anyone else awed by Breaking Bad Season 4 Finale?

[zazen]

Jeez, I've got other, better things to do, but I've been taking breaks to surf for essays and blogs about it throughout the day.

That series is a masterpiece, and last night's episode easily ranks in the top 10 on television of all time.

[tridim]

1. The subject matter is just so ugly that I can't watch it.

I don't know if it's good or not.

[Stardust]

9. You're missing the best writing, acting, and directing on television by having a closed mind.

The underlying reason behind the "subject matter" is the real story. Meth is merely one of the characters, not the main one.

[Systematic Chaos]

2. My wife about shit herself when she saw Gus' face.

But oh yeah, we love the show.

[drm604]

3. Oh Yeah!

I love that show.

But it seems like they've wrapped up all of the loose ends.

This could have easily been a series finale rather than a season finale. What's next?

[zazen]

4. I keep wondering if they can blackmail Hank w/ Marie's shoplifting

Then there's Mike down in Mexico, Walt being out of money, Jesse figuring out the Lily of the Valley (that b/g song during the last minute was so appropriately haunting). . .

I think this journey of one man down this path of moral compromise to blind selfishness to outright evil is riveting. The placement of the some of the memes of traditional Westerns within the context of suburbia is so dark.

I know others question the subject matter, but frankly, it's probably gotten more Americans to think about the cartels and drug wars more intimately and meaningfully than the anonymous descriptions we read in the mainstream media (or via the people we know who are addicted).

What do you think might be next?

[drm604]

5. Frankly it seems like it's all tied up.

Gus is dead. The lab is destroyed.

If Skyler is correct, the car wash is a goldmine; so Walt shouldn't have to cook anymore.

Beneke's tax bill is paid, so there's no reason for the IRS to investigate Skyler's finances. Beneke's death looks like the accident it was, so it probably won't be investigated.

So what's left?

I can see some possibilities. For example, I think the car wash may actually have some real environmental problems. Remember how, when Bogdan was faced with the fake EPA inspector he kept asking for Gary? Maybe Gary was a real inspector who Bogdan had been paying off to not report some real violations. Maybe those real violations will now rear their ugly head causing the car wash to no long be profitable. That would leave Walt right back where he was before and might make him consider cooking again.

Maybe Mike will come back and cause trouble for some reason.

Maybe Gus's connections from the Pinochet government will come looking for revenge.

Maybe the Mexican cartel will reconstitute itself somehow and come looking for either Jesse or Walt.

Maybe something else that I can't even imagine will happen.

Your guess is as good as mine.

[Ohio Joe]

6. "Did you just bring... A bomb... Into a hospital?"

heh, great shit :D

[fishwax]

7. yep, that was amazing

As some others have said, it would have been just fine as a series finale. I'm looking forward to seeing what they come up with for the next season.

[Syrinx]

8. so Walt "framed" Gus for the poisoning of Jesse's son?

I've only recently begun watching this show, so it's sometimes hard for me to follow.

Did Walt poison the little boy, so that he could convince Jesse to side with him against Gus?

[fishwax]

10. it didn't hit me until today that the title of the episode was ... "Face Off"

:nuke: