I would not want future historians of the internet to review the archives of this list devoted to TV and see no comment the day after on the final episode of one of the most well executed series in the history of television. No need for spoilers here (though good luck to anyone who has both been following this show and is even remotely plugged into the internet who is trying to avoid spoilers) to make a simple point. There can still be a reasonable and passionate argument about what the best drama is in the history of television. But I think what is beyond all reasonable debate is that no drama in the history of American television has ever been so consistently good, and so unified in its vision. This was a great story, well-told. I love Sopranos, Mad Men, West Wing, Deadwood. I think I can argue that each of those had episodes and even seasons that were as good or better than Breaking Bad. But each of those others had episodes that did not quite work, and season arcs that seemed to be false starts of a kind (and Deadwood of course never got an ending). I don't think there was a single poor episode of BB, nor a single broken story arc. Every new character, every new plot development, seemed to be part of a seamless whole.
If Gilligan told us that he had written the entire five seasons before shooting even the first one it would be easy to believe. The last part of the last season brought so many strands of the multiple layers of the story together in such a satisfying and dramatically and existentially satisfying way that it was really breathtaking. I have not yet read any reviews of the episode (I was up late watching it and the Homeland season opener, and then at work all day) but I can not image there are many real fans of the show today who are saying: "it was pretty good - but I wish they had done X, Y or Z". For me it was a completely satisfying ending to a series that never failed to surprise and delight and thrill and horrify, and that held up a character that we had never seen before and was still too, too familiar. In many ways the final season, and final episode, was the mirror opposite of what happened to poor, poor Dexter. Bravo to Gilligan and his entire, amazing cast. -- -- TV or Not TV .... The Smartest (TV) People! You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "TV or Not TV" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/tvornottv?hl=en --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "TVorNotTV" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
