Everything I do, I do for my family.
Walter White (WW)
Holy Sh*t…I caught the last few episodes of Breaking Bad that were recently (finally) made available on Netflix.
I know, I know…I’m a little late to the game on this, but remember I live in a different world.
Late last year I caught up with all the episodes that were then available during a marathon session of Netflix vegging out…
It is in my opinion one of the best television series of all time. The very idea of it was pure genius.
During the last few episodes WW’s life completely unraveled and man was it interesting to watch…especially his reactions to it.
He tried desperately to retain some semblance of rationalized “goodness” as he implored his family to pack and make a getaway after the famous standoff in the desert where WW had buried his millions.
I have unraveled and re-raveled several times in recent decades.
Currently going through another potential unraveling and that made watching these last episodes all the more interesting.
What did I learn?
Well, I wrote the following last year (for CRG) and I believe it is still cogent…
Spent Saturday watching Breaking Bad episodes from Season 5 on Netflix.
I caught the first few episodes of the series on TV when it initially aired and really liked it. But then I moved to a place where I no longer could get them, so I missed everything after Season 1, until Saturday.
I remember sympathizing with the main character, Walter White, after the first few shows. He had been dealt a very shitty hand. While his method of dealing with it may not have been the best, hey, could you blame him?
But as I watched Season 5 it immediately became obvious that something had changed. The cancer was gone. The money problems pretty much solved.
But WW was hooked. Not on his product, but on being the best at producing it. He had become “the best” and all that mattered was being that, consequences (to his marriage, family, others that got in his way, etc.) be damned.
Money really wasn’t the issue at all at this point…
it was ego.
By that age one has hardened. And the fact is that the world is pretty much run by these guys.
The impact blinders are firmly in place and rarely removed.
Ego becomes the primary driver.
After all no one knows better than them, right?
Walter White was certainly a smart guy. No one can doubt that.
So, why the dumb dedication to a craft that would surely do him in, eventually?
Couldn’t he have found a better way to employ that meticulous mind of his?
Not when ego is in the driver’s seat.
Not when the thing that mattered most was retaining his throne as king of the meth cooking world.
What is the thing that matters most to you? Is it something that feeds the ego?
At 52 (Walter’s age…mine as well), a cynical and ego-driven world view can really kick into overdrive.
After all, there ain’t many new tricks out there for these old dogs.
Also, time is running out, so better look out for number 1…
while he’s still available.
And the average age of a U.S. Congressman is 57.
Scary thought, huh?
WW meets his end where it all began…the floor of the meth lab.
The smile on his face betraying the true location of his darkened heart.
image credit: El Tufer One via Compfight cc
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