Vince Gilligan Will Write And Direct The ‘Breaking Bad’ Series Finale

Breaking Bad showrunner Vince Gilligan has been making the rounds lately, attending the various award shows and parties one attends when one makes outstanding television, and he’s been spilling a few details about the production of the show’s final eight episodes. Specifically, he revealed that he’ll be handling the writing and directing duties for the finale, and that he has no intention of leaving any bullets in his gun when he does so.

“I’m sad, it’s a very bittersweet thing. I’m very sad about it being over,” he admitted. “There’s always going to be somebody who says they wished it went a different way. But if it ends well, if it ends right. … Hopefully we’re going to please the bulk of our viewers with this ending. We’re going to leave it all on the field, I can tell you that.” [THR]

Now, Gilligan has directed a handful of Breaking Bad episodes (including the pilot and the Season 3 and 4 finales), and he clearly knows his way around a story, so he doesn’t necessarily need my advice on how to end his show. BUT, if he’s looking for suggestions…

We begin the closing scene with a swooping, extended helicopter shot of the Cristo Redentor. We are in Rio. After a brief montage of venders pushing produce carts down the street and attractive women in small bathing suits playing volleyball on the beach, BOOM. Smash cut to a seedy motel on the outskirts of town. Night. The neon in the sign flickers, periodically changing the roach-infested establishment’s name as letters go in and out. Inside, Walt and Jesse sit at a wobbly table, wobbling on even more wobbly chairs. They are here after fleeing New Mexico to escape both the ever-encroaching authorities and a powerful new rival named Raul. All they have taken with them is two duffel bags each: one full of clothes, one full of money. After an extended, drawn-out silence — with only the sound of a bug zapper claiming sporadic victims filling the room — Jesse looks up at Walt, sighs, and speaks.

JESSE: I guess we really broke bad out there, huh Walt?

WALT: We sure did, little buddy. We suuuuure did.

[fade to black, "Bad to the Bone" plays over closing credits]