John Wayne Movie 'The Searchers' Inspired The Ending To 'Breaking Bad'
Ursula Coyote / AMC
Since then Vince Gilligan has shared on both the "Breaking Bad" talk show "Talking Bad" and "The Colbert Report," that the John Wayne movie "The Searchers" served as inspiration for the final scene between the show's two lead characters, Jesse and Walt.
[FINALE SPOILERS] At the end of "Breaking Bad" old meth cook partners Jesse and Walt were reunited after being apart for some time, culminating in a final stand off at the show's end. Originally, Walt went in search of Jesse with the intent to kill him thinking he was cooking again without him. He decided against it after learning his old partner was being forced into cooking batches for a group of Nazis and instead saves his life. (Yes, it sounds absurd if you're not familiar with the show). [FINALE SPOILERS]
AMC / Breaking Bad screencap
"All throughout 'The Searchers' John Wayne is chasing after Natalie Wood's character; she's been taken by the Comanches, and he keeps saying, 'When I find her, I'm gonna kill her,'" Gilligan told Colbert. "Then at the last minute, when he sees her her, he sweeps her up in his arms and says, 'Let's go home,'" Gilligan said.
To give some more context, in "The Searchers" when Woods' character Debbie is found five years after being kidnapped by Ethan (John Wayne), she's one of the wives of the man who took her and doesn't want to return home. Furious, Ethan sets out to kill her saying he rather see Debbie dead than alive as an Indian.
"It's this tear-jerking wonderful ending," added Gilligan. " We stole from the best."
Gilligan told "Talking Bad" host Chris Hardwick you can see this scene play out between Walt and Jesse during the "Breaking Bad finale.
"He [Walt] sees him [Jesse] ... sees what bad shape he's [Jesse] in ... and he saves him," says Gilligan.
Others online noted that the final scene of "Breaking Bad" echoed the highly controversial "Lost" finale in its final shot.
Watch Gilligan's interview with Colbert below:
Here's the trailer and ending to "The Searchers":
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