This year's Emmys had a signature blue tint -- but were just shy of absolute purity.
Breaking Bad cooked up a near-perfect batch of awards in its final Emmys ceremony Monday night, taking top honors for outstanding drama series; acting awards for Bryan Cranston, Aaron Paul and Anna Gunn; and a writing award for Moira Walley-Beckett, who penned standout episode "Ozymandias."
The only thing keeping Breaking Bad's final Emmys from 100% purity: Vince Gilligan, the show's creator and frequent writer/director, who lost to True Detective helmer Cary Fukunaga.
"Thank you so much for this wonderful farewell to our show -- you have been very kind to us indeed," Gilligan said, while accepting the final award of the night.
Cranston's antihero Walter White secured the leading actor Emmy, his fourth time edging out a strong field in the category. Meanwhile, Paul took home the award for supporting actor, an honor he also earned in 2012 and 2010 for portraying Jesse Pinkman.
"My god, Breaking Bad -- it has changed my life and I am standing up here because of one man and that is Vince Gilligan," Paul said onstage. "Thank you. I miss him. I love him. The best cast and crew I’ve ever worked with and for. There's not a single day that goes by that I don’t miss running to work."
Gunn notched a win for supporting actress for her emotional take on Skyler White, thanking her onscreen husband, "remarkable cast" and parents. Gunn took home the same Emmy last year.
"It is luck that brought me seven years ago to getting a phone call from Sharon Bialy, our amazing casting director, who said, 'Get your patootie in here and read for the show. ... It's the best pilot script I've ever seen,'" Gunn recalled during her speech. "She was right and it turned into the most extraordinary journey over the past seven years, and I have been unbelievably fortunate."
Breaking Bad beat itself in outstanding writing, with Walley-Beckett's "Ozymandias" episode (poor Hank!) besting Gilligan's "Felina" as well as episodes from Game of Thrones, House of Cards and True Detective.
AMC's cultural juggernaut has been an Emmy staple since it was first eligible for nominations in 2008. It picked up outstanding drama series nods in 2009, 2010, 2012, 2013 and 2014 (it wasn't eligible in 2011), and won the big one last year.
The final time we'll ever see the @BreakingBad_AMC cast and crew together in any #Emmys press room. So many feels! pic.twitter.com/O2LgdUBzvV— Brian A. Hernandez (@BAHjournalist) August 26, 2014
[nggallery id=18351]