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Sep. 21st, 2013 04:38 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
shadowkatI've scanned various online and lj reviews of Breaking Bad's S5 episode Ozymandias but the only one that seemed to resonate with me or fit my view of both the series and the episode was Abigail Nussbaum's, which can be found Here. I don't always agree with Nussbaum, which makes sense since we have little in common, but I do agree with her review of the episode.
What I've found odd about the fan response, including my co-worker's, to Breaking Bad is how they excuse Walter White's actions or dismiss them out of hand. Many justify them. Some hate his wife, or Jesse, or those around him. Several state that he was innocent, he was a good guy, who loved his family and made good decisions. And I wonder if they've been paying attention or overlooked many of the flashbacks. The writer's certainly didn't intend that interpretation and have gone out of their way to depict a deeply flawed and self-absorbed man who sacrifices everything upon the altar of his own ego. Walter White is in many respects a modern day version of MacBeth, who returns triumphant from two battles and decides he can outsmart anyone and obtain power - he'll be king. It's a parable of sorts for our age - where people continue to take increasingly outrageous risks for power, fame, and money, with little regard for the consequences. Much as the poem of Ozymandias is a parable for well any age.
All you have to do to understand where White went wrong is to look at the Schraeders or even his disabled son. Both have suffered severe physical handicaps, both struggle to overcome them, both agree, humbly, to financial and physical assistance. Hank allows for his medical bills to be paid by family - he does not seek illegal means. While Walter White can't stomach his ex-business partner/rival's aid and thrusts the aid back in the man's face, choosing instead to continue making and dealing meth. When Marie "shop-lifts" - she confesses her crime and seeks help. When Skylar discovers her boss has embezzled, she never confesses, instead she engages in an affair and attempts to cover it up. In the Schraeder's we see the choices Walter and Skylar could have made.
But, it's clear from their backstory, that they would not have made different ones. These are not nice people or even remotely decent people. They are not people you want to root for. Walter White from the get-go, is a resentful, bitter man, who cheated on his partner with the man's wife, and thought he was the "sole" brains behind their business. A ploy that blew up in his face, resulting in him becoming a chemistry teacher - a job he resents and believes is beneath him. To know how his previous business fell apart - all you have to do is watch what happens to his partnership with Jesse and even Gus or Mike. As either Mike or Gus state at one point - "White can't handle a boss, he has to be boss". He must be in control. There can't be two leaders or kings. The depths of the man's need for control - can be seen in how he runs his lab and its' level of precision. How he attempts to manipulate and manage Jesse's life as well as Skylar's. He's pride at being able to help Hank - the money came from him. All the while knowing that by giving Hank the money he is also tainting him.
White claims to care about his family - but he spends little time with them. In the flashback sequence, he's lying to Skylar about why he will be late. He's barely home. Always working. And doesn't confide in his wife or tell her what he is doing, even though it affects the well-being of the family, he claims to love. Holly - the child in her belly at the time - provides White with a choice - just as Holly provides him with a choice at the end of the episode. The choice is simple - to put someone above himself. Above his pride.
Above his own ego. But White believes his own lies, he believes that providing for Holly is to obtain money for her. If he provides "financially" for Holly - then he is a good father.
There's various opportunities throughout the series for the Whites to give Holly to the Schraeder's. But each time, they refuse. At the end - Walter has the opportunity to leave Holly with Skylar, but he takes off with her instead - only to discover with horror that the child wants her mother and doesn't even know him. He is a stranger to Holly. Hank has spent more time with Holly and Jr, than Walt has.
In the flashback to S1 and this episode - Holly does not represent Walt's lost innocence so much as his bad choices. In the first season - when he calls his wife, he has the opportunity to stop, there's still enough time to get out, he can stop this and think about the unborn child - think about what a life in the drug trade would do to her. But all Walter can think about is money. Not being a real father to his child, not "loving" his child,
not spending time with her, or teaching her how to walk, or if he dies of cancer, making arrangements for someone else to help Skylar care for her. No - he thinks about himself.
And in the last episode, Walter could have turned himself in. Instead he does the phone call, and leaves Holly at the fire station with a note. I don't believe he planned it from the get-go. I think he planned it after Holly asked for her mother.
If you compare Walt's treatment of Holly with Mike's of his granddaughter - you can the flaws in Walt's and Mike's judgement. And how, as it was with Mike, really about Walt and never about his family. Mike sends all his money to his granddaughter - but is stuck, he has to do it in increments, also he's exposed the girl as his weakness - a means for his enemies to strike at him. The money never quite reaches her - even though Jesse does everything in his power to ensure it. What happens to Mike is foreshadowing for Walter White.
Walt cloaks his pursuit of power and money with his love for family and desire to provide for them. But it is all ultimately a lie. That is the lie Walt tells himself. He tells himself there is no other way. But when other ways present themselves - he dismisses them out of hand, as either beneath him or not interesting or not bringing in enough. And fearful of losing his hard-earned money, he buries it in the desert. When Jesse threatens to burn it - he sacrifices everything, and races after it, calling in Todd and his crew to aid him and finish Jesse off. Walt blames Jesse for Hank's death - just as he blames Skylar/his need to provide for her and the family, not to mention the Cancer for choosing to make meth. Refusing to take any responsibility for his actions. He says as much in his monologues - to first Jesse and then Skylar over the phone. The one exception might be his speech to save Hank - but the speech feels like a lie as well, that he's claiming fault, when he feels perfectly justified in what he has done.
It's never Walt's fault. The cancer in the series represents Walt's inability to control his world. It comes and goes, but never quite kills him. It does however present him with choices. How Walt continues to react to those choices - says a lot about who Walter White is at his core. And if you pay careful attention to the flashbacks, you can see the trajectory clearly. It should not come as a surprise, where Walt ends up. As Vince Galligan stated once, what we are showing here is not how Walter White becomes Heisenberg, but that Walter White in truth was always Heisenberg deep down - that's who he actually is. As we journey forward, we become ourselves. Each test, each choice, rips away another layer, revealing the core character within. Walter White was always the mask. Heisenberg was always the reality. That's not to say the two aren't intertwined somehow, they are. People and well written characters are never that black and white - no matter how much we might wish it were so. But what fuels Heisenberg, is White's inability to see himself clearly. To stop lying to himself.
What I've found odd about the fan response, including my co-worker's, to Breaking Bad is how they excuse Walter White's actions or dismiss them out of hand. Many justify them. Some hate his wife, or Jesse, or those around him. Several state that he was innocent, he was a good guy, who loved his family and made good decisions. And I wonder if they've been paying attention or overlooked many of the flashbacks. The writer's certainly didn't intend that interpretation and have gone out of their way to depict a deeply flawed and self-absorbed man who sacrifices everything upon the altar of his own ego. Walter White is in many respects a modern day version of MacBeth, who returns triumphant from two battles and decides he can outsmart anyone and obtain power - he'll be king. It's a parable of sorts for our age - where people continue to take increasingly outrageous risks for power, fame, and money, with little regard for the consequences. Much as the poem of Ozymandias is a parable for well any age.
All you have to do to understand where White went wrong is to look at the Schraeders or even his disabled son. Both have suffered severe physical handicaps, both struggle to overcome them, both agree, humbly, to financial and physical assistance. Hank allows for his medical bills to be paid by family - he does not seek illegal means. While Walter White can't stomach his ex-business partner/rival's aid and thrusts the aid back in the man's face, choosing instead to continue making and dealing meth. When Marie "shop-lifts" - she confesses her crime and seeks help. When Skylar discovers her boss has embezzled, she never confesses, instead she engages in an affair and attempts to cover it up. In the Schraeder's we see the choices Walter and Skylar could have made.
But, it's clear from their backstory, that they would not have made different ones. These are not nice people or even remotely decent people. They are not people you want to root for. Walter White from the get-go, is a resentful, bitter man, who cheated on his partner with the man's wife, and thought he was the "sole" brains behind their business. A ploy that blew up in his face, resulting in him becoming a chemistry teacher - a job he resents and believes is beneath him. To know how his previous business fell apart - all you have to do is watch what happens to his partnership with Jesse and even Gus or Mike. As either Mike or Gus state at one point - "White can't handle a boss, he has to be boss". He must be in control. There can't be two leaders or kings. The depths of the man's need for control - can be seen in how he runs his lab and its' level of precision. How he attempts to manipulate and manage Jesse's life as well as Skylar's. He's pride at being able to help Hank - the money came from him. All the while knowing that by giving Hank the money he is also tainting him.
White claims to care about his family - but he spends little time with them. In the flashback sequence, he's lying to Skylar about why he will be late. He's barely home. Always working. And doesn't confide in his wife or tell her what he is doing, even though it affects the well-being of the family, he claims to love. Holly - the child in her belly at the time - provides White with a choice - just as Holly provides him with a choice at the end of the episode. The choice is simple - to put someone above himself. Above his pride.
Above his own ego. But White believes his own lies, he believes that providing for Holly is to obtain money for her. If he provides "financially" for Holly - then he is a good father.
There's various opportunities throughout the series for the Whites to give Holly to the Schraeder's. But each time, they refuse. At the end - Walter has the opportunity to leave Holly with Skylar, but he takes off with her instead - only to discover with horror that the child wants her mother and doesn't even know him. He is a stranger to Holly. Hank has spent more time with Holly and Jr, than Walt has.
In the flashback to S1 and this episode - Holly does not represent Walt's lost innocence so much as his bad choices. In the first season - when he calls his wife, he has the opportunity to stop, there's still enough time to get out, he can stop this and think about the unborn child - think about what a life in the drug trade would do to her. But all Walter can think about is money. Not being a real father to his child, not "loving" his child,
not spending time with her, or teaching her how to walk, or if he dies of cancer, making arrangements for someone else to help Skylar care for her. No - he thinks about himself.
And in the last episode, Walter could have turned himself in. Instead he does the phone call, and leaves Holly at the fire station with a note. I don't believe he planned it from the get-go. I think he planned it after Holly asked for her mother.
If you compare Walt's treatment of Holly with Mike's of his granddaughter - you can the flaws in Walt's and Mike's judgement. And how, as it was with Mike, really about Walt and never about his family. Mike sends all his money to his granddaughter - but is stuck, he has to do it in increments, also he's exposed the girl as his weakness - a means for his enemies to strike at him. The money never quite reaches her - even though Jesse does everything in his power to ensure it. What happens to Mike is foreshadowing for Walter White.
Walt cloaks his pursuit of power and money with his love for family and desire to provide for them. But it is all ultimately a lie. That is the lie Walt tells himself. He tells himself there is no other way. But when other ways present themselves - he dismisses them out of hand, as either beneath him or not interesting or not bringing in enough. And fearful of losing his hard-earned money, he buries it in the desert. When Jesse threatens to burn it - he sacrifices everything, and races after it, calling in Todd and his crew to aid him and finish Jesse off. Walt blames Jesse for Hank's death - just as he blames Skylar/his need to provide for her and the family, not to mention the Cancer for choosing to make meth. Refusing to take any responsibility for his actions. He says as much in his monologues - to first Jesse and then Skylar over the phone. The one exception might be his speech to save Hank - but the speech feels like a lie as well, that he's claiming fault, when he feels perfectly justified in what he has done.
It's never Walt's fault. The cancer in the series represents Walt's inability to control his world. It comes and goes, but never quite kills him. It does however present him with choices. How Walt continues to react to those choices - says a lot about who Walter White is at his core. And if you pay careful attention to the flashbacks, you can see the trajectory clearly. It should not come as a surprise, where Walt ends up. As Vince Galligan stated once, what we are showing here is not how Walter White becomes Heisenberg, but that Walter White in truth was always Heisenberg deep down - that's who he actually is. As we journey forward, we become ourselves. Each test, each choice, rips away another layer, revealing the core character within. Walter White was always the mask. Heisenberg was always the reality. That's not to say the two aren't intertwined somehow, they are. People and well written characters are never that black and white - no matter how much we might wish it were so. But what fuels Heisenberg, is White's inability to see himself clearly. To stop lying to himself.
no subject
Date: 2013-09-22 07:38 am (UTC)