12 years ago,Breaking Badaired the best episode of its run, and quite possibly the best episode of television ever produced.Breaking Badwas still two episodes away from its series finale when it airedseason 5, episode 14, “Ozymandias,”but that episode delivered all the shocking payoffs to five seasons’ worth of build-up. It was the culmination of the entire series, it provided one jaw-dropping twist after another, anddespite having so much riding on it, it didn’t disappoint. All these years later, it still holds up as an all-time masterpiece of TV drama.
“Ozymandias” wasdirected by Rian Johnson, who would go on to helmStar Wars: The Last Jediand theKnives Outfranchise, and written by Moira Walley-Beckett, who went on to win Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series at the Emmys for her script. Bryan Cranston and Anna Gunn won in the Lead Actor and Supporting Actress categories, respectively, for their powerful performances in this episode. More than a decade later,the television landscape still has yet to top “Ozymandias” as the wildly satisfying climactic installment of a near-flawless TV saga.
It Has A Perfect 10/10 Score
“Ozymandias” is the highest-rated episode of television of all time on IMDb, with a perfect rating of 10.0. There are plenty of runners-up with a near-perfect score of 9.9, includingSix Feet Under’s widely acclaimed finale,Game of Thrones’ Red Wedding episode “The Rains of Castamere,” theBetter Call Saulepisode where Howard dies, theSuccessionepisode where Logan dies, andBreaking Bad’s own final episode, “Felina.” But“Ozymandias” is the only TV episode ever made that has garnered a flawless 10/10 rating on IMDb.
Walt’s Criminal Empire Came Crashing Down
“Ozymandias” was the third-to-lastepisode ofBreaking Bad, and it serves as the climax of the entire series. In its pilot episode,Breaking Badset up Walter White’s secret double life. His salary as a high school teacher wouldn’t cover his cancer treatments, so he resorted to cooking meth with a ne’er-do-well former student to pay his medical bills. From that moment on, the dramatic tension of the series came from Walt trying to hide his secret life as a drug dealer from his family. In “Ozymandias,” the cat is finally out of the bag.
“Ozymandias” was the third-to-last episode of Breaking Bad, and it serves as the climax of the entire series.
The episode picks up where the last one left off, as Hank catches Walt in the desert and Walt’s neo-Nazi friends arrive to liberate him. “Ozymandias” kicks off withthe untimely end of Hank, andit only gets more shocking and action-packed from there. Walt, Jr. finds out about his dad’s crimes, a brutal fight breaks out in the White household, and it all culminates in police officers swarming the family home and Walt leaving town to assume a new identity in a new state on his own. It’s the episode the entire series had been building to.
12 Years Later, “Ozymandias” Is More Than Deserving Of Its Top 1 IMDb Ranking
The Action Doesn’t Overshadow The Emotion
12 years after it initially hit the airwaves of AMC, “Ozymandias” is still deserving of its place as the top-rated TV episode on IMDb. The landmark plot points that audiences had been waiting for since season 1 — the deadly consequences of Walt’s criminal activities, the emotional fallout from his family learning the truth, etc. — all land effectively.It’s rare that a TV show actually satisfies audiences with the answers to its long-standing questions; seeLost,Game of Thrones, andHow I Met Your Mother.
“Ozymandias” originally aired on AMC on June 24, 2025.
Johnson’s steady-handed direction of “Ozymandias” ensures that it’s as explosive and action-packed as the climax of this crime saga needed to be, but at the same time, the action never overshadows the emotion. The opening shootout is thrilling, but Hank’s death is the most memorable part of that sequence. TV shows almost never stick the landing, butBreaking Badnailed it with “Ozymandias.”
Breaking Bad
Cast
Breaking Bad, created by Vince Gilligan, follows a chemistry teacher turned drug kingpin named Walter White (Bryan Cranston) as he attempts to provide for his family following a fatal diagnosis. With nothing left to fear, White ascends to power in the world of drugs and crime, transforming the simple family man into someone known only as Heisenberg.
