‘Breaking Bad’ season 5, episode 16 preview: Walter White comes full circle in series finale

What us makes “Breaking Bad” such a landmark piece of TV history is that Sunday night’s finale really feels like it is the culmination of years of storytelling, and twists, and turns. You have worked hard to get to the point where Walter White is back in New Mexico trying to fight for his legacy; this was not a spur-of-the-moment decision brought on by a curveball or a Hannah McKay. (Yep, we went there.) This is closure in the way that closure should really be.

So to see the photo that we have here for this episode feels like a full-circle moment for Walt in the best way possible. He is back in the city where he crafted his name, and even back with a look more similar to what he had during the early days of the series. For one, he has hair! (which is interesting considering that he’s still doing chemo). He also has gone from desperate to authoritative to desperate and now back in some ways to authoritative again. There was nothing noble in his mind about giving up and dying alone, and with that, he is about to take his future into his own hands once again.

But just what is Walt’s return really going to mean? We are also going full-circle back to the cold open of the summer premiere, which is where we saw him pull out the ricin and the gun. We still will contend that the former is for Lydia (given her affinities for certain hot beverages), where the latter could be best used to take on a certain empire fronted by Jack.

The word to remember here for the next two days is “victory.” That is what many associated with the show have used to describe the finale. This does not mean that Walt gets away a free man, but to us, we imagine it meaning that he at least accomplishes what he has set out to do.

There is so much more that we could say here about the “Breaking Bad” finale, but for now, we will leave you with what are just the highlights.

1. Watch a funny video via Vince Gillian about his future after this show.

2. Read what Gilligan is actually planning to do following his time on this show.

3. See what Cranston is planning to do for himself on television next.

Photo: AMC