MovieChat Forums > Breaking Bad (2008) Discussion > Breaking Bad an Optimistic Story.

Breaking Bad an Optimistic Story.

posted 8 years ago by HumansofSiliconValley
6 replies | jump to latest

As strange as this may sound I found BB to be a very optimistic story. If I were diagnosed with a terminal illness and told that I had only a year or two left I’d probably crawl into my bed, curl up and cry. I’d be useless.

Walter White didn’t use his few remaining years wisely but he was able to reinvent himself and create a second life completely different from the first. It was a disastrous second life but it was something. I’d like to think that even in the face of death I’d be able to do something exciting with myself.

www.HumansofSiliconValley.com

[–] johnnyutah79 8 years ago

Very nice take and original.

While Walter was "entrepreneurially" a hero, no doubt, he also lost his soul in the process. So Breaking Bad is actually a "cautionary tale" about what not to do for money and in that event. He lost his soul for his ambition and pride.

[–] heisenberg12 8 years ago

He was "awake".

[–] HumansofSiliconValley 8 years ago

The saddest thing was that he lost his family.

www.HumansofSiliconValley.com

[–] modsquad20 8 years ago

The saddest thing was that he lost his family.

He was going to lose them regardless. Well, they were going to lose Walt. Odd thing is, if Walt had curled up in bed over those two years and wasted away, his family would have been mourning him for years or decades. By taking the path he did, it freed his wife and son from the ball and chain of "I miss him, I miss him, I miss him."

[–] Whatlarks 8 years ago

Missing someone isn't necessarily a ball and chain feeling. But the feelings Walt left Skyler and Walt Jr. certainly are one enormous ball and chain.

I would also add that if it weren't for Skyler and Walt Jr.'s intervention during the "talking pillow scene," Walt would have gone with his choice not to fight the cancer, to reject chemo and wait to die.

"You must not judge what I know by what I find words for." - Marilynne Robinson

[–] swolbach 8 years ago

This post reminds me of the scene in Hermanos, where Walt talks with a younger guy in the changing area, prepping for radiology. This guy has a bit of thel "crawl up in a ball mentality"...and Walt calls him out.

(Patient) - For me, that's been the biggest wake up call...letting go, giving up control. It's like they say...you make plans, and God laughs.

(Walt) - That is...such bullsh!t.

(Patient) - Excuse me?

(Walt) - Never give up control. Live life on your own terms.

(Patient) - Yeah, no, I get what your saying...but, uh, cancer's cancer, so...

(Walt) - To hell with your cancer. I've been living with cancer for the better part of a year. Right from th start - it's a death sentence, that's what they keep telling me. Well, guess what...every life comes with a death sentence. So every few months, I come in here for my regular scan, knowing full well that, one of these times, hell, maybe even today...I'm gonna hear some bad news. But until then, who's in charge? Me. That's how I live my life.

I guess the takeaway I get from this and the optimistic message you might be suggesting, is that we all have a limited amount of time...it's all relative...but it's how you spend that time and don't waste it. Think that's why you see people that have a near death experience, take on a new outlook on life. Like H12 said above, "I am awake"...unfortunately, it took him down a "bad" road, but that doesn't have to be the outcome for others, given the same type of "wake up call".