Breaking Bad: Final Episode 1 Review

So tonight, I sat on the couch with my Zaxby's Wings and Things waiting for the convenient countdown ticker to hit zeros on AMC.  Breaking Bad, the final episodes!  Let the mayhem begin.

From the moment the opening scene began I was locked in and totally geeked!  If you read my Netflix Second Look review of Breaking Bad a few months back, you'll know I slept on the first four seasons - and just recently caught up on things when Netflix added the fifth season.  Man, I was just in time as the first of the final episodes proved to be intense and foreshadowed what may come for our meth cooking heroes.

Season 5 of Grand Theft Auto the TV Series gave fans the cliff hanger we always knew was coming but to be honest, I was totally blown away by the faceoff that took place when Walt connected the dots and decided to pay Hank a visit at the crib.  I didn't see that coming.
 I never thought Walt would let his pair grow so big that he'd stand face to face with Hank and basically tell him "so what you gon do?"  It didn't actually come to that, but then it kinda did as Walt clearly had checked out and Heisenburg was in full control.  So now the cat is out of the bag and Hank is on the clock.  He already chin checked his bro-in-law, who by the way - took it like a G, and had his world turned upside-down as he got to formally meet Heisenburg for the first time.  The question is, what will his next move be?

As for me, I'm left wondering a few things:

• Has Breaking Bad been about Walt's journey or Hank's?  Walt gets all the camera time and is the anti-hero, but Hank has had his fair share of trials and tribulations.  If Hank is so krunk about upholding the law, why the stare down with Heisenburg?  Why not lay him out - especially after nearly losing his life, his marriage and his career?  I'm wondering if Hank himself has been pushed across his moral lines and we're about to meet his chest bumping, fist-pumping self again, except he takes the money and dips on Walt!  Don't forget, Hank has a few blurred lines of his own, especially when he was covering up for his wife's sticky fingered transgressions.
• What's Pinkman up to?  My thoughts are; he started from the bottom and as is the case with most addicts he's gonna finish at the bottom.  Come on, homie pulled a paperboy in his last scene so it won't be much of surprise to see him inhaling the Blue again as he bottoms out and reverts back to his former coping mechanisms.
• These scenes of Walt in the near future, seemingly on the run, have me curious.  Why does he need a light machine gun?  Where is his family?  Where is his money?  My guess is, the DEA raided his crib and found nothing.  But I'm wondering if the international business he got hooked up with has backfired somehow or does he drop dime on them and that's why he needs to carry an arsenal in his Buick?  Witness protection is so much better with a .50 caliber.
• The cancer is back?  Did it ever really leave?  Originally it was his motivation and would explain why he never let go of his desire to make money for his family.  He was never cured and thanks to all his mishaps he needed to keep grinding.  For the longest I wondered how a man could be so comfortable killing, but a dying man probably could care less.  Walt is not concerned with burning in Hell as long as his loved ones can continue to live comfortably when he's gone.
• With all the killing, high-powered magnets, and meetups in the desert, did Heisenburg actually completely cover his trail or will something surface that he forgot about?  Remember, Jesse does have a record and a dead homie - these things almost tripped him up a few seasons ago, so it stands to reason that Pinkman could be the only loose string Walt hasn't tied up.
• Split personality syndrome anyone? Walt/Heisenburg, Hank/Lex Luthor?  Hmmm...will Hank's cheese slide off his cracker?

I'm looking forward to next week's episode and will be back with another installment of my thoughts and opinions on the final episodes of Break Bad.  

Best Moment from Tonight:  "You don't know who I am..."

Desperate Moment from Tonight:  AMC forcing us to watch ten minutes of that lame ass new show just to see the teasers for next week's show!  Really AMC...  I actually turned my Dish off just so I wouldn't accidentally boost the Neilson Ratings for a whack show!  #pointfixing #punkmove 

Disclaimer: Steve is an employee of Turner Broadcasting, a division of Time Warner, however the views expressed in this post are of my own.