Finally made it through Breaking Bad (spoilers)

[NewJeffCT]

What a depressing show - seeing him become better & more successful at cooking meth and building his drug empire, but watching his whole life around him fall apart.

Great writing and great acting, though. I think I agree with Sir Anthony Hopkins about how amazing Bryan Cranston was in his role as Walter White.

I was a bit surprised that the ending wasn't a complete downer. He ended up finding a way to (hopefully) provide for his children through Elliot & Gretchen, and he managed to save Jesse in the end.

Tough end for Hank - he reminded me of a guy I went to high school with. Kind of a boisterous jerk on the surface, but a good guy underneath, and good instincts on everything except Walter.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

1. One of the best TV series ever.

Great acting, fascinating plot, lots of unexpected twists, and a terrific psychological study of a guy who turns to crime out of necessity and then discovers that he likes it. Awesome show. Cranston was amazing.

[mokawanis]

2. I watched all 6 seasons in two weeks

and it really did a number on me. There were a few nights when I stayed up way to late because I just couldn't stop watching. So many fascinating characters - Walter, Jesse, Hank, Gus. Vince Gilligan did an excellent job of putting the cast together. I don't know who the writers for the show were, but they did an excellent job of keeping the viewers guessing. I'm sure I'll watch all the episodes again in a few years.

Now I find myself wondering - how long we will have to wait until another show of that quality comes along?

[NewJeffCT]

3. Vince Gilligan did most of the writing

though, it looks like a good amount of episodes were written by others, including Peter Gould, Jennifer Hutchison, George Mastras, and a few more.

[Heddi]

4. The comedian Norm MacDonald has an interesting theory on the last episode

http://www.uproxx.com/tv/2013/10/norm-mcdonald-breaking-bad/

I don't know if I completely buy it, but it's plausible.

[MadrasT]

5. That is a fascinating take on it.

I'm gonna have to view that episode again with this in mind.

[Tripper11]

7. Very interesting! n/t

[mucifer]

6. I don't think it's right that his family gets to be millionaires off the

drug money he and his wife "earned". So many people suffered from what they did.

I really really liked the show and was glued to it. But, the last few scenes were so Hollywood.

I also like to point out to people who say he did what he did because he couldn't afford the best insurance.
The fact is there was one doctor in the state who had his patients on a certain trial regimen. In a single payer situation, you would still only have one doctor who is doing that trial. Everyone can't have the best doctor in the state. Most people would still have mediocre doctors who do their best.

But, it was fascinating watching the characters evolve through the years and the directing was great.

[NewJeffCT]

8. I was expecting him

to use the ricin on the neo-nazi guys. But, as soon as I saw Lydia and her Stevia, I knew Walt had spiked it with the ricin.

The kids will end up with money, but I think Skyler's situation was kind of up in the air at the end, no? Plus, Skyler has to live with the fact that she was married to a monster and is at least partially responsible for Hank's death, and Walt Jr will likely be mentally scarred forever because of what his dad did. And, who knows what will happen with Holly? In the future, do you tell 5 or 6 year old Holly that her dad was a monster? How do you break that to a kid?

Granted, they're all still alive, which is more than Gus, Mike, Hank, Steve, etc can say... not to mention countless lives ruined by crystal meth as well.