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Discussion Would you ever re-watch Breaking Bad?

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We all remember the TV phenomenon before Game of Thrones and while people are vocal about never watching that again, I wonder about BB.

Personally I wouldn't, none of it really stands out as needing to be seen again and the dumb parts are really dumb. With the suspense of not knowing what would happen removed, it would probably just seem like a quaint story I'd skip about in, rather than something I'd put any actual time into.
 
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I'm greatly offended by this thread

Having first watched it last year, Breaking Bad is incredible and I absolutely intend to go back to it someday
 
No, but I’m not one to really rewatch shows. I’m not gonna rewatch Breaking Bad, GoTs, Fresh Prince, Seinfeld, The Wire, insert show here….
 
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No I really didn‘t like it already when I saw it the first time unfortunately.
 
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Sopranos is the only show I rewatch pretty regularly.

I’d much rather rewatch better call Saul since I think it’s just a better show.
 
Yes, we've watched it all the way through a few times now, it's still fantastic.

I also have and will rewatch Lost. Good TV remains good TV.
 
Donnie said:
Yes, we've watched it all the way through a few times now, it's still fantastic.

I also have and will rewatch Lost. Good TV remains good TV.
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Glad to see someone else keeping the faith on Lost in 2022. There are dozens of us!

I have the Blu-Rays for BB and I've thought about rewatching it, but also there's so much to watch that a show that long to rewatch is a bit of an investment. I also didn't really like the finale and feel like a lot of the entertainment factor comes from the suspense overtime, compared to a show like Sopranos where you just rewatch it constantly because it's so much richer than that. (Not that BB is shallow, per se, but it's a lot more pulpy, y'know?)
 
I would, and I did. Ymmv.
 
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I've thought about it, but then I remember the Marie shoplifting subplot and apprehend the large amount of goofy/bad TV show plotting that dragged the series down pretty hard. I'll just rewatch the animated gif of Walt tossing that pizza onto the garage roof.
 
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bellydrum said:
Man I made a lost reference in my "water is wet" thread and nobody got it

"you're in my light, sticks"
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I got it. I just chose to not address it.

giphy.gif
 
Watched it this past summer for the first time and it instantly became my favourite show of all time. So yes, I'd definitely re-watch it someday.
 
Breaking Bad is probably one of the best shows ever made IMO, I've already rewatched it twice after watching seasons 4 and 5 live back in the day. The Marie subplot is super goofy but it doesn't take up nearly as much real estate as people like to pretend.
 
I've really been wanting to. I haven't watched the show since it ended. That last season was the last time I followed a cable show. All the theories week to week over how it was gonna end was a lot of fun. I've been wanting to re watch it and actually watch Better call Saul (watched the first season while recovering from a sprained ankle high on pain killers so my memories of it are hazy so I'd restart it now). Maybe once I can finish watching the X-Files (4 episodes into season 7 for that.
 
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I would need to finish it all in one go first to rewatch it.
I stopped sometime in season 3 and then returned for season 5 so I've never seen all of it,
I've tried watching from the start but I always stop sometime around season 2 for some reason. Though a few months ago I went down a real youtube rabbit hole of watching tons of Breaking Bad clips which reminded me that it's actually a really good show.
 
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I have re-watched it like 3 or 4 times, the funny thing is that after every re-watch i notice things that i don´t like more and more. Like all the supposedly Mexican or Latin characters speaking a very bad and broken Spanish, but this is still one of the best shows ever made , i remember the original run, during last season every episode was discussed the next day with my co-workers at the time and it was very exciting , good times.
 
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I've rewatched it recently and the contrived plotting is incredibly silly and unsatisfying to unfold on a rewatch. I think that's the most degrading aspect here.

And the ending in general is still just terrible. Death Note in a similar situation pulled that one off way better.

I think the unexpected rise of popularity of BB and specifically the popularity of Walter, Jesse and their dynamic kind of steered the direction of the ending more into fanservice territory which is a shame. People wanted the final episode and scenes of the show to be a Walter and Jesse confrontation where both Walt and Jesse fans ended up satisfied so they found an extremely contrived way of making that happen.

In that regard I'm extremely glad Better Call Saul is nearly not as popular in its final season stages. Fan demand and opiniln will be less of a factor in the decision making process when it comes to writing the show.
 
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As someone who watched it for the first time in 2020, this is the first criticism of the ending or plot that I'm hearing. Context seems to be of the time it came out; I'd appreciate some further explanation
 
Raccoon said:
As someone who watched it for the first time in 2020, this is the first criticism of the ending or plot that I'm hearing. Context seems to be of the time it came out; I'd appreciate some further explanation
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Personally, I've always disliked the ending, it feels too much like wrapping everything in a neat little bow and addressing everything like a checklist while also allowing Walter's story to end as a hero despite the whole conception being about him, well, breaking bad. It lacks any real intrigue or commentary on the greater work; if you asked me "how does Breaking Bad end" before the final episode aired, I would have predicted what happened pretty well. Being predictable isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it ends up feeling rather mechanical and rote. It's often said it feels more like an epilogue to Ozymandias's climax.

As far as plotting goes, i think a lot of the show's appeal comes from the mounting tension in the plot and when you know what happens that is taken away. The comparison I've used before is Breaking Bad is like a pulpy comic book, tense and page-turning but doesn't leave much to reflect on when it's over. If you compare it to other "prestige dramas" like Sopranos and the Wire, which are more novelistic and have a greater breadth of characterization and thematic storytelling, they resonate a lot more in the longterm because you can keep coming back to them and find new things to appreciate. BB, for all of its entertainment factor, is kind of a one trick pony. It's still great TV but I feel like as the years have gone on I've put it less and less on a pedestal.

There's some stuff that comes off as outright goofy too, like the twin murder machines, but I'd say overall the biggest flaw with BB is arguably its greatest strength; it's a roller coaster you can really only ride once.
 
Mekanos said:
Personally, I've always disliked the ending, it feels too much like wrapping everything in a neat little bow and addressing everything like a checkbox while also allowing Walter's story to end as a hero despite the whole conception being about him, well, breaking bad. It lacks any real intrigue or commentary on the greater work; if you asked me "how does Breaking Bad end" before the final episode aired, I would have predicted what happened pretty well. Being predictable isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it ends up feeling rather mechanical and rote. It's often said it feels more like an epilogue to Ozymandias's climax.

As far as plotting goes, i think a lot of the show's appeal comes from the mounting tension in the plot and when you know what happens that is taken away. The comparison I've used before is Breaking Bad is like a pulpy comic book, tense and page-turning but doesn't leave much to reflect on when it's over. If you compare it to other "prestige dramas" like Sopranos and the Wire, which are more novelistic and have a greater breadth of characterization and thematic storytelling, they resonate a lot more in the longterm because you can keep coming back to them and find new things to appreciate. BB, for all of its entertainment factor, is kind of a one trick pony. It's still great TV but I feel like as the years have gone on I've put it less on a pedestal.

There's some stuff that comes off as outright goofy too, like the twin murder machines, but I'd say overall the biggest flaw with BB is arguably its greatest strength; it's a roller coaster you can really only ride once.
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Thank you for the thorough explanation. I largely agree with everything said, and I too found the penultimate episode more significant than the final one.

Some of the entertainment in Breaking Bad comes from its comedy, and in general I find that it balances this well. That said, I thought the twins were abysmal from the start because they're played so straight.

Overall, I think I prefer the first season of Breaking Bad to each that followed, simply because the scale of the drama was so much smaller and thereby more believable and engaging, and the themes of gray morality (is gray morality a theme?) and toxic masculinity are closer to the spotlight.
 
I've been wondering this myself. I prefer Better Call Saul by a wide margin but I think I'd have a hard time rewatching it because it's such a slow burn. It took me several attempts to get into it at first despite loving Breaking Bad. Despite its serious subject matter, BB has a comparatively pulpy feel to it which I feel would make it more digestible. I've been meaning to rewatch it for that reason but there's so much other stuff I haven't seen yet so...
 
Better Call Saul was at its best during the Jimmy/Chuck storyline. I've honestly found much of the show really meandering and it has a lot of cutesy callbacks that can get kinda old. Frankly I'd be hard pressed to recall large chunks of the story upon being asked. I just never really felt watching Breaking Bad that the goofy crooked lawyer needed a six season prequel and nothing in the show has really convinced me otherwise. It's entertaining enough that I'll watch it when a new season drops but I just never really gelled with the claims that it's must-watch TV and significantly better than Breaking Bad.

That's not getting into how much obviously older actors like Odenkirk and Esposito are compared to BB lol
 
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sanstea said:
I've rewatched it recently and the contrived plotting is incredibly silly and unsatisfying to unfold on a rewatch. I think that's the most degrading aspect here.

And the ending in general is still just terrible. Death Note in a similar situation pulled that one off way better.

I think the unexpected rise of popularity of BB and specifically the popularity of Walter, Jesse and their dynamic kind of steered the direction of the ending more into fanservice territory which is a shame. People wanted the final episode and scenes of the show to be a Walter and Jesse confrontation where both Walt and Jesse fans ended up satisfied so they found an extremely contrived way of making that happen.

In that regard I'm extremely glad Better Call Saul is nearly not as popular in its final season stages. Fan demand and opiniln will be less of a factor in the decision making process when it comes to writing the show.
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The writers have said in interviews repeatedly over the years they write from from a character-mindset perspective. e.g. how would Walt react in this situation, how would Jesse react, what are they thinking and what action makes sense with the character's current headspace etc. Every aspect of the show makes sense viewed from that lens. And they've never once hinted at fan reaction ever driving or significantly influencing either BB or Saul. And BB's meteoric rise in popularity only happened when the final episodes were airing, Seasons 4 and 5A only saw moderate viewership bumps.

Obviously nobody wants anything ever to be unsatisfying, writers included, and not having a final scene between Walt and Jesse would've been given the story. Nothing about it felt "fan-servicey" or forced, it's a pretty natural and gratifying ending for both characters; while Jesse likely has a hatred of Walt (due to his inadvertent involvement in his imprisonment), he respects their relationship and bond too much to kill him. Not to mention Walt just saved his life. Simultaneously, he rejects Walt's final attempt at manipulation and gets Walt to acknowledge, for the first time, he wants this for himself. "I want this? No, you want this. Nothing happens until you say that". It's the end to Jesse's character growth, him becoming fully independent.

Their confrontation fits especially considering the similar scene with Skyler earlier in the episode. The finale is the first time Walt ever admits he did this for himself, lying and controlling everyone along the way. The scene also goes well with Season 5 in general, since it's Walt at his worse and most manipulative, particularly in his relationship with Jesse. He manipulates Jesse into breaking up with Andrea, skipping town and abandoning everything, and about Mike's death. The parallels between their final confrontation and this scene are obvious and brilliant.
 
better call Saul is better because we love slick Jimmy, hate the rotten bastard chuck, and think Kim wexler is sexy. I get the impression they feel an obligation to include crime stuff that otherwise doesn't really need to he there tho
 
TheDok said:
The writers have said in interviews repeatedly over the years they write from from a character-mindset perspective. e.g. how would Walt react in this situation, how would Jesse react, what are they thinking and what action makes sense with the character's current headspace etc. Every aspect of the show makes sense viewed from that lens. And they've never once hinted at fan reaction ever driving or significantly influencing either BB or Saul. And BB's meteoric rise in popularity only happened when the final episodes were airing, Seasons 4 and 5A only saw moderate viewership bumps.

Obviously nobody wants anything ever to be unsatisfying, writers included, and not having a final scene between Walt and Jesse would've been given the story. Nothing about it felt "fan-servicey" or forced, it's a pretty natural and gratifying ending for both characters; while Jesse likely has a hatred of Walt (due to his inadvertent involvement in his imprisonment), he respects their relationship and bond too much to kill him. Not to mention Walt just saved his life. Simultaneously, he rejects Walt's final attempt at manipulation and gets Walt to acknowledge, for the first time, he wants this for himself. "I want this? No, you want this. Nothing happens until you say that". It's the end to Jesse's character growth, him becoming fully independent.

Their confrontation fits especially considering the similar scene with Skyler earlier in the episode. The finale is the first time Walt ever admits he did this for himself, lying and controlling everyone along the way. The scene also goes well with Season 5 in general, since it's Walt at his worse and most manipulative, particularly in his relationship with Jesse. He manipulates Jesse into breaking up with Andrea, skipping town and abandoning everything, and about Mike's death. The parallels between their final confrontation and this scene are obvious and brilliant.
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Thank you. One doesn't have to like Breaking Bad's ending (though this is the only time I've been led to believe it's polarizing?), but that writers room did not succumb to fanservice lol. There's a difference between fanservice and character-driven, logical storytelling to stay true to those characters.
 
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TheDok said:
The writers have said in interviews repeatedly over the years they write from from a character-mindset perspective. e.g. how would Walt react in this situation, how would Jesse react, what are they thinking and what action makes sense with the character's current headspace etc. Every aspect of the show makes sense viewed from that lens. And they've never once hinted at fan reaction ever driving or significantly influencing either BB or Saul. And BB's meteoric rise in popularity only happened when the final episodes were airing, Seasons 4 and 5A only saw moderate viewership bumps.

Obviously nobody wants anything ever to be unsatisfying, writers included, and not having a final scene between Walt and Jesse would've been given the story. Nothing about it felt "fan-servicey" or forced, it's a pretty natural and gratifying ending for both characters; while Jesse likely has a hatred of Walt (due to his inadvertent involvement in his imprisonment), he respects their relationship and bond too much to kill him. Not to mention Walt just saved his life. Simultaneously, he rejects Walt's final attempt at manipulation and gets Walt to acknowledge, for the first time, he wants this for himself. "I want this? No, you want this. Nothing happens until you say that". It's the end to Jesse's character growth, him becoming fully independent.

Their confrontation fits especially considering the similar scene with Skyler earlier in the episode. The finale is the first time Walt ever admits he did this for himself, lying and controlling everyone along the way. The scene also goes well with Season 5 in general, since it's Walt at his worse and most manipulative, particularly in his relationship with Jesse. He manipulates Jesse into breaking up with Andrea, skipping town and abandoning everything, and about Mike's death. The parallels between their final confrontation and this scene are obvious and brilliant.
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While I also have disagreements in regards to Jesse's actions in the finale, I never mentioned the characters actions being irrational. I'm talking about how the series got to the final Walt/Jesse confrontation in the first place was incredibly contrived and artificial. I have no problem with a final Jesse/Walt confrontation if the series got there with natural and smooth plotting that makes sense, which absolutely isn't the case. There is a reason why lots of people say they should have ended with Ozymandias (even if it would have missed some tweaks). That they had to somehow shoehorn in the unplanned flash forward from S5E1 probably only made it worse. That's why it feels and is in its essence fan-service - they had to get to that final confrontation no matter how because that is what fans wanted. On the other hand, if they didn't adhere to that confrontation, the series could have come to a conclusion that would have felt way more satisfying without resorting to the confrontation.

As for the final moments themselves, Jesse was fine. Walt was again pure fanservice, though, with the final episode essentially being the last dance with Walt back to his usual outsmarting everyone as he pleases - be it saving Jesse and killing literally everyone involved in the drug trade that isn't Jesse in spectacular bombastic 500IQ fashion or just being able see his son and daughter and talk to Skyler one last time. That they went there to give Walt a few last wins and letting him die on his own terms is honestly a slap in the face. Neither gratifying or satisfying in any shape or form.

Of course they won't hint or say if fan reaction influenced the finale, but that is the case for almost every entertainment product as the people working on entertainment read online reactions. As for the rise of popularity, 5A was still a clear rise in popularity in ratings for BB and I vividly remember hype clearly went into overdrive right after episode 8 aired where word-of-mouth did the rest as people couldn't stop talking about Walt finally found out by Hank. I'm sure they read the reactions online.
 
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Brock Reiher said:
better call Saul is better because we love slick Jimmy, hate the rotten bastard chuck, and think Kim wexler is sexy. I get the impression they feel an obligation to include crime stuff that otherwise doesn't really need to he there tho
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It does need to be there because Better Call Saul is about much more than just Jimmy. It’s two stories being told simultaneously that sometimes intertwine. Jimmy, who himself is a criminal, and the origin story of how he becomes the criminal lawyer Saul Goodman; then the other story is the foundation of how Gus built his drug empire and how Mike got involved with it. Each story compliments the other. It’s not out of an “obligation”, it’s the necessary story that the show demands to serve as a great prequel of Breaking Bad.
 
Probably, but despite ending eight years ago it doesn't feel like it's been long enough to revisit. For some reason it feels like something I watched just a couple years ago still.
 
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Rareware said:
It does need to be there because Better Call Saul is about much more than just Jimmy. It’s two stories being told simultaneously that sometimes intertwine. Jimmy, who himself is a criminal, and the origin story of how he becomes the criminal lawyer Saul Goodman; then the other story is the foundation of how Gus built his drug empire and how Mike got involved with it. Each story compliments the other. It’s not out of an “obligation”, it’s the necessary story that the show demands to serve as a great prequel of Breaking Bad.
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yes that Gus stuff isn't interesting and shouldn't be there
 
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Eh. I saw it when it was still airing and I enjoyed it but I also didn’t think it was the greatness that many thought it was. I found it just…. Fine? I liked season 1 a lot and then was cold on every season after that.
 
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