Breaking Bad (2008-2013)

I finally finished Breaking Bad and while in terms of pure narrative locomotion certain episodes were gripping, it wasn't worth the 2 days and 14 hours (according to my new favorite site Bingeclock) it took to watch the series. It's a familiar problem with serial narrative - the writers build up the intensity of single episodes but ignore how those events (especially the violence) impact the characters over the entire story arc. They just absorb the blows and move on. And for a show so intricately plotted and relentlessly punctual, it gets sloppy with that larger arc. For instance, the baby just disappears for huge stretches of time. While babies cannot walk away in slow motion from exploding buildings, they depend on us for everything and are thus a constant presence...or should be. Also, I always felt a larger context governing The Sopranos, some distance from all the horrors, whereas Breaking Bad seems way more local in its concerns. The writers/creator are too in thrall to Walter White, in awe of his ability to withstand inhuman pressure and commit all sorts of agony. That said, I did like the fifth and final season quite a bit, mostly likely because I could feel the end coming. I was more moved by the last two episodes than the revered "Ozymandias" which I suspect is loved because so much of the narrative comes home to roost there.