Today as the government decided to shut down I found myself thinking about the series finale of Breaking Bad.
It’s so hard to say goodbye.
But I’m a big girl and big girls don’t cry. So when the credits came rolled, I stood up.
Not with enthusiasm, but with aplomb. Golf claps all around.
Bra-vo. Bravo.
(If you’ve never watched the show and plan to, you may want to skip this- plot spoilers are coming.)
Breaking Bad was phenomenal for so many reasons, but I particularly loved the careful crafting of Walter White. So often in shows we root for the bad guy- and BB was no different. I would find myself shaking my head with impressed disbelief at the transformation of Walter White to Heisenberg- meth kingpin/sociopath. This was different that the way I frenemy rooted for Tony Soprano- maybe I was too close, being a Jersey girl. More often than not I but I watched Walter the way I watched a science experiment. Walt was the the beaker over a bunsen burner.
Blind ambition, blatant rationalization and insecurity combined with brilliance is a recipe for disaster.
A deliciously written disaster, thankyouverymuch.
Without being able to predict what was going to happen next, I watched every season sitting on the edge of my sofa, never getting comfortable because I was so taken in from the first shot of any particular episode. By the time I realized I could you know, sit back and relax- it was over.
However, the one thing I could count on was Walt’s growing ego and inflated sense of self. Being bad feels good- watching someone be bad can feel even better, especially when it’s fiction.
Alas, as the writers said ‘All bad things must come to an end.’
Sometimes a show finale can leave us wanting more.
Not this time. It was perfect.
It’s over. And I salute you, Walt. You lived and died by your ego. I salute you Walter White for managing to cobble together some sense of justice for yourself. Sure you lost your family, your dignity, and everything for which you worked. And the final payoff? A bullet to the gut.
But, you died feeling good about yourself. And your family is rich. So in a world where the only thing that mattered was you didn’t think yourself a loser- hey, aces. Well done, sir. Don’t mind the body count. It was worth it, right?
Right?
*Camera pans slowly to empty seats in Congress*
I suppose Congress has decided to break bad too. Shutting down the country because it can still keep its money buried in the desert, ready to dig up when the coast is clear.
Burn it all down. If we can’t have our way, then no one can.
And crime pays apparently, for Walt and Congress.
And of course because I am me- I come back to yoga. Yoga helps us deal with ego and keep it under control so it doesn’t control us. A little ego is a good thing. A lot and we find ourselves building meth labs, telling people to ‘say my name’ and shutting the federal government. And let us not forget, calling on Saul.
A place that needs yoga more than here? I cannot think of one.
I will be watching the entire series from the beginning this winter. It’s perfect for a snowed in weekend. But turn on the TV to see what Congress will pull next? No thanks. I know how this show ends.
Namaste y’all.
