Hot take: Most of Breaking Bad was actually boring filler

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Obviously, the pilot is great and obviously, the final few episodes where the crap hits the fan are great and the stuff with Gus is wonderful and Hector Salamanca is pretty good, too.

But there's a lot of stuff in between all of that. Why do we care about the sister-in-law shoplifting? It never goes anywhere and it never amounts to anything. Why do we care about the brother-in-law's addiction to geodes? Yes, he's sad and depressed, but that could have been shown in a single scene or even a line of dialogue: "He spent how much on geodes?"

When I say this to Breaking Bad fans they often go berserk, and insist that it's all great and I just don't get it.

What am I missing here? Breaking Bad feels like a five season show that could have easily been turned into a one-season wonder or even a fantastic two and a half hour movie.

 

[Bedrockgames]

Obviously, the pilot is great and obviously, the final few episodes where the crap hits the fan are great and the stuff with Gus is wonderful and Hector Salamanca is pretty good, too.

But there's a lot of stuff in between all of that. Why do we care about the sister-in-law shoplifting? It never goes anywhere and it never amounts to anything. Why do we care about the brother-in-law's addiction to geodes? Yes, he's sad and depressed, but that could have been shown in a single scene or even a line of dialogue: "He spent how much on geodes?"

When I say this to Breaking Bad fans they often go berserk, and insist that it's all great and I just don't get it.

What am I missing here? Breaking Bad feels like five season show that could have easily been turned into a one-season wonder or even a fantastic two and a half hour movie.

It is a fair reaction. I happened to enjoy it. But I do get bored with a lot of shows that bog down the story in very slow pacing. I can see how someone might have this reaction to it. I think I binged it in the summer of 2015 or 2014. So watching it all at once probably could have impacted my experience (not sure what my reaction to it would have been episode to episode). And it has been long enough that I don't know how I would feel about all the individual episodes if I saw them now. It was also a show I didn't feel the need to see again after (whereas I've rewatched the Sopranos multiples times).

 

[Deset Gled]

When I say this to Breaking Bad fans they often go berserk, and insist that it's all great and I just don't get it.

I'm with you in this. I found Breaking Bad to be one of the most over rated shows of all time. It's not bad by any means, but nowhere near as good as it get praised for.

To add to your list: the plane crash plot was silly, over the top coincidence that would fit better as part of a day time soap opera.

 

[Horwath]

I agree.

I absolutely loved the show 1st time when I watched it.

But, 2nd time few years later I fast forwarded more than half the scenes.

endless breakfast/dinner scenes to be added to your list

 

[Zardnaar]

I loved it first time round not a bad episode.

I haven't rewatched it though.

Sopranos probably better, Wire maybe (last season was a wet fart).

 

[AnotherGuy]

But there's a lot of stuff in between all of that. Why do we care about the sister-in-law shoplifting? It never goes anywhere and it never amounts to anything.

This is what I found online, since it has been a while for me.

the shoplifting arc wasn't abandoned, (its mentioned that she was seeing a shrink about it by Hank, which would explain it's absence for a while) but in Season 4 episode, Open House, Marie began shoplifting again (most likely a subliminal cry for help due to Hank's verbal abuse while he was bedridden and collecting "minerals"). after she was arrested for trying to steal from an open house, she was bailed out by Hank's cop buddy Tim. Tim then asked for a favor in return, for Hank to look at a case Tim was working on, which was the homicide of Gale Boetticher. Which, of course, had major consequences. so if Marie wasn't a shoplifter, Hank would have never discovered Gus' secret, and Hank wouldn't ever have seen Gale's Walt Whitman quote in his lab notes, and made the connection to Walter in season 5.

Why do we care about the brother-in-law's addiction to geodes? Yes, he's sad and depressed, but that could have been shown in a single scene or even a line of dialogue: "He spent how much on geodes?"

There are various theories on the internet about this.

When I say this to Breaking Bad fans they often go berserk, and insist that it's all great and I just don't get it.

What am I missing here? Breaking Bad feels like five season show that could have easily been turned into a one-season wonder or even a fantastic two and a half hour movie.

Would it have been as good, probably not.
The story has a lot of metaphorical layers, and it showed the gradual fall/corruption of people as worse and worse things became normalised.

 

[Snarf Zagyg]

When I say this to Breaking Bad fans they often go berserk, and insist that it's all great and I just don't get it.

What am I missing here? Breaking Bad feels like five season show that could have easily been turned into a one-season wonder or even a fantastic two and a half hour movie.

To unpack this-

What are you missing? A lot.
Does that mean you are a bad, stupid person? Of course not.

Taste is always subjective. I wish more people would understand this simple concept. Hence the Tom Waits principle, "People like what they like. You can’t force someone to like something. You can expose them to a piece of work, but if they don’t like it, that’s the way it is. You can’t talk them out of it." h/t Settled Law of Judge John Hodgman.

You can discuss your preferences. People can articulate why they like what they like. You can even try and discuss features that make you more or less likely to enjoy something, or how a particular piece accomplishes its goals (for example, whether or not a "jump scare" is effectively filmed). But in the end ... people are idiosyncratic, and if we all liked the same things, then we would live in a monoculture, and we don't.

Personally, I think that Breaking Bad is one of the greatest shows ever. It combines amazing acting, great directing, propulsive plots, as well as intricate character work that makes you fully appreciate that these are inhabited characters - not just plot devices. And, almost as importantly, while the shows are intricately plotted with a sense of payoff that develops not just from episode to episode, but from season to season, it also doesn't suffer from the "JJ Abrams Puzzle box" effect .... the show feels lived in, and there is the constant feeling that there is a world beyond the show that doesn't depend on the show's machinations.

But it's also not for everyone. And that's okay! Two of the shows that I absolutely love (Rectify, The Leftovers) are also not for everyone, because they are ... depressing. I will continue to reiterate that Legion is the best superhero show ever (and arguably one of the best ever) but I know for a fact that the visual style and the plot will alienate a great many people.

You watched the show. You didn't think it was "all that." You've articulated some reasons for it - but I'd argue that if you really interrogated your feelings, your dissatisfaction is probably deeper ... or maybe simpler (you thought it was fine, and simply don't understand why other people think it's great). In the end, that's all you can do.*



*You can learn to appreciate things, obviously, and things might change as you change. When I was young and watched Citizen Kane, I thought it was just another movie. I had to learn a lot about film to truly appreciate it. The Great Gatsby, when I had to read it in ninth grade, sucked. But when I read it on my own years later, I loved it.

 

[Yora]

Back in the 80s and 90s, all TV shows were nothing but filler. The filler was the main thing.

 

[dragoner]

I watched it once on a date with a girl and it had some kid sleeping on a dirty mattress, and people breaking into an atm machine? Didn't watch it again, though I know what it is like to be poor, starving, and homeless as a child.

 

[payn]

I think it felt worse in Better Call Saul, YMMV. Though, these shows at least have great overall arcs and stories. The filler issue is rampant in most of television. It was especially egregious in shows like Sons of Anarchy, The Walking Dead, and Yellowstone. Once a show reaches a certain level of popularity, they just cant help themselves. Actors want to expand their characters, writers want to get in on the scripts for a credit to their name, etc.. Eventually you have everybody fighting for the director's chair and you get too many cooks (im looking at you later seasons Sopranos...).

On the other end, you just remember the misses compared to the hits. In a movie, you have laser focus on a few characters. In a series, you can expand that and give more roundness to supporting characters. Sometimes that grows into something, and sometimes it dies on the vine. Also, the fans get serviced. The meme level stuff gets attention, water cooler talk, etc.. Its just a product of modern television and film making that can often be distracting, if not annoying.