Breaking Bad Recap

Part intricately plotted gangster epic, part satire of American materialism, Breaking Bad is an Albuquerque tall tale about a cancer-stricken chemistry teacher named Walter White who begins manufacturing a superpotent form of crystal meth to create a nest egg for his family and gradually transforms into a criminal monster as terrifying and remorseless as the beasts unleashed by desert bomb blasts in 1950s creature features. Series creator Vince Gilligan jauntily summed up Walter’s arc as “Mr. Chips becomes Scarface,” but there’s a lot more to it than that, starting with the implication, seeded very early in season one, that Walter feels burdened by the domestic responsibilities that he claims to hold sacred, and cheated of the fame and wealth that he believes is owed to him. Walter White is one of TV’s greatest anti-heroes, but that might not be the case if Gilligan and his writers hadn’t devised a constellation of supporting characters as compelling as the show’s protagonist. Walt’s former student turned tragic ally Jesse Pinkman, his suffering wife Skyler, and his macho, bullet-headed brother-in-law, DEA agent Hank Schrader each bring their own flaws and blind spots to complicate the show’s morality.