Did lung cancer destroy Walter White? Or did it liberate him to become the man he was all along, deep inside?
The much-anticipated final season premiere of "Breaking Bad" averaged 5.9 million viewers in its first airing on Sunday, according to Nielsen — about double the 2.93 million it drew for its regular-timeslot premiere of a year ago.
Sunday's premiere picked up right where last season left off: with detective Hank Schrader realizing on the toilet that his mild-mannered brother-in-law Walter White is actually Heisenberg, a murderous, meth-cooking criminal mastermind of epic proportions.
If you haven't watched the episode yet, you can go to AMC TV website to watch the full episode online free.
According to Los Angeles Daily News, the show was dedicated to the Cordascos for their 16-year-old son Kevin Cordasco, a huge fan of the series who succumbed to neuroblastoma in March after a long battle with the rare cancer. The hour ended with the words "Dedicated to our friend Kevin Cordasco."
The teen met lead actor Bryan Cranston (who plays Walter White) and his wife, Robin Dearden, last September when they visited him for three hours at the hospital.
Show co-executive producer Melissa Bernstein said the dedication to Kevin was the idea of series creator Vince Gilligan, who was "devastated" when he passed away and wanted to find a way to express his respect for him and condolences to the family.
At one point, Kevin brought up a question to Gilligan about a group of characters on the show he found intriguing. "Ultimately, the writers thought about it and I think they found a way to address his question," Bernstein said. "I don't want to go any further than that because it would be a spoiler. Kevin truly had an impact on the way the story played out in the final eight (episodes.)"
