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Breaking Bad and Philosophy
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Sep 30, 2013 12:59PM
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Just in case on the east coast you are tuning in now, the discussion will start at 9:30 central... I'm putting my daughter Holly... erm, Amelia, to bed at the moment. Meanwhile, I wrote this before the last episode and it sparked some discussion elsewhere, maybe we can pick up from this? http://theconversation.com/why-the-ti...
Here's our book, did our contributors get it right in hindsight? Breaking Bad and Philosophy: Badder Living through Chemistry
...and on another note, did the show get it right? Was Walt's fate just? What about other characters?
I feel that the show ended on an attempt to redeem Walter White. We have him admitting to his faults, that it was his pride and ego that motivated him to do the things that he did, not his family to Skyler. But this is juxtaposed with a forgiveness.... Skyler lets him see Holly. Walt kills the monstrous Nazis, making him a hero before being cut down by Jesse a bit, the pseudo-son rejecting Walt's request to be killed by him. Walt dies as Heisenberg (but arguably Walter White died in the previous episode, alone in his cabin). Now I get the thematic need of Jesse not killing Walt. Jesse has been through hell, and he's done with killing (after Todd). But I think that with Jesse killing Walt, it would really send the clear message that Walt was a very bad man. Or if Walt hadn't died in an almost loving embrace with his crystal blue, but rather in some kind of more tragic way, to really reinforce that he was a bad man, it would have felt better to me. I'm not looking to torture Walt, but I am looking to communicate the message that he was getting what he deserved, and that Walt was aware of his flaws. But instead Walt gets one last win. His ingenuity and pride succeed again. His fatherly love for Jesse overcomes his anger. It felt to me that we're left with a picture of almost self-sacrifice, instead of a reckless father who has alienated (both of) his son(s).
