2. Walt Lives And Kills Everybody
Walt has proven himself a nigh-unstoppable force. He took down Tuco. He outwitted Gus Fring numerous times before wiping him out, along with his entire empire. He evaded Hank and the DEA for the duration of his career, until his own ego tripped him up. He may have fallen temporarily, but judging from the end of "Granite State," he's awakened once again. He's ready to go out guns blazing. And with his genius, his luck, and his ferocity, he might just wind up the last man standing. Maybe Walt and Jesse take out Todd and his gang together. Maybe they decide to go their separate ways. Maybe not. Maybe there's a gun fight between Jesse and Walt. Maybe Walt wins. Maybe he puts a bullet between Jesse's eyes. A lot of fans would hate that, but maybe Gilligan doesn't care. Maybe he wants to leave fans haunted and shocked. But would it even be that shocking? This ending would certainly follow through with all we've come to know about Walt. He doesn't lose. Ever. A lot of that seems to have changed in the last couple episodes, but that doesn't mean Walt can't still correct his course. He has a habit of bouncing back, and though an ending with Walt victorious might leave some fans cold, there are those in the other camp who will have their faith in him restored. Gilligan has stated the ending would be divisive, after all. Gilligan also told us not to expect a happy ending. Okay. But happy from who's perspective? There's quite a few characters with differing goals at this point. A sad ending for one character may turn out a happy ending for Walt. Maybe Walt doesn't deserve to live after all the lives he's destroyed. But he's already reaped what he sowed, hasn't he? His family is gone, and no amount of heroic redemption is going to bring them back. But that doesn't mean he has to die. In this last episode he went through quite a turn around. He seems more like the old Walter White than any time since season one. When he got up from his bar seat after watching Gretchen and Elliot on TV, he left to prove Gretchen wrong. He didn't leave as Heisenberg. He left as Walter White. It was never Walter who deserved to die, it was always Heisenberg. Now that Heisenberg is gone, I'm fully prepared to root for Walt once again. If he does kill his enemies, beat his cancer, and walk away unscathed, I'll cheer like I'm watching the ending of a Clint Eastwood movie. With his identity erased, his family gone, and his enemies destroyed, Walt can simply walk into the sunset like The Man With No Name. No, it wouldn't end EXACTLY like that, but you get my point. This wouldn't be a happy ending, but a fitting one. Walt living could satisfy two groups of fans. For the fans who feel Walt is beyond redemption, him living could be the worst punishment of all. Without his family, he's nothing. He'll be forced to linger on alone, in exile. For fans who feel he's redeemed himself, seeing him live will be an intense relief and an awesome victory. After all, when has Walt not been victorious? He's been notoriously difficult to kill. An ending that sees Walt alive would only be hitting home a point that has been constantly reinforced since episode one: Walter White is one heck of a surviver. He just might survive Breaking Bad too. But maybe Walt will go out a different way entirely. Maybe his death will come at the hands of someone we never saw coming, but who was hiding in plain sight all along...