Being screened over two years (presumably to cause as much pain to me as possible), the concluding season of this show opens with a flash-forward to an event which is to come, before jumping back to the aftermath of Gus' death and Walt's "victory" and continuing the story from there. The flash-forward lets us know that the show knows where it is going and, unlike the viewer at this point, how it will get there but to be honest this is something that I no longer need convincing about because the show has done nothing but proof to me that the core of the show is mapped out really well and convincingly. The core of the show of course being Walt's moral decline – one small necessary step at a time; and the first half of season 5 continues this really well.
A colleague of mine who also watches was surprised to learn of there being a fifth season; he was of the mind that the "I won" was the right place to end it, since all was tidied up, but to me the path ahead was obvious simply because of how well drawn all this has been so far. Walt is a brilliant cook but the tragedy of him is that he knows he is – he knows he is one of the best in the world and we have seen a constant battle for him to get the recognition of this from those "above" him and also for him to reconcile the old view that his friends and family of him as a gentle teacher while he is really anything but this. With the fifth season it was a given that he would seek to step into Gus' shoes in some way – or develop an empire for himself. The plot devices that are used to continue this path are occasionally a little far-fetched in their design; events such as a train-robbery and a few other aspects require the show to be strong to carry them but fortunately this is the case. To me it starts and ends with Walt – all the characters are good but he is the key to it all.
His arrogance and ego have long overtaken his need or even his want. What was once horrific to him is just the latest small compromise he has to make and there is a brilliant scene where others start to realize this – a scene that simply contains Walt whistling while he works. In support of this character, Skyler is really well used this season; she has had her "moral decline" happen to her without planning and the impact on her is tangible. What is even more evident though is that she cannot see any of what she feels in Walt and she knows he has done much worse than her, her fear is really well done. Jessie is sidelined a little but remains important and indeed has gradually become one of the few moral characters in the show. Mike's time is increased which is effective because he is not only a good character but is also key in the story moving forward. The events make sense but what makes them work so well is that all the characters totally make sense – so yes, some of it is a bit of a stretch, but the way the characters act and move always makes sense. With one exception.
The exception to me is the final episode of season 5.1; an episode that feels rushed, lacking a flow and all about setting up the concluding half for 2013. How I feel about it may change with context given by this second half, but for now it didn't seem to fit with the rest of the half season. Although Walt does have a certain amount of "revelation" with the murder of Mike, it doesn't carry though enough to justify his sudden willingness to step away from the table where his ego has kept him all this time. Nor is there sufficient "bridging" to this decision. The jump in time from this decision to apparent domestic bliss also creates a problem in regards questions that would have been asked by Walt's partners in this period, while the sudden idea in Hank's head was not as well done as I had hoped it would be when it happened (and some form of this was always going to happen). It is still a decent episode but it just seemed less than the others.
The cast continue to be quite brilliant – but this is due to the product they have to deliver. Gilligan's script and understanding of his characters is assured and, although he didn't direct any of these 8 episodes, his vision is well captured by others and the show has a very creative and engaging feel to it in terms of camera angles, music and general design. There are lots of examples of odd angles and creative illustrations of the cooking process but for me the standout was the series of vicious jailhouse murders playing out under lovely music while contrasting with the incredibly brutal action.
Overall this half season did not disappoint; yes I had some doubts on some aspects of plotting and I did feel that the 8th episode was not all it could have been (or rather that what it did needed to be better and done over more time) but generally this continues the very high bar set by the previous seasons. I will be sad to see the show end but equally cannot wait for it to do so as it is really hard to imagine that Gilligan will let us down at this point.
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