Breaking Bad

Sup, bitch.

Around 4 months ago, I remember my friend struggling to convince me to watch Breaking Bad because the way he explained the story sounded so ludicrous. He said something like “Breaking Bad is about a school teacher who has cancer and starts making crystal meth and gets involved into all sorts of crazy situations”, to which I kept telling him “get the hell out of here”. He wasn’t the only one that failed to give an accurate description of what the show is about. It’s safe to say, persuading someone to watch Breaking Bad will need a lot longer than just a few minutes. It was the constant persistence from these friends and “OMG BREAKING BAD!!!” tweets that inspired me to stream the first season during a critical deadline period. The first episode was engaging, a satisfying affair that I could see myself predicting the outcome of; by the third episode, I slapped myself at that thought. I had to avoid watching the show for a further week because of the deadline period and once it’d passed, I locked myself in my halls, avoided human interaction and was hooked on a show about a school teacher who has cancer and starts making crystal meth and gets into all sorts of crazy situations. With just a few hours left until the new episodes air on AMC, I want to talk about why I love this truly unique, innovative piece of television.

taken from salon.com

Realistically portrayed unreal situations

Would you believe me if I said that my old IT teacher was involved with the phone hacking scandal, or that my old History teacher helped to develop Wikileaks? Would you believe me if I said my old Chemistry teacher began making his own pure crystal meth and sold it too? The journey of Mr. White is one that’s unheard of and the writers of the show thrive on that. Each character has their strengths, weaknesses and detailed personality. It’s in the pure emotion that each actor brings to the table that add realness to otherwise bizarre situations. The emphasis on delivering accurate chemistry solutions make you wonder, could this be done in real life? I’m not promoting it though, chill.

Drama and nothing but drama

Breaking Bad is a classic, old-fashioned drama that would work in any generation. Other than the use of mobiles phones and some security equipment, there’s hardly any emphasis on modern technology or the digital culture. There’s not even emphasis on shooting in beautiful locations either. The show purely relies on developing new challenges for the characters, and constantly adding twists to their rollercoaster journeys. With traditional features like unpredictable turn of events, devastating cliff-hangers and flip-phones, Breaking Bad is designed to make our heart rates rise so high that any wait for the next episode is met with utter frustration.

taken from businessinsider.com

A true starcast

Take your pick for favourite character. Maybe it’s the urban intellect of Jesse Pinkman. Maybe it’s the Paul Heyman-esque loud, proud and unlawful lawyer Saul Goodman, or the I-Don’t-Give-A-Fuck attitude of Mike. Were you incredibly intimidated by the quiet presence of Gus, with his subtle approach and enunciated speech? Or is your favourite the engrossing, amazing and troubled character of Walter White? Whose journey is the hub of Breaking Bad; whose family we fear for and whose identity as Heisenberg we want to ensure never gets out. Considering that I’ve not mentioned a selection of awesome characters that graced our screens in previous seasons, it’s no wonder that the respective actors are constantly nominated for various awards, as is the show itself.

I’m probably going to appear offline from social media for 24 hours until my good friends at Netflix upload the show. You know, I had to narrow down to 3 paragraphs from a potential 8 for this post. There’s just too much I could write about Breaking Bad and I hope that this post - alongside the hype that’s about to come on social media - will inspire you to lock yourself in your room and catch up with all five seasons. If you’re already a fan of the show, then prepare yourself for the craziest last few episodes of our favourite show of all time. I’m fucking bursting with excitement.