When Walter White cried in the desert 🌵
...and why authenticity is not overrated, we are just sick of the word.
Spoiler alert! If you're holding off on diving into the "Breaking Bad" pool of drama, skip this post.
Imagine it: 3 am, Wisconsin, a solitary figure of Polish descent lodged in their art studio, consumed by the relentless grip of the "Breaking Bad" saga, ears trapped by Jesse screaming:
“Yeah, Bitch. Magnets!”
In that witching hour, Walter White and Jesse had commandeered every facet of my existence (the figure of Polish descent is me, duh), rendering all other tales as mundane as boiling water. Except for a handful of timeless classics like "Never-ending Story" and "Dirty Dancing," alongside other enigmatic European films garnished with red balloons or melancholia (Lars von Trier is both wondrously sick in the head and sick of this world.)
But amidst a world steeped in deceit and manic-pulation, "Breaking Bad" stands as a wild odyssey through the Polish, pickles-obsessed, psychedelic landscape of my mind.
That scene in the desert. Remember this ultimate heartbreak? Did your heart not break seeing the "To’Hajiilee" episode? Oh, Mr. White, it hit me like a barrage made of knives.
Hank kneeling before the drug dealer, staring death in the face.
Walt, sweating, and regretting, I bet.
And just before the bullets start flying, the almighty Hank, the good guy, the guy that has principles drops his truth bomb on Walt:
"You're the smartest guy I ever met, and you're too stupid to see he made up his mind ten minutes ago."
BOOM.
Then ssssssssilence.
Walt's tears rolling within his, carved like valleys, wrinkles mistakes.
In the background—the majestic red mountains of To’Hajiilee, silently judging the mess these guys have made.
I used this iconic image during the covid era madness. It is one of the most metaphorical cinematic scenes I've ever seen in my life. I just rewatched it and the tears are as fresh as my morning coffee. Every damn time.
Why?