Vince Gilligan’s “Dumbest Thing” Turned Into Breaking Bad’s Genius Finale

Breaking Bad’s creator Vince Gilligan recently took a trip down memory lane, reflecting on the opening scene of the show’s fifth and final season. What he initially called “the dumbest thing” he ever did turned out to be a stroke of genius that set the stage for one of the most iconic series finales in television history.

The Machine Gun Dilemma

In an interview with Variety, Gilligan opened up about the challenges he faced while crafting the final season. “The biggest single fear we had was what to do with that damn machine gun,” Gilligan said. The season kicks off with a flash-forward featuring a disheveled Walter White, who buys a machine gun that ends up in the trunk of his Cadillac. “One of the dumbest things I’ve ever done in my career was committing to the idea of Walter White buying a machine gun when we did not know what he was going to do with it,” he admitted.

Gilligan described the months of uncertainty that followed as a period of intense stress. “There were literally months on end when I was completely freaked out. We’d be in the writers’ room for a full day, and I’d be slowly banging my head against the wall,” he recounted.

The Turning Point

The narrative puzzle finally started to come together when the writers figured out what to do with the machine gun. “Once we figured out this machine gun, that was when the dam broke and things started slowly to click together,” Gilligan explained. The team decided that despite losing his family, his soul, and his fortune due to his own hubris, Walt had to win on some level. “He’s at least got to deliver that money to his family,” Gilligan noted.

The solution came in the form of Gretchen and Elliot, who became the mechanism by which Walt could funnel his remaining fortune to his estranged family. “When we figured out that Gretchen and Elliott could be the mechanism by which Walt wins and gets that money to his family, that was a good day,” Gilligan said.

The Bittersweet Finale

Breaking Bad’s final season sees Walt losing almost everything, but the ending gives him a few small victories. He uses the machine gun to take down Jack and his Neo-Nazi gang, avenging the murder of his brother-in-law Hank and freeing Jesse in the process. He also manages to secure a future for his family through Gretchen and Elliot.

Gilligan acknowledged that the ending was perfectly bittersweet. “It was self-evident that Walt’s story should not end well, so the idea of him looking like the cancer had returned felt right,” he said. Despite the initial uncertainty, the machine gun dilemma led to a finale that was both satisfying and true to the show’s complex characters.

A Lesson in Creative Risk-Taking

Gilligan’s initial “dumb” decision to introduce the machine gun without a clear plan turned out to be a brilliant move. “To anyone reading this who fancies a career as a showrunner, don’t do it that way! It’s painful and scary,” he advised. Yet, it’s this very risk that led to a finale that fans and critics alike consider one of the greatest ever.

So, was it really the “dumbest thing” Vince Gilligan ever did, or was it a masterstroke of storytelling? The legacy of Breaking Bad’s finale suggests the latter. Sometimes, painting yourself into a corner can lead to the most creative ways out.