Breaking Bad Writer and Director Talk Emmy-Award Winning Episode 'Ozymandias'

For some Breaking Bad fans, "Ozymandias" was the greatest episode of one of the greatest television shows in history. The third-to-last episode of the series is the one in which Walter White's (Bryan Cranston) world completely unravels, and every moment is extremely painful to watch.

EW.com caught up with writer Moira Walley-Beckett, who won an Emmy for crafting this episode, and director Rian Johnson to talk about the brilliant hour of television. Firstly, Walley-Beckett discusses the pivotal scene in which Walt loses his family for good.

"It was an extremely complicated scene to write. There were many discovery moments. It was somewhat operatic: many little crescendos and decrescendos. Each character, Walt, Skyler, and Walter Jr., has a different objective in the scene because they each have a different piece of the puzzle. Confusion abounds. Conflict arises. And over the course of the scene the penny drops for each of them in an absolutely devastating way. The scales drop from Walter Jr.'s eyes and he finally sees his father for who he really is. Skyler comes into understanding that Walt killed Hank and consequently she tries-literally-to cut the cancer that is Walt out of their lives. And Walt, in the aftermath of the knife fight with Skyler, observing his wife and son huddled, united against him, helplessly utters his useless mantra, 'We're a family...' as he watches them slip away from him forever."

Johnson reveals Cranston actually played a pivotal role in bringing that scene to life. "The toughest moment as I remember it was before the fight, when Walt admits that Hank is dead and Skyler believes this means that he killed him. The whole scene turns on that line "I tried to save him!" and we did it over and over again trying to find the right way for it to come out. It was Bryan who felt that instead of an accidental blurted admission it should come out as a burst of uncontrollable primal anger. He was right. Not only did that reading feel honest in the moment, but it reminded you on a gut level what Skyler is protecting her family against when she picks up that knife."

For more, including some behind-the-scenes photos from the episode, head over to EW.com.