Breaking Bad vs. The Sopranos | Finale Face-off 

I never did like in the final season of Breaking Bad how it breaks up the tension by having Walter walk away from everything and then got caught after he had quit. It made it all seem sort of muddled. They wanted redemption for Walter but also consequences and it was... fine, but not as interesting and original as most of the series.

A testament to your point about the Uncle Junior scene: the only thing Junior remembers about Tony? “We used to play catch together!”

The final scene of the sopranos has to one of the most creative and eerie portrayals of death on screen.

“There’s no looming threat to season 5.” That’s because Walter is the Threat.

While I do agree that The Sopranos ending is the superior finale, I do think Breaking Bad's works: I view it as Walt casting away his conflict between wanting to be a family man and a criminal, and finally embracing the part of him that enjoys being a criminal. I think BB's ending is quite subversive in that sense.

In season 5 BB the new characters were only less threatening because Walter had ended the most threatening criminal organization in the area (Gus and pollos). He was now the top of the food chain, season 2 Walter would’ve been terrified of Declan or uncle jack. In season 5 he’s even more powerful than they are and more terrifying, they even know to say his name in respect when he asks. It really shows how he’s taken out all the other antagonists and by process of elimination become the worst person remaining.

At 35:15 you say it seems like he’s learned the errors in his ways... absolutely not. What he was doing wasn’t to redeem himself, he never expressed remorse. He was just honest about who he was. He told skylar he did what he did for himself, but he never said to her he regretted it. He blamed the nazis for hanks death, not himself so he evaded accepting responsibility. I disagree with your claim that he was framed as a hero. He was a hero when he turned himself in to the DEA, but Gretchen and elliots interview snapped him back into his hatred. The finale is not about him being a hero, but reverting to his villainy with no remorse. He simply wants to conclude his story as the antagonist he’s accepted himself to be. He dies looking back on his glory days as a meth cook in satisfaction, not regret. He has not changed his ways, he regrets nothing, he simply concluded his story the only way he knew how: using his genius to provide for his family and tie up all loose ends remaining. He did not redeem himself or change his ways, he fully accepted who he was. He didn’t try and set things right he just indulged his criminal fantasy. It was about him accepting that he had broken bad all those years ago, and he stops pretending he’s something he’s not. He didn’t redeem himself, he damned himself and took great pleasure in doing it.

The theory of Walt’s dying fantasy falls apart once you realize that Walt didn’t know Jessy was held prisoner

I absolutely agree with your thoughts about The Soprano's finale, it's pure perfection in my book. Regarding Breaking Bad I think the point of the second part of season 5 it's to show that Walter finally embraced his dark side and became truly free which is the last thing missing in his villain transformation. Fortunately for the world he died at that very moment.

It's incredibly fitting that Junior has to be reminded of his time with La Cosa Nostra, and the only thing he actually remembers is playing catch with Tony.

When you have a thought lingering in your mind for a long time & can't find that thing anywhere, but suddenly someone uploads a full 40 MIN video about it!!

I try to look at the ending of BB as not Walt suddenly doing another 360 and fixing his mistakes but more so his stubborn nature. He likes things to be taken care of, he likes to be in control, and so when he looks at the loose ends his life will leave he tries to tie it all up himself on his own terms. I also feel like a big catalyst to him even really returning to ABQ the way he does is hearing that blue is still being sold on the streets, and he’s possessive of his recipe and of his partner. There’s the amount of him that has forgiven Jesse for Hank but a bigger part, I believe, that doesn’t want anyone controlling Jesse and his blue sky meth other than him. Rewatch the sit down with Gus when Jesse has an issue about Thomas. Walt is on Gus’ side until Gus snaps at Jesse “look at me, not him” effectively removing Walt’s ownership over Jesse in a single sentence. That’s when he realizes Gus may be an issue down the road.

Great analysis but I just cannot see what happens at the end of BB as a victory, more like a small measure of damage control from the absolute crushing defeat of Ozymandias. His life is over his family hates him, they will have to live with his infamy for the rest of there lives he "may" have left them a relatively small amount of money but that is it.

You seem to have season 5 of BB pegged as rather optimistic and a redemption. To me, season 4 rather worked as the ‘happy end’. They could have stopped after that season and it would have been a fine wrap up for all intents and purposes with Walt (and Jesse) basically getting away with it. But then season 5 rolls around and basically all is turned to shit: Walt loses his family, his brother in law is killed, Pinkman sees the only person he cares for killed and himself used as a slave and Walt dies. Season 5 completes the series’ journey from a quirky Comedy Central comedy to an increasingly darker somber harsh drama.

I always thought Tony gets whacked at the end. But god damn, your interpretation of Tony finally seeing the light in the last episode just added a whole another dimension that I never could’ve thought about.

So you're saying Tony literally died because Meadow couldn't parallel park

I think that the penultimate episode's ending muddies the water on Walt's motivations being selfless or selfish. When he watches Gretchen and Elliot disavow him, I think there's a lot more a bitter spite to having them live in fear and not necessarily as much of a heroic act to help his family. I also can't say Walt reconciled with Jesse or his family. At the end of the day even if that goodbye to Skylar and Jesse had more of a sentimental outlook they will not remember him that way, and they will still know him as the man that practically destroyed their lives. No amount of money is going to make Skylar have the same relationship with her sister again. Junior hates his father and Holly growing up will only be aware of his father as a monster drug dealer. Even if Walt recognized his selfish nature at the end I never saw it meaning much to everyone around him. His family has the money, but at what cost. Bit disorganized comment but those are my 2 cents. Great video either way. Watching this was the first thing I did after I finished the sopranos a couple hours ago. Great show

I loved both the endings. Breaking Bad ties up every loose end, which is not how often things happen in real life, but it is a fictional show. Sopranos ends on a massive cliffhanger that was more unique in its own way. I love both the endings, but I would choose breaking bad slightly over Sopranos. I'm jk none of them are even close compared to game of thrones ending, which was a masterpiece 🙄😜

This deserves more views! I always appreciate a creator putting this much time and effort into their videos. Great job.

Brilliant analysis. I always knew a lot of the stuff in the Sopranos finale, but man, all the stuff about his family and Uncle Jun's last seen, leading to him being appreciative of his family...man, I never thought about THOSE little details. Nice.

I've always thought that the sort of "moral" of Breaking Bad is more that one must find ways of balancing the darker and benevolent tendencies that they have, or their life spirals out of control, rather than it being a simple thematic shift from light to dark. Walt's life pre-diagnosis is miserable, he's mocked, belittled, and generally taken advantage of, and this is mostly due to his inability to stick up for himself and weather things out. Once he gets a taste of power, he is addicted as those he peddles his meth to, and due to him being deprived of agency for most of his life, refuses to give it up even at the cost of everything he once valued. Eventually, his agency is once again stripped, and he is forced to reconcile the man he once was and his values with the man he has become. When he finally is able to do this, he is able to accomplish everything he set out to do: Provide for his family, go out on his own terms, and assert to the world that he is a man to be respected. He even manages to rescue his partner, who he abused and mistreated, so that he will have a chance to escape and live his own life. So in my opinion, the finale works fantastically, but through the lens you presented I can see how you came to your own conclusions.

Walt is the definition of being nice doesn’t mean you’re good. He was just a weak man who never had the opportunity to be bad, until he had the proper justification.

I was too little to see the sopranos, I just finished now at 28 years old(pretty late because I forgot about it) two great shows each

Thank you for this. The Sopranos deserves a bigger place in popular consciousness If you keep this quality up you'll have a ton of subs in no time Your GoT rewrites were also incredible. The show I wish it was Love this channel

I don’t quite agree with your take on Walter White. It’s too black and white for me. I don’t think it’s just the fully evil man that was bubbling under the surface that gets revealed. Rather, it is a more complex mix. Walter is definitely shown not to have been as squeaky clean as we’re first led to believe. Especially ego and vanity are indeed strong drivers and have indeed been festering inside for a long time. But he also has made real choices for a ‘good’ life (being a teacher, a dad, etc). I read it more as him letting this ego get the better of him as he suddenly realizes the power he has developed. I also don’t see his reaction upon the news of the receding cancer as necessarily indicating his ‘true motivation’ as you put it. I see it rather as the venting of his fear when realizing his natural ‘out’ has all of a sudden completely disappeared. All of a sudden, he needs to face consequences of his choices and behavior again. The one thing he had ‘going for him’ that led him to his new found assertiveness now suddenly stripped away. Here he has 2 choices: cash in his chips and walk away (quit while he’s ahead) or double down and go for a fully criminal life. That’s why his true downfall starts there.

Disagree with your point that Walt doesn't do anything morally worse than S4 in S5. I agree that a lot of elements of S5 are weaker than S4 but I think in part that's because we like seeing the protagonist achieve his high point, which is definitely the end of S4. S5 is about losing control, and the moral degradation of Walt completely consuming him. He murders Mike in a fit of rage. It happens for no real reason, Walt admits in Mike's last scene that he could just have gotten the names from Lydia. It's just pure ego, which I would argue is the real motif of BB, not moral descent. I also think you're underplaying Drew Sharp- yeah, Walt doesn't pull the trigger, but he's an accessory to murder of a child. And he ultimately partners with the murderer and chooses Jack's gang of intentionally way-over-the-top, obviously bad-guys neo-Nazi thugs over Jesse, who is obviously a proxy son for Walter throughout the entire series. And then there's Ozymandias, in which he completes that betrayal by condemning his own proxy-son to a fate which is arguably worse than death, enslaved by Jack's gang. "I watched Jane die" is Walt's lowest point in the series, not bombing a nursing home and poisoning a child. He's almost completely fallen and is using his absolute last modicum of power to destroy one of the people he loves the most. Walt's pride has taken him from doing everything "for his family" to absolutely destroying his family. If we treat BB as a lesson about ego and not moral descent, then the final season becomes completely necessary. Walt's life falling apart isn't just satisfying, it's crucial to see that pride is ultimately self-destructive. We leave Walt in S4 at his absolute height- pride has given him unmitigated victory. I think the penultimate scene in BB is the true resolution of Walt's character, it works in the same way as Junior's "That's nice." It's Walt completely giving up his "pride and ego" as Mike calls it. Handing Jesse the gun, that's the moment. Walt finally drops all pretense, all his scheming and manipulation, and tells Jesse what he wants. And Jesse breaking free and not shooting Walt is the natural conclusion to their story. Those two scenes where Walt's pride dies are the real conclusion to the series- "I liked it, I was good at it" and "I want this" directed to the two people in his life who mean the most to him. Giving up his ego is what gives him the real win. It's not about Walt needing to pay or suffer, it's about Walt needing to see the light, and how far things have to go for him to see it. Turns out that dying alone having lost everything and left nothing behind is how far- as you point out there's no real other option for Walt at that point but to go back. Walt is such a corrupt person that he has to be left with literally no other options than humiliation to see that humility is the right course. You might say that it's Walt playing up his hero fantasy, and that's certainly partly true. I think his final scenes with Gretchen and Elliot are a good counter-point to my argument and more favorable to your narrative- though even that's underwritten by the much less serious, almost comic-relief ending we get to that scene where the hitmen are just Badger and Pete. But going back pretty much guarantees some kind of final encounter with Skylar, and I personally believe Walt knows that Jack's gang isn't going to kill Jesse. In those encounters, Walt definitely isn't playing hero. This was a great video. I was able to predict a few of the points you were going to make before you made them, because your argument made a lot of sense even if I didn't agree with it, and you did a good job explaining it. I think one of the main messages of both shows is that there's no way to balance a legitimate life and a life of crime. The criminal side will always consume and corrupt everything adjacent to it. I largely agree with your comments on the Sopranos, and I've only seen the show once as opposed to 3-4 times for BB, so that's why I don't have much to say about it.

Walter White’s true nature just came out over the course of the show. He got a thrill out of cooking meth, killing people, evading Hank, manipulating Jesse, and controlling everyone around him. He felt powerless his whole life, then he got drunk on the power of being such an effective criminal and he loved it. He was always evil. Tony is constantly suppressing his true nature, he was born into being the mob boss but he’s not evil by nature. Quite the opposite. I think all the violence, murder and crime is the source of Tony’s depression. He’s bad, but he’s not Walter White bad.

Wow this was some great analysis! I had always felt that the Sopranos finale was saying more than was generally perceived and the Breaking Bad finale was too much of a redemption story.. but you really articulated things in a way I hadn't thought of before. So glad this video got recommended to me, keep up the great work!

I think 'El Camino' effectively put an end to Norm MacDonald's theory

I think the ending to Breaking Bad is still good, even very good. The thing is the Sopranos is genius. Breaking Bad is a more conventional story imo and never really defied genre in the way the Sopranos does. I’m sure Vince Gilligan could have tried to make the last season of BB something truly special and different, but instead there’s a lot of risk to that, you might fall on your face. So instead he played it safe and went with something more tried and true and crowd pleasing. Overall, I’d never say anything about Breaking Bad is terrible or totally out of place thematically, but it either didn’t have the brains or the balls to defy TV conventions like the Sopranos did.

Both great shows. One is a fast moving river (Breaking Bad) the other is an ocean (The Sopranos)

My theory is that Walter didn't die. He was arrested by the cops. If you see the gunshot wound it's not direct in a vital organ. Nor is there a large pool of blood indicating he hit a major artery. A gut shot can take days to kill you from internal bleeding. Certainly plenty of time for the cops we see in the background close by to find him, call for an ambulance and handcuff him to the bed in the hospital.

Breaking Bad is my go to example of when a series WANTS to end and does so correctly versus when a series is TOLD to end by the network and so the final season leaves much to be desired. Not saying I completely like the ending of BB, but at least it’s the ending the show writers wanted to have happen instead of thinking they had more seasons to come but get cancelled by the network.

-"First finale face off" -Never made another one.

The sopranos had an throughly provoking finale and BB had an ending that provided closure, it’s like apples to oranges

The Sopranos finale serves as a less is more finale that challenges the audience, and Breaking Bad to me is a finale I look at with admiration for thinking about every segment of the audience. I love ambiguous endings, but there’s also nothing wrong with finales that wrap up things to a satisfying conclusions. As long as it makes sense for the story. The sopranos not knowing what your fate is is perfect for Tony, and Walt making sure he comes out on top is perfect for his character.

Although I do not agree on certain things you said on BB's ending, you do have strong arguments and I feel like now I have to rewatch the show to see if you really convinced me haha. Honnestly, this video is really good, I look forward to see your next finale face-off !

Finally found someone sharing the same opinion on season 5 of breaking bad! Thank you for this.

I also slightly disagree with the Breaking Bad ending...only slightly. That is that I still think it can be read as Walter choosing to walk away from his old life completely and fully live out his twisted fantasy of being a dangerous gangster who is also this gun-toting put-upon lone hero. We see what he does to the Schwartzes to secure his children's future, but never know how likely this is to succeed. In the show, we constantly see I'll gotten money get taken by the cops, cause problems when others come looking for it, or just how much stress it brings. We are also shown how canny Skylar is about sussing out Walt's attempts to get it to her. Jesse's relationship with Walt isn't really repaired, he calls Walt out for trying to emotionally manipulate him one last time and refuses to kill him, telling him to do it himself. Skylar is clearly distraught and shaken by seeing him, and nothing in Walt's life is fixed. He dies a hero in his own perception, but the camera pans out to show his body literally overshadowed by the meth empire that is his legacy in the form of the large chemical processing machines he dies beside. I think the only way they could have made it more obvious would have been to play Sinatra's "My Way" over the whole thing. The finale isn't Walt vindicated, it's Walt closing the door on reality. On any chance at doing the right thing by turning himself in. It drives home just how much this has been his fantasy all along, and how much of a selfish asshole he truly is. But if nobody else saw it that way, then maybe it wasn't terribly clear. That's definitely what I walked away from it with though.

Not even a contest. The sopranos has much more well written characters and explores much deeper and a greater variety of themes like death and the afterlife, karma, various philosophies, religion, the social decline and corporatization of 21st century America, how cycles of abuse and trauma are passed down inter-generationally, the effectiveness of therapy and institutional psychology/psychiatry while using Melfi as a vehicle to explore characters hidden and often ambivalent thoughts and motivations and the reasons behind them. Braking bad didn't touch anything half as thoughtful, it looks like a soap opera by comparison. Not that it's not enjoyable and high quality, but it feels like entertainment while sopranos feels like art to me. The dialogue in the sopranos is also much more layered and well-written in a way where the characters, their motivations and thoughts implied through realistic dialogue make them feel much more like real people than the characters in breaking bad who are generally one or two dimensional and say everything completely literally, often not talking as people do IRL. But it's almost like apples and oranges because the sopranos is a philosophical character-driven family drama disguised as a family/crime drama, and breaking bad is just plainly a plot-driven family/crime drama.

I loved both endings and found them satisfactory. With Breaking Bad, in the end it's true Walter gets away with it and ties everything up neatly at the end of his life. I enjoyed seeing that even if the "morally congruent" ending would have been for him to suffer for his sins. Life is rarely morally congruent and sometimes bad guys get away with it.

Macabre, you pointed out that Walter had a chance in season 1 to stop his drug production because Elliot Schwartz offered to pay his medical treatment bills, but Walter still had to make money to support his family and pay the bills after he died, which he needed drug money for.

This is good work. It's not the case, though, in my opinion, that the finale frames Walt as a hero. It isn't subtext but rather explicit text that Walt is haunted by his name being dragged through the mud publicly. He wants criminals to see him as someone to fear and admire. He wants everyone else, the world his family operates in, to see him as someone to admire, too. These goals conflict, but he still and always has believed them. Season Four sees him become someone feared/admired in the criminal world. The finale is all about him making a last ditch, selfish effort to be seen and admired as a hero. It's selfish, not heroic, and that's why it's a good finale. It makes good on the theme not only with Walt's role as a criminal, but also his role as a man.

Macrabre: Makes an unpopular opinion. Me: Ooooh! Let me get the popcorn out!

I haven’t finished The Sopranos yet... guess I have to binge in order to watch this video soon

Walter White was dead in the series finale -- not literally dead, but metaphorically, a zombie-like version of what he had become. His final days saw him acting as an avenging ghost. His ultimate confession to his wife, "I liked it."

A surprise, to be sure. But a welcome one!

Tony Soprano isn’t a mob associate… he’s the boss of the north Jersey family…

Not only Walter did save Jesse, he also gave Jesse a chance to kill him.

Everything after Ozymandias is the epilogue, imo.

I strongly disagree that jessie and skyler's stories are inconsequential to breaking bad. Jessie matters just as much as walt to the story. Imo i felt walt was 'bad' from the beginning and the ending was less him atoning for his sins and more him being stubborn and refusing to lose anything other than his own life, one last example of walt's ego driving him, but this time driving him to do something good.

Tony would absolutely be justified in killing Paulie Paulie almost started a war...and was disloyal all around

Still one of the best video essays out there

Just bc a man pays for his crimes, doesnt mean he has to "go to hell". I found the bittersweet end to BrBa to be very fitting. Bc at the end of the day, Heisenberg will always come out on top, especially since he now has nothing to lose. Walt's capabilities have surpassed everyone else's, so an unleashed Heisenberg who has accepted his "defeat" can now just do what little "good" he can. Walt pays for his crimes dearly: destroying his family, losing all love and respect of his son, and being seen by the world as the true monster he was. The finale is essentially an epilogue and one last act of necessary evil done by Walt. You dont have to feel happy about it, but the character of Walt always made me have some sympathy for him, no matter how much I fucking hated him.

i agree with a LOT of what you’ve said here, and you give a lot to think about. but i will say i think it’s a disservice to reduce season 5 of BB to mere fan service

@macabre storytelling so glad someone finally said it! I was telling my husband a few months ago TS's ending>BB's only to find found out he'd never even seen The Sopranos. He tried to say "I'm not really into macho mob stuff" to which I countered that BB is ENTIRELY based around organized crime, it's just not Italian. Needless to say, he relented and loved The Sopranos in spite of himself and I didn't have to file for divorce.

I think the BB finale is less a rushed attempt at redemption and more of Walt's drive to go out on top. The phone call to Skylar after taking out Gus sums it up "I won." To Walt, the ends justify the means. And this philosophy isn't something he happened upon, he believes in the Heisenberg theory that the universe is nothing more than choas and there is no real good and evil. In the end, he won. His victory could be viewed as selfless but in reality, just like Tony it's another smokescreen, a justification for his action. Ironically this further gives Norm's theory credence. In his death fantasy he'd obviously be justified.

I gotta tell you...after having finished The Sopranos for the first time this week, and having watched Breaking Bad 3 or 4 times, I love this video. Love it. I think you made great points, and you backed them up with even greater reasoning. But...I heavily disagree with your take on Season 5 of Breaking Bad. Let me preface this by saying your review of The Sopranos ending is perfect and I have been looking for someone to say exactly what you said about it. But I personally hold the ending of Breaking Bad at an even higher level than that of the Sopranos. You say that Breaking Bad isn’t exactly a show about morality, but rather how evil and twisted Walter can get before he dies. Let me ask you, is that really all you wanted from the show? It seems that by looking at Walter White’s character development that you COMPLETELY ignore the complete flip that Hank made as a character. Hank actually turns out to be the hero of this story. And Jesse is the man Hank was supposed to save. Jesse was supposed to be the Princess Peach to Hank’s Mario. Now granted, its obviously a lot more complex than that, but all of this has had so much buildup throughout the entire series. You say that the Nazis are comically so evil that Walter seems good when that isn’t even the point. Season 1 sees Walter living a horrible life, belittled and disrespected by nearly everyone, and living a life of hopeless inaction, and we see Hank as a condescending arrogant prick. Throughout the show, we see Hank brought to the lowest of lows...and only when he can’t even take a piss without the help of his wife...when even that is taken away from him, do we see Hank become the literal hero of this story. As much as this show is about the points you highlighted, it’s also the telling of the villain winning, as the villain, Walter White, won from start to finish.

I like to listen to videos like these while I do stuff but yours are always so well thought out and put together I usually forget what I’m doing and end up fully watching! Well done! (And very nice. I try to rewatch both these shows once a year they’re so damn good!)

So the question of "How evil will Walter get?" is present in season 5. That question is raised as Walter objects to killing Jesse only to later change his mind. That question is answered once and for all in Ozymandias when Walter tries to bargain all his money for Hank's life. Everything after Hank's death is kind of a Return of King style plot wrap up after the story has already climaxed. But I like those episodes anyway. Granite State is probably my favorite episode in the whole series. On my last rewatch these episodes felt more like a prequel to El Camino than the finale of Breaking Bad and that made them better.

Walt admits that he is a piece of shit that cares more about making meth than his own family in his conversation with Skylar in the final episode. He doesn't say it with regret, he is just finally honest with himself and family about his motives. That is the meaning of the final scene where he dies with a smile in a meth lab instead of being with his family like Tony in the Sopranos. The final episode was not meant to be a redemption for Walt. Walt is just going out in a blaze of glory as Heisenberg one last time.

Great video as usual, but it needs more Norm Macdonald

I like the end of BB because Walt's "redemption" is completely insufficient. He kills a few nazis and extorts a rich couple. He basically just continues to embrace being a criminal. I mean he's being *slightly* less evil than before. But he's learned very little.

Great breakdown of two great shows! I 100% agree with you. When I watched the finale of The Sopranos live on HBO all those years ago, I hated it. But as the years have gone by Ive grown to love it more and more. On the flip side, when I watched the finale of Breaking Bad live, I loved it. But as time goes by it becomes more forgettable.

I don't find walter to have been "bad all along". Bitterness and rage don't make you a bad person.... He's story is tragic because he has never let himself guide his own life ("It feels like I'm never making my own choices"). He let himself be humiliated and kept his head down. The cancer gave him the chance to feel powerful. He was not willing to give it away or be positioned as the weak anymore (being charity for Gretchen and Elliot, not having an empire, be seen as the person in danger and not "the one who knocks", etc). He is complex, because he also always cared. About his son, wife (he framed himself for Hank's death as part of trying to clear skyler's name), Hank (was very upset about his death...), Jesse (which he sacrificed a lot for. His entire fued with Gus and the danger to his life was saving Jesse's ass). So the finale is complex. Walter doesn't get everything he wants. He ties threads because he lost everything. He is not regretting things, he admits his true motives: doing it all because of his life of powerlessness and insecurity. Because he finally felt powerful. That being said, I felt the machine gun was over the top and his plan working too perfectly, with not being detected, parking just at the right place, killing everyone successfully... almost cartoony. I would have wanted to see something more complex and nuanced there. I also always wanted to see a version of the scene with skyler in which she doesn't say "If I hear one more time that you did it for the family"... because I felt it worked even without it, with less spoon feeding. You complete in your own head Walter's explanation to be his regular one "everything I did... I did ..... " (Skyler looking pissed, almost disgusted, we think "for the family right?") "... I did it for me." (skyler surprised raises her head, we're surprised as well).

I like this. Please tell me Dexter will be in the next one of these.

The debate basically comes down to this Walter White = Embodiment of *PRIDE* Tony Soprano = Embodiment of *REPUGNANCE* So which is stronger pride or repugnance?

I'm early for a video.. Awesome

the cut to black ending is basically the show telling us "you know what happened" if all the deaths in the final season weren't obvious i dont know what was

Tony actually loved his family and it showed in how he was worried about his son's depression and Meadow's dating life. But his moral compass was a bit off though he would never harm a child or animals. Also Tony was born into that life, so of course he is who he is. And you can tell he would have had a gentle character had it not foe being born into the life. How he was affected by Gloria's suicide, hurt his mother and uncle tried to kill him, revenge for that guy that killed the horse and the stripper and the fact that he even felt the need to see a psychologist. Walter thought there was absolutely nothing wrong with him and he admitted to doing things because he like them. Walter was a covert narcistic coward who had a breaking point with his diagnosis and as he knew he would die, he thought he was going to finally be the big strong man he wanted to be but wasn't even when he was young, strong, healthy and had potential like his friends that formed that science company. He wasn't born into that life. He sough it by manipulating a silly young drug addict half his age. And he did set out to harm that little boy and he killed that Mike guy because he caused him a narcistic injury.

Yeah, I'll definitely admit that season 5's villains were a step down. The virgin nazis Vs the chad Gus Fring

To be fair, BB really never fully committed to theme, and placed more emphasis on plot, offering a more conventional ‘fun’ ending that bids adieu to the characters, with less thematic depth, but really, the story wasn’t really going for that anyway

Tony Soprano is much more able to lie to himself. It probably stems from his upbringing. Walter White is different. He is fully aware of himself. Both guys have egos that get them in trouble.

Might not be your kind of show but twin peaks season 3 also has the perfect ending for its own themes and context. Glad to see quarantine has people acknowledging the sopranos’ title belt

How about him manipulating an old guy in a wheelchair 2 blow himself and their mutual enemies up?! In real life, workers, residents and visitors most likely would've been collateral damage!

Good video and analysis, but I disagree with the assessment that what happens after the thematic question is answered doesn't matter. Sure, you could arguably end a show or story or whatever at that point, but if there are other things in the air that should be dealt with, and if dealing with them appropriately would add to the answer of the thematic question more than leaving them open-ended, they should be dealt with. Although I definitely agree with everything you said about how BB ended.

I would argue that Walt always succeeding when he wished to succeed is the point of the ending. It's not *actually* redemption. What's actually redeemed? His brother in law is still dead, his family's reputation is ruined, and Jessie (at least in the end) doesn't forgive him. He still lives and dies deluded, and what is *wrong* with that? I don't think a story needs to live and die on its themes, I think a story can be a story. Stories, in reality, don't always follow a "theme". I don't believe that the story was trying to redeem him or punish him or anything, I believe the story was just telling Walter's story. And, Walter's story is that of a genius criminal always getting what he wants, whether it bothers you as a viewer or not.

I actually agree with much of what you said about Season 5, but I disagree with how you presented the finale being contradictory. Like you said, the show has a nihilistic outlook, and I believe Walt getting everything he wants by the end of the series exemplifies this well. He's committed atrocities, horrible acts. I don't believe he did find redemption, I believe he made it for himself in his mind, because he outsmarted everyone else. He died satisfied, not because he deserved it, but because he could. There was no bad ending for him because it is a nihilistic show, that even bad people can win and die happy, there is no 'good and evil'. But I actually do agree that season 4 would have been the perfect end. Thanks for this video! Your analysis on the Sopranos front was all perfect!

I'm surprised by the amount of people disagreeing with this video.

The two greatest shows of all time

The fact that Breaking Bad’s ending seems contradictory is exactly what makes it so compelling. Questioning whether Walt redeemed himself or if he died as exactly the same person he was throughout the show was the point. What your answer is says a lot about who you are and your response to the character of Walter White. I suggest the video: “Did Walt win or lose” by the Take.

The Sopranos is supreme. Breaking Bad has only a faction of good episodes, great characters, and lines that the Sopranos had. Plus Sopranos is more dark and realistic. In Breaking Bad you knew when someone would die or when a good ending would happen. Sopranos you didn’t know shit when someone would get whacked . There was no way anyone saw Sil, Eugene, Bobby, Christopher, and Tony B getting killed. Everyone knew Walter would Win against Gus and everyone knew Walter was too weak to leave Walter. Breaking Bad was like story book if you like simple plot lines and happy ish endings. Sopranos was dark and more complex and ended in a slight happy way but still hella characters died that mattered .

All Breaking Bad Parts (without massive Sopranos spoilers): 3:32-3:43, 4:02-4:40, 6:56-7:46, 21:21-26:30, 27:01-31:26, 31:49-40:00, 40:12-40:24

I think you've got a bunch of things about the 5th season of Breaking Bad wrong. Walt *is* the primary antagonist of season 5, we're just following him as the POV character. He's made it, he's the top dog and now he's the one being beset by the threats. That's the point of the 5th season, to see Walt's highest - and subsequently lowest - points.

Great thematic analysis Thank you!

I really enjoyed this video, but I feel like the narrative change in season 5 is a great thing for BB. I think after season 4, we have officially seen Mr. Chips turned into Scarface. I think season 5 goes in depth on how one can come to terms being Scarface. Walt finally realizes that he wanted to live his life in thrill and be the best at something. That scene with Skyler was one of the best in the series but you barely discussed that. Nonetheless, I love both shows endings for different things, but Walt coming to terms about why he did everything makes that ending work for me.

This is so well reasoned. Glad to have found your channel. Thank you!

Brilliant video! These are my two favourite shows I’ve ever seen, and I gotta say I love both finales. You do make a great argument for why BB’s ending isn’t as lined up with what the rest of the show represents though, and I totally see your point of view. Definitely subscribing for these great analysis.

Barry vs Mr In between finale: Wow vs I'm Not Leaving

Junior didn't remember being in the mob at all. His response to Tony bringing it up was "I was involved with that?". It's a moment that echoes one of the best monologues in the series, when Tony is talking to Melfi about AJ's suicidal thoughts, to which he says "After all is said and done, after the crying and complaining and all the fucking bullshit! Is this all there is?"

I disagree with your point about Walt redeeming himself. He didn't redeem himself so much as he just decided to go out on his own terms. He knew he was finished. He knew his story was going to end one of two ways. Dying while on the run or dying in prison. He knew there was no happy ending for him. Just because he dies with a faint smile and a look of contentment on his face doesn't mean he died without any regrets. The people he loved most hated him and were disgusted by his actions. He wanted to be missed and remembered fondly but that wasn't going to happen. Yeah he sort of redeemed himself in the sense that he finally admitted to Skyler that he was a selfish asshole and he cooked meth and killed people because he liked it. Season 5 is definitely the weakest season imo but considering the rest of the show is about as close to perfect as you can get, that isn't too bad. I think the point of the ending and maybe the entire show is about a man who lived his whole life dormant. Afraid of what would happen if he decided to operate outside of the constraints society had placed on him and finally getting some of the respect he felt he deserved all along. He died happy because although he completely ruined his personal life and relationship with his family, what really meant the most to him was knowing he spent his final years doing what made him feel alive and knowing he built a legacy that will outlive him. I think we can all relate to what Walt felt to an extent. The feeling of not living up to your potential and having your talents unrecognised. Morality aside, I kind of have to respect the fact that Walt was willing to go to such extreme lengths to live his life the way he wanted to and that's what really draws me and other people to the character.

Love both shows! Grew up watching Sopranos as a young kid but I was so young I didn’t know to appreciate how incredible it was….not until rewatching it as an adult! BB on the other hand was the first series ever that I became a huge fan of now there was other shows after that but BB I was a legit fan of before the 3rd season dropped! Both shows are great examples of why people get so emotionally invested in fictional series!

Weirdest episode of GoT rewrite yet, but I'm not against it!

Season 5 isn't necessary because walt needs to pay. Season 5 is necessary to complete the metaphor of Icarus. He flew too high and was struck down. Yes, Walt technically gets away with it, but he doesn't really get away with it. His empire has burned to the ground, his family despises him, and he's driven everyone he loves away from him

Tony is waaaay more sympathetic...the idea that Tony EVER has a chance to 'claw his way to the light' is stupid--he's in the Mafia...no way out except rathood and witness protection...both endings work...crime is something Tony is stuck in, crime is something that makes Walt feel powerful.Tony can't change, Walt could go straight before Gus and after Gus, but it's all about dominance for him since he was a doormat that got cancer. He is addicted to power and the rush. The ending is perfect with Baby Blue playing, because that is what his character arc was about, choosing crime and lust for dominance as his love over love of family the overexplaining of the ending of Sopranos is unnecessary: it's how getting shot mafia style is: instant lights out. It's literally described in an earlier episode, as well as in Goodfellas likewise, it's spelled out that Walt was evil all along, he is confronted and admits it, then kills Mike and admits he didn't need to these shows and characters share crime and crime boss roles...that's the only similarity, except BB AND TS really ARE both tragedies, tragedies to the families and friends of da bosses. Tony's situation is like a cancer in that it's inherited, Walt's cancer sets off a situation revealing a diseased personality the finale is cool with me because of Walt's need to 'win'. Not about making Walt a hero, about bringing in more baddies to outwit, while coolly tying up loose ends in the show. Walt is a hero only to people who hate loose ends or aren't thinking clearly. The show lays this out too, that to satisfy his own selfish 'will to power', he destroyed or negatively impacted not a family,THE WHOLE WORLD. think about it. it's not hyperbole, he's a meth kingpin and murderer. We are all connected. The plane crash season drives this home like a hammer. Each evil deed sends a ripple like a stone tossed in the pond of humanity. Walt in his rage threw a mountain

18:00 In the final scene with Junior, if I remember correctly, the important point is also that Junior doesn't remember real good times in the Cosa Nostra, but all his reactions are instead connected with the real family, Junior stating he hasn't had children (regret?) and then, remembering that him and Tony played ball when he was little. I think it's this fact that finally makes Tony understand that placing the mob family before his real family is a mistake, unfortunately it's way too late

This was good. I would have been happy with Ozymandius being the finale, if not ending at season 4.

You sir have just sold me on the sopranos finale well done 👍

IMO I think the breaking bad finale is amazing and thought out pretty well. You said in your video that the series would be over when Walt completes his most villainous and evil act at least by a thematic standpoint and that is exactly what happened. Walt is much more villainous and ruthless in s5 then s4 and this is evident when he whistles next to the body of a child and bragging about watching Jane die. He constantly manipulates Jessie to keep on cooking and orders someone he sees as his son to die. By doing this he allows Andrea to die and brock to be threatened. Bragging about murdering the lives of an innocent girl and almost 200 others, selling his partner into slavery to be beaten up constantly and only coming back to Albuquerque to get revenge is the most villainous act Walt has done. Although walt gives his money to his family in the finale he does this by threatening the lives of Gretchen and Elliot and he murders almost 20 people the same episode so I think it balances out. If Walt had surrendered himself in he would be the hero and the story by a thematic standpoint would be ruined but he goes to kill the nazis and Lydia and only even mentions Jesse so he doesn’t get executed quickly. He does save Jesse but doing that does not revert the fact that he did the most villainous act that he probably could and he doesn’t even apologise and he just wants Jesse to shoot him so he can end his misery. This shows Walt once again manipulating Jesse and when Jesse doesn’t choose to do so this complete Jesses arc and another one of the biggest themes of the show.

While I disagree with most of this video, it was well put together and like basically every vid you put out, just an enjoyable watch/listen. I think Walt's family suffered immensely due to him. Nevermind the financial issues they must have, the infamy of being "Heisenberg's family", the emotional trauma and torment they suffered through. There's just so much bad that came out of it. Adding to that, because of him, Jesse was kept as a slave for a year, so many lives were taken because of his greed, like Hank. Season 5 is the culmination of his ego manifesting when its at its highest point.. and then falling down to reap the worst consequences possible. I think the idea that a show must continuously follow a theme and stick to it and leave things ambiguous is unnecessary. It's unwanted, even. Walt went back to Albuqurque, because despite all the shit he'd done and all the lives he'd ruined, he wasn't purely just an evil man. He wanted to make things right before he passed, and that's what he did.