1. The Revenge Fantasy Theory: Walt Actually Died In New Hampshire
The last minutes of "Felina" show Walt dying from the gunshot wound to his side on the floor of the Nazi's meth lab, as the police arrive and surround him. However, comedian Norm MacDonald, advanced an extremely intriguing theory on Twitter that although Walter does indeed die, his actual death is back in that stolen Volvo in New Hampshire, where he naturally succumbed to his cancer. His desperate prayer "Just get me there, and I'll do the rest" as police lights surround the vehicle are actually his last words: what follows in his mind is an ego-driven heroic fantasy that plays out according to Walt's deepest desires. In contrast to the previous episode, "Granite State", where every single one of Walt's schemes are thwarted in some fashion, here everything goes smoothly and perfectly according to plan. He encounters no resistance from Gretchen and Elliott with his plan to get money to his family. He somehow gets the ricin into a sealed Stevia packet to poison Lydia. How is this possible? Skyler, after attacking him with a knife in "Ozymandias", agrees to hear him out and allows him to see his daughter, despite him having recently kidnapped her. The Nazis agree to meet with him instead of simply blowing him off. They even allow him to park his car in such a way that the machine gun in the trunk will do the optimum amount of damage, and are all easily killed. At this point, the reality of his imminent death from the cancer manifests itself in his fantasy as a fatal bullet. In his final minutes, he's able to free Jesse, murder all his enemies, and die in the meth lab, thus ensuring his name remains legendary, as everyone will think the blue that Jesse was forced to cook was actually Heisenberg's. But in reality, none of this happened. His family is without money, with their name forever ruined, and Skyler looking at jail time. Jesse is still a meth-cooking slave of the Nazis. Lydia and Todd are still alive and the masters of the Heisenberg brand. Director Oliver Stone recently expressed dismay that the finale episode was "a violent revenge fantasy" but I think he's, missed the point entirely. Of course it is, since we're seeing the entire episode from solely Walt's perspective. He's an unreliable narrator, and the episode shows us as much: in nearly every camera shot Walt is obscured by shadows, in the fashion of a ghost or a man already dead. He's hidden by a pillar for much of his scene with Skyler, and fades into the background as he watches his son. The final thing Walt sees at the end of his elaborate fantasy is his own face, distorted in the reflection of the lab equipment. In the end though, the only place Walter remained a legend was in his own mind. So that's what I think. What do you think? Feel free to comment!