The Jane death was always slightly equivocal to me, in that you could see WW rationalizing that allowing her to die wasn’t just for the benefit of WW, but “really” for the benefit of Jesse himself. After all, it is reasonable to assume that the two of them, with a bundle of cash to spend, would eventually end up with Jesse dead - OD or inhaling vomit like Jane. WW no doubt would have rationalized it as “tough love” for his idiot adopted son Jesse, not just self-seving, cold blooded depraved indifference (like anyone else would see it).
Not that I believe WW, but it still shows WW in the realm of “rationalizing bad stuff he is doing”. He needs to cook meth to prevent his family from being ruined. He needs to let Jane die, to prevent Jesse from being ruined. Similar deal.
The difference between that and the intimidation of the two amateur meth cooks is that WW was quite clearly doing that because he enjoyed it. There is no way two losers like that were any actual threat to his operation: he was just screwing with them, because it made him feel like a bad-ass, like “Heisenberg”. It was then that you really saw that this, and not his alleged reasons, was what was driving him.
July 2, 2014 What better way to prep for the long-awaited* Better Call Saul *than to reminisce with our old meth-making pal Walter White? On Wednesday, AMC announced a *[URL=“Behind the Scenes of 'Pretty Little Liars'”]Breaking Bad *marathon starting August 10th and running until October 5th, with episodes airing every Sunday night from 5 p.m. to 1 a.m. EST.
Many thanks for that. In the context it does seem as though Gilligan is simply making use of the interviewer’s language, rather than saying that his own goal in creating the show was to make an explicit point about “the judgment of God” (as implied by the earlier post in this thread) :
If anyone (here or elsewhere) is claiming that Gilligan intended Breaking Bad to express a theistic message, it would appear that we don’t yet have the evidence to support that claim.
The bit with Jane is certainly bad, but recall that earlier WW allowed the native American guy to take the fall for him in the high school. The show went a long way out of its way to show that dude as being cool and helpful. And WW still let him go down.
I see WW’s arc maybe a bit differently that I see here. Walt wasn’t always evil. What he was…was small. Always small. The guy who never got what he wanted, was never in charge. The addiction for him wasn’t the money, or the thrill or whatever. During his time into becoming a meth dealer he took absolutely control of his life and his situation. He determined to go in a direction and went there regardless of the cost to others. He grew to ENJOY being in charge of himself and others.
Remember his bit about ‘I’m building an Empire’? That was him finally stating his reasons for his actions. Everything was sacrificable provided he remained in control. And WW is clearly a control freak. Note the way Cranston plays him as he deals with things like pens, napkins and such. Everything in its place and just so. That went to his life, his family (when Skyler went along with him he was very content, even though it was clear she was doing so out of fear), the way he cooked his product, the way it was delivered and distributed and so forth. That’s also the main point that began the conflict between Gus Fring and WW. Fring was in charge and WW resented it. WW was going to push that sore spot until something gave.
So you take…
A frustrated everyman
Who’s very VERY smart
With a desperate need for control
Who finds a way to get it
And you’ve got a man who’s actions are dictated by his neurosis, not by his greed or his family. Those things are just covers for his real motivations.
Good points, all. I think the point where Walt truly broke bad was after he bombed Tuco’s place in the sixth episode, “Crazy Handful of Nothin’.” Not as in committed some irredeemable act of evil but the point when he got addicted to the life. Watch his adrenaline outburst once he gets back inside his car. After that rush, there was no going back for him. This thing was going to run its course.
You mention the school caretaker who was fired because Walter stole some Erlenmeyer flasks. That bothered me at the time - it wouldn’t have been difficult for Walter to put things right or compensate the man. Its the first indication in the arc that Walter will allow innocent people to suffer which is contrary to his everyman appearance.
I think, especially for Walt’s character, that this was a man who was in denial that he was a far better bad guy than a good guy. At least until the end when he admitted and accepted it in front of Skylar.
“I’m pretty much agnostic at this point in my life. But I find atheism just as hard to get my head around as I find fundamental Christianity. Because if there is no such thing as cosmic justice, what is the point of being good? That’s the one thing that no one has ever explained to me. Why shouldn’t I go rob a bank, especially if I’m smart enough to get away with it? What’s stopping me?”
“I feel some sort of need for biblical atonement, or justice, or something,” he said between chews. “I like to believe there is some comeuppance, that karma kicks in at some point, even if it takes years or decades to happen,” he went on. “My girlfriend says this great thing that’s become my philosophy as well. ‘I want to believe there’s a heaven. But I can’t not believe there’s a hell.’ ”
ISTM you’re looking at a guy who has moved away from the Catholicism he was raised in, but who feels the void, and finds attempts to construct moralities without some kind of transcendant referent – God, Karma, Something – unsatisfying and unpersuasive. So, not theistic, but still semi-religious.
Regarding the kid bullying Junior, I don’t think it was about pride. Walt had just gotten his cancer diagnosis and I think it was more of a F-everything, don’t care anymore type reaction.
Let’s not forget the role that grey matter played in all of this. The dude was the founder of a billion dollar company who got left behind (due to his ego and pride, but I digress) and then became a pathetic loser working two jobs with a wife who would rather surf eBay than have sex with him. There is no way that coming this close to something like that doesn’t create a whole nasty stew of anger, resentment, and a crazy need to validate oneself.