And I refuse to watch anything with David Spade in it.

I just realized the reason I like the series so much is that it's a lot more like a cinematic book than a series.

The show is a tragic comedy, and does not glorify or celebrate an illegal lifestyle. The only way in which this show indulges the egocentric aggressiveness and domineering that is popular in modern media is in order to critically observe the psychosis of the modern American dream. It is not a redemption story, and not even really a cautionary tale, but takes the attitudes of the self-made man, capitalism, neoliberal compassion, and punishment to their extremes. The main character's determination to do anything he can for his family, despite this clearly hurting them, is a meditation on the family as we see it in America taking priority over the society's well being.

While this may sound liberal, I honestly don't know if it is. It may be criticizing the self indulgence of libertarian privilege, but I feel that there's a lot to be said for the politeness and disconnected sense of morality the "protagonist" of the story has. He's always felt justified because his intentions were good, even when he's been told that the realities of the situation are dire. This to me encompasses the whole of liberal and conservative politics in modern America, while also criticizing the disconnected practical conformity that we all take in order to appease the cognitive dissonance that the American dream was a lie.

If something in the early seasons of this show make you uncomfortable, about a character getting away with something, or a thing seeming to be glorification instead of observation, you're wrong. No, not every character is punished for their crimes, but every scene is later mirrored or commented on in the series. Furthermore episode names are starting to prove that a lot of the parallels in the show to old literature are intentional, and thus the contrast between good and evil, right and wrong, and the blurriness of those lines are incredibly important to teaching the viewer how they feel about actual morality.

The show has a hero in my opinion that doesn't represent being "right," but represents compassion and awareness unlike any of the characters, and this hero just happens to be a wonderful representation of the recently hip phrase "Generation Y." I think his struggles with addiction and morality are a direct and succinct representation, or a simile of what many people in our generation are going through. *****.

Seriously, I know it's a show about Meth, and the first season starts out kind of ironic and on the funnier side, but it's got a lot more going for it than watching a normal guy become a criminal. The show is about something, and is going to also teach you about yourself. On top of all that, besides some pretty low points in the 3rd season, in my opinion, the cinematics and writing are leagues above anything else on TV. There's so much attention to detail, from set design, camera positioning, mirroring shots from earlier in the show, writing lines to mirror other characters' ideas or exact lines, and word choices that stick with you long after an episode is over.

Every episode opens with a kind of cinematic poem that could win awards on its own. Some of the middle seasons' openers are a tad heavy handed, but when they're good, they're beautiful, and oftentimes sendoffs to famous directors. There's so much content in this show for nerds who love investing in shows, I cannot recommend it enough. I can't wait to see the finale tonight, and I'll be rewatching this show several times over.

It had an alright story arc and writing, but the characters were abysmal.

No show is worth watching when you hate every character.

Frankly I'm just happy it's over so I don't have to hear about it anymore. Now if we can just kill off Game of Thrones and Walking Dead, it'll be a great day.

Ohhh I get it. You hate things that people like.

Ohhh I get it. You hate things that people like.