Top 5 Breaking Bad Characters
By Austin Johnson
I started watching Breaking Bad live during season 3. I was late to the party, because television shows aren’t the easiest things to commit to, but I heard and read enough to finally visit Albuquerque for myself. I zipped through season 1 and 2 over one weekend while eating ramen and Haagen Dazs ice cream. I’ll never forget that weekend, because I consumed two of the best seasons of television I’ve ever witnessed and figured out that banana chocolate brownie is my favorite flavor. During that time I was catching up on Breaking Bad and Mad Men, a time when AMC was the king of television. Breaking Bad hauled in 58 nominations and 16 wins at the Emmys throughout its run. Like I said, I watched it live from season 3 until the end, but I’ve gone back and rewatched the series an additional 3 times because its rewatchability is extremely high. There was this one stretch of my life when I didn’t have a job, so I binged Breaking Bad. Another time, I was showing it to one of my very best friends and we wound up watching the whole damn series in a week. And the most recent time was when I forced my girlfriend to give the pilot a spin. We finished a couple weeks later. It’s still gaining new viewers everyday because it’s been on Netflix for years now.
Speaking of Netflix, on October 11th they are releasing El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie. Of course, I’ll be watching it the day it comes out, but when I heard about a film centered around Jesse Pinkman, my mind immediately went to that unforgettable finale. It is perhaps the best ending to any show that I’ve ever seen, and Pinkman driving away to an unknown destination is a big contributor to that. He is trapped and controlled the entire series, until that moment. It’s fucking beautiful. Vince Gilligan has already expounded on his Breaking Bad world with another brilliant series in Better Call Saul, so I’m sure El Camino will be great. A part of me will always think the Pinkman character should be left alone though. Gilligan’s best quality as a creator is his character building. Hell, I know that Gus and Mike are dead, but I watch Better Call Saul like my life depends on it. His ability to get us to care about characters who have a known outcome is something to behold. With El Camino, we don’t know Jesse’s outcome, so Gilligan can do whatever he wants with this world and it’s going to be interesting because his characters have stolen our hearts.
Since October 11th is just around the corner, we should all take the opportunity to go back to New Mexico for a little while. Filmgazm is all about films, but we have a mutual agreement that Breaking Bad is one of the elite television shows. I can’t say it’s my favorite show of all time, but it’s up there. Like, Top 5 up there. The world Gilligan created contains so much depth within a small circle. We keep receiving new material to dissect and discuss, but right now, it’s just about Breaking Bad characters, so let’s cook bitches!
Speaking of Netflix, on October 11th they are releasing El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie. Of course, I’ll be watching it the day it comes out, but when I heard about a film centered around Jesse Pinkman, my mind immediately went to that unforgettable finale. It is perhaps the best ending to any show that I’ve ever seen, and Pinkman driving away to an unknown destination is a big contributor to that. He is trapped and controlled the entire series, until that moment. It’s fucking beautiful. Vince Gilligan has already expounded on his Breaking Bad world with another brilliant series in Better Call Saul, so I’m sure El Camino will be great. A part of me will always think the Pinkman character should be left alone though. Gilligan’s best quality as a creator is his character building. Hell, I know that Gus and Mike are dead, but I watch Better Call Saul like my life depends on it. His ability to get us to care about characters who have a known outcome is something to behold. With El Camino, we don’t know Jesse’s outcome, so Gilligan can do whatever he wants with this world and it’s going to be interesting because his characters have stolen our hearts.
Since October 11th is just around the corner, we should all take the opportunity to go back to New Mexico for a little while. Filmgazm is all about films, but we have a mutual agreement that Breaking Bad is one of the elite television shows. I can’t say it’s my favorite show of all time, but it’s up there. Like, Top 5 up there. The world Gilligan created contains so much depth within a small circle. We keep receiving new material to dissect and discuss, but right now, it’s just about Breaking Bad characters, so let’s cook bitches!
5.) Walter White
“I did it for me. I liked it. I was good at it. And... I was really... I was alive.”
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To this day, I’m still conflicted about whether or not I should root for Walt. He’s an overqualified high school chemistry teacher who starts cooking crystal meth because he finds out that he has cancer, so he has to leave some money behind for his family or he will feel like a failure. The show revolves around Walt and his decision making, always giving us his perspective on things. His intentions may have started out good, but once he gets caught up in the business, he is just as bad as the rest. Well, maybe not as bad as Tuco. Walter is one of six characters to appear in all sixty-two episodes of the series. He’s one of the two that are dead in that group. Walter White is arguably the most well known live action TV character of this century. What’s great is that he is best known as Heisenberg universally, the alter ego he creates when he’s pedaling heavy drugs. My favorite Walter moment comes late in episode 11 of season 4. "Crawl Space!" That laugh! The tension is so high! I love when the black hat is on, but I think Walter is at his best when he is trying to catch a fly, throw a pizza on his roof, or slip a tissue under a wobbly table at the hospital. Bryan Cranston transforms for 62 episodes spanning over 5 years. He won 4 Emmys individually while working on Breaking Bad for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series. Him and Dennis Franz are tied for the most wins in that category. Walter is the heart of Breaking Bad, a character that may have passed away, but will undoubtedly live on forever.
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4.) Jesse Pinkman
“This is my own private domicile and I will not be harassed…bitch!”
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Ahh, the subject of El Camino. Jesse Pinkman’s whereabouts are unknown at the moment, but my guess is that he’s hiding somewhere that’s quiet, singing "Fallacies." The first time we ever see Pinkman is when he is escaping a house that Hank and Gomez raid. Walter goes along for the ride, stays in the car, and is the only one who witnessed Pinkman’s escape. Of course, Walter has ulterior motives, so he doesn’t say shit about seeing him. Instead, he follows him to his house and tells him that he wants to cook crystal meth. It’s one of their best scenes together acting wise and it’s a perfect set up for the shows plot. Jesse has no choice and at the time he didn’t even know that Walter was related to a big time DEA agent. Walter is in over his head, teaming up with his former student and drug addict that has a reputation all over the ABQ. Jesse’s storyline is fucking devastating most of the time. It’s like he never has full control of his own, always working for someone that isn’t nice at all or under heavy surveillance by some dickhead cops. I feel like he was a really fun character to write for, because he’s so chaotic, evil, and hilarious all at the same time. I love the reference to Quentin Tarantino’s Reservoir Dogs with Walter White and Jesse Pinkman. There’s even a shot in Breaking Bad of Pinkman standing over White with a gun, which resembles the same shot from Dogs when Mr. White is standing over Mr. Pink with a gun. Classic. My favorite Jesse moment comes from Cornered in season 4. Its during that stretch when him and Mike are making pickups for Gus. It’s the subtle action of Jesse getting that tweaker to dig for him that impresses Gus and reminds us that Jesse has indeed learned from his past and is capable of taking charge. Aaron Paul snagged 3 Best Supporting Actor Emmys for this role, but he hasn’t really ever found his footing since. Aaron Paul will always be remembered for his contribution to Breaking Bad, and I can’t wait to see what Pinkman is up to on October 11th.
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3.) Saul Goodman
"Hey, I’m a civilian! I’m not your lawyer anymore. I’m nobody’s lawyer. The fun’s over. From here on out, I’m Mr. Low Profile. Just another douche bag with a job and three pairs of Dockers. If I’m lucky, month from now, best-case scenario, I’m managing a cinnabon in Omaha.”
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That was quite possibly the hardest quote I’ve ever had to choose for these Top 5’s. Saul Goodman is of course the sleazy lawyer that works for damn near every criminal in Albuquerque. He is the focal point of the prequel series Better Call Saul, which somehow equals Breaking Bad in quality. Fans that have stuck with it might know Saul as Slippin' Jimmy! Watching Bob Odenkirk add on to this character is a goddamn treat and I can’t wait for season 5 in 2020. There is no debating the importance of this character in Gilligan’s world. I see Saul as a linking type of character. He comes in contact with all of the main characters in various ways, but he never seems to be the one in control of the situation. The lack of back story makes Saul a very effective character in Breaking Bad. We don’t know how he got to be this right hand man/lawyer for so many bad people until Better Call Saul sheds light on his past. It doesn’t matter that we know about his future, because they never told us how he really got there in Breaking Bad. It just shows the sheer skill of Bob Odenkirk's acting and Gilligan’s writing. Bob didn’t receive too much attention from award shows until Better Call Saul started airing. Now he has multiple nominations from multiple organizations. My favorite Saul moment in Breaking Bad is when he comes up with that genius laundering scheme through Flynn’s SaveWalterWhite.com in episode 12 of season 2. This was early on in our relationship with this character and it really defines his strengths as a criminal mind.
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2.) Gustavo Fring
“And a man, a man provides. And he does it even when he’s not appreciated, or respected, or even loved. He simply bears up
and he does it. Because he’s a man.” |
Gus has appeared in Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul as an evil drug lord living in plain sight, posing as a friendly chicken man. Giancarlo Esposito has been nominated for Best Supporting Actor at the Emmys for both shows. Before becoming a part of this legendary universe created by Gilligan, he was probably best known as Buggin Out in Spike Lee’s masterpiece, Do The Right Thing. That’s still his claim to fame when it comes to cinema, but now he is always going to be remembered as Walter’s business partner and adversary. What sets Gus apart from other villains is the amount of content he is given while alive. Of course the flashback is a TV trick that’s been done for years, but Breaking Bad perfected it, only relying on it with massive back story moments. Gus has my favorite flashback scene. Episode 8 of season 4, that one where he witnesses his business partner Max get murdered by Hector Salamanca, which builds on the hatred that we know Gus has for the cartel. That flashback makes Gus human and causes us as viewers to cheer on vengeance. Vince is real good at giving dark characters back stories that explain their wicked ways. Now, Gus doesn’t just kill Hector and Don Eladio during his run, but that was my favorite Gustavo Fring character arc.
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1.) Hank Schrader
“My name is ASAC Schrader, and you can go fuck yourself.”
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After this show ended, Hank was not a character I would’ve called one of my favorites. He’s always been funny and 100% necessary for the story to even work, but it took a second viewing of the show to really fall in love with Hank Schrader. Dean Norris could play my uncle. It doesn’t have to be a specific one, just a fictional uncle. Hank is the only character doing his job with integrity. Walter and Jesse are doing extremely illegal things all series long. Skyler is in a pretty shitty spot but she’s no saint either. Marie is just not a good person all around. Gus is a drug lord with no remorse and violent tendencies. The show revolves around crystal meth, so there’s going to be some shitty people out there. Of course, Hank is on the opposite side of the drug world as Walter and the other main characters, but in some ways, he is the only person we can relate to. You could say that it’s Hank and Gomez versus everyone. While Hank has his hunches about Gus, he is also clueless about his brother in law for a massive chunk of the show. When he does find out what Walter has been up to, Dean Norris simply flips a switch and starts performing in ways that add to the shows intensity tremendously. For Hank, it’s not a sprint, but a marathon. He’s always onto something… and he didn’t reach the finish line, but he tried so damn hard on his way there.
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