The end of Breaking Bad was satisfying. The end of Dexter was not. Basically what Breaking Bad got right was that the end was a logical progression of the story and the storytelling itself was consistent with the rest of the series. Dexter felt like it was too conscious of it being the finale and needing to do something unique.
From what I recall the only absence in the presentation of the final episode of Breaking Bad from the rest of the series was an obvious GoPro shot. Maybe they could have stuck a camera on a bundle of cash or something.
Dexter was just a mess. The obvious conclusions of him moving away from Miami with a family or ultimately getting caught, would have served as a much more satisfying end. It may not have been bombastic or fancy, but it would have felt right. Ultimately its not about what the conclusion is, but trusting the characters and the writing to make that conclusion interesting and good storytelling. Breaking Bad went with an obvious end for Walt, but made the journey getting there worth watching.
As an added thought on finales, I only just recently watched the entirety of The Sopranos so I’ll add that into the discussion. I would have to say I agree with it being a tremendously weak ending. Not because of the non-ending aspect so much, after all there is a particular John Sayles film that has an ambiguous ending and it is wonderful. But rather because it long felt like they had run out of things to do with those characters. The shooting incident with Junior and the aftermath would have been a far more satisfying ending for the series.
Whether that series ended with the final episode of season 5 or, for an even more ambiguous ending, with him standing at the threshold of that house in his vision state, it would have felt more satisfying. In both cases the series would have ended as a result of two major themes of the series: his lifestyle and psychology (Junior’s dementia or Tony’s own unconscious mind made manifest in the visions).
As it was, everything that followed that event felt like the show going through the motions. So I guess it that regard the finale was a fitting conclusion. They basically had nothing left to say so it just stopped. True, the way it was shot tried to add to some ominous pending conclusion, but it felt more like them saying the show was about that family and the danger around them, so here that is one last time.
Of course they could have pulled a Dexter and had Tony and Vito run off together leaving it all behind.
