borowiecsminus

Breaking Bad, in addition to being one of the best shows ever, is also one of the easiest to love. Never before have I seen a show that seems to have everything you could want. It has the fiery explosions, the gruesome death, and the quotable lines of "Game of Thrones." It has the brilliant dark humor of "The Sopranos." It has the quiet character study of "Six Feet Under." It's recommendable to pretty much anyone, whether you're the type who wants awesomeness and explosions, hilarious dark comedy, or (and this one is me) quiet, brilliant character drama.

How it managed to combine all that is beyond me. If you're able to look past the fact that it's built on what seems like an unrealistic premise (but is actually very realistic once you get to know Walt's backstory), and will often sacrifice hyper-realism for better drama (unlike "The Wire," which sacrifices better drama for hyper-realism), and the fact that, it can, at times, seem a tad stifled in its writing, you'll find what is, without doubt, one of the great shows to ever hit television.

It should be said now, and forever, that "Breaking Bad" is the best- acted show on television. I truly hope people aren't still arguing about that. You can point to any regular member of the cast, and find at least three episodes for which they deserved an Emmy. For certain members, like Cranston, Gunn, and Paul, you can point to pretty much ANY episode and see an Emmy-worthy performance. That can't be said for any other show. Cranston, in particular, gives what is hands-down the greatest performance in television history, and in "Crawl Space," possibly gives the best performance in the HISTORY OF ACTING. Think I'm exaggerating? Get to season 4, episode 11, and you'll understand that I'm not exaggerating at all.

Then, there is another trademark of superiority for this show, something that can rarely be said, and that is the brilliance of the directors of this show. Whether it's "Pilot," directed by Vince Gilligan, subtle but near perfect, or "One Minute," directed by Michelle MacLaren, the best directing television's seen since the first episode of "Lost," or "Hermanos," "Crawl Space," or "Ozymandias," all giving subtle-but-brilliant moments in directing, or the brilliant "Felina," which (and to this day, I'm impressed by this) makes Walt seems about a foot shorter than he actually is, because of the framing, which, given the context, couldn't be more appropriate.

Then, there's the music selection, which may seem unimportant, but is quite great. Whether it's the original soundtrack, masterfully constructed, heart-pounding, or heartbreaking, or the songs they choose, such as "Crystal Blue Persuasion," "The Hole," "Baby Blue," and fifteen others, all of which are positively perfect for each situation.

And the writing, though I criticized it earlier, rightfully, at other times can be some of the best in television. "Gray Matter" sees Walt's fantastic pillow speech, "Grilled" Tuco's insanity, "4 Days Out" the humor the show is capable of while remaining dramatic still, "Ozymandias" the art of the downfall, "Felina" the perfect conclusion, "Crawl Space" the cruelty of Gus Fring, and (UNPOPULAR OPINION), "Fly," one of the best episodes, because of the humor, and it proves itself to be, on multiple viewings, one of the funniest episodes of television ever.

And then, there's the fact that it produced "Ozymandias," which is, as far as I can tell, the inarguable pick for the greatest episode of television ever created.

But perhaps the show's greatest accomplishment is the fact that it takes the trajectory most shows take and flips it. The vast, vast majority of shows start out great, and get worse and worse, until the finale, which is once again great. "Breaking Bad" flips it exactly. The pilot is great, and the show starts out worse than the pilot, and then gets better and better and better, ending in the legendary final season, without hesitation the greatest final season of television ever.

It also has the second-best series finale I've ever seen (seconded by "Everyone's Waiting" from Six Feet Under), brilliant tying up loose ends.

I struggle to find the words that can accurately convey the brilliance of this show, so I'll simply tell you to watch it, and know that I've never known anyone who disliked this show.