Every season of this show has impressed me more than the one before; the storytelling and general delivery seemed to gain confidence with each one and in particular the near perfect journey of Walter White played out. The writing of this character is tremendous – his changes are gradual and well observed, making sense in the context of what he had previously done and where he was as a person. This final season (or half season, to be pedantic) draws that journey to a close and as such is less about expanding him so much as it is about bringing him to a close.
The cliffhanger from the previous episode (which was a painful year to wait) is paid off very well and very quickly and sets up this season's main thread as the world of destruction that White created as Heisenberg finally impacts directly on him. It was always a world that you felt he was guiding but ultimately not in full control of – as good as he was, events tended to direct and change him as much as he them. The plot here moves very quickly and it is dramatic throughout, whether in the very small confrontations (Walt and Hank in Hank's garage for example) through to the emotionally impacting examples, none of which I shall ruin for anyone foolish enough to look at an user comment for a season they have not yet seen.
The delivery is impressive throughout the season, with the dramatic moments (loud and quiet) being really well done – but just as good are the smaller moments. I have generally avoided the internet while watching this show because I have always been years or (eventually) weeks behind everyone else and didn't want spoilers – but being able to read around the show now adds so much. There is so much richness in the writing and in the script, some I spotted but others just passed me by (like the detail of the country song in the final episode). It is really satisfying and it really does a great job of closing it out for the fans – although in my opinion perhaps too good a job.
The final episode is far too tidy for its own good; I know the makers were very keen to leave no ambiguity (although within seconds of the show ending we had the "all a dream" theories) but to me they went too far to bring everything to a close. Family, enemies, former allies – all are sort of bring to an end one way or the other. The way this happens is really a reach for the show and I think it works only because we are going with it as viewers, those less sympathetic may not be as kind. It is also a bit too kind to White himself; the writers know that, as much of a monster as he was at times, he was still our monster and as a result gives his graceful closure as part of closing the show – perhaps more than he deserved. Jessie is not so fortunate and I felt that this final half season could have treated him better – he has more lines in the trailer for his new action movie than he does in the entire final episode and it shows. His story is one of being the moral opposite to White in many ways and, although his fans will have enjoyed his final shot – it is an empty one for them and he deserved more weight and complexity than he got.
This shows in Paul's performance because he has a lot less to do here other than display pain – something he does very well but he really only excels when the material lets him. The whole show has been about Cranston and he again gives a great performance; he gets his character perfectly and he makes good on what the writer's give him. It is a great performance and he is brilliant start to finish. Support is as good as ever – Gunn, Norris, Odenkirk all excellent in their roles. Smaller supporting characters are less detailed but just as colorful, engaging and well delivered.
It may all end a bit too tidy for me and it may have weaknesses but generally this is a very strong ending to a dramatic and satisfying season which in turn ends a very strong series which got stronger with each season. In ways very sad to see it end but glad it ended in this way, with the high quality untainted – it will not be too long before I start at that first episode again.
The cliffhanger from the previous episode (which was a painful year to wait) is paid off very well and very quickly and sets up this season's main thread as the world of destruction that White created as Heisenberg finally impacts directly on him. It was always a world that you felt he was guiding but ultimately not in full control of – as good as he was, events tended to direct and change him as much as he them. The plot here moves very quickly and it is dramatic throughout, whether in the very small confrontations (Walt and Hank in Hank's garage for example) through to the emotionally impacting examples, none of which I shall ruin for anyone foolish enough to look at an user comment for a season they have not yet seen.
The delivery is impressive throughout the season, with the dramatic moments (loud and quiet) being really well done – but just as good are the smaller moments. I have generally avoided the internet while watching this show because I have always been years or (eventually) weeks behind everyone else and didn't want spoilers – but being able to read around the show now adds so much. There is so much richness in the writing and in the script, some I spotted but others just passed me by (like the detail of the country song in the final episode). It is really satisfying and it really does a great job of closing it out for the fans – although in my opinion perhaps too good a job.
The final episode is far too tidy for its own good; I know the makers were very keen to leave no ambiguity (although within seconds of the show ending we had the "all a dream" theories) but to me they went too far to bring everything to a close. Family, enemies, former allies – all are sort of bring to an end one way or the other. The way this happens is really a reach for the show and I think it works only because we are going with it as viewers, those less sympathetic may not be as kind. It is also a bit too kind to White himself; the writers know that, as much of a monster as he was at times, he was still our monster and as a result gives his graceful closure as part of closing the show – perhaps more than he deserved. Jessie is not so fortunate and I felt that this final half season could have treated him better – he has more lines in the trailer for his new action movie than he does in the entire final episode and it shows. His story is one of being the moral opposite to White in many ways and, although his fans will have enjoyed his final shot – it is an empty one for them and he deserved more weight and complexity than he got.
This shows in Paul's performance because he has a lot less to do here other than display pain – something he does very well but he really only excels when the material lets him. The whole show has been about Cranston and he again gives a great performance; he gets his character perfectly and he makes good on what the writer's give him. It is a great performance and he is brilliant start to finish. Support is as good as ever – Gunn, Norris, Odenkirk all excellent in their roles. Smaller supporting characters are less detailed but just as colorful, engaging and well delivered.
It may all end a bit too tidy for me and it may have weaknesses but generally this is a very strong ending to a dramatic and satisfying season which in turn ends a very strong series which got stronger with each season. In ways very sad to see it end but glad it ended in this way, with the high quality untainted – it will not be too long before I start at that first episode again.