TV Shows: Sept. 29, 2013
Walter White (Bryan Cranston) in the season finale of Breaking Bad (Ursula Coyote/AMC)
The Sopranos tarnished its reputation as TV’s greatest crime drama by botching the finale in 2007. That gives Breaking Bad a chance to pull into the number-one slot with its own finale this week. Judging from the last few episodes (oh my God oh my God oh my God), I’m confident we’ll get a suitable conclusion to the saga of high school teacher turned meth kingpin Walter White. The question is, what does “suitable” even mean in this case? We have a reason to root for Walt as he heads back to Albuquerque to settle scores. But we can’t root for redemption because he’s, you know, evil.
I plan to reread Aristotle’s definition of “tragedy” before Sunday night. The ancient Greeks never heard of methamphetamine, but they did know a thing or two about catharsis. And that’s what we all expect from this much-anticipated TV event.