Heisenberg is “The one who knocks”

Through lessons he gives to his chemistry class Walt’s foreshadow’s the eventual split personality that is the prideful pushover father, we see in the beginning to the hot-tempered, power-driven Heisenburg.

By the third episode, Walt and Jesse are presented with a dilemma. Walt, unable to kill a man in cold blood tries to rationalize by trying to befriend the man.  When Walt is satisfied and is on the brink of letting him go, Walt makes a disturbing discovery. He recalls once dropping a plate in the basement and realises the man was planning to shank him as soon as he was set free. In an iconic scene, he retrieves the plate fragments from his bin and is devastated to find one missing piece. Walt then realises he’s in way over his head and has joined a world of little morals. It’s difficult to pinpoint a turning point for the beginning of Walt’s duality, but this collection of scenes is indicative of what’s to come.

Jesse Pinkman is Walt’s partner in crime as well as an innocent child-like figure. Jesse’s relatability single-handedly carries the viewer’s strong emotional bond to the series. This connection with the characters is what makes the watcher invested and makes even the tamest of scenes enjoyable. Long periods of inaction, often minutes without a word of dialogue, (Like Walt meeting gus out in the desert) that resemble a tarantino film. These periods act as the trough needed to contrast and elevate the intense moments to a level that any other stories can rarely achieve. This realistic nature eliminates all forms of “Plot armour” or “Script immunity” as one could truly believe at any moment any of the essential characters could be killed and the series would find a way to continue.

Jesse is a kindhearted, lowlife junkie, essentially disowned by his parents, he repetitively endures pain (seemingly always in consequence of Walt’s actions), and besides the occasional short-lived victory (to avoid over-saturation and to build contrast), we watch Jesse lose at everything.  A few discreet references are made to Jesse being a “Jesus Figure” near the end of the show. The most blatant of these is his physical appearance. Jesse’s metaphorical resurrection happens when Walt sets him free in the last episode. Walt acts as a caring father figure to Jesse throughout the series. This would make Walter a metaphorical God. This theory is solidified further when Jesse calls Walter “The Devil” when helping Hank build the case on him.

Gus makes for an exceptional opponent to aid in Walt’s transformation.  He also makes a formidable anti-hero as a parallel to our established protagonist and anti-hero.  Although both smart men, the one stark difference between the two is how they do business. Gus is objective and methodical and Heisenberg is fiery acts out of ambition.

Only in the very last episode Walt admits to his wife and consequently himself that his actions were driven not the will to help his family out of debt but by his own ego.

The end of the series sees Walt defeated. He begs for Jesse not to burn his money even using his cancer to gain pity.  His family wants nothing to do with him.

Walt is seen rolling his barrel of blood money after the murder (by his fault) of his brother-in-law, Hank. This Alludes to the image of a dung beetle. Despite going against Walt’s apparent initial motives of getting his family out of debt, he is satisfied in death with solely the legacy he has built for himself. Walt dies peacefully decorated by the track “Baby Blue” with opening lyrics “Guess I got what I deserve”.

Somehow, without glorifying crime, Breaking Bad captures the thrilling transformation of a father into a meth-slinging druglord with the absolute immersion of the viewer. The writer and producer, Vince Gilligan is telling us all something about gratefulness