Having just watched the finale of Breaking Bad, I can now say that it is one of the few series that work perfectly from beginning to end. This isn't to say it couldn't be criticized - it was often far fetched, and in the first season the series didn't quite have a hold of its characters, with Walter making some overly-sudden shifts and Jesse's IQ seemingly wandering up and down - but it was always incredibly intelligent and entertaining, the acting was always amazing, and the show managed to effortlessly move from gritty realism to flights of fancy (like that mariachi song that began one episode).

It is wondrous how beautifully formed character arcs are. Walter, who loses tiny pieces of his soul in ever episode, Jesse, who lets himself be lead into deeper and deeper waters, and Skyler, whose underrated (and often castigated) role is perhaps most relatable; she has to choose between the rock and the hard place, and knows from the start that there are no good options.

What's most impressive about Breaking Bad is it never fell apart. There were no extraneous episodes, no period where it lost momentum or seemed to be treading water. The show moved with purpose. It knew what it was about - consequences and arrogance - and it never lost sight of that. It was a series that remained true to itself. Some series start great and lose their way (Lost), some series fall apart in the end (Battlestar Gallactica), some get taken over by people with a different vision (Gilmore Girls), some brilliant series get canceled in the first season, so no matter how good that ending was going to be, we'll never see it (Earth II). Breaking Bad gave us five virtually perfect years, and the only thing bad about it is now that it's over I need to find something new to binge watch.