WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.319 Welcome back to the Deep Dive. You know, there 00:00:03.319 --> 00:00:07.080 is a very specific, like a very unique kind of 00:00:07.080 --> 00:00:09.619 anxiety that comes with ending a story. Oh, yeah. 00:00:09.740 --> 00:00:11.380 And I'm not talking about just finishing a book 00:00:11.380 --> 00:00:13.179 you're reading or walking out of a movie theater. 00:00:13.300 --> 00:00:16.519 Yeah. I'm talking about the actual creative act 00:00:16.519 --> 00:00:21.059 of ending a massive multi -year narrative. The 00:00:21.059 --> 00:00:24.359 landing. Right. Sticking the landing. It is honestly 00:00:24.359 --> 00:00:26.920 the hardest maneuver in all of entertainment 00:00:26.920 --> 00:00:29.920 gymnastics. It really is. Because, I mean, we 00:00:29.920 --> 00:00:31.559 have all been burned before, right? Oh, totally. 00:00:31.660 --> 00:00:34.280 You invest years in a show. You obsess over the 00:00:34.280 --> 00:00:36.240 theories. Maybe you buy the merchandise and then 00:00:36.240 --> 00:00:39.119 the finale airs. I'll just sud. Exactly. But 00:00:39.119 --> 00:00:42.060 it creates this vacuum. It can almost retroactively 00:00:42.060 --> 00:00:44.579 ruin the entire experience for you. Absolutely. 00:00:44.640 --> 00:00:46.920 The Game of Thrones effect, if you will, or, 00:00:47.020 --> 00:00:50.060 you know, the super polarizing cut to black of 00:00:50.060 --> 00:00:52.299 The Sopranos. Endings are really where legends 00:00:52.299 --> 00:00:54.600 are solidified or where they just completely 00:00:54.600 --> 00:00:57.320 crumble. And that brings us to the subject of 00:00:57.320 --> 00:01:00.200 today's deep dive. We are traveling back to September 00:01:00.200 --> 00:01:05.870 29, 2013. The whole world was watching AMC. The 00:01:05.870 --> 00:01:08.569 anticipation was just suffocating. We are talking 00:01:08.569 --> 00:01:11.430 about Felina, the series finale of Breaking Bad. 00:01:11.629 --> 00:01:13.590 Yeah. And this wasn't just a television episode. 00:01:13.750 --> 00:01:16.109 This was a massive cultural event. It was the 00:01:16.109 --> 00:01:19.010 16th episode of season five, the 62nd episode 00:01:19.010 --> 00:01:22.590 overall. And Vince Gilligan, the creator, he 00:01:22.590 --> 00:01:25.349 had the weight of the entire television world 00:01:25.349 --> 00:01:28.170 on his shoulders. No pressure. Right. He had 00:01:28.170 --> 00:01:31.209 to wrap up one of the most dense, morally complex 00:01:31.209 --> 00:01:33.489 and honestly scientifically detailed stories 00:01:33.489 --> 00:01:36.659 ever told. And yet. to do it in 55 minutes. Which 00:01:36.659 --> 00:01:38.799 is an insane constraint when you think about 00:01:38.799 --> 00:01:40.620 how many loose ends were dangling at that point. 00:01:40.739 --> 00:01:43.280 So here is our mission for this deep dive. We 00:01:43.280 --> 00:01:44.879 aren't just going to sit here and recap the plot. 00:01:45.000 --> 00:01:46.040 If you're listening to this, you've probably 00:01:46.040 --> 00:01:47.900 seen the episode. Right. You know Walter White 00:01:47.900 --> 00:01:51.040 dies. You know Jesse escapes. Exactly. We want 00:01:51.040 --> 00:01:53.099 to go underneath the floorboards today. We want 00:01:53.099 --> 00:01:55.799 to unpack the mechanics of how Gilgan actually 00:01:55.799 --> 00:01:58.079 pulled this off. We're going to look at the hidden 00:01:58.079 --> 00:02:00.780 meanings in the title and the music. Specifically, 00:02:01.000 --> 00:02:03.640 there's a Marty Robbins track that serves as 00:02:03.640 --> 00:02:06.340 almost Rosetta Stone for the whole finale. Yes. 00:02:06.480 --> 00:02:08.740 And we are also going to break down the engineering 00:02:08.740 --> 00:02:12.120 of that machine gun turret, including the Mythbusters 00:02:12.120 --> 00:02:14.719 test that proved whether it was actually physically 00:02:14.719 --> 00:02:16.620 possible. And we'll look at the psychological 00:02:16.620 --> 00:02:19.879 warfare Walt uses, the production secrets, and 00:02:19.879 --> 00:02:21.979 the alternate endings that almost happen. Because 00:02:21.979 --> 00:02:24.659 there is a version of this story where Walt goes 00:02:24.659 --> 00:02:28.340 full Rambo. Oh, yeah. We will get to that. But 00:02:28.340 --> 00:02:31.199 let's start at the very beginning. The title 00:02:31.199 --> 00:02:36.610 itself. Felina. F -E -L -I -N -A. Now, when this 00:02:36.610 --> 00:02:39.069 title was released before the episode even aired, 00:02:39.289 --> 00:02:42.389 the internet went crazy. The Reddit threads were 00:02:42.389 --> 00:02:44.490 on fire. Yeah. And the very first thing everyone 00:02:44.490 --> 00:02:47.610 noticed was the anagram. Right. It's a very Vince 00:02:47.610 --> 00:02:49.669 Gilligan style puzzle. If you just rearrange 00:02:49.669 --> 00:02:53.129 the letters F -E -L -I -N -A, you get finale. 00:02:53.430 --> 00:02:55.770 Which is, it's satisfying. It's neat. It appeals 00:02:55.770 --> 00:02:57.550 to that part of our brains that just likes order. 00:02:57.810 --> 00:02:59.909 It does. And there was actually another theory 00:02:59.909 --> 00:03:02.770 floating around that broke the word down by chemical 00:03:02.770 --> 00:03:05.789 symbols. Yeah. Fee for iron, lie for lithium, 00:03:06.110 --> 00:03:09.789 gnaw for sodium, blood, meth, and tears. I remember 00:03:09.789 --> 00:03:12.610 that one. Blood, meth, and tears. It sounds so 00:03:12.610 --> 00:03:15.449 poetic. It is super poetic, but unfortunately, 00:03:15.569 --> 00:03:18.490 it's completely incidental. Oh, really? Yeah. 00:03:18.530 --> 00:03:20.430 The writers confirm that was absolutely not the 00:03:20.430 --> 00:03:22.370 intention. The anagram for finale was intentional. 00:03:22.530 --> 00:03:24.909 But if you stop there, you are actually missing 00:03:24.909 --> 00:03:28.229 the thematic spine of the entire episode. Because 00:03:28.229 --> 00:03:30.990 Felina isn't just a word scramble. It's a name. 00:03:31.250 --> 00:03:33.629 It is. It is a direct reference to the character 00:03:33.629 --> 00:03:36.210 Felina, though in the song it's spelled with 00:03:36.210 --> 00:03:40.099 two E's. From the song El Paso by Marty Robbins. 00:03:40.180 --> 00:03:41.919 That's the old cowboy ballad. My grandfather 00:03:41.919 --> 00:03:44.000 used to listen to that. It's a classic. And Vince 00:03:44.000 --> 00:03:45.699 Gildina didn't just pick it because it sounded 00:03:45.699 --> 00:03:47.759 cool on the radio. The narrative arc of that 00:03:47.759 --> 00:03:50.280 song is literally the narrative arc of this episode. 00:03:50.419 --> 00:03:53.020 It is the exact blueprint. Okay, let's unpack 00:03:53.020 --> 00:03:55.150 that. Because I think a lot of people know the 00:03:55.150 --> 00:03:58.650 song exists in the show. Like we see the cassette 00:03:58.650 --> 00:04:00.669 tape drop out of the glove box in the Volvo. 00:04:00.810 --> 00:04:03.490 Right. But they don't realize how closely the 00:04:03.490 --> 00:04:06.789 lyrics actually match the screen. So the song 00:04:06.789 --> 00:04:09.509 El Paso tells the story of a cowboy who falls 00:04:09.509 --> 00:04:12.270 in love with a Mexican girl named Felina. And 00:04:12.270 --> 00:04:14.889 he's totally obsessed with her. But in a fit 00:04:14.889 --> 00:04:18.269 of jealousy, he shoots another man. OK, so immediately 00:04:18.269 --> 00:04:21.399 we have the parallel to Walt. He falls in love, 00:04:21.439 --> 00:04:24.519 maybe not with a woman, but with the game, with 00:04:24.519 --> 00:04:27.100 the empire. And he definitely kills to protect 00:04:27.100 --> 00:04:30.759 it. After the murder, the cowboy in the song 00:04:30.759 --> 00:04:34.060 flees. He rides away from El Paso into the badlands 00:04:34.060 --> 00:04:36.300 of New Mexico. Which is Walt fleeing to the Granite 00:04:36.300 --> 00:04:38.620 State, to New Hampshire. He's in exile. He is. 00:04:38.639 --> 00:04:40.660 He's hiding out in that freezing cabin. He's 00:04:40.660 --> 00:04:43.040 safe there. The authorities can't find him. He 00:04:43.040 --> 00:04:44.899 could technically just stay there and die of 00:04:44.899 --> 00:04:47.439 cancer in peace. But in the song, the cowboy 00:04:47.439 --> 00:04:50.300 is tormented. The lyrics literally say, my love 00:04:50.300 --> 00:04:52.939 is stronger than my fear of death. Wow. He knows 00:04:52.939 --> 00:04:54.819 that if he goes back to El Paso, he's going to 00:04:54.819 --> 00:04:56.720 be killed. He knows he's riding into a trap. 00:04:56.959 --> 00:04:59.740 But the need... foreclosure the need to see felina 00:04:59.740 --> 00:05:02.660 one last time is just overpowering i saddled 00:05:02.660 --> 00:05:05.600 up and away i did go riding alone into the dark 00:05:05.600 --> 00:05:09.199 precisely walt gets in that stolen car and drives 00:05:09.199 --> 00:05:12.509 across the country He is riding back to his own 00:05:12.509 --> 00:05:15.509 personal El Paso, which is Albuquerque, knowing 00:05:15.509 --> 00:05:18.470 full well this is a one -way trip. Yeah. He isn't 00:05:18.470 --> 00:05:20.829 planning to escape to a beach in Mexico. He is 00:05:20.829 --> 00:05:23.589 planning to die. So if the cowboy returns for 00:05:23.589 --> 00:05:27.029 Felina, who or what is Walt's Felina? And that 00:05:27.029 --> 00:05:29.009 is the central question that defines the episode. 00:05:29.250 --> 00:05:32.470 Is Felina his wife, Skylar? Is it his children? 00:05:32.889 --> 00:05:36.360 Or is Felina the blue meth? Is it the notoriety, 00:05:36.459 --> 00:05:38.879 the legend of Heisenberg? I feel like the answer 00:05:38.879 --> 00:05:41.839 actually shifts as the episode goes on. But let's 00:05:41.839 --> 00:05:44.199 look at his arrival, act one. He lands in New 00:05:44.199 --> 00:05:46.439 Mexico. He doesn't go to the police and he doesn't 00:05:46.439 --> 00:05:48.319 go to his family immediately. He goes straight 00:05:48.319 --> 00:05:50.060 to the source of his original trauma. Gretchen 00:05:50.060 --> 00:05:51.860 and Elliot Schwartz. The founders of gray matter. 00:05:52.000 --> 00:05:53.920 The billionaires living in that stunning house 00:05:53.920 --> 00:05:55.819 with all the beige furniture and the abstract 00:05:55.819 --> 00:05:58.480 art. This scene is so crucial because it closes 00:05:58.480 --> 00:06:01.100 the loop on Walt's core motivation. Remember 00:06:01.100 --> 00:06:04.000 that cancer was the catalyst, but the resentment. 00:06:04.509 --> 00:06:07.009 about gray matter that feeling that he sold his 00:06:07.009 --> 00:06:09.329 share of a billion dollar company for pennies 00:06:09.329 --> 00:06:11.790 yes that was the fuel that's what made him so 00:06:11.790 --> 00:06:14.189 incredibly bitter so he breaks into their house 00:06:14.189 --> 00:06:16.350 and this is a very different walter white than 00:06:16.350 --> 00:06:18.769 we've seen in previous seasons he's not storming 00:06:18.769 --> 00:06:21.250 in with a gun screaming at people he's almost 00:06:21.250 --> 00:06:23.870 ghostly he's quiet he just walks around examining 00:06:23.870 --> 00:06:26.629 their photos and when they finally notice him 00:06:26.629 --> 00:06:30.870 he doesn't attack them he uses them because he 00:06:30.870 --> 00:06:35.060 has a problem to solve He has $9 .72 million 00:06:35.060 --> 00:06:38.100 in cash in the trunk of his car. Literally a 00:06:38.100 --> 00:06:40.860 barrel of money. But he can't just give it to 00:06:40.860 --> 00:06:43.800 Schuyler or Flynn because the DEA will seize 00:06:43.800 --> 00:06:46.439 it immediately as proceeds of crime. Right. It's 00:06:46.439 --> 00:06:49.279 dirty money. So he concocts this genius money 00:06:49.279 --> 00:06:52.740 laundering scheme on the fly. He forces Gretchen 00:06:52.740 --> 00:06:55.300 and Elliot to take the money. And the deal is 00:06:55.300 --> 00:06:58.100 they put it in an irrevocable trust for Walter 00:06:58.100 --> 00:07:00.779 Jr., who is going by Flynn now, to be given to 00:07:00.779 --> 00:07:03.120 him on his 18th birthday. But it has to come 00:07:03.120 --> 00:07:05.439 from them. Exactly. It has to look like a charitable 00:07:05.439 --> 00:07:07.920 donation from his wealthy benefactors. You know, 00:07:07.939 --> 00:07:10.259 the poor son of our fallen friend. It creates 00:07:10.259 --> 00:07:13.339 such a beautiful irony. Because Walt has spent 00:07:13.339 --> 00:07:16.060 the entire series trying to build his own empire. 00:07:16.740 --> 00:07:18.579 Specifically so he wouldn't have to take charity 00:07:18.579 --> 00:07:21.959 from Grey Matter. Yes. And now at the very end, 00:07:22.000 --> 00:07:24.939 he has to disguise his life's work as charity 00:07:24.939 --> 00:07:27.699 from Grey Matter. just to get it to his son. 00:07:27.860 --> 00:07:29.839 He really has to swallow that final piece of 00:07:29.839 --> 00:07:32.279 pride to ensure the money gets there. It's brilliant 00:07:32.279 --> 00:07:34.699 writing. But he doesn't trust them to do it out 00:07:34.699 --> 00:07:36.480 of the goodness of their hearts. Oh, not at all. 00:07:36.560 --> 00:07:39.500 He knows people. He knows once he's dead, they 00:07:39.500 --> 00:07:41.319 might just call the police or even keep the money. 00:07:41.540 --> 00:07:45.000 He needs to instill absolute primal fear. And 00:07:45.000 --> 00:07:47.500 here come the laser pointers. Yeah. This is easily 00:07:47.500 --> 00:07:49.420 one of my favorite reveals in the history of 00:07:49.420 --> 00:07:51.519 the show. It's so good. He stands them by the 00:07:51.519 --> 00:07:54.079 window. He tells them he has used the last of 00:07:54.079 --> 00:07:56.329 his fortune to hire the two best hitmen. West 00:07:56.329 --> 00:07:58.930 of the Mississippi. He says they will be watching 00:07:58.930 --> 00:08:01.730 Gretchen and Elliot forever. And if that money 00:08:01.730 --> 00:08:04.329 doesn't make it to Flynn. We see the red dots. 00:08:04.449 --> 00:08:06.490 Yeah. These little red laser dots just dancing 00:08:06.490 --> 00:08:10.449 on their chests right over the heart. The acting 00:08:10.449 --> 00:08:12.790 from the actors playing Gretchen and Elliot here 00:08:12.790 --> 00:08:16.089 is just phenomenal. They are shaking. They are 00:08:16.089 --> 00:08:19.089 legitimately terrified. They fully believe there 00:08:19.089 --> 00:08:21.850 are professional snipers out in the bushes. And 00:08:21.850 --> 00:08:23.569 honestly, I believed it too for a second when 00:08:23.569 --> 00:08:25.930 I first watched it. I thought, did he hire Jack's 00:08:25.930 --> 00:08:28.930 crew? Who did he hire? And then Walt leaves. 00:08:28.970 --> 00:08:32.250 He gets back in the car. And out of the darkness 00:08:32.250 --> 00:08:35.129 come Badger and Skinny Pete. The two biggest 00:08:35.129 --> 00:08:37.450 stoners in the Southwest. Holding laser pointers. 00:08:37.830 --> 00:08:40.669 Basically cat toys. It's funny, but it's also 00:08:40.669 --> 00:08:42.769 a profound statement on Walt's power at this 00:08:42.769 --> 00:08:45.210 stage. He doesn't need actual hitmen anymore. 00:08:45.490 --> 00:08:48.309 He just needs the reputation of Heisenberg. He 00:08:48.309 --> 00:08:51.360 wields his own legend as a weapon. Exactly. It 00:08:51.360 --> 00:08:53.440 connects his two worlds beautifully. You have 00:08:53.440 --> 00:08:55.539 the high society world of the Schwartzes and 00:08:55.539 --> 00:08:57.879 the gritty street world of the meth trade colliding. 00:08:58.159 --> 00:09:00.620 And this interaction with Badger and Pete provides 00:09:00.620 --> 00:09:02.799 the most important plot pivot of the episode. 00:09:03.000 --> 00:09:05.080 Right, because Walt hands him a stack of cash 00:09:05.080 --> 00:09:08.120 for their trouble. And he asks a question. He 00:09:08.120 --> 00:09:10.580 asks about the blue stuff. He assumes that with 00:09:10.580 --> 00:09:13.360 him gone and with Todd taking over the cooks, 00:09:13.559 --> 00:09:16.600 the product has just become garbage. He assumes 00:09:16.600 --> 00:09:19.419 the blue meth is a thing of the past. But Badger. 00:09:19.759 --> 00:09:23.039 who still totally idolizes Walt, tells him, no, 00:09:23.100 --> 00:09:25.659 man, it's better than ever. It's distinctly blue. 00:09:25.779 --> 00:09:28.000 And you just see the gears turn in Walt's head. 00:09:28.059 --> 00:09:30.659 This is the massive aha moment. Because if the 00:09:30.659 --> 00:09:33.129 meth is still blue... It means the formula is 00:09:33.129 --> 00:09:36.389 being followed exactly. And Walt knows Todd isn't 00:09:36.389 --> 00:09:38.669 smart enough to replicate it perfectly. There 00:09:38.669 --> 00:09:40.909 is only one other person on the planet who knows 00:09:40.909 --> 00:09:43.110 the chemistry that well. Jesse Bickman. Exactly. 00:09:43.610 --> 00:09:46.850 Up until this moment, Walt assumed the neo -Nazis 00:09:46.850 --> 00:09:49.549 had killed Jesse. That was their deal. But if 00:09:49.549 --> 00:09:51.970 the blue meth is flowing, Jesse must be alive. 00:09:52.409 --> 00:09:55.429 And he must be cooking. So does Walt think Jesse 00:09:55.429 --> 00:09:58.090 is a partner here? Or does he realize he's a 00:09:58.090 --> 00:10:00.830 slave? I think initially Walt feels betrayed. 00:10:01.389 --> 00:10:03.950 He thinks, I left, and Jesse just partnered with 00:10:03.950 --> 00:10:06.129 Jack to keep the empire going. He feels replaced. 00:10:06.330 --> 00:10:08.690 And that anger is what drives him to the compound 00:10:08.690 --> 00:10:10.929 later. He isn't going there to save Jesse, at 00:10:10.929 --> 00:10:12.909 least not yet. He's going there to kill the competition. 00:10:13.289 --> 00:10:16.210 So the mission profile changes completely. He 00:10:16.210 --> 00:10:18.590 secured the money for his family. Now he has 00:10:18.590 --> 00:10:21.750 to secure his legacy. But first, he has to say 00:10:21.750 --> 00:10:24.710 goodbye. The scene with Skyler. This scene hurts. 00:10:25.169 --> 00:10:27.820 It takes place in their old kitchen. Or rather, 00:10:27.940 --> 00:10:29.860 the grim little apartment Skylar is living in 00:10:29.860 --> 00:10:32.460 now. She's working as a taxi dispatcher. She's 00:10:32.460 --> 00:10:35.960 chain smoking. She just looks broken. And the 00:10:35.960 --> 00:10:39.320 cinematography here is incredibly stark. There 00:10:39.320 --> 00:10:41.399 is a physical column in the room that blocks 00:10:41.399 --> 00:10:43.720 the view between Walt and Skylar for part of 00:10:43.720 --> 00:10:46.519 the shot. It perfectly visualizes the wall that 00:10:46.519 --> 00:10:48.759 has been built between them over the years. Skylar's 00:10:48.759 --> 00:10:50.539 terrified he's going to hurt her or bring the 00:10:50.539 --> 00:10:53.080 police down on her. And she totally expects the 00:10:53.080 --> 00:10:55.460 same old speech. She says, if you tell me one 00:10:55.460 --> 00:10:57.320 more time. that you did this for the family. 00:10:57.500 --> 00:10:59.820 And he interrupts her. And he says the words, 00:10:59.940 --> 00:11:02.440 we have literally been waiting five seasons to 00:11:02.440 --> 00:11:05.620 hear. I did it for me. I liked it. I was good 00:11:05.620 --> 00:11:08.139 at it. And I was really, I was alive. Why does 00:11:08.139 --> 00:11:10.799 this confession matter so much? Because we as 00:11:10.799 --> 00:11:13.019 the audience knew it, didn't we? We knew it, 00:11:13.019 --> 00:11:15.559 but Walt never admitted it to himself or to her. 00:11:15.879 --> 00:11:18.820 He always hid behind the shield of being the 00:11:18.820 --> 00:11:22.440 provider. Every single murder, every lie, poisoning 00:11:22.440 --> 00:11:24.879 Brock, it was all justified because a man provides. 00:11:26.080 --> 00:11:29.220 By stripping that lie away, he is finally just 00:11:29.220 --> 00:11:31.820 being honest. It's pure validation for Skylar. 00:11:32.019 --> 00:11:34.080 You can almost see her exhale in that moment. 00:11:34.220 --> 00:11:37.299 She isn't crazy, he was a monster, and he's finally 00:11:37.299 --> 00:11:39.179 admitting it to her face. It's really the only 00:11:39.179 --> 00:11:41.480 gift he can give her emotionally. But he also 00:11:41.480 --> 00:11:43.980 gives her a very practical gift. The lottery 00:11:43.980 --> 00:11:45.580 ticket. Right, the ticket with the coordinates. 00:11:45.679 --> 00:11:47.980 He tells her that the ticket contains the exact 00:11:47.980 --> 00:11:51.019 GPS location of Hank and Steve Gomez's bodies. 00:11:51.259 --> 00:11:54.090 Which is pretty morbid. but highly valuable. 00:11:54.250 --> 00:11:56.350 In the legal world, it's incredible currency. 00:11:56.710 --> 00:11:59.090 He tells her to trade the bodies for a deal with 00:11:59.090 --> 00:12:01.529 the prosecutor. He says, I give you the bodies, 00:12:01.570 --> 00:12:04.169 you give me immunity. It ensures that Skylar 00:12:04.169 --> 00:12:06.029 won't go to prison for being his accomplice. 00:12:06.309 --> 00:12:08.649 He cleans up the legal mess he made for her. 00:12:08.809 --> 00:12:11.350 It's a very practical form of love. It's not 00:12:11.350 --> 00:12:14.269 a hug. It's a plea bargain strategy. Which is 00:12:14.269 --> 00:12:17.629 quintessentially Walter White. And then the goodbye 00:12:17.629 --> 00:12:20.820 to the kids. He watches Holly sleep. He watches 00:12:20.820 --> 00:12:22.700 Flynn get off the school bus from a distance. 00:12:22.919 --> 00:12:25.240 He knows he can't approach them. That distance 00:12:25.240 --> 00:12:27.860 is just heartbreaking. He is a ghost to them 00:12:27.860 --> 00:12:30.279 now. If he walks up to Flynn, Flynn will just 00:12:30.279 --> 00:12:32.259 scream for the police. He has to love them from 00:12:32.259 --> 00:12:34.899 the shadows. So he settled the money. He settled 00:12:34.899 --> 00:12:37.860 the truth with Skyler. Now we move to the final 00:12:37.860 --> 00:12:40.860 act, the revenge. And this is where the show 00:12:40.860 --> 00:12:43.320 leans hard into the science aspect of things. 00:12:43.519 --> 00:12:46.970 The trunt gun. The M60. The M60 machine gun. 00:12:47.129 --> 00:12:51.529 It's a belt -fed 7 .6 2mm weapon of war. We saw 00:12:51.529 --> 00:12:53.230 him buy it in the Flash Fired way back at the 00:12:53.230 --> 00:12:55.350 start of Season 5. We saw him retrieve it. But 00:12:55.350 --> 00:12:57.429 what he actually does with it, that's the engineering 00:12:57.429 --> 00:12:59.169 marvel. Because he doesn't just plan to walk 00:12:59.169 --> 00:13:01.409 in shooting like Scarface. No, he's too weak 00:13:01.409 --> 00:13:03.669 for that. He's dying of cancer. He can barely 00:13:03.669 --> 00:13:05.570 lift the gun, let alone manage the incredible 00:13:05.570 --> 00:13:08.649 recoil. So he builds a robot. A literal robot. 00:13:08.830 --> 00:13:12.389 Essentially, yes. He mounts the gun on a pivoting 00:13:12.389 --> 00:13:15.549 turret inside the trunk of his Cadillac. He connects 00:13:15.549 --> 00:13:18.549 it to a high -torque motor, likely a garage door 00:13:18.549 --> 00:13:22.149 opener mechanism, and he wires the trigger servo 00:13:22.149 --> 00:13:24.850 to the car's remote keyless entry system. So 00:13:24.850 --> 00:13:27.289 when he presses the unlock button on his keychain... 00:13:27.289 --> 00:13:29.470 The motor spins the gun back and forth on an 00:13:29.470 --> 00:13:31.850 axis, and the solenoid pulls the trigger. It 00:13:31.850 --> 00:13:34.289 just sweeps the entire area behind the trunk 00:13:34.289 --> 00:13:36.610 at waist height. Now, I have to ask, because 00:13:36.610 --> 00:13:39.620 you're the expert here. Is this real? Could you 00:13:39.620 --> 00:13:41.620 actually build this in real life? Or is this 00:13:41.620 --> 00:13:44.059 just pure Hollywood magic? It sounds totally 00:13:44.059 --> 00:13:47.480 absurd, right? But the team at Mythbusters, Adam 00:13:47.480 --> 00:13:49.840 Savage and Jamie Heineman, actually dedicated 00:13:49.840 --> 00:13:52.940 a whole episode to testing this specific Breaking 00:13:52.940 --> 00:13:55.679 Bad finale setup. And what was the verdict? They 00:13:55.679 --> 00:13:58.000 built it. They used the same car model, the same 00:13:58.000 --> 00:14:00.320 gun, the same rudimentary materials Walt would 00:14:00.320 --> 00:14:02.799 have had access to. And they tested it on a firing 00:14:02.799 --> 00:14:05.120 range with wooden cutouts representing the Nazis. 00:14:05.320 --> 00:14:07.850 Did it actually work? It worked terrifyingly 00:14:07.850 --> 00:14:11.529 well. The final verdict was plausible. The gun 00:14:11.529 --> 00:14:13.909 swept back and forth and completely decimated 00:14:13.909 --> 00:14:16.909 the targets. The only caveat they found was that 00:14:16.909 --> 00:14:20.950 the M60 fires very fast, about 500 to 600 rounds 00:14:20.950 --> 00:14:23.649 per minute. So a standard ammo belt might only 00:14:23.649 --> 00:14:26.129 last 10 to 15 seconds. You don't have a long 00:14:26.129 --> 00:14:28.309 time. It's just a short burst. Right. It's a 00:14:28.309 --> 00:14:30.750 room clearer. You have one shot to wipe everyone 00:14:30.750 --> 00:14:33.190 out. And that's exactly how Walt ends up using 00:14:33.190 --> 00:14:35.740 it. But before he gets to the compound. He has 00:14:35.740 --> 00:14:39.480 one more loose end to tie up. Lydia Rodarda Quayle. 00:14:39.600 --> 00:14:42.539 The corporate face of the operation. The woman 00:14:42.539 --> 00:14:45.139 who is completely obsessed with Stevia. He meets 00:14:45.139 --> 00:14:48.519 her at the coffee shop. Todd is there too. Walt 00:14:48.519 --> 00:14:50.820 plays the part of the defeated man again. He 00:14:50.820 --> 00:14:53.240 looks totally disheveled. He offers them a new 00:14:53.240 --> 00:14:56.039 formula for methylamine -free meth. He says he's 00:14:56.039 --> 00:14:58.340 broke. And it's all a ruse just to get close 00:14:58.340 --> 00:15:00.679 to their table. He knows Lydia's routine perfectly. 00:15:01.000 --> 00:15:03.419 She sits down. She orders chamomile tea with 00:15:03.419 --> 00:15:06.460 soy milk. And she always asks for stevia. And 00:15:06.460 --> 00:15:08.320 while they are dismissing him, telling him to 00:15:08.320 --> 00:15:11.139 just get lost. We see the single packet of stevia 00:15:11.139 --> 00:15:13.000 on the table. The only one left in the bowl. 00:15:13.200 --> 00:15:16.440 Which he planted. Which contains the ricin. That 00:15:16.440 --> 00:15:18.519 vial of ricin has been a Chekhov's gun since 00:15:18.519 --> 00:15:21.179 Union 2. We've been waiting for someone to eat 00:15:21.179 --> 00:15:24.379 that poison for years. Tuco almost ate it. Gus 00:15:24.379 --> 00:15:28.169 almost ate it. Finally, Lydia eats it. It's such 00:15:28.169 --> 00:15:30.289 a quiet kill. He doesn't even wash or die. He 00:15:30.289 --> 00:15:32.850 just walks away. He confirms it later. In that 00:15:32.850 --> 00:15:35.190 phone call to Todd's phone, Lydia answers, looking 00:15:35.190 --> 00:15:38.070 super sick in bed. And Walt just coldly says, 00:15:38.190 --> 00:15:40.730 I slipped it into that stevia crap you're always 00:15:40.730 --> 00:15:43.590 drinking. Goodbye, Lydia. Ice cold. It really 00:15:43.590 --> 00:15:46.289 shows his commitment to a totally clean slate. 00:15:46.429 --> 00:15:48.610 No one who knows the business is allowed to survive. 00:15:48.990 --> 00:15:52.570 Which brings us to the neo -Nazi compound. Jack 00:15:52.570 --> 00:15:55.250 Walker's clubhouse. Walt pulls the car up. And 00:15:55.250 --> 00:15:57.549 notice how he parks. He doesn't pull into a spot. 00:15:57.710 --> 00:16:00.009 He pulls parallel to the building, specifically 00:16:00.009 --> 00:16:02.289 angling the trunk towards the clubhouse wall. 00:16:02.450 --> 00:16:05.139 He's aiming the car. Exactly. He gets out. He's 00:16:05.139 --> 00:16:07.580 frisked immediately. They take his wallet, and 00:16:07.580 --> 00:16:10.320 crucially, they take his keys. This is the massive 00:16:10.320 --> 00:16:12.980 tension point. Jack throws the keys on the pool 00:16:12.980 --> 00:16:15.559 table. They are completely out of Walt's reach. 00:16:15.879 --> 00:16:18.899 If he can't get to those keys, the entire plan 00:16:18.899 --> 00:16:22.419 fails. And Jack is not in a listening mood. He 00:16:22.419 --> 00:16:24.539 just orders his men to take Walt out back and 00:16:24.539 --> 00:16:26.720 put a bullet in his head. Walt is desperate here. 00:16:26.779 --> 00:16:29.220 He's shouting. And he uses the only leverage 00:16:29.220 --> 00:16:32.379 he has left. He attacks Jack's ego. He shouts, 00:16:32.379 --> 00:16:34.899 you owe me. You said you'd kill Jesse Pinkman. 00:16:35.000 --> 00:16:36.940 Instead, you partnered with him. You're partners 00:16:36.940 --> 00:16:40.519 with a rat. Now, Jack is a white supremacist 00:16:40.519 --> 00:16:43.539 gang leader. His reputation in that world is 00:16:43.539 --> 00:16:46.039 everything. The idea that he is business partners 00:16:46.039 --> 00:16:48.759 with a snitch, he absolutely can't let that stand. 00:16:48.980 --> 00:16:52.230 It insults his twisted code. To prove Walt wrong, 00:16:52.450 --> 00:16:55.070 Jack stops the execution. He says, bring him 00:16:55.070 --> 00:16:57.490 up. He wants to show Walt that Jesse isn't a 00:16:57.490 --> 00:16:59.889 partner. He's a slave. And when they bring Jesse 00:16:59.889 --> 00:17:02.070 in. It is honestly one of the most disturbing 00:17:02.070 --> 00:17:05.230 images in the entire show. Jesse has long hair, 00:17:05.349 --> 00:17:07.789 terrible scars on his face. He's in chains. He 00:17:07.789 --> 00:17:09.910 looks like a completely broman animal. Walt looks 00:17:09.910 --> 00:17:12.599 at him. And you can see the anger just drain 00:17:12.599 --> 00:17:15.099 out of Walt's face. He came there thinking Jesse 00:17:15.099 --> 00:17:17.779 was a rich partner. He sees that Jesse is a torture 00:17:17.779 --> 00:17:20.380 victim. And in that split second, the plan changes. 00:17:20.700 --> 00:17:23.160 Walt dives at Jesse. He tackles him to the floor. 00:17:23.359 --> 00:17:25.720 Jack thinks they are fighting. He yells, get 00:17:25.720 --> 00:17:28.039 him off him. But Walt is actually shielding him. 00:17:28.119 --> 00:17:30.819 He pins Jesse to the ground, covering his body. 00:17:31.160 --> 00:17:33.559 And as he hits the floor, he grabs the keys off 00:17:33.559 --> 00:17:36.170 the pool table. And presses the button. The trunk 00:17:36.170 --> 00:17:40.230 pops open, the mechanism whirs to life, and the 00:17:40.230 --> 00:17:43.670 M60 just unleashes hell. The sound design here 00:17:43.670 --> 00:17:46.450 is incredible. It's totally deafening. The bullets 00:17:46.450 --> 00:17:48.329 rip through the wall like it's made of paper. 00:17:48.529 --> 00:17:50.910 It's not a precision strike at all. It's a lawnmower. 00:17:51.009 --> 00:17:53.829 It shreds the clubhouse. Glass is shattering. 00:17:53.970 --> 00:17:56.069 Wood is splintering. The Nazis are literally 00:17:56.069 --> 00:17:58.710 dancing as the heavy rounds hit them. And because 00:17:58.710 --> 00:18:00.990 Walt and Jesse are on the floor. The kill zone 00:18:00.990 --> 00:18:03.289 is exactly at waist height. The bullets fly right 00:18:03.289 --> 00:18:07.440 over their heads. And then the fire. Silence. 00:18:07.440 --> 00:18:11.279 The room is destroyed. Everyone is dead. Except 00:18:11.279 --> 00:18:13.960 Todd. Todd crawls out from behind cover. He looks 00:18:13.960 --> 00:18:15.640 out the shattered window at the car and says, 00:18:15.680 --> 00:18:18.240 Mr. White, he's almost impressed by the ingenuity. 00:18:18.380 --> 00:18:21.220 And this is Jesse's moment. Jesse, who has been 00:18:21.220 --> 00:18:24.140 brutally tortured by Todd for months. who was 00:18:24.140 --> 00:18:26.740 forced to watch Todd kill Andrea. Jesse just 00:18:26.740 --> 00:18:29.420 screams. He wraps the chain of his handcuffs 00:18:29.420 --> 00:18:32.440 around Todd's neck, and he strangles him. It 00:18:32.440 --> 00:18:35.240 is visceral. He snaps his neck. It is pure poetic 00:18:35.240 --> 00:18:38.420 justice. The very chains that Todd used to enslave 00:18:38.420 --> 00:18:41.000 Jesse become the weapon Jesse uses to kill him. 00:18:41.279 --> 00:18:44.519 It's the ultimate reclamation of power. And then 00:18:44.519 --> 00:18:47.730 there's Jack. Jack is wounded. He's sitting slumped 00:18:47.730 --> 00:18:49.869 against the wall. He grabs a cigarette. He tries 00:18:49.869 --> 00:18:52.470 to play his final ace. He says, you want your 00:18:52.470 --> 00:18:54.569 money. You pull that trigger. You'll never find 00:18:54.569 --> 00:18:57.130 it. This directly paralyzed the death of Hank. 00:18:57.230 --> 00:18:59.490 Remember, Hank looked Jack in the eye and said, 00:18:59.529 --> 00:19:02.390 do what you're going to do. He didn't beg. Jack 00:19:02.390 --> 00:19:05.130 begs. He tries to buy his life. And Walt. Walt 00:19:05.130 --> 00:19:07.589 shoots him mid -sentence. Boom. He doesn't care 00:19:07.589 --> 00:19:09.069 about the money anymore. The barrel's in the 00:19:09.069 --> 00:19:11.369 desert. They don't matter. He just wants it finished. 00:19:11.670 --> 00:19:14.349 So now the room is quiet. It's just Walt and 00:19:14.349 --> 00:19:18.000 Jesse. The father and the son, the master and 00:19:18.000 --> 00:19:20.440 the student. Walt kicks the gun over to Jesse. 00:19:20.579 --> 00:19:22.500 He stands up and spreads his arms. He offers 00:19:22.500 --> 00:19:24.799 himself. He says, do it. You want this. Does 00:19:24.799 --> 00:19:27.579 Jesse want it? I think every fiber of his being 00:19:27.579 --> 00:19:29.980 wants to kill Walt. Walt completely ruined his 00:19:29.980 --> 00:19:32.720 life. But then Jesse looks down. He sees the 00:19:32.720 --> 00:19:36.059 blood on Walt's side. Walt was hit. A stray bullet 00:19:36.059 --> 00:19:37.960 from his own machine gun caught him in the abdomen. 00:19:38.700 --> 00:19:41.519 He's dying. And Jesse realizes the game. If he 00:19:41.519 --> 00:19:43.859 shoots Walt, he is doing what Walt wants. He 00:19:43.859 --> 00:19:46.680 is giving Walt the suicide by cop ending. He 00:19:46.680 --> 00:19:49.859 is following orders one last time. So he drops 00:19:49.859 --> 00:19:52.099 the gun. Do it yourself. That line, it honestly 00:19:52.099 --> 00:19:54.160 gives me chills every time. It is Jesse finally 00:19:54.160 --> 00:19:57.480 breaking the spell. He refuses to be Walt's tool 00:19:57.480 --> 00:20:00.059 anymore. He refuses to give Walt the twisted 00:20:00.059 --> 00:20:02.960 satisfaction of being punished by him. He actively 00:20:02.960 --> 00:20:05.839 chooses to walk away. And we get that final look 00:20:05.839 --> 00:20:08.039 between them. Just a nod. A silent acknowledgement. 00:20:08.720 --> 00:20:11.619 Goodbye. Jesse gets in the El Camino, Todd's 00:20:11.619 --> 00:20:14.640 car, and he smashes through the fence. And the 00:20:14.640 --> 00:20:17.380 reaction shot on his face. He's screaming. He's 00:20:17.380 --> 00:20:19.839 crying. He's laughing. It's total hysteria. It's 00:20:19.839 --> 00:20:22.240 the release of months of physical and psychological 00:20:22.240 --> 00:20:25.660 torture. He is finally free. Now, I know the 00:20:25.660 --> 00:20:28.140 story continues for Jesse in the movie El Camino, 00:20:28.279 --> 00:20:30.940 which came out in 2019. Does that change how 00:20:30.940 --> 00:20:33.640 you view this final moment? It definitely adds 00:20:33.640 --> 00:20:36.740 context. In the finale, his escape is slightly 00:20:36.740 --> 00:20:40.410 ambiguous. Is he really free or is he just going 00:20:40.410 --> 00:20:42.450 to get caught by the cops five miles down the 00:20:42.450 --> 00:20:44.910 road? El Camino confirms that he does actually 00:20:44.910 --> 00:20:47.710 get away. He makes it to Alaska. He finds peace. 00:20:48.069 --> 00:20:51.549 So looking back at Felina, that scream is truly 00:20:51.549 --> 00:20:54.170 a scream of survival. But the camera doesn't 00:20:54.170 --> 00:20:56.799 follow Jesse into the night. It stays with Walt. 00:20:56.960 --> 00:21:00.640 Right. And the music swells. Baby Blue by Badfinger. 00:21:00.859 --> 00:21:02.759 A song choice that apparently Vince Gilligan 00:21:02.759 --> 00:21:05.640 had to really fight for. He did. The music supervisors 00:21:05.640 --> 00:21:08.059 originally wanted something else, something maybe 00:21:08.059 --> 00:21:10.339 more ambient. But Gilligan was totally adamant. 00:21:10.400 --> 00:21:12.579 And when you actually hear the lyrics, guess 00:21:12.579 --> 00:21:14.819 I got what I deserve. The special love I have 00:21:14.819 --> 00:21:18.160 for you, my baby blue. It completely reframes 00:21:18.160 --> 00:21:20.400 the entire show as a twisted love story. Not 00:21:20.400 --> 00:21:22.839 between a man and his wife, but between a man 00:21:22.839 --> 00:21:36.150 and his creation. Exactly. Walt W. He's home. 00:21:36.329 --> 00:21:39.549 He is. He's in a lab. The one place where he 00:21:39.549 --> 00:21:42.650 was a true genius? The place where he was powerful? 00:21:43.009 --> 00:21:45.589 He collapses on the floor. And we get that famous 00:21:45.589 --> 00:21:49.089 final shot. The camera on a crane pulling straight 00:21:49.089 --> 00:21:52.049 up towards the ceiling. The God's Eye View. Walt 00:21:52.049 --> 00:21:54.470 lies there, bleeding out, surrounded by police 00:21:54.470 --> 00:21:56.910 officers rushing in. But if you look closely 00:21:56.910 --> 00:22:00.009 at his face... He's smiling. He is smiling. He 00:22:00.009 --> 00:22:02.569 died on his own terms. He didn't die in a sterile 00:22:02.569 --> 00:22:04.789 hospital bed. He didn't die in a prison cell. 00:22:04.990 --> 00:22:06.930 He died in a lab, having killed his enemies, 00:22:07.150 --> 00:22:09.609 provided for his family, and freed his partner. 00:22:10.230 --> 00:22:13.519 Which leads us to the big debate. The critical 00:22:13.519 --> 00:22:16.380 reception of the episode. Because while fans 00:22:16.380 --> 00:22:18.640 absolutely loved this and the ratings were historic, 00:22:18.960 --> 00:22:22.240 over 10 .28 million viewers, critics were a little 00:22:22.240 --> 00:22:24.519 more divided. Right. Generally, the acclaim was 00:22:24.519 --> 00:22:26.440 universal. It's widely considered one of the 00:22:26.440 --> 00:22:28.700 best finales ever made. However, there was a 00:22:28.700 --> 00:22:31.480 very potent critique, most notably from Emily 00:22:31.480 --> 00:22:33.779 Nussbaum at The New Yorker. I read that piece. 00:22:33.980 --> 00:22:36.539 She called the episode a dying fantasy. Right. 00:22:36.619 --> 00:22:38.779 Her main argument was that the ending was just 00:22:38.779 --> 00:22:41.720 too neat. It was too perfect. She argued that 00:22:41.720 --> 00:22:44.299 in the real world, or even in the gritty, consequence 00:22:44.299 --> 00:22:46.960 -heavy world Breaking Bad established, things 00:22:46.960 --> 00:22:49.119 don't work out this perfectly. Because everything 00:22:49.119 --> 00:22:51.819 went Walt's way. The keys were perfectly within 00:22:51.819 --> 00:22:55.200 reach. The machine gun didn't jam. He managed 00:22:55.200 --> 00:22:59.420 to find Lydia's exact stevia packet. Yes. Nussbaum 00:22:59.420 --> 00:23:02.000 argued that the show, which was usually entirely 00:23:02.000 --> 00:23:05.500 about harsh consequences, essentially let Walt 00:23:05.500 --> 00:23:07.940 off the hook. He got to be the hero of his own 00:23:07.940 --> 00:23:10.960 story. He won. She felt it was almost a betrayal 00:23:10.960 --> 00:23:13.480 of the show's underlying morality to let the 00:23:13.480 --> 00:23:16.119 ultimate villain have such a victorious, clean 00:23:16.119 --> 00:23:18.299 exit. It's a fascinating point. I mean, if he 00:23:18.299 --> 00:23:20.500 had died in that freezing cabin in New Hampshire 00:23:20.500 --> 00:23:22.519 alone and forgotten, that would have been a pure 00:23:22.519 --> 00:23:25.670 tragedy. But dying in the lab. That's a triumph. 00:23:25.809 --> 00:23:28.190 Exactly. And I think that specific tensions is 00:23:28.190 --> 00:23:30.609 what makes it endure. Is it a happy ending? Only 00:23:30.609 --> 00:23:32.490 if you are actively rooting for the bad guy. 00:23:32.589 --> 00:23:34.490 And Vince Gilligan expertly tricked us all into 00:23:34.490 --> 00:23:36.650 rooting for the bad guy for years. But you look 00:23:36.650 --> 00:23:39.410 at a review from IGN, they gave it a 9 .8 out 00:23:39.410 --> 00:23:41.910 of 10 and called it fully satisfying. Yeah, people 00:23:41.910 --> 00:23:44.589 wanted him to win on some level. And it's interesting 00:23:44.589 --> 00:23:46.369 because there were other endings considered. 00:23:46.470 --> 00:23:47.930 Right. They didn't always have the machine gun 00:23:47.930 --> 00:23:50.150 plot locked in. Oh, no. The writer's room was 00:23:50.150 --> 00:23:52.369 reportedly a very stressful place. They considered 00:23:52.369 --> 00:23:55.369 an ending where Walt breaks Jesse out of a literal 00:23:55.369 --> 00:23:58.369 jail, shooting up a prison or a police transport. 00:23:58.650 --> 00:24:01.349 Which feels a bit too action movie for Breaking 00:24:01.349 --> 00:24:04.109 Bad. Completely agreed. They also considered 00:24:04.109 --> 00:24:07.190 a really dark ending where Walt uses the M60 00:24:07.190 --> 00:24:09.829 to shoot police officers who have him cornered. 00:24:09.849 --> 00:24:12.599 Whoa. That would have changed everything about 00:24:12.599 --> 00:24:14.660 how we view him. It would have made him entirely 00:24:14.660 --> 00:24:17.859 irredeemable. Killing innocent cops is a line 00:24:17.859 --> 00:24:20.119 they decided Walt shouldn't cross in the finale. 00:24:20.900 --> 00:24:23.680 They also discussed a Rambo version where Walt 00:24:23.680 --> 00:24:25.920 holds the heavy gun himself and just mows down 00:24:25.920 --> 00:24:29.039 the Nazis by hand. But he's way too weak physically 00:24:29.039 --> 00:24:31.660 for that. Right. And it completely misses the 00:24:31.660 --> 00:24:34.039 point of the character. Walter White isn't a 00:24:34.039 --> 00:24:36.900 soldier. He's a scientist. He's an engineer and 00:24:36.900 --> 00:24:39.660 a genius. The automated turret in the trunk is 00:24:39.660 --> 00:24:41.980 the perfect weapon because it is a triumph of 00:24:41.980 --> 00:24:45.079 brain over brawn. It's basically his ultimate 00:24:45.079 --> 00:24:49.740 lethal science project. It really is. So when 00:24:49.740 --> 00:24:52.859 we step back and look at Flina as a whole, what 00:24:52.859 --> 00:24:55.309 is the legacy of this episode? It's the gold 00:24:55.309 --> 00:24:57.690 standard. You see shows like Better Call Saul, 00:24:57.849 --> 00:25:00.089 the spinoff, having to live up to it. You see 00:25:00.089 --> 00:25:03.390 every prestige drama series finale being constantly 00:25:03.390 --> 00:25:05.609 compared to it. It proved that you can answer 00:25:05.609 --> 00:25:07.589 the questions, close all the loops, and still 00:25:07.589 --> 00:25:10.150 genuinely surprise the audience. Not to mention 00:25:10.150 --> 00:25:12.829 Vince Gilligan won a DGA award, and the editor, 00:25:12.990 --> 00:25:15.529 Skip McDonald, won an Emmy for it. And it proved 00:25:15.529 --> 00:25:18.009 that you can use a Marty Robbins song to literally 00:25:18.009 --> 00:25:21.390 foreshadow your entire plot. That too. It boosted 00:25:21.390 --> 00:25:24.049 sales of Baby Blue by nearly 3 ,000%, by the 00:25:24.049 --> 00:25:27.200 way. Streaming for that song went up 9 ,000%. 00:25:27.200 --> 00:25:29.799 That is wild. Yeah. I want to leave you, the 00:25:29.799 --> 00:25:32.240 listener, with a thought today. We talked about 00:25:32.240 --> 00:25:34.359 Nussbaum's critique, the idea that Walt got off 00:25:34.359 --> 00:25:36.279 too easy. Right. But think about the lyrics of 00:25:36.279 --> 00:25:39.180 El Paso one last time. The cowboy dies in the 00:25:39.180 --> 00:25:42.359 arms of Felina. Walt dies in the arms of the 00:25:42.359 --> 00:25:45.200 lab. The blue myth. Was this ending a tragedy 00:25:45.200 --> 00:25:48.700 for a man who completely lost his soul? Or was 00:25:48.700 --> 00:25:50.640 it the ultimate victory for a man who finally 00:25:50.640 --> 00:25:53.220 accepted who he really was? That is the enduring 00:25:53.220 --> 00:25:55.140 question. And honestly, depending on the day 00:25:55.140 --> 00:25:58.480 you ask me, my answer changes. Mine too. And 00:25:58.480 --> 00:26:00.579 I think that's exactly why we'll still be talking 00:26:00.579 --> 00:26:03.039 about it in another 10 years. Absolutely. Thank 00:26:03.039 --> 00:26:04.819 you so much for joining us on this deep dive 00:26:04.819 --> 00:26:06.980 into television history. It was a huge pleasure 00:26:06.980 --> 00:26:09.539 to revisit Albuquerque. And thank you to you 00:26:09.539 --> 00:26:11.619 for tuning in and nerding out with us. We'll 00:26:11.619 --> 00:26:12.980 catch you on the next deep dive.