Breaking Bad
After a lot of talk about this show I finally caved in and watched it. I had no idea what this show was about, but despite being the type I don't go for its a good show. Don't think it up to the hype about it, but it was a great ride nonetheless. So here's my review on it, and yes, there will be spoilers so proceed with caution!The show starts off with a man in his underwear and apron panicking then it cuts to introduces us to the life of Mr. Walter White. A high school chemistry teacher with a pregnant wife Skyler, and a 16-year-old son with cerebral palsy name Walter Jr. Walt also works at a car wash where we can see he hates. Then there is his brother and daughter in-laws, Hank and Marie. Hank is a DEA agent who is loud and very machismo. Marie is a technician at a radiology center. Walter collapses while working at the car wash, and learns from his doctor that he has lung cancer. This is where we witness Walter be reborn.
Walter did not tell his family about his cancer which is an interesting choice. With the sudden knowledge that your life is going to end soon Walter thinks of his family's future. He did not want to leave them with nothing. He remembers Hank telling him about his job as a DEA agent and how much money the meth business earns. Walts asks if he can tag along and Hank arranges it to be done.
When the time comes, Walt is left in the car as Hank and his team go break into the house. Walt watches a young man climb out of the house next to the house being broken into and watches him escape. He recognizes the young man as his former student, Jesse Pinkman, and follows after him. When he finally found him he asks about the meth business and proposes to join Jesse. And this is were their partnership begins. Walt takes out a huge chunk of his money to get an RV where they drove out to the middle of no where to start cooking meth. Being a chemistry teacher Walt is easily able to obtain the right equipment from the school. Jesse is practically the opposite of Walt. He's young, impulsive, a drug user, and uses colorful language. Also he mess things up throughout to show which makes us all have headaches. I get aggravated watching him, haha.
The first half of the first season I find pretty hard to watch. Not because its bad but just the situation the characters are put in and how the show focuses on how the characters go through it is just gives me the shivers and anxiety. Jesse is a meth cook and Walter just wants to cook meth. Walter makes his first batch which turns out to be the purest Jesse has ever seen. They have to go find a distributor so Jesse meets up with his drug dealer. However things turn sour since the drug dealer's cousin works with Jesse and got caught by the DEA while Jesse ran. Jesse was able to appease the drug dealer and his cousin with a sample of the meth. They go meet up with Walter in the desert and the cousin recognizes the man who was with the DEA. Walter was able to calm them down and offer to teach them how to cook like him. They comply and Walter tricks them by making a deadly reaction with the chemicals and locking them in the RV. Now the next few episodes is of them dealing with the dead bodies.
I find it to be interesting for things to go so bad so fast. Walter went through all the trouble and almost came close to dying before he even sold any meth. This segment of the show is quite gross in terms of gore. The drug dealer did manage to survive which makes it difficult to deal with. Jesse and Walter flipped a coin to see who gets to deal with whom. Jesse struggles with handling the dead body of the cousin, and finding the very specific type of materials Walter tells him to get to deal with it. He messes up by using his bathtub which ends up making a huge red mess since the chemical can erode it. Even though there's ways to deal with the alive drug dealer, Walter is very very hesitant which I find realistic. He ends up restraining him in the basement, and keeping him alive. They even started talking and getting friendly. Its a nice bonding scene. Till Walter's cancer acts up and he collapses on the ground when he tries to bring the drug dealer a sandwich. Walter woke up he goes to clean up the broken plate and remakes the sandwich. He then realizes something and pieces the broken plate back together and sees a piece was missing. He goes down to the basement and confronts him. The drug dealer attacks and Walter strangles him to death.
Meanwhile, Walter's wife Skylar has been very suspicious and nosy about whats going on with Walter and eventually finds out about him quitting his second job at the car wash. She also finds out about Jesse and assumes that Walter has been buying and smoking pot from him. Walter does eventually reveals he has cancer to his family. They want to give him treatment but Walter refuses. Walter and Skylar later go to a birthday party to an old friend from college. We learn that this friend is rich as hell due to his company that he and Walt has built, but Walt dropped out of it. Walter and Skylar feel extremely out of place. Walter and the friend, Elliot, have a reminiscing moment and Elliot offers a position in the company. Walter was able to see right through what Elliot is trying to say. He quickly leaves and confronts Skylar what she told Elliot. She confesses to telling him about his cancer, and says Elliot and his wife Gretchen are willing to pay for his treatment. Walter refuses their help. But Walt does end up agreeing to go to get treatment, but lies that he's taking Elliot's money to pay for it. I really hated Skylar in this season for her nosiness. Also Walt's pride is such a double edge sword for him. At this point we all can relate to him in some way and understand him. He is smart as hell and has his family as his highest priority. But man that pride of his. It can be frustrating as a viewer, but it does make good entertainment.
Jesse and Walter need a new distributor so Jesse meets up with Tuco who is ruthless. He refuses to pay Jesse the money for the meth up front, and Jesse fights back. However Jesse gets beat up badly. Walter then goes to meet Tuco himself and uses another deadly chemical concoction to scare them up and it works. Hank finds a gas mask in the site where Walt and Jesse cooked meth. This side of Walt to start to care for someone as annoying as Jesse and to go so close to risking his own life in a badass way is quite masculine and appealing.
Season 2 is not as intense as season 1, but does have action and lots of stuff happens since its longer. The entire season give you glimpses of Walter's house with signs of a crime or something terrible that had happened there. This season is where lots of tension between Walter and his family starts as Skylar gets even more suspicious and confused about Walter. She does change a it from the really annoying housewife she was in season 1. Especially when she starts working again, and struggles with the fraud going on in her company. We also get to see some softer and kinder sides of Jesse. Dealing with Tuco was not as dramatic as the first drug dealer was, but it was interesting with Hank being there to tract down a missing Walter by finding Jesse's car. We see a start of a weakness for Hank after the gun fight. He pretends to be proud of putting down Tuco.
This season we are introduced to Saul Goodman a shady lawyer that Jesse recommends. They need him to help out Jesse's friend who got caught selling their meth. This character is great! Another character that's getting introduced is Jane, Jesse's neighbor to his new place after his parents kicks him out of his house due to the meth lab they found. Also Jesse's friends who work for him to distribute their meth. I don't like season 2 because of Jane and her part of the story. Her and Jesse do eventually hook up and start dating. Jane is also a for drug user and is in going through rehab put in by her father. However she starts using again after getting to know Jesse more. She introduces Jesse into heroin. I get that Jane will show us a different side of Jesse as a drug user, and introducing someone he cares for cause he falls for her pretty badly.
Saul informs Walt and Jesse to seek a low profile drug distributor to help with their troubled meth business. He sets up a meeting with them in a fast food fried chicken restaurant but no one came to meet them. Walter dislikes this and tries again. He was able to meet up with Gustavo Fring who gives him a chance if he delivers his meth in one hour. Walter rushes and breaks into Jesse's place who is all drugged out to take the meth to deliver it. Walter also ends up missing the birth of his daughter. Despite the incompetence Jesse is having with Walter it does show how much Walter cares for the kid since anyone would've left him. This is a show of tension between the two as Walter refuses to give Jesse his share of the money due to his drug usage. Jesse complains about it to Jane who blackmails Walt. He does give him the money, but returns to witness Jane choking on her own vomit during their high on heroin. Jesse is in a emotional wreck the next morning and so is Jane's father. The season ends by finally showing us what the happened to Walt's house that the season has been teasing us with. I find this to be pretty lame.
Season 3 is all on the Gus power and business that's far different from Tuco and Krazy 8. Similar to season 2, instead of vague glimpses and hints its a short side story of thing going on. This time its of two silent tough looking men traveling mostly on foot from Mexico to the US. These guys are the Cousins of Tuco, and we see them murder people without saying a word. Not as lame as the season 2 but its not that entertaining. Walt and Jesse are in a emotional wreck in this season. Gus gave a high class meth lab hidden in one of his facilities. We get a new character named Mike who works with Saul and later we learn he also works with Gus. We see him secretly saving Walt from the Cousins who are planning to assassinate him. Gus dealing with the Cousins and making us viewers wonder the connections Gus' has. Walt may not have it great at home with his wife trying to divorce him, but his work with Gus is going smoothly. Of course the troubled Jesse changes that when Walt makes Jesse be his partner again and have to get rid of Gale his perfect assigned assistant. As always Jesse makes even more trouble when he wants to kill the dealers of Gus who shot his friend and have children work for him. Jesse does get another girl who is also a drug user, but not heavily. She is more responsible since she has a kid. He falls for her badly too and we see that he has a soft spot for kids.
The biggest change this season is Hank who gets in a gun fight with the Cousins and ends up paralyzed. He gives up his DEA position. Its good news for Walt as he was chasing after him, and almost caught him and Jesse since he tracked down their RV. Hank turned bitter and not is himself anymore.
Skylar also makes a big change as she struggles with dealing with her feelings on Walt. She can't divorce him or turn him in to the police after Walt reveals his meth secret to her. She's even taking a active role by making up a story to cover for them from Hank and Marie. Also going to Saul to handle money laundering. She's still annoying, but just depressed annoying.
The season ends with Walt explaining to Jesse that he figures Gus is going to kill them when Gale figures out how to cook like them. Jesse who hasn't killed anyone at this point has now kill Gale. Walt has been the one who kills.
Season 4 is quite intense and full of action! We see Gus much more frightening as he slits the throat of one of his henchmen with a box cutter, and coldly tells Walt and Jesse to go back to work. This season is not only on Walt and Jesse saving themselves from Gus, but also Hank as he returns to being a DEA when confronted by new evidence found in Gale's apartment. This bothered me since he seems so set on not returning to be a DEA after two shoot outs and barely surviving them. It makes the past two seasons of change thrown out the window. Jesse is of no help to Walt as he's yet again in a emotional wreck. We also get to see more of Gus as we get involved with his other issue with the Cartels that the Cousins work for. He also visits Tio, Tuco and the Cousins' invalid uncle, and reveals the death of his allies and family. Gus also gets careful with the DEA as Hank tries to tie a connection to him and Gale. Hank isn't backing down and has drag Walt to privately investigate Gus which works to Walt's favor so he can warn Gus about it beforehand. With all these issues Gus doesn't seem to be stressed or break a sweat. Which makes him quite intimating.
Gus is a great villain and it makes this season very enjoyable. We see him manipulate Jesse into getting to his side in order to build tension between him and Walt. Walt is already in a mess with his fear and stress from Gus and Hank that he can be a bit crazy. He scares Skylar who is stuck with this horrible situation with her husband and her incompetent boss who is endangering the IRS to investigate them. He and Jesse does eventually end up fighting as Walter wonders why Jesse won't poison Gus already. Walt is clearly paranoid about Gus and rightfully so too, but no one seems to feel the same. Jesse is planned to leave to Mexico to cook meth for the Cartels as ordered by Gus. Jesse is nervous as he's not confident he can cook meth as they wanted. But he was able to get by and please the Cartels. Then Gus executes his plan to destroy the Cartels by poisoning them. We learn earlier in a flashback that the Cartels has killed his friend Max, and wants to have his revenge. Taking Jesse with him on this journey cements him to think Gus values him. With confidence Gus goes to fire Walt and threaten to kill his family. Walt was ready to disappear with his family till he learns his wife used the money to save them from her boss' incompetence. Walt was then had an idea as he sits spinning the gun. The rest of the season is Walt able to win Jesse to his side and the duo work together to destroy Gus.
Season 5 is the last season that picks up after Gus' death and the reveal of his drug empire on the news. The first episode gives us a glimpse of Walt in the future. In the present, with Gus gone, Walt and Jesse gets Mike to help them dispose evidence of their involvement with Gus, and was able to succeed in destroying the laptop that recorded them making meth in the lab. Since Skylar has used the money Walt can't leave the meth business and tries to start his own meth empire business. With what he's done so far its no surprise to see Walt get a little crazy. He employs Jesse, Mike, and Lydia who worked with Gus and was trying to kill Mike to save herself from the police who is tracking people linked to Gus's meth business bank account. Saul helps them out by teaming them with a fumigating business to be a mobile meth cooking lab. Things don't sit well with Jesse and Mike when a kid that spots them during their train heist is shot and the DEA following Mike's every move. Mike forces Walt to let them go and sell their methyl amine to the next big drug producer and distributor. Walt arranges to work with the drug dealer so he doesn't loose his business. While he works with them he teaches Todd, his new assistant, how to cook blue meth. Then he's able to finally quit the meth business to appeal Skylar and return to normal. Its nice to see that Walt may have the potential to be another drug lord but his failure to get people behind him makes him push his pride away for probably the first time in this show.
Things are peaceful however this gets turned upside down when Hank finds a book in Walt's that Gale has gifted to him. He finds it to be a huge connection to Gale's notes. Hank has been avoiding Walt and work to dig up the heisinburg case in his garage. Walt does notice that the book is missing and was able to lead it to Hank finding it. They have a tense discussion in Hanks garage when Walt visits him. Hank no longer see Walt as family but a monster that needs to be out down. This is such a contrast to Walt as he values family no matter what they've done or thinks of him. We know Hank has a pride issue like Walt, but it is interesting coming from someone who is willing to turn against a family member so quickly. Hank does tell Marie about Walt and she also agrees that he needs to be put away. This causes tension between them and Walt and Skylar. Marie and Hank have confronted to Skylar about it, but she was quiet about it but she wasn't able to pull a poker face thus revealing that she already knew about Walt's secret. Walt makes a DVD of a confession that Hank asked for but twisted it to make Hank responsible for him to be in the meth business. This puts Hank to a stop at getting Walt, but he's not giving up easily.
Jesse is yet again in a emotional wreck after what he has done. He questions about Mike to Walt, and can see through his lies and figures out that Mike is dead. This gives him the idea that Walt will kill him too. He hates the money he got from selling the methylamine and ends up throwing it out the street which makes him end up with FBI agents questioning the money. Hank visits him as well, and was able to get to talk to Jesse alone. Jesse doesn't talk at all but he changes his mind after he figures out that Walt is responsible for poisoning Bruno, the son of his ex-girlfriend. He was about to disappear and get a new life too. He returns back and was in the middle of dumping gasoline in Walt's house till Hank stops him. Hank has been following him, and was able to easily get Jesse to work with him to get Walt. It was definitely weird the way it was set up and written to get Jesse to team up with Hank. How he figured it all out just like that seemed not very Jesse thing to do. Him being able to see through Walt so fast is a tad lazy.
Walt tries to reach Jesse after learning that he didn't go through with the disappearance and finds his house drenched in gasoline. He tries to clean it up but can't and tries to cover up with a fake story which neither Skylar or his son believes. Walt's cancer is also back so he's back into chemo. He doesn't think about it this time as he has much pressing matters. He worries a lot about Jesse as he learns from Saul that he knows about them poisoning Bruno. Hank find this the perfect opportunity to get Walt by using Jesse as bait, but Jesse believes that Walt is trying to get rid of him and doesn't believe Walt cares about him at all which is frustrating to me as a viewer. Jesse ruins both Walt and Hank's plan when he phones Walt to say that he's going down. Jesse was able to trick Walt when he says he found his money that he buried and threatens to burn it. Walt leaves immediately and drives to the spot to find it empty and realizes what was happening. Before he could figure out what to do he phones Todd's uncle to save him and soon calls it off when he sees Hank and Jesse drive up to the spot. Walt eventually shows himself and hating Jesse for being a coward now that he learns he and Hank have been working together. Walt surrenders himself but when he sees that Todd's uncle is coming he tries desperately to stop the inevitable. Hank and Todd's gang have a shoot out and Hank is shot in the leg and Walt pleas to the gang to spare him and offers all his money that he buried. Hank tells Walt that he's stupid to think he can convince the uncle to spare him and he is shot. The gang takes Walt's money as Walt lays in the ground in despair. They do leave a barrel for Walt. The gang couldn't find Jesse but Walt spots him and has the gang take care of him.
Marie gets a call from Hank that he's caught Walt and she confronts Skylar about it. Skylar is then convinced by Marie to tell her son about their secret. As predicted he takes it badly and hates his father. They get home and sees Walt come back and tries to rush them to pack their things. Skylar and his son want answers and Walt tells them they have no time. They ask about Hank and his answer upsets them that Skylar defends herself and her son with a kitchen knife. Walt was able to disarm her and ask her what's wrong. But his son was already calling the cops. Feeling betrayed by his family he quickly leaves and grabs his baby daughter. He wasn't able to keep her long as she was crying for her mother than paying attention to him. He called his home to talk to Skylar knowing the cops would be there he makes himself sound abusive and say that she doesn't know anything to save her from the police. Walt leaves his daughter in a fire station with the address to his now ex home. Its quite sad with all the hard work they've done to make things all right again and then destroy it in minutes. At least Skylar was able to understand what Walt was trying to do with the phone call. She's probably the only person who understands Walt the most at that moment. She's definitely changed a lot since the first season. She's depressed, sad, spaces out, and murders don't seem to phase her as much.
Now that he lost his family and his identity as heisinburg now out he gets a new identity. Saul is also doing the same and refuses to help Walt again to revenge the gang for killing Hank. Walt is instructed to stay hidden in a far off cabin in New Hampshire. Walt can't go anyway and is terribly restless and lonely. He tries to be friendly with the guy handling his hiding, but sees that he's only obligated if he gets paid for it. No longer standing his current situation he uses a box to store his money to be mailed off and heads to a pub. There he uses the pay phone to talk to his son saying that he'll send money to his best friend after hearing their financial situation. Walt's son says he doesn't want it and tells him to go die already. Feeling pretty heartbroken Walt then dials the DEA and says that he's Heisenburg and hangs up to wait for them to put him away. As he waits he watches the TV and sees that Elliot is in a interview saying that his connection to Walt with the company is only in the company name, and that they will help families with drug issues. Walt leaves the pub with the money before the police arrives. At this point I thought Walt's pride would make him go on a killing spree. Now we're caught up to the glimpse of the future that first episode of this season of him with a car that has a New Hampshire license plate and buying a M60. He drives back home and retrieves the ricin he hide in his old home. He finds Elliot's new home and surprises them as he sneaked into their home. They are frightened of him, but Walt calmly tells them that he wants them to take his money and to give it to his son. Telling them that it will not be suspicious since they already give money to families recovering from drug abuse. Red dots appear on Elliot and Gretchen's bodies and Walt threatens that they will be killed if they don't fulfill his request. He leaves and we learn that he tricked them by hiring Jesse' old friends that he had worked with to use laser points to fake snipers. Walt asks about blue meth that is still selling and learns that they thought it was him and now thinks it must be Jesse. Walt learns Todd is working with Lydia who is struggling with the low quality of meth after Walt left. But now that Jesse is enslaved by Todd to cook for them business is going well.The rest of the season is of Walt tying up loose ends with his wife and fulfilling his revenge for Hank's death. Earlier he was set his hatred for Jesse, however his assumptions that he's selling his product is quickly wrong as he sees Jesse miserable, beaten, and in chains when he visits Todd's gang. The ending was not WOW, or even emotional. Its just nice mentally. As in Walt is finally at peace.
The last episode is such a big change to Walt's character that its really good and makes a great ending to an amazing character and story. He lived rather than just existed. Whether he would still do this if he knew what's in store for in the very first episode I have no idea. Its quite sad that none of the characters seem sad for him. Walt's character is very solid and well written. Can't say the same for Hank and Jesse.
Overall, I think the show lives up to its hype. Its very addicting since the end of the episodes always leaves off making you wanting to know what happens. Which I hate since I have no self control. There was some issues with story telling, but its not big deal other than Hank going back to being a DEA. Very entertaining show.
The last episode is such a big change to Walt's character that its really good and makes a great ending to an amazing character and story. He lived rather than just existed. Whether he would still do this if he knew what's in store for in the very first episode I have no idea. Its quite sad that none of the characters seem sad for him. Walt's character is very solid and well written. Can't say the same for Hank and Jesse.
Overall, I think the show lives up to its hype. Its very addicting since the end of the episodes always leaves off making you wanting to know what happens. Which I hate since I have no self control. There was some issues with story telling, but its not big deal other than Hank going back to being a DEA. Very entertaining show.
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