It’s another aspect of the show that gets overlooked, but for a show that is so focused on its protagonist, Breaking Bad boasts a cast of supporting characters that are subtly and beautifully richly developed. For all the internet malice directed at her, Skyler has really been retroactively validated as a voice of reason in the face of a husband who is murdering people and making drugs that are subsequently ruining countless lives. Of course, she gives in to Walt to an extent, but continues to be one of the few voices of morality in the show. Jesse, likewise, has become perhaps the show’s new hero, the only one who can potentially stop Walter’s reign of terror.
My two personal favorites, as much as I love Saul Goodman (what a name for a lawyer, “’sall good, man!”), are Hank and Gus. Gus’ own arc that was detailed in Season 4 is set up to be compared with Walt’s, that they’re two opposing forces that were essentially destined to come to a head. And Giancarlo Esposito is phenomenal in the role. Hank though, man. Hank is the prototypical cop character told from the inside out, a master class in masculine bravado used as a cover for deep insecurities and anxieties, who wears the mask of an oaf while being extremely serious and good at his job. His world comes crumbling down after he gets shot, but instead of succumbing to his fears and embarrassment at having his wife essentially become his mother and caregiver, he pretty much singlehandedly discovers the identity of Heisenberg. He might be the show’s protagonist in this final act.
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