Face Off (Breaking Bad)

"Face Off" is the thirteenth episode and season finale of the fourth season of the American television crime drama series 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.

Not to be confused with Face Off (Grimm).
"Face Off"
Breaking Bad episode
After an explosion, half of Gus Fring's face is blown off. The visual effects in this scene earned the episode an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Special Visual Effects.
Episode no.Season 4
Episode 13
Directed byVince Gilligan
Written byVince Gilligan
Featured music"Black" by Danger Mouse
"Goodbye" by Apparat
Cinematography byMichael Slovis
Editing bySkip Macdonald
Original air dateOctober 9, 2011 (2011-10-09)
Running time50 minutes
Guest appearances

The episode marks the culmination of the arc concerning the conflict between Walter White (Bryan Cranston) and Gus Fring (Giancarlo Esposito) which served as the focus of the fourth season. The episode marks Esposito's final appearance as Fring, as well as the final appearances of recurring characters Hector Salamanca and Tyrus Kitt, played by Mark Margolis and Ray Campbell, respectively.

The episode received widespread critical acclaim on its initial airing and was named by TV Guide as one of the best episodes in all of television in 2011.[1]

Plot

Walt removes the bomb from Gus's car and asks Jesse if he knows of a place Gus frequents that does not have security cameras. Before Jesse can think of one, he is approached by two detectives concerned about his knowledge of ricin who interrogate him. When Saul arrives as Jesse's lawyer, Jesse tells him of a potential location that Gus goes to that is not well guarded: Hector's retirement home.

Walt visits Hector and offers him an opportunity to kill Gus. Hector asks to speak with the DEA but does not disclose anything to the DEA. However, Gus believes Hector is going to the DEA to tell them about his true identity and visits Hector to kill him, as Walt anticipated. Tyrus inspects Hector's retirement home room for any traps but finds nothing. Gus enters and berates him for supposedly being a coward. Hector breaks out into a rage, repeatedly ringing his bell, detonating the bomb underneath his wheelchair and killing all three of them.

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' two henchmen stationed there, and frees Jesse. Knowing that Hank is closing in on the lab, Walt and Jesse burn it down.

Later, Jesse tells Walt that Brock 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, who—along with the rest of the family—is 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 it was indeed Walt who 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 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 Giancarlo Esposito as Gus Fring, and recurring actors Mark Margolis as Hector Salamanca and Ray Campbell as Tyrus Kitt. Esposito, Campbell and Margolis would reprise their respective roles in Breaking Bad's spin-off series Better Call Saul, beginning with the latter show's third and second season respectively.

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 Fring's massive facial wounds took months to prepare, with assistance from Greg Nicotero and the special effects team from fellow AMC drama The Walking Dead.[2] The effect was produced using elaborate makeup on Giancarlo Esposito's face, with additional computer-generated imagery that combined two separate shots. The episode's title "Face Off" was also meant to be a reference to Gus losing half of his face in the explosion.[3]

The songs playing throughout the episode were "Black" by Danger Mouse and Daniele Luppi featuring Norah Jones, "Goodbye" by Apparat, and "Freestyle" by Taalbi Brothers. The use of "Black" was included as among the series's greatest musical choices by Complex and Uproxx.[4][5]

Reception

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

The episode received unanimous acclaim from television critics. 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 Primetime Emmy Awards at the 64th ceremony,[12] including Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series for Vince Gilligan; Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series for Mark Margolis; Outstanding Cinematography for a Single-Camera Series; Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing for a Drama Series; Outstanding Sound Editing for a Series; Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Comedy or Drama Series (One-Hour); and Outstanding Special Visual Effects in a Supporting Role.[13] Editor Skip Macdonald won the ACE Eddie Award for Best Edited One-Hour Series for Commercial Television for this episode.[14] Gilligan was nominated for the Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Dramatic Series.[15] The episode also received nominations for Outstanding Achievement in Sound Mixing for Television Series at the Cinema Audio Society Awards; Best Sound Editing in Television – Short Form: Sound Effects and Foley at the Golden Reel Awards; and Outstanding Supporting Visual Effects in a Broadcast Program at the Visual Effects Society Awards.

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