"Breaking Bad" Final Predictions

The new season of "Breaking Bad" is almost here, and if you haven't noticed already, the buzz is really getting to me. I'll be blogging each of the last eight episodes individually on the Mondays after they air. I figured a good way to kick the whole thing off is to write up my guesses for what is going to happen. Instead of making, small, indivudual predictions, I'm just going to take the episodes titles and corresponding vague summaries that have been released so far, and expand on those. Think of this as a mixture of fanfiction and wild speculation for your entertainment. Very fake spoilers ahead.

Episode 509 -- "Blood Money": As Walt and Jesse adjust to life out of the business, Hank grapples with a troubling lead.

That sounds self-explanatory. Walt dallies with home improvements, but becomes bored with the lack of excitement and decides to go back into the meth business after Lydia makes him an offer he can't refuse. Jesse is dealing better, growing closer to Andrea and Brock, and having gained new employment. Let's say he's taken Mike's old job at Saul's purely for the comic potential. Meanwhile, Hank grapples with how to investigate Walter and whether or not to tell Marie.

Episode 510 -- "Buried": While Skyler's (Anna Gunn) past catches up with her, Walt covers his tracks. Jesse continues to struggle with his guilt.

Are we finally going dig into the past of Skyler White? At this stage? Or is the blurb referring to Ted's death? Well, whichever it is, it means trouble for Skyler, which means trouble for the Whites. I'm guessing "Buried" refers to both literal and metaphorical items, so I predict someone from Skyler's past unexpectedly shows up - somebody inconsequential like an aunt - with the news of someone's death, revealing some old wounds. Perhaps Skyler has been left some property. Perhaps theis property is in New Hampshire. Walt is back in the meth business again, so he's lying to Skyler again. Jesse has a run-in with bicycle kid's parents, and the guilt starts eating him. He falls of the wagon, gets high, and monologues in front of Gale's tombstone.

Episode 511 -- "Confessions":Jesse decides to make a change, while Walt and Skyler try to deal with an unexpected demand.

The unexpected demand could come from several sources - Lydia and the Czechs demanding more product, Todd and his relatives demanding hush money, or maybe the remains of the cartel demainding allegiance. I'm going to go with Todd and the Aryan Brotherhood becoming the major thorn in Walt's side, at least at this point in the season. What unexpected change is Jesse making? I'm going to guess one of two things happen, maybe both. One, that he marries Andrea and makes the new family unit official, thereby upping the stakes on all of his future actions. Two, he makes an anonymous tip to the DEA that leads to him becoming an informant for Hank.

Episode 512 -- "Rabid Dog": An unusual strategy starts to bear fruit, while plans are set in motion that could change everything.

I'm going to guess we get shorter scenes in the first few episodes where Hank confirms his epiphany, and this is the point where he actively starts moving against Walt. What is the unusual strategy? I'm guessing that it refers to whatever solution Walt came up with to keep his meth empire going and his enemies at bay. Let's say he cedes control of some of the operations to Todd, perhaps setting him up as a phony kingpin as camoflauge for his own movements. Todd, of course, is not as easy for Walt to control as Jesse was, and soon Todd and his uncle and his uncle's Aryan Brotherhood friends are plotting to cut Walt out of the business.

Episode 513 -- "To'hajiilee": Things heat up for Walt in unexpected ways.

I'm looking forward to an epic power struggle between Walt and the Aryan Brotherhood that happens to coincide with a DEA raid on their operations intended to nab Heisenberg. This results in most of the Brotherhood in prison, but Walt escapes thanks to SCIENCE! and goes on the run. Let's say Todd gets away too, to keep things interesting. Marie finally finds out the truth about Walt around this point, and has to weigh warning Skyler against staying loyal to Hank. Skyler eventually learns about the raid from someone else, packs the kids in the Aztek and attempts to pick up Walt, but can't find him. So she leaves for New Hampshire (The Granite State) without him, leaving a note with Saul.

Episode 514 -- "Ozymandias": Everyone copes with radically changed circumstances.

Walter White is on the run, and finally has to come to grips with his meth empire and the rest of his life crumbling around him, like the empire of the titular Ozymandias. Lydia gets arrested, cutting off his distribution network. The cancer comes back too, because how could it not? I'm guessing this only comes up at the end of the episode, though, once it looks like Walt is out of immediate danger and on his way to join Skyler and the kids in New Hampshire. We'll also get to check in with Hank and Marie, whose relationship is in crisis in the aftermath of the raid, and Jesse, who Todd tries to shake down for Walt's location. Jesse does learn where the Whites went, either from Walt directly, or from Saul. Between working with Saul and Hank, I expect that this is roughly when Jesse finally finds out about what Walt did to Brock and/or Jane, and he passes along Walt's whereabouts to the DEA/Todd as payback.

Episode 515 -- "Granite State": Events set in motion long ago move toward a conclusion.

After a quick timeskip ahead a few months, we see how the Whites are doing in New Hampshire, perhaps getting a peek at what life might have looked like for them if Walt hadn't broken bad. Walter Jr. isn't adjusting so well after learning the truth about his dad. Sadly, the happy times are cut short when the Aryan Brotherhood finally tracks them down and we learn the reason for that flash-forward scene with Walt on his 52nd birthday, heading back into Albuquerque with the BFG in his trunk. My guess is that Skyler or one of the kids gets wounded or even killed in a botched ambush, prompting Walt to put the Heisenberg hat back on, and go put his enemies in the ground permanently.

Episode 516 -- "Felina": The series finale.

The long-awaited face-to-face confrontations between Walt and Jesse and Walt and Hank happen. Will Walt win? I'm going with both yes and no. He'll get the upper hand somehow, but it will be a Pyrric victory. Specifics? Oh, let's say that Jesse and Walt agree to team up one last time to take down Todd. Jesse gets a chance to kill Walt as payback, but doesn't take it, resulting in his own death. After nearly dying in the desert, Walt lets Hank arrest him, and learns that Marie left. Ironically, Walt gets out on compassionate release after only a few months, thanks to his deteriorating condition. He dies in the hospital with only a therapy cat as his final visitor. Yeah, I'm going bleak.

We'll see if this bears any resemblance to what actually happens in a few more days. Happy watching!
---