Breaking Bad Character Analysis

The premise that show runner Vince Gilligan pitched was simple, “We’re going to turn Mr. Chips into Scarface.” It was a bold claim at the time that most television executives dismissed as a bad idea. You would take the show’s main character and slowly but surely turn him into the antagonist. This was unlike most shows at the time who dealt with antiheroes, they had almost always padded them out with sympathetic qualities or redeeming actions throughout their respective seasons like Tony Soprano or Vic Mackey of The Shield. No show had ever fully committed to the idea that its lead character could truly be a villain. Yet Walter White’s transformation from a down on his luck, cancer ridden teacher to a depraved drug kingpin named Heisenberg has

been one of the most exciting journeys that television audiences have ever witnessed.

Jesse Pinkman and Walter White cooking meth
Since the award winning show ended in late 2013, many have gone back an examined why the show was such a phenomenon.

Apart from the superb acting and writing, Breaking Bad had such a distinctive and unique visual style. One of the main reasons for this was the location. With the show being set in Albuquerque, New Mexico the desert landscape gave the show an original look that helped shape it’s success. From the wide open barren landscapes that provided the backdrop for the story, to the unique color palettes of green, brown, and red that were always visible in every scene of the show. Breaking Bad had a distinct direction the totality of its 62 episode run. The show made use of large pan shots of the desert landscape to emphasize setting and grounded the spectacular events that took place there. The standard two shot takes that most television shows use for conversation were now used here to exaggerate the action sequences. The montage shots of Walter White and Jesse Pinkman making meth to classical jazz with the point of view from the meth’s perspective looking up at its conflicted creators, or the large wide shots of Walter White staring down Gustavo Fring in a western showdown manner. This gave the show and its audience such a visceral feel that was so unlike other shows of the crime

genre.

Walter White facing Gus Fring in the desert
The direction was most apparent in the openings of each episode. These quick three to five minute segments that set up the theme and tone of the episode allowed its directors to have fun with the script. From moments such as a handheld tracking shot through a bullet ridden RV door that opens up to reveal a couple of dead bodies, to a burned teddy bear floating in a pool with the camera under water shot in black and white to show the self destruction of its lead character, or a car chase that has its colors increased greatly in brightness to give it an over exaggerated feel. The show’s use of unique visuals set it apart from most shows at the time.

Looking at the show in its entirety there is no doubt that Breaking Bad’s reputation as the greatest show of all time was in a large part due to its direction. Whether it be a a close up of Walter White’s anger ridden face in silence for an extended period of time, the quick and violent action sequences that never overstay their welcome, or the final dolly shot of (spoiler) Walter White’s dead body in the finale, there is one fact that remains true.

You won’t forget the name Heisenberg…