While its debut season in January 2008 only ran for seven episodes (shortened because of the writers' strike), it soon found itself renewed for a full-run second season and ultimately ran for five seasons, with its finale airing on September 29, 2013.
Though Walt would later change his mind about killing Jesse, he initially rejected the idea out of hand.Breaking Bad is an AMC neo-western crime drama series created and produced by Vince Gilligan. Earlier this season, in “Rabid Dog,” Saul refers to Jesse as a “rabid dog” when suggesting to Walt that the former “Captain Cook” be taken out. Back in Season 4, Jesse used the metaphor of a “problem dog” who needs to be put down to explain-in veiled terms-his killing of Gale Boetticher. Todd took Drew Sharp’s spider after killing him-almost as though it were a trophy of sorts-and not long after another incident of violence in the desert (this time when Todd’s white-supremacist Uncle Jack murdered Hank and Steve Gomez), Todd took Jesse in much the same manner.īut a spider isn’t the only animal to become associated with Jesse (and considering how deeply Drew Sharp’s death affected him, it’s fair to connect the two). Notice anything familiar in this image?Ī spider that looked eerily similar walked right in front of Jesse right before he met with Walt for what proved to be their last civil conversation. In the recent “Ozymandias” episode, there’s a visual gag so quick and subtle that you could easily miss it if you blinked at the wrong moment. Of course, the color of Walt’s clothes isn’t the only way that Gilligan winks at the audience. Conversely, Walt reverts to more neutral tones during his weaker moments, when he removes himself from the drug business (two prominent examples: first, when he initially resolved to make a run for it near the end of Season 4 and second, when working in the car wash during the first episodes from this summer’s slate). The color tone of his clothing grows increasingly strong, as well as dark, and Walt often wears black when in a position of power (perhaps most notably during the infamous Season 5 “ Say My Name” scene). As John LaRue pointed out in this incredibly detailed infographic, however, Walt’s cancer diagnosis and subsequent turn to crime also led to drastic shift in color scheme.
When the show began, Walt was a mild-mannered high-school chemistry teacher who wore muted tones and had a very close relationship with khaki (both the color and the pant-style). Bryan) has a bit of a thing for using clothes-specifically clothing color-to explain what’s happening in the world of Walter White. But with the show’s fifth and final season drawing to a close on Sunday, we thought it fitting to give special attention to a few of the best visual motifs and theories you might have missed: The clothes make the manīreaking Bad (thanks in part to costume designers Kathleen Detoro and Jennifer L.
And happily for fans, showrunner Vince Gilligan and his writing staff are committed to cramming each episode full of as many Easter eggs as it can hold. Thanks to legions of devoted viewers and recappers, rare is the callback or veiled reference that goes unnoticed. Perhaps more than any television show in recent memory, Breaking Bad has been analyzed, scrutinized and thoroughly dissected - all on a weekly basis. Tomorrow: An interview with David Costabile (better known to BB fans as Gale Boetticher) Follow is the second part in a weeklong series of Breaking Bad-related stories, all leading up to the series finale airing this Sunday.