Breaking Down Breaking Bad
It seems impossible to argue that Vince Gilligan’s Breaking Bad is anything less than superb. Since the drama’s first episode aired on AMC in 2008, Gilligan — along with his team of writers — has worked expertly to layer characters and plot lines while maintaining the level of realism necessary to tie it all together. With 8 million viewers expected for the season finale this Sunday, the quality of their work is validated by the fact that more people than ever are interested in finding out what happens to Walt and company.
Admittedly, there is no surefire way to predict the ending of a wildly dynamic show like Breaking Bad unless you’ve already seen the script. But seeing as those who have are keeping the secrets of the final scene frustratingly airtight, we fans have been left to speculation. As a result, a variety of theories have developed, ranging from the “Oh, good point!” to the “You should have your head examined” kinds.
Most, or at least many, of the theories are off the mark. Do we really need to consider the possibility that the whole show was a dream-like byproduct of Walt’s chemotherapy? No. If you really want to have an idea of what will happen this Sunday, direct your attention to a man who has never seen a single TV show, let alone an episode of this one. I give to you William Shakespeare, Breaking Bad’s most senior writer.
If you’ve been following Breaking Bad, you’ve heard the comparisons. You know that both Shakespeare and Gilligan work in five acts (or “seasons” in TV talk) with the climax at the end of the third. Chances are you’ve heard others related to plot development. But the similarities drive deeper.
Shakespeare’s dramas have a way of subtly personifying geographic locations to the point of having them emerge as silent characters in the story. For example, there is an argument to make that Hamlet is not the main character in Hamlet at all; rather the main character was one without a single line — the nation of Denmark. The idea is that the country was in a chaotic state before Hamlet disrupted the order of things and eventually allowed for its restoration. Thus, the greatest change happened to Denmark while the characters were mere pawns in a much larger drama.
Still not ringing any bells? Remember the first moments of the first episode of Breaking Bad? Back before Walt was diagnosed — before he decided to quit his high school teaching job to cook top-notch meth — he was a normal, boring middle-aged father and husband. Albuquerque was quiet, tame and safe. By the end of the first season, everything had changed. Murder was justified and morality came into question for the first — but definitely not the last — time.
Switching to another Shakespearean tragedy, the link between Breaking Bad and Macbeth is similarly difficult to ignore. In the same way Macbeth exponentially overcompensates with murder to prevent what he feels is his impending doom, Heisenberg, ever on edge, becomes more accepting of the same type of extermination as episodes play out. He justifies himself by claiming it’s all for his family, but it’s clear his real motivations are greed, pride and, most of all, his own legacy.
In the same vein, Jesse Pinkman serves as an interpretation of Macduff. After the events of Sunday’s harrowing episode, Jesse understandably breaks down. The moment is reminiscent of dialogue in Act 4 between Malcolm and Macduff, who has just learned of his family’s slaughter at the hands of Macbeth. For all intents, their lines could be seen as Jesse’s internal monologue.
Malcolm, who is no fan of Macbeth, insists that Macduff dry his tears by ending Macbeth’s life. “I shall do so,” Macduff says in response. “But I must also feel it as a man.” And later: “ … Front to front / Bring thou this fiend of Scotland and myself. / Within my sword’s length set him.”
At this point in Breaking Bad, Jesse is the most likable character by a solid margin, as Macduff is in Macbeth. The difference is that Jesse has two enemies — the manipulative Walt and the torturous neo-Nazis. He will inevitably confront both parties in this final episode, though how and to what end is, of course, unknown.
The main difference between Breaking Bad and Shakespeare is that in the former there are no inherently heroic characters to assume power once the world resets itself. With Hank out for the count, Walt and Jesse are just about the only characters anyone can find themselves rooting for, and it’s hard to argue that either is truly worthy of our support.
At the end of the day, no one can say anything about the ending with any confidence. Shakespeare may have taught him how to cook, but this batch is on Gilligan’s shoulders, and the stakes have never been higher.
