Random Review/Analysis: Breaking Bad *Spoilers*
The second law of thermodynamics states that energy goes downhill and leads to entropy.
Let's start with the basics. In the beginning we have Walter White, a chemistry teacher who has the diagnosis of lung cancer. Facing imminent death, Walter takes up cooking methamphetamine with Jesse Pinkman while keeping this a secret to his family. Throughout the seasons his notoriety grows exponentially as his alias of "Heisenberg" is often used.
Cut to the ending and you have Walt dead in a meth lab. Skyler is addicted to cigarettes, Walt Jr. or Flynn has moved out and will inherit the vast sum of money, and the meth business in the southwest is exterminated. This sounds like what Walt desired, doesn't it?
Well, that was achieved through hundreds of deaths. Walt never meant for any of this to happen. In "Ozymandias," Walt's legacy is tarnished. His brother-in-law is dead, the neo-nazis took away his money, and his wife and child hate him. Walt runs away only to return with a vengeance as he takes out the nazi gang and ties up the loose ends to achieve the best possible closure he could've hoped for.
Let's back up for a minute and analyze Walt's transformation to Heisenberg. Walt's first kill was done out of desperation and fear. But when Jane Morghulis was dying, Walt didn't save her despite his conscience since he wanted to get Jesse back. Gradually he became more accustomed to the art of killing as he realized that obstacles in his path could be exterminated for his ultimate goal: to raise money for his family.
It became clear that he wasn't doing this for his family when he had the chance to gain $5 million dollars in season 5 though he rejected this since he was still bitter about how his opportunity at his former company was snubbed. Walt was doing this for himself as he says in the finale.
Now back to entropy. Throughout all the seasons, Walt was driving himself to build his empire. To make this ordered system that he could control. Walt desired power and money. This is most evident in the episode "Fly" where he was dead set on killing a fly due to his reluctance to accept a contamination in his lab. Walt had it all at the end of season 5A where he had $90 million dollars and was satisfied despite his wife's horrified reaction. But "Ozymandias" proved to be so devastatingly beautiful as his money was lost while his family was torn apart and he had to find a new life where they wouldn't try to find him. Despite the attempts to make his life orderly, his life became a mess. Whereas before he had little money yet a happy family, here he had too much money and a family that didn't want to associate themselves with this monster.
What makes this show so great is its attack on morality. Is it morally right to dive into an unethical business to help one's family? The pretense of helping family was merely a facade as it turns out. Just a small dabble into a corrupt industry corrupts the mind. Whatever intentions Walt may have had in the beginning were tarnished. Despite what Walt valued and how sickened he was by the loss of life from the start, he began to agree with business practices as the devil within him danced. The idea of being a drug dealer for money particularly underlines the current social struggle. Many Americans have similar circumstances as dire as Walt's yet they never break bad.
Jesse outlines this idea of breaking bad with Walt. Walt swore to himself that he would quit the business after only achieving $747,000 dollars though once he broke bad he couldn't stop. He enjoyed the roller coaster of a ride the meth business provided him. His ordinary life as a chemistry teacher seemed too bland for him. This desire for things that would be out of his league normally seems absolutely fine.
Everyone can break bad. That's the scariest part of this show. Everyone can become a monster like Walt and may already have. As morals became blurred and values decrease, you may never know when to stop. If it could happen with a fifty year old man, why not someone like you? What kind of pressure would have to be subjected to craft such a perfect concoction? When will you lie and cheat to get everything for yourself? What will happen then?
Growth and then decay. Everything must come to an end. After all of the actions Walt did, the consequences had to show up and make his life even worse. The most surprising thing about these consequences is the impact it has on everyone around Walt. Skyler, Walt Jr., Jesse, and the hundreds of departed souls have been irrevocably changed by Heisenberg. And Heisenberg is proud of this. The small part of his conscience that goes against this senseless violence is shrouded by the cold and dark parts that have come to stay since he broke bad.
The idea of being bad is so tantalizing. We wish we could watch the world burn. We wish civilizations could fall into the ocean. We wish we could be powerful and we lust for greater things. Society keeps us in line but we can slip out so easily. The transformation of Walt shows how weak society is if people aren't kept bounded to moral and ethical rules. The roller coaster goes so quickly that you feel sick but you feel so good. Walt became desensitized to his killings and needed more thrills to satisfy his lust. Like a meth addict, Walt enjoyed the euphoria that came from quick abuse but the downfall led him broken. He broke bad like no one else did.
Anyways, now for the somewhat review part thing. Bad didn't seem to be a masterpiece when it started. The first season was especially slow and it took a while for things to pay off. The second season had the ball rolling at a rapid speed with quite a few deaths and toying with the idea of morality. It was at this point we had greater depth with Skyler and Walt which allowed us to realize how each character really acted. The third season began slowly but rose to the chilling climax as Walt cooked in Gus's lab. It's here were Walt kills to save his own life. The fourth season feels like a long chess game between Walt and Gus with Jesse as their only piece. What set this one apart was how devious Walt was and how desperate he was to manipulate Jesse to his advantage and his growing frustration. Season 5A started with Walt becoming the true meth king and rolls in dough by the end. Walt becomes distant from Jesse and kills witnesses to save his skin. Season 5B is another long chess game with Walt and Hank before the true villains reveal themselves as the neo-nazis. Walt lost everything yet he maintained this closure by giving to his family while wiping out the meth business.
Vince Gilligan is a true artist as he portrays these storylines with vivid detail. Everything was tightly-wound to illustrate this brutal life Walt lives. While the themes in the show are glaring at times as Gilligan pounds messages into the audience's head, the morality and the devastation that follows a chemical reaction are genuine. It's been a long time since I've seen a show that had such an outstanding composition that allows us to embrace the show. The pacing is slow through most of the season however, though the payoff is too great and the slow pacing gives time to reflect on how each plan works or how it fits into the grand scheme in Albuquerque.
The actors are phenomenal as well. We stare at Bryan Cranston's face for most of the show and the raw emotion he gives is outstanding. Actors and actresses like Anna Gunn and Aaron Paul also add to the immersion that makes this alternate Albuquerque feel so real. They really go above and beyond to make sure the writing fit in to make the show feel as natural as the real world. It's almost surreal how real the characters feel.
The music now and again adds to the ambiance as the occasional song fits in with what occurs in the show at the time.
Overall, Bad is one of the best chemical reaction I've watched in a long time. The coherent narrative and the thought-provoking elements really made me enjoy how grim this drama was. While there were some flaws that did poke out now and then, the writing was sure to fix it through the seasons as the freight train grew faster and faster until it derailed. It's definitely a show that deserves the praise it receives.
Final Rating: 10/10
Let's start with the basics. In the beginning we have Walter White, a chemistry teacher who has the diagnosis of lung cancer. Facing imminent death, Walter takes up cooking methamphetamine with Jesse Pinkman while keeping this a secret to his family. Throughout the seasons his notoriety grows exponentially as his alias of "Heisenberg" is often used.
Cut to the ending and you have Walt dead in a meth lab. Skyler is addicted to cigarettes, Walt Jr. or Flynn has moved out and will inherit the vast sum of money, and the meth business in the southwest is exterminated. This sounds like what Walt desired, doesn't it?
Well, that was achieved through hundreds of deaths. Walt never meant for any of this to happen. In "Ozymandias," Walt's legacy is tarnished. His brother-in-law is dead, the neo-nazis took away his money, and his wife and child hate him. Walt runs away only to return with a vengeance as he takes out the nazi gang and ties up the loose ends to achieve the best possible closure he could've hoped for.
Let's back up for a minute and analyze Walt's transformation to Heisenberg. Walt's first kill was done out of desperation and fear. But when Jane Morghulis was dying, Walt didn't save her despite his conscience since he wanted to get Jesse back. Gradually he became more accustomed to the art of killing as he realized that obstacles in his path could be exterminated for his ultimate goal: to raise money for his family.
It became clear that he wasn't doing this for his family when he had the chance to gain $5 million dollars in season 5 though he rejected this since he was still bitter about how his opportunity at his former company was snubbed. Walt was doing this for himself as he says in the finale.
Now back to entropy. Throughout all the seasons, Walt was driving himself to build his empire. To make this ordered system that he could control. Walt desired power and money. This is most evident in the episode "Fly" where he was dead set on killing a fly due to his reluctance to accept a contamination in his lab. Walt had it all at the end of season 5A where he had $90 million dollars and was satisfied despite his wife's horrified reaction. But "Ozymandias" proved to be so devastatingly beautiful as his money was lost while his family was torn apart and he had to find a new life where they wouldn't try to find him. Despite the attempts to make his life orderly, his life became a mess. Whereas before he had little money yet a happy family, here he had too much money and a family that didn't want to associate themselves with this monster.
What makes this show so great is its attack on morality. Is it morally right to dive into an unethical business to help one's family? The pretense of helping family was merely a facade as it turns out. Just a small dabble into a corrupt industry corrupts the mind. Whatever intentions Walt may have had in the beginning were tarnished. Despite what Walt valued and how sickened he was by the loss of life from the start, he began to agree with business practices as the devil within him danced. The idea of being a drug dealer for money particularly underlines the current social struggle. Many Americans have similar circumstances as dire as Walt's yet they never break bad.
Jesse outlines this idea of breaking bad with Walt. Walt swore to himself that he would quit the business after only achieving $747,000 dollars though once he broke bad he couldn't stop. He enjoyed the roller coaster of a ride the meth business provided him. His ordinary life as a chemistry teacher seemed too bland for him. This desire for things that would be out of his league normally seems absolutely fine.
Everyone can break bad. That's the scariest part of this show. Everyone can become a monster like Walt and may already have. As morals became blurred and values decrease, you may never know when to stop. If it could happen with a fifty year old man, why not someone like you? What kind of pressure would have to be subjected to craft such a perfect concoction? When will you lie and cheat to get everything for yourself? What will happen then?
Growth and then decay. Everything must come to an end. After all of the actions Walt did, the consequences had to show up and make his life even worse. The most surprising thing about these consequences is the impact it has on everyone around Walt. Skyler, Walt Jr., Jesse, and the hundreds of departed souls have been irrevocably changed by Heisenberg. And Heisenberg is proud of this. The small part of his conscience that goes against this senseless violence is shrouded by the cold and dark parts that have come to stay since he broke bad.
The idea of being bad is so tantalizing. We wish we could watch the world burn. We wish civilizations could fall into the ocean. We wish we could be powerful and we lust for greater things. Society keeps us in line but we can slip out so easily. The transformation of Walt shows how weak society is if people aren't kept bounded to moral and ethical rules. The roller coaster goes so quickly that you feel sick but you feel so good. Walt became desensitized to his killings and needed more thrills to satisfy his lust. Like a meth addict, Walt enjoyed the euphoria that came from quick abuse but the downfall led him broken. He broke bad like no one else did.
Anyways, now for the somewhat review part thing. Bad didn't seem to be a masterpiece when it started. The first season was especially slow and it took a while for things to pay off. The second season had the ball rolling at a rapid speed with quite a few deaths and toying with the idea of morality. It was at this point we had greater depth with Skyler and Walt which allowed us to realize how each character really acted. The third season began slowly but rose to the chilling climax as Walt cooked in Gus's lab. It's here were Walt kills to save his own life. The fourth season feels like a long chess game between Walt and Gus with Jesse as their only piece. What set this one apart was how devious Walt was and how desperate he was to manipulate Jesse to his advantage and his growing frustration. Season 5A started with Walt becoming the true meth king and rolls in dough by the end. Walt becomes distant from Jesse and kills witnesses to save his skin. Season 5B is another long chess game with Walt and Hank before the true villains reveal themselves as the neo-nazis. Walt lost everything yet he maintained this closure by giving to his family while wiping out the meth business.
Vince Gilligan is a true artist as he portrays these storylines with vivid detail. Everything was tightly-wound to illustrate this brutal life Walt lives. While the themes in the show are glaring at times as Gilligan pounds messages into the audience's head, the morality and the devastation that follows a chemical reaction are genuine. It's been a long time since I've seen a show that had such an outstanding composition that allows us to embrace the show. The pacing is slow through most of the season however, though the payoff is too great and the slow pacing gives time to reflect on how each plan works or how it fits into the grand scheme in Albuquerque.
The actors are phenomenal as well. We stare at Bryan Cranston's face for most of the show and the raw emotion he gives is outstanding. Actors and actresses like Anna Gunn and Aaron Paul also add to the immersion that makes this alternate Albuquerque feel so real. They really go above and beyond to make sure the writing fit in to make the show feel as natural as the real world. It's almost surreal how real the characters feel.
The music now and again adds to the ambiance as the occasional song fits in with what occurs in the show at the time.
Overall, Bad is one of the best chemical reaction I've watched in a long time. The coherent narrative and the thought-provoking elements really made me enjoy how grim this drama was. While there were some flaws that did poke out now and then, the writing was sure to fix it through the seasons as the freight train grew faster and faster until it derailed. It's definitely a show that deserves the praise it receives.
Final Rating: 10/10
Comments
Post a Comment