Late to the Party

After my hernia surgery a few weeks back, I found myself on bedrest for a few days.  I did something I usually avoid.  I binged watched a TV show; Breaking Bad.

I think the reason I avoided the show when it debuted 10 years ago was how it was reviewed.  Going back and reading the reviews of the first season, it was mainly described like: 'a humorous look at amateur drug dealers, starring Malcolm in the Middle's Bryan Cranston as Walter White, the clueless meth cook!' (cue slide whistle effect)  I avoided the show because my impression was it glorified drug dealing.  I also avoided it because it was on AMC.  AMC has way too many commercial breaks, which are WAY too long.  I appreciate a network making money, but come on.

Anything I have to add to Breaking Bad's legacy is irrelevant.  It's one of the best shows ever made, a gripping look at the spiral downward created by a horrific decision made initially for valid, although improper, reasons.  It's a look at a version of America we don't generally see.  It was real, barbaric, and terrifying.

It could be the most beautiful television show ever filmed.  The scenic brilliance of New Mexico and the arid drylands around the southwest beg you to visit, even though the show was about drug dealing and death.

The cast was exceptional, but if I may praise Anna Gunn's Skyler, Walter White's far from helpless, but tragic nonetheless, wife.  Her transformation through the series is astounding; from loving wife standing by her husband as he's diagnosed with cancer, to a near silent beaten down shell of herself, desperately trying to find anything which validates her decisions and sacrifices.

There are so many great scenes from the show, I could be writing for days, but the scene which really struck me is one which is probably overlooked by many.  It's in season 5, when Betsy Brandt's Marie is talking with a psychologist about the betrayal of Walt.  Paraphrasing "how could I have be deceived so badly.' As a man who has been in that exact position before, it brought what her character was going through home.  I immediately related to her character on a level which redeemed her for me.

The series is damn near perfect.  The finale is haunting. The creative camera angles and occasional chopped up story telling hold you perfectly.  The script is tight, and authentic.  The secondary characters are as memorable as most television series' top billed stars.

But my favorite part was how Breaking Bad was the complete opposite of what I thought the show was.  If you say to yourself, "I have a serious disease.  I'll start manufacturing and/or selling drugs to get myself by," watch Breaking Bad and realize the solution to your problem is far worse than the disease itself.  Everything was ruined.  There was no finish line, there was no happy ending, there was no enjoying of the millions of dollars they made.  There was no love, no smiles, and no peace.  It's a Shakespearean tragedy without the warmth and joy.  It is the best anti-drug selling/dealing testimonial anyone could ever witness.

I know, late to the party.  Now if I get any other surgery, here comes Better Call Saul!