by Terisa Thurman@SfTerisa
If you are a fan of Breaking Bad, you, me and millions of others…A). Can’t believe what just happened and,
B). Can’t wait to see what happens next.
And if you are waiting for it to come out on DVD or Netflix, I applaud your discipline and envy you as you get to binge without the weekly waits. Waiting a week between each episode is grueling, not to mention somewhere in this firestorm of new technology my computer screen has way better resolution than my television.
No matter at what point you are in the show or if you may be considering catching up, here are some theories on why Breaking Bad is so good:
1. IT COULD REALLY HAPPEN
Somewhere in the world there are people who feel the course of their life could have been better if only they had done a few things differently. They are living in regret and disappointed by what they thought they would have achieved by a certain age and what they actually have achieved. Breaking Bad is the story of Walter White, a High School Chemistry teacher who passed on what turned out to be a lucrative opportunity and now feels he’s living a mundane life when suddenly, learns he has cancer. He has a teenage son who thinks he’s uncool, a pregnant wife which if he dies will be left to themselves and no doubt in debt with the medical bills that are sure to mount up. Already embittered with himself and at the possibility of screwing up his family’s life, he seriously considers cooking and selling meth on a chance meeting with a former student who is on the run from the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). The initial steps Walter White takes are presented in a way that is so logical it’s scary.
2. STRONG CHARACTERS
The intention behind every, major driving factor of each character is illustrated and executed well. They stay true to how they were written even as they mature from their experiences. For example Jesse Pinkman, a young and stupid drug dealer who is about to be busted by the DEA is plucked from that path and eventually bonds with Walter in a father-son like way. He meets and loses the love of his life then is tormented by the reality over the consequences of maintaining and covering the tracks of the meth making empire he and Walt established. Jesse’s character is so far from where he started, the difference is immediately visible and comprehensible by anyone who has kept up with the action.
3. IT'S COMPELLING
Breaking Bad combines two characters who have little in common. A well disciplined, middle-aged Chemistry teacher (who’s often in his underwear) and a young, druggie wild-child on a path of destruction. The only thing they have in common is that they haven’t been living up to their full potential which binds them together as they enter into the outlawed world of meth. It’s a place where most of us haven’t been. The storyline intertwines with the bigger world like one of those rides at a massive amusement park. Imagine meth heads sprinkle the banks of a dark waterway path, then a drug dealer with a gun springs out from behind the corner. You take him down then float by the remnants of his life before the meth you're cooking finishes. Suddenly you’re thrown off a cliff where you don’t know if you’ll come out alive or not. It’s a fun ride and I can’t wait to see how it ends!
