Last week Andrea and I watched the final episode of Breaking Bad. And I wanted more.
For the previous two months we binge watched it on Netflix. It was one of those things where she started watching it and I stepped in around the 3rd episode (I watched the first and second episodes later). Because, you see, we watch a lot of TV. Something I am not too proud of. It just works with our schedule.
After giving our two and three year old a bath around 7:15, pajamas, reading them a book, tucking them in bed, giving them a kiss good night, and eventually closing their bedroom doors it’s around 8:45. Somewhere in between too late to work on a project and I’m a bit too tired to work on it anyways. Especially here in Michigan in the winter.
So we watch a show. I am fighting this. Energy levels are starting to get back to pre-baby levels which are egging me on to get back into those projects. I am at a point where I don’t want to get sucked into another show.
I had never watched an episode of Breaking Bad from the time it aired (2008 – 2013). Not one. I don’t know how. We had AMC. I saw it on the guide as I flipped through the channels. Just never stopped to watch. And I had heard how good it was. So yes, its 2018, we are late to the Breaking Bad party.
But damn. From the second I sat down I was hooked. And it just kept getting better and better and better. Every season built on the previous one. And they did it for 5 seasons straight. I can’t remember watching any other show were there wasn’t at least one or two dull seasons. Not with Breaking Bad.
And every time I saw the image below I was like Fuck You Vince Gilligan.
There would be this long pause after something insanely insane happened which gave you half a second to collect your thoughts and think nooooooo……not Vince Gilligan. Fuck. Fucking Vince. You’re gonna Fucking do that to me Vince. You Fucking Fuck.
I am not fucking around. Andrea and I would look at each other and wait for the other one to say “you want to power through and watch another one? Its only 10:15.”
A Brief Apology
The language above. I do apologize. That’s not me talking. The show made me break bad. Got my emotions all riled up. Well played Vince…you son of a bitch you. You Mother F….
It Felt Real
It didn’t need computer graphics. It didn’t need to be dumbed down. It didn’t need to be overdone. And the story felt believable. Even though it was unbelievable.
It hit home with me in a number of ways. None of which I realized until after the final episode.
Walts 50. I’m 37. Not that far behind.
Walts a father to a son and a daughter. As am I.
Walt was given a couple of years to live after being diagnosed with inoperable lung cancer even though he never smoked. My Dad was given a couple of years to live after being diagnosed with Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis even though he had not smoked since before I was born. IPF is an incurable and inoperable (lung transplants may work) lung disease.
The cough Walter had is the same cough my Dad had as the disease weakened his lungs before it took his life eighteen months after diagnosis.
And knowing why Walter did everything he did so he could take care of his family when he passed. Which is exactly what my Dad did during his life. Which got me thinking about me and my family. And what I’m doing or not doing.
And most importantly. Walt wore whitey tighties. My Dad wore whitey tighties. I should probably start wearing them again.
In The End
There were so many great scenes. So many great lines.
“You clearly don’t know who you’re talking to, so let me clue you in. I am not in danger, Skyler. I am the danger. A guy opens his door and gets shot, and you think that of me? No! I am the one who knocks!”
“You want me to beg? You’re the smartest guy I ever met, and you’re too stupid to see — he made up his mind 10 minutes ago.”
“I did it for me. I liked it. I was good at it. And I was really — I was alive.”
And the ending. There were two endings. Hank’s scene (3rd to last episode) and the actual last scene. Just wow. How the hell did you come up with that?
Others have spoken about the life lessons Breaking Bad has taught them so I won’t go into that here. And how what Walt really wanted in life was to feel alive.
With TV getting so much better these past 5 years as shows can be made for Netflix, HBO, Showtime, Amazon, and others without the rules of regular TV its amazing to think Breaking Bad was on AMC from 2008 to 2013.
That’s before shows like House Of Cards, Boardwalk Empire, the first season (not the second) of True Detective, Orange is The New Black, Game of Thrones, and Homeland to name a few.
I know nothing about writing scripts, character development, choosing music, and so on. But man, it all worked. Like I said above. I have watched a lot of TV over the years. Something I am not too proud of. And with that…
Breaking Bad won TV.
That’s the best way I can describe it. Congrats to everyone who worked on the show. I feel like if I never watch another TV show again my viewing of TV would be complete. It’s the only show where the thought of watching it from start to finish all over again has crossed my mind.
Well played Vince Gilligan. You Son Of A Mother Fu….. BIIIIIITTCCCHHH!!!
Leave a Reply