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'Breaking Bad' fans angered by obituary spoiler 

Let's say it up front: This story will contain spoilers for the "Breaking Bad" finale. Which might not seem to be a problem, since that episode aired last Sunday night, and was extensively covered by newspapers, magazines, TV shows and online outlets.But for those who still have the episode saved on DVR, or are slowly making their way through episodes on Netflix streaming, protection from finale s
IMAGE: Breaking Bad
\"Breaking Bad\" fans weren't thrilled when the show's own Facebook page released a spoiler after the finale aired.Frank Ockenfels / Today

Let's say it up front: This story will contain spoilers for the "Breaking Bad" finale. Which might not seem to be a problem, since that episode aired last Sunday night, and was extensively covered by newspapers, magazines, TV shows and online outlets.

But for those who still have the episode saved on DVR, or are slowly making their way through episodes on Netflix streaming, protection from finale spoilers remains an issue. And the official "Breaking Bad" Facebook page didn't help matters on Friday by spilling the beans on how the series wrapped up.

Here come your spoilers: A Facebook group called the Unofficial Breaking Bad Fan Tour published a fake obituary in the Albuquerque Journal, a real newspaper published in the town where the show was set. Let's just say the obituary was for a character whose name sounds a lot like Schmalter Schmite.

The obituary was well-done and even included a photo. Various media outlets, including TODAY.com and Entertainment Weekly, wrote about the obit. And then on Friday, the "Breaking Bad" official Facebook page linked to the obit as well.

And fans reacted as angrily as if a bathtub full of human remains had just been dropped on them.

"I imagine everyone who follows 'Breaking Bad,' who hasn't finished watching the entire series, collectively throwing their keyboards through their monitors right now," Christopher Mills wrote on the official "Breaking Bad" Facebook page. His comment was liked more than 1200 times.

Others felt that viewers shouldn't expect to be protected from learning what happened. "If you haven't watched the finale by now, how can you even call yourself a fan?" wrote Angie Charukiewicz.

And others questioned whether one can really expect protection from spoilers in this era, with a poster who goes by Pyewacket Rodgerson writing, "By the way, the Titanic sinks and Leonardo's character dies. Too soon?"

An AMC representative did not immediately respond to a TODAY request for comment. But the obituary post, which had received about 2000 comments, was later removed from the show's official page.

Some fans were still mad. "Looks like you took the post down immediately... but not soon enough," wrote Jay Bartholomew. "Ruined it for me. You know what you did. FOR SHAME!"

And some still didn't see the issue. "Are you seriously shaming for an episode that aired 6 days ago?!" wrote Rachel Anderson. "You should stay away from social media if you don't want to be exposed to spoilers after that much time."

No less than "Breaking Bad" creator Vince Gilligan has come out and said he doesn't know how to avoid spoilers, Renee Hudon pointed out on the show's Facebook page.

"It's a tricky world we live in now with binge-watching, where people let these things pile up and then they watch them..." Gilligan told CBS News on Oct. 1. "If it's in the public eye, and we're all talking about it, how do you not spoil things?"