Romancing the ice: The problematic poetry of Breaking Bad

Abstract

Vince Gilligan’s Breaking Bad (2008–2013) was a show burnished with the glow of critical acclaim, and so, despite its initial ‘de-romanticisation’ process—where characters’ grandiose expectations, gilded American dreams and masculine ideals are repeatedly undercut—the series fell under the spell of its own romanticised status as the alchemical epitome of television’s new ‘Golden Age’. Increasingly, grandeur, awe (characters’ awe for Walt’s ‘Heisenberg’ and viewers’ awe for the story’s ambitions and visual flourishes) and terror (provoked by the tense atmosphere and gruesome deaths) made up Breaking Bad’s romantic sublime, a dominant mood—in the script, visually and aurally—that super-saturates the finale. Ultimately, the series lovingly redeems Walt as the God-like chemist-genius with whom its lyricism has allied us, Walt’s avid consumer-disciples.