Breaking Bad, Bitch!

I'm back! At long last. I wish I could say I was doing something fun and exciting in the three months since my last post, but the truth is that I just sort of lost the urge to write anything. This was, when all is said and done, a pretty shitty summer movie season; I tried my best to not think about movies too much. You can check out my reviews over at BackRowCritics to see how well I did with that.

I return now because the new and final season of Breaking Bad starts in less than a week. At this point, you either know what Breaking Bad is and you probably love it, or you've still somehow never heard of it. I'm not here to talk about its merits or my anticipation for the final season, or any of that. You can find that anywhere on the internet.

I actually wanted to talk about something I don't really see anyone ranting and raving about (granted, I don't look very hard). And that's the character of Hank Schrader. Breaking Bad has always had a diverse and interesting supporting cast -- Saul, Gus, Mike, and to a lesser extent, Skinny Pete, Badger, Jane, Gale, and Tuco. But in my mind, Hank is like the third corner of a triangle opposite Walt and Jesse.

Yea...this guy.

I argue that Hank's character, his transformation during the five seasons of the show, and his relationship with the 'main' characters is just as profound and ambitious as the dynamic between Walt and Jesse. In the first season, Hank comes off as kind of a goofball DEA agent. If anything, it seems that his existence is completely contrived; we have a show about a chemist who wants to cook meth, so of course his brother-in-law is a DEA agent. And at first, Hank is the comic relief supporting character, balancing out the irritating wife Skyler and her sister Marie.

But we quickly realize that Hank is not only a fantastic detective, he is also incredibly human. He never honestly suspects Walt of cooking meth; it would just be ludicrous. However, he is dedicated to his work. He gets an enjoyment out of catching bad guys and locking up 'monsters'. And then, when he tracks Jesse's car to Hector Salamanca's house and ends up killing Tuco out of self defense, his entire life changes. The near death experience jump starts his career investigation while at the same time initiating him into the brutal realities of the drug trade creeping up from below the border. Things only get more disturbing for Hank when he is promoted and sent to El Paso, where he barely survives a violent cartel 'message'. In season three, Salamanca's sons attack Hank, on Gus' orders, shooting him four times. He manages to kill both of them and survive, only to continue his hunt for Heisenberg.

What's fascinating about the show is that every step of Hank's journey is inadvertently orchestrated by Walt. It is never as simple as Hank being hot on Walt's trail. Hank's life, his security, his sanity, and his career have all been put in jeopardy because of Walt's decisions. By season five, though he's still cracking boner jokes and razzing Steve Gomez, Hank is a completely different person. His transformation has been just as remarkable as Walt and Jesse's.

And this, hopefully, is why the second half of season two is going to be so memorable. In that last scene -- of Hank on the toilet, of all places -- he realizes that not only has Heisenberg been under his nose this entire time (much like his boss learned of Gustavo Fring earlier in the season), but every little thing that has happened to him in the past couple of years, for better or worse, has been because of Walt. It was searching for Walt that led to the confrontation with Tuco, Walt's idea to pretend Marie was in a car accident, which ended in Hank putting Jesse in the hospital, Walt's situation with Gus that set the Salamanca brothers against Hank. It goes on and on. I cannot wait to see what these next eight episodes bring. To think Hank is just going to throw a pair of handcuffs on Walt and call it a day is way too easy.

From what I read, people always seem to say 'are you on Walt's side or Jesse's side?' Well, I am on Hank's side.

The actor who plays Hank is Dean Norris. He is also currently on the show Under the Dome, and is easily the best actor on the show (unfortunately, that isn't saying much). My reason for this post is because the actor and the character both deserve more credit. Gus is possibly my favorite TV villain; Saul Goodman is getting a spin-off series; Cranston wins an emmy just about every year. But where is the love for Hank?

Anyways, Breaking Bad.