Vince Gilligan, in the Breaking Bad writers’ room
 
Sixty-one episodes down, one to go. Breaking Bad is almost at its end, and as we await the sure-to-be-exhilarating final episode next week, we provide a look at the process that generated some of the finest narrative TV of recent memory.

While he was researching his what looks to be outstanding Difficult Men, Behind the Scenes of a Creative Revolution: From The Sopranos and The Wire to Mad Men and Breaking Bad, writer Brett Martin was given access to the writers’ room as the Breaking Bad brain trust crafted the unforgettable storyline for Season 4. Martin snapped some photographs as well, and here they are for you to see.

Needless to say, if you haven’t watched Breaking Bad Season 4 and don’t want to be spoiled, you should stop reading now.
 

The main plot points for the first four episodes of Season 4, outlined on index cards
 

The detailed throughline for the first episode of Season 4
 

If you’ve seen all of Season 4, then you already know what “BOOM” means, in the season’s final episode. The fascinating thing to notice here, though, is the reference to Walt disposing of something (or someone) in the ocean—has there ever been a shot of Walt near an ocean? The possibilities of what the writers might have been planning are intriguing…..
 

“A detailed schematic, with photos, of Walt’s fictional meth superlab located underneath an industrial laundry”
 

The Breaking Bad bathroom key, based on the show’s logo
 

The Breaking Bad “reference library,” including “Methland,” “Murder City,” and “Money Laundering”
 

A clay model of Danny Trejo’s head on top of a turtle, a reference to Season 2, Episode 7
 
via Warming Glow

Previously on Dangerous Minds:
Addicted to ‘Breaking Bad’? Here’s an EPIC four-hour interview with series creator Vince Gilligan
Breaking Bad’s Walter White: I am the 99%