It’s going to happen. Hell, it already did for the people involved, it’s just a matter of time for the rest of us. This show, this masterpiece, this drama that has overtaken everything else in my “top TV show” lists is coming to an end. Yeah that’s right, it’s overtaken everything else I’ve ever watched on TV. Don’t get me wrong, I’m as big a fan of what the Sopranos did for TV, beginning the television era’s dominance over film. Before this final set of episodes started airing, people would tell you I’ve made it my living to spread the gospel of The Shield. Not anymore. It’s time to move over, and make room for Breaking Bad at the head of the table.

What’s happening with these final episodes is truly remarkable, and possibly trend setting. In a world filled with Hollywood remake after remake, where the cost and hassle of going to the movies now rivals going to a sporting event, just stay home. The drama genre has allowed, almost mandated that we do. That we invest in bigger TV’s with better audio surrounding us where we sit. But there needs to be some substance, as watching Animal Planet and Travel Channel on HD gets old. Enter Walt White, and his predecessors like Tony Soprano and Vic Mackey. Creator Vince Gilligan and company are winding down a series that will go down in history, and we can appreciate even more how much our loyalty has been rewarded for staying home. As we all await the unwinding tale, to learn the fates of Walt, Jesse, Skyler, Hank, and others, I feel like this is the equivalent of the playoffs after a long but riveting regular season. A postseason where we now find ourselves in the final stages, the Super Bowl or NBA/NHL Finals. While some of us root for the teams that got there, most of us are rooting for story, thankfully Gilligan has us covered. 

As I was glued to my screen trying to capture every little word Walt whispered to Skylar while laying on his bathroom floor, I catch myself savoring every single moment. But unlike times in both The Sopranos and The Shield, I don’t feel like my want and anticipation for by-the-second gripping content is left unsatisfied. On the contrary, every single scene, every single piece of audio uttered has purpose. Walter White is Lebron James, we watch and await his performance piece by piece, as we do with James possession by possession. From the montages set to music, that are exceptionally well put together, to movements, to explicit speech, to say this show is going out with a bang would be an insult. This show is going out nuclear. Part of it is our connection with these characters, seeing transformations of Walt and Jesse. That scene of the two on the couch, where Jesse all but tells Walt he knows about Mike, wow.

After Walt, in his deep baritone delivery,  explains away any knowledge of Mike’s whereabouts you see Jesse turn and look away, at us, and you know. You know he knows Walt killed the kid with the Ricin. It’s not moments like these that separate this show from other historically notable dramas, it’s that these moments are happening every single time the show airs! Unlike a two hour movie or other lesser dramas put together, attempting to maximize each and every moment doesn’t backfire on the crew of Breaking Bad. I don’t feel like enough is enough and all I want to do is find out what happens, there aren’t parts of this story that I couldn’t care less about. Unfortunately I can’t say the same about Game of Thrones, where I’ve lost total interest in multiple storylines.

No, Breaking Bad has done something far more than captivate us, they have created a mutual relationship with the viewer. Imagine that! Rewarding loyalty with the only thing we could ask for in return, memorable perspective delivered in content. Every show will come to an end, I hope, and a lot of how we look back on it as a whole is based on how things ended. There are always going to be disappointments, letdowns, shock even. But keep in mind that most of that in this case will come from simply knowing the show won’t be on, new at least, next Sunday. I have no idea when Boardwalk Empire will end, but I already feel held hostage by it. No, nobody is holding a gun to my head demanding that I watch it every week, but the time and patience I have put into the show, hasn’t been rewarded. Not nearly to the extent I expect, so what do I do? I’ve been with the show since inception, I do care about a couple of people still in the show, so in order to get any type of closure I have to ride this thing out. Hostage situation. I haven’t felt that once with this show, there haven’t been any wasted episodes, looking back on it they have tied everything in.

If you’re looking for specific elements to this show that stand out, it’s not necessarily what they are doing but more so how something is conveyed. The pink teddy bear in Season 2, with the flash forwards before each episode. Nobody knew what was going on as it was happening, but now looking back you see the genius of how ideology and storyline are conveyed to the viewer. To drop pieces or hints of what happened to the bear as the show progressed was genius. What made it even better was the final realization that the bear wasn’t some huge piece in the puzzle, that it wasn’t even a main feature in the story. Just a way to show you, metaphorically with the plane crash and finding of the eye later by Walt, the overwhelming chaos he’s brought upon everyone.

Endings can be a bitch right? I know a lot of people are still perplexed about what the hell happened with Tony Soprano. One of the more difficult things to do when ending a series, one that has so many deep plot and character developments like Breaking Bad, is to keep action consistent with character. Meaning is what’s going to happen really in line with the character we have grown attached to and feel like we have a handle on how they would react to certain stress. Or in Jesse’s case stress times five million. The biggest concern for me was what happens after Hank finds out, from the very second he puts together the book in the bathroom to when he first confronts Walt. At no point was I let down. The simple answer is because Hank’s loyalty and compassion for Walt, Walt and Jesse’s up and mostly down relationship pretty much deteriorated, whatever is left of Skyler emotionally, and her over-trusting at times overbearing sister, all are seeds that were planted and properly cultivated. The best part about experiencing this for me has been the slow process some of these relationships have gone through, some changing drastically from just a season or two ago.

Yet there is a glass half empty approach I can’t shake, one that knows in a matter of weeks this show will cease to crank out new material. It will be relegated to reruns. For the record, I can’t watch Sopranos reruns and don’t even know if The Shield even airs anymore. So I’m just going to savor each bite, knowing there are only five bites left of this amazing Filet. Of course there’s always the small chance we hear Journey in the background playing in the final episode, with Walt and his family at a diner… Rest easy, these guys know better.