"Felina" is the
series finale of the American
crime drama
Crime films, in the broadest sense, is a film genre inspired by and analogous to the crime fiction literary genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and its detection. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine ...
television series ''
Breaking Bad
''Breaking Bad'' is an American crime drama television series created and produced by Vince Gilligan. Set and filmed in Albuquerque, New Mexico, the series follows Walter White (Bryan Cranston), an underpaid, overqualified, and dispirited hig ...
''. It is the sixteenth episode of the
fifth season and the 62nd overall episode of the series. Written and directed by series creator
Vince Gilligan
George Vincent Gilligan Jr. (born February 10, 1967) is an American writer, producer, and director. He is known for his television work, specifically as creator, head writer, executive producer, and director of AMC's '' Breaking Bad'' (2008– ...
, the finale first aired on
AMC
AMC may refer to:
Film and television
* AMC Theatres, an American movie theater chain
* AMC Networks, an American entertainment company
** AMC (TV channel)
** AMC+, streaming service
** AMC Networks International, an entertainment company
*** ...
in the United States and Canada on September 29, 2013. It was followed by a
sequel
A sequel is a work of literature, film, theatre, television, music or video game that continues the story of, or expands upon, some earlier work. In the common context of a narrative work of fiction, a sequel portrays events set in the same ...
film, ''
El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie'', which was made available on
Netflix
Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...
on October 11, 2019.
The plot involves
Walt
Walt is a masculine given name, generally a short form of Walter, and occasionally a surname. Notable people with the name include:
People Given name
* Walt Arfons (1916-2013), American drag racer and competition land speed record racer
* Walt B ...
evading a nationwide manhunt for him in order to return to
New Mexico
)
, population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano)
, seat = Santa Fe
, LargestCity = Albuquerque
, LargestMetro = Tiguex
, OfficialLang = None
, Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ker ...
and deliver the remaining profits from his illegal
methamphetamine
Methamphetamine (contracted from ) is a potent central nervous system (CNS) stimulant that is mainly used as a recreational drug and less commonly as a second-line treatment for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and obesity. Methamph ...
empire to his family. He also takes revenge on the
Aryan Brotherhood
The Aryan Brotherhood, also known as the Brand or the AB, is a neo-Nazi prison gang and an organized crime syndicate which is based in the United States and has an estimated 15,000–20,000 members both inside and outside prisons. The Southern P ...
gang who took his money, killed his brother-in-law
, took
Jesse
Jesse may refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Jesse (biblical figure), father of David in the Bible.
* Jesse (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters
* Jesse (surname), a list of people
Music
* ''Jesse'' ( ...
captive, and presented a threat to his family. Knowing his
lung cancer
Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma (since about 98–99% of all lung cancers are carcinomas), is a malignant lung tumor characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissue (biology), tissues of the lung. Lung carcinomas derive from tran ...
will soon kill him, Walt revisits his former acquaintances to settle his affairs and prepare himself for the conflict and—ultimately—his death.
Upon airing, "Felina" was met with acclaim from critics. Several critics have called it one of the greatest series finales of all time.
Plot
Walter White Walter White most often refers to:
* Walter White (''Breaking Bad''), character in the television series ''Breaking Bad''
* Walter Francis White (1893–1955), American leader of the NAACP
Walter White may also refer to:
Fictional characters
...
steals a car, returns to New Mexico, and surprises
the Schwartzes. He claims he hired
hitmen
Contract killing is a form of murder or assassination in which one party hires another party to kill a targeted person or persons. It involves an illegal agreement which includes some form of payment, monetary or otherwise. Either party may be ...
, and
Badger
Badgers are short-legged omnivores in the family Mustelidae (which also includes the otters, wolverines, martens, minks, polecats, weasels, and ferrets). Badgers are a polyphyletic rather than a natural taxonomic grouping, being united by ...
and
Skinny Pete
''Breaking Bad'' is a neo-Western crime drama franchise created by American filmmaker Vince Gilligan, primarily based on the television series ''Breaking Bad'' (2008–13), its prequel/sequel series, ''Better Call Saul'' (2015–22), and its s ...
scare them with
laser pointer
A laser pointer or laser pen is a small handheld device with a power source (usually a battery) and a laser diode emitting a very narrow coherent low-powered laser beam of visible light, intended to be used to highlight something of interest by ...
s that spoof rifle
sight
Visual perception is the ability to interpret the surrounding Biophysical environment, environment through photopic vision (daytime vision), color vision, scotopic vision (night vision), and mesopic vision (twilight vision), using light in the ...
s. Walt coerces them to place his remaining $9.72 million in a trust for
Walter Jr. He pays Badger and Pete, obtains confirmation that blue meth is still distributed, and deduces that
Jesse Pinkman
Jesse Bruce Pinkman is a main character in the American television series '' Breaking Bad'', played by Aaron Paul. He is a crystal meth cook and dealer and works with his former high school chemistry teacher, Walter White (Bryan Cranston). Jess ...
is alive.
Walt retrieves the
ricin
Ricin ( ) is a lectin (a carbohydrate-binding protein) and a highly potent toxin produced in the seeds of the castor oil plant, ''Ricinus communis''. The median lethal dose (LD50) of ricin for mice is around 22 micrograms per kilogram of body ...
from his abandoned house, connects an
M60 machine gun
The M60, officially the Machine Gun, Caliber 7.62 mm, M60, is a family of American general-purpose machine guns firing 7.62×51mm NATO cartridges from a disintegrating belt of M13 links. There are several types of ammunition approved for ...
to a pivoting turret in the trunk of the car he is now driving, and rigs it to a
remote unlock button. He interrupts
Todd
Todd or Todds may refer to:
Places
;Australia:
* Todd River, an ephemeral river
;United States:
* Todd Valley, California, also known as Todd, an unincorporated community
* Todd, Missouri, a ghost town
* Todd, North Carolina, an unincorporated ...
and
Lydia
Lydia (Lydian language, Lydian: 𐤮𐤱𐤠𐤭𐤣𐤠, ''Śfarda''; Aramaic: ''Lydia''; el, Λυδία, ''Lȳdíā''; tr, Lidya) was an Iron Age Monarchy, kingdom of western Asia Minor located generally east of ancient Ionia in the mod ...
's coffee shop meeting and offers what he claims is a formula for
methylamine
Methylamine is an organic compound with a formula of . This colorless gas is a derivative of ammonia, but with one hydrogen atom being replaced by a methyl group. It is the simplest primary amine.
Methylamine is sold as a solution in methanol, ...
-free meth. Lydia feigns interest so Walt will meet
Jack
Jack may refer to:
Places
* Jack, Alabama, US, an unincorporated community
* Jack, Missouri, US, an unincorporated community
* Jack County, Texas, a county in Texas, USA
People and fictional characters
* Jack (given name), a male given name, ...
, knowing Jack will kill him.
Marie Schrader
Marie Schrader (''née'' Lambert) is a fictional character in the AMC series '' Breaking Bad'' and its spin-off series ''Better Call Saul.'' Portrayed by Betsy Brandt, she is Skyler White's sister, Hank's wife, and Walter White's sister-in-l ...
calls
Skyler White
Skyler White ( née Lambert) is a fictional character in '' Breaking Bad'', portrayed by Anna Gunn. For her performance, Gunn received critical acclaim, with some critics even lauding her character as the template for television anti-heroines. ...
to warn her Walt is in
Albuquerque
Albuquerque ( ; ), ; kee, Arawageeki; tow, Vakêêke; zun, Alo:ke:k'ya; apj, Gołgéeki'yé. abbreviated ABQ, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico. Its nicknames, The Duke City and Burque, both reference its founding in ...
. Walt is already with Skyler and leaves her the lottery ticket containing the coordinates for
Hank Schrader
Henry R. Schrader ASAC is a fictional character in the AMC drama series '' Breaking Bad'' and its spin-off series ''Better Call Saul''. He is portrayed by Dean Norris and was created by series creator Vince Gilligan. Hank's character development ...
and
Steve Gomez's grave, which he advises her to use to obtain a favorable plea bargain. He admits that despite claiming he produced meth to provide for his family, he did it to gratify himself. Skyler allows Walt to see the sleeping Holly and he later watches from afar as Walter Jr. arrives home from school.
Walt parks alongside the headquarters of Jack's compound. Jack orders him killed and Walt accuses Jack of failing to carry out the execution of Jesse that Walt paid for. Jack is angered at the suggestion he partnered with a "rat" and orders that Jesse be brought from Jack's meth lab so he can prove Jesse is a captive. Walt tackles Jesse and remotely fires the machine gun; everyone but Jack, Todd, Jesse, and Walt is killed. Jesse strangles Todd with his shackles, then frees himself with Todd's keys. Jack pleads for his life, but Walt kills him. A wounded Walt asks Jesse to kill him, but Jesse says if Walt wants to die he should do it himself.
Walt answers Todd's phone and tells an ill Lydia that she will soon die because he poisoned her coffee shop
stevia. Jesse and Walt exchange a farewell glance before Jesse flees in Todd's
El Camino. Walt admires Jack's lab before succumbing to his wound. Police rush in as he lies motionless, a slight smile on his face.
Production
![Vince Gilligan by Gage Skidmore 2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a3/Vince_Gilligan_by_Gage_Skidmore_2.jpg)
Production on "Felina" and the ''Breaking Bad'' series concluded on April 3, 2013, according to Cranston.
On September 18, 2013, it was announced that both "
Granite State" and "Felina" would run 75 minutes, including commercials.
The actual runtime of the episodes is 55 minutes. The episode was written and directed by series creator Vince Gilligan.
Title reference and music
The episode title, "Felina", is inspired by the character Feleena from the song "
El Paso
El Paso (; "the pass") is a city in and the seat of El Paso County in the western corner of the U.S. state of Texas. The 2020 population of the city from the U.S. Census Bureau was 678,815, making it the 23rd-largest city in the U.S., the s ...
" by
Marty Robbins
Martin David Robinson (September 26, 1925 – December 8, 1982), known professionally as Marty Robbins, was an American singer, songwriter, actor, multi-instrumentalist, and NASCAR racing driver. Robbins was one of the most popular and suc ...
, which plays a major role during the episode.
The story of "El Paso" closely mirrors Walter White's character arc in the final season of ''Breaking Bad''. Walt, who has become a notorious criminal, flees from Albuquerque, living as a fugitive. Despite this being a successful outcome in the context of the story, he finds himself increasingly isolated and dissatisfied. Because his desire for emotional closure outweighs his fear of capture and death, he is eventually driven to return to the scene of his crimes, where he finds the closure he seeks but ultimately meets his end. "El Paso" is on a Marty Robbins cassette in Walt's car, and is played during the episode. Additionally, Walt sings the song to himself while building his machine gun turret. The writers changed the subject's name from ''Feleena'' to ''Felina'' so that, when used as the title, it could serve as an anagram of ''finale''.
Badfinger
Badfinger were a Welsh rock band formed in Swansea, who were active from the 1960s to the 1980s. Their best-known lineup consisted of Pete Ham (vocals, guitar), Mike Gibbins (drums), Tom Evans (bass), and Joey Molland (guitar). They are rec ...
's "
Baby Blue
Baby blue is a tint of azure, one of the pastel colors.
The first recorded use of ''baby blue'' as a color name in English was in 1892.
Variations of baby blue Beau blue
Beau blue is a light tone of baby blue. "Beau" means "beautiful" in F ...
" is played during the final scene. According to series creator Vince Gilligan, this is a reference to the high-quality blue meth Walt had produced over the previous seasons and his life as a drug kingpin which the main character, at last, recognizes he had enjoyed.
According to ''Rolling Stone'', the music supervisors on the show disagreed with Gilligan's choice for the final song;
however, music supervisor Thomas Golubić stated that "journalists sometimes try to create drama where there isn't any" and that his quotes were "mis-represented".
"Baby Blue" became an obvious choice as the editing came closer to completion, with Golubić describing the process of finalizing the song:
''El Camino''
After the conclusion of the series, Gilligan had considered Jesse's fate, stating that rather than getting caught by police, he had envisioned that Jesse would end up in Alaska to start his life anew.
He had mulled this idea over for some years, and as the tenth anniversary of ''Breaking Bad'' neared, became interested in producing a work to follow Jesse's fate after this episode.
This ultimately resulted in the film ''
El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie'', which first aired on
Netflix
Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...
on October 11, 2019, and had limited theatrical runs that weekend. ''El Camino'', named for the car Jesse escapes in, takes place immediately after the events of "Felina", and was considered by Gilligan to be a
coda
Coda or CODA may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Films
* Movie coda, a post-credits scene
* ''Coda'' (1987 film), an Australian horror film about a serial killer, made for television
*''Coda'', a 2017 American experimental film from Na ...
to the overall series to close out Jesse's story.
Aaron Paul
Aaron Paul (born Aaron Paul Sturtevant; August 27, 1979) is an American actor best known for portraying Jesse Pinkman in the AMC series '' Breaking Bad'' (2008–2013), for which he won several awards, including the Critics' Choice Television ...
returned to star as Jesse, and the film includes brief appearances by
Bryan Cranston
Bryan Lee Cranston (born March 7, 1956) is an American actor and director who is best known for portraying Walter White in the AMC crime drama series ''Breaking Bad'' (2008–2013) and Hal in the Fox sitcom ''Malcolm in the Middle'' (2000–2 ...
,
Jonathan Banks
Jonathan Ray Banks (born January 31, 1947) is an American actor. Born in Washington, D.C. and raised in Chillum Heights, Maryland, while attending Indiana University Bloomington Banks did theatre. In 1974, he moved to Los Angeles where he be ...
,
Jesse Plemons,
Robert Forster
Robert Wallace Forster Jr. (July 13, 1941 – October 11, 2019) was an American actor, known for his roles as John Cassellis in '' Medium Cool'' (1969), Captain Dan Holland in ''The Black Hole'' (1979), Abdul Rafai in '' The Delta Force'' (1986 ...
,
Matt Jones,
Krysten Ritter
Krysten Alyce Ritter (born December 16, 1981) is an American actress and model. She came to prominence when she appeared as Jane Margolis in the AMC drama series '' Breaking Bad'' (2009–2010) and its spinoff film '' El Camino'' (2019). She the ...
and
Charles Baker.
Reception
Ratings
"Felina" had the highest ratings of any episode of ''Breaking Bad'': 10.28 million in the United States, including 5.3 million adults aged 18–49.
The episode generated millions of online comments and
Nielsen Holdings
Nielsen Holdings plc is an American information, data and market measurement firm. Nielsen operates in over 100 countries and employs approximately 44,000 people worldwide.
The company was listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and use ...
rankings established that it was the most-discussed episode on
Twitter
Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
for that week.
The popularity of the episode resulted in a 2,981 percent increase of sales of the
Badfinger
Badfinger were a Welsh rock band formed in Swansea, who were active from the 1960s to the 1980s. Their best-known lineup consisted of Pete Ham (vocals, guitar), Mike Gibbins (drums), Tom Evans (bass), and Joey Molland (guitar). They are rec ...
song "
Baby Blue
Baby blue is a tint of azure, one of the pastel colors.
The first recorded use of ''baby blue'' as a color name in English was in 1892.
Variations of baby blue Beau blue
Beau blue is a light tone of baby blue. "Beau" means "beautiful" in F ...
", which features prominently in the ending sequence, as well as a 9,000 percent increase in streaming over
Spotify
Spotify (; ) is a proprietary Swedish audio streaming and media services provider founded on 23 April 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. It is one of the largest music streaming service providers, with over 456 million monthly active us ...
.
Critical reception
Upon airing, the episode received universal acclaim.
Several critics have called it one of the greatest series finales of all time.
In her review of "Felina", Donna Bowman of ''
The A.V. Club
''The A.V. Club'' is an American online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was cre ...
'' gave the episode an A rating, writing that "Walt's purpose is fulfilled, and he just stops".
Seth Amitin at ''
IGN
''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...
'' also praised the episode, calling it "fully satisfying" and awarding it a score of 9.8 out of 10.
Katey Rich agreed with these sentiments, calling the episode "a deeply satisfying and surprisingly emotional finale".
However,
Emily Nussbaum
Emily Nussbaum (born February 20, 1966) is an American television critic. She served as the television critic for ''The New Yorker'' from 2011 until 2019. In 2016, she won the Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.
Early life
Nussbaum was born in the ...
, writing in ''
the New Yorker
''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...
'', criticized the episode, claiming it so neatly wrapped up the series in Walt's favor that it seemed more like "the dying fantasy on the part of Walter White, not something that was actually happening".
In 2019
The Ringer ranked "Felina" as the 19th best out of the 62 total ''Breaking Bad'' episodes.
Accolades
This episode was nominated for six
Primetime Emmy Awards
The Primetime Emmy Awards, or Primetime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), the Primetime ...
.
Vince Gilligan
George Vincent Gilligan Jr. (born February 10, 1967) is an American writer, producer, and director. He is known for his television work, specifically as creator, head writer, executive producer, and director of AMC's '' Breaking Bad'' (2008– ...
was nominated for
Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series
The Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series is presented to the best directing of a television drama series, usually for a particular episode.Though this category is the dominant one in which dramatic directing has been ...
and
Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series for directing and writing this episode, losing the latter to
Moira Walley-Beckett
Moira Walley-Beckett is a Canadian television actress, producer, and writer. She was a writer and producer for the AMC drama ''Breaking Bad'' and the creator of two television series, '' Flesh and Bone'' and '' Anne with an E'' (titled ''Anne'' ...
for
Ozymandias
"Ozymandias" ( ) is a sonnet written by the English Romantic poet Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792–1822). It was first published in the 11 January 1818 issue of '' The Examiner'' of London.
The poem was included the following year in Shelley's co ...
.
Skip Macdonald
Skip Macdonald is an American film and television editor known for his work on ''Breaking Bad'' (2008–2013), its spin-off series ''Better Call Saul'' (2015–2022), and the 2019 sequel film '' El Camino''. He also edited several episodes for ...
won
Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing for a Drama Series, Darryl L. Frank, Jeffrey Perkins, and Eric Justen were nominated for
Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Comedy or Drama Series (One-Hour),
Greg Nicotero
Gregory Nicotero (born March 15, 1963) is an American special make-up effects creator, television producer, and director. His first major job in special effects makeup was on the George A. Romero film ''Day of the Dead'' (1985), under the tutel ...
, Howard Berger, Tarra D. Day, Stephan Dupuis, and Steve LaPorte were nominated for
Outstanding Prosthetic Makeup for a Series, Limited Series, Movie or Special, and Kurt Nicholas Forshager, Kathryn Madsen, Jason Tregoe Newman, Mark Cookson, Cormac Funge, Jane Boegel, Jeffrey Cranford, Tim Boggs,
Gregg Barbanell
Gregg Barbanell is an American sound editor. He has been nominated for twelve Primetime Emmy Awards in the category Outstanding Sound Editing. In 2004 he won a Primetime Emmy Award in the category Outstanding Sound Editing for a Nonfiction or ...
, and Dominique Decaudain were nominated for
Outstanding Sound Editing for a Comedy or Drama Series (One-Hour).
In popular culture
''
MythBusters
''MythBusters'' is a science entertainment television program, developed by Peter Rees and produced by Australia's Beyond Television Productions. The series premiered on the Discovery Channel on January 23, 2003. It was broadcast internatio ...
'' tested the potential lethality of a machine-gun turret mounted within a vehicle's trunk, and they proved that it was possible in real life.
Notes
References
See also
*
''Malcolm in the Middle''#Legacy for the alternate ending
External links
*
*
{{DirectorsGuildofAmericaOutstandingDirectingDramaSeries 2010–2029
2013 American television episodes
Breaking Bad (season 5) episodes
American television series finales
Television episodes directed by Vince Gilligan
Television episodes written by Vince Gilligan
Badfinger