Jackson: The world was introduced to Walter White on January 20, 2008 – a run-down, subservient, passionless chemistry teacher/car wash attendant who received all of two gifts on his fiftieth birthday: a half-hearted handjob from his wife, Skyler, and diagnosis of terminal lung cancer. Over the next twelve months, with the help of former student-cum-junkie washout Jesse Pinkman, Walt transformed himself from a man beaten down by life into “the one who knocks,” his Heisenberg alter-ego supplying the purest crystal meth in the country to the die-hard tweekers of Albuquerque, New Mexico, frustrating the attempts of DEA agent (and brother-in-law) Hank Schrader to quell the continuing supply of hard narcotics, and attracting the attention of drug cartels both home and abroad, with bloody consequences.
It’s safe to say that “Breaking Bad” has firmly entrenched itself into the cultural zeitgeist. Even in this Golden Age of television, the show stands out not for its powerful narrative, marvelous acting, colorful cast of characters and gorgeous cinematography, but for a fanbase which follows every second of the show with a passion verging on the criminally insane.
Why does “Breaking Bad” inspire such fanaticism? Is Walter capable of redemption? Will there be more deaths? How does the present storyline connect to the two flash-forward scenes? Is Walter Jr. a grown-up version of Jimmy Volmer from South Park? And where the fuck does Saul buy his suits?
All of these questions and many more will be answered in this mid-half-season recap. I will be talking with GS columnist and fellow “Breaking Bad” enthusiast, Morgan Jenkins, about what we firmly believe to be the greatest television show we, and you, have ever seen. With that being said, we must murmur a quick word of warning: as of this week, 58 episodes of “Breaking Bad” have aired. If you have not seen all 58 episodes, DO NOT READ ON. *SPOILER ALERT* While we are both personally offended by your utter ignorance of this generation’s creative nirvana, we won’t punish you. Simply lock yourself in a dark room, buy Netflix, watch every damn episode of “Breaking Bad” until Hank finds out Walter is Heisenberg (whoops), and then illegally stream the four episodes which aren’t on Netflix. Do this now. Right now.
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Alright, now we’ve got the timewasters out of here, let’s get going. Personally, these last four episodes have been especially nerve-clenching for me simply because I can’t wait for twenty seconds after the episode ends and find out what happens next. I watched all four and a half seasons on Netflix this summer in a dark hotel room. I’m sure I’m not the first to say that Netflix has utterly destroyed my capacity for patience. Not only that, but it’s a little jarring to transition from watching the most uncomfortable dinner foursome since my last double date to watching another bloody Progressive commercial. At the same time, I’m glad that I’m watching the final episodes in this way because it is ratcheting up the tension to eleven; I can honestly say that I have never been this emotionally invested in any TV show in my life. Thoughts, Morgan?
Morgan: First off, let me agree with the plain fact that this is not a bandwagon. The series is a full-fledged, emotional freight train heist. Like you, after investing an embarrassing amount of time in front of a glaring computer screen, waiting for an entire week in order to witness the progression of the Hank & Pinkman compact seems impossible. This final season has a fan-base unlike any of its predecessors, and I think that writer Vince Gilligan is well aware of that. Breaking Bad caught on via a word of mouth/social media driven combo in a way that no other current drama has been able to do. Fanatics largely caught wind of its exposure and credibility, spent a long, cold winter on Netflix, and are now starved for more. Gilligan has us all by the balls and is laughing proudly from some multi-million dollar penthouse in Malibu.
That being said, the writers are stuffing as much thrill, intensity and anxiety into a weekly 45 minutes as possible. The character dynamics have completely transformed throughout the series and we have seen nearly every individual on the show altered by Walt’s crystal blue empire. Every action, reaction, deception, and murder has been exposed and viewers are about to witness one explosive climax. Let’s start with W.W. himself. Walter White is gone. The morals, the integrity, the humanity – its all ancient history. There is no longer any voice of reason whispering sweet humanity into Walt’s ear. The protagonist has become the antagonist. Walter White has become Heisenberg.
Jackson: I have to say that I respectfully disagree with you, Morgan. Not so much with your sentiment, but with the syntax. I don’t think Walter White became Heisenberg, far from it. I believe that Heisenberg was always within Walt, part of his subconscious which lay dormant for years as he sold his third of Gray Matter for $5,000 (the reason for which we simply must find out before the end) and proceeded to live a life far beneath him. Heisenberg isn’t merely an alter ego for Walt to hide behind, it is a manifestation of the bitterness and resentment that comes from the frustration of a wasted life. I think Heisenberg showed himself for the first time here, one of the more beautifully executed “fuck you’s” in television history, and his influence over Walt’s psyche has grown to the point where killing eleven prisoners in two minutes is merely a matter of logistics.
That being said, it’s interesting to compare the dichotomy of Walt’s personality to the singularity of Jesse’s. Remember the very beginning of the series? Jesse was a piece of trash; a Generation Y screw-up who dealt drugs in high school, surrounded himself with friends and women who did nothing but suck him further into the spiral of addiction, and got high any chance he got with any drug that came handy. Now, as Walt has chosen to slowly turn to the dark side, it’s easy to contrast his actions with Jesse’s situation. At the heart of Jesse’s character is contradiction – he is a leader who believes that he is a follower. He failed chemistry in high school under Walt’s tuition, yet was able to learn to become as capable a meth cook as Walt, who holds a doctorate in chemistry from the California Institute of Technology. While Walt and Mike were arguing about the best way to deal with witnesses during the train robbery, it was Jesse who came up with a way to undertake the biggest train robbery of all time with no witnesses, save for a murdered eleven year old boy and a captured tarantula. It was Jesse who came up with using magnets to destroy Gus Fring’s laptop, it was Jesse who figured out that Walt was behind Brock’s poisoning. This is an incredibly smart guy!
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Not only that, but Jesse is simply a better person than Walt. Throughout the last two seasons, particularly after killing Gale and the death of Drew Sharp, it has become clear that Jesse doesn’t want any part of this. He doesn’t want to be a part of the empire business, he just wants to get his money and get out of town, and then he just wants to get out of town). Despite being on even intellectual ground, he has allowed Walt to psychologically manipulate him into playing along with these nefarious schemes….until now. These last four episodes have seen the final schism between Walt and Jesse, and it doesn’t look as though it will heal anytime soon. Jesse has finally seen through all of Walt’s bullshit and he’s ready to strike back. That heartbreaking scene when Jesse dreamed about escaping to Alaska, only to have it all crashing down because of a stolen bag of weed, has set the finale up deliciously. Walt was never scared of Hank – macho cop bluster was never a match for Heisenberg’s cold calculations and intellect – but Jesse is a truly formidable enemy. I can’t see Breaking Bad ending with both protagonists still breathing.
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Morgan: I completely agree that there has to be a “last man standing” finale. We’ve seen Jesse’s mental state deteriorate these first few episodes. After tossing fat stacks of cash from his car as if they were used Big Mac wrappers and detachedly enduring police interrogation, viewers are able to see how absolutely broken Pinkman is and his desperate desire to make it all go away. Previous events of his life have previously alluded to an inevitable mental breakdown: the death of a druggie girlfriend, his gunshot murder of geeky meth cook Gale Boetticher, the poisoning of young, beloved Brock, amidst many other unfortunate events. Jesse, although certainly guilty of succumbing to the villainous nature of the infamous meth ring, clings onto the sensitivity and humanity that Walter White did away with long ago. It is not until he is waiting for Saul’s connection to skip town that we see Jesse snap. He experiences an overwhelming epiphany, gaining awareness of Mr. White’s ruthless manipulation and deceit throughout their entire relationship. Realizing that Walt was guilty of poisoning Brock, the father-figure image built up in Jesse’s head is completely annihilated. We then see Pinkman irately soaking White’s house in gasoline, evoking what I consider to be the most anxiety-provoking minute of television to ever occur. Okay fine, tied with the beautifully sick explosion of Gustavo Fring’s face a la season four.
It is only when Hank impedes upon Jesse’s manic intentions that he is convinced to plot on the side of the DEA in order to burn Mr. White down. However, we see Jesse’s hesitation after Hank attempts to use him as bug-ridden bait in order to get a confession out of Walt. Jesse gains a sense of vengeance while on his way to meet Walt, ending in a phone call that basically says “you’re mine”…bitch. I think that Jesse’s vendetta against Walt is entirely too personal to exist as a joint-effort with Hank. To me, it seems that he is going to do everything possible to ensure that Walt is destroyed on his terms, especially driven by his newfound knowledge of deception.
Jackson: It certainly is going to be a battle of epic proportions. That line, “I’m coming for you, you son of a bitch, I’m gonna get you where you really live,” make me leap out of my La-Z-Boy and experience heart palpitations. As I said before, Jesse has devised bat-shit crazy plans before, and while it’s often by the skin of his teeth, they always seem to come off flawlessly (except for this). Does this mean that Jesse is coming after Walter Jr.? If so, the one character left who has no idea of Heisenberg’s true identity could be in for a rude awakening. Hopefully, there’ll be some breakfast for the poor lad.
This concludes part one of our two-part report on “Breaking Bad”. The second part, which will include discussions on Skyler, Hank, and predictions going forward, will be on GainesvilleScene this Saturday afternoon. Please feel free to share your opinions in the comments section below, and stay safe.
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