Category: Binge Watch

Greetings, humans!  Jena here.  Got another entry from my author website vault.  This one is a bit of a stream-of-consciousness written as I was nearing the end of my binge-watch of Breaking Bad.  My drawn conclusions all held up, and I loved the show so much, I binge-watched it again a few months later.  Happy reading!

Originally Posted 1-12-2016:

Alright, so I took forever and a day to get my ass in gear with watching Breaking Bad, but I finally did it (I’m almost finished with the final season). After much nudging from my dad and my good friend Ryan, both of whom are big nerdy fans, I decided to give it a shot.

Ryan is currently away from home, so I wrote him a letter to let him know my thoughts.

This is from that letter to him:

So, in one of my letters, I think I mentioned that I was going to give Breaking Bad another shot. Well, I did. I also accidentally found out how it ends (fucking internet…….that’s what I get for surfing fanfiction before I was done watching……totally my own fault). However, given what I’m about to say next, I’m not all together upset about the ending. As I write this, I’m somewhere in the beginning of season five. I’m not sure on the exact episode because I’ve been binge-watching the show for about a week now and stopped paying attention. Lol

Now….I’ve watched almost the whole show now, and I’ve come to one undeniable, inarguable realization: WALT RUINS JESSE’S FUCKING LIFE. Like, at every turn! Seriously. Every bad thing that happens to Jesse. Every jam he gets stuck in. Every time he gets the ever-lovin’ shit beat out of him. Every time he has to dispose of a body. Every time he kills someone. All of it. Every last ounce of it is 100% completely and totally Walter White’s fault. Cancer or not, the guy’s a DICK. They get themselves a step ahead, and then Walt convinces Jesse to do some dumb ass shit that knocks them back fifteen paces. Or they get super-duper close to getting out of the life altogether and Walt convinces him to dive back in. For instance, this morning, I watched the episode where they have the opportunity to sell the 1000 gallons of methylamine and Walter bombs the entire plan by forcing Jesse’s hand at staying. Well, I don’t know that he stays or not. I had to go to work, so I’m paused in the middle of an episode.

Anyway, my point is Walter White is INFURIATING. As the audience member, it’s very hard to want to continue cheering on a character I so badly want to see get his ass beat. As a writer, my fucking hat is OFF to the team behind the show because they managed to make the audience sympathize with a character who has next to no redeeming quality. They’ve got the audience pulling for the character who is the direct cause of every bad thing happens through the entire 5-season story arc. That’s a pretty fucking impressive trick.

But look at everything Jesse has been through. Cooking meth in the first place (he blackmails Jesse into it). Jane’s OD. Brock being poisoned. Getting involved with and the demise of Tuco. Killing Gail. The list goes on and on. Every single bad thing that Jesse has to accept, mentally work through, and live with – all Walt’s doing. He either manipulates him into it or flat-out forced his hand. Walter White is a shit bag character and Jesse should have capped his ass in season one.

It’s all very much along the same lines as Sons of Anarchy. I mean, Kurt Sutter had millions of people pulling for a group of gun-running thugs and murderers, guys who killed in cold blood every single week. Lol And we were all completely heartbroken when any of them were lost or hurt. I honestly don’t know if I’m going to be upset when Walt bites it. I’m kind of hoping for it at this point, and a not small part of me is kind of hoping it’s Jesse who pulls the trigger. He’s certainly earned it at this point, I think. However, the only spoiler I’ve seen is “now that Walter is dead…” I wont know the details of how it happened until I finish my little binge-watch. 

I love the characters of Saul Goodman and Gustavo Fring. Saul is a shady, weaselly little shit, but man, he gets the job done, and knows all the right people in the lowest places. Not to mention, the actor who plays him really hams it up for the camera and it’s just the right amount of sleaze. Lol As for Gustavo, YOU NEED TO WATCH THE BLACKLIST WHEN YOU GET HOME. Gustavo Fring IS Red Reddington, I swear to the gods of old. Lol The two characters are eerily similar. Every angle covered. Super-powerful. They’re so much alike, it’s weird to watch being such a HUGE fan of The Blacklist. Gustavo is quieter than Red though, but they’re equally scary. I own the seasons so you’re totally binge-watching that with me when you get home.

I also cant stand Walt’s wife. She’s such a bitch. She’s got a whole holier-than-thou thing she’s rocking, and frankly, it doesn’t fly. The chick is every bit as guilty as Walt in her own way, yet acts like he’s the monster. The first time she spent one single dime, she became just as guilty as he is. And her boy toy, Ted? That douche nozzle almost killed himself on accident. How does that even happen? Anyway, she’s the one who sent people there specifically to play Tony Soprano with him. Being all boo-hoo and crying about it doesn’t change the fact that SHE SENT PEOPLE THERE TO MUSCLE HIM INTO DOING WHAT SHE WANTED. Granted, it was in his best interest, but she still tried to force his hand. The wishy washy, back and forth between ‘I want to be a bad guy’ and ‘I could never be a bad guy’ got old quick. Either you’re okay with the mad money and all the moral gray areas that come with it, or you can hit the bricks. She CHOSE to stick around. I was so fucking happy when Walt finally signed the divorce papers and then she went and didn’t bother filing them! I was ready to punch her in the baby maker over that. Ugh. She’s got to go. Or die. Either way, that character sucks.

My favorite part of this show, hands down, is Jesse Pinkman. #1) I happen to LOVE Aaron Paul. He’s not traditionally hot, per se, but he’s definitely got this weird sexual vibe to him. And that fucking voice. Seriously. #2) Aaron Paul is one of the best actors I’ve ever watched, and he owns every damn role he’s in. I watched him in Need for Speed last summer. The majority of the cast in that movie is good (with the stark exception of Dakota Johnson who couldn’t act if her life depended on it), but the scene where the main character’s friend dies in the fiery car crash….omg, I cry every time. Like, full-on ugly sobbing. Aaron Paul’s delivery of emotion in a performance like that is staggering, and he fucking NAILS IT all the way through Breaking Bad. BB is such an emotional hell ride and I really don’t think it would have played the same with a different actor in the role of Pinkman. He’s able to convey just the right balance of knowing what the fuck he’s doing and a level of innocence and naiveté that make his gradual breakdown that much more tragic. All around, he’s spectacular in the role. He’d be totally irreplaceable.

On that same note, Bryan Cranston. That man is a fucking genius. My hat is tipped to him simply for making me hate him so passionately. Lol He’s a phenomenal actor, no joke. He and Aaron Paul MAKE this show, and I really think it would have tanked with any other team at the helm. I may not be a fan of Walt’s character, but Cranston is the man. He has this crazy ability to go from showing a loving, and convincing warmth in his eyes to the harsh coldness that can only be the result of true, pure hatred at the flip of a switch. It’s crazy to be able to manipulate not only your eyes but the mannerisms, too. That kind of bitter cold makes you carry yourself differently than you would if you were playing out a scene with someone you’re supposed to be in love with. The shift from one extreme side of his persona to the other is seamless for him. He’s the shit, for sure.

Honestly, I’m going to be very, very sad when it comes to an end. You were right. Hands down one of the best shows to ever grace the television. I’m really disappointed that I waited so long to get into it. I really wish you were here to geek out over this with me!

Totally impressed.  Such a good show.  I have no shitty clue what I’m going to watch when I finish it.  I think there is going to be a raging case of withdrawal in my very near future.