'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Breaking Bad, created by Vince Gilligan, completed its 16th anniversary in January 2024. The show debuted on AMC on January 20, 2008, and after running for five successful seasons, with 62 episodes, it concluded on September 29, 2013. Throughout all these years, the show has become one of the most renowned television shows, making it an all-time classic.
Breaking Bad features a strong ensemble led by Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul. The plot centers on a fifty-year-old high school teacher Walter White (Bryan Cranston), who gets diagnosed with lung cancer.
He determines that going into the drug trade using his chemistry skills will earn him enough money to support his family if he passes away. The show depicts a normal man's journey from being a family man to a drug-dealing kingpin.
The show also released its sequel, Better Call Saul, followed by a sequel movie El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie. All the shows have received positive responses. As the show is still so highly in demand even after years since it concluded, it just gives us more reasons to explore the reasons for its success.
Reasons that make Breaking Bad a masterpiece
Breaking Bad, created by Vince Gilligan, has had a profound impact on the television culture, the cast, direction, storyline, cinematography, and series of character development. These are what have made the show an example of a flawless production, which went to air on AMC.
1) Performances
One of the major factors when evaluating a show’s success has to be the performance of the cast in the show. When Breaking Bad first aired in 2008, nobody knew how successfully the show would be engulfing the interest of its audience with its fabulous acting. It went from the cast perfectly fitting all their characters to allowing the viewers to connect to their story.
One of the performances that Breaking Bad fans couldn’t get out of their minds was the Breaking Bad season 2 episode titled Phoenix when Walter let Jane (Jesse’s girlfriend) choke and die after overdosing on drugs. He does this to save Jesse because he feels like Jane would lead to Jesse’s demise by getting him addicted to drugs again.
Though the viewers can understand Walter’s motive, the scene makes the show darker, given the relationship between Jesse and White and his knowing how much affection Jesse had for Jane. This episode shows Krysten Ritter’s great performance.
The show did not miss a single opportunity to awe its fans. Many accolades and the audiences' praise speak for themselves. Without the abilities of Bryan Cranston, Aaron Paul, Anna Gunn, Dean Norris, and the rest of the cast, Breaking Bad would lose a significant portion of its charm.
2) Direction
One of Breaking Bad's most distinctive qualities when compared to other better programs is its direction. Almost all of the episodes had incredibly intriguing directing decisions.
When citing examples, several episodes come to one's mind. As seen in Say My Name, Walt is an extremely cunning criminal who would stop at nothing to safeguard and grow his drug business. He makes sure that everyone is aware of this.
Upon meeting Declan (Louis Ferreira), a new minor enemy, he suppresses the character's opposition to Walt's intentions and regulations about his domain.
He's not afraid to assert his authority, and he's fully embraced his "Heisenberg" persona, making sure that everyone pays homage to that name. Paradoxically, he used to detest this name, thereby extending his power in the drug empire.
3) Cinematography
Vince Gilligan and cinematographer Michael Slovis developed a distinctive, quirky, and impeccably polished aesthetic that set their drama apart from other ones with comparable stories or themes. Not so much as Breaking Bad's visuals were "cinematic," but rather they showed faith in the power of a single frame to communicate ideas and emotions, even on a small screen.
An example of great cinematography is Mandala, the eleventh episode of the second season, where Jesse levitates after taking heroin for the first time, which is helped by a crane to execute the cinematic works. It has an actual elevating impact and is subjective, dynamic, and unrealistic.
The show's color-coded production design and inventory of symbolic objects may have seemed overly dramatic at times but overall, the impression was one of clever, playful showmanship, with each directing decision carefully considered to complement or enhance the content.
4) Writing
The 62 episodes of the show have been both consistently consistent and brutally honest writing. From the very first episode to the very last, the tale is expertly woven. It takes its time to meticulously lay up each point so that the audience never becomes confused about why a particular incident occurs.
The story components are also balanced out in the writing. The gradual build-up to a twisting storyline surprise is handled so subtly that it keeps the audience on edge the entire time. Indeed, Ozymandias, the show's antepenultimate episode, has received high praise from reviewers and fans alike, who consider it the best television episode ever produced.
5) Story
The creator of the program, Vince Gilligan, was largely responsible for its popularity. Vince adeptly discerned the significance of eschewing a heroic protagonist in favor of an anti-hero, a figure relatable to the general public.
Walter White's morality as a chemistry instructor did not help him when the lung cancer spread. To continue providing for his family financially even after he passes away and in frustration with the dysfunctional healthcare system, Walter teams up with one of his former students, Jessy Pinkman, to produce crystal blue meth.
6) Character development
Breaking Bad features excellent character development, with each character's perspective evolving as the plot develops. The transformation of White's persona from Walter White to Heisenberg is among the best illustrations.
Walter could have left the drug trade early on if he had chosen to, especially when he had made the money he sought. However, he persisted in postponing the procedure due to his avarice or desire for power. Fans realized by the end of the show’s finale that Walter had merely become involved in the meth trade to feed his desires.
It is admirable how his character changed from being a regular chemistry teacher to a drug boss—Heisenberg, and his downfall later by the end of the fifth season.
Breaking Bad became the most critically acclaimed television program ever in 2014, according to Guinness World Records. The show has received five nominations for Television Program of the Year from the American Film Institute, among other honors.
In addition to acting as producer and director, Gilligan won two Writers Guild of America Awards for Episodic Drama for his work on Box Cutter and the pilot episode, an astonishing leap to 157 victories and 247 nominations.
