Not the sort of thing you own if things are going well.
I’ll tell you, this show just keeps getting better. (Spoiler alert) From the grim foreshadowing of Walt pondering an M-60 machine gun and 800 rounds of ammo in his trunk, to the last strange bit where he tells Skylar “I forgive you,” the writing, acting and photography were pure high-test crystal. I’ve said it before and I still believe it: This is not only the best show on TV, it’s the best TV show ever made.
Which makes it all the more weird to me that so few of my friends and family know or care about it. Of all the folks I’ve cajoled into watching, only my son thinks it’s great. My daughter Jessie gives me a big “meh” whenever I go on about the show’s finer points. Then again, she likes Revenge, a completely ham-handed and humorless show I have grown to detest. I guess there’s no accounting for taste.
So this post is for anybody who does like Breaking Bad. Anybody? What do you think of Walt’s seeming transition from bumbling Walter Mitty to criminal mastermind? I say “seeming” because it’s obvious that his troubles in the meth trade are not over; they’re only beginning. As I recall, Gus Fring never saw the need to travel with a heavy machine gun. Since Walt does, I think we can deduce that things will not go well for him in this final season.
Besides business competitors, Walt has three other ticking time bombs around him: his brother-in-law Hank, the DEA agent; his partner Jesse, who will surely discover how completely he’s been duped; and his son Walt Jr. Anybody think Walt Jr. won’t be drawn into the maelstrom in the weeks to come? I also wonder if the hapless Ted Benecke is long for this world. The new Walt doesn’t like loose ends.
Of course, if the genius of this show were just in the plotting, it would be run-of-the mill at best. I most love the writing, always laden with dark humor and subtle meaning. I like the flawless continuity from season to season and episode to episode. Vince Gilligan and his people had a coherent vision of their story from Day One. They have not veered into dream sequences or celebrity appearances the way all other TV series eventually do.
OK, now I’m getting tiresome again. If you don’t like it or don’t care, I respect that. But trust me: They’ll be talking about this show for a long time to come.
Stormy weather
Thoroughly modern vampires
Writers gone wrong
A night at the races
It’s a chatbot world
Dave, I think I was watching it and recommending it even before you were. My experience along that line is that people need more than my enthusiasm to inspire theirs. I had that experience with The Wire and Justified, among others. Later on some of those same people came back to recommend them to ME! But it’s good to pass the word. It’s like sowing the good seed.
I remember you mentioning this before we started watching, and like John (below), it didn’t look to be the kind of story I’d like. Boy, was I wrong. Thanks (again) for the head’s up. Tess and I can always trust your taste in TV.
What? No dream sequences? No celebrities? De gustibus non disputandum, indeed!
I’m sure it’s as good as you say, but the subject matter doesn’t appeal to me. I had a similar experience with The Shield – I could see it was well done, but they just weren’t telling the kind of stories I wanted to watch.
I respect that. Still haven’t seen The Shield.
I love Breaking Bad. I was watching it on TV and that pesky real life got in the way. So I walked away from it intending to watch it from the beginning on Netflix. My daughter and her fiance are all hooked into it the past few weeks.
Watching the episodes one after the other is great way to get immersed in the show. You really appreciate the precise continuity that way.
It’s JESSE Pinkman. Not Jessie. There’s only one REAL Jessie, and she does not care for this so-so show of yours. “Best show EVER?” Really, dad? Really? You prefer Breaking Bad over The Wire?
So we’re correcting each other’s spelling now, huh? Game on! (Note that I just made the fix. Thanks for the catch.)
But yeah: Best show EVER. The Wire is good, but no way it’s as good as BB. I have spoken.