10 Moments When Breaking Bad Went Too Far
There are no half-measures to be found here.
Breaking Bad is, without doubt, one of the greatest television dramas of all time. It also features some of the greatest set-piece scenes and episodes in TV history. One of the show's strongest elements is its surreal playfulness with the balance between reality and fantasy, employing psychedelic visuals on a regular basis. It's a technique that works primarily because of the drug-inspired narrative - surreal sequences like Jesse's heroin trip could only work in a show of this type.
But there are certainly moments in Breaking Bad when these aspects go way too far. "Too far" doesn't mean that the show became "too controversial" - what does that even mean these days? - but rather, that certain events unfold that either don't quite add up or fall too far into fantastical and unrealistic territory. These aren't necessarily bad sequences - in fact, in some cases they are some of the most mind-blowing scenes in the show - but Vince Gilligan and his co-writers occasionally push the limits of believability into realms that have caused more than a few raised eyebrows.
These scenes have been debated to and fro since the show's conclusion, and ten of the most confusing or just plain ridiculous are listed here. Naturally there will be some disagreement, with many of these sequences being regarded as incredibly evocative and mind-blowing, but there can be little doubt that they require a certain amount of suspension-of-disbelief in order to fully accept them as part of the larger storyline.