My 'Bad' show

This week I finished watching Breaking Bad, at least the 4 seasons that I can stream off of Netflix right now. I can’t believe how much that show comes to my mind. It is one of the first shows that I’ve watched play out over a couple of seasons and been completely intrigued as to the behavior of each of the characters. Never did the story take a direction that was cheesy or too far fetched. In the instances where coincidence was taken to its highest levels a major theme of the show was presented: One man's decisions don't just affect that one man. Here is my disclaimer, this show is intense. It's gritty. It shows some really unhappy things that happen to people. That is why I call it My 'Bad' Show; it is something that I wouldn't recommend to some because of the realities portrayed that take place on 'the other side of the fence'. That being said however, it is an amazing illustration set in Albuquerque, New Mexico about agency. Choosing right and wrong. More importantly, what is right and what is wrong and how do we know? Several times through the series you find yourself rooting for Walter White, the protagonist, and then realize that what he is doing is criminal. Through his experiences we see that one little lie snowballs into bigger and bigger lies with growing frequency, that no man’s decisions only affect him and him alone, that fighting with science on your side can be cooler than guns and knives, that making unwise choices for the sake of protecting those that you love can bring up unexpected and unwanted consequences, getting what you want exactly how you want it doesn’t always turn out to be what you wanted, and that the best hiding place for the sinister and unlawful is in plain site. I’m satisfied how season 4 ended, and part of me wonders if I want to take in the final season since I have a tendency to feel addicted to the show. I think I’ll need to watch to see how things ultimately resolve since as of this moment the ‘good guy’ has won, but he’s made himself a bad guy in doing so, and the snowball of lies Mr. White has rolled to this point will inevitably create an avalanche so big that I’ll be curious to see who is affected and how.

The show has made me think about the decisions I make everyday and all of the formidable decisions I've made through my life. I was thrilled to find the pictured illustration above from Mad magazine about this show. It reminded me of the times I'd go to the store with my folks and while they did the shopping I'd find a Mad magazine and look for the parody spread. I've always loved Tom Richmond's character and illustration style. Until this particular spread, I don't think that I've ever read the text blocks at all in their entirety, I'd just always look at the pictures. That says a lot about me I guess. So much has happened since then, and if I take a moment to ponder, I can see how all of my decisions have played out from boyhood to now. I fortunately can look back and chalk up my mistakes for learning and see that any hurt, at least that I'm aware of, has been temperamental and small. I see that small decisions or that acting on impressions have grown to bless my life and enrich it with music, art, sport, increased learning, relationships and love. So blessed I feel to have been taught that taking the honest path is the correct way to go. The flip side of this coin is that there are several other small decisions and impulses that I could have taken or followed which would have wiped out the chances of me enjoying what I do and have today. I guess the name of the game is to foster a relationship with what is true and right. That way, you are familiar to its voice when it comes calling and you are able to leave the distracting influences that lead elsewhere behind.