"Felina" is the sixteenth episode of the fifth season of Breaking Bad and the sixty-second episode of the series altogether. It is the final episode of the series.
With police searching for him in New Hampshire, Walter White finds an unlocked car, its windows covered in snow, and gets inside. Suffering from the cold weather, he searches for something to start the engine. In the glove compartment, he finds a Marty Robbins music tape and a screwdriver. He tries to use the screwdriver to start the car, but fails after several attempts. The flickering lights of a police car appear, though Walt can't be seen from outside because of the snow covering all the windows. As a flashlight passes over the car, Walt quietly pleads, "Just get me home. I'll do the rest." The police car leaves without further inspection, and after a moment of intuition, Walt finds the car keys above the visor. He starts the car, knocks the snow off the windows, and begins his drive back to Albuquerque.
Summary
Walt sets a meeting with his former business partners.
Somewhere in the New Mexico desert, Walt is driving down the road when he stops at a gas station to fill up the tank. He uses a pay phone and poses as a journalist from the New York Times doing a story on Elliott Schwartz and Gretchen Schwartz; he says that he will send his photographer to take some pictures for the newspaper and asks for the Schwartzes' new address. He also learns that they are getting back home that night from their interview with Charlie Rose in New York. After thanking for the information and hanging up, Walt leaves his watch — the birthday gift from Jesse Pinkman ("Fifty-One") — on top of the phone and takes off.
Later that night, Elliott and Gretchen come home to their luxurious country residence talking about pizzas and their common interests; they fail to spot Walt sitting by the garden just waiting for their arrival. As the Schwartzes walk to the kitchen to prepare dinner, Walt closes the main door and follows them inside the house. Amused by the luxury, Walt analyzes some pictures on a counter as Gretchen walks into the living room and screams as she spots him. Elliott comes to her aid and Walt casually greets the couple and compliments their new home. Walt mentions that the couple must have a great view of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains because of their location. He tells them that he watched their interview on Charlie Rose and says that he has "something" for them in his car, asking them to help him unload it. Elliott tries to protect Gretchen with a cheese knife but Walt just scoffs, "if we're gonna go that way, you'll need a bigger knife."
Minutes later, the three of them finish bringing the $9.72 million in cash from Walt's trunk and pile the last of it on the coffee table. Walt tells them exactly how much money there is and that the Schwartzes will give it to Walter Jr. on his 18th birthday in ten months. Gretchen scoffs, saying that it would make no sense for them to give Walt's family all that money for no reason, but Walt explains that they're already giving millions to help recovering addicts and it would make total sense for them to support his son because of his "monstrous father." Walt orders Elliott and Gretchen not to pay any taxes or fees with their own money. They must use Walt's money only and his hope is that Walter Jr. will use the money for college and to take care of Skyler and Holly. Walt shakes hands with the couple to confirm the deal and then he turns to the window and signals outside to two "assassins", who train their laser sights on Elliott and Gretchen. Walt informs the couple that he took $200,000 from the barrel to hire the two best hitmen west of the Mississippi: If Walt Jr. doesn't get the money on his birthday, or if the couple squeal to the DEA, they will eventually be killed. Walt signals again and the assassins turn off their lasers. He tells Elliott and Gretchen that this is their chance to make things right and then leaves the house.
Down the street from the Schwartzes' house, Walt stops his car and picks up the "assassins," who turn out to be Jesse's two former sidekicks, Skinny Pete and Badger, who give Walt back the two laser pointers used to threaten Elliott and Gretchen. The two say they feel uncomfortable with what they did. Walt gives them $10,000 each and they instantly feel better. Walt asks them if it's true that Blue Sky is still being manufactured and distributed, which they confirm, thinking that the manufacturer was Walt all this time. Walt determines that Jesse is still alive and cooking.
Jesse remains as a meth slave-cook for the White Supremacist Gang.
In a dreamlike moment, a younger and happier Jesse is finishing a wooden box for his woodworking class back in high school ("Kafkaesque"). The box is perfect and Jesse enjoys the smell of it as he gives it the final touches. A second later he wakes up from this daydream, bearded and scarred, still a prisoner of the White Supremacist Gang, cooking meth for them in the warehouse. The following day — Walt's 52nd birthday — Walt stops by a Denny's to meet with Lawson and purchases the M60 machine gun ("Live Free or Die") and later drives back to his old home, now abandoned and in ruins, to retrieve the ricin hidden inside the bedroom ("Blood Money"). Before leaving the house, Walt stops in the middle of the empty living room and reminisces about his 50th birthday, when Hank Schrader invited him for a DEA ride-along that catalyzed his journey into the meth business ("Pilot").
Walt's discussion with Lydia and Todd as a ploy to poison Lydia with ricin.
Lydia Rodarte-Quayle enters her usual café with luggage, orders a chamomile tea, and picks out the last Stevia packet from her table. Todd Alquist joins her shortly after and they start a conversation where Todd awkwardly tries to compliment Lydia's clothes. Suddenly, Walt pulls up a chair and joins them, telling them that he only needs two minutes to give them a new offer. Lydia is frightened and tries to leave, but Walt holds her by the arm and begs for just two minutes of her time. She gets back in her chair and Walt tells them that he can do the math and he knows they are almost out of methylamine. He tells them that he's found a way to cook meth without the methylamine, and he is willing to teach Todd this new formula for only $1 million which he says is nothing compared to what they would earn. Walt informs them that he needs the money as soon as possible because he needs to keep running from the authorities. Lydia asks Walt how he knew to find them there and he points out that Lydia is a creature of habit and that they used to have this same meeting at the same time every week ("Gliding Over All"). Lydia tells Walt that he can meet with the neo-Nazis to discuss the subject further. Todd tries to protest but Lydia interrupts him, saying that the meeting will happen during the evening. When the waiter returns with Lydia's tea, she asks what Walt and Todd would like to order, but Lydia says that Walt is just leaving. He gets up and walks out of the café. As Lydia stirs her Stevia into her tea, she tells Todd that they can't indulge Walt's request for their own safety. Lydia states that the best thing to do is to kill Walt, which she includes that it would be doing him a favor, considering his physical condition.
In the New Mexican desert, Walt's M60 and instruction booklet are laid out as he builds a device with a garage door opener connected to a car battery. He switches on the machine remotely with his car lock remote. The contraption starts rotating back and forth and he smiles in approval. He then notices his wedding band, hanging from his makeshift necklace, and focuses on his next course of action.
Walt says his farewell to Skyler.
Skyler White sits in her cramped apartment, smoking a cigarette. Marie Schrader calls and tells her that Walt is back in town; the vehicle he stole in New Hampshire was found parked at the local Denny's. She also reports Walt was spotted by their old neighbor Carol, walking out of the White's abandoned house and greeting her like nothing was wrong ("Blood Money"). Skyler asks if Walt hurt anyone and Marie states that as far as the police know nothing has happened until now. However, many absurd phone calls are being made to the DEA. Marie tells Skyler she is sure that there are only three things Walt would be after back in Albuquerque: Herself, Jr., or Skyler. Marie tells her that some agents are coming to watch her house and another group is watching Jr.'s school in case Walt shows up. She then tells Skyler to be safe and hangs up. The camera pans to reveal that Walt was inside the room the entire time and Skyler tells him that he has five minutes. He tells her that whatever happens by the end of the day, he wanted to give her a proper goodbye and that his last phone call to her ("Ozymandias") was no way to end things. Skyler worries that Walt's return will put her in danger again, telling him about the masked men who threatened her ("Granite State"). Walt assures Skyler that, after tonight, those men won't bother her any more. She asks if Walt is going to turn himself in to the police and Walt responds that "the police will come for me." He also decides to tell Skyler his motive for cooking meth but she interrupts him, complaining that she doesn't want to hear that he did it for the family one more time, but Walt finally truthfully tells her that he built his Drug Empire for himself, not for the family, and that he liked it. "I was alive." He gives Skyler the lottery ticket ("Buried") and tells her to call the police as soon as he leaves. She must tell the police that he broke into her apartment, ordered her to make bacon and eggs for his birthday, and gave her that lottery ticket. He tells her the numbers on the ticket are GPS coordinates that will take them to the burial site of Hank and Steve Gomez. He tells her to trade this information for a deal with the DEA to finally clear her of any possible accusations so she can go on with her life. As a final request, Walt asks to see Holly one last time, and Skyler allows him to do so. After leaving the place, Walt watches from afar as Walt Jr. comes home from school and enters the apartment, not disturbing him.
Walt meets with Jack.
That night, Walt drives to the neo-Nazi's compound and is greeted by Kenny, who is quietly amused by Walt's newly acquired vehicle. He drives into the compound as Kenny tells him to park the car next to the others, but instead Walt parks the car parallel to the front of the main building. Kenny wonders why Walt does this but accepts it and gets out with Walt. Walt is frisked by Frankie, and his keys and wallet are taken from him, they also make Walt lift up his shirt and spin around to show them that he is not wearing any wire. They enter the building and Walt is greeted by Jack Welker, who sarcastically compliments Walt's head of hair, also saying the rest of him "looks like shit." Walt asks Jack if they have a deal for his new meth-cooking method, but Jack informs him that they are not even in the business anymore. Walt knows that Jack is lying, he insists that soon they will run out of methylamine, and they won't be able to produce the required product they need. Walt tries to get some support from Todd, but Todd apologizes and says they can't do anything to help Walt. Jack laughingly declines the offer, saying Lydia can get them more methylamine from Madrigal Electromotive whenever they need it. Todd tells Walt that he shouldn't have come back, and Kenny puts a gun to his head. Jack tells Kenny to kill Walt anywhere but his living room. Before they can take him outside and kill him, Walt insults Jack, calling him a liar because he hasn't killed Jesse like he was hired to do, and accusing him of partnering with Jesse who Walt knows is cooking the gang's meth. Infuriated by Walt's accusation, Jack says he is going to show Walt how much of a "partner" Jesse really is and orders Todd to bring Jesse in. Todd says that they can't bring him out of the meth lab because he is cooking a batch. But Jack angrily tells Todd to hurry up so they can be done with this, after which he tells Walt that he will personally shoot Walt in the head.
Walt's M60 machine gun, concealed within his trunk, opens fire.
Todd takes Jesse, bound in handcuffs and anklecuffs, out of the meth lab and the two head for the main building. Meanwhile, Jack and the others are waiting with Walt inside the gang's clubhouse. During this distraction, Walt is able to discreetly retrieve the car keys with the remote control from the pool table behind him. Jesse is brought to the room and Jack tells Walt to take a good look at Jesse, saying that he'd never partner with a rat. Walt approaches the ragged Jesse, inspecting his former partner. Understanding that Jesse is a captive, and not willilngly complicit in the gang's meth production, Walt feigns anger and tackles Jesse to the floor. The neo-Nazis are amused and start laughing at the struggle. Kenny jokes as Todd tries to get Walt off of Jesse, but Walt pushes the trunk-open button on the car remote control. Outside, the trunk of the car opens, exposing the mounted machine gun. It automatically starts to open fire, oscillating on the garage door opener's motor, and rips through the vehicle and building. The rain of bullets causes mayhem inside the clubhouse room, quickly killing Kenny, Frankie, Matt and Lester. Todd is already on the ground with Walter and Jesse, safe from the gunfire, but Jack is seriously injured by a bullet to the abdomen. Walt covers Jesse as the machine gun continues to fire bullets through the wall and windows, but a stray bullet hits Walt in the abdomen. After the automatic M60 runs out of ammo, Todd crawls to the window to investigate what happened. Jesse jumps up and starts to strangle Todd with the chain of his handcuffs. The two men struggle on the ground until Todd's neck snaps and his body falls limp. As Jesse searches Todd's pockets for the keys to his handcuffs, Walt slowly gets up and grabs a handgun that Jack dropped. He approaches the now bleeding and defenseless neo-Nazi leader who is lying on the floor. Jack casually grabs his cigarette and tries to bargain for his life, telling Walt he'll never find his money if he pulls the trigger, but Walt interrupts him with a bullet to the head, killing the man responsible for murdering his brother-in-law.
Walt asks Jesse to shoot him.
Jesse unlocks his hand-and foot-cuffs and gets up, now facing Walt, who still has the pistol in hand. After an intense and silent stare, Walt slides his gun to his former student, who picks it up and aims at Walt. Walt tells him "you want this" to which Jesse replies that he won't pull the trigger unless Walt says he wants it. Walt admits "I want this," but Jesse notices Walt is bleeding from his side. He drops the gun and tells Walt to do it himself. As Jesse is walking out, Todd's phone starts ringing. Walt searches for it in Todd's pockets and answers the call. On the line, a seriously ill Lydia is calling Todd to ask if Walt has been killed yet. Walt tells her that Todd and the entire White Supremacist gang are gone. He asks if she is feeling "under the weather," as if she has the flu. He then reveals that he poisoned her with ricin, putting it in the Stevia that she put in her tea earlier at the café. Lydia is horrified by this news and Walt says goodbye and throws the phone to the ground.
Walt succumbs to his injury and dies.
Jesse and Walt share one last look of gratitude as the two nod farewell to one another. Jesse gets in Todd's car and plows through the gates of the compound to freedom, laughing and crying hysterically. Blood drips from Walt's abdomen, soaking his shirt. As the police approach Walt walks into the compound's meth lab which contains his old empire's industrial chemical equipment. It has been almost a year since he set foot in a meth lab. Jesse was interrupted during a cook, so Walt walks among the equipment, tapping gauges and checking temperatures as he reminisces over his glory days of cooking. He makes no adjustments; Jesse is cooking a perfect batch of meth - Walt has succeeded as both a chemist and a teacher. He braces himself on a tank with a bloody hand and a smile on his face. Knowing that his family is safe and financially secure, Walt falls to the floor and dies serenely staring at the ceiling with his arms spread out from his body. Walter Hartwell White is found dead by a group of police officers, ironically, in the same place where he felt alive.
Credits
Main Cast
- Bryan Cranston as Walter White
- Anna Gunn as Skyler White
- Aaron Paul as Jesse Pinkman
- Dean Norris as Hank Schrader (flashback only)
- Betsy Brandt as Marie Schrader
- RJ Mitte as Walter White Jr.
- Bob Odenkirk as Saul Goodman (credit only)
- Laura Fraser as Lydia Rodarte-Quayle
- Jesse Plemons as Todd Alquist
Supporting Cast
- Matt L. Jones as Brandon "Badger" Mayhew
- Charles Baker as Skinny Pete
- Michael Bowen as Jack Welker
- Kevin Rankin as Kenny
- Adam Godley as Elliott Schwartz
- Jessica Hecht as Gretchen Schwartz
- Patrick Sane as Frankie
- Tait Fletcher as Lester
- Matthew T. Metzler as Matt
- Alex Gianopoulos as Waiter
- Steve Stafford as DEA Agent
- Steven Michael Quezada as Steven Gomez (Flashback Only, Uncredited)
- Monique Candelaria as Lucy (Flashback Only, Uncredited)
Trivia
- The title "Felina" is a reference to the 1959 song "El Paso" by Western music artist Marty Robbins. The song concerns an unnamed cowboy who falls in love with a woman named Felina, gets shot by his enemies, and dies in her arms. The song plays in Walt's stolen car in New Hampshire, and is later hummed by Walt as he assembles the M60.
- "Felina" is an anagram for "finale", and is also the feminine version of the word "feline" in Italian, Portuguese and Spanish.
- That "Felina" is a portmanteau of "Fe", "Li" and "Na", the symbols for iron, lithium and sodium, or shorthand for "blood, meth and tears" is a common misconception. Lithium is not used in any of the cooking processes shown in the series. It is actually sweat not meth.
- Walt's reflection on the lab equipment is distorted in such a way that he appears to have a goatee and a shaved head.
- Carol compares Walt's appearance to the Unabomber, real name Ted Kaczynski, a terrorist who evaded capture for 17 years despite a federal investigation but who was eventually caught after his sister-in-law and his brother became suspicious of him; this parallels with Hank & Marie's role in catching Heisenberg. Similar to Heisenberg, Kaczynski was also a highly-educated & intelligent mathematician who spent a significant portion of his life living in a remote cabin. Carol's comparison also contrasts with Saul Goodman's comparison of Walt's appearance to that of D. B. Cooper in "Better Call Saul"; D. B. Cooper, who stole $200,000 from airline passengers in 1971, was never caught.
- The device Walt used to control the M60 is a Chinese made UN-4001 Central Car Lock System, a remote-controlled central car lock. The letters UN on the box is covered by a bar code sticker, but largely uncensored. It is the only Chinese product in the show to be shown as Chinese. Statistically, it is the most commonly used remote car lock in China.
- The outfit Walt wears when he arrives at the compound is identical to what he wore in "Pilot" (pastel jacket, green button-up shirt, white undershirt, beige slacks). He begins and ends the series in the same clothes.
- While assembling the M60, Walt hums "El Paso" to himself, after hearing it playing in his car at the beginning of the episode. This could be a callback to when he hummed "Horse With No Name" to himself after hearing it playing in his car in "Caballo Sin Nombre".
- Todd Alquist, Walter White and Lydia Rodarte-Quayle are, in sequence, the fourth, fifth and sixth main characters to die.
- Jack's death mirrors Hank's; as Hank was shot by Jack as Walt offered Jack all his money to spare him, Jack is shot by Walt attempting to offer him his money back to spare him. They were also both shot in the head midsentence.
- Being a recurring element throughout the show, Lydia is the only person to have been successfully killed with ricin.
- Several takes were shot of Walt's blood stained hand sliding down the stainless steel tank. Vince Gilligan selected the one where a "W" (for Walter White) is created by the smear.
- The lyrics "A deep burning pain in my side" in the song "El Paso" parallels what happens to Walt towards the end of this episode.
- The lyrics "The special love I had for you, my baby blue" in the song "Baby Blue" by Badfinger reflect on Walt's actual love and respect for his own exclusive signature product Blue Sky.
- Vince Gilligan explained that The Searchers heavily influenced the final standoff between Walt and Jesse. Gilligan believes that Walt was intending to kill Jesse, but when he saw the state his former partner was in, Walt couldn’t do it.
- There was one scene cut from the finale script for budget and time reasons. It took place at the gas station after Walt makes the call in which he pretends he's the Times reporter. In it, a former student of Walt recognizes him. Walt pays him off and threatens him to make sure he doesn't rat him out. But before leaving the former student, he asks, "What kind of teacher was I?" The former student replies, "You were good" and then says he remembered the time Walt sprayed different chemicals at a flame and it made different colors.
- Walt's last word is 'Lydia'.
- Some fans still joke about whether or not Huell is still sitting in the safe house, for Hank never told him it was safe for him to leave.
- The license plate of the Cadillac reads "JG8-516", whereas "516" is a hint for this episode, which is the sixteenth episode of the fifth season.
- The entire series began and ended with sirens heading towards Walter.
Production
- Viewership: This episode was watched by 10.28 million people on its premiere night, up from the previous high, "Granite State", which had 6.58 million. This makes "Felina" the most watched episode in the series's history.[1]
- The finale also set new records on Twitter, with 1.24 million tweets from 601,370 unique users during the live broadcast of both the EST and PST telecasts. The Breaking Bad finale hit a peak of 22,373 "tweets"-per-minute as the final episode began on the East Coast. Popular Breaking Bad-related Twitter tags included: "#BreakingBad", "#BreakingBadFinale", and "#GoodbyeBreakingBad"; all of which were trending on Twitter that night.
- Bob Odenkirk (Saul Goodman) does not appear in this episode.
- RJ Mitte (Walter White Jr.) does not have any speaking lines in this episode.
- Vince Gilligan had Walt leave his watch at the gas station for continuity reasons, as he wasn't wearing it during the flashforwards in earlier episodes.[2] ("Live Free or Die") ("Blood Money")
- Leaving the Tag Heuer watch may also be symbolic that "time has run out" for Walt, or it may be symbolic of Walt leaving behind his prideful, selfish, "Heisenberg" self, who was overly focused on greed and power, symbolized by the watch. Many of Heisenberg's worst actions were taken after he received the watch as a gift.
- Gilligan almost didn't get to use Baby Blue, but the music supervisor said it was the best choice in the end.
- The song Baby Blue by Badfinger saw a 9000% increase in streams, and more than 5000 Itunes sales the night Felina aired, putting it in the top 20 iTunes songs 40 years after it was initially released.
- In the final scene between Skyler and Walt:
- Anna Gunn wore oversized clothing (like Cranston often does) to make her look like a "shrunken person" and a "shadow of her former self."
- The shot of Skyler reflected in the microwave was completely accidental. Gilligan admits not knowing he got it until the editor complimented it.
- The camera operator cried shooting the final Skyler and Walt scene, and had to take his eye off the eyepiece.
Featured Music
- "El Paso" by Marty Robbins (Playing from a cassette in Walt's stolen car, later muttered by Walt as he sets up his machine gun rig)
- "Ballet Music No. 1. Allegretto (Mouvement de valse) [From the opera, "Faust"] by Charles-François Gounod" by Louis De Froment et l'Orchestre symphonique de Radio Télé Luxembourg (when the Schwartzes arrive home)
- "Ballet Music No. 2. Adagio [From the opera, "Faust"] by Charles-François Gounod" by Louis De Froment et l'Orchestre symphonique de Radio Télé Luxembourg (when Elliot threatens Walt)
- "Love is Running Through Me (aka Running Through Me)" by Javaroo (Reprised from "Live Free or Die" as Walt celebrates 52)
- "Unknown Track #2" by Unknown Artist (when Todd & Lydia meet in the café)
- "Lydia the Tattooed Lady [From the film, "At the Circus" by Marx Bros]" by Harold Arlen and Yip Harburg (Todd's custom ringtone for Lydia)
- "Baby Blue" by Badfinger (As Walt dies and the police arrive)
Promo
- "Line of Fire" by Junip
Videos
Notes
- ↑ TV by the Numbers
- ↑ Talking Bad episode 8, originally broadcast September 29, 2013
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