by Renée J. Lukas
I just finished all five seasons of Breaking Bad. As I am with many TV shows and movies, I was late to the party. So yes, I just discovered this Emmy award-winning show long after all the hoopla. But better late than never!
If there’s one thing the show Breaking Bad has reaffirmed, it’s my belief in characters driving the story. The series could have wound around with all its clever twists and turns, and not meant nearly as much if we weren’t invested in Walter, Jesse, Hank, Skyler. . .
(SPOILER ALERT: Do not read on if you haven’t watched the series and plan to. )
As a writer, I watch TV and film not only to be entertained, but also to learn. Nothing inspires me to write better than a well-written series or film. After seeing Breaking Bad, there is so much to reflect upon. But when the dust has settled, literally, I think Season 4 is probably one of the most powerful teaching tools for writers. While all five seasons are excellent to be sure, the skillful techniques of the writers are on full display in Season 4. Below is just a sampling of techniques they use that may help you in your own stories. But first, let’s talk about characters. . .
The Characters. I would never have been drawn to a show about drug cartels. In fact, I’m sick of crime shows. But since this one had received so many awards and accolades, I decided to watch the pilot. That’s all it took to hook me. What hooked me wasn’t the premise, but the characters. I saw a mild-mannered high school chemistry teacher who was almost laughably not good at committing a crime. Then his terminal cancer diagnosis—who wouldn’t care to see how he handles this life-altering news? Walt’s unlikely sidekick, a former slacker student turned meth head, Jesse, was comical in his surprise that his former teacher might be interested in taking up his trade. I was immediately concerned for Walt’s family’s financial situation with their son, Walt Jr., having cerebral palsy. The least sympathetic character in the beginning was Skyler, because of the way she spoke to Walt. When he’s late to his surprise birthday party, instead of concern for him, her first words are, “You’re late.” And then she admonishes him about using a particular credit card for purchases. But something about her day-to-day behavior makes you anticipate how her life is about to be turned upside-down. Then there’s Hank, Walt’s brother-in-law, who is on a mission to bust open the drug scene in Albuquerque and make a name for himself. You know he’s on a quest, is a tough talker, and his blind spot is his inability to see Walt as more than a good, even somewhat timid, guy. Characters with opposite agendas from the get-go are immediately interesting because you anticipate the conflict to come.
No character is underutilized, either. Walt Jr. affects the plot with his reactions to his parents’ strange behavior. Hector, the old man who is unable to speak except with a bell, becomes a key player in the plot later on.
Misdirection. What you think will happen doesn’t. In the very first episode of Season 4, “Box Cutter,” we’re anxiously on edge, as are Walt and Jesse, convinced that drug kingpin Gus is going to murder them with a box cutter. Gus takes his time changing clothes, while Walt frantically explains why Gus still needs them, basically on trial for his life. Gus instead kills Victor, one of his employees, with the box cutter. You realize he does this to “clean up” a mess that has been created when Victor left evidence at the home of a murder that could be traced back to Gus.
An expectation is created, followed by suspense, then the actual result makes sense because of something foreshadowed earlier. What is foreshadowed is our knowledge of how meticulous Gus is, leaving no traces, no loose ends. Even the way Gus keeps his clothes perfectly clean in the midst of a mass murder tells us so much about him. So Victor’s death oddly makes sense.
Avoiding Clichés at all Costs. When you watch Breaking Bad, you know you’re in the hands of master writers because they avoid all the usual clichés. For instance, so many times you’ll see a situation that looks like something you’ve seen before. Walt searches his house for Jesse, who seems to have poured gasoline everywhere. As Walt calls for him, we wait for Jesse to jump out and surprise him when he least expects it. But no. It doesn’t happen. The surprise is something entirely different that you didn’t see coming. In fact, sometimes I thought the writers deliberately played with scenes where we would jump to a certain conclusion, only to be genuinely surprised when they took another direction.
Setups and Payoffs. When it comes to this essential tool in a writer’s toolbox, you can’t do any better than the writing in Breaking Bad. The trick is to set up without being too obvious. It’s harder than it seems. You want the audience to keep guessing. The Season 4 finale sent shivers down my spine with a surprise that seems to come out of left field, and yet it doesn’t. Of course I’m talking about who really poisoned Brock, the son of Jesse’s girlfriend.
First, let me say, the writers of Breaking Bad are like advanced composers who have gotten beyond the basic chords and are now using more complex techniques. What I mean is, they used two existing setups to fool you into a false payoff.
When Jesse confronts Walt, accusing him of poisoning his girlfriend’s son, Brock, Walt insists his innocence and reminds Jesse of the one person they both know who doesn’t mind taking children as casualties. And it’s true. Gus has had kids killed as a price of doing business. Jesse is soon able to realize Walt’s logic—that Gus is probably trying to drive a wedge between the two of them, which is also true. Gus had been trying to change Jesse’s loyalty away from Walt. So both of these setups are completely true, and they both lead Jesse—and us—to a false conclusion: that Gus surely was the one who poisoned Brock with Ricin. At the end of the finale, when Walt and Jesse successfully plot Gus’s murder, they feel relieved that Gus is finally gone, and they have dodged a bullet. They have a seemingly casual conversation in a parking lot, where Jesse tells Walt that Brock is going to pull through after all. However, Jesse is bewildered that the lab results came back and showed that Brock was NOT poisoned by Ricin, which he’d originally thought, but by some strange plant that kids sometimes accidentally eat called Lily of the Valley. There’s a simple “huh” reaction, but both men are still relieved, knowing that Gus was a dangerous man. Cut to Walt relaxing by his pool, pan over slightly to a potted plant nearby—Lily of the Valley. This reveal is so subtle, yet so powerful and disturbing, because it’s not simply a “gotcha” surprise. It’s a surprise that reveals more of Walt’s character transformation—inching ever closer to the dark side.
Slow Reveals. When you look at your own script or story, make sure you’re getting the maximum impact of a setup and payoff. To do this requires taking your time to let events unfold. The Breaking Bad writers didn’t just hit us over the head with Walt suddenly becoming a pistol-waving lunatic. They let the seeds of evil grow slowly, taking their time to let the truth be revealed. Too often, beginning screenwriters can’t wait to jump to the good stuff. But the good stuff isn’t good unless you take your time to get there.
The Biggest Takeaway
As a writer, you learn by watching and reading good writing. When a series comes on that grabs you, as this show did me, don’t let the taunts of others keep you from watching it as many times as you need to study it. In my house, I’m often laughed at because I will watch something forty times if necessary. But good TV and films provide invaluable lessons to writers who want to seriously improve their craft.
As you work to incorporate more of these techniques in your stories, remember to keep your own personal spin on your work. After all, no one can do you like you! So good luck, and keep writing!
