I just finished season 3, and I can’t breathe!
*spoilers, spoilers* (Seriously. If you don’t want plot points spoiled, move along.)
But don’t y’all spoil me in the comments section quite yet, ’cause I am not caught up with the rest of the world!
As the Breaking Bad series finale draws nearer, it seems to be practically the only thing anyone is talking about anywhere. I can’t let this cultural phenomenon completely pass me by.
On Monday, I started watching the show. I need to make it through nearly 5 seasons to be caught up. But I’m making great time. I’m watching Breaking Bad with practically every spare moment I have.
Luckily, at work we have a lot of downtime where we’re just kind of babysitting footage copying over or rendering or whatever it needs to do that takes time. As we wait, we break out the iPads. Go in my boss’ bay, and most of the time you’ll be seeing a sports game. But come to mine for Breaking Bad.
Originally, I watched the 1st episode a long time ago. But I felt it moved kind of slow. For whatever reason it didn’t grab me. I figured people must just be wrong in their love for Breaking Bad.
But now the love of the show is mounting on twitter to the point where it’s basically deafening. So okay, all right. I’ll watch it. Geez.
I knew I basically had to watch now or never. The finale is going to be HUGE. I feel like if I miss that big cultural moment, what’s the point in going back and seeing it by myself? (It still might be worth going back to watch, but it’ll be better to see it with the world.)
When I went back and watched the first episode, I wondered why I used to feel it was slow-moving. After all, a man gets diagnosed with cancer, quits his second job, starts cooking meth, and murders someone all in one episode. For how much more could I have possible asked?
Thankfully I do not know much about what happens in the series. Somehow I’ve avoided spoilers pretty well. But still, judging by what I’d heard, I thought I was going to love Walt. That he would be this guy who does some bad things, but underneath it all he’s good and we can see that. And it’s all understandable and such.
However, for most of the series I’ve strongly disliked him. It’s not the cooking meth or the murders that I’m upset about. If I had to break it down, I think it’s probably his blatant disregard for other humans/his responsibilities.
First, he constantly abandons his family to make meth (which is fine). The when he finally got the best meth set-up ever, won’t leave his family’s side? So he can sit around the hospital? I guess I understand that he doesn’t want to cause suspicions by not being there. And maybe he wants to be there to pick up clues on things. But really, go make your meth already.
Also, even though I believe that most of the time he is looking out for Jesse’s best interest, sometimes it really seems like he’s not…
Plus, I think this whole “I’m only trying to provide for my family” thing is all a hoax. If you don’t want to take someone else’s money because you’re too prideful, okay. Fine. You’re still affecting yourself in a way you don’t need to be. But if it’s just you, who cares.
When you decide to struggle and start running with big time drug dealers (which is dangerous) in order to “protect your family,” now that’s just a lie a stubborn person tells, right?
Again, I’m not against all the meth and craziness. I’m just saying the reasoning for why it’s happening is very shaky.
However, finally (finally) toward the end of season 3, I started feeling for Walt. When he murdered those guys on the street corner in order to save Jesse, I felt good and finally secure in the fact that he truly is looking out for Jesse.
And when I saw the flashback of him buying the house he and wife now live in, in the flashback in season 3 episode 13, and he said, “We’ve got nowhere to go but up,” it broke my heart completely. (‘Cause of course I’ve seen that in reality all that happened was his life went way down. Sad. Sad.)
Even though I’ve often disliked Walt, I’ve never not liked Jesse. He’s wonderful. And Aaron Paul acts the heck out of his part in every episode. He is incredible. And his facial expressions are just – there is no word that encapsulates how amazing they are.
(Can you even believe that originally Vince Gilligan said Jesse was supposed to die in season 1? Without Jesse and the Jesse/Walt dynamic, what in the world is that show about?)