That sound you hear? It’s us cheering over the news that AMC’s fifth season of Breaking Bad is right around the corner. We’ve been waiting for an actual date, and Huffington Post shared that we’ll finally be seeing more Walter White for the 16-episode season on July 15 at 10pm. The show will be split into two parts, however, with the final eight eps airing in summer 2013.
The July premiere date is exciting news, as we’ve been anxious to see where things go (you can check out our predictions here), but AMC’s two-parter isn’t ideal. A season is an arc, and a narrative arc loses impact with a year between halves. Two mini seasons limits the scope of it all, breaking up the big, sweeping story we’ve come to enjoy with Breaking Bad. The final episode of Walter and Jesse’s epic meth-making tale deserves a grand exit, and an arbitrary breaking point is not the way to go. Still, we’ll hang in there and try to have faith in creator Vince Gilligan in hopes that he’s cooking up something amazing.
Breaking Bad fans: speak up in the comments below, and let us know where you stand on the two-part finale.