Me and Aimee started watching Breaking Bad recently, and it's a show I've tried to watch with her over the last few years, but she was never interested in it, based purely on the subject matter of the show.
Drugs, and The Danger
It shows the dark side of narcotics, shines a light on addiction, and kind of peels back the glorification of that sort of lifestyle and shows the ugliness of the world of drugs. It makes you see many aspects of the criminal underworld, from dealers and distributors, to the agencies trying to stamp it out, and to the victims of that sort of lifestyle.
The story is presented through the ideas of an amateur dealer, and - basically - a complete noob who has been sheltered from that side of life, apart from the odd stories shared by his DEA agent, brother-in-law.
Psychopaths fill the world, and the main characters are forced to stare them in the face. The unpredictability of these people, induced in chemical rage is just one of many obstacles they need to overcome.
The psychopaths are on the other side of the law as well, and I think the show does a great job of showcasing the fact that the law enforcement - who are completely desensitised to the victims of this lifestyle, and the plight they have to face.
They're shown to be completely careless, and merciless in their pursuit of bringing people to justice. To the extent of taking pictures of dead bodies, and sharing those images with the likes of Walt is one example of the ugliness in their own minds. Even though they're the "good guys."
I don't know where the saying is from, but "to hunt monsters, you have to become a monster." - it could be the Witcher?
That quote comes to mind when seeing how the DEA in the show, acts and is portrayed.
It Starts Slow
I never realised just how slow it is, but the first season was kind of boring in a typical sense. Aimee was kind of drifting and not interested, until we reached the second season, and things started to happen.
Writing and storytelling are a thing I always enjoy. I could happily watch a show based around compelling characters in an interesting situation, having a conversation and revealing details through dialogue. If you like that type of stuff check out Inside No. 9, it's a great show which has some amazing writing.
The situation, the characters, and the hidden tension underlying each conversation in Breaking Bad are compelling and keep me interested, but I can see why Aimee was kind of getting bored during the first season.
I not only liked all of that, but the camera work is also great, as is the editing. All in all, the show really does feel more like a film, rather than a TV show. I watched it before going to college and gaining an understanding of blocking, cinematography, lighting, and editing. With a new eye for all of that stuff, it's good being able to revisit this show and enjoy an aspect that I didn't pay much attention to before.
We'd just come off watching Sons of Anarchy, and I really wanted a good show we could both watch and enjoy, and luckily Aimee trusted me and sat out the first season because now she's interested in it and is enjoying the show much more. She hasn't outright said she likes it (because she doesn't want to give me the satisfaction of knowing I picked a good'en) Instead, she lets me know she likes it by not rolling her eyes when I scramble for the TV remote once Kaleb falls asleep.
Being Corrupted
It's amazing as far as character development goes, I mean, we're pretty early on in the show, but it's so interesting seeing a slight and subtle time where Walt slowly adapts to his new world and slowly becomes something that would have terrified him during the first season.
We just finished one of the episodes where one of their dealers is shot and killed, and Walt kind of flippantly brushes past it and says something like, "let's just hire more."
Since the dealer was one of Jesse's friends, it's easy to see why a comment like that sows some seeds in his mind that starts to make him distant toward Walt.
I remember certain things about the show, and the story, so I'm able to notice these little things on this re-watch, and I'm also enjoying it because there is so much of the show that I don't remember.
All in all, we're having fun watching this one, but Skyler is annoying.
The plot does start very slowly, but as the chapters go by, everything improves, and although it does not have a fast pace almost until its end, they take their time to develop everything in a good way. Greetings!
Yeah, the character development is absolutely amazing in the show, and it really ramps up as certain characters are introduced, like Saul, and Gus. It's mad how much ground is covered in the show too.
I've heard it's good, but I've not gotten around to watching it apart from the first episode. I'm working through Game of Thrones and that will keep me busy for a while.
Had you not seen Game of Thrones? That's such a good show, the characters are all great, even the bad ones haha
Breaking Bad is very good, and well worth checking out after you finish GOT.
I missed GoT when it came out (don't have Sky), so I'm catching up. I got the DVDs from a charity shop. I'm only on series 3, so got a way to go. There's just so many different threads to keep track of and I'm not always sure which side everyone is on.
Your description is not quite correct. Walter White is not a amateur dealer, he is a chemistry teacher who gets diagnosed with cancer. To provide for his family (with the handicapped son) after his death he begins to make money by producing Crystal Meth. And by God, does he make money...
The series shows how a "average" citizen gets dragged into the abyss of organized crime, basically without evil intentions and with relateable reasons. One of the best series ever.
I was talking about Jesse when talking about the amature dealer, I reffered to Walt as a complete noob.
I could never get into it purely because it was so difficult to get past the reality that universal healthcare would have wiped out the start point of the story.
Haha that's a fair point there, although I have to say, it's one of those shows that gets gripping especially near the end of the first season. For us anyway, that's where we really got hooked to continue watching it. Great characters.
I saw this series a long time ago, I did not see it complete, but I saw certain parts, but I can say that it is a super crazy series, with a lot of history and many good and bad moments to offer, I love the actuacon and actors, for me is great, greetings, good post
It's such a good show, and the thing I like about it, too, is that there are only 5 seasons, so there isn't a ridiculous amount of episodes, like some shows which seem to not know how to end.
The first season is particularly slow, but when we see the series as a whole it makes a lot of sense, I don't particularly find it heavy, I feel that it is pretty immersive.