Face Off (Breaking Bad)

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"Face Off"
Goodbye" by Apparat
Cinematography byMichael Slovis
Editing bySkip Macdonald
Original air dateOctober 9, 2011 (2011-10-09)
Running time50 minutes
Guest appearances
  • Hector Salamanca
  • Steven Gomez
  • George Merkert
  • Ray Campbell as
    Tyrus Kitt
  • Myra Turley as Hector's caregiver
  • Gonzalo Menendez as
    Detective Kalanchoe
  • Francesca Liddy
  • Detective Munn
  • Christopher King as
    Chris Mara
  • Gail Gilligan as Rebecca Simmons
Episode chronology
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"Live Free or Die"
Breaking Bad season 4
List of episodes

"Face Off" is the thirteenth episode and season finale of the fourth season of the American television drama Breaking Bad, and the 46th overall episode of the series. It originally aired on AMC in the United States on October 9, 2011. It was directed and written by series creator and executive producer Vince Gilligan.

The episode marks the culmination of the arc concerning the conflict between

Tyrus Kitt, played by Mark Margolis and Ray Campbell, respectively. All three would reprise their roles in the Breaking Bad prequel series Better Call Saul
.

The episode was named by TV Guide as one of the best television episodes of 2011.[1]

Plot

Hector Salamanca's retirement home
, Casa Tranquila.

Walt visits Hector and offers him a truce via an opportunity to kill Gus as revenge for wiping out the Salamanca family. Hector asks to speak with the

Tyrus Kitt
inspects Hector's retirement home room for any traps and finds nothing. Gus enters and admonishes Hector for his supposed cowardice, and prepares to kill him via lethal injection. However, Hector looks up at Gus for the first time in years, and Gus is shocked. Hector repeatedly rings his bell, detonating the bomb hidden underneath his wheelchair. Gus screams and tries to escape the room, but is too late; the explosion kills Hector and Tyrus, and Gus walks out of the room with his face half blown off before collapsing dead on the floor.

Walt hears the news of the explosion on the radio and is relieved. Jesse is released from police custody but is forced to cook meth at the lab at gunpoint. Walt heads to the lab, kills Gus's two henchmen stationed there, and frees Jesse. Knowing that Hank Schrader is closing in on the lab, Walt and Jesse burn it down.

Later, Jesse tells Walt that

Brock Cantillo will live and that he was poisoned by lily of the valley berries, which children sometimes eat because of their sweet taste. Although Jesse questions killing Gus, since Gus never poisoned Brock after all, Walt assures Jesse that it had to be done. Walt calls Skyler White, who is—along with the rest of the family, still under lockdown[a]
—learning of the explosion from the news. Skyler asks Walt if he had caused the explosion and what happened, to which he simply replies, "I won". The episode ends with a shot of a lily of the valley plant in Walt's backyard, revealing that Walt had poisoned Brock.

Production

Giancarlo Esposito made his final appearance as Gus Fring in Breaking Bad before reprising the role in Better Call Saul.

The episode was written and directed by the series creator Vince Gilligan. It marked Gilligan's final directorial credit on the series before the series finale.

This episode marks the final appearance in the series of

Tyrus Kitt. Esposito, Campbell and Margolis would reprise their respective roles in Breaking Bad's spin-off series Better Call Saul: Margolis from the show's second season, and Esposito and Campbell from the third
.

The plot wrapup was planned by the series' production team since the beginning of the season, partly because they were not certain at the time whether the series was going to be renewed for another season. The visual effect of Gus's massive facial wounds took months to prepare, with assistance from

double meaning in that "Face Off" is a reference to Gus losing half of his face in the explosion, and also is a term to describe a battle or confrontation.[3]

The songs playing throughout the episode were "Black" by

Complex specifically named "Black" on a similar list.[5]

Reception

Critical reception

Vince Gilligan received acclaim for his direction and writing of the episode.

Seth Amitin of IGN awarded the episode 9.5 out of 10, describing it as "the perfect blend of Breaking Bad".[6] Alan Sepinwall, reviewing for HitFix, said the episode was "fantastic, from beginning to end".[7] Matt Richenthal of TV Fanatic awarded the episode a 4.8 out of 5 and described Breaking Bad as "the best show on television".[8] Donna Bowman of The A.V. Club awarded the episode an "A".[9] James Poniewozik of Time magazine described the finale as "stunning, morally searing and, well, explosive ... with a few holy-crap moments for the ages",[10] while Tim Goodman of The Hollywood Reporter reckoned that the episode "did a lot of things right, course-correcting most ... worries and giving viewers not only an action-packed, satisfying episode but putting the show on the path to finish ... in a nearly perfect dramatic state."[11]

Awards

The episode was nominated for seven

Visual Effects Society Awards
.

Notes

  1. ^ The DEA-imposed lockdown of Hank and Marie Schrader from the cartel that began in "Crawl Space"

References

  1. ^ "2011's Best Episodes: Flights and Tights and the Final Friday Night Lights Goodbye". TV Guide. Archived from the original on January 29, 2012. Retrieved January 23, 2012.
  2. ^ Itzkoff, David (October 10, 2011). "Vince Gilligan of 'Breaking Bad' Talks About Ending the Season, and the Series". Artsbeat. Archived from the original on October 12, 2011. Retrieved October 10, 2011.
  3. ^ "'Breaking Bad''s Gus Fring, Giancarlo Esposito, talks about his season finale face-off". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on November 12, 2020. Retrieved November 22, 2019.
  4. ^ a b "'Guess I Got What I Deserve': The 11 Most Perfect Song Selections in Breaking Bad history". Uproxx. July 31, 2015. Archived from the original on October 28, 2020. Retrieved May 26, 2019.
  5. Complex. Archived
    from the original on May 26, 2019. Retrieved May 26, 2019.
  6. ^ Amitin, Seth (October 9, 2011). "Breaking Bad: "Face Off" Review". IGN. Archived from the original on July 8, 2013. Retrieved June 3, 2013.
  7. ^ Sepinwall, Alan (October 9, 2011). "Season finale review: 'Breaking Bad' – 'Face Off': Say uncle". HitFix. Archived from the original on July 19, 2022. Retrieved June 3, 2013.
  8. ^ Richenthal, Matt (October 10, 2011). "Breaking Bad Season 4 Finale Review: Who Won?". TV Fanatic. Archived from the original on June 6, 2013. Retrieved June 3, 2013.
  9. ^ Bowman, Donna (October 9, 2011). "Face Off". The A.V. Club. The Onion. Archived from the original on May 24, 2013. Retrieved June 3, 2013.
  10. ^ Poniewozik, James (October 10, 2011). "Breaking Bad Watch: The One Who Knocks". Time. Archived from the original on July 9, 2013. Retrieved June 3, 2013.
  11. ^ Goodman, Tim (October 10, 2011). "'Breaking Bad' Spoiled Bastard: Season Finale: 'Face Off'". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on October 26, 2012. Retrieved June 3, 2013.
  12. ^ "Emmy 2012: 'Mad Men,' 'Breaking Bad,' 'Modern Family' earn nominations". The Envelope. Los Angeles Times. July 19, 2012. Archived from the original on July 20, 2012. Retrieved July 19, 2012.
  13. ^ "Breaking Bad". Emmys.com. Archived from the original on March 28, 2016. Retrieved April 9, 2013.
  14. ^ Giardian, Carolyn (February 18, 2012). "ACE Eddie Awards: Editors Honor 'The Descendants,' 'The Artist'". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on February 21, 2012. Retrieved February 20, 2012.
  15. ^ Kilday, Gregg (January 28, 2012). "Directors Guild of America Awards 2012: Complete Winners List". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on May 26, 2019. Retrieved January 20, 2018.

External links

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