“Breaking Bad,” created by Vince Gilligan, is one of the most popular and acclaimed dramas of all time — and is commonly even referred to as one of the most perfect shows ever made, period. Further, the series is known for nailing its series finale, which — as known all-too-well by fans of shows like “Dexter” or “Games of Thrones” — is not exactly an easy feat for such a popular series. The show’s six seasons saw Walter White, played phenomenally by Bryan Cranston, believably transform from a meek high school chemistry teacher into a ruthless meth-maker, aided by former student Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul). From the rise and fall of Gus Fring (Giancarlo Esposito) to countless deaths and more, the series boasted some of the most memorable moments of recent television.
In the show’s final episodes, Walt has escaped and is living in hiding while Jesse is being held captive by a Nazi gang forcing him to cook meth for their financial benefit. In the finale, “Felina,” Walt threatens Gretchen (Jessica Hecht) and Elliott (Adam Godley) into giving Walter Jr. (RJ Mitte) the rest of his meth-making money, visits Skyler (Anna Gunn) one last time, and saves Jesse by killing the entirety of the Nazi gang with a machine gun jury rigged into his car. After giving Jesse the opportunity to be the one to kill him — though Jesse declines — Walt dies on the floor of the meth lab from a gunshot wound, right before the police arrive.
Just about every “Breaking Bad” fan would agree that the finale was satisfying, fitting and brilliantly executed — but what does Walter White himself think?
Cranston calls the finale perfect
As it turns out, “Breaking Bad” star Bryan Cranston is among the mass of people who were extremely happy with how the show’s finale turned out. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Cranston raved about the series finale, saying, “I was content with the end of ‘Breaking Bad.’ I thought it was the perfect ending. I know I’m biased, but I don’t recall seeing the ending of a show that was so well-constructed, satisfying and legitimate. Everything just seemed to fall into place so extraordinarily well.”
Cranston went on to explain that he thinks the series perfectly embodied the concept of “less is more,” which he finds rings true more often than not. He continued, “Don’t give them more than they want. If they start looking at their watch, you’re done. You lost ’em. We want them to go, ‘Holy s***, it’s over? That was an hour? It felt like 20 minutes!’ That’s what you want, and they crave more because it was so well-crafted.”
And, on the subject of leaving fans wanting more, Cranston has declared in a different interview that he doesn’t want to return for any kind of continuation of “Breaking Bad” (excluding, of course, his surprise flashback cameo in 2019’s Jesse-focused movie “El Camino”). Speaking with Malika Dudley for Maui Now, Cranston said, “I don’t miss the character because the show had a complete beginning, middle, and end. … I think we left at the right time.”
