Wow. What a fantastic penultimate. It doesn't have the sort of action-packed payoff that would satisfy the people who are disappointed with this season's slow pace. But it will blow away anyone who has enjoyed this season so far. The fact that I could see this episode's ending coming a mile off actually helped to raise the tension for me.
The last episode began and ended with scenes that didn't have much bearing on anything that happened in the rest of the episode. The brilliance of this episode's opening scene is that it brings in both the beginning and ending of the last episode, ties them together, and wraps them up.
Chuck deals with the fallout from Jimmy's devious scheming last episode. When we see the sheer impact of Jimmy's actions, it's hard not to feel bad for Chuck. That's what I love about this season; it takes the "surprise villain reveal" of last season and flips it on its head by justifying Chuck's actions and showing us Jimmy's lesser half. This was the climax of that, the moment when Jimmy has gone too far and there are consequences. In some ways, this arc is very similar to what Walter had to face with Jane at the end of Breaking Bad Season 2. And yet, this is far more powerful, because these are brothers. Their relationship is far more complex and established than that of Walt and Jane. The McGill brother relationship has been one of my favourite parts of this show.
The final scene is heart-wrenching to watch. Gilligan has done such a good job of making you understand and root for all the characters equally this season, so seeing what happens at the end of this episode is difficult and gut-wrenching.
This episode is a fantastic way to (nearly) cap off an admittedly slow but also brilliant and well-thought out season. It even has some wonderful parallels to the end of Breaking Bad's second season.
The last episode began and ended with scenes that didn't have much bearing on anything that happened in the rest of the episode. The brilliance of this episode's opening scene is that it brings in both the beginning and ending of the last episode, ties them together, and wraps them up.
Chuck deals with the fallout from Jimmy's devious scheming last episode. When we see the sheer impact of Jimmy's actions, it's hard not to feel bad for Chuck. That's what I love about this season; it takes the "surprise villain reveal" of last season and flips it on its head by justifying Chuck's actions and showing us Jimmy's lesser half. This was the climax of that, the moment when Jimmy has gone too far and there are consequences. In some ways, this arc is very similar to what Walter had to face with Jane at the end of Breaking Bad Season 2. And yet, this is far more powerful, because these are brothers. Their relationship is far more complex and established than that of Walt and Jane. The McGill brother relationship has been one of my favourite parts of this show.
The final scene is heart-wrenching to watch. Gilligan has done such a good job of making you understand and root for all the characters equally this season, so seeing what happens at the end of this episode is difficult and gut-wrenching.
This episode is a fantastic way to (nearly) cap off an admittedly slow but also brilliant and well-thought out season. It even has some wonderful parallels to the end of Breaking Bad's second season.