10 Things I Would Like to See in the Final Episodes of "Breaking Bad"

Left to right: Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul

Ladies and gentlemen, we are officially 10 days away from the return of Breaking Bad. For many, it has been a long time coming as we waited to see what happened after Hank (Dean Norris) left the bathroom. There's no more running for Walter (Bryan Cranston) and Jesse (Aaron Paul) as Hank will eventually do the inevitable. "But how will the series go out?" That is the question that majority of fans have asked themselves and creator Vince Gilligan has teased as something extraordinary. I do not claim to be an expert, nor is this post to be taken as literal facts. This is just my speculation on things that I would like to see happen as we ramp up the last few episodes and say goodbye to one of the greatest dramas in TV history.

Before I begin, I would like to thank everyone who has been keeping up with my daily Breaking Bad recaps. It has been a fun summer for me to revisit the series, find small clues, and eventually just hop on the theory wagon. As of now, my evidence is not based on anything beyond the episodes between "Pilot" and "Gliding Over All" as well as brief episode summaries (here) and some photos that have been posted.

Admittedly, it has been a tough summer as the promotional materials have been lackluster with only a recent teaser and poster moving beyond the field of recaps. Still, nothing diminishes the power of imagination, which the show executes nicely by always leaving you somewhere unexpected. With Walter, according to Gilligan, bound to do something unforgivable in the final stretch, here is a look at 10 things that I would like to see happen in the remaining eight episodes.

Walter's Biggest Freak Out

What: With everything gone, Walter has the biggest panic attack of his life.

Why: We have seen Walter panic over the seasons, and most notably in the chilling final moments of "Crawl Space." Why would he freak out? While he has done great at composing himself for the first half of the seasons, it is largely because of his running theme: leverage. Leverage is what makes Walter feel useful and keeps him sane, even with a gun to his head. To him, leverage is having money and power. When it was stripped from him in "Crawl Space," things turned bleak and only forced him to work harder. With Hank about to tear away all of his power and make him a full-on fugitive, there is only a good chance that Bryan Cranston will have to do his most over the top, bizarre and terrifying panic attack of all time.

Bob Odenkirk

Saul Leaves Town

What: Saul (Bob Odenkirk) decides that enough is enough and leaves Walter and Jesse for good.

Why: It has been seen in Saul's face for awhile. He is tired of dealing with Walter and Jesse's shenanigans, which have placed him in severe danger. It even came to the point that in the episode "End Times," he stated that he would be disappearing for good. He even suggested that his clients did the same thing. It is also possible that in a farewell plea, Saul offers them a package established in "End Times" to join Witness Protection and skip town. As also established, Jane Kaczmarek will be making an appearance on the show. I feel that she may be playing a lawyer type that sees through Walter's nonsense and strips him of what leverage he had with Saul.

Holly Does NOT Die

What: The youngest White family member Holly does not die.

Why: Here's the theory that has been around since her introduction: Holly will die. This is largely because of the decision for her to be clad in pink, which on the show symbolizes death. While it is true that majority of scenes with Holly feature her wearing pink, the reason that I believe something else will happen is because of this subtle fact. After "51," when Hank and Marie (Besty Brandt) were forced to babysit the children, she began wearing other colors. There is even a scene in "Gliding Over All" in which Holly is seen walking onto a purple rug, a color that has largely been associated with Marie. I feel that there is a good chance that this symbolizes her fate of never seeing her father again. However, I feel like enough damage has been done that along with Skyler (Anna Gunn) smoking while pregnant, she may be stricken with some unfortunate defects.

Left to right: Anna Gunn and Cranston

Lydia Gets Buried

What: Lydia (Laura Fraser) gets killed off.

Why: This may seem like a radical theory, but one that has been foreshadowed. For starters, since "The Cat's in the Bag...," Walter has disposed of bodies with acid. Without it, he has no choice but to do the sloppier method of disposing through burial. Cut to "Dead Freight" when Mike (Jonathan Banks) claims to want Lydia buried in a ditch. While Mike is no longer alive on the show, it could be a subtle clue that Lydia will annoy Walter in some way that results in her being buried. If you want to go based on the picture above, I am baffled by how Skyler would get involved, but I see this plot being the big arc of the first two episodes. The writers tend to be coy about their word choice, and "Blood Money" could mean financial gain over a death, and the proceeding episode "Buried" suggests disposal of the body. Maybe it is because Lydia is now seen as a loose end in the Madrigal case, capable of ratting Walter out to Hank, but all signs suggest that maybe the season will start with a kill.

Jesse Plemons

What About Todd?

What: Did Walter piss off Todd (Jesse Plemons)?

Why: Either they just like having Jesse Plemons around, or his involvement with the promotional materials means that he has come back. In a way, I see Todd as a tougher, stronger willed version of Jesse in that the minute that Walter turns tries to insult him, he will not be afraid to react. He killed a child in "Dead Freight," and he is likely to stick to his guns with Walter. Maybe he also takes on a sort of Gale (David Costabile) approach and starts cooking meth with his Uncle Jack (Michael Bowen) and Walter gets jealous that someone is getting rich off of his formula. As IMDb would suggest, there is also a character named Jack's Man (Matthew T. Metzler), which could mean serious business for Walter. With Todd's affiliation with skinheads who famously killed a bunch of snitches in "Gliding Over All," the power in Todd's roster is something that Walter has never seen. He may finally be beaten by people who don't buy into his manipulative insults and if not scared straight, have a lot of regret.

RJ Mitte

Walt Jr. Adopts Hank as a Father Figure

What: Walt Jr. (RJ Mitte) disowns Walter for Hank

Why: The hints came from the very beginning. In the second episode "The Cat's in the Bag...," Walt Jr. has been mentored by Hank more than Walter. In fact, Walt Jr. has done little besides complain about how he doesn't believe that his father is a realistic person in "Salud" and wonders why he is excluded from a lot of conversations. On the other hand, Hank has been nothing but loving to him and has taught him about hookers and how great Heat is. While Walter has tried to win him over with cars in "51," it is the emotional core that will win in the end. Also, it would be the most poetic thing in the series for Walt Jr. to disown his father, despite Walter's insistence on doing bad things for his future.

Bonus: Here is a deeper reasoning for why I believe Walt Jr. will adopt Hank as a father. Walt Jr. has been on crutches since the very beginning of the series. In "Bug," the symbolism grows when Walter crashes his Aztek car into oncoming traffic. Therefore, he is keeping both Walt Jr. and Hank out of the know-how. The connection is that with this action, Hank now has physical therapy is on crutches. Besides Walt Jr., he is the only main character to ever have this happen to him. I feel that the connection there is that both share this common element and besides Hank coming across as a mentor, the crutches and the "walk a mile in someone's shoes" metaphor click and bond the two more than the show leads on.

Jesse Finds Out Everything

What: Jesse finds out about everything that Walter has done to him.

Why: It almost happened in "Fly," but as we reach the end of the line, the show wouldn't feel right unless it gave Jesse his due. It may be what is necessary to put Jesse over the edge and give him closure after the show's insistence on him wallowing in despair and self guilt. Despite evidence proving otherwise, I am sure that Jesse feels that he is responsible for Jane's (Krysten Ritter) death and his choice to leave Andrea (Emily Rios) was the right decision. Walter has done nothing but make him unhappy in order to further his career. It is possible that after threatening many times to kill Walter ("Down," "End Times") that he may actually now have a strong motive to. Maybe not kill him, but turn against him and land him in prison. All of these could theoretically happen in "Confessions," which I am confident will reveal a lot.

Road Trip!

What: Walter goes on a trip to New Hampshire

Why: As seen in "Live Free or Die," Walter is returning from somewhere sporting a new look and a new name. He clearly has been on the run and is doing his best not to be noticed. I also think it is fitting that this will be the second time that we have been to this Denny's location (also seen in "Face Off" and referenced in "4 Days Out"), which now seems symbolic of being the place to go for a meal after some murder. However, the biggest clues as to why he went to New Hampshire lie in the episode titles: "Live Free or Die" is the state's motto and "Granite State" is its nickname. While there is a good chance that there is a double entendre, it at least points to a departure of some sort. In fact, there is a picture of Jesse sporting some handcuffs (look closely at the wrist), which suggests that the show will have a jailbreak of some sort. It is also interesting that the episode prior to "Granite State" is called "Ozymandias," which is a poem about the fall of a conqueror, which would suggest that Walter is officially out of leverage and is just skipping town for some reason.

Bonus: With "Granite State" being the second-to-last episode, I believe that the show is taking an angle similar to that of season 2 by showing the progressive build-up to "Felina" to keep the story moving while slowly revealing things otherwise impossible to fit into the finale. I believe that "Granite State" will feature something major happening in New Hampshire, or at very least Walter trying to forget his past. 

Jessica Hecht

Gray Matter is Part of the Downfall

What: Walter will try to take over Gray Matter, but fail miserably.

Why: It is something that has been established since the beginning. In "Gray Matter," it is revealed that Walter created a company that he was eventually shut out of. Through the seasons, we have gotten small clues, including how Gretchen (Jessica Hecht) used to be a love interest. Also established in "Buyout" is that the company makes billions and that Walter checks the stock market every day. Along with claiming to be the motivation behind his behavior, this festering is probably his biggest goal: to have enough leverage to stick it to his Gray Matter coworkers. Despite clues slowly falling out, I believe that there is going to be the big reveal as to WHY Walter despises Gray Matter even if they have been nothing but nice to him. 

Also, I believe that while he insulted Gretchen in "Peekaboo," that she is the definition of the final episode's title: "Felina." The show has been keen on recognizing cultural references from "Abiquiu" being where Georgia O'Keeffe has an exhibit and "Gliding Over All" being a Walt Whitman poem title. Both tie nicely into the show and "Felina" may be one of the more subtle ones. Besides being Spanish for female, it is also the title of a Marty Robbins song "Feleena (From El Paso)." It is part of a trio of songs about El Paso in which Feleena plays a major part as a love interest. In fact, the song states that the hero hides out in New Mexico. Also, Hank worked in El Paso for a brief period in "Negro y Azul." 

As "Dead Freight" proved, the show has a tendency towards western themes, and the Robbins song feels poignant in that sense. It may vaguely tie into the story and reveal that Walter is really in love with Gretchen. Also, his obsession with checking trade papers suggests that he was waiting for the right moment to rob them and have ultimate power. Also, he could be robbed blind and does it out of desperation. He is trying to impress a woman and while Vince Gilligan's insistence that this is similar to Scarface, I feel like Gray Matter is only a sidestep into his ultimate downfall. While I believe this will be his "ultimate heist" to top "Dead Freight," there is something coming afterwards of bigger fear.

The Ultimate Shootout

What: Walter goes out in a blaze of gunfire

Why: Tying back into the Marty Robbins theory, I believe that the ending will end with Walter dying in someone's arms. Someone that means the world to him. As the title suggests, it is probably a woman. Skyler? Gretchen? Someone we haven't met? I also have this budding theory that the show is going to become cyclical to "Pilot" in very subtle ways. As established in "One Minute," Hank is unable to arrest Jesse after beating him up under false pretenses. The two hate each other, but what are the odds that they team up to take down the great Heisenberg? In the show's early days, Krazy-8 (Max Arciniega) was revealed to be a snitch for the D.E.A., even if Hank considered him a lowlife. Based on the vague thoughts that Hank has shared about Jesse, there's a good chance that he can be a Krazy-8 type who busts Walter when he is least expecting it.

Also, as "Pilot" opened with, it is possible for this to be the moment when the whole world knows that Walter was in fact this drug kingpin. He reveals himself to the world and now has nothing. His great plan to not be found out ends up with him dead and removed of whatever honor he had before he was 50. Jesse, as compensation, gets to live a somewhat normal life and Hank gets transferred to El Paso after taking down the biggest case in Albuquerque history. He raises Walt Jr. as Flynn in order to try and be a better father than Walter ever was.

I know that there are some things that I didn't cover. Who will become victim of the ricin? Are there any bugs that Walter didn't know about? What is Walter doing in "To'hajiilee"? Again, these are just thoughts and theories. I am sure that they will be proven wrong, but I will miss having this puzzle in my life of Breaking Bad: The Ending, to keep me entertained. Anyways, 10 days to go! As Gus (Giancarlo Esposito) would say: Do it!