Breaking Bad’s Finale: How it Ends
Breaking Bad is back. As our vigilant friend Hank finally got off the porcelain throne carrying the evidence that would finally crack the Heisenberg case, the murky saga of Walter White has reentered our collective psyche. This week we had our first glimpse at how it ends – let the theories begin, from the cut and dry to the eccentric.
Oh, it probably goes without saying but this post contains massive spoilers.
What We Know
Hank and Walt have confronted one another, essentially setting the table for an arms race of Cold War proportions across seven more hours of television. But with both of their hands on the launch button, who will act first? Either way – there will be consequences.
Future events already revealed Walt is alive but hardly well, seemingly living out of his car – the trunk of which acts as somewhat of a panic room equipped with a machine gun.
Walt Will Kill Skyler
Pay very close attention and maybe you’ve noticed Walt’s curiously adopted behavior throughout his shadowy transformation.
After Walt kills Krazy-8, he starts removing the crust from his sandwiches.
After Walt kills Gus, he adopts an icy ruthlessness – his treatment of Lydia at the carwash practically mirrors his experience pleading with Gus at Los Pollos Hermanos. Walt is also comfortable hiding in plain sight, voluntarily walking into the lion’s mouth at times. Also observe Walt places a towel under his knees and runs the sink water when he vomits in the bathroom.
After Walt kills Mike, he begins taking his liquor on the rocks and instructs those beneath him to “Learn to take yes for an answer”.
Which leads us to Skyler. We’ve seen Walt organize his bacon into the shape of his age in certain episodes, something Skyler did much earlier in the series. You can also note his new ID card borrows Skyler’s maiden name.
We don’t know how it happens, but we believe Walt will kill Skyler.
Showdown with Lydia
While Hank and Walt’s faceoff demands the most screen time, we’d be crazy to think Lydia won’t play a major role in how the finale shakes out.
Several seasons ago, while Walt and crew hold Lydia captive, Mike essentially declares Lydia a threat worth eliminating. His history with Lydia is unclear but he seems to know enough to understand she could bring about their mutual downfall if left to her own devices.
Some fans theorize the glimpse we get into Walt’s future occurs sometime immediately before or after a showdown with Lydia’s people.
One theory maintains Lydia and her people kidnap or kill Jesse as collateral for Walt’s recipe; Walt is either on his way to rescue or avenge Jesse in a final blaze of glory knowing his life is forfeit to his cancer. It could be his desperate attempt to experience some semblance of redemption for his tattered existence.
Hank and Walt Will Kill Themselves
A popular theory floating around for some time now is Hank taking his own life by some turn of events. Now with Heisenberg essentially threatening Hank, knowing what he is capable of could potentially prevent him achieving any real justice.
Early on Jesse foreshadows such an event from a hospital bed, saying he will never be satisfied “until the day [Hank] sticks a gun up to his mouth and pulls the trigger just to get me out of his head.” Additionally, when Mike is watching television with the DEA in his home, “When a cop kills himself they want a full report”, is audibly heard on the television.
But Walt’s suicide is also worth considering. For one, we’re led to believe Walt’s cancer has returned when we see him receiving additional chemotherapy. Why exactly does Walt return to his demolished home sanctioned by the city for a container of ricin? Perhaps we’re witnessing Walt accepting death on his own terms. Between Hank, cancer and a loaded machine gun in the trunk of his car – Walt elects poison as a recourse.
