Breaking Bad Fucking RULED (Bonus: Top 5 Breaking Bad Side Characters)
So I saw this tweet yesterday and got really excited about digging into a marathon of one of the best shows of all time before seamlessly gliding into the final season of Better Call Saul. Then I realized I barely watch regular TV anymore let alone sit through entire marathons of shows. I'll obviously watch live sports on TV, will throw on the news if I want to fill myself with anxiety along with a side of dread, and whatever A+ shows that are still on regular TV like Always Sunny. But I don't usually watch a show live on TV, especially when said show is streaming on Netflix whenever you want to start your own personal marathon without a bunch of commercials.
However, that tweet caused me to go back to this MUST WATCH video that recapped the entire series of Breaking Bad and updated after each season, which reminded me just how fucking good that show was.
Yes, this is a mid-blog Must Watch video, which is rare but sometimes necessary. I'm also sure 99% of the videos that have that song in the background are Must Watch because it raises the level of everything you see
I know that some fat professional idiot telling you that something we all agree is awesome is still awesome years after it ended seems redundant. Bit it is flat out SILLY how jam packed with highlights that video is despite being 8 full minutes for a show that only went five seasons. It's like eating a pint Ben & Jerry's where every time you dip a spoon in, you have multiple goodies to chew on along with your ice cream.
Everything about that show was a 10. The colorful characters. The crazy twists. The roughly 1000 different iconic quotes that just kept coming.
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On top of all that, I would occasionally feel smarter after watching an episode because I learned something about chemistry from Walter White's Heisenberg's psychotic ass. Vince Gilligan even stuck the landing as good with the way everything wrapped up, which as every Game of Thrones fan knows, is no small feat for a show that big. Not that those last two seasons went down easy because I don't know if I've ever been more stressed out than when Walt was taking on the Nazis.
I feel like Thrones being entering its prime right as Breaking Bad ended kinda shortened our appreciation for just how great Breaking Bad was. But after seeing how both are being remembered now, we almost need to re-appreciate just how fucking iconic this show ended up being in 62 episodes flat.
I would say we could maybe do some sort of rewatch + podcast breakdown for everything, but shows on Barstool seem to be more likely to get cut than added these days. So maybe some sort of season recaps will have to be done in the near future on the blog, on a Content Corner during Podfathers that we can upload to the new Barstool Grown Up YouTube, or I can do a recap on my Instagram like I did for Thrones before Benioff & Weiss went Dany T on our hearts.
BONUS: Top 5 Breaking Bad Side Characters (Pretty much everyone except Walt and Jesse)
5. Tuco
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I went back and forth on this a bunch with The Cousins since that entire family scared the shit out of me every time they were on screen. But Tuco gets the nod for having a catchphrase and also being exactly like your one friend that was always way to jacked up about everything you did, whether he was on meth or not.
4. Hank
I thought I was going to hate Hank the entire series after seeing him act like a hardo the entire pilot episode. But he overcame being a douchebag on par with tall bike riders to being a character whose death was a Tier 1 gutting death. That shit still fucks me up til this day.
I suppose you can make a case that sharing the screen with an awful character like Marie always made Hank look better like a normal person looking stunning next to their ugly friend. But I think I grew to love that big lug just because his character wasn't the schmuck he appeared to be in episode 1.
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3. Mike
Mike didn't say much or even do much, but when he did, you were on the edge of your seat the entire time. A true Teddy Roosevelt in the "speak softly, carry a big stick" if Teddy was an ex-cop that got dirty in the name of helping out his adorable granddaughter. I think everyone was upset when he died because he had such a seemingly deep backstory, which is why his return in Better Call Saul was so awesome.
Speaking of Saul…
2. Saul
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God I love that slippery son of a bitch, who is the second greatest fictional snake lawyer in the history of fictional snake lawyers behind only the GOAT.
Walt and Jesse going from a criminal, lawyer instead of a criminal lawyer is when rocket fuel was truly added to the slow roaring blaze of chaos in Breaking Bad. Even though Saul stole the show every time he was on screen, I wasn't sure how a spinoff based around a wisecracking lawyer would work. But Bob Odenkirk has killed it as Jimmy McGill slowly breaking bad to Saul Goodman and the show has only gotten better with age.
1. Gus
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Frazier vs. Ali. Manning vs. Brady. Gus vs. Heisenberg. Just an absolute battle of two titans that was a chess match of the minds that finished with a ridiculous explosive finale. Just like with Saul and Mike, using Better Call Saul as a way to enrich Gus' backstory made the show worth it in itself. The Salamancas were batshit crazy and the Nazis didn't give a single fuck about anybody but themselves. But Gus Fring is maybe the best villain I've ever seen.
Also Receiving Votes: The Cousins, Badger, That Motherfucker Todd, Walt Jr's Breakfast, Huell, Gomie (The character was alright but I just liked hearing Hank call him Gomie)