A Breaking Bad Ranking
- Scott "Castle"
- Oct 9, 2019
- 9 min read
Written by -- Scott Larsen
No Half Measures: That is the phrase that continued to pop into my head when I was planning on approaching this show here on my blog. Breaking Bad is easily my favorite TV show of all time. I love it. What makes this show super unique is that there is never a dull moment, a wasted opportunity, a bad season, or even a bad episode. Today, I want to do what I have dubbed as a "Super Ultra Ranking". What that means is that I will be ranking the seasons from my favorite to least.
For those of you that don't know, Breaking Bad is a TV show that first aired in 2008. The show was created by Vince Gilligan and tells the story of a high school chemistry teacher turned meth cook. Its an incredible tale following Walter White as he deals with a way to support his family once he is diagnosed with lung cancer. There are 5 Seasons and 62 episodes total, and the show ended in 2013. With the upcoming film releasing on October 11th, focused on pivotal character Jesse Pinkman; I thought it was a perfect time to revisit the show so I can be prepared for El Camino. Ranking will be based off personal enjoyment of each season as well as overall quality and consistency, Without further ado, lets get cooking.
Spoilers Ahead
#5 Season 3
Unstable. Volatile. Dangerous
Season 3 is in no sense of the word bad, so lets get that out of our heads going further. Season 3 upon my many re-watches is the slowest paced and least interesting season to me. It does have some big moments for the characters and is a bigger season overall...but that doesn't quite feel like enough to put it higher than the other seasons. Coming hot off the ending of Season 2, Walt is dealing with his collapsing marriage and the consequences of his actions. However after meeting with Gustavo again, he makes a deal to work for him. Later on, Walt is doing well for himself, but things get out of hand near the end of the season so he must make a decision. Meanwhile, the subplot with Hank is one of my least favorite in the whole show. Out of nowhere Hank is nasty to his wife and coworkers. Yes, he is hot on Heisenberg's trail, but that doesn't mean he can treat others poorly. This season also has the affair with Ted which is a weak point in the series. The season had a midway twist that does keep you watching while we watch Walt squirm out of his uncomfortable situation. The tension with Gustavo is some pretty good stuff too! And the ending is classic Breaking Bad "oh shit! wait that's the end?! Dammit Gilligan!!"
#4 Season 1
Growth, Then Decay, Then Transformation.
Season 1 is not the humble beginnings everyone treats it as, its much more than that. Its the genesis of the greatest TV of all time. It introduces us to the core concept and what we can expect going forward. We come to know Walter White, and we learn how unhappy he with his mediocre life. His Brother-In-Law says it well this season, "You were dealt a shit hand", just to illustrate how unlucky Walt was. Of course this is the Season that is the "slowest" in many peoples minds but I never take issue with re-watching Season 1. It certainly has a different vibe than the rest of the show but I kind-off like that. The show takes its time to make sure we are along with the ride. It builds everything up perfectly and keeps us on the edge of our seats. Episodes 1-3 tell a continuous story over the course of a few days and then after that Walt's family finds out he has cancer. Walt later looks for distribution for the meth he and Jesse make, which introduces us to the crazy yet terrifying Tuco Salamanca. We see DEA Agent and Walt's brother-in-law Hank, learn of the new meth that has hit the streets starting an investigation to find the infamous "Heisenberg".
Something that holds this season down is its ending, it feels cut short in a way. This is due to the writers strike of 2008. Gilligan and crew were forced to only air 7 episodes instead of the planned 10. However in the grand scope of the show this isn't really a problem since the story picks right back up in Season 2.
#3 Season 2
All Becomes Crystal Clear
Season 1 is where Breaking Bad got its start, but Season 2 is what launched it into the stratosphere of greatness. Season 2 has alot going on once we are brought back into the swing of things. Walt fakes a fugue state to his family so that he can explain his disappearance at the end of Season 1. This is were things get scary for Walter. His lies.
We do spend a lot of time with Jesse this season and he is left with room to grow. He is kicked out of his aunt's house (by his own parents) and is forced to find a new place to live. He meets Jane and goes down a road of unhealthy substance abuse while also trying to run a supply line for the Blue Crystal Meth. Walter strikes a deal with business man Gustavo Fring who offers to pay him a million dollars if he delivers the meth to a certain location in a small amount of time. This leads to one of the most anxiety filled moments in the show. Jesse and Jane have overdosed and can't answer the phone or door, so Walt is forced to break in and take the meth to the drop point. However this causes him to miss his own daughter's birth... just further evidence that the meth business is more important to him than his own family. I can't of course not talk about the death of Jane. Walter jealous that Jesse's life is changing, goes to his apartment to reconcile with him. However this is also during another overdose. As Walt tries to shake Jesse awake, Jane starts to choke on her own vomit. And this is where I think Heisenberg fully came into being.
Walt does nothing, and watches Jane die.
Wow.
#2 Season 4
Warning! Extremely Volatile
Season 4 is where shit really starts to hit the fan.
After the murder of Gale; Walter and Jesse are on very thin ice. Gustavo knows that he cannot kill them because production will stop and the cartel will win the drug war. So instead he sends a message to them by killing one his most trusted employees right in front of them. Its a chilling moment, but also was a clear message that Walter did not take lightly. Season 4 is essentially "how the hell do we kill Gus". The whole season is leading up to that moment, you can just feel it. However the road to get there is long and full of drama.
Gus decides that in order to get what he wants, he tells Mike to take Jesse away from cooking with Walter. This brews some jealously inside of Walt as he cannot figure out why Gustavo would be doing this.
We can't forget that this is also the season where Gus wins the drug war with the cartel. He goes down to Mexico with Jesse and Mike, leading Jesse to think he is going to have to cook down there. Instead Gustavo had a plan to wipe out everyone involved with the cartel. This is such an insane moment and has been stuck in my head ever since, because Gus decides the only way to get this done is to poison himself to gain the trust of the Cartel members. Jesse (once the fight is said and done) reminds Gus one last time that if Walter dies, he will not cook for Gus.
Walter back in ABQ is losing his mind as Hank is digging deeper into his investigation involving Gus. Walt is doing everything he can to prevent Hank from learning the truth and does his best to deter him. But this is when Jesse, Gus and Mike return to town. Walt is very proud that Gus' plan to turn Jesse against him didn't work, but this leads Gustavo to threaten the White's and the Schrader's lives.
Walt quickly gets in contact with his criminal lawyer Saul Goodman (who I will be talking about at a later date) to be able to disappear with his family and to warn the DEA about the threat to Hank. Things come to a T and Walt finds his money missing. Skyler had used the cash to try and save Ted from debt with the IRS. This leaves Walt with no plan and no hope to save his, and his families' life.
I love the next few episodes dedicated to trying to kill Gus. Walt does some despicable things. But what finally leads to the death of the drug kingpin, is Walt's collaboration with former cartel member Hector Salamanca.
The season ends with Walt on top, as the audience is reminded of the horrible things he did to get there.
#1 Season 5
The Empire Business
Season 5 is beyond explaining. It really is one of those things you have to see to believe. But I shall do my best.
Season 5 feels like Walter has finally made it. He finally is in control of his whole life, his business, his family and Jesse. Walt starts to build his Empire after tying up loose ends from Gus', and its thrilling to watch. The plan to cook in houses that are tented off for pest extermination is brilliant. Then there's the train heist, one of the best sequences in the whole show! But things quickly disband as both Mike and Jesse want out of the business. They are tired of the bloodshed and danger. Walt cannot stand this. He does all he can to make sure he can keep cooking, keep growing his business and to keep controlling Jesse. But after making a deal with local drug dealer Declan, Jesse and Mike are out of the business.
Walt then teams up with scumbag Todd (who killed a kid for no reason and his uncle is a nazi) to keep cooking and producing product. Some things go down with Hank and it is found out that Mike has been funneling money to former associates in prison. Shit hits the fan, so Walter agrees to help Mike leave ABQ as long as he gets the names of the prisoners. Mike refuses, and in his anger Walter shoots Mike. Killing him. This is one of the most despicable things Walter does in the entire show in my opinion, killing someone for no reason when Lydia also had the names. Its really sad, and goes to show how much power gets to his own head.
Walter is then forced to lie to Jesse about Mike, while also trying to dispose of the prisoners. There is a brilliant scene that displays the far reaching effect of Heisenberg, as he is just sitting in his living room with a beer as multiple people are being murdered in prison so that Walt doesn't have to pay them. He is a crime lord at this point. After this when things seem fine and dandy, Hank during a BBQ at the White's house, finds proof that Walter is in fact Heisenberg. This is a shocking revelation and leads to the end of Season 5 being the downfall of everything Walt worked towards. Hank dies, Jesse hates him, and the whole world knows about Heisenberg. Walter is forced to go into hiding in New Hampshire, but slowly starts to realize he can‘t stay there forever. He comes up with a plan to give his money to his family, and to get rid of the Nazi's so they can’t continue to use his formula.
The final moments of the Finale are my favorite in the whole series. Jesse, forced to cook for the Nazi's, is saved by Walt last minute. And as Walt manages to kill everyone in that room, he takes a bullet from his own mechanism. Jesse almost doesn't let him go, but ultimately he escapes in an El Camino to freedom. Walt on the other hand walks around the meth lab, at peace as to what he as accomplished. Finally succumbing to the bullet wound (and his returning cancer), the final shot of the show is a content Walt laying on the floor of his favorite place, the chemistry lab.
I think the reason that Breaking Bad's ending works so well is because it manages to address everything, come up with solutions, and be resolute while also leaving small things open. That is what makes me so exited about El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie. I was always okay with Jesse's true ending being up to the viewer. But as time went on I was more interested in what happened to him and where he will go.
And there you have it. My ranking and discussion about each and every season of Breaking Bad. This one took me a long while and I ended up trimming it down. I didn't go into every minor detail about the show for various reasons.
As of the time I am posting this, El Camino should be out the Friday after. I plan to watch that film in the morning and then later in the evening write my review. I hope to have it up by Saturday afternoon.
Thank you for being patient with me, and thank you for reading my blog-post!
-Scott
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