When life gives you lemons, cook meth! I wanted to put my head through a wall during so many moments watching Breaking Bad. To throw a tantrum and post about Walter White being a jerk on my social media. He’s a hot-headed mess who uses his intelligence to intimidate. To get his way. To justify mass murder.
There’re so many things Breaking Bad has taught me about life, about how humans are likely to behave if they were on the brink of death, and whether that defines who they are. But I'm getting ahead of myself here. Whenever you’re ready to jump in, here’s a deep dive into Breaking Bad and what the show means for day-to-day life.
If You Were Going to Die, Soon, What Would You Do?
Walter White is dying. He didn't know it, so he continued to live like he had a million years ahead of him. But one visit to the doctor and his life changed. I can't remember whether it was when he got home or before the diagnosis that he found out his wife was pregnant. Completely unplanned. I think they were past holding discussions for another child, even. Just an old couple raising a 16-year-old son with cerebral palsy. Happy. Content. What could go wrong?
Working as a Chemistry teacher, Walter felt life slipping away from him. Responsibilities left unfinished. He calculates how much money he needs for chemotherapy and for his family to live comfortably without him, and he comes up with an exact figure: $737,000. That's all he needed to make in less than two years. For him to go to the Lord, feeling like a proud father and husband.
I have to say, I understand why Walter chose to cook meth. I know. It's wrong and all that. You can think about what you would do if you were dying. In, say, two months, one year, five years. I haven't properly taken the time to think about what I would do. In Walt's case, though, with the cards he got dealt, I have to say I understand his choice. Of course, purely in the context of fiction. Please don't go cooking meth on my account.
Everything is Under Control
Walter thinks he has everything under control. As soon as he makes the money he needs, he'll set up a trust or something for his kids and die a happy man. Sure, his family may wonder where the money came from. They may even speculate that he was engaged in some illegal activity. But he'll be long gone by then. And they'll have no worry over money.
For a man as smart as Walter, I don't know how he managed to convince himself that would work. There's a bad take on life I feel someone who's dying adopts. That they'll do whatever they want up until they die. Afterwards, everything will sort itself out.
By season two, the struggle is real for Walter and his partner. Which we aren't here for. It's almost like you want to see Walter “break bad.” You want to see him embody being a gangster. To stop pretending like he's still a Chemistry teacher. Because the sooner he accepts the path he's chosen, the sooner the story can juice up!
Everything Has A Price, and it Has to Be Paid.
And he does. He finally does. Just not in the way we expect. Walter and Jesse try to sell meth to the few “connects” they can find. But they keep hitting dead-ends. One “connect,” called Tuco, kills a guy right in front of them. So, now, they're witnesses to a murder. It all goes downhill from there, literally fearing for their lives.
Ultimately, Tuco is killed in a gunfight, while Jesse loses all the money he made. They both decide to sell the meth themselves. To start their own distribution system. Which works for a while. Until Walter insists on expanding to new territories. Bad, bad idea that ends in Jesse's close friend, Combo, getting murdered by a kid and Jesse, so distraught, he starts using again.
I Am the Bad Guy
By now, Walt is in the thick of it. It’s kind of funny because it's like he doesn't realize how awry things have become. He's, up to this point, strangled a man to death and watched a woman die. Literally. He could have saved her, but no. She crossed him, so she needed to go. Walt does send Jesse to rehab, so that's good.
But Skyler wasn't too pleased about Walter constantly lying to her. So, she kicks him out of the house and asks for a divorce. His family is the reason Walt was cooking and selling meth. Without them, he felt helpless. Went into a depressive state of some kind. Even stopped with the meth business.
But he still hadn't reached his $737,000 goal. So, he struggles with becoming a good citizen for a while. Making peace with all the bad he'd done. Or trying to. Until Gus Fring, the mega drug dealer Walt imagined himself to be, came along and offered him the deal of a lifetime. $3 million dollars for three months of his time. Whoop!
To Deny the Truth Doesn't Make the Truth Go Away.
I think Walt saw Gus and started believing he could make it too. Seeing a man managing a chain of fast-food restaurants. Walking into the police station and shaking the police officers' hands. Because he donates good money in service to the law. Because he's an upright citizen. Only looking after his community. While in his other life, Gus runs a mega drug dealing business all across the state.
Walt saw this life and felt like he could still keep his family without giving up drug dealing. So, he reinstates himself back home. Forces Skyler to accept his new lifestyle. And that's it. Life goes on. Somehow, everything would fall into place.
Light at the End of the Tunnel?
Anyway, Skyler advises Walt to buy a car wash. It would make more sense to people, she says. And helps launder Walt's money. It's perfect. Walt goes to work for Gus Fring, who takes on all the risks. All he needs to do is cook a certain amount of meth weekly, and millions come his way. Smooth sailing for a while.
Until Jesse, in the most coincidental way ever, finds out that a kid was forced to kill his friend, Combo. What's more? The kid is now forced to sell meth on the streets. Throughout this show, Jesse has consistently shown considerable kindness to kids. And whenever any child is harmed, he really takes it to heart. So, it’s no surprise when he decides to kill the guys that put the kid up on the street, and while at it, avenge his friend's death.
Now, there's a lot of spoilers there. But I had to expound on it because it represents the moment Walt took a turn for the worst. He finds Jesse about to get into a gunfight against the guys that killed the kid. And runs them over with his car. One survives. So, he gets out of the car and shoots him in the head.
The Rise of Walter White
Season four of Breaking Bad can be summarized in three words: Gus versus Walt.
Toward the end of the third season, Walt realizes that Gus is out to kill him. Once Walt passes off his meth cooking knowledge and skills to Gale, Gus’s former cook, then Gus would have no use for him. So, he instructs Jesse to kill Gale, which begins the war between the two drug kingpins.
Throughout the season, Walt devises various ways to kill Gus. None of these methods work. Gus remains one step ahead of him all the time, especially with the protection of Mike. Meanwhile, Jesse is burdened by his guilty conscience, having killed Gale. He slides back to his old ways.
I Am the Danger
Arguably, the descent of Walter White begins in season four. His behavior at home becomes more erratic, a reflection of his criminal life unraveling. Walt has too many problems for a man with his street reputation. His time on earth is no longer constrained by his cancer diagnosis, but by his ability to be useful to Gus. Skyler is on his back about the family’s safety. He also has to distract his DEA brother-in-law who has nothing but time on his hands to get closer and closer to the truth.
If Walt was evil in the past seasons, he is downright villainous in season four. He owns up to his status as a villain in an episode that produced the famous “I am the danger” line.
Walt is prepared to do anything to win against Gus, a man who easily beats him in terms of industry experience and caution in life. Gus hides himself in plain sight. Even when Hank proposes to his colleagues that Gus is a drug kingpin, they dismiss his claims.
Walt realizes that to kill Gus, he must convince Jesse to get on board. This is when he comes up with his less-than-honorable idea to involve a kid. Again.
While wicked, the plan works like a charm. The season ends with Walt’s triumph over Gus, marking an end to the season-long war. In an episode aptly named “Face Off,” Walt orchestrates a plan to kill Gus by using a bomb hidden in the nursing home where Hector Salamanca resides. The explosion kills both Gus and Hector, freeing Walt from his dangerous adversary and solidifying his position as the new leader of the drug world.
You would think that Walt would stop cooking meth now. Too many people have died, including two kids. Another was poisoned and spent days in the ICU. Walt’s family is breaking apart, with Skyler falling into severe depression. It’s insane that his close family members are alive.
On the other hand, Jesse is a freaking mess. While he has racked up millions working for Gus, all of it seems useless at this point. He calls it, “blood money,” and looks for every way to dispose of it.
Clearly, the man isn’t doing too good. But Walter insists they need to keep cooking and selling meth. They have the upper advantage now. Without Gus, the market is dry, and up till now, Walt’s meth is the purest there is. They need one more recruit to get back up and running. So, they propose to Mike, one badass dude, to join them as equal partners.
Say My Name
Walter was making the best meth. A 99.6% purity has never been seen before in the drug world. He had managed to stay hidden, operating under the name Heisenberg, and then, having killed Gus, was now at the top of the food chain. "Say my name," he says. So calmly. "Say my name," he says again to a bunch of drug dealers from across the border. And they did. They said it. Your name is Heisenberg.
How Much Is Enough
Millions started streaming in like Christmas. Skyler learned to stay quiet and let Walter do whatever he wanted. By some miracle, Walter, having made close to 1 billion, retired. He's now a car wash owner. But past aggressions, and secrets, never stay hidden, do they? They always come out in the most subtle of ways.
The Fall of Walter White
Hank discovers his brother-in-law has been a drug dealer. All this time, how could he have missed it? Angry. Heartbroken, he goes after Walter with everything he has. In the end, Hank finds Walter's money, leaving him no choice but to turn himself in. But Walter had hired hitmen to save him, so when they arrived, they killed everyone in the vicinity except for Walt.
The ending is all so soapy; I would rather you watch it yourself. But, weuh, Breaking Bad really sets out to discombobulate your guts, doesn't it? I guess that's why they call it a timeless show!
Did Breaking Bad turn your world upside down like it did mine? Would you watch the show a second (or other) time? You can also check out our "Tyler Perry’s Sistas Season 6 is Out Now: Here's What You Missed" article, and let us know of any questions or concerns.