Over the past few months, I have been watching Breaking Bad for the first time. It has been nearly ten years since the series finale was broadcast on AMC, and I felt that it was finally time to give the show a fair shot.
Turns out, Breaking Bad is a work of art.
The subject matter, the performances, the editing, the direction – all of it comes together to create a show that is thrilling and thought-provoking. There are some dud episodes, some bad performances here and there but overall, it is a show that is worthy of celebration and in-depth cultural analysis.
Originally, I was going to do a Late to the Party article on my experience with the series but on reflection, I don’t think that gives Breaking Bad the attention it deserves. For a start, there are so many hours of content that dissecting and condenscing it all into a 2,500 word article is an absolutely daunting task. There are also things that I (as a White British man) am simply not going to notice or appreciate the same way an American audience would.
But most importantly, a few years ago the Avocado was host to a rewatch series for Avatar: The Last Airbender and it was, hands-down, my favourite feature ever to appear on this website. I loved the discussions and sense of community that it fostered, and I would like to see if I could re-create it.
Notes
- The contents of the reviews will be mostly spoiler free to accommodate people who are watching Breaking Bad for the first time, but I will include a bit in each header discussing any plot points or characters that come up in future episodes. I will be using a spoiler section for this, and I ask that people use spoiler tags in the comments as well.
- Most reviews will cover two episodes at a time. However, I will give some episodes (like the Pilot) their own dedicated articles. Feel free to suggest episodes you think deserve the individual treatment in the comments.
- Each article will be posted at 11:15AM Eastern time, starting from sometime in the middle of March.
- Unlike the A:TLA rewatch, I’m only going to post articles once a week – I haven’t decided which day yet – with small hiatuses between each seasons. This is because I’m aiming to post the final article on the 10th Anniversary of Breaking Bad‘s finale.
And that’s it! Let me know in the comments if you have any suggestions on what themes I should focus on, related YouTube reviews or podcasts I should link to, or just let me know if you are excited to re-watch the series.