Breaking Bad

        Being a Breaking Bad fanatic, I have followed Walter White’s journey from start to finish.  Anyone can really see Walter’s transformation occur right before his or her eyes; he starts as just a desperate chemistry teacher who is trying to pay his bills for his cancer treatment, and gradually changes into Heisenberg, a darker and more villainous alter-ego.  I personally really sympathized for Walter in the beginning, and being the main character, thought of him as the protagonist, regardless of his illegal and immoral actions.  I really was able to empathize with him, trying to support his family.  However, one can see that Walter becomes greedier and more powerful, and has made more than enough money to support his family forever, and yet still continues to be in the meth-making business.  You can really just watch Walter’s life spiral out of control.  I consider Walter White to be an anti-hero.

         In the episode Ozymandias, Walter tries to be a “hero” by saving his brother-in-law, Hank, who is in the D.E.A. and is about to get shot by Uncle Jack.  However, I do not consider this to be heroic of Walter, rather, it is more that he is trying to fix the situation that he got himself into.  Hank and Walter would never have been in this situation if Walter’s meth making did not get out of control.  He is not being a true hero, because he probably would not have even felt bad about his illegal actions if his brother-in-law were not in this situation.  He tries to get Hank out of the situation by bribing the Neo-Nazis with money he has.  I really think Walter portrays an anti-hero more than anything, especially when you see how he has turned his back on his friend/business partner Jesse Pinkman.   You can actually see how dark of a character he has become when he tells Jesse that he watched Jane die and did not do anything about it.  It is hard to even call Walter a tragic hero when he loses all of his money in the end.  It is hard to feel sorry for him when it is more of an “I told you so” moment.    I really think Hank proved that he is the hero in this episode, because he at least dies with dignity.

         The poem Ozymandias tells the story of a traveler who has seen an ancient monument in the desert. The giant legs are all that remain standing of what was once a statue of a king, “Ozymandias, King of Kings," and there is no sign of the civilization he once ruled, although the inscription on the pedestal indicates that the stone king once surveyed great enough works to drive terror into the hearts of his enemies. The mighty one has literally fallen, and so has everything he accomplished.  One can make a clear connection between this poem and Walter's journey into becoming Heisenberg, the methamphetamine kingpin.  Walter accumulated millions and millions of dollars through his meth industry, just to lose most of his money, his family, and basically everything that was once important to him.  This episode is very impacting and shows the complete transformation Walt made into becoming an anti-hero.