Because “Breaking Bad” is the absolute best TV series we’ve ever watched, my husband Wesley and I decided to watch the series from start to finish. It took less than a month.
When you know how it ends, the series is more devastating than when you see it for the first time.
Just for fun, before we get serious, here’s the “Breaking Bad” Super Bowl ad.
Walter White is more evil than I remembered. When we first watched the series, we expected the usual narrative, something like one of these:
-chemistry teacher crosses one line, but keeps true to his values.
-chemistry teacher is sucked into meth underworld, sees the error of his ways and reforms.
Or at the very least:
-chemistry teacher realizes his benefits package will cover his cancer treatments. No need to cook meth to pay for his medical care.
Instead, the series shows how Walter White’s bad decisions lead to misery and worse decisions. There is no happy ending.
At first, Bryan Cranston’s character showed the promise of the an anti-hero who comes to see the light. But at every turn, he embraces darkness.
The one redeeming part of the ending is that White finally drops his claim that he embarked on a life of crime “for my family.”
By then, of course, White had seen the damage his choices made on his wife Skyler, his son Walt Jr. (aka Flynn), Skyler’s sister Marie, and Marie’s husband, DEA agent Hank.
Hank and Marie are the unlikely heroes. At first they seem irritating, walking style crimes. Hank’s bravado grates. Marie’s shoplifting and fable telling are bad signs. But you come to see theirs as the sort of flaws everyone has. On the plus side, they take care of each other and are true to their values.
Jesse Pinkman, the one-time high school student who becomes his teacher’s partner in crime, develops a conscience. He’s the one bad guy you can root for, well, sometimes.
Episode 1 started with a lie and the final episode ends with that same lie. Having cooked meth for the first time, White called his wife to say he had to work late on his second job at a car wash. White had to practice the lie to make it seem real.
But the time season five ended, White didn’t have to practice his lies — but by then, no one believed his tall tales.
Anyone else want to share your take on the AMC drama?
Debra J. Saunders is a senior fellow at the Discovery Institute’s Chapman Center for Citizen Leadership. Follow her on Twitter at @DebraJSaunders.
Yes, that was Bryan Cranston. He owns the role of Walter White.
I was coerced into watching it by my work colleagues (now retired). I grew to hate Skyler. One of my former colleagues is married to a chemist who said you cannot get drugs to look like that and he had to be reminded it was a television show. I had seen Bryan Cranston in Malcolm in the Middle and in another movie. I was quite amazed at his range. One show where I have to get caught up is Better Call Saul. In that show there is a character played by Michael McKean - who was in LaVerne and Shirley as one of the "Lenny and Squiggly" team.