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Friday, September 6, 2013

Walter White as Heisenberg is the greatest villain of all time

Noir fiction for American audiences is when a protagonist (usually a victim, a suspect, or a perpetrator) is tied directly to a crime. In other words, the protagonist is not an outsider called to solve or fix a particular situation. Another quality of noir has to do with the self-destructive qualities of the lead characters. With this in mind, Breaking Bad definitely fits the bill.

With only four episodes left to go in what I am going to say is one of the most spectacular stories I have ever discovered, Breaking Bad is nothing short of a masterpiece of noir. The absolute corruption of Walter White from season one as a chemistry teacher at a high school unable to lie to his own wife into Heisenberg, the ruthless head of a drug empire, is at once astounding and terrifying.

The evolution of this character from merely wanting his medical bills taken care of and securing a financial future for his young wife and children into someone who probably has close to a billion dollars in cash buried in the New Mexico desert has been riveting to watch. We've seen meth heads crushed by ATM machines, human heads mounted on the backs of turtles and wired with explosives, innocent boys shot and then dissolved (along with their dirt bike) in giant vats of acid, and meth cooking in suburban residential homes being fumigated by corrupt insect company "Vamonos Pest." Along the way, Walter White's lies got better and better and even his wife, Skyler, joined him to become Mrs. Evil.

Her evolution is complete as well. In the last episode that aired Sunday, she basically orders Walt to kill Jesse while sitting on the bed drinking some vodka. "What difference does one more make at this point?" is what she asks. It's cold-blooded, calculating, and very logical. How do you argue with that? It's like trying to answer critics of Syria that say, "What does it matter if people are killed with chemical weapons, a bomb, or with a bullet to the head? Dead is dead." I suppose they're right; I have no answer to that question either.
The storyline of this show unfolded with nuanced precision, chapter by chapter, with no detail too small to overlook. Each season of Breaking Bad presented its unique challenges to Walter White. There was Tuco, the small-time drug lord of Albuquerque, who was scary enough to probably frighten any one of us (on the other side of the tube) to death were he to appear on our doorstep. There were the Juarez Cartel assassins who killed those they met with shiny axes while holding blank-faced unemotional stares. I dare to say, their pulse probably never got above 60, even when they bashed someone's brain in. There was the Juarez Cartel and Gus Fring of Los Pollos Hermanos. One by one, each of these villains disappeared in a unique way, because none of them had what Walter White had: pure evil genius.
If anything, Breaking Bad has shown me that the scariest villain is the smart villain. It's the one that outwits you at every turn, who poisons you with ricin, who strips away every avenue of escape leaving you no choice but to stew in silence or be destroyed. In this respect, the character of Walter White as Heisenberg is the greatest villain of all time. With his "Nobel-sized" brain and the ego to go with it, I find it totally believable that he would embrace darkness because the world in which he lived looked down on him, disrespected him, and did not appreciate how smart he truly was. So he seized upon infamy and the pride that goes with it. The world will never forget Hitler, right? Walt probably has similar aspirations for the entity of Heisenberg.

And in the end, there is no soul blacker than Walter White (although his wife comes a close second). Even Darth Vader loved someone. I don't think Walter White truly loves anyone but himself (does he truly love his kids?). He is pure evil. Jesse Pinkman even calls him "the devil," and rightfully fears Mr. White. He should. Everyone should. I've never seen a psychopathic character brought to life in such vivid color. We have been with him every step of the way and only now that we can see the end in sight do we (as the audience) ultimately realize that this has been a story of evil incarnate--the story of an evil so powerful it's capable of destroying anything and anyone that dares to cross its path.

I suppose that kind of legendary power would make Heisenberg smile if he were a real person. As much as I admire what the writers of Breaking Bad have created, I hope he doesn't get away with it. Walt is a serial killer, responsible for the destruction of countless lives. To see him go unpunished for this would be too real because I know bad people do bad things all the time and get away with it Scot free. But I guess that begs the question: can Breaking Bad even have a happy ending? Will I be happy to see Walter White vanquished by Hank? Not only would a happy ending be unsatisfying, but I don't think it's even possible. AMC has given us a show that is destined to become a legend in the annals of T.V. history and just like any good story, it's the quality of the villain that made it all happen.

27 comments:

  1. I haven't started this series, but from your post, it sound really good. You gotta love great evil characters.

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  2. I've haven't been following it live, but I've watched in morbid fascination since the first show. (So I skipped some of your spoilers as I haven't seen this season yet.) This can only end with Walter's death. No other ending will be satisfactory for me. The dude has to die.

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  3. When push comes to shove Walt is kind of a bitch. He's the kind of villain who's only tough if he's got a crew behind him. Still, you can see why they hired him to play Lex Luthor. I mean it's pretty much the same deal--and the same hairstyle!

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  4. I haven't watched this series. I've had...reservations. I know everyone says how good it is, but the stuff you describe, the smart villain who gets away with serial murder, that stuff gets my blood pressure up, so I'm still debating whether to watch this one or not.

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  5. I really do need to watch this show. It's in my Netflix queue. Now I just have to find the time.

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  6. @Elise: I highly recommend that you give BB a try. I love it.

    @Alex: Fair enough.

    @P.T.: He killed Mike all by himself. Mike was pretty terrifying. I don't think the whole "crew" thing does him justice. He took out Gus Fring with a master stroke move via Hector (who had to have agreed to it). He also killed Jesse's girlfriend by not saving her life when she asphyxiated on her vomit. And what about the first guy he murdered by choking him to death in the basement? No crew there either.

    L.G.: I think you should watch it.

    M.J.: Yes you do.

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  7. I haven't watched this series after the first few episodes but I've kind of followed what's been happening. I can't help but remember all the chemistry teachers I've known.

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  8. I find evil characters very interesting, I will see if I can watch this series (dunno whether it is aired in my country).

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  9. I think in the end Walter's arrogance and his pride in his badness will mean he has to be brought down. he just likes being a badass too much.

    mood
    Moody Writing

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  10. The show's creator's pitched it as going from 'Mr. Chips to Scarface'. Anyone that has seen the end of Scarface and the item Walter got at the diner on his 52nd birthday has to feel he's going to meet a bloody end.

    Walter may be evil but he's not ruthlessly evil and that will be his undoing. He could have had Hank, Jesse, etc. killed but choose to put family over a pragmatic decision. Now he's going to be pinch from both ends. Do you think the biker gang that has taken over meth distribution would have hesitated if they were put in the same position?

    Walt has broken bad but he's not the baddest and it will cost him.

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  11. Have not gotten into this one, I probably never will. That kind of evil for evil's sake, is too disquieting. But I love what you wrote, sounds spot on from what the rest of the media is saying.

    Excellent review!

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  12. I'm like Elise but your description has drawn me in. Maybe I should tune in. But yes following a victim who turns dark side can be both a wonderful and terrible thing to watch.

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  13. the show is not my kind of genre, but I do love me some Aaron Paul!

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  14. Fantastic recap & review, Michael... I could not agree more. I haven't felt this way about a Tv villain since Tony Soprano... and look how that series ended. At first I thought I would feel this way about Dexter, but Walter White's got him beat, hands down. I've been following live since day one and I cannot wait to see how it all plays out.

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  15. I'm behind a couple seasons, but I LOVE that dark trajectory. It's so much more interesting, I think.

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  16. I love your description but I'm with L.G. on this one - I have a tough time with villains, except for Siler on Heroes (and even then I had trouble with some of the show's writing). I may have to try it just to see . . .

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  17. I'm trying to talk Mrs. C. into watching this series but so far she isn't interested, in spite of all the hype.

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  18. When he killed Mike it was almost an accident. He didn't just walk up to him and pull the trigger like Michael Corleone in "The Godfather" and that first guy he hemmed and hawed about killing the guy for hours (if not days) before he finally got up the nerve to do it. He's not the hardened killer type which really makes me wonder what he's going to do with that machine gun.

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  19. Really as much as he wants to be, Walt is just the poor man's Gus Fring. When Gus was pissed at that one guy and wanted to give Walt and Jesse a lesson, he just walked right up to that one guy and slit his throat and then walked away. That's a badass killer.

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  20. @Pat: I disagree. Walt is a hardened killer. He just doesn't like to get his hands dirty. To use a different analogy that both of us can relate to because of headlines, Walt is the guy that could totally use a chemical weapon. He'd press a button and kill his enemies without thinking twice about it. But actually taking out the knife and doing it would make him hesitate. However, that's just squeamishness on behalf of getting one's hands dirty with the mess. Lydia is the same way. She's a ruthless killer that has people gunned down when they disagree with her. She can't do it herself. But that doesn't make her any less a hardened killer now does it?

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  21. What a great post. I have to watch his series from the beginning..someday.

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  22. I watched Sunday's episode and thought it was kinda cool. I haven't been following, but I've got a free month of Amazon prime and I thinking of downloading the series. Not sure I'll have time to watch them all though :(

    ......dhole

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  23. I haven't seen any of this series, but it sounds excellent. I love to see what makes a bad guy tick, and some fiction gets to the heart of that pretty well.

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  24. Define "happy ending". Is is happy for the main character or happy for the audience? Is it something that teaches a lesson? Is it something that makes the whole journey worth the trouble?

    I guess the question is more: will the ending be satisfying?

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  25. It is really tough to write such a long story--as in a series--around a protagonist that descends into pure evil, but from your description that's what's happened. I really want to catch this show from the beginning, but I know there'll be scenes I won't want to see late at night before going to bed.

    I did catch the "Writers' Room" series on the Sundance Channel that featured the star and the writers/creators behind Breaking Bad. Fascinating and worth watching.

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  26. I can't wait to see how the series will end...but I will also be sad it's over. It can't have a happy ending, but I also don't want Hank to get the satisfaction of putting him away. When I started watching, I thought it was going to be a copy of Weeds, but it is sooo different and so much more.

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  27. Heisenberg says joker was the best villan of all times ;)

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