36 Times “Breaking Bad” Was The Cleverest Show On Television
Prepare to love this show even more than you already did.
1. The time Vince Gilligan tried his best to let us know what the reveal at the end of Season 2 would be.
The first, fourth, 10th and 13th episodes of Season 2 all have black and white teaser intros. When you combine the titles of these four episodes you get Seven Thirty-Seven / Down / Over / ABQ. Guess we should have seen that plane crash coming.
2. When Jesse predicts how the whole thing will end in Season 2. Sort of.
In the iconic Season 2 episode “4 Days Out,” Jesse asks if they’re going to build a robot to save them — in the final episode, “Felina,” that’s pretty much what happens.
3. The coordinates of the spot that Walt buries the money are actually those of Q Studios in Albuquerque, N.M., where the show was filmed.
RIP Hank and Gomie.
4. How a song forecasted the plot of the final episode.
As Walt drives back to New Mexico in the final episode, he listens to a song called “El Paso” by Marty Robbins. It tells of a man who returns to the town where he is a wanted man to find the woman he loves: Felina, from whom the episode gets its name.
The caption on this Instagram picture includes more lyrics from the song that proved to be depressingly prophetic.
Loading
5. But there were so many more layers to the finale’s title.
As well as being an anagram of the word “finale”, some have pointed out that “Felina” can be split up into Fe Li Na — the chemical symbols for Iron, Lithium, and Sodium. Or in other words: Blood, meth, and tears.
That was the sound of your mind being blown.
7. The fact that the clothes Walter wears throughout the show get darker as his character does the same.
8. Foreshadowing was a common occurrence on the show. Such as the time Walt picked up the grill of deceased meth kingpin Tuco.
That grill seems to fit Walt a little too well…
10. Or when Saul’s plates suggested what was going to happen next.
Usually Saul Goodman’s plates read “LWYRUP”, or “lawyer up”. But in Season 5 Episode 11, with Walt stood there like the badass he is, it seems to read “WYRUP”, or perhaps “wire up”. And what happened next, well? Funny you should ask…
11. And the time there was more to this shot that you realised.
According to the Breaking Bad Insider Podcast, the white king in this shot from “Ozymandias” is just a few moves away from checkmate. GET IT???
12. Then of course there were the many, many callbacks to things that had happened earlier in the show.
14. Remember when Walt lost his trousers in the first ever episode? Well if you watch “Ozymandias” closely you’ll see he came very close to finding them again.
15. Talking of which, Ozymandias gets its name from a Shelley sonnet about a fallen empire (and the inevitable decline of all empires). Something more than one character in the show can relate to.
16. And this artist’s impression of Ozymandias looks more than a little familiar.
17. Back to the callbacks — here’s Walt sat in the back of Hank’s car in two very different situations.
18. And both Walt and Skyler responding to bad news, five seasons apart.
19. Turns out the final shot of the entire show had actually been seen before.
20. The symmetry between Jesse and Walt’s first and last encounters on the show breaks our hearts all over again. 
21. But at least after five seasons of being the passenger, Jesse was finally in charge of his own destiny.
22. Also did you ever notice how it was only ever one side of characters’ faces that were affected by beatings and bombs and the like?
24. In the final episode we see a heartbreaking daydream sequence from an imprisoned Jesse, which fits perfectly with a story he told back in Season 3’s “Kafkaesque”.
25. The symmetry across seasons does seem to be almost never ending.
28. The time that having all the money in the world caused Walt and Skyler to finally get the beige memo.
29. Then there’s the fan theory that after killing people, Walt would take on some of their traits. Like Crazy 8…
Before killing Crazy 8, Walt ate sandwiches with the crust still on. But after killing the crust-hating meth dealer Walt’s tastes seemed to change.
31. Or his tendency to give the silent treatment whilst doing his day job.
32. Then there’s Mike.
On the left you can see that Walt drinks his whiskey without ice, while Mike prefers it on the rocks. But once he killed Mike (we’re still pretty sad about that one, btw) he’s all turned around on the subject.
34. And haven’t you seen the pattern on the floor in the hospital somewhere before?
36. And finally the moment you realise how important New Hampshire’s state motto was.
During the final episode the camera lingers on the New Hampshire plates to reveal the state motto, “Live Free or Die”, which is also the name of the Season 5 premiere. It also foreshadows the outcomes of the two main characters. One lives free, while the other…
Check out more articles on BuzzFeed.com!
-
30 Ways To Tell You Haven’t Gotten Over The Fact “Breaking Bad” Is Never Coming Back
- "Breaking Bad" Lana Del Rey Parody Should Be Enough To Keep You Going Until The Finale
- Every Outfit Walter White Ever Wore On All Five Seasons Of "Breaking Bad"
- 16 Very Cool “Breaking Bad” Props You Can Bid For Right Now
Contributions
- Reporters across the U.S. are posting #WeStandWithWDBJ tributes on social media following Wednesday's on-air killing of two journalists. ›
- U.S. stocks are calming down. The Dow opened 200 points higher after several days of volatile dips. ›
- Net migration to the UK has reached a record high of 330,000 in the year to March, according to the Office for National Statistics. ›