Breaking Bad

The first time I heard of Breaking Bad was my friend Julie saying she loved it. Julie is a lot like me in that she is expressive and emotional. People like me and Julie use the word LOVE for TV shows, movies, family, and really good tacos. It's versatile that way. So on the spectrum of "love" I had no idea where Breaking Bad really fell. I knew it was about some guy selling drugs, and that Bryan Cranston's name kept creeping up in more and more articles and blogs, but other than that, I was clueless.

I saw a clip of the show a few months ago that peaked my interest just because the line that was in the clip was really great writing, and it was delivered incredibly by Cranston. He said in the scene, "I am the one who knocks!" Here's that clip:

So yeah, I started watching Breaking Bad last week. All the episodes are available for free on the Magical Chinese Internet, so why not! Plus, it makes for a great break from Downton Abbey. If Weeds and Dexter met in the desert and had a baby, it would be Breaking Bad.

In case you are ignorant as I was, the set up of Breaking Bad is as follows: Walter White is a high school chemistry teacher in Albuquerque, but really he's a brilliant chemist who has a past in groundbreaking work on various projects including one that received a Nobel Peace Prize. His life is pretty humdrum. He works at a carwash after school to make a little extra money. His wife is pregnant. He has son in high school who has Cerebral Palsey. One day he blacks out at the car wash and awakens to find that he has lung cancer. He's never smoked a day in his life. The cancer is in advanced stages and will kill him within a year or so, it's not treatable. This is what awakens Walter White. Through his awakening he pairs with former student, Jesse Pinkman, and begins to cook meth. The meth is the finest quality anyone around ABQ has ever had and the result is of course, a great business opportunity which he embraces with intention to set up his family financially when he dies. Oh, and also his brother-in-law is the DEA.

Was this the moment of origin for the new Walter White?

The first season was breathtaking. I flew through it as White learned the business, developed a partnership with Pinkman, and juggled his family while coming to terms with his diagnosis. Brilliant writing. But after that, the plot kind of went stagnant or something, or spiraled around itself a lot.

The characters in the show, even White, are not really likable. Pinkman is maybe the only one you can root for consistently, but he does stupid things from time to time that set him back. Every one of the people are truly flawed, and in no way does White become some mastermind of meth overnight. In fact, well into season 3 he's still trying to understand how it all works and find his place in it. I gotta be honest. I really hate Walter White. I loved him to begin with, but now I see him as manipulative, uncaring, and kind of out of control. He talks badass like he's got it all together, but truthfully his actions are impulsive and selfish beyond belief. He's bipolar at best, and I kind of see him as a coward who happens to get some (far-fetched) lucky breaks along the way. The thing is, I WANT him to either be a humble man trying to do right by his family OR a drug lord. Instead he comes across as someone half in on both sides of his double life rather than fully committed to either, and that makes him seem...empty.

I find myself wanting to see him cook more meth, I want more science, more on the drug side of things, because it's a world I know nothing about, but instead the show really does what I usually love, it explores the relationships between the characters. Except exploring these characters feels like one of those claw machines at the front of Wal-Mart. The story opens wide, dips down, and seems to have a good grasp on the character, but drops it at the last minute. There's nothing to latch onto. No one is consistent enough, except maybe Pinkman, to identify with, to love or loathe, or even to root for. Which in truth, is probably a lot like real life. But if you have the chance to play with people's lives by writing a TV show, why not play a little less into reality and get us really hooked!

Let's cook.

As far as whether or not I like the show, I do. I have stuck with lots of shows that have disappointed me more than this one, that's for sure. Of course, once I realized the characters weren't who I wanted them to be, I did try to adjust my expectations. It has some shocking moments, great lines, and a basic progressing plot that splinters off into other smaller plots. It's a solid show, even if it's not everything that I wanted it to be.

There are 8 episodes left of Breaking Bad, which will complete the fifth season. Those are set to show during the Summer of 2013. There is a fan base that wants to see the show go on, but as you probably know by now, I'm not a fan of shows that keep going just to keep going. I think the story of Walter White could be easily wrapped up next summer, and that the writers could even redeem themselves a little, finish strong and either bring the show full circle, or bust it wide out of the gate. 

Have you watched Breaking Bad? Do you want to? 

What did you think?