Just watched the last episode. My thoughts:
-- The hallucinatory scene where we see Jesse as a carpenter in and idyllic haze, before snapping roughly back to the utter despair of his meth dungeon is... amazing.
-- Jesse's wild-eyed look as he speeds off into the darkness, finally free is awesome, very subtle.
-- Even walt's little stroll through the lab at the very end was... very subdued, and I can't think of a better ending.
-- For people saying the 5th season was boring, I think you're off your rocker. It had a little bit of everything. The train caper was signature breaking-bad, showcasing a unique challenge and a solution as creative as any other in the series. TONS of great dialogue! If anything, it lacked a powerful villain. Walt seemed unstoppable, and there were, if anything, just too many different challenges. It felt a bit fragmented and weaker than, say, the non-stop tension of the first season, when walt and jesse were total amateurs, or the epic battle with Gus that spanned the fourth.
-- The irony of that last phone call to Skyler was fantastic. I think Walt believed every word of what he said, nonetheless being aware his words would exonerate Skyler.
-- The TV interview with Grey Matter was a brilliant way to reign Walt back in.
-- Todd was an extraordinarily well-acted/written character. The dude was just utterly devoid of common feelings. He wasn't "evil", even. He was just... different.
-- Lydia has a great ass. Would love to fuck that nervous chattering right out of her.
And finally,
"I did it for myself. I liked it. I was good at it. It made me feel alive."
The best lines in the series, by far.
This show was so great because it showed, in great detail, and in a very believable manner, Walt's transition from a timid, well-mannered but dissatisfied everyman into a real individual, someone who found the courage to shirk his morals and risk everything. Some people might view the series as a cautionary tale, but I don't. I don't think Walt had any regrets.
