i believe it will be a fall of a cliff... a very steep cliff and i believe that walt is going to start spiriling threw a painfull shattering of his life, and becouse he is going to endure so much next season it will force you to be sympathetic towards him, and root for him even harder than ever before.... oh! and i love the fact ofhim going to the dark side i love it when you have a very likable charecter that you root for and you want to see come out on top, alsow start to do real rotten things that you find dispicaple and absolutly imoral, becouse it starts to make you think about your own morals where do you cross the line? i believe that thats the entire concept of breaking bad

I don't know Zen, but I would say that Walt is already so deep into the dark side that he's going to have to become Mother Theresa to get out. I mean he's really done Jesse pretty rotten. In his mind he's convinced himself he's done the best for Jesse. I'm sure if Jesse knew what Walt didn't do about Jane he'd think that Walt was quite the bastard and justifiably so as far as I'm concerned. Didn't Walt morally leave decency behind the moment he started cooking meth? Even though one could possibly justify the killing of Krazy 8 as self defense/preservation, I think the court system would look at it a wee bit differently. After all I don't think Krazy8 wouldn't have killed Walt if let go. He was a DEA informant and would have informed on him. Also Walt is diggin the power he has as Heisenberg. Look how he chased out that guy in the store buying the meth makings. The confrontation in the parking lot with him and the thuggy lookin guy. Heisenberg said get out of his territory and looked crazy enough to mean it. Thuggy left. Walt thoroughly dug that rush.

How do you figure he's gone completely to the darkside and has lost all compassion ???? He chose to get Jesse himself in the drug den and held him in his arms when he broke down. Yes he watched Jane choke in her own vomit but weeped during. He had no choice she couldnt be trusted and in a sense he was protecting his family from her because if he went down his family would pay the financial consequences which is the main reason he's in this position to begin with and thats to make sure they're financially sound and protected should he die. The writing is spectacular in this show. Jesse and Walt's characters compliment each other wonderfully. When the season ended I felt like a close family member moved away. What the hell are we gonna do now on Sunday nights until season 3 ??????? UGH

Jane was a user, a user in the sense that she was going to take Jessis's money and run eventually. Didn't anyone see when she saw the money in the bag that she would take off and leave Jessie behind for her own demented world of heroin? You would have to be blind not to see what she had in mind for Walt and Jessie. It wasn't about helping out Jessie, she wanted a heroin partner to keep her in her habit.... she didnt want to come clean. Her father was the one that made her come clean on the drugs or he would commit her to a rehab. Now that she had Jessie's money, she had a way out to go back to drugs and run away from her father. Jane was a lost cause and a user for her own means once she found out how to manipulate Jessie. Walt saw this girl use Jessie and knew what she would do to him. Walt couldn't stand by and allow her to use the money, and blackmail him and Jessie. Not only it wasn't the fact that Jane was trying to blackmail, but she had other plans to use Walt and Jessie to her advantage. If she did go through the bag of money, she could come back and blackmail them again by threatening to rat them out to the DEA or police. Jane was NEVER a person you could trust, for she would use that trust only for HER benefit. Jessie didn't see this trait in Jane, but Walt, being the wiser, could see the problems ahead. In order to keep Jessie on the path of semi-decency, Jane had to go. Jane would never be a rehab since she liked the drugs too much. Her father would have a never ending battle of trying to keep her away from the drugs. SO...my estimination is that Jane had to be eliminated to save Jessie. Jane was the sacrifical lamb that had to be used .....in order to not allow Jessie to go down to a darker path of the heroin...she had to be rooted out.

Jane was who she was, but I don't think she would of gotten 18 months clean just because of Daddy.
No matter how much he held her hand in meetings.

That desire would have to had existed within her.

She very well that last night could of giving Jesse a strong shot and took the money and ran. Close to 1/2 million!!.... vanished .. even within the US.

I think the were both in love, but then I'm kind of sentimental...maybe just mental ;)

And Jesse loveable, as he is, is not exactly a boy scout .. he was already to bust a cap on spooge and skank.... had it not been for the little kid.. had they been there right away.. he may well have done so.. he was jacked up when he first got there and had time to come done.

In a twisted sort of way Jane was better for him than Walt has been. He even sees that in his comment by the spa... "I deserve this"

If anyone is the user...it's Walt

I agree with Linda555. Jane would have destroyed anyone she could to keep her in money and/or drugs. I don't think Walt had any other choice. This may sound bad, but for just a second I thought he might save her and I thought to myself, that would be an unwise decision that you will live to regret. I think when you are in survival mode, you do anything you have to.

Yes, Walt will put himself into more consequences of a darker nature. He has found this new freedom of independence from Skyler and in a sense, likes it. This freedom makes him feel alive again, a sense of enpowerment that he probably never had in his lifetime. Problem is the pendulum once swinging in one direction of being a meek little Chemistry teacher and part-time car wash attendant, will now swing into the complete opposite direction of the darker side of Walt. Canon law has always stated, there's an angel and a devil in all of us...it all depends on what brings out which side, the angel or the devil. Skyler and the baby gone, will most assuredly bring out the darker side since Walt will come to the conclusion, "what else do I have to lose?.... If I go the meek mode, it brings me nothing, but if I go the dark side of my nature, it does bring me more power and control, more money, more options in life that I can buy." I still believe Walt will have some confrontation with Ted for in Walt's mind, Ted is too friendly with Skyler. I also feel a falling out with Jessie will will ping pong back and forth in the upcoming events between Jessie and Walt. Once Jessie finds out Walt allowed Jane to die, this will be the test of their relationship as partners. I am not sure Jessie will fully understand if Jane did survive the overdose and couldnt believe that Jane was using Jessie...he was in love with her and blinded by her. I think Walt and Gus will have a larger impact, for now Gus can blackmail him knowing his brother-in-law is a DEA agent. Poor Walt...seems to get himself into a dark corner and has to come out swinging to save himself...but the fact that he also put himself there too..its a toss up. Walt, most definitely will have the darker side evolve more and more because that is how he will survive..bring out that Heisenberg and no one will cross him.

Walter has completely gone over. His family left him. His cancer has returned. He is going to realize during the 3rd season premiere that he has nothing to lose. And that's when things get interesting.

I look at it like Apollo 13.

Walter is flying towards the moon without any fuel, the gravity is too strong for him to break free.

He's going to have no contact with family or friends when he reaches the dark side of the moon. He will have to fly around the dark side of the moon before he can see the light again.

Jesse won't (willingly) have any contact with him, he needs to sever ties with the drug world he once knew and helped foster in order to complete his treatment.

There is no Walter White. Only Heisenberg.

At least until season 4...

I cant' edit?

I meant to say "his cancer has not returned" in my above post.

This was an AWESOME season finale. Too bad for us show addicts it ended with a cliff hanger, but hey we will be tuning in next season I am sure of that!

I think Zengirl and some of the other girls contributing here are just being girls with their morality trips. This is drama! It's not supposed to be an instructional video series on how to live one's life, if you want that go watch the Waltons. Seriously.

this is my favorite TV show EVER, of all times! And I'm getting up there in years. Not no young punk. After a lifetime of being the nerd, living life by moral agendas and always being considerate of others and now feeling the heat behind corrupt politicians who are seriously draining our future with each penstroke and bailout, I fantasize about being Walter White. He has become my anti-hero hero.

You go Walt!

I hope this show continues well past the 3rd season. I'll be waiting for next season with baited breath!

Gone over to?!? He's been there since the pilot!

Look, Walt is an expert chemist. He could have made practically any illegal substance he wanted to. He chose to make Crystal Meth, one of the most addictive and harmful substances known to man.

That's one of the things I find refreshing about this show. What Walt choose to do isn't morally defensible in the least (like growing weed or making some high-end party drugs with no long-term side-effects for rich college students might be). Crystal meth is nasty, nasty stuff. When Walt went over to the dark side, he went *WAY* over. The show is about the consequences of Walt's initial choice (and his ongoing choice to continue).

The image implied in the season 2 ending (Walt standing there while bodies fall out of the sky) pretty much says it all.

Maybe Walt (in the last episode three years down the line)
will ultimately,sadly die.
Skyler will hook up with worthless Ted and Walt will give all the money to reformed Jesse.

Ok, Fred, I'm a girl, alright -- and I actually did enjoy watching The Waltons as a kid--LOL! But it's the "morality trip" of BB that has kept me interested in the series. I truly have loved the ability of the writers to create a sympathetic drug dealer/killer that I was rooting for! It's a wild emotional and entertaining ride every week--and I don't want it to end. I'm just not sure if I can continue to feel that connection. Yeah, it's a drama, but without some sympathy for the hero, the drama is lost for me. Hopefully, the writers will continue to make their magic. We can all agree on one thing: can't wait for season 3! (Are you listening AMC? Please don't cancel!)

Thanks for all the responses here-- I watch the show with my 19 year old daughter and we never miss it but I don't know anyone else who watches it so I needed to vent. (When I try to explain the series to friends and co-workers, they usually look at me like I'm some kind of nut to watch such a weird show -- guess I'm doing a poor job of describing...)

One of the main ideas behind the show is that some of the worst criminals are also very morally grounded people that at some point in their life for whatever reason begin to walk that fine line where the ends justify the means. If you stare into the abyss the abyss looks back, right? Just look at Gus as another prime example, he even donated money for Walt's treatment.

The scary reality behind the show is that the people responsible for the destruction of so many lives to meth are the ones teaching chemistry in high school or managing a fast food joint.

You cant really look at Walt as either a good or bad person, he simply represents the duality of human nature

I am not tripping out on morality issue about Walt and what he has done in the past. I am only saying Walt has become a much different person given the circumstances of his life and what he had to do in order to provide for his family under extreme stress. He had the knowledge to make meth and used his abilities to save his own immediate family from finanical ruin if Walt died.

Stop playing the macho idiot, Freddy by stating the "girls" are just being girls with the morality trip. Many of these "girls" have contributed some very thought provoking ideas about the series that others have listened and agreed. And besides, I hate the Waltons show...you are comparing apples with oranges...two different shows to compare. And I am probably close to your age than you imagine. Yes, this is a dramatic show and a good one, but don't make general sweeping statements about the other gender to make your point and transfering your frustration and anger of your personal world onto others. Enjoy the series without pointing fingers .Glad you also enjoyed this series and I hope we all will see more of what Walt will encounter in Season 3.

Has Walt gone totally over to the dark side? No- I don't think so. I mean..I just think of that scene when he tried to threaten Saul with masks on their faces and how horrible they botched it up. Someone who was REALLY in the dark side would have been a lot better at doing that. They wouldn't have been shaking, they wouldn't have had any fear in shooting someone. The truth is that yes- Walt has done some absolutly horrible things, but there have been justifiable reasons for this. The truth is, he has lung cancer and feels that he has no choice. He's in the position of survival. He is willing to what he needs to survive from his own perspective. Walt didn't kill Jane. Jane killed herself, and Walt didn't rescue her. Should he have done so? Ofcourse! But he also shouldn't be selling crystal meth. Considering all that he has done before...encourage his son to drink alcohol till he puked, lied continually over and over with his wife and son, indirectly killed drug dealers, force himself on his wife.... Allowing a drug junkie to die, is really nothing. All of it was in his best interest. I think that Walter is slidding toward the dark side, but he hasn't gone over. Not yet. He hasn't purposely killed someone for very little reason (exempting self defense) in my opinion anyway. There is a ways of darkness before Walt, and I imagine he could sink much farther into the abyss.

very well said robobret...I agree with your theory of Walt's past decisions. Its the choices he has made,whether partially good reasons, or bad, decisions made made a ripple other people's lives, indirectly or directly.

If Walt had saved her life then it is possible Jesse and the girl could have very well wound up dead. With that kind of money, OD or robbery is extremely likely. Walt is a smart and logical character. He knew all too well that by letting her go he would actually be saving a life. No boubt this was a difficult decision. You could see Walt's emotional torture as she died. Where do you draw the line in regards to letting someone else become a real and serious threat to someone you love's life? And Walt definetly cares very much for Jesse.

This was no vengful or violent act, it wasn't an act at all. Life is not easy and sometimes we are faced with decisions that have no "right" choice. Would you rather have seen them both die?

Jane loved Jessie, and Jessie loved Jane. Walt saw Jane the same way Jane's dad saw Jessie.

Walt is a dark character in the same way Tony Soprano is. He thinks of Jessie as his nephew. He can be very soft to those he cares about, and ruthless to those he doesn't.

Great show! give me more.....

To Sirjohncool: Interesting comparison between Walt and Tony S.

Personally I find Walter to be a much more interesting character than Tony. Tony started the series as a troubled thug and despite some decent story-telling in between, ended the series as a slightly less troubled thug. Walt started the series as a decent 'every-man' whose pent-up rage (something most people can relate to) sent him to a very dark place where bit-by-bit he is losing everything he once held dear. This will not end well, but is is great story telling.

Naw, not completely. He took a step back from the precipice by commiting himself to Jesse's welfare (though the motive is contaminated with his own self-interest to a degree).

I would consider Walt thoroughly bad when he kills others intentionally and has no second thoughts, no remorse, no feeling. So far, in some of the deaths he's been involved in, he's paused and shown some doubt, some feeling. When he no longer even questions or hesitates is when he will have lost himself.

One thing I'm not sure of about Walt is whether he's truly aware of how he's changing. Does he see or recognize what he's turning into?

Yeah I think he has. Hence the name of the show breaking bad, Walt has finally broke bad. It kind of reminds me of the scene in The Sopranos when Tony suffocates Christopher Moltisanti after the car accident. At first he didn't intend on killing him but when the opportunity came up he took it. This scene kind of shows Walt's transformation in that brief moment. Although I don't believe Walt is fully evil. The reason I believe this is because he still cared about Jesse and he was doing the right thing earlier in the episode when he denied Jesse the money until he got clean. As the writters of the show said, the last episode is about consequences. And they are starting to add up. I cant wait for the next season to see rather Walt plunges deeper into evil or turns back to his good self.

Also figured I would add that Walt didn't have much choice in taking the opportunity he had. If the girl lived he would of had to worry about not only her knowing about his entire operation but also the two of them going on a drug binge with 500 thousand dollars, which would either get him caught or kill both of them.

Yeah, I don't think Jesse would have survived Jane (physically or emotionally) after receiving the $$. It would've all gone in their arm, in the end. They were already starting to live like Mr. and Mrs. Sponge - it was funny Jesse didn't see that, but....when do we really see ourselves that clearly?

Oops, meant Mr. and Mrs. Spooge.

Man, what a good string of comments! Since I'm new here, I'm just going to tell you what I see and take the story as it's been told. Walt is not a medical person. He's not an EMT, nor a doctor, nor a nurse. When he gassed Emilio, he panicked big time and ran like a bitch! When he strangled Crazy-8, he was about to come apart at the seams. When Tuco beat No-dose to death, he froze in horror and couldn't even do CPR properly. When Tuco was shot by Hank, Walt ran like a bitch again! When Jane died, he stood there like a deer caught in the headlights and froze again. I don't think that Walt is making conscious moral decisions when faced with death. He certainly hasn't about his own life when the first doctor told him he was going to die of cancer. The only exception was Crazy-8 stealing that big, knife-like shard of the plate. That forced Walt into acting in self-defense. You cannot deny that if Crazy-8 had kept his word and just walked away, Walt was going to let him live. Also, Walt killed nobody in the whole of Season 2. So, let's not send Walt to damnation so quickly. His character is more complicated than that. When he went to talk to Jesse, he had no idea that a junkie could choke to death on their own vomit. It took him by surprise and Walt doesn't DO surprises. He wants a nice neat logical world where everything turns out as expected - just like a chemistry formula.

WalkerColt It's really great to read someone else's take/viewpoint on events. Your analysis of Walt's actions in all those deaths, and his scientific background/thought processes influencing his actions/intentions fit better than how I've been viewing him in those circumstances. Thanks!

Walt's taking a NOSE DIVE ! He's gotten caught up in the money and power trip that is the Manufacturers life . I've been there . I know it too well . See ya !! These writers are absolutely FANTASTIC !!!!!

No, there's hope for Walt. Remember the last episode, the way Walt went to that crack house (or whatever you call it) to rescue Jesse? This is the same man who let Jane die in the previous episode, because he knew she'd ruin Jesse (along with whatever other selfish motivations that Walt had).
We are all supposed to be conflicted about Walt's character as he goes further and further down this road. I think Walt is still a good man, but very lost right now. I think he will redeam himself, he will look at himself and see just how far he's fallen. I just hope it's not when it's too late...like maybe when he's ruined his son's life, or maybe gotten Jesse killed. There are so many poignant directions this story could go, thank God for the great writing and the dark humor, or we'd all be depressed as hell watching it!

I don't think he has. Yes, letting Jane die was not right and he will have to live with this (amongst other things) for the rest of his life. Probably because he thought the rest of his life was very short, therefore he wouldn't have to live with his conscience that much longer, made him do a lot of the "bad" things in the first place.
But back to Jane, I think it was different, but I also think, he didn't intend to let her die, he hesitated. He hesitated to save her, probably thinking how to explain him being there, how to explain to the ambulance and the police, if they were to come, the consequences for his family, himself and also Jesse. Also he knew that Jane was not good for Jesse and would probably ultimately destroy him and/or run away with the money and possibly take down Walt's family, too,
Yes, I still think it is bad. But I sort of understand it.
Helping Jesse in the end let me think at least that ther was some hope for him after all.