Breaking Bad: Felina - A Complete Examination
Video Overview & Insights
I usually cover content on this channel relating to flaws in content and how writing can be improved. I thought I'd try my hand at making a video for something which I believed to be of quality. Here is my complete examination of "Felina".
So, this video blew up a few months back and itās time for a long overdue follow up and addendums comment. I never imagined this video, which for a while was my least popular analysis, would gain so much traction. Based on the responses Iāve received it looks like most of you are happy with this format. Something which is likely clear from the number of videos I have is that I donāt make content regularly. I like to pour a lot of time into getting my production values and scripts as best as I can. But there are still plenty of videos I would like to make. Very soon a topical analysis of the game āThe Last of Us: Part IIā should be released on this channel. As it happens there may be a section discussion a certain plot point from āBreaking Badā so keep your eyes out for that one. After Iāve published that video, I am planning to do an in-depth analysis of āEl Camino: A Breaking Bad Movieā. My short review at least as of now is that it is a flawed but fitting conclusion to Jesseās character. However, there are quiet a few people who have criticisms about the film and Iād like to address as many of the arguments that I can. I make no promises about when that video will be coming out, but itās what Iād like to tackle next. All of this traction gave me quite the boost in passion for making content and since not many people have talked in detail about āEl Caminoā on YouTube, Iād love to give it a shot myself. Once again thank you everyone who watched this video and has shown support. I will do my best to get new content out soon.
Now for a few addendums:
Without question the topic most people discussed in the comments section was why Walt left his watch on the payphone. In the video I said there wasnāt a clear narrative reason why he left the watch on the payphone. I havenāt seen anything convincing me otherwise. But as far as thematic or character-based reasons go what most have settled on is that Walt believes heās out of time therefore is leaving his watch since as far as heās concerned itās pointless now. Some said that he was leaving a paper trail for the police. Iād argue against that since for one, the watch wouldnāt prove that Walt was there if found by the police. For two, I imagine if a Tag Heuer was found on a payphone in the middle of nowhere most would think āhey a free $5,000 watchā rather than āIād better turn this into the policeā. The only point I would make is that itās weird that of all the places and times, Walt chose to leave it at a random gas station. There isnāt much rhyme or reason to it. Regardless, itās nothing particularly big and it served its purpose of avoiding a potential continuity error.
There were several comments from people who have lived in small towns and even in small towns in New Hampshire that claimed keys being left in a car is not at all uncommon. Apparently, people do it because blizzards are commonplace and sometimes your neighbor needs to borrow your car to get out of a jam. Also considering itās a small town most people will know each other making it even more likely that someone would be unworried about their car being stolen. I myself have never lived in a small town like the one that Walt was in. If this is the case then the first of two contrivances I list in my conclusion isnāt actually a contrivance and the episode is stronger than I originally thought. Thanks to everyone who let me know thatās more common than I imagined.
āInnocentā was the wrong word to describe Galeās character. Obviously, heās a meth cook and a criminal who worked directly for Gus and knew exactly what he was doing. Gus even implies that Gale was shady and cut corners long before he approached him about cooking. What I meant to get across in the video was that Gale was blameless to the situation. He wasnāt the person who was threatening Walt or Jesse or had ill intentions towards them. He was more or less a cog in the machine that had to be removed if Walt and Jesse wanted to live. Therefore, they opted to kill him. So, Gale was blameless to the situation for which he was killed. But he was far from innocent. Jesse really put it perfectly: āThis dog never bit anybodyā but he was āa problem dogā.
The El Camino is actually Toddās car not Jackās. Looking back, thereās only one shot in āBreaking Badā which confirms this. Todd walks to his car after Mike confronts him about bringing a gun to the train heist. Aside from that itās only seen in the finale and Todd doesnāt drive the car in the episode. I assumed that it was Jackās car because it was his compound. But āEl Caminoā made it crystal clear that the car belonged to Todd. At the time I wrote the video I hadnāt seen āEl Caminoā and I missed the shot where Todd gets into the car.
I said that Walt was ātalking to the carā and perhaps that was reading the scene a bit too literally. Many people think heās actually praying. If Walt is praying then I suppose we can replace car with God. The point still stands, but I still think it could be either since the car wasnāt starting at first and Walt may have been begging the car to start and get him home.
Something that would have been worth mentioning is that a lot of people think the āflashbackā of Jesse making the wooden box isnāt a flashback. It could be Jesse imagining making something if and when he escapes, or it could be a flashforward after he escapes. This would make sense for one because Jesse looks older. In fairness thereās only so much you can do to make Aaron Paul look like a high schooler at the age he was. For two, Jesse told the group that he traded the box for an ounce of weed. While he was happy with the results, Jesse didnāt keep his work. It makes the āflashbackā interesting if you read into it that in the near future Jesse finds peace and keeps his hard-earned work in spite of everything that heās done. This however is all conjecture. I said it was a flashback because it most likely is. But the scene is something that can be read into several different ways. So for now, I say make of the scene what you want.
The song āEl Pasoā actually foreshadows the events in the episode. The song is about a man who falls in love with a Mexican girl named Felina. He sees her dancing in Rosaās Cantina and sees her as āWicked and Evil while Casting a Spellā. One night a cowboy shares a drink with Felina. In anger the man challenges his right for the love of Felina and ends up killing the cowboy. Realizing how evil what he did was, the man takes a horse and runs from Rosaās Cantina. From El Paso the man makes it to the āBadlands of New Mexicoā. Looking back the man knows that in El Paso his life would be worthless āEverythingāsā Gone; In Life Nothing is Leftā. But he realizes āMy Love Is Stronger Than My Fear of Deathā. He then saddles up in the dark. āMaybe Tomorrow a Bullet Will Find Meā but āTonight Nothingās Worse Than This Pain In My Heartā. The song then concludes with the man overlooking El Paso and seeing Rosaās Cantina below. The lyrics are very similar to the situation that Walt found himself in following āOzymandiasā. The Mexican girl Felina can be associated with both Waltās family and his money. The two things that represent his love and legacy which he ran away from because of the evil acts he committed and fear of retribution. Walt left for a long time and his life he left behind was worthless. But his love for his family and getting back what was his is stronger than his fear of death. āMaybe Tomorrow A Bullet Will Find Meā but āTonight Nothingās Worse Than This Pain In My Heartā. Walt knows heās going to die when he confronts Jack. But nothing is worse than his cancer. The song plays at the beginning of the episode after Walt steals the car and the situation described in the song essentially lays out whatās going through Waltās head as he goes back to Albuquerque. I knew about the foreshadowing in the song and many people pointed it out. The reason I didnāt address it in the video was that I wanted to stick to the events in the episode rather than dive into too much thematic analysis. I suppose I could have talked about the song since the title card comes right after the song plays. Regardless, hereās a simple break down of the song for those who didnāt realize the song foreshadowed what came after. For those who noted it out thanks for adding to the conversation.
For now thatās it. Once again I extend a huge thank you and if anybody else notes any mistakes that I made let me know and Iāll add them to this comment for future reference.
More User Perspectives
13:32. This moment where Walt says that he needs $737,000, the plane that crashes later on in the series is a Boeing 737. Not sure if they ment for that although with this shows writing I wouldn't be surprised.
@Decadence13666dasdsada
@Fortniteloover69I always kinda wished that walt got to be in the business as long as gus did and became like a super powerful cartel kingpin
@moldypotato1337Walt- I did all those things to save my life just as well as your life. Only you're too stupid to know it!
It always drove me nuts how Jesse never saw the good that Walter did for him. I know that Walter did a lot of bad to Jesse as well, but it seems like Jesse never ever appreciated any real sacrifices that Walter made to protect him.
You killed uncle Hank lol, no breakfast boy, you don't know what happened at all, for the dude that loves being right and knowing the truth Walt Jr sure does fly off the handle, Walt did nothing but ever try to help and love his son more than anything, including buying him a brand new sprots car even when he knows it could be bad for his looks with the money.
@badghostliveThis has to be THE BEST ending to a show that I've ever seen. It makes you cry, not bc it's tragic, but bc Waltuh died doing what he loved to do. Although most of the events that took place to get to that conclusion were tragic, he still accomplished what he set out to do in the beginning. And he actually lived out his life the best possible way he knew how to and even when he found himself in tricky situations he always found a way to get out of them and that brought on a sweet satisfaction in the end. He went out on his own terms. Therefore he died having a profound sense of fulfillment. However I find it funny how none of them noticed he was holding up the car keys
@stars33dstatusHe was a man out of time
@TheSagenomadBlew up on his Face. See what you did there.
@mikegleed5842One of the most satisfying TV show endings everblooming
@kristinaandthegerman4554I wonder if the creators of the series knew that Marty Robbins was a right-winger?
@michaelproctor8100I think the watch is symbolic. Walt is out of time. This is the end.
@AdrianLara11Quick comment on the doors not being locked, I've heard that people who live in very cold climates don't lock their car doors because they will freeze shut so this isn't as unlikely or improbable as it might seem.
@LayoorahThis is the moment that Walt becomes Heisenb- oh shit nevermind he's fucking dead
@the_goseThe title Felina is an interesting nod to people with dyslexia because when they read it itāll say āfinaleā which is what it is. Amazing work š
@isaacsamuel6035What a damn good show. Amazing. The best ever made
@TheNoSuchThingPodcastI love the scene of Walt building the m60 contraption for the Volvo. He almost seems happy one last time, in his element, using his genius mind one last time. Great episode.
@spencertherren6806Notice how walt says "Goodbye lidya" this is actually a subtle reference that he is about to hang up the phone
@heneedsomemilk751Notice how when walt gets shot he dies, this is a subtle nod to the fact people die when they get shot. Masterful visual storytelling, bravo vince.
@davisdoesgamesrealEliott, you're gonna need a bigger knife, Eliott
- Waltuh Whitemantraud
I've just realized that it could be very interesting series to watch about Walter's life before all that - when he worked with Gretchen. I wonder, what the personal reasons were for him to sell his share of the company and leave abruptly.
@YupVideoFeverbefore getting this video autoplayed in my end i was watching a video about Gus's meticulous long game. It's fascinating to see in comparison how Walt maybe unseemingly had all this strike of genius and plan to execute all this on his own after seeing the Interview of Gretchen and Ellion on TV. While also managing to pick up certain quirks Gus had, there was a thematic evidence that Walt pick up things on main or big characters he manage to kill that he was able to connect with. Either because of guilt eating him or out of respect with Crazy 8 he started eating bread without the crust, With Gus he tried to mimic his business and front end, In this episode finale, Walt was able to blend in the background when he snuck in to Lydia and Todd's meeting much like how Gus hides in plain sight. As for Mike one could interpret with Better Call Saul's Episode of Mike exacting revenge to the police who killed his son, and somewhat die in "peace". Walt was maybe trying to do in similar fashion.
@EleosAnimI notice how Jack laughs when Walt tackles Jesse, signifying this situation is funny. Hot take, facts don't care about your feelings.
@lilassjobwhat does Walter pray to
@lowpoly-64Sodium is Na
@Mug-RedIve seen breaking bad a million times and that scene with the machine gun still gives me chills. And the scene where jack kills hank still makes me cry
@Ghosty72401I always thought when Walt took off his watch, it was a way to represent his changed view. He knew he was most likely going to die, so, instead of taking a nice watch like that to the grave, he did a selfless act and gave it up so someone else could enjoy it.
@hotlinemiamilover40074This happened in the same universe as slippin jimmy and fart demons btw
@elliottlava778412:21
You forgot the part
where Skyler took the knife and slashed his Walter's hand first.
Don't discount that just because she's a female.
in the same way hanks killer died like hank, mikes killer died like mike
@SimTheUndauntedcan you do ozymandias
@epikk1you own stock in the word "immense." it's the only explanation. immense amounts of immense stock.
anyway since you're a millionaire after this video you can afford a good thesaurus.
Breaking bad is actually probably pretty good for "quitting smoking". Though "just getting what you want when you don't, like you're not getting shot..." is somehow also a vague and boring truth.
@RomanHoldThe wrist watches of famous gangsters such as Al Capone are coveted collector's items but even more so if the crook was wearing the watch at the time of his death as was the case with Bugsy Siegel or Dillinger. If Walt had died with that Tag Heuer Monaco strapped to his wrist it would've become a million dollar trophy and an emblem of his eventual defeat. It would've represented his downfall and Walt didn't want that. Better to leave it to some random stranger who had no idea of who the previous owner was than let it be collected and sold by a crooked cop.
@sananselmospacescienceodys730814:30 This is the moment where he says, "This is the moment..."
@AndysBabyGail is an INNOCENT MAN????
@HandsomeCaterpillarI just realize that God will be helping drugs manufacturers to get Home.
@mitchelpacheco2039This is a really good summary video, except for one thing that could have been better edited, which would have really made this video exceptional.....
The "i liked it, I was good at it" line should have been shown to have been the full circle arc to Walt's egotistical slide into almost madness,
"Stay out of my territory"
"I am the one who knocks"
"Its all about me"
"Because i say so"
"Im in the empire business"
"Say my name"
6 examples of Walt's astromonical, evolving ego that accelerates more and more out of control with every season, and then his self realisation and admittance in felina for his deep seeded actual motives providing the payoff to the previous, perfect accelerated 5 and a half season build up
Evan Monroe?!
@MichaelCasteel-u5rI think this is a fantastic analysis, though there is just one point I disagree with- Walt planning to also kill Jessie at the clubhouse.
I believe Walt went to get revenge for Hank yes but also planned to set Jessie free.
Yes, Walt manipulated Jessie throughout series but I believe he also loved him like a son.
When he found out from Badger and Skinny Pete that his Meth was still on the street -which means Jessie is alive, he knew Jessie would be doing it against his will.
I believe Jessie is another big regret in Waltās life.
Setting Jessie free and getting revenge for Hank was 2 birds with one stone.
Walt going to kill Jessie just didnāt seem to be consistent with their relationship.
Just subscribed going to be checking out your other content.
@chrisd9012Great job first time watcher here.. Thanks for the hard work.
@chrisd90122:35 I always saw it as Walt being ready to let Jesse go. Leaving him outside of alberqueque, maybe hoping after his attack, he will find a good life outside of alberqueue.
@tritiper4188I'm a bit late to the party here, but I just rewatched a clip from Granite State and had a thought that connects to a bit you were confused on. Reading your pinned comment told me that you hadn't heard this idea, so here's my take. (I also haven't seen many people discuss this idea in general, which I find interesting)
While he's in the bar, he finds out that his blue meth is still being sold. Part of the reason he came back was to get payback, and he was angry at first because he thought Jesse was partnered with them. So, I think that him taking the watch off can serve several purposes at once, but in terms of character I think it could be because he's letting go of Jesse completely in that moment. He's off to kill Jesse himself, alongside Jack and his guys, and instead of the watch being something sentimental he can hold onto or just something he got used to, it's become something a now enemy gave him and he doesn't want anymore. I'd have to rewatch the episodes again to dig much deeper, it's been a minute since I've seen the show and this coming from just watching the clip and memory, but I think it's neat because of how well constructed it ends up being in terms of continuity, character, and theme.
And if you do see this, perchance, I just want to say that I'm a big fan. Your analysis of things is very well done (I'm 3 minutes into this one, finally watching for the first time:D ) and I've enjoyed you in everything I've seen. I also really like your voice, it's very well suited for this and your execution is well done. I hope that's not weird and I struggle with voice recording, so I figure it's worth saying. Idk what your position on making more content is, but I can say that I'd love to see more. I wish you the best, hope all is wellš„
6:28 YOU KELD UNVL HAEK U KELD HIMM!
@SmuchoriseditzHow did the watch = out of time thing not pass your mind lol
@ThiefofBaghdadyou just repeat what's on the screen bro. that's not an examination. that's just reading the script of the show with occasional really obvious remarks and thoughts. trash video
@Akizas28I find it impressive how in his last moments Walt was concerned about running his hand all over the laboratory so that people would think it was him who was cooking and not Jesse.
@low_14A detail I never noticed before is the moment with Gretchen and Elliot where Walt says āThis is where you get to make it right.ā So even at the end Walt still blames them for him leaving Gray Matter. So technically, Walt didnāt completely let his ego go.
@MiamiGameHunterI think the rotating MG is also a payoff to Jesse's idea of a robot
@kaanpleb