The bomb was triggered by the bell...

The bell ringing was the trigger. That's why Hector started banging on it when it didn't go off right away (like when Walt was testing in his home).

I thought they were going to let Gus escape when it didn't blow immediately.

Great finale.

Will be interesting to see where they go in the final season. Even though this episode did tie up a lot of the loose ends, there are still some open plot lines:

1) Ted Beneke's death... seems like the police will be interested in the fact that he fedexed a check after or around the time of his death. Unless they reveal later that the thugs had the presence of mind to make it look like he killed himself.

2) Jesse will eventually wonder what happened to his ricin cigarette since he now seems to believe it was an accident. Moreover, it seems crazy that the series would end without him figuring out just how bad Walt has ****ed him over.

3) Hank will definitely figure out that Heisenberg killed Gus and destroyed the lab. And as crazy as his new theory might sound to them, it seems like the DEA will be more likely to listen to him now that they will know he was right about everything.

4) Mike will be back. Maybe he will help Walt put together his own operation? Or perhaps he will help Jesse start to put together the pieces about Brock's poisoning? Or he might just try to blackmail Walt for whatever money he has left.

5) How will Skylar take the news that Walt's speech about being the one who knocks was not just big talk?

Great episode but man that was cheesy how Gus just calmly walked out and started fidgeting with his tie like he always does...only this time he had a huge hole in his head. They could have handled that way better. Just over the top fake.

Also, my wife commented that when they did the reveal of the destroyed side of Gus' face, she was surprised it didn't turn out to be made of metal.

[This message has been edited by SeanDaAg2005 (edited 10/9/2011 11:13p).]

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Great episode but man that was cheesy how Gus just calmly walked out and started fidgeting with his tie like he always does...only this time he had a huge hole in his head. They could have handled that way better. Just over the top fake.

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Couldn't agree more. I guess they wanted to give one final nod to how much of a BAMF Gus was, but I really could've done without the Two-Face impersonation all calm and collected. Only time I've ever rolled my eyes with this show.

Other than that, really good. I hope Jesse kills Walt in the last episode.

There another problem Salamaca's chair was facing the doorway as blackdude and Gus entered. It just seems like Walt's plan coulda fell apart if Gus was looking hard enough.

It would have been funny after the plant reveal Walt walks up to the plant and looks up in reflection and says "and the academy award goes to..."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SNynYFeniLQ
Argh.

It's pretty rare that I follow a TV show. Glad the previews back in 2007 did this one justice.

Another loose end...

Who is Gus? What was his back-story in South America. If even the cartel was too scared to kill him, he must be connected in ways that we can't even imagine. Walt thinks it's over, but I bet it's going to get worse than he ever knew possible.

epic episode, and season.

agree with the ridiculous face shot of gus....not sure what they were smoking when they thought up that scene. ;-)
could've had him at least crawling out of the room or something and used that face shot...but having him stand there like that with his face blown apart was pretty dumb

Gus is Guatemalan. It should be understood that meth isnt Gus' only trade. So im sure his connections go to cocaine and heroin and everything else.

Agree on the Gus sentiment of him walking out of the room, but LOVED IT NONETHELESS. What a damn payoff tonight.

Walt's "I Win" just supplanted his own "I am the one who knocks" in the line of the series competition.

Looking back, the foreshadowing of the plant and all the phone calls to Walt that were not being answered seems pretty easy to understand now.

I think the series finale next year will end with the ultimate reveal of Hank finally figuring out is was Walt all along. To me, that's the biggest reveal remaining and we will get a full season of Walt vs. Jessie, or Walt and Mike, etc, while Hank's pursuit of Heisenberg ends in the series finale.

Perfect show.

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Who is Gus? What was his back-story in South America. If even the cartel was too scared to kill him, he must be connected in ways that we can't even imagine. Walt thinks it's over, but I bet it's going to get worse than he ever knew possible.

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I'll bet we see a lot of people from Gus' background next season. Gus was making a ton of money but he obviously wasn't spending it on himself. Also all the corporations that were set up he was involved with weren't all run by him from the back office of Pollos Hermanos. Looking forward to see who Mike sides with when he gets back in the States.

I thought the same like everyone else when Gus came out of that explosion...I was like NO WAY! Still can't believe that Walt poison Brock with the flower. I don't know what's next for the next season but I trust the writers of Breaking Bad to come up with something good.

The "gus scene" was necessary to prove to the audience that he was really dead. if they had shown the audience a leg or a piece of clothing or simply had the audience hear the broadcast about 3 possibly dead, there would have been rampant speculation that he survived. Showing him with half his face gone is about as definitive as it gets.

I think we got a couple of clues about next season. Chief among those clues was the long shot of Gus' laptop from his vantage point showing the video screens. Walt may have killed Gus, but what did Gus save on video? Hank was on to Gus and he was on to the cleaning plant. He'll be the one working towards getting something from Gus' laptop, I'm betting.

I'm also guessing Mike will be the one who connects with Gus' past out of revenge to get even with Walt. Remember the punch in the bar; Gus is more than just an employer to Mike. He'll want to get even.

How exactly did walt get the flower Lilly to Brock? Do we know?

Did Saul's bod guard lift the ricin cig?

Could the cig been made of the Lilly and not ricin?

" Gus is Guatemalan. It should be understood that meth isnt Gus' only trade. So im sure his connections go to cocaine and heroin and everything else."

Gus is Chilean. And it was pretty clear from his first cartel meeting that meth was his only game.

Green jacket, gold jacket.

So you believe that Gus solely used meth to build his empire? How/where/who cooked for him for all these years. And even then it would have to be for a significant amount to make it worth the action.

Whatever money he was making prior to the lab it was minuscule compared to the weekly tonnage of meth made. Im sorry if I dont think a guy can distribute all that product (with employees and securities) if he isnt into distributing many drugs as well.

I know they had to show the plant at walts house to tie everything together but walt would have probably gotten rid of it. I doubt he would have used it for posioning then just left it there

Mike will be back, and he's gonna be pissed.

The laptop will definitely come into play.

I don't know if anything will ever top Breaking Bad after that episode. Wow. Grats to all the conspirators who thought Walt poisoned Brock (I totally road y'alls coattails, haha).

For a second, when we saw the full reveal on Gus after the bomb, I thought my Walking Dead / Breaking Bad combo had come to life :-p.

Looking ahead to next season, here are some of the top threads they have to work with (IMO).

1. The mystery of Gus's origins. They teased it earlier this season, but something tells me he's involved with some major players in Latin America and, kind of like how Tuco's twin cousins came for revenge, you might see Latin American's send someone to N.M. (Though I doubt it will be a revenge thing, since that would be too much like the twins). I definitely think we'll see someone fill the void though.

2. Hank now knows he was right about Gus (surely the fire department found the burned ruins of the meth lab), but I think Hank is also smart enough to realize that Guz was just the head of the organization and couldn't have been the cook. Heisenberg is still out there, and Hank is going to find him. (alternatively, Hank's reinvigorated look into Gus may lead him to the Latin American's from point 1...)

3. Ted's check is in the mail and Ted's dead, IRS is going to come breathing down Skyler's neck.

4. IMO, Walt's cancer is going to return with a vengeance.

Were I a writer for the show, I'd have the Latin American's arrive with a vengeance. I'd face them off against Hank and also Jesse. Walt wouldn't kill anyone, but he'd watch as the mess he started led to the Latin American's killing Hank and Jesse. As his resurgent Cancer grew worse, he'd finally come to grips with he broke bad, and when you break bad you eventually have to pay. He'd sacrifice himself to end everything so the surviving family members could ride off into the sunset and start anew somewhere else.

Whatever comes next season, I think everyone agreed Walter White won this round but next round he has to pay.

edit: I think the ultimate revelation of next season would be for Walt to face a band of Latin Americans who weren't brainy, had no plan, but were simply there to kill. It would be interested to see how his "genius" handled the opposition of a mindlessly merciless opponent who just kept coming and coming and coming. From a character development standpoint, forcing him to face the inevitability of his own demise(via DEA, Cancer and Latin Americans) and realizing his smarts can't save him and he can't win would lead to some interesting drama.

[This message has been edited by Aggie_Journalist (edited 10/10/2011 1:37a).]

RIP Gus...one of my favorite tv characters of all time. Hate to see you go, but you're missing half your face...

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How exactly did walt get the flower Lilly to Brock? Do we know?

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Other than Walt having a Lily of the Valley by his pool, there is not proof he did it. Obviously, the circumstances all point to Walt, but there's no proof. Will be interesting to see how this folds out next season. And what role Mike will play, if any.

[This message has been edited by MSFC Aggie (edited 10/10/2011 1:29a).]

freaking awesome

In those MS Paint pics someone linked to on the previous page, who is the old man/woman with the microphone?

Someone did a great job on all those, but I can't figure that one out.

[This message has been edited by jetch17 (edited 10/10/2011 6:51a).]

Why do people keep saying Teds check was in the mail? I thought the one guy was about to leave to go mail the check with the other guy going to stay to keep him company when Ted decided to run for it and died. They still had the check in their hands at that time, no? And wouldn't have mailed it. I think that part of the story is over and won't be brought up again.

This season spent a lot of the time trying to make us think Walt was in a hole he could never escape and that he was being outmatched at every turn by Gus. It ended with the startling realization that Walt, not Gus, had the balls to to do what it takes to save himself at any cost.

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In those MS Paint pics someone linked to on the previous page, who is the old man/woman with the microphone?

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Without looking, I would bet it's Gayle in the karaoke tape.

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The "gus scene" was necessary to prove to the audience that he was really dead

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Why? Like someone else said, they could have had him realistically crawling out to the hallway with half his face blown off, gargling blood and gasping for air, before collapsing. I was actually kind of shocked that they left this ridiculously fake and cheesy scene in there. You don't calmy walk out to the hallway and try to straighten out your tie when you get half of your face and body blown off. I would like to know wth Gilligan was thinking, he's better than that.

It was very ridiculous and not necessary for any reason.

I figure it's one of the following reasons:

1. They wanted to make the viewer believe he may have survived, if even for a split second.

2. They were playing to how much of a BAMF Gus is and wanted him to go out like a boss.

3. Gus may have actually not realized that half his face was gone and thought he had made it.

4. They were going for a bit of black comedy (of which there has been plenty on the show).

I liked Gus coming out because it did what it was interest to do. Holy *****he's not dead. Then, the nurses scream and they pan around.

Or maybe all 4.

The Gus scene was shot for pure badassness. The whole show has moments like that which is what makes it great.

After reading an interview with Vince G, Walt definitely poisoned the kid.

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3. Gus may have actually not realized that half his face was gone and thought he had made it.

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Well the dumbness of this pretty much negates the other 3. While I was very much fine with it, physically, what happened was beyond impossible.