Certain TV shows leave an indelible impact on pop culture, and Breaking Badis one of them. Created by Vince Gilligan, the genre-bending psychological thriller aired on AMC from 2008 to 2013, during the peak of the modern “Golden Age of TV.” Prestige dramas ruled the roost then. Breaking Bad catapulted Bryan Cranston’s career into the stratosphere, and his widely lauded performance as Walter White earned him four Emmy wins for “Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series.”
Few shows are as enduring as Breaking Bad. Its near-perfect run has cemented it in the cultural zeitgeist. Multiple publications have ranked the series on “Best of All Time” lists. In 2024, Rolling Stone published a list of “The 100 Best TV Episodes of All Time,” with a certain episode of Breaking Bad sitting pretty at No. 1. Can you guess which one?
That’s right–it’s Season 5, Episode 14, “Ozymandias.” Airing on Sept. 15, 2013, the TV episode boasts an impressive 9.5 rating on IMDb. Here’s a synopsis:
“After a desert standoff, Walt and Jesse face the fallout as alliances shift, family is threatened, and old choices come due.”
“Ozymandias” is the narrative payoff the series has been deftly building toward for five seasons. Walter White has done reprehensible things in Breaking Bad, seemingly for his family, but in “Ozymandias,” he’s forced to look in the mirror, as it were. Heisenberg and Walt are one and the same. So many arcs come to an explosive head here, including Jesse learning the truth about Jane’s death, which occurred in Season 2. Fun fact: the episode title is taken from Percy Bysshe Shelley’s sonnet of the same name.
This episode is a nail-biter from beginning to end. If you found yourself not breathing during its 47-minute run, you’re not alone. “Ozymandias” deserves to shine on all TV episode ranking lists, and its staying power is proof positive of this. Even 13 years later, it still hits you where it hurts.
Bolstered by visceral, gutsy performances and jaw-dropping twists, Breaking Bad‘s “Ozymandias” reminds us that TV can–and should–make us feel big things.
This story was originally published by Men’s Journal on Apr 30, 2026, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Men’s Journal as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
