"Felina" is the sixteenth episode of the fifth season of Breaking Bad and the sixty-second episode of the series altogether. It is the series finale of Breaking Bad and one of two episode finales of the Breaking Bad franchise overall, the other being the Better Call Saul finale "Saul Gone".
Despite being the series finale, it is not the concluding chapter of the Breaking Bad story, as El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie continues from where this episode left off and serves as the true finale for the overall series.
Summary[]
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In New Hampshire, Walt enters an unlocked car and searches for something to start the engine. He finds a screwdriver in the glove compartment but is unable to start the car after several attempts. The flickering lights of a police car appear behind him and as a flashlight passes over the snow-covered car, Walt quietly pleads to himself, "Just get me home. I'll do the rest." The police car leaves without further inspection. Walt then checks the visor and the the car's keys drop from the visor onto Walt's lap. He starts the car and begins his drive back to Albuquerque.
Act I[]
Walt sets a meeting with his former business partners.
Somewhere in New Mexico, Walt stops at a gas station. At a payphone, he poses as a journalist from The New York Times in order to obtain Elliott and Gretchen's new address, learning that they are returning home that night from their interview with Charlie Rose. After hanging up, Walt leaves his watch, a birthday gift he had received from Jesse, on top of the phone booth.
That night, Elliott and Gretchen return to their luxurious residence in Tesuque, too caught up in conversation to notice the disheveled Walt sitting in their garden. As the Schwartzes discuss dinner, Walt follows them into the house. Gretchen is frightened upon seeing him in their living roomm but Walt casually greets the couple, telling them that he watched their interview. Walt informs them that he is not there to hurt them but to seek assistance, and asks for their help in unloading "something" from his car. Elliott tries to threaten Walt with a small cheese knife, which Walt scoffs at, telling him he'll need a bigger knife if he plans to attack him.
Walt has the Schwartzes move the $9.72 million in cash that he has in possession, which he transported in his car trunk, onto a coffee table inside the house. Walt instructs the Schwartzes to give the money to Walt Jr. on his eighteenth birthday using an irrevocable trust fund. Gretchen indicates that they will not help him give his drug money to his family and that he should do it himself, but Walt replies that he cannot as his family hate him and do not want his money; additionally, the federal government would not allow it. He insists that any taxes or legal fees associated with transferring the money be taken out of his pile, and stresses that the Schwartzes are not to use a single dime of their own money.
Walt threatens Elliot and Gretchen.
He then asks if they can trust him to do this, and while Elliott responds that Walt can trust him, Gretchen does not respond and has to be forced by Elliott to shake his hand. Walt then motions his hand and Gretchen screams as two laser dots appear on their chest. Walt informs them that he took $200,000 out of his pile and hired two of the best hitmen in the Southwest. Walt warns them that, regardless of what happens to him, the hit men will be monitoring them to ensure they deliver the money; should they fail to do so, he claims that they would be killed before they could even register it. Walt then signals to the hit men to turn off the lasers and then leaves the house as the couple are left shaken.
Down the street from the Schwartz residence, Walt stops his car and picks up the "hit men", who are none other than Skinny Pete and Badger, who were using mere laser pointers. Badger and Skinny Pete mention that they feel kind of bad for scaring innocent people, but find it acceptable when Walt pays them their fee of $10,000 apiece. Walt then asks them whether they know if Blue Sky is still being manufactured and distributed. The duo confirm that it is, and when Walt asks if they know who's been cooking it, the pair are confused, with Badger stating that the story was that Heisenberg was still cooking. Skinny Pete chimes in that the purity level is still top-notch, which causes Walt to declare that it must be Jesse, with the understanding that Jack Welker's gang did not kill him but are working with him to cook meth. Badger and Skinny Pete are stunned to hear this, as Jesse had told them he was moving to Alaska, but wonder why Jesse hasn't reached out to them in months.
Act II[]
Jesse remains as a meth slave-cook for Jack's gang.
In a dreamlike moment, a younger and happier Jesse is finishing a wooden box for his woodworking class back in high school. He is quickly jolted from the daydream, shackled to the meth lab and forced to keep cooking meth at Jack's compound. Jesse is heavily scarred from months of torture at the hands of the neo-Nazis and trudges along with heavy footsteps to cook the batch.
The following day, on his 52nd birthday, Walt visits a local Denny's to purchase an M60 machine gun from Lawson and recovers the ricin from his abandoned house. Before leaving the house, Walt stops in the middle of his former living room and reminisces about his 50th birthday, when Hank invited him on a DEA ride-along that catalyzed his entry into the meth business.
Walt's discussion with Lydia and Todd.
A short while later, Lydia and Todd meet at the café, where Lydia slides a bag of cash surreptitiously to Todd. She places her usual order of chamomile tea, but notices that there's only one packet of Stevia and asks for more. As Todd compliments the color of her blouse, Walt joins them at the table and asks them not to panic. Lydia and Todd are surprised to see him, and Lydia asks how he knew they'd be there, to which Walt replies that he and her always met at the café at the exact same time (Tuesday at 11:00 am), remarking that Lydia is a woman of routine and habit. Walt tells them that he has discovered a new meth formula that doesn't require methylamine and that he's willing to give it to them for a low price of $1 million, claiming that he is desperate for money since he has spent all of his millions evading the police. Todd is reluctant, but Walt, amidst a coughing fit, muses that the methylamine they stole must be running low and pleads to be able to speak to Jack so he can convince him.
Lydia reluctantly agrees and tells Walt that he can meet with Jack's gang that evening before indicating for him to leave. Todd questions Lydia wanting to work with Walt when she has him, but she instead suggests that they kill Walt, citing that given his medical condition, it would be a mercy for them to do so. She then takes the Stevia packet and pours it into her tea, unaware that it is ricin.
Act III[]
In the desert, Walt's M60 and instruction booklet are laid out as he hums and builds a turret in his car's trunk with an electric garage door opener connected to a car battery. He switches on the device remotely with his car remote, and as the contraption starts rotating back and forth, he smiles in approval. Walt notices his wedding band, hanging from his makeshift necklace, and focuses on his next course of action.
In her cramped apartment, Skyler receives a call from Marie, who tells her that Walt is back in town and was spotted at their old house by their neighbor Carol. Skyler asks if Walt hurt her, and Marie responds that he did not. Marie then shares she overheard from the authorities that a few people have called stating that Walt is going to destroy City Hall or otherwise seek revenge; she adds that while the authorities are unaware if this calls are Walt's own doing or merely prank calls, law enforcement officials are being spread thin today in order to search the whole city. Marie tells Skyler that Walt may very likely come seeking the two of them along with Flynn and that the police are already watching her house and the high school. She tells Skyler to be vigilant and safe, then hangs up.
As Skyler puts the phone away, she addresses Walt, who has been standing there the whole time, and tells him that he has five minutes. Walt tells her that he does not have much time left and wanted to come see her so they could have a proper goodbye. Skyler tells him about the men who threatened her, but he replies that, after tonight, they won't bother her anymore. He hands over the lottery ticket and tells her to call the DEA five minutes after she leaves and use it to negotiate a deal to reduce her legal troubles, as it bears the GPS coordinates where Hank and Gomez are buried. Skyler, who believed that Walt killed Hank, is finally told that other men did it.
Walt says his farewell to Skyler and Holly.
Walt then begins discussing his reasoning for entering the criminal lifestyle, and when Skyler retorts that she does not want to hear him claim he did it to provide for the family, Walt interrupts her and admits that he did it because he liked it, he was good at it, and it made him feel alive. With a moment of contemplation at his admission, Skyler tells him that he should leave before Flynn returns home. Walt then softly asks if she would allow him to see Holly before he leaves, and she agrees. Skyler looks on sadly as Walt lovingly caresses his daughter for the last time. The school bus then arrives, and Flynn heads back home. Looking at his son through the window, Walt leaves through the back door. Making his way around, Walt gets one last glimpse at his son, who enters the house and shuts the door.
Act IV[]
That night, Walt drives to Jack's compound and parks his vehicle parallel to the gang's clubhouse, opposite the window, so that he could kill Jack, his men, and Jesse. After being frisked, which results in his car keys and wallet being taken, he is escorted inside, where he is greeted by Jack. Jack compliments Walt's hair, surprised to learn he was shaving it bald before. Walt then asks him whether Todd told him about his proposal; Jack responds that he did, but that he isn't interested. Walt quickly chimes in that the methylamine they have must be running out and that they cannot sustain their meth business without it, but Jack reveals that since Madrigal is no longer under investigation, Lydia is able to procure them methylamine barrels every now and then.
Todd then sadly tells Walt that he shouldn't have returned to town when Kenny puts a gun to Walt's head, although Jack does not want Walt's brains to be splattered in his living room and orders them to kill Walt outside. As they begin dragging him away, Walt screams at Jack that he owes him. Jack then commands his men to stop moving Walt and demands to know what Walt is speaking of. Walt retorts that they had a deal to kill Jesse but that instead of killing him, Jack formed a partnership with him. Angered by Walt's accusation, Jack sneers that he would never form a partnership with a rat and orders Todd to bring in Jesse to show Walt what sort of "partnership" they currently have. Walt manages to secretly recover his keys before Todd brings in a chained Jesse into the room, who looks up at Walt with a scarred face and tears in both of his eyes. Walt realizes that Jesse has been a slave all this time, forced to cook meth while being tortured, and chooses to spare his life. He then tackles Jesse to the floor, which causes Jack and his gang to think that Walt is attacking Jesse out of rage.
Walt's M60 machine gun, concealed within his trunk, opens fire.
Jack, laughing, asks Todd to separate the two, and Todd kneels down to do so. Just then, Walt pins Jesse under his body, takes out his keys, and presses a button on the car remote, which opens the trunk and activates the turret-mounted M60. Oscillating on the garage door opener's motor, the machine gun's fire rips through the clubhouse and kills everyone in the gang, except for Jack, who is severely wounded, and Todd, who had bent down right before the shooting began. A bullet ricochets and Walt winces as it hits in the abdomen. After the gun runs out of ammo, Todd notices Jack crawling, wounded, but decides to first look outside the window. Noticing that the shooting was done by the homemade turret instead of people, Todd expresses his admiration of Walt's tactic. Just then, Jesse takes the chains around his hands and ambushes Todd from being, strangling him. The pair have a brief scuffle, which ends with Jesse breaking Todd's neck, killing him. Walt watches Todd die with a smirk on his face before noticing Jack, who is attempting to crawl away. Walt picks up a gun from a dead gang member's corpse and approaches Jack. Jack pleads for his life, telling Walt that if he kills him he won't know the location of his remaining money. Walt however shoots him in the head mid-sentence, killing him.
Walt asks Jesse to shoot him.
Jesse takes keys from Todd's pocket, one of which unlocks his chains, but upon freeing himself, notices Walt standing in front of him with the gun. Fearful, Jesse backs up against the wall, but Walt slowly lowers the gun and slides it to Jesse, who swiftly picks it up and aims it at Walt. As Jesse struggles to pull the trigger, Walt utters "You want this." Jesse refuses to shoot unless Walt says that he wants it, and Walt obliges. Jesse then notices that Walt has been shot; he then drops the gun and tells Walt to do it himself before heading outside. Just then, Todd's phone rings with a custom "Lydia" ringtone. Walt takes the phone out of Todd's pocket and answers it; a sick Lydia then asks whether Walt has been killed. Walt responds that Todd and everyone else has been killed, and then asks her if she's been feeling feverish. He then admits to giving her ricin while at the café, mentioning her habit of only using Stevia. Lydia starts to panic as Walt calmly says goodbye and hangs up. Walt then heads outside the clubhouse, where he spots Jesse unlocking Todd's El Camino. The two share a look before Jesse drives through the front gates and speeds out of the compound, tearfully laughing in joy at his freedom.
Walt dies in the meth lab
As police lights approach in the distance, Walt walks into Jack's meth lab. In his final moments, he lovingly admires the equipment before finally succumbing to his injury and collapsing, and Walt dies with a contented smile on his face. The police arrive and secure the premises, finding Walt's body mere moments after his death.
Official Photos[]
Trivia[]
Series Finale poster
- This episode has the outstanding score of 9.9/10 on IMDb. This is the second highest rated episode of the series, just after "Ozymandias" with 10/10.
- This episode was watched by 10.28 million people on its premiere night, up from the previous high, "Granite State", which had 6.58 million. This makes "Felina" the most watched episode in the series' history.[1]
- The finale also set new records on Twitter, with 1.24 million tweets from 601,370 unique users during the live broadcast of both the EST and PST telecasts. The Breaking Bad finale hit a peak of 22,373 "tweets"-per-minute as the final episode began on the East Coast. Popular Breaking Bad-related Twitter tags included: "#BreakingBad", "#BreakingBadFinale", and "#GoodbyeBreakingBad"; all of which were trending on Twitter that night.
- The title "Felina" is a reference to the 1959 song "El Paso" by Western music artist Marty Robbins. The song concerns an unnamed cowboy who falls in love with a woman named Feleena, gets shot by his enemies, and dies in her arms. The song plays in Walt's stolen car in New Hampshire, and is later hummed by Walt as he assembles the M60.
- The writers changed the name from "Feleena" to "Felina" since the latter is an anagram for "finale."
- "Felina" could also refer to FeLiNa, the symbols for iron, lithium and sodium, or shorthand for "blood, meth and tears". However, the methods used to synthesize methamphetamine in Breaking Bad, which are nagai reduction and reductive amination of phenylacetone, do not use lithium. Lithium is used in birch reduction, which is not used in the show.
- The lyrics "A deep burning pain in my side" in the song "El Paso" parallels what happens to Walt towards the end of this episode.
- The lyrics "Guess I got what I deserved" relates to Walt's final reflection on his actions, and how he understands his own demise, but still feels some happiness for what he did, mingled with regret.
- The lyrics "The special love I had for you, my baby blue" in the song "Baby Blue" by Badfinger, reflects Walt's actual love and respect for his own exclusive signature product Blue Sky.
- This is the second longest episode of the series (55 minutes), only surpassed by the "Pilot" (58 minutes).
- This is the fourth episode to be written and directed by Vince Gilligan, after "Pilot", "Full Measure" and "Face Off".
- Just like in "Pilot" and "Fifty-One", this episode takes place in Walt's birthday, September 7th. This states that the storyline since the first to the last episode lasted exactly two years.
- The entire series began and ended with sirens heading towards Walter.
- Todd Alquist, Walter White and Lydia Rodarte-Quayle are, in sequence, the fourth, fifth and sixth main characters to die.
- Despite it being a recurring element throughout the show, Lydia is the only person to have been successfully killed with ricin.
- Lydia's fate is confirmed in "El Camino" where Jesse hears a news report about an unnamed Houston woman poisoned by Walt who is hospitalized and not expected to survive.
- Walt's fate is confirmed in the same news report, which mentions how the police found Walter White's dead body in the aftermath of the gang massacre. The same news report confirms Lydia's fate. Walt's death is also mentioned in the episodes "Breaking Bad" and "Saul Gone" of Better Call Saul.
- Gilligan revealed that Walt was intending to kill Jesse as well when he showed up at the compound, but when he saw the state his former partner was in and realized Jesse did not partner himself with Jack but had been enslaved, Walt could not bring himself to kill Jesse.
- Gilligan explained that The Searchers heavily influenced the final standoff between Walt and Jesse.
- There was one scene cut from the finale script for budget and time reasons. It took place at the gas station after Walt makes the call in which he pretends he is a reporter from The New York Times. In it, a former student of Walt recognizes him, and Walt pays him off and threatens him to make sure he doesn't rat him out. But before leaving the former student, he asks, "What kind of teacher was I?" The former student replies, "You were good." and then says he remembered the time Walt sprayed different chemicals at a flame and it made different colors, which was the chemistry lesson scene in "Pilot".
- Gilligan had Walt leave his watch at the gas station for continuity reasons, as he wasn't wearing it during the flashforwards in earlier episodes.[2] ("Live Free or Die") ("Blood Money")
- Co-executive producer Melissa Bernstein can be seen in the bus when Walt Jr. comes home from school. It is a reference to "Pilot", in which for lack of budget, she had played the sole occupant of the school bus seen during the scene where Walter accompanies Hank on a drug bust.
- Following the finale, fans joked about whether Huell is still sitting in the safe house, for Hank never told him it was safe for him to leave. Funny or Die even made a sketch, Huell's Rules, parodying this. However, Gilligan revealed that Huell was let out once Agent Van Oster found out that Hank and Gomez had died, and that "right now, he's doing what Huell does best, whatever that is. He's out and about as a free man."
- In the episode "Breaking Bad" of Better Call Saul, Francesca Liddy reveals that Huell was eventually released as he had been held under false pretenses and subsequently returned home to New Orleans.
- Walt's last word is 'Lydia'.
- The license plate of the Cadillac reads "JG8-516", whereas "516" is the code for this episode, as it is the sixteenth episode of the fifth season.
- As the camera pans out from Walt's body, the lighting fixture forms a crosshair and settles over his left lung. This throws back to his initial CT scan, and future references where Walt stated he had a tumor in his left lung.
- A faint blue hue follows Walt and Jesse when they see each other for the last time. The same lighting could be seen in the Pilot when Walt confronted Jesse for the first time.
- Walt's reflection on the lab equipment is distorted in such a way that he appears to have a goatee and a shaved head.
- The device Walt used to control the M60 is a Chinese made UN-4001 Central Car Lock System, a remote-controlled central car lock. The letters UN on the box is covered by a bar code sticker, but largely uncensored. It is the only Chinese product in the show to be shown as Chinese. Statistically, it is the most commonly used remote car lock in China.
- The outfit Walt wears when he arrives at Skyler's apartment and Jack's compound is identical to what he wore in "Pilot" (pastel jacket, green button-up shirt, white undershirt, beige slacks.) He begins and ends the series in the same clothes, but only figuratively, since his old slacks were originally lost back in the first episode.
- Several takes were shot of Walt's blood-stained hand sliding down the stainless steel tank. Gilligan selected the one where a "W" (for Walter White) is created by the smear.
- Bob Odenkirk (Saul Goodman) does not appear in this episode.
- RJ Mitte (Walter White Jr.) does not have any speaking lines in this episode.
- Dean Norris (Hank Schrader) only appears in this episode through archival footage, from Walt's birthday party scene from the "Pilot".
- The song "Baby Blue" by Badfinger saw a 9,000% increase in streams, and more than 5,000 iTunes sales the night Felina aired, putting it in the top 20 iTunes songs 40 years after it was initially released.
- In the final scene between Skyler and Walt:
- Anna Gunn wore oversized clothing (like Cranston often does) to make her look like a "shrunken person" and a "shadow of her former self."
- The shot of Skyler reflected in the microwave was completely accidental. Gilligan admits not knowing he got it until the editor complimented it.
- The camera operator cried shooting the final Skyler and Walt scene and had to take his eye off the eyepiece.
- Walt's machine gun turret was recreated on an episode of Mythbusters, where it was deemed "plausible."
- Walter's final attack on the Neo-Nazis heavily mirrors Gus Fring's assassination of the heads of the Cartel.
- Walt and Gus were initially motivated to take revenge due to someone close to them being shot in the head.
- Their loved ones were murdered by a character frequently referred to as "Uncle."
- They set up a meeting with their enemies under the pretense of teaching them the formula for a new drug.
- Almost everybody present, aside from Walt and Gus, fell victim to their secret weapon and died nearly instantly.
- The only survivors of the attack are their enemies' leader, who dies soon afterwards, and their lieutenant, who is garroted from behind by their attacker's longtime partner.
- Both Walt and Gus are hurt by their own weapon; Gus poisoned himself to coax the Cartel leadership into doing the same, and Walt was shot in the side protecting Jesse.
- Jesse kills the last survivor of the "Salud" massacre and one of the two survivors of the Felina massacre.
- Jesse Pinkman was deliberately protected from being killed in both assassinations, Gus didn't allow him to drink the poisoned tequila and Walter knocked him to the ground to save him from the gunfire.
- This also coincides with Walt’s fall after Hank gets shot mirroring Gus’s fall after Max got shot.
- The fate of several characters post "Felina" are revealed by Francesca Liddy in the Better Call Saul episode "Breaking Bad":
- Walter White's death didn't change anything and, in fact, made it worse for the remaining low-level players connected to his drug empire.
- Skyler White reached a plea deal with federal prosecutors as Walt had intended. This means that Hank Schrader and Steven Gomez's bodies were recovered, as Walt had given his wife their location as leverage for the deal.
- Jesse Pinkman's car was found near the border as intended by Badger and Skinny Pete in El Camino, which was helpful in Jesse's successful escape to a new life in Alaska with Ed Galbraith's help. The police are still looking for Jesse, as he and Saul are the last of Walt's accomplices left to pursue.
- All of Saul Goodman's assets have been seized, leaving him with only the belongings that he took with him to Omaha.
- Huell Babineaux has returned to New Orleans after the DEA were forced to release him, due to holding Huell under false pretenses.
- Lydia Rodarte-Quayle is not mentioned by name, but is implied to be dead, as Francesca says that Jesse and Saul are the DEA's only remaining targets, particularly as a news report in "El Camino" mentioned that she was not expected to survive her poisoning.
- Francesca herself is still being targeted by the authorities in an effort to find Saul.
Production[]
Credits[]
Starring
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Guest Starring
Co-Starring
- Patrick Sane as Frankie
- Tait Fletcher as Lester
- Matthew T. Metzler as Matt
- Alex Gianopoulos as Waiter
- Steve Stafford as DEA Agent
Uncredited
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Filming Locations[]
- The Canoncito Gas station shown when Walt first returns to New Mexico from New Hampshire is located on Trail 56, out near the cook site & barrel location.
Featured Music[]
- "El Paso" by Marty Robbins (Playing from a cassette in Walt's stolen car, later muttered by Walt as he sets up his machine gun rig)
- "Ballet Music No. 1. Allegretto (Mouvement de valse) [From the opera, "Faust"] by Charles-François Gounod" by Louis De Froment et l'Orchestre symphonique de Radio Télé Luxembourg (when the Schwartzes arrive home)
- "Ballet Music No. 2. Adagio [From the opera, "Faust"] by Charles-François Gounod" by Louis De Froment et l'Orchestre symphonique de Radio Télé Luxembourg (when Elliot threatens Walt)
- "Love is Running Through Me (aka Running Through Me)" by Javaroo (Reprised from "Live Free or Die" as Walt celebrates 52)
- "Unknown Track #1" by Unknown Artist (when Todd & Lydia meet in the café)
- "Lydia the Tattooed Lady [From the film, "At the Circus" by Marx Bros]" by Harold Arlen and Yip Harburg (Todd's custom ringtone for Lydia)
- "Baby Blue" by Badfinger (As Walt dies and the police arrive)
- "Line of Fire" by Junip (Promo)
Memorable Quotes[]
- "I did it for me. I liked it. I was good at it. And, I was really... I was alive."
- ―Walt to Skyler, about his true motivation for manufacturing meth.
- "He's alive isn't he? And he's cooking for you! What, are you gonna lie?"
- ―Walt to Jack about Jesse during their final confrontation.
- "Jesus. Mr. White..."
- ―Todd's last words before Jesse strangled him.
- "Wait, wait... You want your money, right? You wanna know where it is? You pull that trigger, you'll never-"
- ―Jack's last words before Walt shot him in the head.
- Walter: "Do it. You want this."
- Jesse: "Say the words. Say you want this! Nothing happens until I hear you say it."
- Walter: "I want this."
- Jesse: "Then do it yourself."
- ―Walter telling Jesse to kill him.
- Walter: "How are you feeling? Kind of under the weather? Like you've got the flu? That would be the ricin I gave you. I slipped it into that Stevia crap that you're always putting in your tea."
- Lydia: "Oh my god.."
- Walter: "Well, goodbye Lydia."
- ―Walt's last words, and the last lines of the series.
Videos[]
Notes[]
- ↑ TV by the Numbers
- ↑ Talking Bad episode 8, originally broadcast September 29, 2013