"My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:
Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!"
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level sands stretch far away.
- Shelley
The title of this episode, "Ozymandias", refers to a famous poem about a fallen king and his collapsed empire. Once great and mighty, the king's empire is now a "collossal wreck, boundless and bare". This episode was Walt's reckoning. He loses everything in horrific detail. Beaten down and powerless, we also see him at his nastiest.
For all of the main characters, this episode was a nightmare come true. The first tragedy is Hank, who coldly gets executed even after Walt tries to bargain for his life with money. What Walt doesn't realize is how powerless he is. The second tragedy is Jesse, who Walt coldly points out to Uncle Jack is still alive and hiding. Debatedly worse than death, Jesse is given up for torture and told by Walt the secret that he watched his girlfriend die. Jesse's fate at the end of this episode may have been the worst of all. The third tragedy is his family, who refuses his plan to run away and rejects him. He gets into a vicious knife fight with Skyler and Walt Jr., and then runs off with Holly. The fourth tragedy is Marie, who at the end of the show learns that Hank has died.
In the opening of the episode, we flashbacked to a different Walt. On the phone with Skyler, we could assume that this was the first of many lies to her in the series. It was pretty harrowing to see how much things have changed since episode 1. The end of the episode would also involve a phone call with Skyler. He calls her, and in his nastiest voice, blames her for everything and tells her that Hank is dead because Hank crossed him. My theory on the ending phone call is that he knew that the cops would be listening in and said everything he could to make it believeable that Skyler was his victim and not his accomplice. Walt was doing his best to protect Skyler and his family after realizing how much damage he had done. I was unsure of this at first, but after he returned Holly it became pretty clear.
This is the darkest episode of Breaking Bad and probably of any tv show I've ever seen. Horrific, bleak, depressing and at the same time, amazing. The best episode of the series, but I'm not sure if I want to watch it again. So much pain.
Observations:
- Symbolism: Walt's money pit was replaced with the dead bodies of Hank and Gomie.
- "Sorry for your loss"- Meth Damon aka Todd.
- The most surprising act of mercy this episode came from Uncle Jack, who left Walt with a barrel of money.
- Walt telling Jesse about Jane's death was nasty and evil. "I could've stopped it but I didnt". To Jesse, it was basically a confirmation that Walt never cared about him.
- Walt Jr. finally learned the truth and sided against his dad. He's strong moraled like his uncle. He also acted bravely in the knife fight by putting himself in front of Skyler to stop the fight.
- That knife fight was scary, I thought somehow Walt Jr. or Holly would end up getting cut or killed.
- See Marie, that's how you steal a baby.
- It was pretty tough to see Holly wanting her mom, even for Walt. This might've been the turning point.
- The disappearer guy was used!
- Predictions about what happens next anyone? Does Walt have a change of heart and try to save Jesse with the machine gun in the flash forward?
- RIP Hank. He knew he was going to die. "Youre the smartest guy I know". Heartbreaking.
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