Trending Topics: Breaking Bad - Why (SPOILER) is screwed.... - [a case of the summer]

And here's Part 2 of this week's edition of Trending Topics!  And since it's extremely spoiler-worthy, I'm going to be doing a page break.  This post will discuss the happenings of last Sunday's episode of Breaking Bad, but nothing beyond that (I don't read spoilers).  So if you want to have a hearty discussion on the final moments of the 9/8 episode, click below!

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So the final moments of last week's Breaking Bad concluded with a massive shoot out between Todd's uncle and his crew, and Hank and Gomez, with Walter and Jesse trapped in between.  And I have to say -- I FULLY expect Hank to get killed.  I actually thought the episode would end with Hank receiving a surprise bullet to the head.  Why would I be predicting something so shocking and astronomical?  Because the writing was on the wall.

First and foremost, with the series so close to coming to an end, they can do something significant like killing off a major character (just look at Lost).  And second, they dropped so many classic hints.  They rose Hank to the height of perfect happiness.  He finally won.  He finally found his Moby Dick.  However, he's not the star of the show and the REAL story isn't about him.  So he had no where else to go but down.  Thirdly, they tied up his story so perfectly.  He could die at that moment and you would be able to say, "there were no loose ends!"  He even called Marie, told her he loves her, and, in not so many words, basically apologized for treating her so coldly since being gunned down by the cartel.  His story seemed to be wrapped up.

And last but not least, they dropped an EXTREMELY important bit of information:  That, before the hired guns arrived, Hank and Steve had not alerted the authorities that they had captured Walter.  Which means that the two of them could be gunned down, and Walter would be free.  Nobody would know he was arrested or that he was even a suspect.

So, yes, I fully expect Hank and Gomez to get killed in the opening minutes of this Sunday's episode.  But where do we go from here?  All we know from the flash forward is that Walter has evidently been caught (hence his house being boarded up and "HEISENBERG" being painted on his walls) and that he's on the run (assumed from the fake identity and altered appearance).  He also has a trunk load of guns, but we don't know who he is after. I'm going to make another bold prediction here:  He's after Todd's uncle and his crew.

I keep reading in articles about the final season that Walter is irredeemable and that he's crossed over to the dark side.  Yet, despite that, this season seems to be all about showing his humanity.  Despite the fact that it would benefit him greatly, he calls off the hit on Jesse because he knows it'll get Hank killed.  And when the gang shows up, essentially becoming his "Get Out of Jail Free" card, he still attempts to warn Hank and again tries to call it off.  He repeatedly turns down offers to return to the meth game because of the promises he made to his family, and he's the last person to agree to have Jesse killed.  And even when he makes the order, he still wants to do it in the most painless way possible (and without Jesse's girlfriend having to witness it).  I don't think the series will end with Walter being a hero (if he's even indirectly involved in Hank's death -- which he would be -- he simply can't), but I do think we'll find ourselves in a situation where we'll be rooting for him.  So I see Todd's uncle's crew succeeding in killing Hank, but Walter refusing to work with them.  The final couple of episodes focus on a war between Walter and that gang.

One thing I do find surprising, though, is that the series is closing with Jesse and Walter at odds with each other.  Out of all of Walter's relationships -- with Hank, with Skyler -- I think the one the audience cares most about is his one with Jesse.  I'm not convinced people WANT Jesse working with the DEA to put Walter away, and Walter putting a hit on Jesse's life.