The hit AMC series Breaking Bad is pulling out all the stops in it’s last few episodes of it’s final season. A steady decline into the dark pit of ‘old-awesome-shows’ is definitely not the chosen path as last night’s Breaking Bad ‘Ozymandias’ episode voted best episode to date by fans. The episode, called ‘Ozymandias’ was indeed one of the most brutal, heart tearing suspenseful, sickening and evil episodes to date. Vince Gilligan, creator of Breaking Bad, told the TV Fanatic website before the premier of Sunday’s “Ozymandias” that it was “the best episode we ever had or ever will have.”
Metacritic reviews are showing unanimous 100% ratings for the third last episode.
The Fall of Walter White
Ozymandias is a reference back to Breaking Bad‘s promotional material for its final run of episodes, there was a video that featured Bryan Cranston reading Percy Bysshe Shelley’s short but powerful poem “Ozymandias” over stark scenes of the arid New Mexico landscape. Those scenes fit the poem well, which speaks of a desert where a fallen statue rests in pieces as “the lone and level sands stretch far away.” The poem is about the decline and fall of a leader with an empire that, as all empires eventually do, has turned to dust.
The title then is perfect as for last nights episode as this seems to be the case for Walt. His house of cards is crashing down, everything is falling to pieces. Everything he’s worked for, his family, everything is soon to be gone (or will it?). He will stand alone. “Ozymandias” was the culmination of everything that the series has been building to. The opening scene that shows Walt’s and Jesse’s first cook is a fantastic intro to where the guys are now, how far they’ve come.Where a snarky Jesse Pinkman mumbled and smoked and attacked rocks with sticks.
I am Ozymandias
Flash forward to two years later, and Walt has kidnapped his own child, killed his brother-in-law, threatened his “stupid bitch” wife, and ordered Jesse’s death. His son hates him, and after all of that, he is left with one barrel of money. Yup, that is a mouth full…
Walt refuses to give in, even in the eyes of a defeated Jesse, he feels the need to forever break the bond that existed between them by revealing his final secret: he tells Jesse he not only watched Jane die, but that he could have saved her and didn’t. Wow…remember that episode? Walt sat by and watched Jesse’s girlfriend, the person whom Jesse wanted to get out of the meth business for, choke to death on her own vomit.
Walt turns into the monster. He becomes the bad man that kidnaps his daughter and threatens his wife to the point where nothing left to reconcile. He is Ozymandias. Everything he’s fought for since day one has come crashing down, caught by all the lies, death and deceit.
It was an absolutely brilliant episode. This is without a doubt one of the best shows we’ve ever watched.
The below poster was released as promotional material for the last few episodes of the series:
Remember My Name
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Also See:
“Breaking Bad”, Ozymandias Poetic Promo for the Final Episodes
