There are many opening scenes of series that have become quite famous over the years. However, in recent TV history, at least, I don’t think any first sequence has become quite asiconic as the opening scene of Breaking Bad Season 1. The RV barreling through, breaking the serene silence of the desert. Walt’s confession to his family before he grabs his gun, fearing the worst. And let’s not forget of course, his whitey-tighties. On its own, the first scene of Breaking Bad Season 1 is simply dynamic. It leaves you guessing, wondering exactly what is going on, almost dizzy and disoriented by the whiplash of emotions, from fear to laughter to confusion to even sadness. In a way, the very beginning of Breaking Bad Season 1 is a perfect encapsulation of what the entire series was. That opening scene truly set the tone for the rest of Breaking Bad and here’s how.
As I stated above, the first images of Breaking Bad Season 1 cause a whirlwind of feelings for the viewer. We are first startled and intrigued with this RV that is speeding through the desert, and we then find ourselves laughing as a man in his underwear (literally titled “Underpants Man” in Vince Gilligan’s pilot script) exits the vehicle. Then before we can embrace the humor of it all, we are punched in the gut with sadness and worry for this man, Walter White, who is saying goodbye to his family and readying his gun, preparing for a possible shootout with police or to potentially commit suicide. This combination of tension, dark comedy, and looming sadness that we initially feel in the opening moments of Breaking Bad Season 1 is what permeates throughout the best episodes of the show and ultimately is what resonates about the series. This sequence, like so many other moments like it, are what we are still talking about (and, in my case, writing articles about) even though it’s been a year since Breaking Bad ended.
The series was consistently thrilling and violent, with vicious drug lords torturing and killing other characters and Walt somehow navigating ways out of these situations, which seemed, at the time, impossible to escape from. Simply look at some of the show’s most-talked about sequences, like Hank’s shootout against the Cousins in Season 3, Walt saving Jesse at the end of “Half Measures,” or the concluding scene of Season 4’s “Crawl Space,” which still lingers for me as one of the most haunting things I’ve ever seen on television.
However, in addition to to being a thrill ride, Breaking Bad was also, in a very dark way, incredibly funny. From that very first image of Walt in his underwear to Walt’s misguided attempts at being a “tough guy” early on in the series to Jesse sitting down at the Whites’ kitchen table in Season 5 for the most awkward TV dinner of all-time, there’s no shortage of laughs throughout the series, as they are sprinkled in between (and sometimes a part of) very serious and dark situations.
And then there’s the sadness and the dread, two emotions that I would associate most with Breaking Bad, even though I thoroughly enjoy re-watching the show. For me, Breaking Bad isn’t so much a show about a “good guy breaking bad” as much as it is about the disintegration of a family due to a patriarch who is blinded by greed and power. The losses that the Whites and Schraders sustain are both emotional (Skyler loses her independence thanks to Walt’s criminal life and threats) and physical (Hank is killed execution style in the desert partly because of Walt), and even though these major developments don’t occur till later in the show’s run, we anticipate that impending doom from Breaking Bad‘s very first episode.
So while people can argue that Breaking Bad Season 1 got off to a slow star and had some growing pains (which I would agree on both of those points), there’s no denying the fact that this show knew what it was and wanted to be from its opening image. Breaking Bad discovered its own unique voice and tone in the first scene of its pilot and remained faithful to it throughout all of the show’s 62 episodes.
Photos via AMC
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