User reviews

This episode had me in the edge of my seat right up to that shocking final scene!! You could feel the tension and suspense! The "scene" with Mike was incredible! Masterfull direction! Once again BB delievers.

This is the thirteenth episode of the third season of Breaking Bad and this is one of the best finales, or at least one you'd be hoping for. Somehow, it gets even better than the last episode as we see Walt and Jesse facing severe consequences for their actions from the previous episode. I liked how there is a flashback to start things off, and I even got the sense it could have been the future though it wasn't. All things considered, this is a very intense episode.

In this episode, "Full Measure," Jesse is on the run and Gus makes clear that he will not put up with this any longer. Gus chooses Walt's new partner and that happens to be Gale. But once Gale starts asking about the cooking, then Walt realizes he may about to become very expendable.

Overall, this is a fantastic episode and it has an amazing cliffhanger that had me sitting in stunned silence for ten minutes after the episode ended. It's action-packed and the slow burner from the beginning of the season is not prevalent now. I think we are in for a treat as we head to Season 4. I rate this episode 10/10.

I am writing this after watching this episode for the 3rd time over the span of 4 years. Having been in a video production college class, this definitely helped my understanding of the phenomenal performance hat this episode produced. An episode/movie is so much more than just the plot, or what you want to happen as a viewer. It's everything else that goes into the production that makes the difference between the good shows and the great. This episode was one of Breaking Bad's finest examples of pure video production perfection. Each tume I watch this episode I am more impressed due to how every shot/angle/line is analyzed and only approved until the crew knows that it is PERFECT. Phenomenal season finale, and solely the epitome of a perfect entertainment series episode. This episode is just one example of the perfection that this show puts on over it's 5 seasons.

I am here now, at the end. For the past 4 months I have been seeing Breaking Bad for the first time by repeats every week on AMC. I have finally caught up to the end, and what an unforgettable conclusion.

Full Measure is just all out an incredible episode. It has really great writing, as expected. I can't really judge the directing and writing any more since all the fans know of what quality they are. I do want to give kudos, as much as I love Mad Men, and thought no show could surpass it, I was wrong. Mad men is perhaps more ambitious because it takes place in the 1960s, and in terms has more characters. However, Breaking Bad's character moments surpass Mad Men's quiet character moments for the simple reason that we feel with Breaking Bad more. Mad Men does have rich characterization, BUT it does feel as if we are just outside looking in. Since we pretty much are taken on a ride with the characters in Breaking Bad, we feel more. Meaningful scenes in Breaking Bad have more effect on me. Also, as great as the ensemble cast is in Mad Men, the actors in Breaking Bad also surpass them as a whole. Cranston and Paul would no doubt have at least Oscar nominations if this was a film.

Overall, this review is for the entire series so far, and for this incredible episode. In a way I am glad I waited to see the AMC reruns, because now I only have to wait around two months for the 4th season, as opposed to more than a year. One can only speculate what can happen, but it will be incredible as always.

What an epic conclusion to the season! Even from the beginning of the episode, with Walt meeting Gus in the middle of nowhere, with that long walk, I could tell that this was going to be something special. Some people prefer "Full Measure"'s predecessor "Half Measures", but I think as a whole, "Full Measure" was the better show. "Half Measures" had some silly material, including the weird cold open (which had a point) and scene with Hank and Marie in the hospital. Lives were on the line in "Full Measure", which made it that much more interesting and exciting. Boy, does Vince Gilligan know how to make a finale! The last two have been incredible, with this one topping "ABQ". Bryan Cranston was very deserving with his Emmy win for this episode submission (his last Emmy win), but there were so many other episodes they could have chosen for him. None would've been as good as this one, though, so a smart move by the creators. Cranston was pleading for his life at the end, making his performance that much more great. And the ending was definitely special, with about 5 or 6 twists and turns in the final 15 minutes that blow your mind! Still think One Minute is my favorite from Season 3, but Full Measure is not far behind!

Like all the other seasons, this one gets a 10. This is perfect television.

S3 E1 starts off in a hilarious way.

When i saw people doing military specific crawling on the ground, at first I thot someone is torturing people n making them crawl for submission, then later I thot maybe some guerrilla war training, then i thot mayb they were training for the illegal border crossing but then came the hilarious revelation.

Also the way they keep the photo next to the idol in the shrine is hilarious.

E1 gets even more hilarious. Barry, student of Walter White is just interested in getting an 'A'.

Following the Wayfarer 515 crash, in a school assembly, Barry spoke about how he felt about the incident. He attempted to exploit the disaster by unsubtly trying to convince the school to give students preferential grades, claiming that many colleges give roommates of people who commit suicide an "automatic A".

In E2 one scene is lol when Mr White says get ur restraining order rite here, restrain this while touching his balls.

E6 is tension filled n very suspenseful.

E7 is brutal, the scene where the bullet expands aft being shot in the head is splattery.

E10 named Fly gets boring n monotonous.

The last episode is dark n suspenseful.

'Breaking Bad' is one of the most popular rated shows on IMDb, is one of those rarities where every season has either been very positively received or near-universally acclaimed critically and where all of my friends have said nothing but great things about.

Very few shows in recent memory had me so hooked from the very start that before the week was over the whole show had been watched, especially when for a lot of shows now airing watching one episode all the way through can be an endeavour. 'Breaking Bad' had that effect on me, and its reputation as one of the best, consistently brilliant and most addictive shows in many years (maybe even ever) is more than deserved in my eyes. Its weakest season is perhaps the first season, understandable as any show's first season is the one where things are still settling.

Actually everything is established remarkably from the very start, but once the writing and characterisation becomes even meatier the show reaches even higher levels.

While all the previous Season 3 episodes are very good to great (even to me the divisive "Fly"), "Full Measure" turned out to be one of the the best episodes and is one of the best of the show too. What a way to conclude a consistently high quality season, this is how to do a season finale. It is one of the most tense and most emotional, not to mention most entertaining, 'Breaking Bad' episodes for me as well, with simmering intensity and a not easy to forget ending.

Visually, "Full Measure" is both stylish and beautiful, with photography and editing that are cinematic quality and put a lot of films today to shame, where there are a lot of visually beautiful ones but also some painfully amateurish looking ones. The music always has the appropriate mood, never too intrusive, never too muted.

The writing in "Full Measure" is a fine example of how to have a lot of style but also to have a lot of substance. The dialogue throughout is thought-provoking and tense, while also have a darkly wicked sense of humour, nail-biting tension and heart-tugging pathos. The story is texturally rich, intimate, tense and layered, with the pace of it consistently deliberate but taut.

Can't say anything bad about the acting. Bryan Cranston is phenomenal as one of the most fascinating anti-heroes, or even of any kind of character, in either film or television. Aaron Paul has never been better and Anna Gunn is affecting. Giancarlo Esposito is also terrific as Gus, a character that adds a lot to the show. The characters are compelling in their realism and the episode is strongly directed.

In conclusion, amazing. 10/10 Bethany Cox

The second season of this show ended with a massive series of coincidences that produced a big event that rather cheapened the "flash-forwards" we had been given throughout the season, some loved the audacity of it but for me I prefer my audacious writing to also work within the context of the show. The third season sort of uses this event but not really and soon we are past it aside from the odd mention, but this doesn't mean the show doesn't confront the viewer with more of this style of delivery. I say this because we open with such a odd sight of people crawling through a Mexican town – a sight that we never totally understand except that some great authority exists here to make these people do it, and that that authority has it is for Walter White. So begins a season that sees Walt getting deeper into this world and understanding it better while also being held back by both Jessie and also the bits of his being where he still considers him a normal person.

This danger from Mexico is only part of the season because there is a lot going on here; Walt's relationship with Gus changing, Jessie's rash manner and small thinking putting them both at risk, Skyler coming to terms with reality and Hank making progress in his own personal case. I shan't talk about the details but suffice to say the season is engaging across the board, whether we have small dramas between the characters or a dramatic shoot-out. The balance is really good between events-driven story and smaller character-based things, so although it does have plenty of head-line action, it doesn't survive on these moment because the rest is just as good.

The writing isn't afraid to throw the viewer and although I think it was a little jarring, I did enjoy the way the show was not afraid to have an entire episode down in the basement doing something seemingly trivial – particularly in the shadow of much bigger events. Unfortunately there is still a certain amount of contrivance in the writing just as there was in the second season; one example being a woman that Jessie gets to know having a very specific connection to an event in the first season. Fortunately the season is more than strong enough to carry it through these sort of things because the majority of it works because it works within its own world. In the final few episodes in particular there are some dramatic changes to the characters and to their situations but although they feel sudden, they work because the characters have been changing and the viewer has been taken along with them. Walt in particular works very well. My girlfriend dropped out of this season because she said she no longer liked the main characters and I can see why she feels that way (although not why it stops her enjoying the show) because Walt is changing more and more as the plot goes on; it is odd to think back and remember him as the teacher just cooking in a RV without a thought for the bigger business.

This change is delivered well by Cranston, who shows here why he has been an awards regular since getting this role. He is able to keep the character we first knew but yet change him as events around him corrupt and alter him; it is a great performance that shows a real understanding of the character and the events. Paul is not quite as good because his character is not quite as good, although the bar is high and he does still do excellent work. Gunn has more to work with this season and is better for it while Esposito pitches his character well so that he is likable while also showing hints of the violent ruthlessness with which he must have got where he is. Banks and Odenkirk remain good finds but the biggest step up here is Norris' Hank. He is given a lot to do and he delivers whether it is a general inability to process his own fear into anything but anger or his drive to crack his case – I hope events do not limit his involvement in the fourth season as he has been excellent here.

This third season of Breaking Bad makes progress on top of a strong second season. The niggles are still there in the writing regards the contrivances but the approach is creative, engaging and seems to have confidence to try things out and grow. Breaking Bad remains a good story well told but it also delivers in regards moral complexity, tension, drama and characters – it is excellent television and I am looking forward very much to the fourth season.

Greetings from LIthuania.

"Breaking Bad" season 3 was a great follow up to also great season 2. Writing is a highlight as usual, as well as marvelous and epic cinematography and superb acting by all involved. I do believe though the storyline of Skyler and her boss / lover was the weakest and most unnecessary part of this season. As i have seen all 5 seasons, and currently re-watched season three after couple years, i do found the best things didn't changed on second viewing.

This season's highlight for me was shocking and epic face off at the of "1 Minute". It has to be one the very best TV shootouts in a history, it is THAT good, that suspenseful and unforgettable. Although two hit men from Mexico very simply unforgettable, they seemed more like Terminators then actual human beings though. The ending was very good, but not as good as it was in season 2 or in future season 4 and 5.

Overall, with the exception of one episode "Fly" (the reasons of which it was as it was i know very well), this is a very solid season. It ranks as number 4 in my list of all 5 seasons ranking them from best 1 place to 5th. Season 1 was 5th. It has great and unforgettable moments, amazing writing all the best stuff that you could expect from the show. It also has some more or less slightly weaker episodes as well. All in all this is very good season, but just because there weren't bad one in "Breaking Bad".