Breaking Bad recently turned 14, and it is still one of the best series of our time...
What is the reason for this success? In honour of the show's recent birthday, I'd like to explore this with you, dear readers, by analysing the relationships between the characters, as well as sharing my views on what insights director Vince Gilligan's work is giving the viewer.
Let's begin.
The main character of the series is the chemistry teacher Walter White and also his alter ego, referred to as "Heisenberg", who, while in the unconscious, slowly awakened during the chemist's criminal activities and subsequently acquired the status of the fundamental self.
Then, I would like to explore Walter's criminogenic personality, his relationship with the other characters, and also give a subjective opinion of each of them.
Who is he? A man who has "lost his mind" to secure a future for his family? Or is he just a typical criminal who has found the ground to realize his potential in a criminal environment and awaken his darker self? Let's find out.
Family is all
What are you willing to do for your family? The answer may seem simple at first glance, but when deadlock strikes in life, not everyone is able to go halfway. Such an impasse has arisen in the White family: the wife has an unplanned pregnancy, the son has a congenital disease and Walter himself has been diagnosed with cancer.
What is the chemist's reaction to this situation? He did not break down at all. Realising that the salary of a chemistry teacher and a part-time job in his hated boss's car dealership would not bring in much money after his death, Walter began to use all his chemical potential to cook methamphetamine, which brought a huge income to his family. Personally, I already have great respect for the man.
But did the family members themselves respect and appreciate Walter's desire to help them? More likely no than yes.
The behavior of Walter's wife, Skyler, was a source of great resentment. Her ungrateful attitude toward her husband, from cheating on him with his boss Ted to wanting to give her spouse cancer again, was very distasteful to this woman. Even suggesting the sensible idea of buying a car wash to launder money she was more motivated by saving her own future than Walter's, while the latter was trying to think of the welfare of everyone close to her.
Yes, Walter had taken the path of crime and it was psychologically very difficult to live with such a man under the same roof, but did he deserve to be treated so ungratefully? When he was waiting for his wife's support, she had no qualms about hurting him time after time, which she herself sometimes regretted, but not for long.
Walter's son, who abandoned his father at the end of the previous season because he went down a criminal path for the sake of his family, doesn't really want to be convicted. Walter Jr. was very young, and it's likely that he would have understood his father's decision as an adult, but even that one can't be entirely sure....
Now to Skyler's sister Marie and Walter's brother-in-law Hank. They often visited the White family, supported them in various situations and always gave the impression that they would never let them get into trouble, even when they learned the real truth about Walter's criminal life. But this opinion changed drastically when the events of the final season began....
Hank, who has spent years working for the DEA pursuing a certain meth kingpin "Heisenberg," finally discovers that it is his brother-in-law. But instead of trying to have a family conversation to find out Walter's motivation, Hank's main goal becomes the hunt for his own brother-in-law.
As for Hank's motivation, it seemed as if he had simply triggered "honors syndrome" because of his professional activities, to which he placed a higher priority than family relationships. In addition, Hank's ego was clearly hurt by the fact that Walter had been intellectually surrounding him for so many years.
In any case, it was rather mean of him to be so eager to get at his own brother-in-law, especially since he was well aware of the dire predictions about the consequences of Walter's already unoptimistic family future.
And what was the attitude of "Albuquerque's formidable outlaw" Walter White toward Hank's family? Well, let's see. First, paying all expenses with Walter's money to treat Hank when he was injured. Next, even though Hank satisfied his professional urge to handcuff his own brother-in-law when the criminals wanted to deal with Hank, Walter was willing to give all his money just to save his life.
So who is the real bad guy here?
A lawbreaker who, on the eve of his death, wants to provide his entire family with finances as quickly as possible and a representative of the law who wants to imprison a family member - which is the true evil?
As for Marie, a few words suffice - she is an insolent kleptomaniac, who threw a tantrum and demanded justice for her son-in-law without understanding the what, how and why.
Student and teacher
The meeting between Walter White and his former pupil Jesse Pinkman began their tumultuous criminal history, which became both a source of much money and influence in the criminal milieu for the pupil and teacher, and a box of pandora whose opening began to bring a series of misfortunes for our heroes and conflicts between them.
Watching these two, the viewer could not help but wonder what their true relationship was. Like father and son, mentor and student or friend and boyfriend? Or maybe just as business colleagues or even competitors? In fact, to a greater or lesser extent, each time in a different way. But the fact that Walter loved Jesse like a son and that Jesse saw Walter not only as a mentor, friend or colleague, but also as a father, is a fact.
Let's look at the two storylines involving Walter and Jesse as evidence of this.
Let's start with Jesse and his girlfriend Jane's relationship in season two.
The romance between Jesse and Jane was very satisfying. There was a feeling that Jesse would give up his drug habit and start a new life, but.... Jane could make his life an even bigger nightmare....
It was further revealed that she was involved in injecting drugs into a vein, which is the final stage and fatal end for any addict. It was noticeable that all the desperate attempts of Jane's father to help her get rid of her addiction were unsuccessful, as the girl stubbornly resisted treatment. If Jesse had continued the relationship with her, it is abundantly clear what the outcome of the series would have been. Moreover, after smelling the big money that Jesse and Walter had acquired, she decided to take it from him and cut Walter off from Jesse completely by threatening him with the police.
As a result, Walter sees another Jesse late at night, blackmailing his life's work and leading Pinkman to his imminent demise. At the end, due to an overdose, she herself is on the verge of death, which in the future also awaits Jesse, and Walter has a choice - save her or not? Walter chose the second option.
Walter's confidence in Jesse's paternal love for him would not have been so strong, were it not for a rather unexpected and shocking scene that proved it beyond doubt - the chemist was willing to ruin the relationship with his business partner, Gustavo Fring, just to save Pinkman from imminent ruin, by brutally killing Fring's allies.
Quite atypical for a man willing to take no unnecessary risks and go over his head just to save his company.
"Run, Jesse."
But further "in gratitude" Jesse chattered about Walter to his brother-in-law Hank, rather than leave and start a new life, which had been arranged for him, again, by Walter White.
The betrayal was motivated by one thing - Walter poisoned the son of Jesse's second girlfriend with lily of the valley to carry out a plan to kill Gustavo, with whom the chemist had soured his relationship precisely because of saving Pinkman. But Walter knew full well that the dose would not be fatal to the boy. And so it happened; in time he recovered as if nothing had happened.
So, was this treacherous act on Jesse's part so appropriate? I don't think so.
For the life of one man, he was willing to lose all his hard-earned money; for the life of another, he was willing to put his head and his entire business on the line.
Two geniuses, one winner
Now I would like to move on to a discussion of the relationship between two of the most brilliant minds, meth kings and simply charismatic characters of the show - "Heisenberg" and Gustavo Fring.
Gustavo possessed a number of worthy qualities: professionalism, developed intelligence, strategic thinking, tactful performance and the ability to get out of any situation could not help but command the respect of every spectator. Ultimately, all of the above qualities, as well as an internal grudge against the Mexican cartel for killing a friend, led Fring to the heights of the criminal world.
Gustavo had great respect for Walter because of his intelligence and his desire to help his family, he himself mentioned this more than once. It was one of the few characters who were in Walter's position. Fring was not very fond of Jesse, as he was a drug addict and a rather emotional person. He knew he could only expect trouble from him - and he didn't fail....
In the end, it was Jesse who ruined Walter and Gustavo's relationship through his hasty impulsive actions. Fring had warned Walter that nothing good could come from the "junkies," but Walter couldn't abandon Jesse because he loved him like a son. So he took the step I mentioned above. It seems like a big mistake on Walter's part, especially considering what Jesse would do to him in the future.
Everyone knows the criminal world is pretty tough. Show emotion or weakness at any stage, you and your loved ones have been there. Walter and Gustavo were well aware of that, which is why they reached great heights in the criminal world.
When you have children, you can never lose your family, the children always come first and are the most important, and the man has to take care of everyone. And he does, even if nobody cares. And they don't respect and they don't even love. And he brings it up. He does it because... Because he's a man.
There's a reason why the interaction between the protagonist and a certain group of characters was covered above, as each of them had some influence on Walter's personality and his subsequent becoming a "Heisenberg".
There are only two major turning points in the series, each of which deserves separate attention:
- The tenth episode of season three, titled The Fly.
- The murder of Gustavo Fring, which finally awakened "Heisenberg" in Walter White's personality.
"The Fly"
Throughout the series, Walter White is in Gustavo Fring's drug lab trying to kill the fly that prevents meth from cooking. For many, this series seemed passé and empty, but it was anything but.
The fly symbolizes the dirt that has spread through Walter's life and from which he cannot get rid of. The dirt is his association with the criminal world, which on one hand helped him earn money for his family and on the other helped him realize his previously unrealized potential in the field of chemistry and establish himself as a person. However, at what cost? Through the suffering of many others, which could not help but affect the chemist's psyche.
Walter continues to philosophize and comes to the conclusion that he should have died sooner. Throughout the series he tries to find the perfect time for his death, and he finds it. The day Jessie Jane's girlfriend died, he shouldn't have gone to them, he should have stayed at his house when Skyler didn't know about it and sang a lullaby to his newborn daughter Holly, and gone to the other world with a clear conscience watching TV....
But when Jessie kills the fly at the end, she's eliminated the problem as well, and Walter gets over his remorse and decides to move on with his life without thinking about the past.
"Faceless."
It was rather sad to see the extent to which Walter and Gustavo's relationship had deteriorated, but apparently it had to happen sooner or later.
By killing Gustavo, Walter not only eliminated a potential threat to his family, but also further established himself as an intelligent individual like the king of the underworld before him. Many have joked that the fourth season finale is an alternate happy ending for the series, in which there is undoubtedly some truth.
However, the obsession of the now finally awakened "Heisenberg" to continue producing meth and take the place of his predecessor led us to the events of season five and a more realistic ending to the series.
"Felina."
The beauty of the ending is that everyone gets to decide whether it ends happily or sadly. For me, it ended rather realistically and more or less positively.
Walter White achieved everything he wanted. This is evident in his humble smile at his death and the song played in the finale. He passed on the money to his family and also fulfilled his potential, albeit through the underworld. Walter freed Jesse from the hands of bandits. The paths of the chemist and his former apprentice diverged neither amicably nor hostilely.
Another great strength of the series is that it does not divide the characters into definitively bad and definitively good. Walter may not be a positive character, but he is not a negative character either. There is great respect for his intelligence and loyalty to his loved ones. Indeed, he never abandoned the lives of his loved ones. Even when not every one of them treated him fairly.
"The end justifies the means" - this was the principle that guided Walter White. A rather cynical statement, but one that enabled him to pass absolutely every test that life put him through.
His mistake was that he did not respect the measure. But, that is a measure that almost no one in the underworld can keep anymore. He himself knew he had to quit in time, but the criminal environment had become a breeding ground for Walt's talents, and he couldn't let that opportunity slip into oblivion.
As Mike had said, Walter was a time bomb, and he wouldn't want to be around when it went off.
Only I have to feel the consequences of my choices and nobody else. And those consequences are getting closer. Stop delaying the inevitable.
Conclusion:
"Breaking Bad is a show that deserves discussion and attention for years to come. Many will ask the reasonable question - but why? Because the show embodies all the filth and horror of the criminal world: the cooking of methamphetamine, its use, violence and other inappropriate social behavior.
However, all this is only a means of conveying the true meaning of the show, which is a study of the human personality and what he is capable of in the difficult conditions of life, how ready he is not to lose heart and go to "all the trouble" for himself and his loved ones, for what qualities of personality life will never give a man to disappear.
The series showed: Friendship, love, joy, fear, hatred, betrayal and disappointment, the personality's desire to implement its previous talent unrealized due to the prevailing circumstances, the dramatic transformation of the personality in the process of life and the struggle of two opposites, how important the personality of intellect, confidence and composure to get out of various situations, how important it is to know the measure in everything and the ability to stop in time, how stupid it is to judge a person, not knowing the full picture, what not only is not capable of a personality to do
Talented director Vince Gilligan masterfully balanced three genres in the series: crime, comedy and drama. One did not interfere with the other, everything was presented with restraint and quality.
"Breaking Bad" combined both a lack of frills and the dedication and effort of the director, writers and many others. It will definitely be around for many years to come....
Thanks for learning!
