Adam Henderson

A note on Breaking Bad

A few disclaimers:

1. Here be SPOILERS

and

2. Looooooonnnnnnggggggg post. Too long if you ask me. If you get bored and distracted by a 'Justin Beiber doing shitty things to the people who made him famous' video, I wouldn't blame you.

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    This blog is primarily concerned with prose genre fiction, but occasionally (and hopefully rarely), I may feel the need to comment on genre fiction in other mediums. Breaking Bad is a classic example of the kind of genre fiction that gets this writer's heart a-racin' (or a-ricin, as it were).

     A Western first and foremost that oozes blood and violence, but also drips with clever dialogue and general badassery ("I am the one who knocks!"), Breaking Bad also has something to say about the human condition and that shadowy, strangely malleable, but universal part of it, morality. The reader (or viewer in this case) was presented with several significant questions along Walt's journey. Is Walt a sympathetic character or a villain? Can he be redeemed for his actions? Is his death necessary for such redemption?

     Not even a week ago, we were presented with Breaking Bad's coup de grace in the form of the anagramily titled episode Felina. An episode that many shivered to watch, both in anticipation for much needed closure to a half-decade long narrative, and in dread that such a staple in the 'good television' diet was going to disappear forever. Forget a movie version, or a reunion show-- Vince Gilligan explicitly stated in several interviews that Breaking Bad, unlike countless other television shows, was a closed story.

     I have conflicted thoughts on the finale. My initial reaction to it was disappointment. Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to be some literary hipster, proudly proclaiming that I was into Breaking Bad before it was cool (I wasn't). Nor are my views set in concrete. I'm sure that my opinion of the finale could potentially (and almost certainly will) change on a repeat viewing.

     The first issue I had related to closure. Again, don't get me wrong, closure was achieved between most of the characters for me (though at times it felt a little rushed). Walt and Skyler? There was a tenderness and finality to their last meeting that was gut-wrenchingly satisfying ("I did it for me. I liked it. I was good at it. And I was really-- I was alive.")   Walt and Jesse? I would have liked a bit more, but ultimately we get the sense that things have been righted between these two.

     But Walt and Walt Jr? Oh dear! Don't you feel like you need more on this? I mean what we get is Walt watching his son come home from school through a glass window. That's it. Will Walt Jr. ever forgive his father? Does he know how much his father loves him? I just don't feel like I know at this point, and I also feel that I deserve an answer, damn-it! I feel like there could have been one more episode dealing with the aftermath of the whole shebang.

     My next issue is with Walt's redemption. A recurring motif throughout fiction (to the point where it is almost an honest to goodness cliche) is that anti-heroes can only achieve redemption if they die. I'm reminded of a scene in The Cider House Rules where the father of a young woman, who just happens to be continually raping her, achieves redemption for his actions by sincerely apologising and then promptly dying. When this character apologised during the movie, I thought to myself 'That's all well and good, pops, but you're an incestual rapist! You're not gonna get out of this alive.'

     I felt the same way about Walter White. He confessed the truth to Skyler, and by doing so, achieved a satisfying level of self-realisation. He even blew Todd's Nazi Uncle's head-off at the mere mention of the missing millions in cash. Walt has realised the error of his ways, but he has committed too many sins, he has shed too much blood, and, as a result, he still has to die. It was an unwritten contract that formed around the time he let Jane choke on her own vomit, or maybe the time he poisoned Brock.

     I'm not in the habit of justifying wrongful deeds. What I will suggest though is that it could very well be possible for a human being-- who has done terrible things-- to achieve redemption without dying. I'd like to see this explored in genre fiction at some point.

     Of course, I can't really complain too much. There are too many complainers out there-- people who decry artists for perceived disappointment despite not contributing artistically to anything themselves. It's my sincere belief that unless you're willing to put your own work up there for the world to see, you should probably shut-the-fuck-up about the work of other people.    

     Breaking Bad was one hell of a ride. It should be praised because it achieved one thing above all else. It got regular people (people who-- god love them-- don't know the difference between the terms literacy and literature), talking about morality. I've actually had conversations with the most unlikely of people about whether or not Walter White is evil or a victim of unfortunate and tragic circumstance. Such conversations between regular people and those that spent too much time and money on a liberal arts education are a good thing. A profoundly good thing, indeed.