Well, I’m here to prove to you that among other things, Breaking Bad is a modern day Western. What’s that? What the hell am I talking about, you say? How is a show about the best meth cook in America a Western? Well, I’m glad you asked. The show has used Western archetypes since Day one, and it’s more noticeable these days, especially after the stunning season finale.
Let’s take a close look at our main character, Walter White. He has many characteristics that are defined by the Western genre. He’s a down on his luck character, a hard- working, unappreciated teacher, and on top of it all, he’s diagnosed with terminal lung cancer. So given all that, what does Walter White do? The wrong thing for the right reasons. Knowing that his time is up, he starts cooking Crystal meth in order to provide for his family. Walt represents the anti-hero.
On the other side of the spectrum, we’ve got Hank Schrader the “Law-man”. Walt’s brother in law, DEA agent Hank Schrader is chasing after the elusive “Heisenberg” for the past four seasons. Hank shares many characteristics with the “Law-man” archetype. He’s blunt , honest and fearless. He rebels against his co-workers in the DEA, and the resemblance between Hank and the archetype is most notable in his showdown with the Cousins in Season 3.
And what’s a good Western without a villain? In Breaking Bad, we have Gustavo “Gus” Fring, the meth kingpin and smoothest criminal on TV. Gus is portrayed as a ruthless monster who lets nothing to get in his way, allows children to be murdered, and threatens Walt’s family. But in order for Walt to ultimately defeat Gus, he ends up becoming just as bad as he is. The act of poisoning a child transforms Walt from an anti-hero to a full fledged villain, setting up the ultimate showdown between the outlaw and the Law-man, the one the show is building up to for the past four years.
