The Chemistry of "Breaking Bad"<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"From Geek Goes Rogue TV Editor Zach Lorton, as told to by his keyboard: I'm sitting in front of my television, where I have taken many a late-night\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geekgoesrogue\/2013\/07\/the-chemistry-of-breaking-bad\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Chemistry of "Breaking Bad"\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"From Geek Goes Rogue TV Editor Zach Lorton, as told to by his keyboard: I'm sitting in front of my television, where I have taken many a late-night\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geekgoesrogue\/2013\/07\/the-chemistry-of-breaking-bad\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Rogue\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2013-07-01T18:24:01+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2013-11-07T22:45:01+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/wp.patheos.com.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs\/geekgoesrogue\/files\/2013\/07\/breaking-bad-image-2-300x169.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Zach Lorton\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Zach Lorton\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geekgoesrogue\/2013\/07\/the-chemistry-of-breaking-bad\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geekgoesrogue\/2013\/07\/the-chemistry-of-breaking-bad\/\",\"name\":\"The Chemistry of \\\"Breaking Bad\\\"\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geekgoesrogue\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2013-07-01T18:24:01+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2013-11-07T22:45:01+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geekgoesrogue\/#\/schema\/person\/82fa58b85deafd4056e6778084242091\"},\"description\":\"From Geek Goes Rogue TV Editor Zach Lorton, as told to by his keyboard: I'm sitting in front of my television, where I have taken many a late-night\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geekgoesrogue\/2013\/07\/the-chemistry-of-breaking-bad\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geekgoesrogue\/2013\/07\/the-chemistry-of-breaking-bad\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geekgoesrogue\/2013\/07\/the-chemistry-of-breaking-bad\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geekgoesrogue\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"The Chemistry of “Breaking Bad”\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geekgoesrogue\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geekgoesrogue\/\",\"name\":\"The Rogue\",\"description\":\"Rogue Stuff.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geekgoesrogue\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geekgoesrogue\/#\/schema\/person\/82fa58b85deafd4056e6778084242091\",\"name\":\"Zach Lorton\",\"description\":\"Zach W. 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{"id":802,"date":"2013-07-01T13:24:01","date_gmt":"2013-07-01T18:24:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geekgoesrogue\/?p=802"},"modified":"2013-11-07T16:45:01","modified_gmt":"2013-11-07T22:45:01","slug":"the-chemistry-of-breaking-bad","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geekgoesrogue\/2013\/07\/the-chemistry-of-breaking-bad\/","title":{"rendered":"The Chemistry of “Breaking Bad”"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

From Geek Goes Rogue TV Editor Zach Lorton, as told to by his keyboard:<\/em><\/p>\n

I\u2019m sitting in front of my television, where I have taken many a late-night mini-vacation while my wife sleeps. \u00a0Our tastes in entertainment are somewhat different. \u00a0For instance, she\u2019s not a Star Trek fan, so she thought\u00a0Star Trek Into Darkness<\/em>\u00a0was \u201creally, really good\u201d. \u00a0And we geeks understand why that\u2019s frustrating.<\/p>\n

Because I want to talk about \u201cBreaking Bad.\u201d \u00a0When was the last time the science of a show hooked you, even though it was merely a cursory part of the plot? \u00a0Chemistry, as Bryan Cranston\u2019s Walter White explains in the series pilot, is the study of matter, but he prefers to see it as the study of change.<\/p>\n

Foreshadowing much? $\"\"$ <\/a><\/p>\n

As I sit watching the show\u2019s pilot for the 5th time, I can\u2019t help but consider how similar this episode is to a superhero origin story. \u00a0There\u2019s a vulnerability and ruthlessness about Walter that is just as compelling as the typical comic book character. \u00a0He\u2019s a man who\u2019s in so far over his head due to desperate circumstances that he can\u2019t see past the immediacy of his decisions. \u00a0His transformation begins the moment he is diagnosed with inoperable lung cancer, and he immediately looks for a way to provide for his wife, crippled son and yet-to-be-born daughter, after his departure from earth. \u00a0After seeing one of his former students (Aaron Paul) flee a meth house during a DEA raid, he blackmails the student into teaching him the business of selling and distributing crystal meth. \u00a0He pulls money out of savings to purchase an RV on a whim to create a mobile meth lab. \u00a0He assaults a kid who makes fun of his son in a clothing store.<\/p>\n

The chemistry of Walter White never stalls throughout the series. \u00a0Every decision leads to an unintended or unexpected reaction. \u00a0After a few steps in, though, he seems to have control of everything\u2026 until he doesn\u2019t. \u00a0There is no point in the series where you ever feel safe for him, his partner Jesse, his family, or anyone he comes in contact with.<\/p>\n

Another scene in the pilot puts it succinctly: Water is in the mobile lab after completing his first batch of glass-grade meth, and Jesse is lauding him with praise, calling his product \u201cart\u201d. \u00a0\u201cActually,\u201d Walt responds, \u201cit\u2019s just basic chemistry\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

I am already lamenting the day the final \u201cBreaking Bad\u201d episode airs. \u00a0The last episodes begin in just a few short weeks, and I\u2019ve never anticipated a series\u2019 return to the screen more, nor have I prematurely lamented its departure, hoping it will remain in limbo so as to give me a little glimmer of hope. \u00a0Maybe then, there would at least be a question as to what happens to Walter and his alter ego, Heisenberg, instead of forever closing the door on one of the most creatively insane series to be thrust into our homes. \u00a0I would almost prefer the ambiguity.<\/p>\n

\u201cBreaking Bad\u201d is an exploration of the descent into the dark side of human nature \u2014 the things we do out of desperation, the secrets we carry to protect those we love, the unspeakable acts we\u2019re willing to commit out of self-preservation, and the depths we can sink to when given the chance. \u00a0\u201cBreaking Bad\u201d isn\u2019t just great television. \u00a0It\u2019s great chemistry.<\/p>\n

The final episodes of \u201cBreaking Bad\u201d air on AMC beginning Sunday, August 11th.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"