Why Breaking Dangerous’s Creator Does not Need To Be Remembered For Walter White
“Breaking Dangerous” creator Vince Gilligan was this 12 months’s recipient of the Writers Guild of America’s Paddy Chayefsky Laurel Award for Tv Writing Achievement — an annual lifetime achievement award that honors one of the best of one of the best in tv writing. (Previous recipients embody Rod Serling, Larry David, and David Chase.)
In his acceptance speech (reported on by Selection), Gilligan shared some combined ideas on the legacy of his most well-known work to date. Citing the prevalence of unhealthy guys within the present political panorama, he feels it is time to take a break from antihero protagonists like his personal teacher-turned-meth prepare dinner lead, Walter “Heisenberg” White (brilliantly performed by Bryan Cranston). Gilligan defined:
“Walter White is likely one of the all time nice unhealthy guys. However all issues being equal, I believe I would somewhat be celebrated for creating somebody a bit extra inspiring. In 2025 it is time to say that out loud, as a result of we live in an period the place unhealthy guys, the actual life sort, are operating amok.”
“Breaking Dangerous” was not at all the primary anti-hero TV drama. In Cranston’s personal phrases, “with out Tony Soprano there isn’t any Walter White.” The ultimate season of “Breaking Dangerous” additionally aired concurrently with season 8 of “Dexter,” and totally usurped it regardless of “Dexter” getting a head begin with an earlier debut.
And therein lies within the rub. “Breaking Dangerous” concluded 12 years in the past, however left an indelible mark on popular culture: previous followers are drawn to rewatch it, and new followers are experiencing it for the primary time. Another TV anti-heroes have pale from the cultural reminiscence, however not Walter White. For Gilligan, Heisenberg stands beside different “cool” villains of films and TV like Michael Corleone, Hannibal Lecter, Darth Vader, and the aforementioned Mr. Soprano. That is a part of his downside.
Vince Gilligan thinks the age of unhealthy guys ought to finish
Gilligan had beforehand mentioned his want to “write man” throughout a 2022 interview with The New Yorker. Throughout that interview, Gilligan admitted he is been reassessing how he wrapped Walter’s story within the “Breaking Dangerous” finale “Felina.”
“The additional away I get from ‘Breaking Dangerous,’ the much less sympathy I’ve for Walter. He obtained thrown a lifeline early on. And, if he had been a greater human being, he would’ve swallowed his satisfaction and brought the chance to deal with his most cancers with the cash his former buddies provided him. He goes out on his personal phrases, however he leaves a path of destruction behind him. I concentrate on that greater than I used to.”
Sadly, not the entire “Breaking Dangerous” followers on the market have been as reflective as Gilligan. When the present aired, many followers would lionize Walter and twist justifications for his actions the way in which the character himself did. A few of those self same followers notoriously despised Walter’s spouse Skyler (Anna Gunn) for getting in the way in which of his crimes. Gunn wrote a New York Occasions op-ed in 2013 addressing the misogyny-driven Skyler backlash, and the way she needed to cope with it.
For Gilligan, audiences have began to fixate an excessive amount of on cool unhealthy guys. It is unavoidable as a result of there are such a lot of of them on the market in popular culture, due to how the antihero has turn out to be the default lead for dramatic TV, and Gilligan is anxious in regards to the attainable real-world influence of that:
“[Audiences] say, ‘Man, these dudes are badass. I need to be that cool.’ When that occurs, fictional unhealthy guys cease being the cautionary participant that they had been created to be. God assist us, they’ve turn out to be aspirational.”
Higher Name Saul’s Rhea Seehorn is taking part in man in Gilligan’s subsequent present
For what it is value, “Breaking Dangerous” prequel/sequel “Higher Name Saul” ends with Saul (Bob Odenkirk) publicly repenting and accepting imprisonment, a la “Crime and Punishment.” That is fairly a unique destiny from Walt who pulled out one final victory and died on his personal phrases.
Talking of “Higher Name Saul,” Gilligan additionally talked about his forthcoming Apple TV+ collection through the speech. Little is thought in regards to the plot, however it’s a science fiction collection set in Albuquerque that stars Rhea Seehorn (aka Kim Wexler) as a flat-out good man. Comparisons to “Breaking Dangerous” will probably be inevitable (as Gilligan was properly conscious once I was fortunate sufficient to talk with him again in 2023), nevertheless it seems like he is okay with this collection being a a lot completely different beast than his earlier Albuquerque tales.
“We now have to begin celebrating heroes once more, good folks once more. Because the years have gone on, we have increasingly more exhibits and films and novels and tales of all types the place the purpose obtained missed someplace […] When you’ve got sufficient tales with unhealthy guys in it, who’re we alleged to root for?”
Bryan Cranston has mentioned he’d play Walt once more if Gilligan had a powerful pitch, however from Gilligan’s personal phrases, he in all probability is not inclined to develop one within the first place.
