When bad looks so good

The perfect combination of suffocating, dark character paths and beautiful imagery amid a sea of consequences help make “Breaking Bad” one of the truly great television series on the air.

Season two sees cancer patient-turned-meth cooker Walt White (Bryan Cranston) continue down a dangerous road that includes violence, death and destruction at every turn as his addiction to power and money spirals out of control. Meanwhile, his partner Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul) battles his own addictions and demons while trying to find his place in the world.

“Bad” might seem like “Weeds” for men based on the premise alone, but it’s really far from it. Instead, the usually slow-burning plot is superseded by hotly in-depth character studies of depressed, addicted, miserable people dealing with heavy consequences.
Cranston’s a two-time Emmy winner for his performance, and rightfully so, but in season two, Aaron Paul’s powerhouse, emotional performance helps his Jesse become something of a sympathetic hero among a world of wretched people.

Though it sometimes has pacing issues when the plot takes over the character study, “Breaking Bad” does the latter better than anyone.