YMMV / Breaking Bad S5 E14: "Ozymandias"

• Genius Bonus:
  • The episode itself is very fittingly named after the Percy Bysshe Shelley poem, about the fall of a former ruler's civilization and legacy in ancient times.
  • One that doubles as a Freeze-Frame Bonus: In the fire station, the firefighters are entertaining themselves by playing chess; before they are distracted by the firetruck lights, the white king is three moves away from being checkmated in a "Greek gift"-style mate. In other words, this means that white cannot win the game.
• He Really Can Act: RJ Mitte finally gets a chance to show us what he's capable of when he's more than just a Plot Device. His work in this episode in particular, specifically his reactions to Skyler and Marie telling him about his father’s crimes and heartbreakingly begging his parents to stop fighting before calling the cops on Walt, is one of the many reasons this episode is so popular.
• It Was His Sled: Jack executes Hank halfway through. This is one of the most well known moments of the show in part due to the episode itself being one of the most acclaimed television episodes ever, and due to Walt's immediate reaction becoming an extremely popular internet meme.
• Jerkass Woobie: Walt's list of sins is a more than a few miles long. However, seeing him desperately try to save Hank and fail, his family turn against him, and the phone call with Skyler, can invoke pity for him giving the very human emotion coming from him in response. He also manages to switch between petting the dog and kicking the dog throughout the episode, making viewers go back and forth between pity and disgust towards him.
• Memetic Mutation: The shot of Walt collapsing in horrified anguish after Jack shoots Hank has become an extremely popular reaction image/clip, usually used as a humorous overreaction to something extremely minor.
• Moral Event Horizon:
  • The episode begins with Walter giving up Jesse to the Nazis, then telling Jesse how he let Jane die, even though he could have saved her; Vince Gilligan himself actually considers Walt telling Jesse he let Jane die to be the most evil thing Walt ever did - in his own words, it is the only action Walt commits out of pure petty sadism.
  • Towards the end of the episode, Walt kidnaps his infant daughter Holly, believing she doesn't know enough to turn against him. He was wrong.
  • Jack also crosses the line when he murders Hank and Gomez before enslaving Jesse to make more money off of his meth cooking.
  • In-universe. Skyler and Walt Jr. clearly believe Walt has crossed this line by killing Hank. Naturally, this is the one crime he's actually innocent of, though they obviously have less-than-zero reason to trust him at this point.
• Narm: The scene where Walter reacts to Hank's death was so popular through Memetic Mutation that when the scene is watched for serious context, viewers can let out a laugh from the many memes it created.
• Rooting for the Empire: Somehow, there are people who thought that Jesse deserved to be tortured and enslaved as a meth cook for the rest of his life because he ratted out Walt to Hank, which resulted in his and Gomez's deaths, ignoring the fact that Walt is the one who called Jack to the scene in the first place, not to mention all the crap Walt put Jesse through that caused Jesse to sell him out in the first place.
• Sacred Cow: All over the Internet, this episode is considered one of the greatest episodes in television history and you'd be hard-pressed finding anyone who disagrees.
• Signature Scene:
  • Among fans, this episode is best remembered for Walt fighting off Skyler and Jr. while Holly cries in the background. The entire show builds up to this moment before completely breaking whatever status quo remained in this show, and it is so emotionally intense that, even though there are two and a half more episodes after this scene, it is widely considered the climax of the show.
  • Among laypeople, Walt's anguished reaction to Hank's murder remains the best-known moment from the episode, thanks to it becoming fodder for reaction images and memes years after the show ended.
• Take That, Scrappy!: For those that still hate her, Walt gives one to Skyler during his subtle Taking the Heat speech where he basically voices all the complaints people have towards her since the beginning of the series, namely her bitchiness and nagging. On the other hand, Walt's speech could be interpreted as a subversion, since he intentionally painted himself in a horrible light to deflect any and all blame from Skyler. Some fans even theorized the speech was Vince Gilligan's message to the fans who endlessly attack Skyler, no matter what she has done throughout the series.
• Tough Act to Follow: While the final two episodes of the series are highly regarded as bringing a satisfying conclusion to the show, many felt that they suffered for no other reason than following in the footsteps of this episode. To compensate for this, most refer to "Ozymandias" as the climax and the final two episodes as the epilogue.
• The Woobie:
  • Marie has just heard that Hank had taken Walt into custody, giving her her first real Hope Spot in ages, only to learn shortly afterwards that Walt has escaped and Hank has been killed, possibly by Walt under her assumptions.
  • Skyler as well, following Holly's abduction.

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