( CNN ) -- Five years . Sixty-two episodes . One big , presumably bloody finale . Hundreds of possible ways it could end . With `` Breaking Bad '' careening toward a climax Sunday night , fans of the AMC show -- newly anointed by Emmy voters as the best drama on TV -- are feverishly doing the plot-resolution math . The Internet is buzzing with potential clues , predictions and crazy theories as viewers debate the most fitting way to send teacher-turned-drug-lord Walter White into the Albuquerque sunset . Which characters will survive ? Will Walt die , and how ? Who is the vial of ricin , and the machine gun in his trunk , meant for ? What will become of wife Skyler , son Walt Jr. , sister-in-law Marie and -- most pressing of all -- Jesse , his tormented ex-partner in crime ? Cryptic comments by Vince Gilligan , the show 's creator , have only stoked the speculation . `` We worked long and hard to ensure that ... the very last episode â€ ” would satisfy an audience , '' he told Entertainment Weekly . `` I am guardedly optimistic that we have achieved just that . And furthermore , trying to be as coy as possible , trying to give away as little as possible , I feel like this ending represents on some level , however small , something of a victory for Walter White . `` Read into that what you will . And try to be as open-minded as possible when you watch this episode , because it may not indeed feel like a victory . Or maybe it will . '' Got that ? Only Gilligan , his actors and crew know for sure how the show will end its run . But that has n't stopped the rest of us from trying to guess . Here are five theories : . Hail the returning conqueror . This one is the most obvious , and therefore the most unlikely . Walt shows up at Uncle Jack 's compound , seeking his stolen money , and somehow takes out Jack , Todd and the rest of the neo-Nazi thugs -- either with a surprise hail of bullets or a stealthy dose of poison . In the process , he also frees Jesse , who either is a ) so grateful to be sprung from his hellish existence as a meth-cook slave that he walks away , or b ) so angry that he kills Walt right there , extracting a measure of revenge on the `` mentor '' who ruined his life . Bryan Cranston : Man of the moment . Shakespearean tragedy . Despite its comic moments , `` Breaking Bad '' at its heart is an epic tragedy with a high body count . In some ways it would be true to the show 's dark heart if things end bleakly for almost everyone : Walt 's attack on Uncle Jack goes wrong , he and Jesse are killed and Skyler goes to prison or commits suicide , orphaning Walt Jr. and Holly and leaving Lydia free to go on supplying Europe with crystal meth -- Walt 's last , bitter legacy . Gray 's frenemy . Some fans of the show think Walt got so worked up watching Elliott and Gretchen Schwartz -- whose lucrative Gray Matter pharmaceutical company may have been rightfully his -- on `` Charlie Rose '' at that bar in New Hampshire that he 's been jolted into seeking some long-repressed revenge . He sure bolted from the bar in a huff . But why would he need an automatic weapon to confront a couple of scientists ? Besides , such a quest would distract from bigger potential showdowns with other characters . Photos : Memorable scenes from 'Breaking Bad ' Expect the unexpected . It would n't be a shocker to see Walt survive a showdown with Uncle Jack and crew , only to be blindsided by another antagonist . We 're going to assume that Walt Jr. -- about the only unsullied character left on the show -- is not going to suddenly break bad and kill his old man . But Skyler has had a lot of time to seethe about how Walt destroyed their family and left her facing a prison sentence . As we 've seen , Lydia is not above some ruthless maneuvers to protect her interests . And then there 's Marie -- poor , grieving Marie -- who now hates Walt to the core of her widowed soul and may want to avenge Hank 's death . 5 questions 'Breaking Bad ' must answer . The `` Felina '' theory . Sunday 's final episode is titled `` Felina , '' which has sent the Internet scurrying to decode its potential meanings . One resourceful writer for Previously.TV has unearthed a Marty Robbins song , `` El Paso , '' which has a character named Felina . In the song a jealous cowboy kills a rival who was flirting with his love , Felina , in a bar . The cowboy flees town alone before returning for Felina some time later , only to be shot down in a face-off with five unseen men . Felina , says the writer , is a metaphor for Walt 's criminal life -- the seductive power he feels when he 's earning respect and millions of dollars . Then again , `` felina '' is also an anagram for `` finale . '' So it may just mean Gilligan is messing with us . Because there 's only one thing we can say for sure about `` Breaking Bad 's '' last episode : All our predictions will be wrong . How do you think `` Breaking Bad '' will end ? How should it end ? Let us know in the comments .
The Internet is buzzing with predictions and crazy theories about how ` ` Breaking Bad '' will end . After five years the AMC show 's final episode airs Sunday night . Creator Vince Gilligan : ` ` We worked long and hard to ensure the last episode would satisfy an audience ''