Throwback Thursday, a weekly article in which we look back at our favorite TV episodes from over the years.
1am. A warm night in early July. The fan to my left is on, attempting to cool me from the heat that so often fills my room. In front of me sits my laptop, Netflix loaded. ‘To’hajiilee’ playing. Hank and Gomey in a gunfight with Jack and his crew.
“Next episode playing in 15 seconds”, Netflix tells me. On the right, the word ‘Ozymandias’ in bold. Above it an image of Jesse; below it a short description. I look at the clock. Almost 13 hours have passed since I began my binge-watch with ‘Madrigal’ earlier that day. “No more”, I thought. “No more.”
The following day, I wake up. Mid-morning. Laptop, immediately turned on. Netflix loaded. Nerves. A sense of expectancy. “This has a 10/10 rating on iMDB”, I thought. “It must be good.” I was wrong.
It turned out that using the word ‘good’ was an understatement. This was, without doubt, the greatest episode of television I have ever seen. Everything came together majestically. The writing, the directing, the acting, the sound mixing, the editing. All of it brought us ‘Ozymandias’, and it was incredible.
The first scene, with the unseen scene from the pilot episode immediately destined it to be a magnificent outing. We remembered simpler times for Walt, for Skyler, for Jesse. There had been no threats to Walt’s life. Skyler went about her daily routine, still pregnant with Holly (whose name was dreamt up in this scene). Jesse wasn’t a killer, nor an emotional wreck.
It didn’t end there. The scene had so much impact, but what really gave the scene its brilliance was the fade. The flashback scene faded out, much like the simplicity of the past itself. The present day scene, with Hank in the firefight with Jack and his crew, faded in. These two scenes, as well as the shot of Walter after Hank’s death, were all shot from the exact same position. The transition was so smooth, and it looks incredible.The stillness. No music. No sound effects. The desert location meant there was no background noise. Just voices. The silences between lines were almost unbearable; tension building. This lasted for 13 minutes. I generally love television soundtracks, but I loved the lack of one here even more.
Hank’s demise was fitting. AMC only allowed Breaking Bad one f-word a season, and the writers certainly didn’t waste it here. “My name is ASAC Schrader, and you can go f*** yourself” goes down as one of the most memorable lines in the show.
Seeing Walt plead for Hank’s life to be spared, despite knowing that he was a dead man regardless, was a superb combination. With Gus, Walt was mostly powerless to stop him, but he managed to overcome that before any member of his family suffered their final fate. Here, he was completely unable to do anything, before seeing his brother-in-law murdered in front of him.Walter’s long-awaited confession to Jesse that he watched Jane die was incredible. Jesse already hated Walt for poisoning Brock, and Walter saw it as putting that final nail in the ‘I hate Walter White’ coffin. Aaron Paul – scarcely seen during the episode – gave a great performance in the scene. His clear despair at hearing that his former friend effectively murdered the woman he loved was a joy to watch.
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The use of ‘Take My True Love by the Hand’ by The Limeliters was perfect. The lyrics resonated perfectly with the story, particularly the opening line, “Times are getting hard, boys.” Breaking Bad made some great music choices over the years, but this is by far my favourite.Scenes between Skyler, Marie and Flynn weren’t always good, but the scene where Flynn discovered the truth was brilliant. Flynn’s reaction was probably about the same as I’d react in his position, while Skyler’s show of emotion during his refusal to believe it was also great.
Nothing, however, could compete with the scene in the White household. Walt’s desperation to concoct a lie was clear to see, and was played superbly by Cranston. I also loved Gunn’s sternness in her refusal to stop asking about Hank.
Everything about the fight scene, however, was perfect. It felt real, both in the anger between the two and in the actual moves they fought with. The camera work was again, incredible. The shot of the knives, just as had been shown in the flashback, as well as the varied angles. Stunning.
It all culminated in Flynn, who had been on his father’s side on virtually everything for 59 episodes, calling the police on Walt. It was this realisation that he had lost his family that caused him to take the only remaining loved one that didn’t hate him. Skyler’s desperate chase after Walt’s car was heart-breaking to watch. Anna Gunn was superb in the scene, and it was really believable.
Probably the most heart-breaking scene, however, was Holly’s utterance of “mama”. It signified the very end for Walt, knowing that the only member who hadn’t turned on him for what he’d done wanted Skyler instead. That (improvised) ‘line’ destroyed Walt’s empire in more ways than Gus, Jesse, Hank or anyone else could’ve. Walt wanted to do this because of his family, and ironically, he lost his family because of it.
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It’s no surprise that Breaking Bad submitted this episode as Bryan Cranston’s Emmy nomination episode, nor is it a surprise that he won. Walt’s phone call with Skyler was played spectacularly well by Cranston. The clear emotion on his face, attempting not to break down in tears while faking anger at his wife. Despite everything, Walt still attempted to save his wife from being implicated in his crimes. For me, this was Cranston’s best performance in the entire series, and I could quite happily watch it over and over again for hours on end.Finally, Walt, being the loving father he is, left Holly to be returned to his family, and soon after left town thanks to Saul and his associate. The Heisenberg Empire as we knew it had crumbled into nothing but dust.
Heisenberg’s formulae:
- The credits didn’t appear on screen until the 19th minute. This was a great move by the show – it didn’t take away from the opening scene that way.
- Yet another call-back to the pilot was during Walter’s scene rolling the barrel of money. He passes the pair of pants that he lost during the pilot episode.
- Todd leaving a picture of Brock and his mother as a method of forcing Jesse to cook? Scarily clever. I really felt for Jesse in this episode.
Vince Gilligan called it “the best episode the show has done.” “I’m the one who gets to f*** the prom queen”, director Rian Johnson once told Guillermo del Toro, who wanted to direct the episode. Both comments perfectly sum up the episode. ‘Ozymandias’ is, for me, the greatest episode of television ever, and I’m honoured to have been able to witness it.
