Breaking Bad: Walter White — From a School Teacher to a Drug Lord
Breaking Bad is often cited as the best show ever made in the history of television, and, considering the various character arcs and plot points of this adrenaline infusing show, one article would just not be enough for us to cover all the aspects, moreover, we still can’t get over the show even after almost 7 years of its final episode. So starting our series of six highly enthralling spoiler-filled articles with a bang, the subject of our first one is quite obvious, yes, it is the complex protagonist of the show, Walter White.
Complex might just not suffice the amount of layers this character has displayed throughout the five seasons of the show. We witness Walter’s journey from being a dispirited chemistry teacher to the sinful legendary drug lord he turned into by the end of the narrative, Heisenberg.
But what creates demons in the society? Walter’s journey is one of the finest examples to express this. Imagine being a 51-year-old school teacher with the brain of a genius who, if you utilize your potential, could reach for the stars but in reality, you are a depressed person with cancer and have a not so motivating spouse, and yes, a son with cerebral palsy and also, you have a part-time job in a parking lot whose harsh owner has horrendous eyebrows and last thing, your ex-colleagues are now making billions off a company you started while your ass is rotting in a dull neighborhood which doesn’t give a damn about your existence.
This is Walter White in season one of Breaking Bad for you. The circumstances that occur naturally combined with the efforts of the society in demeaning each other led to Walter’s ultimate transformation, but the most ironic part of the story is the fact that the society had to get rid of a monster that is generated through its actions. Sure, Heisenberg is the product of years of frustration and suppression but I’m not completely blaming the community here, Walter was far from holy, he manipulated his protégé, Jesse, throughout the show, murdered several people deliberately, put his family through an immense amount of suffering and even tried to poison a kid. He was also, in general, highly insecure, egoistic, and thirsty for ultimate power.
But we can’t deny that we still love this guy regardless of what all he’s done as throughout the show, Vince Gilligan has given us some of the most memorable moments that will forever stay with us, especially season five, which brings me to the next point, why is there a certain group of individuals, who still root for season five Walter White even after coming to this realization that he was a fully functioning version of Heisenberg throughout the 16 episodes?
Vince Gilligan so masterfully crafted Walter’s character that it was hard to dislike him, the viewers initially saw this man going through the roughest period of his life and when they saw him succeed in his conquest of ruling over the drug empire, they possibly lost their sense of morality. This is why Breaking Bad is the best show in the entirety of television because it required for viewers to form a nuanced judgment upon every single situation, you could love Hank but still wouldn’t want him to uncover Walter’s hidden truth. One could hate Skyler (since her character at times disrupted the flow of Walter’s activities) but at the same time would also be able to sympathize with her and try to understand what she must be going through. Thus, a large part of Walter’s tale included the conflict of choosing his lust for power over his family which even though he loved deeply, had the potential to stop him.
Humans, being social animals fantasize about feeling special and relevant in their respective communities or on a smaller scale their circle, Walt desired for the same and it got fulfilled when he started making Methamphetamine as it is amplified in El Camino (2019) when he tells Jesse that he’s lucky for not having to wait his whole life to do something special.
The central theme of the show relies on this dispute itself, did Walt make the right decision for himself? Everybody has their sense of right and wrong, so it’s up for you to decide this, but don’t forget, he could’ve chosen another path, a chemist of his caliber and knowledge could’ve researched and contributed in the field of science or if that sounds quixotic, he could’ve even stopped after earning enough money for his family to comfortably sustain life after his death if it occurred but he decided to take that step when it was too late to retire, also his pride and ego in keeping the book Gale gifted him, ultimately led to his end.
Moreover, Walt’s strategies and execution of the plans heavily relied on luck, so it was evident to the viewers that something similar to this was bound to happen. But it’s safe to say that Walt was partially satisfied with what he had gained when he said “I did it for me, I liked it, I was good at it. And I was really- I was alive.” He died in the meth lab (his true love where it all started) after saving Jesse’s life from the Neo-Nazis, Baby Blue by Badfinger playing in the background with lyrics “guess I got, what I deserved” a bittersweet moment for the audience and an incredible end to the saga.
