*All kinds of spoilers for everything Breaking Bad. If you haven't watched the show, get outta here, weirdo.*
"The soul? There's nothing but chemistry here." - Walter Hartwell White
Given all the ways that Breaking Bad has floored us over the years, it's really saying something that most everyone was willing to call last week's devastatingly intense "Ozymandias" the most harrowing and stomach-churning episode the show's ever produced. So many things paid off in wonderful (and sickeningly tragic) ways that it's easy to look at that installment as a series finale of sorts; with everything coming after possibly having an "epilogue" feel to it. In fact, if we hadn't already been shown the clips of Walter, months from now, on his 52nd birthday (along with Walter's line on Sunday "I've still got things left to do"), we wouldn't have any idea where the show would be taking us next.
But Jesse's still imprisoned, isn't he? That part of the story is still dangling. It's probably safe to assume Walter's come back to ABQ, and bought a machine gun, to take on Uncle Jack and his crew. But could he also be out to save Jesse? Could that also be part of his overall plan? If so, then something must have clicked inside him over the months he was gone to make him feel like he needed to undo what he'd done to poor Mr. Pinkman. But that's Walter White these days. Taking things so far that when he does try and do the right thing, it's always (by default) the very least he can do.
The Devil? He got dippers!
Some of the best parts of "Ozymandias" though were the moments when Walter did do, or tried to do, the right thing. But for some viewers, there's nothing he can do to atone for his actions. Nothing. They've drawn the line in the sand and refuse to see any shades of grey when it comes to Walter anymore. Back before the Breaking Bad's summer premiere, I did up a Worst of Walter White piece (which I could definitely add more to now), but I've never been one of those Breaking Bad fans who's thought Walter was irredeemable. Again though, anything he did, say, after Season 4 would/could only (at best) marginally make up for his heinous crimes. And then, in last summer's first half of Season 5, Walter became wholly unrecognizable. But I'd argue that the second half of Season 5, sparked by Hank discovering the full truth, helped Walter's humanity make a comeback.
I think there's a safe middle ground here between those who think Walter's the devil and those who are "Team Walter 4 Life!" And I don't think anyone should be ashamed if they still feel twinges of sympathy for Walter. Firstly, I think the show still gives us reasons to feel those pinches. I also don't think any TV show, no matter how good it is, should serve as a litmus test for one's own moral compass. No matter how engrossing or well-crafted the show, the simple act of watching a televisual story unfold creates detachment which allows us to accept renegade behavior that we wouldn't normally condone.
So, still knowing and acknowledging up front that the premise of Breaking Bad is that of a man morally come undone in some of the most potently brutal ways possible, here's all the good (and feel free to put quotes around that word at your discretion) that Walter White has done:
Ha ha. Look what I did. I used the same item - Walter making the decision to cook meth - on both the Worst List and the Good List. I even used the same picture!
But I'll tell you why. Over on the Worst of Walter list, I condemned the man for resorting to the illegal drug trade, because, in hindsight I knew that it led to his year-long journey into spiraling darkness. But now I'm treating it like a selfless act. Walter had just been given months to live, and as the main provider for his already hand-to-mouth family (which was about to gain a very needy member), Walter took drastic measures. Because of obvious time constraints, he went with what he deemed to be the quickest way to make the most amount of money.
One theme you'll see through most of Walter's dangerous, but sometimes thoughtful, actions is that he was willing to do whatever it took to provide for his family. Unfortunately, that meant anyone who wasn't his family could, and would, eventually get marginalized. Perhaps fatally so.
But let's not discount Walter's heart-felt video recording to his family, professing his love for them after he assumed that his very first foray into meth-making would be his last.
Despite being milquetoast and downtrodden at the top of the series, one of the things that helped give Walter a sort of "hero" quality during Breaking Bad's early chapters was his ability to outthink the predictably dense members of the meth trade. His knowledge of science, and how to weaponize science, felt like a super-power that could give him a leg up in the underworld. And after he blew up Tuco's drug pad with a hunk of fulminated mercury, the audience was able to first gaze upon "Heisenberg." Now that sounds bad, right?
But let's remember that Walter went into Tuco's place, facing certain pain (if not death). And also that we're grading on a curve here. If all of your options for good and decent behavior are going to be "Walt Stops Selling Meth Immediately," then we're never going to get anywhere. Sure, Walter sent Jesse to Tuco, wanting to forgo a delicate approach for a riskier situation that would get him more money faster. And Jesse paid the price for it. But then Walter avenged him. And blew the freakin' hell out of a drug boss' lair. And finally unlocked his "badass" achievement.
How about this for an umbrella point, covering Season 1 and some of Season 2?
One encouraging effect that Walter's cancer diagnosis had was that it methodically robbed Walter of his fears. Most importantly his fear of death. Which - let's face it - he faced at almost every turn once he started cooking meth. For the sake of his family (remember, this is all before his cancer got staved off by the operation at the end of Season 2), Walter dealt with, and went up against, some of the most rotten elements of the drug world. Addicts, backstabbers and psycho killers. And he did so with only his family in mind. In fact, before entering into his short, deadly partnership with Tuco, Walter sat in his car and calculated the amount of money he needed to leave behind for his family so that they were secure, including home mortgage and future college tuitions. $737 grand it came out to. That's the monetary goal he needed to meet, and the extent he needed to remain in the underworld.
This was a great scene from Season 2 (which admittedly lacks notable "good" Walter moments, though his deeds are still not as condemning as those in later seasons) between Walt and Hank, where Walter, with no ulterior motive, helped Hank get back into the right headspace in order to return to work after he'd witnessed several coworkers get blown to bits. With Hank unwilling to visit a therapist for his troubles, Walter told him that the real enemy was the fear of everyday life. Something that no longer plagued him since his cancer diagnosis.
"So, get up, get out in the real world and you kick that bastard as hard as you can right in the teeth."
And so Hank did. I guess in part, thanks to Walter's early words, Hank was never destined to "tread lightly."
But this was still a goodwill act from Walter, helping Hank get back on the horse. And being able to bond with a man who he never had much in common with. And throughout the rest of the seasons, Hank remained off-limits. No matter how close he came to catching Walter in Seasons 3 and 4.
A part of me also wanted to include Walter's motivational speech to Jesse about being a "Blowfish" here ("Who messes with the blowfish, Jesse?"), but I can admit that it was as self-serving as it was effective. Still wish Jesse had officially taken "Blowfish" as his street name.
I'm sorry, but as much of an immoral act/turning point it was for Walter to let Jane choke to death on her own puke (with her not being exactly "innocent" as a junkie blackmailer), the fallout was heartbreaking. Perhaps even showing us, for the first time, just how much Walter cared for Jesse. Even if that care transformed, over time, into coddling contempt. With Jane's death, Walter was also able to rescue Jesse from his drug spiral and get him cleaned up in rehab. Arrogant presumption, and lethal cunning were involved, but the entire situation not only protected Jesse, but Walter's family.
People have argued (often having become so disgusted with "later" Walter that they retroactively now denounce all of Walter's deeds) that Walter's never done anything that didn't directly help himself. But that's just not true. And, in fact, there were many times that Walter did good deeds that only we could see. That he didn't later hold over people's heads. And when Walter came close to confessing his role in Jane's death to Jesse in "Fly," his guilt and sadness were real. He was sorry about Jane.
Now, moving forward into post Season 2 territory, Walter's actions took on a whole new meaning since he no longer had the cancer to motivate him. Instead, he was given a new lease on life...but without the family he'd worked so hard, and taken so many risks, to earn money for.
Again, Walter's altruism took a bit of a break after Skyler discovered that he was dealing drugs. And a big rift formed between him and Jesse following Season 2. But there was a scene in Season 3's classic episode "One Minute" where Walter, in order to benefit Hank, offered Jesse a chance to cook with him again. 50/50 split. For Gus. In doing so, yes, he threw a few sparse compliments Jesse's way to lure him in, but it was all to save Hank's job after Hank had beaten Jesse to a pulp following the RV scene in "Sunset."
"Your meth is good, Jesse. As good as mine."
I know this one's a reach, but Hank hadn't even been shot yet. Which Walter was somewhat responsible for (even though he'd told Gus that Hank was off-limits). And why I'm not including "Walter pays for Hank's expensive off-insurance rehabilitation." Also, because Skyler made him pay for that.
Walt does his darndest to save Hank and Jesse on Page 2...
Source : feeds[dot]ign[dot]com
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