“Breaking Bad” Season 6 Episode 7: Stuck In A “Granite State”

To everyone who has read my television reviews and commented on them over the past few weeks: Thank you. It’s been a pleasure writing for Tinsel, and I’m grateful to Rebecca for giving me the opportunity. I’ve recently been granted my own blog at Patheos: Cinemeditations. From now on, I’ll be writing about film and television over there, including the last two episodes of Breaking Bad. Below, you’ll find a portion of my review of the most recent episode, “Granite State.” It’s an episode I think deals with themes of addiction and pride in a pretty interesting way, and I hope you’ll take the time to comment and let me know what you think of how the series is drawing to a close. You can find the full review over at Cinemeditations. I’ll be covering many more shows in the near future, and I hope you’ll add it to your list of regularly-visited pop culture blogs. Thanks again for reading.

Some people have complained that “Granite State” is a disappointing episode because there are no big twists or intense pieces of action (aside from Andrea’s death, of course). I’d argue that yes, while it in many ways functions as a transitional episode, setting the pieces in place for a (hopefully) explosive finale, it’s also an extremely important episode, because this is the first time we see Walt stripped (or nearly stripped) of his pride. Heisenberg was born out of an attempt for Walt to reign in the unknowable, to control what little he could about his pending death. The opening scenes of this episode find him desperately clinging to that desire for control, badgering Saul to put together a team of hitmen to take out Jack’s gang. For a moment, Heisenberg rears his head, towering menacingly above Saul and growling orders, but he quickly dissipates in a fit of coughing. Walt’s pride has helped him do a lot of things, but it can’t cure cancer.

For the rest of the episode—at least until its final moments—Heisenberg is nowhere to be found. The iconic porkpie hat briefly brings back Walt’s delusions of grandeur, but the thought of having to leave what little he has left, even if it’s just a shack in the middle of nowhere, soon evaporates them. The title of this episode doesn’t just refer to the state of New Hampshire, it’s also a playful reference to a time when Walt was fully in control: his “fugue state.” That was a situation built on lies orchestrated entirely by Walt. Now, he can’t even muster up the ability to lie to himself and trust that the Vacuum Repair Guy (played by brilliant character actor Robert Forster) will take his money to his family once the cancer finally kills him. By the final scene of this episode, Walt seems to have finally given up. We don’t see him doing anything for himself; he can’t even draw his own blood or cut a deck of cards. He has finally relinquished all illusions of control.

There’s a part of me that thinks this could have worked well as a series finale. It seems appropriate for Walt to spend his last days alone, rejected by his family, with a pile of cash and nothing to spend it on. He makes one last attempt to send Walter Jr. some of his blood money, only to be rejected by his own son: “Just die!” He sits at the bar, ordering one last drink before the police arrive to take him into custody, with nothing left of the life he once had. He has nothing left to hope for, and his frustrated cries that “It can’t all be for nothing!” have made no difference. This is rock bottom. But I think Vince Gilligan may have something even more tragic in mind.

Click here to read the full review.