Walter White Wednesday 42

I enjoy a good glass of wine &
talking too much . . . 

Breaking Bad won't be airing those final eight episodes until summer, which makes this a perfect time to catch up!  Since Breaking Bad is a show that constantly picks up threads that were laid down waybackwhen, it makes sense to go all the way back to Season 1 today with this post.

Review:  Season 1 gives us Walter White, a sad-sack, high school chemistry teacher who seems to be channeling the late Rodney ("I can't get no respect") Dangerfield.  Walt loves chemistry, but he's stuck teaching bored high schoolers who don't see the beauty and mystery of it.  His wife loves him, but their life together has fallen into a deep, deep rut.  His brother-in-law has an exciting job as a DEA agent and is all rootin', tootin' cowboy, who makes Walt feel less than he'd like.  Then Walt gets a devastating diagnosis out of the clear blue sky (lots of clear blue sky in Breaking Bad, by the way) and decides to do something outrageous (and highly illegal), justifying this path with his desire to leave his family a decent nest egg.  But as we make our choices, our choices make us, and somewhere along the way, Walt changes.  On a fundamental level, he becomes Someone Else and that Someone Else is a very foolish, dangerous, and near-psychotic person.  In short, Walt "breaks bad."  And a tremendous amount of sorrow, blood, and death trails in his wake.    

Speculation:  Will Walt survive Season 5B?  This is one of the questions steaming up blogs and chat rooms.  If Walt doesn't survive - who (or what) takes him out of the meth game?  If he dies, is it just retribution or dumb fate?  The speculation on this is nearly endless, including some truly off-the-wall theories that are fun to poke holes in.  (For a general rundown, click here.)    

Underline:  Note what happens every time Walt gets sloppy.  Just two quick examples:  in Season 3's Fly, Walt is drugged and talks too much, nearly confessing to Jesse his role in Jane's death.  In Season 4's Shotgun, Walt drinks too much wine and talks too much, putting Hank back on the trail of "Heisenberg."  Walt just has too much guilt and pride to keep his lies going.  

Quick Wanna Cook? update - Season 4 will be drafted by the end of this month and we're starting to get back drafts of earlier seasons from the editor, so we'll also be beginning to put a high shine on things.  It's going to be a busybusybusy few months as we get everything through Season 5A plumb and square, but we plan to keep up with these weekly posts!  

So please check in here every Wednesday and don't forget my co-author Ensley Guffey's weekly "Meth Monday" posts!