Breaking Down Breaking Bad: Unpeeling the Layers of Television's Greatest Drama

Few television shows have won critical acclaim on the level of Breaking Bad, perhaps because few series are as worth deep examination as Breaking Bad.

Something about Walter White€s struggle with his inner demons resonated with us. The idea that his foray into meth production was not merely a dalliance with darkness, but was actually a full-blown awakening intrigued us. And most of all, the idea that we came to have no respect for the protagonist of our favorite show utterly fascinated us.

We couldn€t look away.

Breaking Down Breaking Bad attempts to poke into the dark corners of Walter White€s mind, explore the traits that make this show special, and revels in the joy of what is arguably the best drama ever to appear on television. In doing so, it also peels back the layers of what makes characters like Jesse Pinkman tick, explores why we were so drawn to characters like Gus Fring and Mike Ehrmantraut, and relives some of the greatest moments of this already legendary show.

Because the show may be gone, but the conversation about it certainly isn€t.

Eric San Juan is the coauthor of A Year of Hitchcock (Scarecrow Press 2009) and Hitchcock€s Villains (Scarecrow Press 2013), as well as Geek Wisdom (Quirk Books 2011) and other books. Before Breaking Bad came along, he thought Deadwood was the greatest thing since sliced bread. He still thinks it€s pretty damn good.