We can’t believe it’s already been five years since “Breaking Bad” first took over our TV screens, and introduced us to high school chemistry teacher-turned-meth mogul Walter White and his now estranged business partner Jesse Pinkman. There is a five-day marathon commencing on AMC today leading up to the series finale. Before the ending leaves a gaping hole in our hearts forever, we look back at what made the show so unforgettable to watch and what we will miss the most about it:
10) Unprecedented live-tweeting: Live-tweeting “Breaking Bad” doesn’t spark your typical live-tweeting commentary, like “OMG I can’t believe [insert entire plot breakdown here] happened!” Rather, your twitter feed is overtaken by countless reactions that make you wonder whether you should call the paramedics for some of your online friends. Tweets like, “I can’t breathe!” or “I think I just s^*t my pants!” and simply “*dead*” are just a few examples. The intense drama on the show is just that serious.
9) Gus Fring: It would not be a hyperbole to say that Gustavo “Gus” Fring was one of the most captivating villains ever to grace the small screen. Bar none. Played by Giancarlo Esposito (yes, Big Brother Almighty himself), Gus was a taciturn yet deeply calculated drug ring leader whose death was as much victorious for Walter and Jesse as it was bittersweet for the audience, as few villains were ever as entrancing to watch. He even went out like a boss:
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8) Jesse adding “Bitch!” to every sentence: We can’t avoid the fact that Aaron Paul’s Jesse has launched a bitch renaissance on the small screen. And it just makes our hearts flutter. The word is often used arbitrarily yet passionately, like how the rest of us use a period. For instance, “You ain’t seen the basement, bitch!” or “I wanted to leave them on the counter…bitch!” Here, watch:
7) That moment when we started to feel really bad for Jesse: For an actor who few even heard of before his big break on “Breaking Bad,” Aaron Paul has convinced us that he can command a scene just as great as any acting veteran. He’s managed to turn the character of a self-serving, apathetic (yet hilarious) junkie into a charming protagonist who we can’t help but to love. One of Paul’s best episodes is when Walter pays a desperate visit to Jesse’s house, trying o bring Jesse back on to his side, filling him with all sorts of lies in the process. It’s Jesse’s reaction here–filled with as much hatred as helplessness–that will forever be etched in our minds:
Prior to that, this was Jesse’s usual look:
6) The moment when Walter White became Heisenberg: We knew for some time that wholesome family man Walter White was slowing turning into a maniacal villain (especially after he orchestrated the demise of Gus Fring). But when his ever loyal wife Skyler decided to confront him about his shady extracurricular activities, he went full-on terrorist on her, solidifying his transformation by saying this:
5) Junior struggling to out-Walter Walter White: As the elder child–and only son– of Skyler and Walter, Junior (aka Walter, Jr. aka Flynn) often felt he had to overcompensate for the fact that his father was going sporadically nuts by stepping up and calling him an a$$hole, every chance he got. Bless his little heart.
4) Skyler messing up everything, then methodically putting it back together on her own terms: Skyler White is a character that has divided fans for years–she’s got the naggy housewife routine down. But unlike the portrayal of many suburban women, when ish gets tough she doesn’t just lean back and watch from the sidelines; she’s trying to call the shots while toting a baby in her arms. We know that all she really wants is to keep her family together, despite the fact it slowly fell apart. But you can’t hate on her for trying. She’s got that gangsta swag that sometimes even startles Walter. And that’s saying something.
3) Walter White running around in Tighty Whities for no reason at all: One of the most brilliant reasons why Walter White is such an amazing character to watch is that he’s so ordinary, seemingly so normal yet can easily slip in and out of the role of a menacing psychopath. One minute he’s taking out one of Gus’s prime players (Jonathan Banks’s Mike). The next minute he’s hosting a family cookout, or running around like this:
Or doing whatever it is he’s doing here:
2) How it tricked us into caring about a reborn psychopath: “Breaking Bad” was one of the few shows in recent years where we watched a likable, morally upright character transform into a supervillain right before our eyes. It seamlessly blurs the lines between good and bad without choosing any one side over the other.
1) Todd rolling up on folks not giving a f*^k: On a show filled with villains and antiheroes, Todd, the cherubic-faced ride or die dude, may be the most insane. He is the type that would put a bullet in your head without giving it a second thought, then gently lay your lifeless body in the ground and stick a dandelion on your grave. Despite what seems like genuine compassion for others, he’s never what you expect him to be, which makes us want to always keep one eye on him.
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