The opening of the pilot is one of the most attention grabbing ones I have ever come across and delves you head first into the action,demanding that you watch on to find an explanation to the carnage just witnessed.The 'cold open' is a trick that gets used time and again throughout the season,effective at best but frustrating after the fourth episode in a row.
The first episode does its job well and sets up the main characters of the show pretty well and evenly,with obvious emphasis on high school chemistry Walt,played by the ever excellent Bryan Cranston (who went on to win an Emmy for his performance) as he deals with the news of finding out that he has inoperable lung cancer,his pregnant wife Skylar and disabled teenage son Walt Jnr. His decision to team up with a former student of his,Jesse (played by Aaron Paul-also excellent) after seeing the financial benefits of selling crystal meth is the 'breaking bad' moment which sets up the rest of the series and thus,the show is born!
As the series went on I found myself looking forward to the Walt and Jesse scenes-whether it's when they are in the camper van cooking meth,disposing of melted human bodies or stealing barrels of chemicals.This,for me is when the show is strongest,the writing is precise and the performances of Cranston and Paul really reach their heights.Not to take anything away from the rest of the show,but i must say if it wasn't for these key scenes, I probably wouldn't have watched on .
I was struck with the amount of humour that peppers the show,pleasantly struck that is.As I pointed out in my Currently Watching post,like the shows subject matter,the humour certainly has a dark tone.For example the scene with Walt and Jesse stealing the barrels of Methanine (totally misspelled) is dealt with well paced farce to the point where it almost resembles a Laurel and Hardy sketch-any other moody drama with a scene like this would undoubtedly ramp up the tension and seriousness.Not to say that the drama in the show is at a loss because of this-in one of the episodes,Walt finds himself having to decided whether to release or kill a drug dealer that they have caught and tied up in their basement,and it is truly one of the best 15 mins f the show.It is scenes like this,and the shows (I hate to use this word) originality in plot and well rounded character evolution in the series that kept me watching.
Overall the show finally won me over in the last two episodes of the show,which were by far the strongest in this premier season.If anything,my expectations are even higher for season two and I am quite excited to watching Bryan Cranston acting everyone ever the table again.More Walt and Jesse scenes please!
I really really envy you. It's probably the only show I know of that's been legit better with every season. I know it's only four seasons, but still. Rivals The Shield/Lost/Wire for me for best ever.
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