- [Narrator] It's been six whole years since the finale
of Breaking Bad aired and we still can't
stop thinking about it.
It was the obsessive attention to detail
that catapulted the show to the history books
as one of the greatest of all time.
- Say my name.
- [Narrator] Every detail in Breaking Bad
is intentional but they can be easy to overlook
if you've only watched through once.
So why don't we take a look at some of the hidden details
of Breaking Bad that you might have missed.
In an interview wit GQ,
show creator, Vince Gilligan, said
"I obsess a great deal more than I should
"over those details, I sweat the small stuff."
It's clear that Vince and team always had a complete vision
of the shows story from start to finish
and that is particularly evident
in the use of foreshadowing.
Breaking Bad is stuffed full of clues that give hints
for what's to come.
For example, remember these intro teasers
scattered throughout season two?
We now know that it was the debris from the Wayfarer 515
crash in the season finale,
even if at the time we had no idea
what this pink teddy bear was
but the clues were always there.
The teasers kick off episodes one, four, 10 and 13,
titled Seven Thirty Seven, Down, Over and ABQ respectively,
combine them and we'd know exactly what was going to happen.
(explosion overhead)
Not all of the foreshadowing was quite as cryptic though,
the shows cinematography prepares us
for eventually character and plots developments.
These include hinting at Walt's future
with Tuco's perfectly fitting grill,
and with a carefully place bullet hole in Walt's reflection,
as well as the white king on the chessboard
in Ozymandias being dangerously close to checkmate.
Here's a dark example for you,
in the season two episode titled Phoenix,
Walt turns over his newborn daughter, Holly,
just in case she spits up.
- Just in case she decides to do a little spit up,
we'll roll up and nice, clean towel like this
and put it under.
- [Narrator] Well, later in the same episode,
when faced with a similar situation with Jane,
he makes a very different choice.
(Jane choking)
Much of the foreshadowing has been confirmed
by Vince Gilligan but eagle eyed fans
think they've spotted more.
Take this shot, Saul Goodman's license plate
which usually reads as lawyer up,
is partially obscured by Walt and Jesse,
now it reads wire up.
Can you guess what happened next?
- But you're here for answers, okay?
But don't push the questions,
okay, let's not get him suspicious, all right?
- [Narrator] This scene from season two,
where Walt and Jesse are stranded out in the desert
has also sparked speculation from fans.
- What are we building?
- You said it yourself.
- A robot?
- A battery.
- [Narrator] Well, it turns out in the series finale,
Walt kind of does build a robot to get themselves
out of another sticky situation.
(car alarm beeps)
(machine gun fires)
It's just just foreshadowing that shows us how intentional
Breaking Bad is with details though,
the shows use of symmetry demonstrates the progression
of plot and character.
Let's start at the beginning
with Walt and Jesse's first meeting in the show.
- [Walt] Hey, it's me, I'm alone.
- [Narrator] And now,
the last time they ever see each other.
The parallels are clear between the shots
and allow us to reminisce about how far
these characters have come.
This is particularly evident with Jesse,
throughout the show, he's always the passenger,
that is, until the series finale,
when he finally breaks free and becomes the driver
of his own destiny.
(Jesse laughing)
That's not the only reflective shot in the finale though,
the final shot of Breaking Bad
shows us the death of Heisenberg the drug lord
and echos a shot in season four
where the Walter White we knew is consumed by Heisenberg.
We also get a call back to the very first shot
later in the series.
Walt's trousers flying through the air
is now an iconic image, where did they go?
Well, look closely.
♪ Take my true love by her hand ♪
♪ Lead her through the town ♪
(track rewinds)
♪ Love by her hand ♪
♪ Lead her through the town ♪
This one is really great,
if Skyler's reaction to her legal trouble
seems familiar to you, that's because it is.
(muffled speaking)
- Is she even listening?
- [Narrator] It's almost an exact replica
of Walt receiving his cancer diagnosis in the pilot.
(muffled speaking)
- [Doctor] Mr. White?
- Yes.
- [Narrator] What about this shot of Walt
sitting by the pool with his son.
- [Walt] Should of brought our suits, huh?
- [Narrator] It feels like we might have seen it before.
Breaking Bad is a visually orientated show
and many of the hidden details
are a result of carefully planned production design.
Clothing, in particular, gives us insight
in to character progression.
In the first couple of seasons,
Walt goes from wearing brighter colors such a beige
and green to dark browns and black,
reflecting his increasingly dark actions and state of mind.
This is also the same with Skyler and Hank,
who moved to darker colors
from blue and orange respectively.
Not Marie though, she just really loves purple.
Details are also hidden in various props.
In the final episode,
the camera lingers on this New Hampshire license plate
and it's state motto, live free or die.
This tells us the outcome of the two main characters
at the end of episode,
one lives free, while the other, well, you know the rest.
This one is extremely meta,
notice anything about this shot?
Yep, that's right, it's the shows logo
based on the elements in the periodic table
hiding in plain sight.
And here it is again.
The shows final episode has been subject
to much of the search for hidden details.
It's called Felina,
which besides being an anagram for finale,
is also the subject for a song at the start of the episode.
As Walt drives back to New Mexico,
he listens to a song called "El Paso" by Marty Robbins.
♪ And at last here I am on the hill ♪
It tells of a man who returns to the town
where he is a wanted man to find
the woman he loves called Felina.
If that wasn't obscure enough for you,
the coordinates of the spot that Walt buries the money
are actually those of Q Studios in Albuquerque, New Mexico,
where the show was filmed.
- 34, 59, 20, 106, 36, 52, 34, 59, 20, 106, 36, 52.
- [Narrator] I think we have time for one more.
There's a theory that Walt picks up the traits
of every person in the series that he kills
and this is certainly backed up in the details.
There's the crustless sandwiches from Krazy-8,
- [Woman] We're going to take a little time
out of our schedule to gather in the gym.
- [Narrator] The vomiting ritual from Gus,
and his changed taste in drinks from Mike.
- Uh, another round for him and I'll have the same, no ice.
- Rocks, right?
- Rocks, yes.
- [Narrator] He even straight up takes some lines from Mike.
- Do yourself a favor and learn to take yes for an answer.
- Trust me, if you do this--
- Lydia, learn to take yes for an answer.
- [Narrator] Well, that's a lot to process
and we haven't even scratched the surface.
There's a reason we're all so obsessed with Breaking Bad
to this day, these hidden details are truly the gift
that keeps on giving.
Vince and team, we salute you.
- You're goddamn right!
(gentle upbeat music)