For five seasons, we’ve slowly watched Walter White’s ego build. Sure, it bred from pure panic and survival instincts, but Walter’s transformation from submissive chemistry teacher to shiver-inducing drug kingpin’s become more than just a mission to get rich. He wanted to sit on the throne, and dare anyone to take it away from him. Continue reading »
During ‘Fifty One’, Walter White sat in Saul’s dim office with his Heisenberg hat in his lap. He was examining it, staring at this tiny little thread poking out of the corner. But who worries about a loose thread, right? Continue reading »
What attracts Walter White to power? Is it the thrill of the hunt, and that instantaneous rush of satisfaction when a plan is pulled off? Or is it all the adrenaline that leads up to it: the scheming, the life-on-the-line moments where he felt more alive then he had in the last twenty five years … Continue reading »
What are the most joyous moments of Breaking Bad? It’s not the moments when Walt wins – as the seasons progress, every one of Walt’s victories becomes darker and more horrific. And it’s certainly not when Junior (who appears to be heading back to Flynn this season) is eating breakfast, as much as that’s enjoyable. No, … Continue reading »
I’ve long been critical of the way Skylar’s been handled – her character’s behavior is always so bull-headed and overt, it’s never fit in well with the show’s infinitely more detailed male characters. But boy, Anna Gunn was on a fucking roll in ‘Fifty-One’, an hour-long extravaganza of visual metaphors and powerful moments between the … Continue reading »
In Breaking Bad‘s world, being ignorant is a death warrant. Whether its Tuco, Gus, or even Hank, not paying attention to the whole picture can have deadly circumstances – especially with an unstable Heisenberg lurking in the shadows. But now that Walt feels like he’s in the position of power, the same ignorance he previously took … Continue reading »
There’s one thing we know about the first half of season 5: Walter White isn’t going to succeed in his plan to be drug kingpin. Which makes watching him fail that much more enthralling, especially when watching him influence the decisions of people around him, pulling them closer and closer into his downward spiral into … Continue reading »
Breaking Bad is back – at least for the next eight weeks, until it goes on another year-long hiatus before returning for its final eight, already super-hyped episodes sometime in 2013. And as the fifth season begins, so does a lowered bar of expectations – at least, in my mind – that always seems to … Continue reading »
At the end of last night’s explosive (pardon the pun) season finale of Breaking Bad, Walt is on the phone with Skylar, and sums up the entire season in one sentence: “I won.” And it’s true…. but while he feels he’s pushed back the closing walls around him by winning this war with Gus, it’s … Continue reading »
Most successful modern dramas seem to suffer from the same problem. After an “under the radar” first season (a ridiculous phrase in itself, considering the saturation of television coverage in the media), shows like True Blood, Weeds, and the like hit a groove in the second season, becoming the full realization of the show’s world … Continue reading »
