OK so I lied. After watching the final episode of the TV show Breaking Bad I posted on Twitter:
“#GoodbyeBreakingBad great finale! No need for a new blog my original thoughts hold true.”
I guess not quite. I have more to say after allowing it all to sink in. 24 hours ago I completed a four day Breaking Bad marathon. I watched hours of the 4 seasons of the show that I hadn’t seen culminating with the finale. I DVRed the episodes that played as I slept and filled my days watching them.
The destruction of Walter White is a study of the depravity of human nature at its worst. He embodies most if not all of what are known historically as the Seven Deadly Sins
In the Book of Proverbs 6:16-19, among the verses traditionally associated with King Solomon, it states that the Lord specifically regards “six things the Lord hateth, and seven that are an abomination unto Him”, namely:[4]
- A proud look
- A lying tongue
- Hands that shed innocent blood
- A heart that devises wicked plots
- Feet that are swift to run into mischief
- A deceitful witness that uttereth lies
- Him that soweth discord among brethren.
Sure sounds like Walter White to me as he descends further and further into the world of manufacturing and dealing Meth. To cover up his crime, he commits murder. I lost count of how many lives were lost in the series because of him. It is not a new story. Destruction from sin is as old as mankind and repeated over and over again throughout history. It is, however the contemporary version reflecting America in the 21st Century.
It is existentialism for today. As in The Stranger by Albert Camus (1942) it is a world void of moral consequences. It is a world void of God. Not once is any form of God referred to throughout the tale. We never see a funeral for any of the deaths, where we might hear a comforting prayer. There is no token religious, moral character. Hank the DEA agent who is on Walt’s trail is more motivated by a vendetta than moral outrage. His quest is based on his own sin of pride. Jesse Pinkman attends a Twelve-step group but we never hear about reliance on a Higher Power or the Serenity prayer.
This is the secular godless America that we have become.
Walter White’s consequence is the alienation of his family-the loss of love from his life. His crimes were initially motivated as a way to provide for his family as he faced the prospect of dying from cancer. His pride in his abilities as a chemist to produce a high quality drug and his greed drove him further.
In one episode, his wife brings him to the container where the cash is stored totaling approximately $80million. She says to him “How much is enough?”
In the final episode he admits to her, “I did it for me.”
He avoids prosecution by escaping to a remote cabin in New Hampshire, but his conscience rises from the ashes of his life and he makes steps to put an end to the evil he has perpetrated. The good that he does in the end no way makes up for all the evil, but it prevents the evil from continuing.
The final vestige of his humanity appears as he throws his body on Jesse to shield him from the bullets firing from the contraption he has built. This was to destroy the evil men that were carrying on the manufacture of Walt’s blue Meth. In the process of shielding Jesse he takes a fatal bullet. Walt gave his life for Jesse. This is his final redemption. Selfishness, greed and pride drove his behavior for the two years of the story. Love and self sacrifice ended it.
This is why we see peace on his face as he lies dead. Is there salvation for Walter White? The Bible states that faith in Christ is the road to salvation. There is nothing to indicate that Walt had faith in anything but himself, but who knows what happens as a soul passes from death to eternity? Walt was willing to confess to his wife his sin and sacrifice himself for Jesse. Maybe as he lay dying ,he found the only true source of peace-God Himself.
cindybiondigobrecht 