The beginning of the end starts Sunday at 9

Who could have foreseen the captivating journey  that Walter White would take us on, when we first met at his kitchen table 5 seasons ago?  The once lowly high school chemistry teacher, and central character of AMC’s Breaking Bad,  has gone from a meek husband and father to the most calculated and domineering crime figure on television since Marlo Stanfield’s character in The Wire.

Breaking Bad’s daring plot and  layered conflicts has  lead many of us to question our  personal values and ponder our human limitations, whether we’d like to or not. Now that we’re in the final stretch of what has truly been a great drama, fans, like me, are eagerly anticipating a climactic ending to the series.  The first 8 episodes of the fifth and final season, saw a shift of power from Gus Fringe, the part-time fast food chain owner; full-time global drug distributor, to the meth god, Walter White. Through the majority of those episodes, White had not only convinced Fringe’s henchman, Mike Ehrmantraut, not to kill him but also develops a partnership with Ehrmantraut and Fring’s other business partners to become an owner in his own drug production and distribution organization. In the 7th and 8th episodes we see the seeds of Walter’s destruction as he murders Ehrmantraut, watches his prodigy, Jessie Pinkman, jump ship, and peeks the suspicion of his brother in-law, agent Schrader in one of the greatest cliff hangers in recent history.

As is true with any great show, it is impossible to predict what will transpire in the final episodes of Breaking Bad. Some fans and critics have predicted that Walter will emerge from his tragic predicament unscathed. Others have gone as far as predicting a grand stand off between Walter and his kin, Hank Schrader.  No matter what is to come of the last 8 episodes, it’s fair to say that they will shock us, just as these 15 Greatest Moments in Breaking Bad did. Take a look.

Say My Name…Say My Name