Breaking Bad

The countdown has begun to this summer's final eight episodes of Breaking Bad, which are sure to be intense. Four episodes into filming, Anna Gunn, who plays Walter White's wife, Skyler, says, "It feels literally like the apocalypse. Walt's actions have touched everyone around him, so we are all being affected. The world's crumbling, and you're watching everybody fall apart."

"There are going to be tears," says Bryan Cranston (Walter), who ­directs the midseason premiere. "There are two scenes with a neighbor lady named Carol. One is very sweet and nice. And one is not."

There will be other new characters introduced, along with a bit of good news for Skyler. "She gets a new car," says Gunn, who laughed when I asked if it might be a hearse. While no major characters die in the first four episodes, Gunn confirms that at least one regular has been informed that he or she will bite the big one before the finale. "Anybody could go at any time," she says. "Trust me, it's going to be worth the wait."

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