SPOILERS! ALL OF THE SPOILERS!

For almost 4 years, I have heard nothing but "You HAVE to watch Breaking Bad" and everything like that.  "It's one of the best shows EVER!" "Forget Game of Thrones, this can do it WITHOUT boobs!" Honestly, the hype engine kind of turned me off, but that's kind of my thing. If you over-hype something, it's a huge turnoff, mainly because of expectations.  Expectations have been infamous in ruining good things for me.

That was when the show was on, and now it's not, and ALL available to stream.  I had time, so why the heck not? I decided to dig in, no matter what.  Can I say? I am SO glad that I was able to binge-watch this, because honestly I think I would have cut it at the end of season 2, just like I did with Walking Dead (which is another show I will probably watch as a whole once it is complete) mainly because there was nothing going at the end of season 2.  This was kind of helped because everyone was all about season 3+, and they were right, but MAN was that a slow cook.

They did a few WAY stereotypical things during season 1 and 2, the introduction of Jesse, Saul, and the like were really all "TV" which can be a good thing or a bad thing, depending on if you like that.  Season 1 was REALLY a drag, and did not do a good job at keeping me hooked at all, season 2 jumped up, especially with Jesse's development as a drug dealer.  This was particularly drawn out with the ATM Machine episode, and kind of showed you the kind of person (or coward) that Jesse really is. 

That kind of leads me to the characters. Let me say this, from season 1, I FUCKING HATE WALT. I do believe that is kind of the point, but from the start, I was pretty much in the party of "Just go die, Walt." I cannot stand people based solely on pride and ego.  There are no "good guys" in the first tier of characters: Walt is a dick, Jesse's a bitch, and then you get the tier 1.5 people, Hank is not a bad guy, Skylar can die too, yada yada, you get my drift.  Then you get to the villains, and from the beginning you realize how weak willed Walt really is with Crazy 8, and this NEVER ends, he falls right into Gus' hands, and not to mention Lydia and the Neo-Nazis.  Also, KEEP YOUR GOD DAMNED PANTS ON, CRANSTON! NO ONE WANTS TO SEE THAT!

I cannot get over JUST how bad Walt is, not in a "OMG he's such a bad guy" kind of way, even though that exists ("I AM THE ONE WHO KNOCKS!") but just how bad of a character he really is, and I KNOW he is supposed to be written like that, you are supposed to feel for the others (Jesse, Skylar, Hank, Flynn, etc.), and in that fashion, Vince Gilligan is a GENIUS.  If you can write a character SO off that it's interesting to watch him fall apart, then that's something special.

Another thing a lot of people kept saying was "poor Jesse".  That being said, I did not feel a THING for his whining little self until season 5, and even in that until the end.  The hug between Walt and Jesse INSTANTLY turned me to #TeamJesse, and from that point EVERYTHING that happened to that kid made me feel a little hollower inside.  Honestly I would have been destroyed if he died in the finale.  He is the one I am most interested in, even if it was just a "he got to Brock, and adopted him" or something like that, just to get that poor kid a little point of light in the darkness. 

Now, onto the villains: Crazy 8, Tucco, the Cousins, Gus, Hank, Lydia/Nazis (no I don't consider Mike a villain). These characters for the most part were the most interesting point in this, mainly because they did a GREAT job at pushing a plot that could slow to a snail’s pace sometimes.  Crazy 8 got to set the stage, and really just show FOREVER what Walt was like. Tucco was the first person to push Walt almost to breaking, and was fantastic.  He was such an evil bastard he beat his own cousin to death with his HANDS.  He was the villain to show the kind of person Jesse really is: a follower, and when put in charge, can't finish the job, and weak, so weak.  The Cousins served ONLY as a bridge to Gus, but really just showed you the point where the show would go, that there were no punches to be pulled, "no half measures". They were a sub-subplot at best, but got to show you the true dark side of this show, for all of the characters.  Now onto Gus... the mastermind, the thinker, the boss.  Gus was an amazing bad guy, hiding in plain sight, a hidden sociopath, and a fantastic manipulative character.  I love bad guys who can think on their own, and really can pull the story, when you are SO driven to hate them that you want them to be on screen so you can hate them more.  As a subpoint - Mike is my FAVORITE character on the series, no ifs ands or buts.  I would talk about Lydia and the Nazis, but fuck them. FUCK THEM! Though, Todd was another one of those villains, what can I say? I have a soft spot in my villain-hating-but-loving heart for a GOOD sociopath. They got what the deserved.

That being said, I was ENTHRALLED with this show, and even though I have my nitpicks, I will watch this show again in a minute, and intend to.  This is probably one of the best shows I have ever watched, and I am SO glad I was able to binge, or I would have given up on this fantastic show. Well done Vince Gilligan, you magnificent bastard.