Breaking Bad: 10 Unpopular Opinions About The Show (According To Reddit)
Breaking Bad fans, get ready to get worked up over these impressively unpopular opinions about the hit show.
Breaking Bad is one of the most popular television shows of all time. It enjoyed enormous critical adoration throughout all five seasons, and its meteoric rise in popularity throughout the early 2010s was something truly astounding to behold.
A lot of people will agree on a lot of things when it comes to Breaking Bad. But there are certainly aspects about its creation that remain hotly divisive within the fandom. We’re here to explore some of that division and report on what is not widely agreed upon.
These are ten unpopular opinions about Breaking Bad (according to Reddit).
Walt Always Remained Sympathetic
One of the most important aspects of Breaking Bad is the character regression of protagonist Walter White. Walt begins the series as a rather sad sack and sympathetic loser, but we lose much of that sympathy throughout the series as he goes about poisoning children, destroying his family, killing people, and selling Jesse into slavery. Just to name a few. However, the top-rated post on this unpopular opinions thread states, “Most people say they had a point where they saw Walt as the villain and started to dislike him but I never lost sympathy for him.”
Not Hating Skyler
The issue of Skyler is certainly a tricky one. On one hand, Skyler should be the sympathetic one throughout the show. As Reddit user Burnenoticelover posits, “I never hated Skyler. She was annoying, but I think she was just trying to keep herself and the kids safe, and I can’t blame her for that.” But on the other hand, Skyler is so reviled within the Breaking Bad fandom that this analysis is considered a controversial one!
Fly Is A Good Episode
Season three’s ‘Fly’ remains the most divisive of the entire series. And there seems to be no middle ground. You either adore its restrained, contemplative, play-like approach, or you absolutely revile it for the same reasons. Reddit user swiggdyswoody argues that “Fly is a f****** good episode,” to which crystalina1984 agrees, saying it was a “much needed break with symbolism.” So what do you think? Masterpiece, or unneeded bore of an episode that slows down proceedings?
It’s Inferior To Better Call Saul
Absolutely no one thought that Better Call Saul would work. And even those among us who had some semblance of faith knew that it would never reach the pedigree of Breaking Bad.
Most people would probably agree with that, judging by the respective shows’ popularity. But Reddit user DB-aa23 confidently claims that “Better Call Saul is a better show.” When asked to explain their reasoning, they claimed that it was largely due to the character development.
Hank Finding Walt’s Book Was Stupid
Was Vince Gilligan and company at an impasse when it came to Hank and Walt? They obviously needed a way for Hank to find out the truth about his brother-in-law, and they went with “finding a book in his bathroom.” This clearly didn’t sit with everyone in the fandom. Especially Reddit user Mistuh_Mosbi, who claims that “Hank finding the book from Gale in Walt’s bathroom is probably the most stupidest, even Ex Machina, way of advancing the plot.”
Jesse Is A “Crying B****”
There are very few sympathetic characters throughout Breaking Bad, but the show always wanted us to feel bad for Jesse. He’s not a perfect man by any means, but the tone of the series always suggested that Jesse was the most sympathetic of the main group of villains. However, SuitablePerspective argues that “Jesse is always a crying b**** and doesn’t understand how much Walt has done for him.” So they don’t feel bad for him, then?
Jane & Gale Deserved To Die
When it comes to the show’s “hardest to watch” deaths, most people will point to Jane and Gale.
Jane suffocated on her own vomit while Walt watched, and Gale was unceremoniously shot through the face by Jesse (on orders from Walt, of course). The deaths were certainly hard to watch, but did they deserve them? A Reddit user (whose name has since been deleted) thinks so, as they argue “Jane deserved to die, Gale deserved to die.” The only response? A single “oof.”
Ozymandias Is Not The Best Episode
Moving over to this unpopular opinions thread, and we see that Ozymandias is not considered the best episode by all. Ozymandias has an incredibly rare distinction on IMDb – it continues to hold a perfect 10/10 rating, even after 115,000 user votes. By all accounts, Ozymandias is a perfect episode of television. It literally doesn’t get better than this. Yet Reddit user Rswany argues that “significant plot change does not necessarily mean highest quality.” Fair enough.
The Plane Crash Was Poorly Handled
One of the biggest events of Breaking Bad is the plane crash. Walt indirectly kills Jane, resulting in her air traffic controller father’s grief, resulting in him inadvertently crashing two planes and raining bodies on the White household. But Nicholas_Sparks argues that the plane crash was “cheap.” They felt “ripped off,” argued that “several hundred deaths was a little much to throw on the pile so early in the show’s run,” and states that it “felt so disconnected from the rest of the plot that [they] rarely consider it.”
Gus’s Death Was Silly
Perhaps the most notable and popular death in the show is that of Gus Fring. He becomes the victim of a homemade explosive, and he briefly walks out of the room and adjusts his tie before the camera reveals half his face missing. It’s meant to be a little “gotcha” moment for the audience, but spacitybowler argues that it just “looks like The Walking Dead.” Some people agree, believing that it was too outlandish. Others defend it, arguing that Gus was running on adrenaline.
