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{"id":2823,"date":"2012-09-04T18:17:49","date_gmt":"2012-09-05T00:17:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tinseltalk\/?p=2823"},"modified":"2012-09-10T08:36:12","modified_gmt":"2012-09-10T14:36:12","slug":"breaking-bad-inertia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tinseltalk\/2012\/09\/breaking-bad-inertia\/","title":{"rendered":"Breaking Bad: Inertia"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

I am officially putty in Vince Gilligan\u2019s hand.<\/p>\n

I had finally given up on Walter White\u00a0(Bryan Cranston). I had accepted the fact that I was witnessing the unraveling of a man\u2019s humanity; the defraying of his soul. I had given up on redemption and wholeness and settled in to watch evil become evil. On some level, I had started to lose interest. The nuance and tension was dissipating as Walt became more and more of a monster. But I was also too bought into the story to really give it up.<\/p>\n

Then he spoke the two words I\u2019d been waiting for, hoping for, yet \u2013 after four and half seasons \u2013 had given up on hearing: \u201cI\u2019m out.\u201d\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cGliding Over All,\u201d the 8th episode of season 5, was brilliantly written. It contained the best montage clip Breaking Bad<\/em> has yet to display: a month\u2019s worth of making meth comprised into mere moments of seamless transitions. Beautifully synchronized scenes. Business as usual. \u201cCrystal Blue Persuasion.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

$\"\"$ <\/a>At the end of it? We enter a storage unit with a huge stockpile of money. More money than anyone could spend in ten lifetimes, let alone launder in one. And with Skylar\u00a0(Anna Gunn), we ask ourselves: Walt, why are you still doing this? Please tell me how much is enough?<\/p>\n

Apparently enough came as soon as the problem solving stopped. As soon as mastery, control, and routine had begun. As soon as Jesse\u00a0(Aaron Paul)\u00a0isn\u2019t around to question him. (Remember Todd\u2019s\u00a0(Jesse Plemons)\u00a0response when Walt says he doesn\u2019t want to talk about Mike\u2019s death? \u201cOK,\u201d Todd says. That\u2019s it.) Enough is as soon as Mike\u00a0(Jonathan Banks)\u00a0isn\u2019t around to challenge him and as soon as Walt is able to pick up right where Gus Fring\u00a0(Giancarlo Esposito)\u00a0had left off.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s as soon as Walt attains the smooth stability of his meth-making empire that he steps out. It was the quest, not the destination that he was after. The challenge and thrill of adventure, risk, and creative problem solving. The collaboration of working with a team. The sense of purpose and of worth that comes from living into your potential. Am I really that different? Aren\u2019t these the same things that I want? That I live my life striving for?<\/p>\n

$\"\"$ <\/a>All of a sudden, I\u2019m back to rooting for Walt. I believe he\u2019s finished making meth. He\u2019s out and he means it. The story doesn\u2019t make sense otherwise. Walt, as a human being, doesn\u2019t make sense otherwise. And I don\u2019t think we<\/em> make sense if a large part of us doesn\u2019t want to jump on board as soon as the current starts to shift towards good.<\/p>\n

Yet, does that justify, excuse, or negate the consequences of the last year? Can Walt just sidestep the full impact and weight of his actions? Can he \u201cdust himself off and start all over again?\u201d\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n

An object in motion remains in motion (and an object at rest remains at rest) until acted on by an outside force. This is the scientific definition of inertia. It\u2019s also why Walt says he and Jesse hung on to their old, beat-up RV.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s kept Walt going? What force will it take to stop him? And what will that sort of collision look like when it happens?<\/p>\n

$\"\"$ <\/a>We\u2019ll have to wait until next summer to see how creator, Vince Gilligan, addresses these questions to conclude the Breaking Bad<\/em> series. There are only eight episodes left for Hank\u00a0(Dean Norris)\u00a0to catch up to whatever remnants of his trail Walt has left behind. How many degrees separate Walt (Jesse, Skylar, and Saul) from Gale\u2019s death? Fring\u2019s death? Jane\u2019s? From the ricin? Or the little boy on the bike? What about Mike? And Tuco?<\/p>\n

A lot of questions remain. The tactical questions of inquiry, discovery, and punishment. But also those moral questions that once again hang in the balance: Who is to blame for what? When did the line of bad <\/em>get crossed? Can repentance outweigh consequences? Should we get another chance?<\/p>\n

It\u2019s easy to punish what we deem as truly bad. But what if we don\u2019t know? Or, more likely, when we aren\u2019t totally sure? What happens and who decides then?<\/p>\n

I\u2019m glad Breaking Bad<\/em> isn\u2019t quite finished. I\u2019m also nervous to see what new kinds of bad get broken as we uncover our answers to these questions. Something tells me the second half of season 5 may be more painful to watch \u2013 a different, more self-implicating, kind of pain \u2013 than what we\u2019ve been exposed to thus far.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"