Early Breaking Bad.

[lightofdaye]

So based on fervent recommendation of my f-list, I've started watching Breaking Bad. I borrowed the first season set from sister in April and splashed out for the whole run recently.

I'm nine episodes in, seven of the first season and 2 of the second. Now usually when I review things it ends up being just a list of things that annoyed me. Especially HP or GoT where I am perpetually unable to stop saying 'but in the books...'. I can't really do that to Breaking Bad. As of now, I've not seen much to complain about. It's like I don't find each individual scene or episode thrilling, it still manages to end up making me want to see the next episode. The only complain I can make is the first two episode of season 2 have used the flash forward opening is a very general indistinct way. It worked well in the first and sixth episodes of season 1 but those were resolved in the same episode.

Now, I'm not great at the whole depth thing, so this isn't going to be as detailed a look as some other had but here are some thoughts in no specific order (spoilers for the first nine episodes):

• The first season is only 7 episodes long, it was supposed to be 9 but they had to shave a few episodes off because of a writer's strike. I think you can see this. The final episode doesn't really feel like a big stakes finale another show might do.


• All the characters seem real and gel well together. There's no one really I dislike at this point. Hank especially is a character I think I'd hate in real life, ultra-masculine, crude dickhead but in the show he basically likable. It helps that he's legit law enforcement, and genuinely cares about Hank and his family


• The show's dry humour and dark humour is fantastic. Jesse's reaction to Walt's 'I'm awake' line in the pilot and the bathtub through the ceiling bit.


• It's adorable how much Jesse is inspired by Walt, even as they fight and argue a lot. The episode where he tries to cook with Badger for example is guy. Quoting Walt and trying to live up to his standards. Amd echoing the 'well we'll put a pin in that' line in series 2. Badger as well is like a foil to Jesse in that episode. What he'd have been like without Walt's influence.


• Walt and to a lesser extent Jesse, are really bad criminals. Walt just raids the school for all the supplies he need to start up and its only basically the fact that Hank in his brother in law and has serious blinkers about suspecting him that he makes it out of s1. Now that Hank has found and shot Tucco just trying to find Walt by following Jesse's car. I don't know how they're going to keep going without being busted.It's probably more explainable than I think 'oh its a coincidence. Tucco just happened to boost my ride...' or something.
  
• the whole concept of BrBa is very... american. I don't know if that affects my viewing or not. But.. well Cancer would be serious in the UK but... NHS. No-one's going to have to turn to dubious means to fund treatment.
  

Comments

[lunalelle.livejournal.com]

http://www.buzzfeed.com/lukelewis/if-breaking-bad-had-been-set-in-the-uk

:)

[tamlane.livejournal.com]

That's brilliant.

[lightofdaye]

Exactly! :)

[luna-plath.livejournal.com]

You're right about the concept for BrBa being very American. In the U.S. if you get a serious illness like what Walt has there is a serious possibility of leaving your family completely destitute. My cousin has a rare medical condition and her family spent all of her college savings and all of her sister's college savings (so close to 50-60 thousand dollars) just on her testing/treatment. They ended up selling their house but now they're doing okay.

And this family had insurance, so the "true" cost of all her expenses was probably around 100,000 dollars. That's a fucking house. There are lots of people without insurance and if they get these serious illnesses it's not unheard of for people to have to declare bankruptcy, meaning here that they loose their home and their credit goes to shit.

Or like how I have health insurance from the federal government (medicaid) but I can't use it in my state because our state government won't support it. The state of North Carolina literally refuses to pay the bill. Meaning I can't go to a doctor. I'm supposed to have a yearly exam at the gynecologist but I don't know how I'm going to be able to pay for it out of pocket. ONe exam at a "specialist" costs 200-300 dollars.

I hope you enjoy BB. Jessie is a great character and as the series goes on it's interesting to see how Walt changes. Or how everyone changes, really. Pretty much all the main characters are dynamic.

[tamlane.livejournal.com]

I never got into it, but SLH loved it.

[hummingbyrdd.livejournal.com]

Oh cool, I'm looking forward to your thoughts. The bathtub scene is pretty wild, isn't it? You know, I didn't like hardly any of the characters in the beginning, but I felt differently as the show progressed. You'll find that things keep getting darker as you go through the series.

[notsocraven.livejournal.com]

I really enjoy the dark humor as well. And I hadn't noticed Jesse trying to act like Walt with Badger, but that was totally what he was doing. lol

the whole concept of BrBa is very... american. I don't know if that affects my viewing or not. But.. well Cancer would be serious in the UK but... NHS. No-one's going to have to turn to dubious means to fund treatment.

So sad, our country is so backwards on things like helping people live.

Glad you're watching, looking forward to reading more of your thoughts on it.