‘Breaking Bad’ : Season 5 Episode 14 – ‘Ozymandias’ -- 'Kingpin of Kingpins' [VIDEO]
"Breaking Bad" creator Vince Gilligan says "Ozymandias" will be the "best episode" of the final season. There is no reason 'not' to believe him, especially after the way episode 13, "To'hajiilee," ended -- on the note of an explosive, violent showdown. The blood-stained result of the showdown will be revealed in "Ozymandias" and also viewers may see the crumbling of Walter White's (Bryan Cranston) Heisenberg invincibility.
In "To'hajiilee," Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul) was the target set by Walter White (Bryan Cranston). He wanted a quick, painless and fearless death, without suffering for him. But, Walt was outsmarted by Jesse and Hank (Dean Norris) and fell right into their set trap. Finally, Hank tasted success against his brother-in-law Walt. He had his 'Heisenberg', locked inside the car and under-arrest. Hank and Walt both thought it was over, but Todd (Jesse Plemons) and his uncle Jack arrived, with the gun-wielding men and were on the verge of overturning Walt's "it is over'. At the end of episode "To'hajiilee," Hank became the target.
One of the most discussed teasers of "Breaking Bad" Season 5, second instalment, was that of "Ozymandias." In the teaser, the voice of Bryan Cranston recited the "Ozymandias" poem written by Percy Bysshe Shelley, while still visuals flashed by. Episode 14 "Ozymandias" of "Breaking Bad" is likely to revisit the poem.
In the "Breaking Bad" Heisenberg context, the lines:
"My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:
Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!"
can be re-written as: "My name is Heisenberg, kingpin of kingpins:
Look on my crystal meth (works), ye Mighty, and despair!
Shelly's poem ends on these three lines:
"Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level sands stretch far away."
Heisenberg is the name that Walt cannot dissociate himself from, anymore. The blue crystal meth, cooked by Walt, is something that cannot be cooked by anyone. In "Breaking Bad," the lines can be interpreted as blue crystal meth and the name Heisenberg remain while the rest is a colossal wreck. It reminds of the flash forward in the episode "Blood Money." A dishevelled Walt finds himself staring at 'Heisenberg' sprayed on the wall inside his abandoned house. The flash-forward alluded to fugitive status of Walt and his family not being beside him.
It is three more episodes before curtains fall on this much acclaimed drama series and if "Ozymandias" is going to be better than "To'hajiilee," then we are in for another night of edge-of-seat experience.
"Breaking Bad" Episode 14 "Ozymandias" Promo Video: [Source: OfficialTVPromos/Youtube.com]
"Ozymandias" poem by Percy Bysshe Shelley (Source: Poemhunter.com)
"I met a traveller from an antique land
Who said: 'Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desert. Near them, on the sand,
Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown,
And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,
The hand that mocked them and the heart that fed.
And on the pedestal these words appear --
"My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:
Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!"
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level sands stretch far away."