I realize that my last post may not have been persuasive in terms of convincing someone to actually decide to watch Breaking Bad.
For as brutal as it could be it had some lighter moments. The chemistry between Walt and Jesse is electric. They could not be less alike (unless one had not been white): teacher and student, partners, foils. Their interplay is the center of the show, and drives much of the action.
Watching Aaron Paul inhibit Jesse Pinkman’s face was revelatory.
And it had some dead on humor. It was hard to laugh, because you knew something terrible was bound to happen sooner or later in the episode. For example, “The Fly” was fall-off-the-couch hilarious. The verbal play between Jesse and his friends, and Jesse and Walt could startle a laugh out of me, even when the humor was dark.
And it was almost always dark.
Bob Odenkirk as Saul Goodman brought much-needed levity to the show as a flashy TV lawyer who knew a lot of guys.
I do wish one of the women characters had been more outstanding or upstanding. Lydia was an uptight, neurotic mess; Jane, while delightfully quirky, ultimately chose her addiction; Marie was also neurotic and a meddling busy body. The much-reviled Skyler was too ambiguous in her loyalty and morality to be someone to root for.
Red Pen Mama 