The final episodes of Vince Gilligan’s Breaking Bad premiered a decade ago and the popularity of the series doesn’t seem to be dying any time soon. Ever since it started streaming on Netflix, the show has made a resurgence and has reminded people old and new about how special the series was. The show is considered one of the greatest TV shows ever made, and it’s all thanks to the brilliant mind of Vince Gilligan. The man has created an interconnected narrative of compelling characters through the show and Better Call Saul which accounted for a golden period for long-form storytelling.
The fifth season of Breaking Bad brought the series to an emotionally satisfying conclusion for Walter White and Jesse Pinkman. But Gilligan struggled with one story arc that he set up in the first episode of the season that he couldn’t justify. The arc of Walter White buying an M60 machine gun was a very interesting yet confusing task for Gilligan to give proper meaning to initially.
Vince Gilligan Initially Had No Idea What To Do with Walter White’s M60 Machine Gun
Vince Gilligan had a pretty high bar that was set up with season 5 of Breaking Bad. The final season had a lot to live up to in addition to providing a satisfying ending for fans of the series. The final showdown between Walter White and Uncle Jack’s gang was a thrilling scene in the final episode. It paid off the arc of Walter White buying the M60 machine gun in the first episode. But Gilligan initially did not know what to do with that story arc. He expressed his frustration to Slashfilm saying,
“There were times I was literally standing in the corner of the writers’ room, slowly banging my head against the wall, trying to make the ideas loose and jar them loose and make them come out of my brain. And I think everybody was a little worried about my sanity at that point.”
Gilligan and his writers ultimately figured out a way to pay off the arc in the final episode in a thrilling way. The scene also produced a satisfying ending for both Walter White and Jesse Pinkman which was emotional and heartbreaking, giving a bittersweet closure to the show as a whole.
Vince Gilligan’s Next Project is a Sci-fi Series With Rhea Seehorn
Vince Gilligan recently ended his tenure in the Breaking Bad universe with Better Call Saul‘s sixth and final season. He is now working on a new Apple TV+ sci-fi series starring Better Call Saul‘s Rhea Seehorn. He recently gave a glimpse of what the project is about and how it will be a significant departure from the world of Breaking Bad. He told Variety,
“Yeah! I wouldn’t call this heavy science fiction, I would call it mild science fiction. But it does have a sci-fi element to it, at its core. And there’s no crime, and no methamphetamine. It’s going to be fun and different. I have no prediction as to how folks to react to it — whether they’ll love it or hate it, or somewhere in the vast in-between. But I know it’s a story that interests me, and Rhea will be playing a very different character than she played on “Saul.” The weird thing is that it takes place in Albuquerque, except it’s a whole different world. There’s no overlap that I can see. She’s playing a character who is not Kim Wexler, but hopefully, people will roll with that. I’m nervous. It’ll be interesting to see how folks react to it.”
Apple TV+ has already ordered a two-season arc for the show. It remains to be seen whether Gilligan can create another compelling and groundbreaking series for the masses again. New audiences can experience the world of Breaking Bad on Netflix.
