Good Example Of Movie Review On Breaking Bad Philosophical Critique

Breaking Bad is a crime drama that aired from 2008 to 2013 and received a lot of controversial feedback from the publicity. While the audience considered the show to be one of the greatest shows that ever aired on TV, the story is far beyond simple TV drama. The protagonist of the series is a middle-aged chemistry teacher who is diagnosed with lung cancer. Not only that, but Walter White suffers from other circumstances that he does not know how to deal with: unemployed pregnant wife, terminally ill child and huge debts for cancer treatment. As a result of these issues, Walter finds the only solution to overcome these problems: cook methamphetamine and become a drug dealer.
The show brings up plenty of questions of morals and distinguishing right from wrong. In the beginning of the show we can see a confused man who is unsure of his actions; in season premiere the protagonist is reluctant to become a criminal, he tries to distance himself from breaking the law even though he believes that this is the only way to make enough money to support his family. In order not to be associated with this “criminal identity”, Walter White creates his alter ego – Heisenberg, a cruel, violent drug dealer who no longer has a burden of morals. As the plot unfolds, we can see how the main character evolves from being an altruist (risking his life to provide for the family, keeping his deeds secret from everyone) to an egoist who truly enjoys what he does. In later episodes it is impossible to tell if Heisenberg is actually an alter ego of Walter, the boundaries become blurred as we see him involving his wife into drug business. The viewer can clearly see change in protagonist’s behavior as the story progresses. What is also remarkable is that in later episodes it is no longer “good cause” what makes the main character break the law; he no longer seeks to make enough money to support his family, he is after much larger sums of money.
Another example of how the character evolves can be seen in two scenes, which can be unrelated story-wise, but can still offer some insights into Walter’s logical and ethical decisions. On the one hand, in the beginning of the series Walter is faced with a decision whether to kill Crazy Eight and in order to make this decision writes down pros and cons of the murder. On the other hand, in later episodes Walter does not hesitate when he decides to poison a child to urge Jesse to take part in his venture.
Ironically, the DEA agent who investigates Walter’s case is his brother-in-law Hank. Even though Hank does not discover Heisenberg’s identity until the series finale, another question of morals is brought up when Hank finds out that it was Walter, who he was after the whole time. Many critics, who tried to make a psychological portrait of each character, were unsure whether Hank is going to pursue the investigation from this point. As we can clearly see that Hank does not have any mercy on Walter and no longer perceives him as a relative, Walter is still very protective of his family. Walter does not want his actions affect his family and he even gives up the fortune that he made in hope to save Hank from death. As the series approaches the end, Walter realizes that it is no longer possible to avoid the consequences of his actions. He leaves a message to his wife that can be used as evidence to prove that she was not involved in drug business, leaves his son an inheritance and avenged those who killed his brother-in-law and stole his money.