -U -C 00:07:48.410 --> 00:07:51.870 -K, and then M -Y, and then F -U -C. It's juvenile, 00:07:51.930 --> 00:07:54.470 but it tells us so much about Hector. Even when 00:07:54.470 --> 00:07:57.490 he's using the DEA as a pawn, he refuses to give 00:07:57.490 --> 00:08:00.050 them anything. He keeps his honor, such as it 00:08:00.050 --> 00:08:02.550 is. It creates a perfect information asymmetry. 00:08:02.930 --> 00:08:05.470 The DEA thinks Hector is senile and abusive. 00:08:05.720 --> 00:08:08.439 Walt and Hector know it's a trap, but Tyrus, 00:08:08.600 --> 00:08:10.680 Gus's right -hand man, is watching from the parking 00:08:10.680 --> 00:08:13.699 lot. He sees Hector leave the DEA building. He 00:08:13.699 --> 00:08:16.560 assumes Hector talked. And Tyrus reports this 00:08:16.560 --> 00:08:20.120 directly to Gus. This is the pivot. Gus decides 00:08:20.120 --> 00:08:22.259 he has to handle this personally. This is the 00:08:22.259 --> 00:08:25.730 fatal error. This is the hubris. A colder version 00:08:25.730 --> 00:08:28.649 of Gus, maybe the season 3 Gus, would have just 00:08:28.649 --> 00:08:30.730 sent Tyrus to the nursing home with his syringe. 00:08:31.089 --> 00:08:32.710 He would have said, kill the old man, I don't 00:08:32.710 --> 00:08:35.210 care. Right. Why risk the exposure? Because it's 00:08:35.210 --> 00:08:37.789 personal. Gus needs the satisfaction. He needs 00:08:37.789 --> 00:08:39.649 to look Hector in the eye before he dies and 00:08:39.649 --> 00:08:41.690 know that he won. He wants to be the last thing 00:08:41.690 --> 00:08:45.090 Hector sees. Walt is banking his entire life 00:08:45.090 --> 00:08:48.490 on Gus's ego in that moment. But Gus isn't stupid. 00:08:49.190 --> 00:08:52.350 He's extremely cautious. When he arrives at Casa 00:08:52.350 --> 00:08:55.509 Tranquila, he sends Tyrus in first. Tyrus sweeps 00:08:55.509 --> 00:08:58.210 the room. And this part, honestly, I hold my 00:08:58.210 --> 00:09:00.169 breath every time I watch it. Tyrus has this 00:09:00.169 --> 00:09:02.629 complex RF detector. He's scanning the walls, 00:09:02.730 --> 00:09:04.789 the bed, the wheelchair. And he finds nothing. 00:09:04.929 --> 00:09:06.990 This is a fascinating detail about technology 00:09:06.990 --> 00:09:10.090 versus analog methods. Tyrus is looking for bugs. 00:09:10.169 --> 00:09:12.210 He's looking for microphones or radio -controlled 00:09:12.210 --> 00:09:14.509 detonators. He is living in a high -tech world. 00:09:14.690 --> 00:09:17.129 But the bomb isn't high -tech. No, not at all. 00:09:17.230 --> 00:09:19.470 It's a pipe bomb taped to the wheelchair frame. 00:09:19.820 --> 00:09:22.159 It's triggered by a percussion cap connected 00:09:22.159 --> 00:09:24.879 directly to the bell. There is no electronic 00:09:24.879 --> 00:09:27.279 signal for Tyrus to detect. It's a completely 00:09:27.279 --> 00:09:30.279 analog trap for a digital villain. That is such 00:09:30.279 --> 00:09:33.220 a cool distinction. Tyrus is looking for a wiretap, 00:09:33.440 --> 00:09:36.240 not a stick of dynamite. Exactly. So the room 00:09:36.240 --> 00:09:38.779 is deemed clear. And this brings us to segment 00:09:38.779 --> 00:09:42.970 three. The climax. The confrontation. The atmosphere 00:09:42.970 --> 00:09:45.429 in the scene is incredibly heavy. The lighting 00:09:45.429 --> 00:09:47.970 is dim. You have that classic Breaking Bad golden 00:09:47.970 --> 00:09:51.129 hour look. But it feels completely suffocating 00:09:51.129 --> 00:09:53.370 inside that room. Vince Gilligan directs this 00:09:53.370 --> 00:09:55.809 with tremendous patience. He doesn't rush the 00:09:55.809 --> 00:09:58.769 explosion. Gus enters. He takes off his jacket. 00:09:58.919 --> 00:10:00.779 He adjusts his tie. Remember that. We'll come 00:10:00.779 --> 00:10:03.039 back to it. He sits down facing Hector. He starts 00:10:03.039 --> 00:10:05.179 lecturing him. I decide what kind of reputation 00:10:05.179 --> 00:10:07.360 you leave behind. He's really twisting the knife. 00:10:07.659 --> 00:10:10.000 He prepares the lethal injection. He is going 00:10:10.000 --> 00:10:12.139 to euthanize him like a sick animal. And look 00:10:12.139 --> 00:10:14.220 at Hector. He looks frail. He looks defeated. 00:10:14.320 --> 00:10:17.120 He's trembling. He won't make eye contact. It's 00:10:17.120 --> 00:10:19.299 a performance within a performance. And then 00:10:19.299 --> 00:10:22.200 the shift happens. The exact moment Hector stops 00:10:22.200 --> 00:10:25.039 shaking. The music completely drops out. The 00:10:25.039 --> 00:10:27.899 sound design goes silent. Hector lifts his head. 00:10:28.269 --> 00:10:31.490 And he looks Gus dead in the eye. That look. 00:10:32.490 --> 00:10:35.450 It's pure hate, but it's also triumph. It's the 00:10:35.450 --> 00:10:37.789 first time in years he's looked at Gus as an 00:10:37.789 --> 00:10:40.169 equal or even a superior. And then he starts 00:10:40.169 --> 00:10:41.970 ringing the bell. But it's not the usual ding. 00:10:42.129 --> 00:10:44.730 It's frantic. Just ding ding ding ding ding. 00:10:44.909 --> 00:10:47.600 And the camera pans down. We follow the wire 00:10:47.600 --> 00:10:49.820 from the bell. Down the armrest, under the seat, 00:10:49.879 --> 00:10:52.419 right to the detonator. Gus realizes it a split 00:10:52.419 --> 00:10:55.440 second too late. We see that rare crack in his 00:10:55.440 --> 00:10:57.799 mask. He screams and throws himself up, trying 00:10:57.799 --> 00:11:00.779 to escape. And boom. The door blows off its hinges. 00:11:01.320 --> 00:11:03.840 The ceiling tiles fall. There's smoke everywhere. 00:11:04.360 --> 00:11:06.200 Now, this is where the editing by Skip McDonald 00:11:06.200 --> 00:11:08.559 is crucial. We cut to the hallway. The chaos 00:11:08.559 --> 00:11:11.740 is settling. The fire alarm is blaring. And slowly, 00:11:12.000 --> 00:11:13.860 Gus walks out of the room. I remember the first 00:11:13.860 --> 00:11:15.559 time I saw this. I actually stood up and yelled 00:11:15.559 --> 00:11:17.639 at my TV. I was like, no way. He's the Terminator. 00:11:17.700 --> 00:11:20.139 He survived. That is exactly what the show wants 00:11:20.139 --> 00:11:22.820 you to feel in that split second. He steps out. 00:11:23.179 --> 00:11:25.639 He looks completely composed. He reaches up and 00:11:25.639 --> 00:11:28.820 adjusts his tie. It's such a Gus move, even in 00:11:28.820 --> 00:11:32.019 total chaos. He needs order. It's muscle memory. 00:11:32.220 --> 00:11:34.740 It's the last firing synapses of a man who lived 00:11:34.740 --> 00:11:37.700 his entire life by total control. And then the 00:11:37.700 --> 00:11:39.620 camera tracks around him. And we finally see 00:11:39.620 --> 00:11:42.720 the face off. They reveal. Yeah. The entire right 00:11:42.720 --> 00:11:44.659 side of his face is gone. You can see the skull, 00:11:44.799 --> 00:11:46.799 the muscle, the teeth exposed. It's incredibly 00:11:46.799 --> 00:11:51.129 graphic. And then he collapses. Dead. Let's stop 00:11:51.129 --> 00:11:52.809 for a second and talk about the production of 00:11:52.809 --> 00:11:55.169 that shot, because it is an absolute marvel of 00:11:55.169 --> 00:11:57.289 special effects. It doesn't look like a rubber 00:11:57.289 --> 00:11:59.809 mask. It looks viscerally real. It really does. 00:11:59.889 --> 00:12:02.110 They knew this was the defining image of the 00:12:02.110 --> 00:12:05.049 season, maybe the series. They brought in Greg 00:12:05.049 --> 00:12:08.750 Nicotero from KNB EFX. He's the special effects 00:12:08.750 --> 00:12:10.769 guru behind The Walking Dead, which was also 00:12:10.769 --> 00:12:13.769 on AMC. So they had the best gore guys in the 00:12:13.769 --> 00:12:15.649 business. But you can't just do that with makeup, 00:12:16.009 --> 00:12:18.789 right? Because to get that cavity look, the face 00:12:18.789 --> 00:12:20.990 has to actually be missing. Exactly. You need 00:12:20.990 --> 00:12:23.230 depth. You need to see inside the head. You can't 00:12:23.230 --> 00:12:25.110 do that with prosthetics unless you actually 00:12:25.110 --> 00:12:27.690 remove part of the actor's head, which I assume 00:12:27.690 --> 00:12:29.809 Giancarlo Esposito would have strongly objected 00:12:29.809 --> 00:12:32.350 to. I assume so. So they used a hybrid approach. 00:12:32.549 --> 00:12:36.210 It's a blend of practical and digital. Giancarlo 00:12:36.210 --> 00:12:38.730 wore intricate prosthetic makeup for the edges 00:12:38.730 --> 00:12:41.009 of the wound and the burn marks. They filmed 00:12:41.009 --> 00:12:45.210 the scene. Then they used CGI to digitally remove 00:12:45.210 --> 00:12:47.830 the rest of the face and map the skeletal interior 00:12:47.830 --> 00:12:51.309 onto his movements in 3D space. So the eye socket... 00:12:51.309 --> 00:12:54.230 The jawbone that's all computer generated, but 00:12:54.230 --> 00:12:56.110 tracked perfectly to his real head movements. 00:12:56.570 --> 00:12:59.210 It took months to render. It's a perfect marriage 00:12:59.210 --> 00:13:01.870 of old school makeup and new school tech. It 00:13:01.870 --> 00:13:04.149 earned them an Emmy nomination for visual effects, 00:13:04.490 --> 00:13:07.049 which is incredibly rare for a realistic drama. 00:13:07.389 --> 00:13:09.570 Usually those go to sci -fi or fantasy shows. 00:13:09.850 --> 00:13:12.649 It was worth every penny. It signaled the definitive 00:13:12.649 --> 00:13:15.230 end of the Gus Fring era. The dragon wasn't just 00:13:15.230 --> 00:13:17.970 slain, he was obliterated. And notice the symbolism. 00:13:18.190 --> 00:13:20.649 He dies adjusting his tie, he dies trying to 00:13:20.649 --> 00:13:23.570 maintain his dignity, but he is literally hollowed 00:13:23.570 --> 00:13:25.990 out. But the hour isn't over. We've had the massive 00:13:25.990 --> 00:13:27.870 explosion, but we still have a good chunk of 00:13:27.870 --> 00:13:31.029 runtime. This brings us to segment four, the 00:13:31.029 --> 00:13:33.470 aftermath. Because killing the king is one thing, 00:13:33.669 --> 00:13:36.409 getting away with it is another entirely. This 00:13:36.409 --> 00:13:39.230 is the cleanup phase. Walt hears the news on 00:13:39.230 --> 00:13:42.809 the radio. Explosion at a retirement home. He 00:13:42.809 --> 00:13:45.629 breathes a sigh of relief. But he immediately 00:13:45.629 --> 00:13:48.210 shifts into tactical mode. He has to get Jesse. 00:13:48.350 --> 00:13:50.870 Jesse is still stuck in the super lab. He's handcuffed 00:13:50.870 --> 00:13:53.590 to a pipe, cooking meth for the cartel guys who 00:13:53.590 --> 00:13:55.850 haven't heard the news yet. Walt descends into 00:13:55.850 --> 00:13:58.169 the lab. And I notice something here. This is 00:13:58.169 --> 00:14:00.350 completely different, Walt. He shoots the two 00:14:00.350 --> 00:14:03.570 henchmen without a second of hesitation. Bam. 00:14:04.559 --> 00:14:07.240 BAM. He's completely efficient. The hesitation 00:14:07.240 --> 00:14:09.299 we saw in season one where he made a list of 00:14:09.299 --> 00:14:12.039 pros and cons before killing Crazy 8, that man 00:14:12.039 --> 00:14:14.159 is gone. He kills the guards, he frees Jesse, 00:14:14.539 --> 00:14:17.259 but they can't just leave. The lab is a massive 00:14:17.259 --> 00:14:19.399 liability. Hank knows about the industrial laundry. 00:14:19.519 --> 00:14:22.000 He is closing in fast. So they have to burn it 00:14:22.000 --> 00:14:23.740 down. The sequence is almost ceremonial. They 00:14:23.740 --> 00:14:25.860 pour the chemicals, they wreck the expensive 00:14:25.860 --> 00:14:28.059 equipment, and the music choice here, we really 00:14:28.059 --> 00:14:30.360 have to mention it, is Freestyle by the Tolley 00:14:30.360 --> 00:14:32.759 Brothers. It's that really fast -paced Flamenco 00:14:32.759 --> 00:14:35.539 guitar track. It feels frantic, but almost almost 00:14:35.539 --> 00:14:38.379 celebratory. It's a caper. It's a victory lap. 00:14:39.279 --> 00:14:42.399 They are destroying the symbol of their servitude. 00:14:42.740 --> 00:14:44.779 But think about the practical implication. They 00:14:44.779 --> 00:14:47.059 are destroying their job. They are destroying 00:14:47.059 --> 00:14:50.179 the multimillion dollar facility that made them 00:14:50.179 --> 00:14:52.860 valuable. So they are free, but they're unemployed 00:14:52.860 --> 00:14:55.840 criminals. Exactly. And then comes the scene 00:14:55.840 --> 00:14:58.720 that ties up the loose ends of the mystery. They 00:14:58.720 --> 00:15:01.519 are up on the hospital parking garage roof. Right. 00:15:01.960 --> 00:15:04.940 Jesse gets the news about Brock. The boy is going 00:15:04.940 --> 00:15:08.500 to live. And this is the key. The doctors identified 00:15:08.500 --> 00:15:11.200 the poison. It wasn't ricin. Which is incredibly 00:15:11.200 --> 00:15:13.779 confusing for Jesse. He was 100 % convinced Walt 00:15:13.779 --> 00:15:16.240 stole the ricin cigarette. It was lily of the 00:15:16.240 --> 00:15:19.240 valley, a very common decorative plant, but the 00:15:19.240 --> 00:15:21.399 berries are highly toxic. And Jesse says something 00:15:21.399 --> 00:15:23.840 that breaks my heart every time. He says, Gus 00:15:23.840 --> 00:15:26.720 didn't do this. Gus didn't poison him. He starts 00:15:26.720 --> 00:15:29.860 to feel deeply guilty. He realizes his motivation 00:15:29.860 --> 00:15:32.220 for killing Gus, the belief that Gus killed a 00:15:32.220 --> 00:15:36.740 child, was based on a lie. And watch Walt in 00:15:36.740 --> 00:15:39.360 this scene. This is the absolute height of manipulation. 00:15:39.460 --> 00:15:41.779 He doesn't confess. He doesn't even blink. He 00:15:41.779 --> 00:15:44.340 pats Jesse on the shoulder and says, it had to 00:15:44.340 --> 00:15:47.059 be done. He completely validates the murder while 00:15:47.059 --> 00:15:49.440 hiding his own motivation. He essentially gaslights 00:15:49.440 --> 00:15:52.100 him into feeling OK about it. We won, Jesse. 00:15:52.399 --> 00:15:54.139 Doesn't matter how we got here. Which leads us 00:15:54.139 --> 00:15:57.019 directly to the final twist, segment five, the 00:15:57.019 --> 00:15:59.720 moment that redefines the entire series. Walt 00:15:59.720 --> 00:16:02.409 calls Skyler. The family is still in protective 00:16:02.409 --> 00:16:05.330 custody under lockdown. Skyler sees the news 00:16:05.330 --> 00:16:08.470 about the explosion. She's terrified. She asks 00:16:08.470 --> 00:16:10.690 Walt, did you do this? And he delivers the line, 00:16:10.870 --> 00:16:14.690 I won. Not we're safe. Not it's over. But I won. 00:16:14.809 --> 00:16:17.070 That is the ego speaking. That is Heisenberg. 00:16:17.529 --> 00:16:20.149 But then the camera moves. We are in Walt's backyard. 00:16:20.269 --> 00:16:22.289 It's a beautiful sunny day. The camera drifts 00:16:22.289 --> 00:16:24.970 past the pool. And it pushes in on a potted plant 00:16:24.970 --> 00:16:27.009 sitting on a patio table. And the tag on the 00:16:27.009 --> 00:16:29.590 plant reads Lily of the Valley. And just like 00:16:29.590 --> 00:16:32.090 that. The floor drops out from under you. It 00:16:32.090 --> 00:16:34.929 reveals that Walt was the one who poisoned Brock. 00:16:35.450 --> 00:16:37.950 Let's just sit with that for a second. Walt poisoned 00:16:37.950 --> 00:16:41.110 a child. A little boy. We really have to analyze 00:16:41.110 --> 00:16:43.409 the morality here because it is the crossing 00:16:43.409 --> 00:16:46.269 of a Rubicon. Up until this point, you could 00:16:46.269 --> 00:16:48.570 argue Walt does terrible things out of necessity. 00:16:49.169 --> 00:16:51.590 He killed Crazy 8 in self -defense. He let Jane 00:16:51.590 --> 00:16:53.789 die, which was horrible, but it was passivity. 00:16:54.330 --> 00:16:56.769 He killed the drug dealers to save Jesse. But 00:16:56.769 --> 00:17:00.279 this... This was active. This was fiercely calculated. 00:17:00.600 --> 00:17:02.539 He sought out a poison. He administered it to 00:17:02.539 --> 00:17:04.720 a child. We don't see exactly how, but likely 00:17:04.720 --> 00:17:07.039 via a juice box at school or something similar. 00:17:07.460 --> 00:17:09.920 He risked a child's life solely to manipulate 00:17:09.920 --> 00:17:12.839 Jesse's emotions. He knew Jesse would only turn 00:17:12.839 --> 00:17:15.500 on Gus if he thought Gus had hurt a kid. So Walt 00:17:15.500 --> 00:17:17.940 manufactured that scenario. It makes Walt the 00:17:17.940 --> 00:17:20.460 villain. There's no other way to slice it. He's 00:17:20.460 --> 00:17:22.940 not the anti -hero anymore. He is the bad guy. 00:17:23.319 --> 00:17:26.200 It completely recontextualizes the entire episode. 00:17:26.539 --> 00:17:28.779 We spent the last hour cheering for Walt to escape. 00:17:28.960 --> 00:17:30.759 We cheered when the bomb went off, but we were 00:17:30.759 --> 00:17:33.279 cheering for a monster. Walt proved he is willing 00:17:33.279 --> 00:17:36.079 to do things even Gus Fring wouldn't do. Gus 00:17:36.079 --> 00:17:38.960 had a code, Walt has none. It's a devastating 00:17:38.960 --> 00:17:41.700 realization, and it sets the stage for the final 00:17:41.700 --> 00:17:44.319 season where there are absolutely no guardrails 00:17:44.319 --> 00:17:47.609 left. Let's zoom out a bit to segment six. Production, 00:17:47.710 --> 00:17:51.250 cast, and music. Because this episode said goodbye 00:17:51.250 --> 00:17:53.869 to some major heavy hitters. It was a casting 00:17:53.869 --> 00:17:57.930 bloodbath. Giancarlo Esposito as Gus, Mark Margolis 00:17:57.930 --> 00:18:00.829 as Hector, and Ray Campbell as Tyrus, all gone 00:18:00.829 --> 00:18:04.650 in one scene. That is a huge void to fill for 00:18:04.650 --> 00:18:07.609 a television show. Gus Fring is often cited as 00:18:07.609 --> 00:18:09.490 one of the greatest TV villains of all time. 00:18:09.759 --> 00:18:12.440 Killing him off was a massive risk for the showrunners. 00:18:12.839 --> 00:18:15.759 How do you top that? Interestingly, I read that 00:18:15.759 --> 00:18:17.599 Vince Gilligan didn't know if the show was coming 00:18:17.599 --> 00:18:19.579 back when he wrote this, right? That's correct. 00:18:19.720 --> 00:18:21.599 During the production of season four, negotiations 00:18:21.599 --> 00:18:24.380 between AMC and Sony were very tense. There was 00:18:24.380 --> 00:18:26.359 a real possibility the show would be canceled. 00:18:26.799 --> 00:18:29.339 So Gilligan wrote face off to function as a potential 00:18:29.339 --> 00:18:31.980 series finale. Can you imagine if the show ended 00:18:31.980 --> 00:18:33.799 right there? It could have worked. The bad guy 00:18:33.799 --> 00:18:36.480 is dead. The protagonist won. But it leaves a 00:18:36.480 --> 00:18:39.079 very dark, unresolved note about Walt's soul 00:18:39.079 --> 00:18:41.480 with that flower shot. It would have been a cynical 00:18:41.480 --> 00:18:44.059 ending, but a complete one. Thankfully, they 00:18:44.059 --> 00:18:47.019 got renewed for the final 16 episodes. Thankfully. 00:18:47.319 --> 00:18:49.119 We also have to talk about the music. Breaking 00:18:49.119 --> 00:18:51.779 Bad is famous for its needle drops, the specific 00:18:51.779 --> 00:18:54.940 songs they choose, for pivotal moments. The music 00:18:54.940 --> 00:18:57.539 supervision by Thomas Galubic is always on point. 00:18:57.869 --> 00:19:00.349 The use of black by Danger Mouse and Danielle 00:19:00.349 --> 00:19:03.089 Lupe featuring Nord Jones at the very end. Oh, 00:19:03.089 --> 00:19:06.410 it's haunting. It's this soft, acoustic, melancholic 00:19:06.410 --> 00:19:09.390 track. It contrasts so sharply with the violence 00:19:09.390 --> 00:19:12.529 of the implications. The visual is a sunny backyard. 00:19:12.950 --> 00:19:16.069 The audio is sad. The meaning is horrific. It 00:19:16.069 --> 00:19:18.750 creates this intense cognitive dissonance in 00:19:18.750 --> 00:19:21.609 the viewer. You feel safe, but you know you aren't. 00:19:21.789 --> 00:19:23.930 The reception for this was just, critics must 00:19:23.930 --> 00:19:25.710 have lost their minds over this episode. That 00:19:25.710 --> 00:19:28.799 takes us to segment seven, reception. Universally 00:19:28.799 --> 00:19:32.259 acclaimed, IGN gave it a 9 .5 out of 10. Seth 00:19:32.259 --> 00:19:34.079 Mann called it the perfect blend of Breaking 00:19:34.079 --> 00:19:37.220 Bad. The A .V. Club gave it a straight A. TV 00:19:37.220 --> 00:19:40.519 Fanatic gave it a 4 .8 out of 5. Time Magazine's 00:19:40.519 --> 00:19:43.089 James Poniewozik called it morally searing. The 00:19:43.089 --> 00:19:44.950 Hollywood reporter's Tim Goodman said it put 00:19:44.950 --> 00:19:47.349 the show on a path to a nearly perfect dramatic 00:19:47.349 --> 00:19:50.029 state. It wasn't just viewed as good TV, it was 00:19:50.029 --> 00:19:52.369 viewed as literature. And the awards naturally 00:19:52.369 --> 00:19:56.109 followed. Seven primetime Emmy nominations, including 00:19:56.109 --> 00:19:58.650 directing for Gilligan and guest actor for Mark 00:19:58.650 --> 00:20:00.750 Margolis. Which is amazing considering he didn't 00:20:00.750 --> 00:20:03.309 speak a word of English or a word of anything. 00:20:03.569 --> 00:20:06.190 He acted entirely with his face in a bell. Well 00:20:06.190 --> 00:20:09.369 deserved. And Skip McDonald won the A .C .E. 00:20:09.410 --> 00:20:11.769 Eddie Award for best edited one hour series, 00:20:12.009 --> 00:20:14.009 which given the pacing of that explosion sequence 00:20:14.009 --> 00:20:16.369 is no surprise at all. And in the historical 00:20:16.369 --> 00:20:18.990 rankings. It totally holds up. The Ringer in 00:20:18.990 --> 00:20:22.349 2019 ranked face off as the third best episode 00:20:22.349 --> 00:20:25.849 of the entire 62 episode run. And considering 00:20:25.849 --> 00:20:28.390 Ozymandias is almost always number one, taking 00:20:28.390 --> 00:20:30.609 the bronze medal and Breaking Bad is like winning 00:20:30.609 --> 00:20:33.509 gold anywhere else. So as we wrap up today, let's 00:20:33.509 --> 00:20:35.730 do a quick summary. We went from a man removing 00:20:35.730 --> 00:20:38.950 a bomb in a panic, desperate and alone, to a 00:20:38.950 --> 00:20:40.869 man who essentially burned down a nursing home, 00:20:41.029 --> 00:20:43.710 blew up a drug lord, poisoned a child and walked 00:20:43.710 --> 00:20:46.890 away saying, I won. It is the absolute completion 00:20:46.890 --> 00:20:49.170 of the metamorphosis. Vince Gilligan always pitched 00:20:49.170 --> 00:20:52.230 the show as Mr. Chips turns into Scarface. This 00:20:52.230 --> 00:20:54.930 is the exact moment the transformation is finalized. 00:20:55.289 --> 00:20:57.970 He is Scarface now. There's one final visual 00:20:57.970 --> 00:21:00.390 detail I want to call back to. It's a small thing, 00:21:00.390 --> 00:21:03.210 but it sticks with me. When Walt is driving away 00:21:03.210 --> 00:21:06.130 from the hospital at the end. Yes. He drives 00:21:06.130 --> 00:21:08.109 past the parking spot where Gus had left his 00:21:08.109 --> 00:21:11.509 car earlier. The Volvo station wagon. It's still 00:21:11.509 --> 00:21:15.369 sitting there. Yeah. Abandoned. And hanging from 00:21:15.369 --> 00:21:17.390 the rear view mirror. The Palos Hermanos air 00:21:17.390 --> 00:21:19.690 freshener. It's such a ghostly image. It's a 00:21:19.690 --> 00:21:21.769 symbol of the empire that has been left behind. 00:21:21.970 --> 00:21:24.890 Or rather, conquered. The king is dead. The structure 00:21:24.890 --> 00:21:27.130 is gone. And that leads me to my final thought 00:21:27.130 --> 00:21:30.099 for you, the listener. Walt says I won. And purely 00:21:30.099 --> 00:21:33.880 from a tactical standpoint, he did. He is alive. 00:21:34.299 --> 00:21:37.420 Gus is dead. But if we define winning as achieving 00:21:37.420 --> 00:21:40.539 safety or happiness, has he won? And with the 00:21:40.539 --> 00:21:42.819 lab gone and the boss dead, is Walt actually 00:21:42.819 --> 00:21:45.579 safe? Or has he just created a much bigger vacuum? 00:21:45.700 --> 00:21:48.099 That's the question. He has no job. He has no 00:21:48.099 --> 00:21:51.259 money. Most of it is gone. The DEA is actively 00:21:51.259 --> 00:21:54.019 investigating the fire he just started. And morally, 00:21:54.059 --> 00:21:56.200 he has completely rotted from the inside out. 00:21:56.359 --> 00:21:58.569 He cleared the board. But now he has to live 00:21:58.569 --> 00:22:00.609 in the wreckage. It's the very definition of 00:22:00.609 --> 00:22:03.130 a Pyrrhic victory. The cost of winning was everything 00:22:03.130 --> 00:22:05.390 that made him human. A really provocative thought 00:22:05.390 --> 00:22:08.009 to leave you with. Next time you revisit this 00:22:08.009 --> 00:22:10.970 source material, don't just look at the explosion. 00:22:11.529 --> 00:22:14.130 Look at the lily of the valley. Look at that 00:22:14.130 --> 00:22:16.549 harmless little white flower that represents 00:22:16.549 --> 00:22:20.130 the absolute death of Walter White's conscience. 00:22:20.349 --> 00:22:22.230 It's the most important prop in the history of 00:22:22.230 --> 00:22:24.369 the show. Thanks for listening to this deep dive. 00:22:24.769 --> 00:22:26.170 We'll catch you on the next one. Take care.