# 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:** 29
**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:** [October 1, 2013, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-bad-5-16-felina-9-29-13-series-finale/669591/561 "2013-10-01T02:28:12Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > Shallow in what context? They were coming home after going out to dinner. What would non-shallow people be talking about? World Peace? World Hunger? The inevitable collision between the Milky Way and Andromeda galaxies that will surely destroy everything we know? I think compared to the intesity and darkness of everything else we were seeing it just seemed so _mundane_ in contrast. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2013, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-bad-5-16-felina-9-29-13-series-finale/669591/562 "2013-10-01T02:32:13Z")
> [@IvoryTowerDenizen](#): > > I think compared to the intesity and darkness of everything else we were seeing it just seemed so _mundane_ in contrast. That doesn’t show up the Schwartzes as being shallow or superficial, though. It shows them as merely being normal. ---
**Author:** ![Don\_t\_Panic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/don_t_panic/32/398_2.png) [@Don\_t\_Panic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_t_Panic)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2013, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-bad-5-16-felina-9-29-13-series-finale/669591/563 "2013-10-01T02:32:17Z")
> [@SlackerInc](#): > > Should have bet you! 😉 Damn it, I was hoping no one would mention that. 😛 ---
**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:** [October 1, 2013, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-bad-5-16-felina-9-29-13-series-finale/669591/564 "2013-10-01T02:37:26Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > That doesn’t show up the Schwartzes as being shallow or superficial, though. It shows them as merely being normal. Right- but when everyone around you is immersed in life threatening crises, it just came off as shallow, mundane or normal. It was the contrast that made it seem so. ETA: I’m agreeing with you. I don’t think they’re shallow. It just felt that way. ---
**Author:** ![drastic\_quench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e36b37/32.png) [@drastic\_quench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drastic_quench)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2013, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-bad-5-16-felina-9-29-13-series-finale/669591/565 "2013-10-01T02:39:22Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > Shallow in what context? They were coming home after going out to dinner. What would non-shallow people be talking about? World Peace? World Hunger? The inevitable collision between the Milky Way and Andromeda galaxies that will surely destroy everything we know? Shallow in the context of the dying, deserted meth kingpin Walter White listening in. The man is at both his zenith and nadir at once. The enormity of a man’s entire life can’t be bothered by petty concerns of the day. You’re not going to get [hung up](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=16670809) on “shallow” like you did “psychopath”, are you? ---
**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:** [October 1, 2013, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-bad-5-16-felina-9-29-13-series-finale/669591/566 "2013-10-01T02:41:20Z")
> [@drastic\_quench](#): > > Shallow in the context of the dying, deserted meth kingpin Walter White listening in. The man is at both his zenith and nadir at once. The enormity of a man’s entire life can’t be bothered by petty concerns of the day. > > You’re not going to get [hung up](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=16670809) on “shallow” like you did “psychopath”, are you? Well said. They, themselves, are probably not shallow. To WW looking in, and to the viewer, it certainly feels that way. Perspective, yo. ---
**Author:** ![drastic\_quench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e36b37/32.png) [@drastic\_quench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drastic_quench)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2013, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-bad-5-16-felina-9-29-13-series-finale/669591/567 "2013-10-01T02:41:21Z")
> [@The\_Second\_Stone](#): > > Luckiest except for the cancer and cashing out of Gray Matter and his son having cerebral palsey thing. Heisenberg is lucky because he has no fear of death. He knows he is going to die. And he is smarter and more prepared than anyone he encounters in the generally stupid criminal underworld. Gus Fring was the dangerous equal. Not Hank, Saul, Jack, or Jesse. The dangers to Heisenberg were cancer, Gus and Heisenberg. Mike. The only stupid thing Mike did was fail to “Better Call Saul.” ---
**Author:** ![Krazy-8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Krazy-8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Krazy-8)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2013, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-bad-5-16-felina-9-29-13-series-finale/669591/568 "2013-10-01T02:57:19Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > That doesn’t show up the Schwartzes as being shallow or superficial, though. It shows them as merely being normal. As normal as billionaires can be. ---
**Author:** ![Don\_t\_Panic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/don_t_panic/32/398_2.png) [@Don\_t\_Panic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_t_Panic)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2013, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-bad-5-16-felina-9-29-13-series-finale/669591/569 "2013-10-01T03:01:51Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > The inevitable collision between the Milky Way and Andromeda galaxies that will surely destroy everything we know? [Astronomical nitpick] The collision won’t destroy everything, or indeed anything. Individual stars are light years apart, the closest one to us now is four light years away. Even in the dense galactic centers, stars are a hundreds billion miles apart on average. The odds of one hitting us are, no pun intended, astronomical. The bad news is that the collision will only happen in about four billion years from now, and by then the Sun will already have heated up and destroyed all life on Earth anyway (in about five billion years it will go all-out red giant), so we’ll probably not be here to see it. [/Astronomical nitpick] ---
**Author:** ![Enderw24](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ba9def/32.png) [@Enderw24](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enderw24)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2013, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-bad-5-16-felina-9-29-13-series-finale/669591/570 "2013-10-01T03:08:17Z")
> [@Subterraneanus](#): > > Jesse made it out, but not exactly alive. Tomorrow will be the most beautiful day of Jesse Pinkman’s life. His breakfast will taste better than any meal you and Flynn have ever had. ---
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2013, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-bad-5-16-felina-9-29-13-series-finale/669591/571 "2013-10-01T03:38:20Z")
> [@Washoe](#): > > I know dozens of people who talk just like that. You could call it ‘Southern California affluent housewife-speak.’ These are people who have never had to deal with any traumatic or unpleasant event in their entire lives. Everything that comes out of their mouth is just an endless stream of frivolous banter. Walt even mocked Charles and Camilla’s affectations when he asked “ooh—are we _looking east?_ You must have just a _marvelous_ view of the Sangre de Cristos!” (Yeah, I know that’s not exactly what Walt said. I embellished for effect.) We know everything that comes out of their mouth based on a two minute snippet of conversation… ---
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2013, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-bad-5-16-felina-9-29-13-series-finale/669591/572 "2013-10-01T03:39:50Z")
> [@IvoryTowerDenizen](#): > > Well said. They, themselves, are probably not shallow. To WW looking in, and to the viewer, it certainly feels that way. Perspective, yo. I got that they were maybe innocent, but I don’t equate this with “shallow.” Indeed, I am pretty sure Walt is jealous of their life, (note how much he really does appreciate their home,) and if he was truly convinced they were shallow, he wouldn’t have such jealousy. ---
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2013, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-bad-5-16-felina-9-29-13-series-finale/669591/573 "2013-10-01T03:43:50Z")
> [@Sherrerd](#): > > In short: _ **it’s his peace of mind that bothers us** _. > > I think this could have been repaired by as little as one shot. But there is nothing to repair. We now know, fully, at least as fully as possible, who and what Walter White really is. And feeling guilt or shame at the distal effects of his meth cooking is not a characteristic of that person. If this makes us uncomfortable, this doesn’t tell us anything about how the show should have gone, rather, it tells us something about Walter, about us, and how we relate to him. ---
**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:** [October 1, 2013, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-bad-5-16-felina-9-29-13-series-finale/669591/574 "2013-10-01T03:44:32Z")
> [@The\_Second\_Stone](#): > > I think the fly in the ointment will be Flynn. There is no way he won’t realize what is going on. And Skyler will also realize that Walt lied to her about being out of money. > Question: Did Lydia drink the tea before Walt approached the table? > [@Joey\_P](#): > > I don’t remember and I wanted to rewatch that scene to see if he put the ricin in the stevia or in the tea since that makes a difference. > > If he put it in the Stevia she was dead before she even got there, so was everyone else involved, he just needed a way to get to the nazis. > > If he put it in the tea he may have actually been trying to strike up a deal with Lydia and/or the nazis or at the very least been trying to come up with some cash. I’m wondering if his sin-methlymine method was for real or not. > [@Bob Ducca](#): > > He was there before her and added the ricin to a packet of Stevia, and then left it as the only packet available on her table. She asked to waiter to bring more. > [@Living\_Well\_Is\_Best\_Revenge](#): > > So a nationally wanted fugitive is able to just wander around a restaurant fiddling with packets of sugar? No one asks him questions? No one recognizes him? And how does he get the ricin in the packet and then reseal it for Lydia to open? And others. I think Walt put the ricin on the table beforehand and made sure it was the only packet in the holder. He remarked to Lydia, when she asked how to know to find her and Todd, something about her being a slave to schedules. He knew she would sit right there at that time on that day. If by chance someone else had sat there, I’m sure he would have gone and gotten the ricin packet back. > [@Joey\_P](#): > > It’s been probably 6 months since all that happened. No one has given it much thought and he looks totally different then the man everyone is looking for. > > If some guy that was all over the news last March walked down the block now sporting a full beard, glasses and big head of hair do you think you’d recognize him…or even remember the news reports in the first place. I’m sure he’s careful, he probably avoids crowds and doesn’t hang out in one place for too long. He may even pay attention to the news to see if they mention his name or people spotting him in places where he’s been, but it’s been a while. > Also, if the blue meth is still showing up in all the places it’s always been the police and DEA have every reason to believe he’s still in the NM area. By that time, Walt looked like any number of homeless street people I saw in Albuquerque. And his appearance was much changed from the person they were looking for. I wonder if Badger can be blamed for a lot of the trouble. If Badger just hadn’t been so stupid to get arrested that time, then Saul would maybe never have gotten into the picture in the first place. Maybe Walt would have gotten caught soon without money-laundering tips and other assistance, and a lot of people would still be alive, although that includes some who probably shouldn’t be. That would have made for a more boring show though. ---
**Author:** ![Subterraneanus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Subterraneanus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Subterraneanus)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2013, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-bad-5-16-felina-9-29-13-series-finale/669591/575 "2013-10-01T04:02:32Z")
> [@Living\_Well\_Is\_Best\_Revenge](#): > > On a show where they’ve gone to great efforts to keep it realistic, suddenly expecting the audience to accept the improbable if not outright impossible is not fair. I know in the past other plots were similarly farfetched, but at least they were spread thin over the seasons. This episode was nothing but improbable situations and coincidences in order to get the story to a certain place. Your loss. ---
**Author:** ![Washoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ecae2f/32.png) [@Washoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Washoe)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2013, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-bad-5-16-felina-9-29-13-series-finale/669591/576 "2013-10-01T04:07:05Z")
> [@Frylock](#): > > We know everything that comes out of their mouth based on a two minute snippet of conversation… Yeah, I’ll have to give you that one. In fact, Gretchen herself was mocking the mentality I described when they were walking towards the door from the car. She asked “are you the man I married? What happened to your intelligence?” What really spoke to her never having suffered the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune however, was her not comprehending how Walt could have that much money. ---
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2013, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-bad-5-16-felina-9-29-13-series-finale/669591/577 "2013-10-01T04:13:05Z")
> [@Washoe](#): > > Yeah, I’ll have to give you that one. In fact, Gretchen herself was mocking the mentality I described when they were walking towards the door from the car. She asked “are you the man I married? What happened to your intelligence?” What really spoke to her never having suffered the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune however, was her not comprehending how Walt could have that much money. 😉 To be clear, I’m not surprised if she’s pretty innocent about things like that. I just don’t equate this _necessarily_ with shallowness. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2013, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-bad-5-16-felina-9-29-13-series-finale/669591/578 "2013-10-01T04:14:04Z")
> [@Washoe](#): > > And they were too stupid to realize that bipod-mounted rifles wouldn’t jiggle like that. That’s not a stupid thing to not know. They’re not firearms experts, and there is a murderer standing in the room with them at that exact moment. That’ll make you overlook some little details. ---
**Author:** ![drastic\_quench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e36b37/32.png) [@drastic\_quench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drastic_quench)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2013, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-bad-5-16-felina-9-29-13-series-finale/669591/579 "2013-10-01T04:21:13Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > That’s not a stupid thing to not know. They’re not firearms experts, and there is a murderer standing in the room with them at that exact moment. That’ll make you overlook some little details. Also, they don’t have the cameras perspective. They’re not looking down their torsos for the whole scene. ---
**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:** [October 1, 2013, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-bad-5-16-felina-9-29-13-series-finale/669591/580 "2013-10-01T04:26:45Z")
> [@Washoe](#): > > And they were too stupid to realize that bipod-mounted rifles wouldn’t jiggle like that. > [@Marley23](#): > > That’s not a stupid thing to not know. They’re not firearms experts, and there is a murderer standing in the room with them at that exact moment. That’ll make you overlook some little details. And do _only_ bipod mounted rifles have lasers? Cuz I’m about 99% sure I can get a [laser for my Glock](http://www.atlantawirelesssecurity.com/img/tactical-pistol-compact-laser-m1913-tactical-weaver-picatinny-rail-config-for-glock-springfield-sw_8491_500.jpg) and if I’m 100 feet away it’s probably going to jiggle and wander off it’s target from time to time as well. Besides, if nothing else he proved that even with their home security system, all they have to do is drop their guard for a few seconds and someone can walk right in behind them with out even trying to be quiet and even if they keep the doors locked, someone can hide outside in the bushes and they’ll never know it, but they can’t spend the rest of their lives hiding in the basement, they’ll have to go outside, they’ll have to move about and the ‘snipers’ will get them so they might as well just set up the account and do what Walt asked. Vince said on the podcast that he likes to think that E&G did in fact pass the money along since they had the means and even if they hated Walt, Walt Jr and Holly really were innocent in all of this. I don’t remember if he said Walt Jr took it, but I believe he said that they did follow Walt’s instructions. He went on to say that of all the things to get blackmailed over “help me provide for my kids” was probably about as innocuous as it gets. It’s not like he was asking them to kill someone. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-bad-5-16-felina-9-29-13-series-finale/669591.md?page=28) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-bad-5-16-felina-9-29-13-series-finale/669591.md?page=30)