AMC
With the release of Netflix’s ‘El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie’ just weeks away, we’ve decided to take a look back at the iconic AMC series and breakdown some of its most memorable moments.
From the expansive color palette of Walter White’s wardrobe to the arguably perfect final shot of the series, Countdown To El Camino will attempt to bridge the gap between what happened then and what’s still to come.
When we first meet mild-mannered high school chemistry teacher Walter White, the news of a lung cancer diagnosis sends him into such desperation that he opts to take up a life of crime and begin illegally cooking meth with his former high school student.
Needless to say, while it’s not a route that most of us would take, it was certainly an understandable one: Walter White had a skill, and he wanted to use that skill to leave behind as much as he could for his beloved family before he passed on. While not a decision the audience is meant to expect, it’s certainly one that they’re assumed to understand.
As we now know, Walt’s dive into the criminal underworld would eventually extend far past the simple necessity of providing for his family, as he would come to devolve into a true force of ruthless evil. But to him, it was all for the sake of his family following the loss of his life and was therefore justified.
Walter White’s entire self-rationalize for his descent into unfiltered evil is the threat of the darkness that awaits him. Once the veil of “doing this for my family because I’m dying” is removed, he is forced to face the true nature of why he does what he does. The entire crutch upon which Walt built his empire of dirt vanished before his very eyes, leaving him with nothing but the decisions he’s made and the grim reaper of a man he’s become.
And that is why hearing that his cancer was in remission was the worst news imaginable for the man known as Heisenberg: the realization that he had to reckon with the monster he’s become.
The revelation that Walt’s cancer is in remission not only served as a boiling point for Walt’s own psyche but the psyche of the audience as well: how far down the rabbit hole are we willing to go now that we know Walt’s actions are no longer born out of the primal threat of the afterlife?
When you consider the psychological hurdles that Walt was forced to make in the hours and days following his updated diagnosis, it should come as no surprise that just two episodes after learning of his improved health, Walt makes his wicked decision yet as he allows the love of Jesse’s life to die beside him as she choked on her own drug-induced vomit.
In fact, it is this very moment that marks a point of no return for Walter White and it’s intrinsically tied to the news of his possible survival: Walter realizes he’s become a monster, and perhaps even worse, he realizes that he’s okay with it.
COUNTDOWN TO EL CAMINO: Did Walt Ever Actually Care About Jesse?
COUNTDOWN TO EL CAMINO: Why Did Walt Leave Gray Matter?
COUNTDOWN TO EL CAMINO: How The F*ck Did Walter White Poison Brock?
Breaking Down Every Single Scene In The Stunning ‘El Camino’ Trailer
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Eric is a New York City-based writer who still isn’t sure how he’s allowed to have this much fun for a living and will tell anyone who listens that Gotham City is canonically in New Jersey. Contact him: eric@brobible.com.