Breaking Bad Season 1: A Retrospective

 Breaking Bad Season 1: A Retrospective

This entry is part of a series of retrospectives on the Breaking Bad universe. Click here for the next entry on Breaking Bad Season 2.

[Note: As a series retrospective, this post will contain major spoilers from Breaking Bad, its sequel film El Camino, and its prequel series Better Call Saul]

On August 15th, 2022, the final piece of the Breaking Bad universe, Better Call Saul, will come to an end. And, with its end, the Breaking Bad universe will also come to a close--unless, of course, AMC's insistence that creator Vince Gilligan return with another show comes to fruition (perhaps a Gus prequel titled "Los Pollos Hermanos"? Just spitballing here). Given this milestone of the end of Saul's journey, I thought it would be appropriate to rewatch Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul, and El Camino in order to get a refreshed sense of the journey Gilligan and his frequent collaborator Peter Gould have taken audiences on for nearly 15 years. And what better way to reflect on everything that's transpired since Walter White's cancer diagnosis than to write my thoughts here, on Frayed Branches? Thus begins a "stream of consciousness" style retrospective on one of the best fictional worlds created, the Breaking Bad universe.

Breaking Bad is a modern classic, so much so that it doesn't even need explanation. But, for the sake of reflection and all that, I'll give a bit of context. Walter White is a 50-year-old, down-on-his-luck high school chemistry teacher. Despite his genius-level IQ, Walt's has a menial position in life. He'd once been the co-founder of Gray Matter Technologies, until drama between him and his friend, Elliot, and previous fiancé, Gretchen, led to Walt leaving the company while the two of them married. He has a disinterested wife pregnant with a child they never planned for. Their son, Walter Jr. (hereafter referred to as "Flynn," a nickname he gives himself in the show's second season) has cerebral palsy. His DEA brother-in-law, Hank, constantly pokes fun at his can-do, Mr. Rogers attitude, much to Walt's ire. The hot water heater in his home keeps leaking. And, to top it all off, he has lung cancer and will die within a year, unable to provide enough money for his family when he goes. Believing all hope to be lost, Walt is graced with two things in his time of need: 1.) Knowledge that people who cook meth make a lot of money, and 2.) His former student Jesse Pinkman (briefly known by his street name, "Capt'n Cook"). Armed with his knowledge of chemistry and Jesse's knowledge of the meth business, Walt begins to cook and sell meth in an attempt to get money for his family before his cancer kills him.

At least, that's the premise of the show. But the written premise of something isn't always what the show is about. Because while Breaking Bad's first season focuses on the meth business, a lot of the early episodes indicate how in over his head Walt is and how maybe this isn't the best course of action for a money-making scheme. Even so, the scenes of Walt struggling with the hands-on brutality of the meth business--having to kill two people in the first three episodes--is contrasted by the worry, guilt, and shame he associates with his more normal life. This is especially potent once he tells his family about the cancer, resulting in worry and fear from his wife, Skyler, who begins to worry other family members due to her negative reaction. There's this one scene that I really liked where Skyler, Flynn, Hank and his wife (Skyler's sister) Marie sit down in a circle to discuss why Walt doesn't want to get chemotherapy. Everyone is pushing Walt to get chemo except for Marie, who realizes the rest of the family want to take Walt's choice away from him, believing it to be in his best interest. This is followed up by Walt explaining why he doesn't want treatment: Because, for his whole life, choices have been made for him, and he finally wants to get control over something. But even this becomes a moot point, as he starts his cancer treatment regardless. It's such a powerful scene, though, because it encapsulates what Season 1 of the show establishes: Walt wants to control the uncontrollable, and trying to do so by force will only lead to negative consequences.

No better is this illustrated than in what happens to his first meth contacts, Krazy-8 and Emilio. They both believe he's a fed due to a ride-along Walt went on with Hank in order to observe just how much money can be garnered from the meth business. Walt is forced to use quick thinking and the ingredients in he and Jesse's RV (the original cook station) to create a poisonous gas that kills Emilio and knocks Krazy-8 unconscious. While dealing with Emilio's body is its own mess (one exacerbated by a meth-headed Jesse trying to use acid in a bathtub to get rid of his body), it's Krazy-8 and his interactions with Walt that heighten the theme of control within the show. In Episode 3, Krazy-8 has been imprisoned in Jesse's basement via a bike lock around his neck and a pole in said basement. Unable to cope with the fact that he will have to kill Krazy-8 to ensure his and his family's safety, Walt ends up bonding with their prisoner, learning more about his life and acting friendly with him for a lengthy scene. At the end of said scene, Krazy-8 makes a promise that, if Walt lets him go, he'll never see him again, and he won't harm Walt or his family.

Unfortunately, things take a turn when Walt passes out due to his cancer diagnosis, shattering a plate of food he was making for Krazy-8 on the ground in the basement. He cleans up the mess when he gets up, but is quick to notice that a piece of the plate is now missing. It takes him only a few seconds to realize--his face cloaked in dawning horror--Krazy-8 now has that piece of plate, and is going to stick Walt with it once he's set free. Walt goes down into the basement and, in a painfully long scene, chokes Krazy-8 to death using the bike lock, all the while whispering how sorry he is. Throughout the show, Walter White is shown to be a man searching for control over his life. It's why he starts his meth business and why, when Gretchen and Elliot later offer him money to pay for his cancer treatment, he turns down the help. But it only takes the first three episodes of the show for audiences to realize where things are going. Walt wants control, yes, but the control he vies for his selfish, leading to people's demises at his own hands, including people he's grown a connection to like Krazy-8. Many of his actions are fueled by his ego, which becomes clearer as the show progresses. For now, though, his innocent persona takes center stage, with some viewers probably getting tricked into believing Walt's transformation into the drug kingpin Heisenberg was a slow process.

Upon rewatch, however, I have to disagree. Many of Walt's actions in this first season tell me that, even before he adopts the persona in the sixth episode, his actions have always been driven by self-interest and narcissism from the very beginning. Walt doesn't tell his family about his cancer for multiple episodes, not because he doesn't want them to worry, but because he doesn't want his diagnosis to make him look weak. It's why he tells them that he doesn't want chemotherapy, citing his need to rely on Skyler's help to possibly even use the bathroom as why he doesn't want it. It's a very subtle thing, but Walt says his own hindrances that would make his life personally more difficult is the first reason he doesn't want chemo, citing reasons like being remembered wrong and other common chemo worries secondarily. Now, this scene could be read as Walt genuinely not wanting his family to worry--after all, the show does indicate he cares for them. But, at the same time, Walt denies help from anyone that gives it to him, not because he believes he can fix things himself, but because of his pride. This is further established in Season 2, but for now, Gilligan plays it with subtlety that I enjoyed seeing onscreen.

That's another thing about this season. Unlike the more action-packed thrill rides of Season 3 onward, this first 7-episode introduction to the world of Breaking Bad is slow in its presentation. So slow that, honestly, it can make the season a bit of a drag. At the same time, the methodical nature of dealing with the meth world, establishing character relationships, and the six episodes it takes for Walt to embrace his self-ascribed Heisenberg identity make for great television. It's certainly not perfect, as this season feels rather "dark for dark's sake" compared to the naturally brutal nature of later seasons. The show is still trying to find its footing in these first few episodes. Not only because the series wasn't conceived with a specific ending in mind, but also due to a large-scale writer's strike that transpired while Season 1 was in production. The strike impacted multiple television series at the time. One notable example some readers may be familiar with was then-popular superhero show Heroes, whose second season had to be scraped together due to the strike, resulting in a messy storyline and the cancellation of a planned spin-off. It explains why Breaking Bad feels so different in its first season, having to work around the strike in order to press forward.

But the writer's strike at the time also led to some positive changes for the series, ones that would have made the show feel a lot different had writers not fought for their payment rights. Originally, Season 1 of Breaking Bad was going to be 9 episodes in length. Everything would remain the same regarding how Season 1 and the first two episodes of Season 2 played out. But some things would be different. Enter Tuco Salamanca, the first member of the Salamanca family that Walt and Jesse cross paths with. In the show proper, Tuco is an unhinged individual who acts as the second mini-antagonist of the series, introduced in the same episode where Walt embraces becoming Heisenberg. In the original plan for the season, however, Tuco was poised to kill Jesse in the Season 1 finale before becoming the main villain of Season 2. But due to the shortened episode count, Bryan Cranston (Walt) and Aaron Paul (Jesse)'s chemistry on set, and Raymond Cruz (Tuco) having a regular cast position on police procedural The Closer, Gilligan and his team changed it so that Jesse would live through the Tuco arc. It was a pivotal decision that proved to be the right call during such turbulent times.

The decision to do so during production, however, means that some of the setup for character arcs during the show don't fully translate to what the series would evolve into. In Season 1, Walt's sidekick Jesse Pinkman feels more like a comic relief side character than a fleshed-out person. He's a meth addict who has no idea how to deal with the stressful situations he and Walt come across. That's not to say he doesn't get a chance to shine this season, though. It's nice to get and episode where Jesse goes to his parents house to show just how much meth addiction can destroy one's relationships and passions. You could tell, though, that such ideas were supposed to be one-offs, and that the original plan here was to make Jesse's story of addiction and meth-slinging a tragic one. Luckily, this didn't happen, resulting in Jesse's development across all five seasons of Breaking Bad and in El Camino to accentuate his escape from the world he involves himself in. But we'll get to that when he get to it. In Season 1, Jesse is a character with a bit of depth while mostly acting as the comic relief sidekick of Walter White. Though I do enjoy moments where it's revealed Jesse is a lot smarter than the average 24-year-old meth addict, indicating Walt's insistence that he apply himself during Season 1 is advice Jesse can truly follow. Hell, Jesse may even be as smart as Walt, since at one point later in the series he cooks a batch of meth on his own. But I digress--it's nice to see the groundwork laid out for what Jesse's character will become later.

In the meantime are the antagonists of the show, whose presence is typically fleeting in this first season. Krazy-8 acts as the introductory villain, a small-time drug dealer who is only in Walt's way. Tuco Salamanca begets the wider world of Breaking Bad prior to it being all planned out, while standing well alone as an unhinged, unpredictable foil to Walt's calmer, more thoughtful approach to the meth business. Neither of these antagonists last long, with Tuco's lack of appearance in Season 1 save for the last 2 episodes meaning we don't get enough of him to really dig into him right now. But there is one antagonist the show follows continuously starting right from the beginning: DEA Agent Hank Schrader, Walt's brother-in-law. Now, for those that may argue against my point, consider that "antagonist" does not mean "person who does bad things." Walter White kills people constantly, but that doesn't make him an antagonist. The show follows him and his story, putting him at the center of the show. This makes Walt the protagonist, no matter how many evil things he does. On the opposite side of the coin is Hank, who is unknowingly in conflict with Walt as he tries to unearth the connections between drug events in Albuquerque and the mysterious Heisenberg. Even though the show follows his story just like Walt's, Hank is still in opposition to Walt--our protagonist--which makes him an antagonist, no matter how good of a person he is.

Because, despite his flaws, Hank is the closest thing to a hero Breaking Bad has. Sure, him and his DEA buddy Steve Gomez launch racial epithets at each other all the time, and Hank may also show no remorse for those involved in the drug business, thinking them as less than human. But Hank is also driven by his sense of justice, which follows the rules of law right down to the letter. He's a laid-back guy, but he still has a sense of right and wrong that solidifies the decisions he makes during the first season. At the same time, the carefree attitude he exhibits acts as a mask for the abuse of power we see in some of what he does. In particular, one of the first solo interactions between him and his wife Marie is on the phone, with Hank yelling at criminals he's arresting in a manner that isn't really necessary for the situation as he speaks to her. It's unnecessary actions like these that establish Hank as someone who is on the side of the law, but who feels as though the criminals he deals with are beneath him. In a way he's right, but it's implied his run-ins with drug peddlers at this point in the series involve petty dealers, no one in a high-ranking capacity in, say, a cartel operation. I think this only makes me like Hank more, though, as it gives his character complexity that is explored even more as the show progresses. It's that complexity--alongside not knowing whether to root for him or Walter more--that makes Hank a fantastic antagonist throughout Breaking Bad's run.

While Walt, Jesse, and Hank are the stars of the show, the other cast members are also written and portrayed with high levels of detail. Much like Walt, Skyler White is someone who always wants to be in control. And, at the start of the series, she's already won the battle of control in the family, forcing Walt to eat vegan bacon and giving him a disinterested handjob, all the while nagging him about money the family doesn't have to fix issues they can't afford. Skyler's own controlling behavior becomes more apparent upon Walt's cancer diagnosis, with her deciding to try and manipulate Walt into getting chemotherapy, using both social and emotional tactics to do so. When Walt does give in, Skyler pushes further, forcing him to join family therapy groups with other chemo patients and their families, putting him into uncomfortable social situations for the sake of her control over him. While Skyler will later become a victim in Walt's road to building a meth empire, her Season 1 behavior paves the way for Walt to break off from her and follow his own path. Both Walt and Skyler are controlling people, but Skyler has come out on top in every facet of Walt's life. Now, with his life ending soon, Walt wants to use what little time he has left to become the master of his sea, breaking away from the chain Skyler has wrapped around his throat.

To speak about the rest of the characters when reflecting on Season 1 may be a bit of a moot point. Walter's son, Flynn, is around, but he mostly acts as a comparative presence to Skyler. Not that Flynn is trying to control Walt and his decisions, but rather that he wants his father to be safe from harm. Out of everyone in the entire series, Flynn may be the only person who says things and acts out of pure-hearted goodwill. Even Marie, Skyler's sister, is shown to be a kleptomaniac, a shoplifter who doesn't just steal things for others as gifts, but also because it gives her a sense of control over her life whenever things spiral. Flynn, however, is always discussing how much he loves his dad. And that's really his only presence in Season 1. Marie, on the other hand, is just established as a shoplifter, gifting Skyler a baby tiara for the yet-to-be-born Holly White, then refusing responsibility once Skyler finds out it was stolen. There's more going on between Skyler and Marie in the second season, so for now we can put a pin in it. Other characters not mentioned here have either a fleeting presence in the show's first season, or just aren't worth talking about yet. Though special mention to Gomey, one of the most loyal sidekicks a DEA agent could ask for.

I know I've spoken a lot about the theme of control in this post. Perhaps this stems from my affinity for another show about control, Mr. Robot (which, in my opinion, is the greatest television series ever made, with Breaking Bad coming in at a very close second). But, despite all the rambling I've done on this theme, Breaking Bad is a very multi-layered story when it comes to the subjects and themes it's interested in. Season 1 almost acts as an anti-redemption fable, with Walter White's slow transformation into Heisenberg the rebalance of control he's been looking for all his life. But, morally, it comes with a cost, as Walt must now become one with the meth business in ways that betray the meek exterior he's adopted for so long. All of this comes to a head in Season 1 Episode 6, when Walt confronts Tuco after the former nearly beat Jesse to death. Walt walks into Tuco's place of business with a bag of what Tuco and the audience presume is meth. But soon enough, Walt takes a sample from the bag and chucks it at the ground, the force of impact blowing up Tuco's office. Walt had tricked Tuco into thinking he had meth, when what he really had with fulminated mercury, which exploded on impact with the ground. To me, this was the moment Walter White truly became Heisenberg, with everything he does after this moment his way of digging deeper into his persona.

But there's something even larger at play here, something I really enjoyed about this first season in particular: Symbolism. Breaking Bad uses a lot of symbolism, comparable shot composition, and metaphorical writing to display small and big ideas to the audience. For example, Tuco seeing Walt as non-threatening and holding meth, but Walt turning out to be threatening and holding the chemical equivalent of a grenade, acts as symbolism for Walt's heel-turn in this scene. What Tuco sees is Walter White, but who truly stands before him is Heisenberg. Even smaller scenes have a way of symbolizing the conflict between characters. For instance, at one point the Whites and the Schraders are playing a poker  game. During the game, Hank and Walt are the only two left, with Walt refusing to let up on the game. Walt's demeanor makes Hank fold, despite having a King and an Ace. Walt, however, doesn't have anything, winning the game by default via bluffing. The scene acts as a metaphor for how Walt is changing into someone willing to take great risk, while Hank is trapped in the mindset of "knowing" Walt's behavior based on how he already views him. Hank has the "King"--Heisenberg--and the "Ace,"--the power to arrest him. But because he falls into Walt's innocuous trap, he's unable to find anything, viewing Walt as having "a handful of nothing." Which is actually the title of the episode--the same episode where Walt confronts Tuco. It's because Walt seemingly has nothing that he wins.

Scenes like the Tuco confrontation and the poker game are littered throughout the first season of Breaking Bad. These symbolic and metaphorical approaches to what's happening in the show help bolster the series, as it feels like every little detail of the episode was designed to make you think about it. Oftentimes it is rather on the nose, with more artistic comparisons and symbolisms being introduced in later seasons (and in Better Call Saul especially). but I still appreciate the way Season 1 presents these elements, setting them up for more detailed use as the series--and the franchise as a whole--continues to evolve. I'll go a little more in-depth on the level of detail in symbolism and metaphor in retrospectives for later seasons, but for now, I just appreciate how much thought went into what little symbolism they could use at this early a stage in the story.

As for the story, I think it was presented well, though with a few hiccups here and there. This was definitely the "lightest" of the seasons in terms of the meth empire stuff, with the focus typically being on the existential dread Walt feels as he's slowly dying of cancer and being negatively impacted by his chemotherapy treatments. I enjoyed it for what it was despite the dour mood throughout. I think knowing what the show would become helped me to push through some of the less engaging elements of the first season. There's only so many times they can show Walt falling over unconscious or coughing up a storm before it feels more superfluous than necessary. Especially since, throughout the season, he and Jesse continuously fail at their attempts at selling meth, resulting in two dead bodies and the DEA sniffing around for Krazy-8, who, as it turns out, was one of their informants. Tuco's introduction at the end of the season does save it, however, with Walt and Jesse's creation of the classic blue meth leading to an iconic final scene.

Here, one of Tuco's men--No-Doze--tells Walt and Jesse to "remember who you're working for." This is mostly in reference to their inability to produce the right amount of meth the week prior, angering Tuco. In a typical television show, this would be the cliffhanger. A light sort of "Oh, they better not get in trouble again!" sort of warning from the villain's henchman. But here, things are turned on their heads. Tuco turns on No-Doze, angry, asking him why he would say something like that, getting closer and turning the situation into him thinking No-Doze is insulting Tuco personally. Soon enough, Tuco starts to beat No-Doze, bloodying in face and making him gasp on the ground. Tuco's other henchman, Gonzo, drags No-Doze into their car, while Tuco praises Walt and Jesse for the batch of meth, demanding more the same time next week. Tuco, Gonzo, and the near-dead No-Doze drive off as Walt and Jesse look on in horror, realizing only now just what they've gotten themselves into.

It was this scene that truly solidified for me that Breaking Bad was going to be a show unlike anything I'd ever seen before. Whenever I think back to the first time I watched the series in middle school, the final scene of the first season always comes to mind as the turning point where I got hooked. Before this point, Breaking Bad is average, with enough symbolism and metaphor mixed in to keep the average viewer watching. Outside the grungy, oftentimes edgy presentation, the series wasn't anything special. But it was this moment, where not only did Gilligan and his team subvert expectations, but did so in a well-written way that I knew Breaking Bad was going to be something special. And something special it became, blowing all expectations for what it was out of the water time and time again. While I feel like this first season prevents the entire show from being perfect, there's no denying that it continues to get better with every season. Although an argument could be made that Season 4 and 5 are of the same level of quality. 

But regardless, Breaking Bad Season 1 was an excellent introduction into the world of fictional crime rings operating out of Albuquerque, New Mexico. There's so much more that I could talk about regarding what the first season does great and where it falls flat--so much so that it may as well be its own damn book--but for now I can say that it was just as good as I remember it being when I first saw it almost ten years ago. It's not perfect, mind you, but it serves as a fantastic start to the world Gilligan and Gould would continue to build upon for a decade and a half later. Tense, character-driven, and all-around well-produced, Breaking Bad Season 1 is the journey of one man becoming the person he always wanted to be, even at the cost of everyone and everything he's known.

***

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