13 Years Ago, Breaking Bad’s top Episode Changed the Show Completely, With 1 Hilarious Hidden Easter Egg

A lot of people hold up Breaking Bad as the single greatest show in the history of television. There is a lot of evidence to back that claim, as it won over a dozen Primetime Emmy Awards, a few Golden Globes, and even two Peabody Awards. The series was remarkably consistent in terms of high quality installments from start to finish, telling a compelling story the entire way. A lot of shows, even the best ones like Game of Thrones, suffer from a lackluster final season, yet Breaking Bad seemed to get even better as time went on. Just a few episodes before its highly anticipated series finale, Breaking Bad put out the best hour of television from its entire run. That’s difficult to do, but even more impressive is the fact that the episode also managed to change the entire trajectory of the show, setting up a finale that felt different from what came before it, in a good way.

That episode of Breaking Bad is “Ozymandias.” It also featured an intriguing callback to something from earlier in the series, and it threw in a hilarious easter egg that keen viewers will remember from an important moment in the past. All these elements make “Ozymandias” one of the most intriguing episodes to ever air.

How “Ozymandias” Changed Breaking Bad

In a lot of ways, “Ozymandias” is what Breaking Bad had always been building towards. Directed by Rian Johnson, the episode sees Hank Schrader get killed in cold blood by Jack right in front of Walt, who witnesses everything falling apart. From that point on, the intense nature of the story never slows. There’s Walt kidnapping Holly to establish himself as a criminal and protect his family, Walt telling Jesse that he watched Jane die, and Walt leaving to get his new identity.

For a long time, “Ozymandias” had a 9.9/10 rating on IMDb, and as great as the entire series is, it’s widely believed to be the show’s greatest installment. It changed Breaking Bad because it actually feels like a finale. The story that we had been building to, from Hank’s death to Walt and Jesse having a blow-out fight to everything involving the White family breaking down, happened here and set up a point of no return. The fact that Walt then leaves to get a new identity could’ve been a series finale, yet instead it sets up a different kind of conclusion.

The established normal isn’t a thing for the last two Breaking Bad episodes. “Granite State” and “Felina” don’t have the rising drug kingpin that is Walter White. Instead, time has passed and he’s a broken man looking for any kind of redemption. He rose so high and his fall was so brutal. Walter White lost everything, which was a fitting place for his story to go. “Ozymandias” was a perfect ending to what we knew, setting up the unknown in a thrilling conclusion.

“Ozymandias” Featured A Perfect Callback

Many people might be unaware of what “Ozymandias” means as a title. It’s a reference to a famous poem by Percy Bysshe Shelley, which is actually read aloud by Bryan Cranston in the trailer for the second half of Breaking Bad Season 5. The poem is from 1818 and tells the story of a fallen empire and, specifically, the ego and arrogance of its ruler. Clearly, it’s meant to symbolize Heisenberg, who built an empire and ran into most of his trouble when his own ego got in the way.

The final lines of the poem are especially crucial. “My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings: Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair,” might as well be a reference to the famous “I am the danger” line. The last line reads, “Nothing beside remains. Round the decay Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare, The lone and level sands stretch far away.” It centers on the idea that even the greatest reigns and the most powerful kingdoms don’t last. No matter what Heisenberg built, the desert would reclaim it, which was evident in the “Ozymandias” scene where Walt is alone pushing a barrel.

There’s An Easter Egg From The First Breaking Bad Episode

For all the greatness of “Ozymandias” and the deeper meaning behind several elements, it had time to throw in something fun. As Walt is pushing the barrel through the desert, we’re focused on his struggles and how far he has fallen in the episode. That means you might overlook the fact that he pushes the barrel past a pair of khakis on the ground. For those fans who caught it, this is a fun easter egg callback to the show’s first episode.

The pilot opens with a shot of those khakis flying through the air before showing us Walt driving the RV in his underwear while wearing a gas mask. Having “Ozymandias” feature those same pants lost in the desert was perfect. It’s something that will make fans laugh, yet also works to turn the scene into a full-circle moment. Despite everything Walt did, he was back where he started, but in an even worse situation. “Ozymandias” is a stellar episode on its own, yet the added reference to the poem and this easter egg further cements its greatness.

All five seasons of Breaking Bad are streaming on Netflix.