‘Breaking Bad’ Review: “Ozymandias”

‘Breaking Bad’ season 5 cooks up its sixth of the final eight episodes, “Ozymandias,” as the fallout of the desert battle between Jack's men and Hank has deadly ramifications for the entire cast, and Walt's world of lies finally comes crumbling down around him..

Last week’s ‘Breaking Bad’ episode, “To'hajiilee,” saw Jesse and Hank put into motion their plan against Walter, before Walter’s own deal with Todd’s Neo-Nazi uncle quickly sent things spiraling out of control with a desert shootout, so how does “Ozymandias” set up the final two episodes? Now that everyone knows the terrible truth, how will it all end for ‘Breaking Bad?’

Read on for your in-depth recap and review of everything you need to know about ‘Breaking Bad’ season 5 episode 14, “Ozymandias!”

Back during Walter and Jesse’s first cook, Walt broke from Jesse’s boredom to give Skyler a call about coming home late. The still pregnant Skyler accepts his excuse, asking him to bring home a pizza as she suggests the name Holly for their baby. Walt likes the sound of it, and suggests they go on a family vacation for the weekend before hanging up, as we see Walt, Jesse and the RV fade away.

Back to the present gunfight, Hank has sustained a bullet to the leg, while Gomie has been killed. Hank inches toward his shotgun, but not before Jack stops him, while they see no sign of Jesse. Walt begs for Hank’s life, admitting him to be family, and offering up the entirety of his buried $80 million fortune in exchange, but Hank knows that Jack would never change his mind about what needs to be done. Before Walt’s eyes, Jack shoots Hank dead, leading Walt to collapse to the ground sobbing.

Noting how specific Walt’s GPS coordinates were, Jack and his crew quickly find the stashed money barrels, while Walter remains catatonic. Jack loads the majority of the barrels onto the truck, placing Gomie and Hank in the ditch, before offering a single barrel for Walt to drive away with. Walt tersely agrees that things between them are square, before adding they still owe him Pinkman. Jack agrees, as soon as they find him, to which Walt points out his former partner hiding underneath the car.

Jack and the others drag Jesse out, preparing to execute him, before Todd chimes in that they should first interrogate Jesse back at their lair to learn what he told the DEA. Jack and Walter agree, dragging Jesse away, before Walt stops to look Jesse dead in the eye and confess that he watched Jane die, and chose not to save her. Jack’s crew drive off with Jesse in tow, while Walter drives the opposite direction, shortly before the car breaks down from a stray bullet that pierced the gas tank. Walt rolls his barrel through the desert, finally stopping outside of an elderly Native American man’s home, greeting him with a stack of money to buy his truck.

Marie confidently arrives to the car wash, dragging Skyler into her office to reveal that Hank has Walt in custody, through an alliance with Jesse Pinkman. Believing Skyler’s earlier attempts to get the kids out of the house to be a sign of hope for her sister, Marie demands copies of Walt’s “confession” tape, insisting that they’ll help Skyler through what’s to come, but only if she brings in Walter Jr. to finally tell him the truth. Elsewhere, a bloodied Jesse awakens in a cell to the sound of Todd’s entry, before Todd drags him into the meth lab, and chains him from the ceiling to begin cooking. Jesse drags his chain across the room, spying an ominous picture of Brock and Andrea hung up as a threat.

Having learned the truth, Walter Jr. refuses to believe what Skyler and Marie tell him, ultimately storming out, before Marie urges Skyler to take him home and wait for her arrival. Meanwhile, Walter returns to the house in his beat up truck, and frantically begins packing. Skyler and Walter Jr. arrive to the house, as Walt frantically demands they too begin packing, brushing off all questions of what happened to Hank. Skyler accuses Walt of killing him, though Walter insists he tried to save him.

Skyler grabs a knife to threaten Walt, slashing at his hand when he moves toward Walter Jr. The pair wrestle for the knife, before Walter Jr. intervenes to protect his mother. Walter Jr. calls the police, while Walter drops the knife, grabs baby Holly, and rushes to the car. Skyler pleads for Walt to give up Holly, running after the car as Walter speeds away, before she collapses in the street. A short while later, Walter coddles Holly at a public changing station, before Holly finally speaks her first words and calls for her mother.

With Marie and the police at the White household, the phone rings and sends the agents scurrying to set up a trace, before Skyler finally picks up to find Walt on the other end. Walt angrily demeans Skyler for ignoring his warnings of what would happen if she crossed him, blaming her for the turn of events. Walter insists he’d done everything for his family while she failed to believe in him, urging her to toe the line or end up like Hank, confirming Marie’s worst fears. Skyler apologizes and asks only for her daughter back, but Walt insists he still has things to do, and hangs up, breaking the phone. Nearby, firemen inside their station find an alarm flashing on one of their trucks, opening the cab to find Holly alone inside, with information pinned to her jacket.

The next day, Walt loads his luggage and barrel of cash into the disappearing man’s van, driving off as a dog crosses the road behind them.

Okay. So, now that we've had a few moments to catch our breath, let's move right past the obvious. "Ozymandias" will undoubtedly go down as one of the most tense, and tightly-constructed hours of television history, it's earth-shattering developments for the series only overshadowed by the incredible depth and fear brought to life by all involved. Cranston, Gunn, Brandt, Mitte, Paul, Vince Gilligan, director Rian Johnson, and especially the fallen Dean Norris have crafted the most harrowing installment of television we've ever witnessed, one we shudder to think being surpassed in any near future.

So in essence, that's it. The chips have fallen, the word is out on Walter and all his buried secrets (Jane!), the bodies have hit the floor right next to our jaws, and we'll need a few hits of something blue to even begin to imagine what lies in store for the final two hours of the series. Walt may have disappeared for the time being, seemingly exonerating Skyler in the process as he drops most concerns of shaving his head, though the previews of next week certainly suggest that plenty of danger remains in the immediate future, let alone the one a grizzled Walt returns to within a few months time.

Hug your loved ones, pray for Jesse, and do your best to get some sleep over the coming week, as we prepare to do this all over again next Sunday. And let's try not to think about that spinoff for now, either.

Well, what say you? Did you get your fix of ‘Breaking Bad’ bad-assery?  What did you think about tonight’s earth-shattering “Ozymandias”? Stay tuned for more from the cast and creators and join us next week for another all-new ‘Breaking Bad’ episode recap of “Granite State” on AMC!