Breaking Bad

Very popular series that got recommended on Reddit constantly, running from 2008 to 2013.
==First watch (August-September 2013)==
===Format===
At home, with Mum.
===Journal===
I was up for watching it but couldn't be bothered to do so on my own, but in August 2013 Mum out of the blue asked if I'd watch it with her, as she'd heard colleagues going on about it at work.
Season 1 (2nd-8th August 2013)
Started with the first episode on the 2nd of August 2013. It was very good! Watched episodes 2 and 3 episodes on the 3rd, which were also great. Watched 4 at some point then 5 and 6 on the 7th, with Sarah and Shaun. One more to go! Loving it. Finished it on the 8th of August. Ending was a bit uneventful, but apparently it was cut 2 episodes short due to the writer's strike.
2
Season 2 (8th-22nd August 2013)
Watched the first episode on the 8th of August with Mum. Interesting... to be honest I thought the ricin thing was a bit of a stretch. Walt's chemistry knowledge has been used well so far, just enough that it's badass and cool when he does it. But it's risking becoming a bit Inspector Gadget.
Watched episodes 2 and 3 on the 10th of August, along with Sarah and Shaun. Not bad. Watched episodes 4, 5 and 6 in a row with Sarah and Shaun on the 11th. Supposedly this is the part that turns some people away, due to the scarcity of good things happening for the characters, but I'm enjoying it still. It makes the good bits better when they're scarcer.
Episodes 7 on the 12th and 8 and 9 on the 13th. Last few were really good! Episode 10 at some point soon after that, then a bit of a break while Luke and Ben were here until we watched 11 and 12 on the 21st. Those were really good, I keep trying to see how Skyler is going to find out about their activities because I read she leaves him this season, but it's got a lot going on besides any hints towards that.
Finished with the final episode on the 22nd of August 2013, with Mum, Sarah and Shaun. Dun dun dun! I thought it was a bit silly and pointless that the whole pink bear thing ended up being completely irrelevant and unrelated, but I loved the ending. What's gonna haappeen!?
2
Season 3 (23rd-26th August 2013)
Watched the first two episodes on the 23rd at home with Mum. A really good start, I thought, though Mum was confused about a lot of what was going on! I liked the dynamic of having Walt away from the family home.
Watched 5 episodes (up to ep7) on the 25th with Mum. Awesome!
On the 26th we finished it off (and started Season 4 :P). Hoooly moly that was awesome. Loved the ending.
3? Maybe? 2 probably, if I'm honest. But maybe 3...
Season 4 (26th-31st August 2013)
Watched the first episode on the 26th of August with Mum, having spent basically the whole day watching it. Great start! Very interesting!
Finished it in 5 days. Mostly not as keen on this season as previously, but the final 3 episodes were amazing :P I can't rate this season higher than a 1 though.
1
Season 5 (1st-30th September 2013)
Watched the first episode on the 1st of September with Mum, after my last shift at McD's and the night before my first day as a teacher. Interesting beginning... seems Walt is basically fully bad now?
Up to the fifth episode by the 4th of September. It has changed rather dramatically, with Walt being a total ass and Skyler being really quite traumatically stuck with him. She actually says she's waiting for the cancer to kill him, and you're on her side when she does. I can't help but think this must be deliberate so that it leads up to something, but for now I'm a bit meh.
Watched up to episode 12 on the 6th. Loved the transition between the halves of the season (which had a year between airing!). But generally still missing the earlier seasons. 4 episodes to go!
While Mum was on holiday I watched 2 episodes as they aired, and we watched the penultimate episode together a day or two after it came out. I was not really liking this season much, and generally haven't liked the way it's gone since season 4, but the penultimate episode was pretty damn good and ended on a really awesome note. I'm pretty sure the final episode will be awesome to watch.
Watched the last episode with Mum, Sarah and Shaun on the 30th of September 2013. No surprises, rounded everything up neatly, no disappointments, no complaints, so good job on that. Overall the series was extremely well made and watchable, but the last two seasons were not as fun to watch as the first 3. I preferred it when I was rooting for Walt.
1
===Overall rating===
2
==Second watch (August-September 2018)==
===Format===
At home in Osaka.
===Journal===
Watched it around about the summer of 2018 (can't remember exactly when I started), finishing with most of the second part of season 5 on September 16th.
I loved the beginning, returning to when things were in the early days. I love how it progresses from season to season. I entered the 5th season thinking I didn't like it anymore because it's so dark and Walt is so nasty, but it actually pushed along at such a pace and with such compelling drama that I didn't have time to dwell on that before its end. And it has such a powerful overall arc, with such good directing, acting, and whatever else, that I can't see myself giving it less than a 3.
I did kinda think at the end of the second to last episode that it could have just ended there and been good too :P One critic's opinion of the last episode was that it was like a fantasy of Walt's about how it could all wrap up in his favour, so I had that in my mind while watching it and kinda can see their point. Maybe one serious criticism of the series is that its primary protagonist, who we are obviously meant to kinda like and I do, is such an awful, terrible, evil guy. Like maybe that's a bit inconsistent.
===Overall rating===
3
=Links and references=
Category:Works
Category:TV series
Category:American TV series
Category:Drama TV series
Category:Crime TV series
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Category:TV series with 2 rating
Category:TV series with 3 rating
Category:TV series watched in 2013
Category:TV series watched in 2018