Before you read on, SPOILERS.

I'll start by saying RIP Gustavo Fring, one of the most compelling villains I've seen in a long time. I don't know about you guys, but I always had respect for Gus. In a lot of ways, he was a very sympathetic figure, and even when he wasn't, he was always a very ominous and commanding presence- there was never a time when he was on screen that I wasn't waiting with baited breath for something awful to happen. Having said that, I couldn't have been happier with how he went out. The guy who played Hector deserves some serious props. He is the new king of the crazy eye.

I can't say I was all that surprised with the big reveal at the end. I knew Walt was involved as soon as Jesse said the poison wasn't ricin. However, I was extremely impressed with the tightness of the script. There was only one scene in this season that seemed out of place and pointless- the scene where Walter is spinning the revolver on the patio table. After landing on Walter several times, it eventually points to a potted plant. The scene lingers on the pot for a moment, then moves on. It seemed like a strange scene to me at the time, but I pretty much ignored it and got swept right back up in the drama.The fact that so small a scene could be such an integral hint of things to come without giving anything away is just brilliant, in my opinion. The writing on this show continues to be insanely good, and the cast keeps getting better. I was so concerned that they were going to ruin this series by stretching it too far; I was honestly hoping they would wrap it up next season, not because I want the show to end, but because I want this series to be true to itself. It never made sense for BB to be a long, drawn-out series, and I didn't want to see the producers get greedy and fuck it up. But with this season finale (which is, I think unarguably, the best yet), Vince Gilligan has convinced me that this story is far from being over. I can't help but think that this series is going to wind up being even more groundbreaking than I originally thought it could be; and coming from someone who has publicly stated that this is the greatest TV drama of all time since the second season, that's saying a lot.

Also, I hope Mike comes back with a vengeance in the 5th season.