Transforming Moralities: Breaking Bad’s take on the fine line between right and wrong
Breaking Bad is a crime-drama television show that tells the story of the brilliant, yet achingly underachieving high school chemistry teacher, Walter White, who is diagnosed with inoperable lung cancer. The creator and producer, Vince Gilligan goes on to depict that in order to secure his family’s financial future after his inevitable death, Mr. White starts cooking and selling methamphetamine along with a former student of his (Jessie Pinkman). The title “Breaking Bad” literally translates to “raising hell”, which is also an apt description of Walt’s character transition through the course of the show. Breaking Bad (BB) discloses the mid-life crisis of a common man, the decisions he takes and the consequences of those decisions. It presents an issue that is relevant to everyone in the society, and the use of stereotypical characters makes it highly relatable to a wide range of audience. Vince Gilligan stated on multiple occasions that his goal was to turn the protagonist from “Mr. Chips to Scarface”. However, the show runs a little deeper than that, as it is neither about the transformation of Walter into Heisenberg nor about being stagnant, as some elements change through the course of the show, but they’re not as extreme as one would expect, since no matter what atrocious plan he implements as Heisenberg, there is always a side to him that never stopped caring for the goodwill of his family- the reason why “it” all began. Throughout BB, Gilligan takes the audience on a journey which seems to be about Walt’s transitions but is also about Skyler and Jesse’s, which finally ends having shed substantial light on the socio-economic constraints that instigate extreme measures in vulnerable human beings.
When one questions why the change in the trio is essential, one is in fact questioning the crux of the plot. At the beginning of the show, Walter White is looked upon as a ‘person of principal’ living the life of a common man; a family with a job/s which gets him decent money to lead an economical life. Skyler and Jesse at first start out as two normal individuals comfortable in their own common ground, being a supportive yet stern housewife and an irresponsible junkie respectively. Ultimately, by the end of the show, each of these characters seems to have evolved disparately,with alteration in moral obligations being the lone aspect uniting them. Each of their transitions is equally impressive and/or disturbing, but it is Walter White’s Heisenberg evolution that continues to grip the viewer and questions their perseverance of hailing Walter as the hero.
Change seems to be a consistent element of the show, right from the very beginning, and it is conveyed to the viewers not only through the actions of the characters, but also through the brilliant dialogue writing and storytelling techniques used by Vince Gilligan. In the Pilot episode of Breaking Bad, Mr. White tells his students that he sees Chemistry as “the study of ‘change’, it is growth, then decay, then transformation.” Throughout the show, one can observe the evolution or ‘change’ in his character through his actions, decisions and choices. This change can be thought of as Walt’s evolution of a darker, secretive persona while gradually demolishing his softer side. At the beginning of the series, Walt is limned as a family man making a gritty effort to secretly become Heisenberg, having witnessed all of his colleagues surpass him in every possible manner. However, as the series progresses, the fine line between Walt and his persona Heisenberg is increasingly blurred, tending to invisibility. His sense of pride and egoistic attitude further propels his ambition of overtaking his peers, thus making him more vulnerable to committing crimes. Even in his civil life, he begins embracing his shrewder and more vindictive side. In the article ‘Becoming the One Who Knocks’, Osborne writes that Walter is inculcated with the ideologies of the American Dream and due to the dissatisfaction with his lifestyle, he chooses to become Heisenberg. He claims, “Walter White’s decision to start cooking methamphetamine is the first step towards his transition to Heisenberg, which was a result of his cancer diagnosis and socio-economical strains surrounding him”. Judging by this criterion, we can see that Vince Gilligan’s current depiction of Walter is that of a family man trying to amend things in his life by making irrational decisions while in a delicate state of mind, and aptly explains the foundations selected by Gilligan while trying to transform Mr. White to Scarface.
Walt’s burning desire to leave behind money for his family before his untimely death is what makes him susceptible to the variation in his moralities. Then, in the episode ‘And the Bag’s in the River’, Walt faces his first morally questioning situation wherein he is obligated to decide whether or not to kill a Latino drug dealer. Walt, agonizingly enough, writes a list to weigh his options. One column reads, “Let him live”; the other, “Kill him”. Under the first column, his musings go on about moral issues, Christian principles, post-traumatic stress and clearly seeing that murder is wrong.In the second column there’s just one entry: “He’ll kill your entire family if you let him go.” Wrathall writes in the article ‘The Secret Life of Walter White’, “It’s utterly deadpan, utterly black but also a peerless insight into Walt’s character and thought process.” I agree with the writer at this point, as Walter White here, is still just a chemistry teacher who cooked his first batch of meth and wants to make things right that spiraled out of his control. However, Walt killing him in the end proves to be the first of many instances that question his principles.
The next point of interest in the show occurs at the end of the second season, where Walter witnesses the death of Jane Margolis (Jesse’s junkie girlfriend) as she overdoses on heroin.Although he could have saved her if he really intended to, him deciding not to signals his altering decision-making process. Yet, his concern for Jesse trumps his concern towards dead Jane. Another equally pivotal story point is when Walter orders Jesse to kill Gale Boetticher, the innocent lab assistant working for Gus, in a situation where Walter had to choose amongst Gale’s, Jesse’s and his own life. Contrary to the beginning of the show where he wanted to avoid casualties at any cost, Walter opting to assassinate Gale reflects his self-centered persona. Later in the episode ‘Rabid Dog’, Walt convinces Jesse to kill Gus with a gun. That particular scene was shot in Jesse’s living room which was poorly lit by a single, dim bulb. The camera is set up at a higher position and focuses on the actors and the bulb behind them. These scenes are especially pivotal from the standpoint of his transformation from “Mr. Chips” to “Scarface”. It showcases Walter’s ability to use crime for his own personal benefit.
Although it appears that Walt’s character took a turn for the worse, on one plane, Mr. White’s personality has not changed a bit. His disease changed his outlook on life, making it more spontaneous and exciting, something which he seemed to genuinely want from a long time. But, his interests and traits of his character never took a turn, irrespective of the situations. His passion for chemistry remained throughout. If anything, it only became stronger.His love for his family and kin is highly prioritized. Him as a teacher, being there for Jesse Pinkman even in the most crunched situations shows that a lot of his character has never changed. On another plane, there’s a big transformation in the way he leads his life. His remarkable ways of being able to manipulate the people around him and especially his ludicrous wife and his ability to lie as Heisenberg play a crucial role in how the plot thickens. His continual decisive nature of making money via cooking methamphetamine is seen as a means to make ends meet.
Even though he ends up losing everyone he once called a family, from Walter’s perspective, there is a side of him that rightfully believes that he won. Breaking Bad wasn’t just about a chemistry teacher’s transformation into a drug kingpin, it was about one man’s midlife crisis. He was living the life of a castrated man who got yelled at by a guy with huge eyebrows while working a second job at a car wash, and then he used his talents to become someone new and fearsome as a result. As Walter lay there dying on the floor, his smirk said, “That was fun.” Certainly more fun than teaching a bunch of bored teenagers about ionic compounds, and certainly more fun than slowly dying from cancer in a clinic. Walter was going to die anyway, and cancer may have gotten him much earlier if he hadn’t found a new sense of rejuvenation in all the wicked escapades he was involved in. Walter had a pretty good run for a man with a terminal illness, didn’t he?
But in the end, all Walter White wanted to do was due to his concern and love for his family. He did make an effort to see that Walter Jr. and Holly would be as comfortable as they could be before he died. The Walter/Heisenberg duality is more apparent towards the end of the show. In the show finale, appropriately titled Felina, he confesses everything to Skyler and tells her the truth, revealing that the reason he did everything was that he liked the way it made him feel. To sum up, although Walter could always be relied upon to show love and protect his family, Heisenberg was just an alter ego that buried his more affectionate side. And no matter how shallow Heisenberg got, there was a little Walter White in him that would never go away. Due to the aftermath of Walt’s crimes and drug empire, other characters in the show like Skyler and Jesse have also evolved in a few ways. Contrary to Walt’s conditions, these two seem to be sufferers of his endless crimes.
Although initially seen as the sole source of love and morality in a rather dark show, and as a woman trying to help her family through the crisis that had fallen upon them, Skyler too parallelly descends into the meth hole dug her by husband – while always looking out for the best interests of her children – trying to clean up after his mess. As the show progresses, she somehow churns her lifestyle subjective to that of Walter White, thus becoming a casualty of the same void that she helped herself get into. A scene that encapsulates how deep she had figuratively drowned is when she eerily drifts to the bottom of the swimming pool in front of her own family. Having succumbed to her husband’s deeds, and upon realizing that there was no other way out, Skyler chooses to take her husband’s side over Hank’s – even though she rebelled against him for a significant amount of time having learned of his new occupation – truly shows the evolution of her character over the course of the show.
Another significant yet contrasting evolution in character is that of Jesse, someone who is initially looked upon as a good-for-nothing drug addict who never quite reached his true potential beyond the drug world. He seems to be the character receiving the most direct punishment as a result of his partner’s sins – beaten to a pulp by Tuco and Hank, lost Brock and Jane, and was morally eaten up having killed Gale on the command of his self-centered partner. Although he makes mistakes just as Walt does, he doesn’t try to rationalize them away for his own personal benefit. At the end, he turns out to be the moral core of the story having never lost the empathy towards a fellow soul unless deemed wrongful for committing acts of violence against those close to him. As Walt and his wife appear to be morally demolished by the end of BB, it’s Jesse who seems to grow from being irresponsible and foolish to a morally sound person.
All in all, somehow in this paradigm, Walter appears to have had a change in what he is because of the influence of so many people. His manipulative and timely control of the situation gives him a new reflection which is understood as a change/shift/transition. Both Skyler and Jesse were victims of Walt’s crimes, having been involved in his dark secret. The pivotal point of Jesse’s and Skyler’s transformation stands out as one when they slowly involve themselves in the making of Heisenberg. Methamphetamine being a key element in the turn of events, it affects and changes personalities. Here ironically, without any of these characters actually consuming the drug. Skyler, from somebody who would raise her voice against law breakers suddenly is portrayed as someone who can be manipulative and break rules with delicate intricacy for covering up the deep holes that Walt had led his family into. And Jesse, who initially was an ignorant soul of knowledge and empathy, reaches a transcendental state of a believer of Chemistry in a twisted way while showing integrity towards White. By this, we can definitely say that the transformation of the trio holds a good plot in a greatly amusing show.
Throughout BB, there is a justifiable amount of pathos used as mentioned above as well as numerous others. The ideologies of drugs being a bad thing are prevalent, but we ignore them and see them from a different perspective. The audience is questioned ethically as they continue to root for the protagonist to survive despite having committed countless crimes for his own benefit. All of Walt’s choices are based on logic, if he didn’t have reasoning for something, he would not do it. This show runs while exploring the fine distinctions between what is right and wrong and also what is just and unjust. Gilligan does a good job making an apt representation of the resentment that one faces in modern society due to the differences in socio- economic backgrounds.
Works Cited:
- Osborne, Patrick. “Becoming The One Who Knocks: Innovations As A Response To Social Strains In AMC’s Breaking Bad.” Popular Culture Review2 (2013): 99-112. MLAInternational Bibliography. Web. 25 Feb. 2015.
- Wrathall, John. “The Secret Life of Walter White.” Sight and Sound 9(2013): 34-36. MLA International Bibliography. Web. 5 Mar. 2015.