Breaking Bad Series Review

Breaking Bad (2008-2013)

Season 1 - 7 episodes (2008)
Season 2 - 13 episodes (2009)
Season 3 - 13 episodes (2010)
Season 4 - 13 episodes (2011)
Season 5 - 16 episodes (2012-13)
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Created by: Vince Gilligan
Starring: Bryan Cranston, Aaron Paul, Anna Gunn, Dean Norris, Betsy Brandt, RJ Mitte, Bob Odenkirk, Giancarlo Esposito, Jonathan Banks, Jesse Plemons, Krysten Ritter, Mark Margolis, David Costabile
Rated: TV-MA
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Plot
A chemistry teacher diagnosed with inoperable lung cancer turns to manufacturing and selling methamphetamine with a former student to secure his family's future.

Verdict
This is one of the few shows that seems to get better with every season, certainly more intense. The premise alone is enough to hook your interest. We follow two characters driven by greed, Walt a teacher and Jesse a criminal. During the series we discover the teacher is the sociopath and the criminal is kind-hearted. Money doesn't change people, it gives Walt an opportunity to act unrestrained by social norms and his limitations. The desire for money only causes problems, and that's complicated by Walt's desire to be on top and prove his worth and intelligence over everyone else. His pride continues to compel him to harm others at the desire of bettering his position. Even when Walt reaches the top, it's not enough. With each season his ego grows.
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Review
What an opening to the first episode of season one. Middle aged Walter White (Bryan Cranston) records a final message for his family as police sirens get closer. Then we cut to earlier. He's a high school chemistry teacher that's just turned fifty. He's unhappy with his life and works a second job at a car wash where he's berated by his manager and customers. If that wasn't bad enough, he's diagnosed with inoperable lung cancer. Best case is that he has a couple of years. He decides to partner with an old student who cooks meth, Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul). Walter wants to leave his family money for when he's gone. From the start Walt and Jesse's relationship is tense with Walt treating Jesse like a student still, but Walt knows chemistry.

S1E1: Bryan Cranston plays Walter White

Walt realizes the rules don't apply anymore as he'll be dead before he faces any repercussions. What can anyone do to him?  He's free, though Jesse wonders why a high school teacher wants to cook meth. It's a great premise. How can you not want to see what happens next? It's clear the pair is in over their heads. They decide to part ways, but they have unfinished business. Walt faces an impossible task. Just when he thinks he can't go through with it, he finds resolve. It's a terrible situation, but his feelings are human. It's a glimpse into how he thinks and plans. After his diagnosis, when someone attacks him he fights back. He's different.

S1E2: Bryan Cranston, Aaron Paul play Walter White, Jesse Pinkman

Walt is fueled by jealousy. It attacks his pride. He's jealous of his old classmate Elliot. They worked together and while Walt was regarded as smarter, Elliot runs a successful company and Walt teaches high school. A running question is why Walt got out of the company. Elliot offers to pay for Walt's cancer treatment, but Walt's pride won't let him accept that. After an intervention with his family Walt feels like he has to get the treatment instead of going out on his own terms. Since he refuses handouts, that means he needs to contact Jesse and start cooking again.

The problem is distribution. Walt makes a deal with Tuco, who is dangerous and unhinged. Walt agrees to deliver an even larger amount of meth, and that means he and Jesse need to get supplies. While Walt's great at chemistry, he and Jesse aren't great criminals.

In season two Walt and Jesse are dealing with a wild card in Tuco. They plan to make the meth, sell it to Tuco and get out. They just need to cook for ten weeks. They know Tuco is a risk, but the money is worth it. Unfortunately the risk comes to fruition. Walt is a teacher mixed up with known drug dealers while his brother Hank (Dean Norris) works for the DEA. Every move he makes is a risk.

S2E7: Aaron Paul plays Jesse Pinkman

Despite all of their work, Walt and Jesse have no money. They have to cook again while Walt tries to cover his tracks and create a divide between his wife and his new activities. They start over, partnering out of necessity. They don't get along, taking their frustrations out on each other, but what propels this show is how this captures human moments amidst the chaos. Walt struggles with the lies and maintaining relationships. His wife Skyler (Anna Gunn) begins to distrust him. It's no surprise as he's spinning so many lies. Now he has to create a story for where he's getting money for treatment.

Fast talking lawyer Saul Goodman (Bob Odenkirk) is introduced in season two. Little did we know he'd eventually get a spin off series Better Call Saul.

With another round of tests Walt fears the worst. He decides to go on a four day cook. Through the first two seasons, the allure of a big pay day compels them to keep going but up to this point they haven't made much. Something always goes wrong. They both play at being tough but we get moments where we see through that facade. Walt wants to get out of having Jesse peddle their product and sell it wholesale. He just needs to find someone operating on a large enough scale. Walt has an audition for the supplier. While he makes the deal, he misses the birth of his daughter.

S2E9: Bryan Cranston, Aaron Paul play Walter White, Jesse Pinkman

Throughout this season we've seen opening vignettes that feature a teddy bear. Episode ten reveals the teddy bear is floating in Walt's pool.

Jesse is distracted by a girlfriend. You'd think he would be the bad influence, but in this case it's Jane (Krysten Ritter). That influences this season and the rest of the show.

While under anesthesia Skyler catches Walt in a lie that unravels their entire relationship. She pulls on that thread just a bit, and Walt's entire farce collapses. All his lies are exposed. The driver of these lies was Walt's pride. He didn't want charity to pay for his surgery, he wanted to do it himself. Walt's pride has been a factor since the first episode. You could say money changed him, pushed him into his alter ego of Heisenberg, but the money just gave him the opportunity to be that person. He was always Heisenberg.

With season three, Skyler wants to divorce Walt. He initially started manufacturing meth to provide money for his family, but at this point it feels like an excuse. Walt's imminent death released him from consequences. He's taken well to the criminal world. Walt had a good deal with Gus Fring (Giancarlo Esposito). Now Walt wants out to save his family. Gus makes quite an offer, but Walt is adamant.

S3E4: Bryan Cranston plays Walter White

Walt and Skyler's marriage is broken. He moves back in despite her objections. Walt may be smart but his emotions frequently overcome. Skyler makes poor decisions due to her anger at Walt, and he in turn makes several and causes a scene. She can't reconcile the man she knows with the idea that he's a drug dealer. Jesse is broken after the events of last season. He's out of rehab and clean but has a long way to go emotionally. He does buy his house back from his parents, getting sweet revenge in the process.

Gus still wants Walt working for him. While he could force him, he wants Walt to choose it. Showing him the super lab doesn't change his mind so Gus uses Jesse to lure Walt by having Jesse cook alone. Walt doesn't like the idea of a substandard product attached to his name.

This season pushes Walt and Jesse to breaking points, both of them dealing with loss of people they care about. In season one Walt was a mild teacher. We've seen him reinvent himself, and there's still more to come. Jesse has always put on a great facade from the clothes to his language, but he's a kind person which is a problem in this business.

Gus is such an intriguing character. He's a drug kingpin, more rich than anyone we've seen, but his daily life consists of acting like the manager of a chicken fast food chain. He owns several which is a likely way to launder money, but we frequently see him involved in the every day. He's not leading the opulent lifestyle you'd expect from a drug lord. It's such an odd way to live.

Walt realizes his ploy to save his family won't work so he accepts Gus's offer to work in a state of the art lab with a new assistant, Gale (David Costabile). He's making more meth than he ever had before. It's also clear that Gus is employing Walt just to train a replacement. To cement his place, Walt tries to get rid of Gale and bring Jesse back.

Episode six is intense. Jesse inadvertently leads Hank to Walt and the RV that could incriminate them. They have to evade, and you wonder if that's possible.

This season is definitely the most intense of the first three. As Walt and Jesse's notoriety rise, it only brings trouble and suspicion. Then there are the twins that want to kill Walt as revenge.

S3E10: Aaron Paul, Bryan Cranston play Jesse Pinkman, Walter White

This show has such a serious narrative, but then we get episode ten, The Fly. The entire episode takes place in the lab, acting as a metaphor. Something so small, a fly, creates so much trouble. Walt can't let it go, and his mission to kill a fly is mired in futility. As smart as Walt is, he isn't successful. It's also emblematic of Walt and Jesse's relationship. Walt is worried about the insignificant and won't let it go. Jesse just wants to be done and move on.

Jesse discovers two of Gus's dealers killed his friend. He wants revenge despite the consequences. Walt tries to protect Jesse and then tries to prevent Jesse from creating trouble. Gus's head of security Mike (Jonathan Banks) tells Walt about taking a half measure when he should have taken a full measure. That's the lead in to Walt putting Jesse in a difficult position. It's survival, and Jesse feels some debt as Walt just saved him.  Walt uses Jesse to ensure they both remain vital to Gus's operation.

Season four resolves last season's cliffhanger rather quickly Now the question is how will Gus respond. That leads to the most intense scene yet. Gus may look like a chicken restaurant manager but he's cold blooded and calculated. He lets the audience and Walt know just how dangerous Gus can be. Of course Walt doesn't see that as he should follow orders. He now regards Gus as a threat that must be eliminated.

S4E1: Aaron Paul, Bryan Cranston play Jesse Pinkman, Walter White

Jesse is devastated over the events of last season, partying non-stop to dull the pain. Gus intervenes, giving Jesse a job as muscle with Mike. Jesse proves valuable, but Walt doesn't like being left out. When Hank shares detail about the case and the genius Gale was, Walt can't help himself. He posits that Gale isn't Heisenberg and was likely just an assistant. Walt can't leave well enough alone. He has to brag even if no one realizes it. Walt's drunken rant is what pushes Hank to keep investigating. Now Walt's in the middle of it as Hank is convinced Gus is guilty. Fortunately for Gus, and maybe Walt, Hank can't convince his bosses.

Skyler concocted a story portraying Walt as a gambler to explain his behavior and their cash influx. She's getting into the money laundering business and looking to buy a car wash.

S4E11: Bryan Cranston plays Walter White

In episode eight we see how Gus started and why he hates the cartel. Episode ten shows the depths Gus will trawl to get revenge. It's a wild ploy that puts everyone at risk. Gus is also successful at splitting Walt and Jesse. He knows Jesse presents an easier working relationship. Walt's pride is a problem. Walt intends to flee, but Skyler gave his money to Ted to pay for an expensive problem. That undercuts Walt's plan to escape, and the irony isn't lost on Walt that Ted is again an issue for his marriage. He can't afford to escape.

S4E8: Giancarlo Esposito plays Gus Fring

Walt waits for an attack while getting his family under the DEA's protection. Walt wants to separate Jesse from Gus, spinning a tale that Gus framed him. We don't know which way is up. Both Walt and Gus want Jesse. Both can be cold and calculating.

In the final episode Walt targets Gus's one weakness, tormenting Hector Salamanca (Mark Margolis). Each season just gets better.

Season five is the final season, and it was split into two parts. The first episode is a preview of things to come with a flash forward of Walt looking rough. In the present, Walt and Jesse blew up the super lab at the end of last season to destroy any evidence, but they forgot about the camera. The pair needs Mike's help, and he reluctantly agrees as the camera leaves him vulnerable too.

S5E3: Jonathan Banks, Bryan Cranston, Bob Odenkirk, Aaron Paul play 
Mike Ehrmantraut, Walter White, Saul Goodman, Jesse Pinkman

Walt and Jesse are looking to start again, hoping to partner with Mike and Saul. Their new setup uses houses being fumigated as a place to cook. That operation is soon derailed when law enforcement is monitoring the chemical barrels. That leads to an exciting heist in episode five where they steal the chemical directly from a transport train. Unfortunately there's another death and Jesse understandably doesn't like it. Walt doesn't mind as much.

Skyler agreed to launder Walt's money, but now she wants to be rid of him, scared from last season when there were people wanting to kill her family.

Mike and Jesse want out, demanding to sell their take and quit. Walt wants to keep cooking, but Jesse points out they're in the money business, not meth. While Walt argues they could make more cooking, Jesse retorts that selling now will give him more money than he's ever seen. As twisted as it is, Walt calls this his "empire." It's really a way to make amends for selling his share of Gray Matter to Elliot. He wants to surpass him.

Mike gets caught up and has to flee. He's mad at Walt. Walt's ego and pride led to an attack on Gus Fring and blowing up the lab. They all had a good thing going that would have gone on indefinitely, but Walt has to be on top. Jesse is out, and he doesn't even care about the money. Walt takes on Todd (Jesse Plemons) as his new assistant.

Walt becomes a full on villain. He's taking out loose ends and making connections with prison gangs. Skyler asks him to quit, telling him they have more than enough money. While he agrees I wondered if he was telling her what she wanted to hear. At the midpoint finale, episode eight, Hank makes a discovery about Walt.

When the season resumes the future disheveled Walt walks through his abandoned house. The immediate questions are what happened to all his money, where is his family, and what happened? In the present Hank confronts Walt, stating he doesn't know who he is. Walt cautions him to "tread lightly." To curtail Hank's investigation, Walt fabricates a story that incriminates Hank as the ring leader and himself as an unwitting pawn. Hank tries to get a confession from Skyler with no results.

S5E8: Anna Gunn, Bryan Cranston play Skyler, Walter White

Walt has so much money Skyler has been keeping it in a storage locker. Jesse gets reckless, and Walt considers taking care of him. To consider where Walt and Jesse started in season one versus where they are, they have more money than they ever imagined but that's only brought a myriad of problems.

Hank picks up Jesse, hoping to turn him against Walt. They're an unlikely duo, but Jesse realizes Walt's manipulations and wants to stop him. While Jesse finally bests Walt it ends in a shootout that puts everyone in harm.

Walt is the real villain, all his decision motivated by selfishness. Despite all that's happened, Walt has to insult Jesse one more time before ordering his goons to kill him. Walt is reaping everything he's sewn. He's screwed over everyone in his way, killed people, had people killed, and now it's reached a breaking point. He has to pay for all of his transgression. While he claimed he did all of this for his family, we know he didn't. He has to run, and when his family won't join him he leaves them behind. He uses his family as cover. He may care for them, but he cares for himself more. We've seen him say whatever it takes to get his way. Even Jesse finally realized it this season. Walt wanted to be somebody important. Cooking meth gave him that. He was the best. Now he's relegated to an isolated cabin, in hiding. Both he and Jesse are imprisoned and isolated, though Jesse definitely has it worse. Walt is ready to turn himself in, but then he sees Elliot from Gray Matter on television. Elliot denies Walt's contributions to the company, understandable due to Walt's legal troubles. Pride once again motivates Walt, but what is he going to do?

The final episode is an amazing cap to the series. Walt gets a redemptive moment, though it can't erase all the wrongs he's committed. It's a definitive end to the series, one that started with a mild mannered chemistry teacher and a former student that spiraled into an arc about a pair of drug kingpins. This is an absolutely amazing series from start to finish.