“Ozymandias” is a terrific episode for countless reasons, but that it made me feel such sympathy for Walter White again, so near the end of the series and at the apex of his cruelty, absolutely puts this hour in the running for the title of ‘greatest Breaking Bad ever.’ Previously, I thought that title belonged to the season 3 episode “One Minute,” and while we have had many great hours since then – most notably “Full Measures,” “Fly,” “Face Off,” and last week’s “To’hajiilee,” just to name a few – I was fairly set in believing “One Minute” would never be topped. It had the perfect blend of imagery, suspense, performance, and character work, a blend that defines, to me, what Breaking Bad is at its very best.
“Ozymandias” is equally representative of this series’ legacy, though, and possibly more so, a gorgeous, terrifying, and endlessly painful hour that further solidifies Breaking Bad’s place in the television pantheon. I have had problems with Breaking Bad over the years, and often felt less strongly about it that many other critics, but this final season has, to me, elevated the overall legacy of the series, and “Ozymandias” even more so than its predecessors. This episode – and, by extension, the series leading up to it – stands as one of the great television explorations into the cost evil inflicts on the human heart, and for that, I cannot help but be amazed. I look upon this show’s works, and I do not despair – instead, I am inspired, utterly and completely, by the power of artistry on display.
Other Thoughts
- One of the key reasons “Ozymandias” stands in contention for the title of ‘best Breaking Bad episode’ is the direction by Rian Johnson, an excellent feature filmmaker (of Brick, The Brothers Bloom, and Looper fame) who previously helmed the “Fly” and “Fifty-One,” each marked by gorgeous imagery and deep introspection. “Ozymandias” is on a different level, though, because the aesthetic strengths of the episode go beyond Johnson’s prior work on this series, or even Breaking Bad at its previous visual best (usually provided by Michelle MacLaren). Looking over my many pages of notes on the episode, probably half of them are concerned with describing the power of various images, not just in how Johnson captures and employs landscape, but in the ways he frames shots to produce multiple layers of conscious and subconscious meaning. To list but a few: The opening shot of a flask reaching boiling point, the emotional state we were left in at the end of last week’s episode. The aforementioned fade in and out on the still landscape at the Indian reservation. The dynamic use of color in Hank’s final moments, with evil Jack haloed by an impossibly blue sky and complemented by the fierce oranges and greens of the surrounding environment. The time lapse of clouds going by the rocky cliffs. The painterly shot of Walt rolling his barrel of money through the desert, with the ridge cutting through the horizon at a slight angle in the back, and weeds punctuating the scenery in chaotic patterns. The Nazi meth lab as horror movie set, dark and dank and terrifyingly hopeless. The kitchen knives framed in the forefront, with Walt and Jr. arguing in the background and Skyler slowly, inevitably moving in. Walt in the car with baby Holly, calmly driving backwards and pushing Skyler’s vehicle out into the street. Walt driving off to change his identity, into the sunset as if this is the end of a Western – but not one with a remotely heroic arc. The list goes on and on and on, and I think “Ozymandias” very well might be the most visually powerful hour in the show’s history, one that goes beyond gorgeous to become outright aesthetically provocative.
- Johnson, like MacLaren last week, also took the time to let this episode breathe, giving us multiple moments of pause – like Walt in the car in the desert after Jack and company departed – to allow the emotions to sink in. On the flipside, he created tension and suspense just as effectively, with Walt and Skyler’s kitchen knife standoff – during which I felt positive Jr., Holly, Skyler, or a combination of the three would be mortally wounded – standing as one of the all-time tensest Breaking Bad sequences.
- RIP Hank. It was more than obvious his death was on the horizon after last week’s heavy foreshadowing, but dammit if that moment did not land, especially given what great dialogue Dean Norris had to recite. Breaking Bad generally employs one F-word a season, and I love that this year, they gave it to Hank for the hopefully soon-to-be-iconic one-liner “My name is ASAC Schrader. And you can go fuck yourself.” Dean Norris did great work throughout this series, transforming Hank from an off-putting, one-note jock to one of the show’s most compelling figures, and he will certainly be missed. He would be my pick to win next year’s Best Supporting Actor Emmy (assuming the award goes to a Breaking Bad performer), even over Aaron Paul.
- That being said, Paul has been tremendous this season as well, and everything that happens to Jesse in this episode is just endlessly disturbing. One has to wonder if creator Vince Gilligan gets some sort of fetishistic pleasure out of tormenting this character. No matter what, Jesse has definitely reached his lowest point, enduring extreme physical torture at the hands of sociopathic Todd, and being forced to cook meth while leashed like a dog, with Andrea’s picture posted on the wall as a means of incentive. Pretty horrific stuff. I think it is safe to assume, at this point, that the finale will involve Jesse getting retribution on Mr. White in one way or another (and then, in all likelihood, turning the gun on himself, because Jesse is about as thoroughly broken by now as a human being can be).
- Michael Bowen has been doing fantastic work as Uncle Jack all season, but I have not taken time to mention him yet. His performance here was better than ever, deliciously and disgustingly evil, and I feel a little perplexed as to why he has been listed as a guest star this season when Laura Fraser and Jesse Plemons, both of whom have had much less screentime than Uncle Jack in these last six episodes, were promoted to series regulars.
- It is always worth noting that when called upon to do so, RJ Mitte can really deliver. These had to be his most challenging scenes on the series to date, with Walter Jr. finally seeing his father’s true face, and Mitte absolutely lived up to what those sequences called for.
- So now we have pretty much come full circle to the flash-forwards. Walt has fled the state to change his identity, his criminal activities will soon be revealed to the world, and with the Nazis holding the majority of his money, there is still unfinished business left in Albequerque. The only question is whether or not we pick up in the future next week, or if there is still story left to tell in the present.
- Tonight’s episode was the final installment written by Moira Walley-Beckett, one of the show’s most prolific writers. She joined the series in Season 2, first penning the episode “Breakage,” and going on to write or co-write many very good hours like “Más,” “Fly,” “Bug,” “End Times,” and “Gliding Over All.” “Ozymandias” is clearly her best work to date, and a great send off for an important Breaking Bad figure.
Follow author Jonathan Lack on Twitter @JonathanLack.