# Breaking Bad 5.16 "Felina" 9/29/13 SERIES FINALE **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 24, 2013, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-bad-5-16-felina-9-29-13-series-finale/669591 "2013-09-24T17:31:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 20
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2013, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-bad-5-16-felina-9-29-13-series-finale/669591/381 "2013-09-30T16:09:17Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > I haven’t listened to the podcast and maybe they’ll address it there, but if that’s the case I wonder if they had to ‘photoshop’ it. It seemed way too clear to be reflection in a microwave. Especially the kind of cheap one you’d find in a cheap apartment like that (that is, one that doesn’t have a nice glass front). Maybe the prop microwave is somehow different, but he really made it sound like they discovered it during editing and went with it. ---
**Author:** ![Subterraneanus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Subterraneanus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Subterraneanus)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2013, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-bad-5-16-felina-9-29-13-series-finale/669591/382 "2013-09-30T16:10:15Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > Basically this - love the show, and in no way want to rain on the parade of the finale, but I am still digesting how it ended. That was a jab at those who want to rationalize art. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2013, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-bad-5-16-felina-9-29-13-series-finale/669591/383 "2013-09-30T16:11:12Z")
> [@drastic\_quench](#): > > …Walt’s moment of anagnorisis in the with Skyler was the crux of the episode… > [@WordMan](#): > > Ah - I did not know that word. Shouldn’t **Drastic** win something for stumping the WordMan? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Subterraneanus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Subterraneanus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Subterraneanus)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2013, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-bad-5-16-felina-9-29-13-series-finale/669591/384 "2013-09-30T16:14:08Z")
> [@Martin\_Hyde](#): > > This is a fictional drama. Hyperrealism is a style, but it isn’t a requirement for good drama. In fact, most drama requires strong suspension of disbelief, even the best works in fiction. > > It isn’t a flaw for improbable things to happen, as long as they “make sense” in the context of the world and the characters that the creator has set in place. If only probable things happened, it wouldn’t really be entertainment, it’d be like a fictional documentary. Thank you. ---
**Author:** ![Erdosain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/erdosain/32/7284_2.png) [@Erdosain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Erdosain)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2013, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-bad-5-16-felina-9-29-13-series-finale/669591/385 "2013-09-30T16:20:26Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > The meth was bagged up, placed in green barrels of what looked like oil at the lab, then it was transported to Madrigal whereupon the barrels were FedEx’d to Europe. The only thing I’m not 100% certain on is how the meth got from the lab to the shipping facility, but I presume Todd drove it there. > > Lydia handled the Madrigal end - in an earlier episode there is a scene of her putting the FedEx sticker on the barrels and making sure they got on the truck. I have to disagree here. No way the Nazis were providing the barrels or the chemicals inside them. Those were Madrigal barrels with Madrigal chemicals being sent to Madrigal companies in the Czech republic. Lydia put the blue in the barrels, then put on the shipping label. We know from the show that Lydia and Walt met in person once a week. To me, there can be no other possible explanation for that fact. All that being said, I’d have to watch the “Crystal Blue Persuasion” montage again to see if you can tell who is sealing the barrels. ---
**Author:** ![Subterraneanus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Subterraneanus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Subterraneanus)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2013, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-bad-5-16-felina-9-29-13-series-finale/669591/386 "2013-09-30T16:22:07Z")
> [@Unauthorized\_Cinnamon](#): > > Last night I was reflecting on this type of thing. There were a lot of improbable, if not preposterous, events: > [ul] > [li]Walt evading the police in the first place[/li][li]Walt getting into the Schwartz’s so easily[/li][li]The LEOs only watching the front of Skyler’s place, so Walt could get in the back[/li][li]The Aryan Brotherhood not checking the trunk[/li][li]The AB not killing Walt immediately[/li][/ul] > > And really, the series is full of equally problematic developments. > > I think it comes down to this: get the characters and the emotions right, and the audience will carry a LOT of disbelief for you on things like this. It’s necessary for Walt to talk to Skyler and see Holly and Flynn, so he can. As long as the scene in the house is effective (and BTW, did Gilligan use that pillar brilliantly, or what?) and the interactions ring true, I for one will happily gloss over the difficult plot bits. And I think a lot of viewers are the same. It’s art, ffs, not an exposition. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2013, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-bad-5-16-felina-9-29-13-series-finale/669591/387 "2013-09-30T16:22:27Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > Walt getting to resolve things and die with his Baby Blue definitely _works_ - but does it get to the heart of the tragedy of Walt’s pride? And how important was it to do that? I think one point the show always drove home is that you can’t undo what’s been done. A big part of Walt’s “victory” was stopping things from getting any worse for his family and dying on his own terms. (He did also, maybe, succeed in getting his money to his family.) > [@WordMan](#): > > Oh, and was it just me, or when Skyler was on the phone and the camera lingered on shots of her with her cigarette - didn’t you want her long, blonde hair to fall in front of one eye, like Veronica Lake in a 1940’s hard-boiled noir film? She looked downright _sultry_. She’s a good looking woman, but I thought she still looked like she was in hell. Which reminds me that Walt’s “I did it for me” admission was a real kindness. His rationalization of doing everything for his family must have been a horrible burden for Skyler. Imagine someone using _you_ as a rationalization for the kinds of things Walt did. She still has a ton of things to grapple with, but she doesn’t have to live with Walt hanging all of that on her and their children. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2013, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-bad-5-16-felina-9-29-13-series-finale/669591/388 "2013-09-30T16:23:44Z")
Naw, you’re right - it’s a Madrigal guy who is putting the meth in the barrels. You can see it at 1:21 in this video: [breaking bad - crystal blue persuasion - YouTube](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nxY2cFWqtao) Looking further, at 2:08 you see the meth being given out in the desert, then right after that a couple of shots of Lydia and Walt meeting, with Walt walking out of a place (coffee shop?) with the bag that Lydia carried in. ---
**Author:** ![Subterraneanus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Subterraneanus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Subterraneanus)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2013, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-bad-5-16-felina-9-29-13-series-finale/669591/389 "2013-09-30T16:31:31Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > Oh, yeah - totally. But, as I mentioned up thread, BB ultimately didn’t go _full Shakespeare_ - the ending wouldn’t leave Walt dead knowing his loved ones were taken care of. He would’ve had everything ripped from him. > > And, as I mentioned upthread, I am still figuring out how I feel about that. And, I suppose, I love the fact that Breaking Bad has been so flippin’ excellent that I find myself so invested in thinking it through. Great experience. Tragedy begins with the Greeks. Think more Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides, and less Shakespeare. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2013, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-bad-5-16-felina-9-29-13-series-finale/669591/390 "2013-09-30T16:32:03Z")
How do you think Lydia was traveling from Houston to Albuquerque weekly for the money-for-meth exchange? If she flew, the bag would have been x-rayed, which might have revealed the contents. But it’s a _long_ drive. ---
**Author:** ![nivlac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/3bc359/32.png) [@nivlac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nivlac)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2013, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-bad-5-16-felina-9-29-13-series-finale/669591/391 "2013-09-30T16:35:48Z")
> [@Enright3](#): > > Not really. Have you ever driven out in the country (or the desert in this case)? > > Unless Jesse knows the GPS coordinates; it’s extremely easy to believe he could never find them even after searching for years and years. Actually I recall Jesse pointing out that that was the same location where Walt and he did their first cook. So Jesse knows the location, at least the general vicinity. ---
**Author:** ![Duke\_of\_Rat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Duke\_of\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke_of_Rat)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2013, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-bad-5-16-felina-9-29-13-series-finale/669591/392 "2013-09-30T16:37:18Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > How do you think Lydia was traveling from Houston to Albuquerque weekly for the money-for-meth exchange? If she flew, the bag would have been x-rayed, which might have revealed the contents. But it’s a _long_ drive. Private or company plane, maybe? And a non sequitur about a line that I laugh about every time I hear “ricin”. Ricin beans? ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2013, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-bad-5-16-felina-9-29-13-series-finale/669591/393 "2013-09-30T16:38:56Z")
The wife and I _just_ watched this final episode. We were blown away like neo-Nazis who crossed Walter White. I haven’t made it through this entire thread, but … > [@Stephe96](#): > > Minor quibble: Drew Sharp’s parents will never know what happened to their boy. Sad. Not necessarily. Jesse may find a way to let the family know, including where the kid is buried. Maybe an anonymous phone call pinning it on Mr. White. > [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > How do you think Lydia was traveling from Houston to Albuquerque weekly for the money-for-meth exchange? If she flew, the bag would have been x-rayed, which might have revealed the contents. But it’s a _long_ drive. Could she maybe have used a private company plane? ---
**Author:** ![zoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zoid/32/336_2.png) [@zoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoid)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2013, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-bad-5-16-felina-9-29-13-series-finale/669591/394 "2013-09-30T16:41:45Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > How do you think Lydia was traveling from Houston to Albuquerque weekly for the money-for-meth exchange? If she flew, the bag would have been x-rayed, which might have revealed the contents. But it’s a _long_ drive. I was wondering about that too. What’s she gonna tell her boss? “I’m gonna need Tuesday mornings off” “For how long?” “Indefinitely” Or perhaps the corruption runs so thoroughly through Madrigal that her boss wouldn’t even ask? ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2013, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-bad-5-16-felina-9-29-13-series-finale/669591/395 "2013-09-30T16:44:06Z")
Or she has a cover story or ranks high enough in the company that she doesn’t need to explain where she is. Head of Logistics sounds like a pretty important position. ---
**Author:** ![phungi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/phungi/32/395_2.png) [@phungi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phungi)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2013, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-bad-5-16-felina-9-29-13-series-finale/669591/396 "2013-09-30T16:47:48Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > And let’s add: The AB agreeing to bring Jesse up to the “clubhouse” Agreed: my only (albeit minor) quip with the finale was the plot line required to bring Jesse out of the lab: “Oh, I’ll kill you, Walt, but I won’t have you die thinking I am a liar! Get Jesse up here!” ---
**Author:** ![Unauthorized\_Cinnamon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/bc8723/32.png) [@Unauthorized\_Cinnamon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unauthorized_Cinnamon)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2013, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-bad-5-16-felina-9-29-13-series-finale/669591/397 "2013-09-30T16:48:11Z")
> [@Subterraneanus](#): > > It’s art, ffs, not an exposition. Are people thinking that I’m complaining about the improbable bits and demanding hyperrealism? Because I was attempting to make the exact opposite argument - some viewers may complain about implausibility, but what really matters is the storytelling. I agree with \*\*Martin Hyde’s \*\*comments completely. No one wants a story where people have to stop and use the toilet every few hours, everyone has to vacuum and dust, and people get killed in random accidents, rather than thematically satisfying denouements. ---
**Author:** ![Subterraneanus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Subterraneanus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Subterraneanus)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2013, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-bad-5-16-felina-9-29-13-series-finale/669591/398 "2013-09-30T16:50:47Z")
> [@Unauthorized\_Cinnamon](#): > > Are people thinking that I’m complaining about the improbable bits and demanding hyperrealism? Because I was attempting to make the exact opposite argument - some viewers may complain about implausibility, but what really matters is the storytelling. I agree with \*\*Martin Hyde’s \*\*comments completely. No one wants a story where people have to stop and use the toilet every few hours, everyone has to vacuum and dust, and people get killed in random accidents, rather than thematically satisfying denouements. Sorry if I misunderstood you. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2013, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-bad-5-16-felina-9-29-13-series-finale/669591/399 "2013-09-30T16:52:10Z")
Did anyone else notice Jesse’s Justin Beiber haircut? Daryl from The Walking Dead ended up with that one about halfway through the series too. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2013, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-bad-5-16-felina-9-29-13-series-finale/669591/400 "2013-09-30T16:53:48Z")
> [@Unauthorized\_Cinnamon](#): > > (I admit I just really want Drew’s parents to at least know what happened and that he didn’t suffer, isn’t currently enslaved, etc.) They end up adopting Brock, so all is back to status quo. But they don’t get him a motorcycle. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-bad-5-16-felina-9-29-13-series-finale/669591.md?page=19) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-bad-5-16-felina-9-29-13-series-finale/669591.md?page=21)