Breaking Bad: Why I Hate It

When my brother-in-law began raving about this rather popular television show he was hooked on, I knew I had to check it out. After the pilot, I was disappointed and unsure what all the hype was about. By episode three, I was sure I never wanted to watch another minute of this supposedly spell-binding show. My husband didn't understand why I hated it so much, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized that I just couldn't take anymore darkness in my life. My work-life is steeped in the worst humanity has to offer. Every day I see images of death and destruction. I listen to evil men, praising their "god" for the successful destruction of their enemies (of whom, I am one). Watching a fake story of dark life, sinking into further darkness, with no hope of redemption is not something I find entertaining. Despite my lack of desire to watch the show, my curiosity about the grand finale (Felina), everyone was so eagerly anticipating, got the best of me. I had to read the cliff notes version of how the series ended. What I read did not surprise me in the least. It was the only possible ending for a man who had become addicted to a power-high. I can appreciate that the writers did not force the story, but rather let the characters they created mold the plot. The pilot is rather unlikely (most high-school chem teachers don't think of meth-making as their first course of action upon learning they have cancer), but once that decision is made, Walt makes all the expected bad choices and the rest of the story follows accordingly. There are several pivotal points in Walt's story, where it seems that he can undo the bad and prevent the breaking, but his wavering does not last for long and his bad choices compound on one another. The first one that I saw was when he killed Crazy-8 (the first killing I dismissed as self-defense). Had he let the dealer go, I as the viewer, could have forgiven his past sins and seen him as a generally good guy who went through a short, yet insane lapse of judgment (of course that would be the end of the series, three episodes in, and that would never happen). Once he kills Crazy-8 though, it is obvious (or at least it was to me) that he had crossed a line he could never come back from. Regardless of my husband's desire for Walt's redemption, I knew redemption was not going to be an option. Revenge and self-preservation could be the only plot-lines throughout the five seasons that made up Walt's "life." The second decision point was when Walt had made his first several million dollars. If he were really doing of it for his family, he could have taken the money, invested it for his wife and kids - or at the very least, hidden it somewhere for them, and then disappeared off into the sunset, never putting them through the torture of knowing what he had become. His decision to continue making meth makes it clear that he was in the drug-lord business for himself - not his family. It was no longer a means to an end, but had become an end in itself. I guess the real problem I have with the show is how the writers WANT you (the viewer) to sympathize with Walt and Jesse. Never mind the DEA agent (who was MY favorite character). They kill him off and we are supposed to watch and rejoice that a killer is safe from the big bad "Fed." I got tired of hearing my husband defend Walt's actions and portray him as the victim. He was the victim of his own sinful desires and nothing else. Walt was the BAD GUY. He hurt his family and everyone around him. That is NOT love. "Love is patient. Love is Kind. It is NOT proud..." The writers successfully made good look evil and evil look good... and that is what I hated about Breaking Bad. In the end, Walt does die alone, which, I suppose, is Gilligan's nod to justice, but it doesn't seem like enough to me. There is no silver lining to this story. It is a sad story. And the saddest part is that much of it is true. Every day families are torn apart because of drugs and drug-related crimes. The Walts and Jesses of this world are a scourge on society. The world would be a better place without them.