'The Walking Dead' vs. 'Breaking Bad': Comparison isn't fair

REARVIEW

There is little doubt over the fact that 'Breaking Bad' is one of the best written shows on television in recent history. However I feel that we have been spoilt due to the perfection of it all. Fan hostilities towards anything else on AMC that is not 'Breaking Bad' is well known. 'The Walking Dead' is in many ways a victim of that phenomenon. Those who ignore the show will probably never know how good it really is.

When I began watching 'The Walking Dead' I was trying to fill the void left by 'Breaking Bad'. One must realize that almost anything will seem average after you watch 'Breaking Bad'. 'The Walking Dead' is not just a great show; it is a very very good drama. For once in a Zombie Apocalypse, the Zombies are not the primary focus, but the drama of it all. They've taken a few liberties from the original comic. It is definitely not a 'Breaking Bad' and it stands on its own. Earlier I had complained that the show wasn't engaging enough. That was probably because my scales were all wrong. I was trying to feel for the characters that died or were barely alive in a world full of the undead. But that has never the intention of the show itself.

Rick Grimes: Then and now.
He has almost a Harry Potter like predictable presence
when he debuts. The viewer actually enjoys his
slow unnerving downfall into the cruelty of the apocalypse.

The complete and utter apathy of the viewer, towards perfectly good individuals who are forced to do bad things is quite a phenomenal achievement for writers who have rewritten the comic for television making it unpredictable. It's something that is very different from 'Breaking Bad'. There you had only one person driven to bad things first as a necessity and then as an obsession.

The Governor is one of the best written roles
for the screen, on the the show. Originally a
Hispanic character, the Governor has been
turned into a Southern Caucasian male. The role
is so masterfully portrayed by David Morrissey,
you will forget he's actually British.
However, he's no Gustavo Fring.

Walter White's world was a sane one where life gave him a chance as every corner. It was he who did not take it. 'Breaking Bad' has imperfect people, proving their imperfections every step of the way. Here you see perfect people, monotonous people content with their mere existence, whether good or bad. Rick Grimes has almost a Harry Potter like predictable presence when he debuts. He wakes up in a cruel world, untouched by evil. He has clear definitions of good and evil, right and wrong and initially it makes the show very annoying. He's a cop and (seemingly) a cowboy, pretty slick with a gun. Nothing can hurt him. But with every episode there are subtle transformations, in not just Rick but everyone who comprises his survivalist group. These changes are so subtle that you do not realize the changes till say, 10 episodes have passed and a good amount of narrative progression has taken place.

Of all the transformations on the show,
Carol's is the most shocking.

You're uncomfortable because you are apathetic. You don't care who lives or dies no matter how long they've had their presence on the show. In fact you secretly wish for some perfectly fine people to die for no reason at all. The show gives you an illusion that it is unengaging. By the second season one of two things will happen. Either your annoyance (with yourself) will provoke you to quit watching it, or you'd be annoyed but still choose to go with the flow. There is a subtextual message to the connoisseurs and haters. I imagine it to be something like this: "Only those who are really interested are allowed to go beyond this point. The rest can scram!"

A cross universe fan-art making a statement.

It is ironic at many levels because the real joys of the show are beyond that point of peak annoyance. Perhaps this is the only thing 'The Walking Dead' and 'Breaking Bad' have in common. It is a horror-drama which will not surprise you, shock you, make you laugh, make you sad or afraid. So where is the horror and where is the drama, some may ask. The real horror and the real drama are within you. Your apathy will scare you.

I made the mistake of asking a colleague an awkward question about 'Breaking Bad' while binge watching the first season. "This is boring. Does it get better?" I said. He said "I don't care what you think. I watch it for the complicated characters and plot." That is also the case with 'The Walking Dead' in a certain regard. There is no well defined moment or episode or a three-episode event that takes the show off. It happens for different people at different places.

The question is, whether you really want to watch, perhaps a five season long show about a Zombie apocalypse. My answer is yes, you do. This February the second half of the fourth season will premiere on AMC. I, an absolute hater before, am now hooked and want more.

-End of Log-

~The RED Indian~