Breaking Bad: Season Four

We're almost at the end of season four of Breaking Bad. I've always been a huge fan, but there comes a time when you begin to hope that a good series will come to an end. The Sopranos, in its damn near perfection, chose almost exactly the right moment to finish. Of course, there were characters I would have liked to see more of, stories which were ongoing, but Kurt Vonnegut always argued no one ever walks out of theater complaining 'that was too short'. Of course, Deadwood was the opposite. A series cancelled like Rome because of the enormous costs which couldn't be justified in the light of an enthusiastic, but ultimately small audience. Deadwood has all the feeling of unfinished business. It's hard to re-watch because you know the various strands and arcs are going to be left dangling.  But what of Walter White and co, what of Breaking Bad? Well, Vince Gilligan, the show-runner, has spoken in the past of how he always liked to write himself into corners, as a way of creating surprising twists and conclusions in finding the solution to his self-inflicted problems. Now the problems are beginning to rack up though. Walt's cancer has largely been forgotten about, which is beginning to feel dishonest. Hank's investigation meanders along but his inability to spot Walter has gone from a tense situation to frankly annoying. Recent episodes have picked up momentum and the season could still be saved by ending (and I don't mean that to sound sarcastic). A real sign that things aren't going well: the glimpse of something cryptic early in the episode which arrives later used to be a great technique, trousers flying in the desert wind, a teddy bear's eye floating in a swimming pool, but now it is just that: a technique, a quirk. And often one that fails to surprise.