There is no doubt that Breaking Bad is genius. It shows how “the impossible”—like the notion that an innocent, deferential science teacher could transform into an evil, mass-murdering, money-laundering meth kingpin within a couple of years—becomes “possible.” And, even more strikingly, the dichotomy between lead character Walter White and his sidekick Jesse Pinkman is brilliant. In the beginning, you adore and support Walt but hate Jesse. By the end, you adore and support Jesse but hate Walt. These are subtle, refined processes. However, Breaking Bad is the only show I couldn’t finish simply because it is too twisted. I was fine with Hereditary, A Clockwork Orange, Requiem For a Dream, We Need to Talk About Kevin, Black Mirror, etc. In fact, I love all of them. Yet this show takes things to another level. It consistently made me feel sick and dark and angsty and depressed inside. Of course, this isn’t an objectively bad thing—but it was enough for me to eventually turn the TV off. It’s a shame. I always hear that the end is so perfect.
Regardless, there are many accolades to Breaking Bad that underscore its greatness. The acting is absolutely phenomenal. Bryan Cranston won FOUR Emmys for his lead role as Walt. Aaron Paul won three Emmys for his role as Jesse. Even Anna Gunn sold her role as Skyler enough to where she received death threats from people who simply hated Skyler. Paul’s portrayal of Jesse in many parts, like when Walt visits Jesse at the hospital, is among the best acting I’ve ever seen (see the full video below—Paul’s monologue is, in my opinion, more convincing than Cranston’s in his famous “I am the Danger” scene). Moreover, we can’t discuss this show without praising the writing. Breaking Bad hooks you in. It is sneaky—even when you think you’ve finally outsmarted it. I just can’t lie to you and tell you that I loved it (particularly the first two seasons, which were slow) as much as millions of others did. Also, disregard this if you can’t handle gruesome violence. But if you can, well, Breaking Bad is considered one of the best shows ever for valid reasons.
Rating: 8.5/10
P.S. I recognize that my opinion of Breaking Bad is partially invalid since I never finished it, but I still felt that it was worthy of a review anyway. I plan to finish it one day. Thanks!
Thanks for sharing!
I remember a scene in Family Guy where the family was about to drown and Peter confessed that he did not care for The Godfather because “it insists upon itself.” That’s sort of how I feel about Breaking Bad. It’s become such a cultural phenomenon that I get overwhelmed with just the thought of planning to watch it ahahaha
Haha I totally agree. It’s incredible and brilliant and so many things, but I still personally feel that it’s a bit overrated when people act like it’s certainly the best show ever and that nothing else puts up a competition. It’s almost like the “hip thing to do” / pseudointellectual thing to do (just in my personal opinion, of course). I mean clearly the last 3 seasons are incredible, but I wasn’t impressed with the first 2. And I personally wouldn’t say that 3 seasons of greatness is enough to warrant GOAT status. I still think The Americans is the best show I’ve ever seen, but I respect all of the various other shows that are considered the best (Sopranos, The Wire, and so on). Thanks for sharing!
Breaking Bad might well be the greatest scripted drama to ever grace television. You really do need to finish it! I’m not certain just how close to the end you got, but the 3rd-to-last episode of the series, “Ozymondias,” is quite possibly the greatest single hour of TV ever made. IMDB rates it a perfect 10.0; only 33 episodes of television have ever garnered a rating of 9.9, and this episode of Breaking Bad is the only one to ever get the perfect 10 rating. Ever. IMDB gave the 9.9 rating to 4 other episodes of BB, two of which are in the final season, and one of those was the series finale (“Felina”). The final season of Breaking Bad had the highest-rated season of a show, ever (Game of Thrones has 6 episodes rated 9.8 or higher, but they are scattered through 6 different seasons of the show).
Breaking Bad is great for a lot of reasons, but the greatest of them all is the way it was written in such a way that everyone watching it gets emotionally manipulated by the story and the characters. Very few shows (or movies, for that matter) have the kind of power over the viewer that Breaking Bad has. Its spinoff (Better Call Saul, named for a second season episode) prequel is improving with each season, getting IMDB ratings of 9.0+ for more and more episodes each season, including a pair of 9.8s in the most recent season. It helps having largely the same writing team for both shows. It really is an amazing achievement in television.
I believe I stopped at episode 4 of season 2 (Fifty-One). Need to pick it up and finish ASAP. I see on IMDb that this is basically the last episode that isn’t in the 9-10 range in terms of ratings, so I stopped at a bad point. Anyway, I really appreciate your thorough and enlightening comment. Great points. I’ll let you know my thoughts when I finish!
Greatest TV shows of all times, and I don’t think anyone would argue but Breaking Bad pilot episode is the best TV pilots ever. Love your review; it’s making me want to go for a rewatch.
Love it! And have you seen The Night Of? Loved the Breaking Bad pilot but I’d certainly argue that the pilot for The Night Of is the best I’ve ever seen. Def recommend if you haven’t!
I actually haven’t seen that one. Would def check that one out. Thanks for recommending. 🙂
Let me know what you think if you get a chance to see it! Just 8 episodes of pure amazingness.
I’m planning on watching it this weekend and will absolutely let you know. Limited series are almost always good, I’m positive I’m gonna like it. 🙂
Love that. Enjoy!
https://youtu.be/556N5vojtp0
The trailer is very minimalistic and gives little away, but it does seem to set the tone and vibe of the show.
Thanks for sharing! Always appreciate your support.
First of all, this is a series that you simply must finish. The intensity from season to season just builds and builds with the satisfying culmination in the end. I think this series re-invented the cliff hanger, end of season episode. From the brilliant writing, to the amazing acting and all the supporting characters (including Saul, Jesse’s friends, Mike and so many others), this is what series TV is meant to be. I will disagree respectfully about Jesse and Walter and their impressions for the viewers. My feeling was that Jesse was just a young guy with no direction. He had finished high school and never really found anything beyond partying and drugs. He tries to do better, but things happen to go awry for him (as for many people). Walter on the other hand was a sympathetic everyman, who had everyday issues but then his world turns upside down. For him, the “last job to financially protect my family” became the obsession with power and the high of being a man with a mission. Situations that occur are brilliant (like the train heist and the demolition scene at the junkyard). Funny I was invigorated and excited in watching Walter at his best, and not feeling depressed or repulsed. One sits on the edge of their couch wondering “how are they going to get out of THIS one??” One final note, as a Canadian with socialized medicine, the financial challenges put forth in these US based shows with expensive medical treatments don’t occur for us. People having crippling debt over visits to the doctors are not something we have to deal with. Breaking Bad is TV at its best.
Thank you so much for the informative, thorough, and enlightening comment, Robbie! I appreciate all of this info and will keep it in mind as I finish the last season. And I like the bold take on Walt and Jesse. I didn’t like Jesse at first but just felt that he achieved some sense of progression whereas Walt seemed to regress, but obviously my views of them are incomplete. Can’t wait to finish! And so true, as for socialized medicine in Canada. It blows me away that the US is still stuck in the 20th century in terms of healthcare, education, infrastructure, etc. At least we finally have some people in Washington fighting for a more efficient government with more utilitarian benefits that extend to all of the people (and not merely the top 1%), but we still have too many people who are unknowingly voting for their own oppression. Sad. Hoping our country learns from yours one of these days!
While I did watch Breaking Bad to the end, I stopped watching Shameless. Too mean. If I want to wallow in cruelty, I can always watch the news 🙂
Ha, now I’m curious about Shameless!
Has to be the British version with the subtitles on, not the American inferior Shameless!
LOL!
Ha getting ready to check it out!
Excellent observations and critique
Love you, Ali!
Hell of a show.
Indeed!
Mr Chips to Scarface.
Personally, I believe Breaking Bad to be not only the perfect TV show, but just perfect. I’ve never watched anything quite like it, and I reckon for the next couple of decades all we’ll be trying to do is recreate it in everything we do. The acting is phenomenal and the writing is even better. 9.5 out of 10 for me.
Well said. Hard to find better acting or writing in any TV show. I’m excited to finish it out and see how my opinion changes / evolves. Thanks again for the input!
Thanks so much for sharing!
I agree with you, “breaking bad” is awesome. When you’ll finish it, you can switch to “Better call Saul” easily, and I promise you hours of delectable show. 😉
Appreciate the recommendation! I love the guy who plays Saul. Heard great things about that show as well!