Spoiler alert... If You have not already watched the final episode, do not read this...
I was reading several reviews of the Breaking Bad Finale. First, they all loved as did I. The show as a whole was one of the better TV dramas aired in years. As I have said to others, I think it is because most current shows do not take the time to develop three dimensional characters. Breaking Bad sometimes slipped in a fourth dimension. The characters were believable and you found yourself rooting for them. Even the characters you didn't like you found yourself actually enjoying their discomfort or even death.
My real purpose in this posting isn't to critique Breaking Bad. It was a very good series, I will probably watch it several times. What my real purpose is to critique the NY Times 'critique'. You see the NYT likes to pass it self off as the American Journal. "All the News Fit to Print".. The passage In the critique I found to be laughable is the following:
"Here, the writers were so determined to not leave unfinished business that the last episode was called "Felina," an anagram of finale."
While I have to admit that I didn't catch on to the fact that Felina is an anagram of Finale... I do know American Culture, especially American 20th Century Western Culture. As Walt was digging though a car he was stealing, in the glove box he found a cassette tape. The cover plainly showed that it was Marty Robbins' Gunfighter Ballads and Trail songs. This Album was in the top five in 1959-60 and the hit song that reached #1 in both Country and the Billboard Hot 100 charts was "Old El Paso" The Song is about a Cowboy that kills another for the love of a girl name Felina. He runs away to avoid death, but has to comeback to see her one more time, even though he will most likely die. The song ends with the cowboy shot through the chest saying "One little kiss and Felina... Goodbye". Walt is even singing the song to himself as he prepares the M60 machine gun..
Walt, can't stay away from Albuquerque, he sees Skyler, and Holly one last time. He goes into the Neo-Nazi compound, even though he knows he will die. After the shoot out, as the police sirens wail in the distance, he walks into the Meth Lab that he designed admiring his work. He walks up, touches a vat, leaving a bloody hand print and falls down dead... "One little kiss and Felina... Goodbye"
That is the tie in to Felina.. IMHO.. By the way, the music selection for the entire series was great.
The closing song by BadFinger Baby Blue was excellent.
Marty Robbins "Old El Paso"
BadFinger Baby blue
1 comment:
OK, so the song is El Paso, not Old El Paso.. Both are stuck in my head. The song El Paso, and the Mexican food company, Old El Paso. Both figured large in my childhood. I and my siblings can sing the song missing few verses, and we ate the Mexican food from Old El Paso most Sundays.
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