Breaking Bad recap: 'Granite State'

He has nothing left to live for, but Walter White isn't going to die without a fight — no matter who gets hurt in the crossfire

Skyler White
(Image credit: Ursula Coyote/AMC)

Breaking Bad is a show about chemistry, but the second half of its final season has been a lesson in physics: Objects in motion tend to remain in motion. When we left Walter White in last year's midseason finale, he had promised Skyler that he had given up on his empire business for good. He took his tens of millions, gave Lydia the drug-dealer equivalent of two weeks' notice, and consigned himself to spending the rest of his life as a car wash owner dying of cancer.

For all the precision of his scheming, Walt's greatest error might have been failing to recognize that "Heisenberg" wasn't just a person anymore. It had become a brand — a kind of shorthand for blue, chemically pure methamphetamine that was considered a top-shelf product both domestically and abroad. If Walt dies in next week's series finale — and I'd stake money that's where Breaking Bad is going — it's hard to believe that his now-legendary product will die, no matter how many of Jack's Nazis Walt manages to take down with him. When there's gold in the streets, there's always going to be someone new to scoop it up.

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Scott Meslow

Scott Meslow is the entertainment editor for TheWeek.com. He has written about film and television at publications including The Atlantic, POLITICO Magazine, and Vulture.