Vince Gillian had one MAJOR problem writing the Breaking Bad finale

Vince Gilligan wrote himself into a corner preparing for the final episode of Breaking Bad

The story of Walter White (Bryan Cranston), a mild-mannered chemistry teacher who became a drug kingpin, is one of the most acclaimed television shows of all time and received 16 Primetime Emmy Awards, eight Satellite Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, two Critics' Choice Awards, and four Television Critics Association Awards.

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At the beginning of the final season, we see a flash-forward of Walter buying a hefty machine gun and placing it in his trunk. At the point of first viewing, fans didn't know what the gun was for, though it was later revealed that Walter planned to use it to rescue Jesse (Aaron Paul) from the clutches of Jack and Todd, who were torturing and imprisoning him.

But, when Gilligan wrote the opening scene of Walter purchasing the gun, he didn't actually have any plan for how it would be used.

When asked by Variety how he dealt with writing the finale, Gilligan responded:

"The biggest single fear we had was what to do with that damn machine gun. At the beginning of the final run of 16 episodes, we had Walt buy a machine gun in the trunk of a Cadillac. That was the thing I remember freaking us out the most because we did that, I committed to that. One of the dumbest things I’ve ever done in my career was committing to the idea of Walter White buying a machine gun when we did not know what he was going to do with it. We had no clue. There were literally months on end when I was completely freaked out. We’d be in the writers room’ for a full day, and I’d be slowly banging my head against the wall — not enough to hurt myself but just enough to jar the ideas loose. And everybody was kind of worried about me. 

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Breaking Bad (2008-2013)

Walter White (Bryan Cranston) is struggling through life as a high school chemistry teacher. Everything changes when Walter is diagnosed with lung cancer. With not long to live, he asks one of his former students to make and sell methamphetamines together, thus building a drug empire.

Developed by: Vince Gilligan
Stars: Bryan Cranston, Anna Gunn and Aaron Paul

Throughout the final few episodes, Walter struggles to give the millions of dollars he has earned through his empire to his family. Walter Jr. and Skylar continually refuse his attempts to communicate, while he himself is a man on the run from the law.

Eventually, he hatches a plan to threaten his former business partners Gretchen and Elliott to give the money to Walter Jr. in a trust when he turns 18.

"Once we figured out this machine gun, that was when the dam broke and things started slowly to click together," Gilligan continued.

"It was after that point that we figured he’s got to win. He’s lost everything because of his hubris and his pride and his ego. He’s lost his family, he’s lost his soul. But he’s got to win on some level. He’s at least got to deliver that money to his family. How the hell does he do that once the world knows who he really is? When we figured out that Gretchen and Elliott could be the mechanism by which Walt wins and gets that money to his family, that was a good day."

Breaking Bad was followed up a spin-off, Better Call Saul, which focused on the character of Saul Goodman, played by Bob Odenkirk.