Bidding ‘Breaking Bad’ Good Bye

It’s hard to believe that “Breaking Bad” is actually ending Sunday.

I don’t want to believe it.

This entire semester, a bunch of my show choir friends and I gathered at one of our houses, giddy and nervous, hit the lights, cranked the volume and basked in the glory of the past few episodes.

During commercial breaks, we would give a full literary breakdown of what every breath in the segment we just watched meant, and on the off days, we would give each other our respective analyses of the show — where we thought it was going to go, what significance every scene had, links to Buzzfeed articles with hidden messages and just general “Breaking Bad” fandom.

Here’s why.

“Breaking Bad” is unlike any other show ever on TV.

We all love “Sex and the City.” We watched the episodes, loved them for what they were, but that was that. We knew Carrie would end up with Mr. Big pretty much as soon as he entered the show.

But here we are, 61 episodes into “Breaking Bad,” with only one left, and we haven’t the slightest idea of what’s going to happen.

Who’s going to live, who’s going to die, what’s going to happen with Walt’s money — we have no clue.

“Breaking Bad” did what no other television show has really been able to do. It has the literary elements, such as symbolism and subtext, on par with some of the greatest literature ever written.

It revolved around a main character that completely transformed over the course of five seasons.

The show tested our morals. It took us into some really dark places within ourselves, questioning how far we would go for money and glory.

Would we feel OK with our partner shooting and killing a child if it meant protecting our business and keeping us out of trouble?

There wasn’t one main character with completely sound morals. Everything was gray.

In terms of production value and aesthetic quality, it was unparalleled.

Set in the beautiful desert of Albuquerque, N.M., “Breaking Bad” was as visually intriguing as it was in terms of its essence. In fact, the two melded.

The cinematography was not shot willy-nilly as so much of television is.
It truly enhanced the message of the moment. Every pan, every angle and every symmetrical frame — it all meant something.

The impeccable acting, the music, the design and every writing choice Vince Gilligan, the puppet master pulling all the strings, have all deserved the praise they’ve gotten.

It takes a mastermind to create this masterpiece.

If, as a writer, I could have a fraction of Vince Gilligan’s talent and skill, I’d be thoroughly happy with myself.

All of this television magic ends in a few days. The pop culture phenomenon is over.

As such an avid fan, this week is bittersweet, because as I’m sad to see the show end, I’m happy that the bar for an entire medium has been raised so high.

So farewell, “Breaking Bad.” For all that you’ve done for me as a fan, and for the entire television industry, I thank you.

You’ll be remembered, you’ll be studied, but above all, you’ll be missed.

­— ihajinaz@indiana.edu
Follow columnist
Ike Hajinazarian on Twitter @_IkeHaji.