The Vince Gilligan Universe (Breaking Bad, BCS, El Camino..)
Mar 23, 2023 11:34:11 GMT
loveless likes this
Post by Reactionary Rage on Mar 23, 2023 11:34:11 GMT
I would need to watch it again to really add anything even edging towards interesting.
A large part of the shows appeal was Walter as an anti-hero. There was just something immensely satisfying about watching him shake all those shackles off and embracing the dark side but for most of it you were pretty much with him all the way. He's one of those characters who gets at something universal and troubling that we don't always acknowledge but which exists within us. That desire to just be sociopathic and completely self-interested and ruthless in a way that becomes a fantasy. But then he was doing it for the wife and kid but then at what point did it really become just about him and, if we are being honest, you can recognise that impulse/desire in yourself too, no?
Certainly as a portrayal of a good man gone bad I can't think of another in modern TV/cinema that is as well rounded, as compelling and as believable as this one.
We absolutely have "our worst angels". All of us. And for Vince Gilligan to really use that as the crux of his enterprise (creating "sympathetic monsters" who appeal to a lot of what lurks within us)...I find it majorly compelling. I mean, I'm rewatching both shows and...especially with BCS, I can't stop rooting for certain characters whom I KNOW are deeply flawed. On a rewatch, I'm seeing the flaws with infinitely more clarity and far earlier in the series, and...I don't even know that it matters.
Have you seen Red Rocket?
It came out in 2021 and it’s very good but the premise is that the protagonist – a porn star retreating to his home town in Texas who has fallen on hard times – is basically a complete shitbag yet you still root for him. It subverts the desire people naturally have for redemption arcs. It’s hard for normal people to accept that some people are just cunts and are beyond saving which is one of the reasons of course that such people can exploit others kindness and naivety for their own gain.
I can recommend it.