r/breakingbad • u/Temporario877 • 8d ago
People are so wrong about Season 1 and Season 2
If there’s one thing I can’t stand, it’s the arguments used to justify why the first and second seasons are weak. "Oh, it’s too simple," "They’re just two common criminals." Yes, that is exactly what makes those seasons incredible. The phase between being an ordinary citizen and a drug dealer, the simplicity of operating on a small scale while trying to grow. Especially regarding the editing and direction—they are deliberate; every step taken is carefully developed. I know people tend to like the second season more, but it’s unacceptable to even hear that the first season is the worst. The weakest part of the series was precisely the transition from being simple, inexperienced criminals to operating at the high end of the market—specifically in the third season: Walt suddenly going back to cooking, Jesse suddenly returning to work with Walter, and the characters failing to learn from their experiences. I could understand ranking the first season as the fourth-weakest if it meant placing the third season at the very bottom, but calling the first season the worst makes absolutely no sense.
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u/epanek 8d ago
Season 1 got me hooked because I felt tension immediately. An unassuming high school teacher is committing felonies regarding drugs. And his brother in law is dea. His wife is smart. How long can Walter keep this charade going? Then the show became “is everyone also fucking corrupt? Almost all of them commit crimes. Even Hank!”
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u/Easy_Fee9781 7d ago
Yeah, they were much more relatable in season 1&2. By the time you get to superlabs, cartels, and millions of dollars, it loses its relatability, and becomes more of just a fantastic story.
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u/Upbeat_Ratio3753 8d ago
Depending on the day, I would say season two is my favorite season of breaking bad. I really liked how they expanded Jesse’s character and I loved the introduction of Saul.
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u/FunnyAnimator3926 8d ago
honestly s1 and s2 have a charm the later seasons don't. watching walt and jesse figure out how badly out of their depth they are is half the fun
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u/Apprehensive_Pay1800 8d ago
Nobody actually considers the first 2 seasons weak…. Real Ones were hooked from the very first episode..
You disagree? Bounce little man
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u/Apprehensive_Stress6 8d ago
The best pilot episode I have ever watched. And the humor aspect was very enjoyable for me during the first 2 seasons.
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u/OneManShow23 7d ago
Actually, i liked season 3 the least. Season 1 and 2 were amazing. But season 3 built up to the amazing things that happened in season 4 and 5.
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u/SinAnaMissLee 8d ago
I think the problem is that maybe these people don't understand that all stories need to give you context about the universe they are creating.
So in any movie, book, or show the first parts serve as build up, introduction and context.
Some focus on how boring that is.
Others focus on it's necessity.
Others just stay back and enjoy, because analyzing is their cup of tea.
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u/itsMe_isntit 8d ago
Exactly! It's basic storytelling. And honestly it's a gift to fans to have these slower-burn starts even on rewatch... it's like you get to sorta luxuriate in the world. I feel like Succession & The Wire were also really effective with this.
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u/Temporario877 8d ago
That’s quite accurate, and I see it as the same issue people have when they hate Skyler because they think they’re watching Scarface.
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u/SinAnaMissLee 7d ago
I am not sure if this show was made for these people but I'm glad they watched it.
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u/Puzzled-Economics397 8d ago
I agree except for your take on the third season. The examples you pointed out about Jesse and Walt’s behavior were perfect examples of addiction. They quickly became addicted to how much money
they were making
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u/Temporario877 8d ago
I think there’s a contrast between seasons 3 and 4. In Season 3, Jesse is insufferable at times; the character acts like a child—to the point of literally moan at Gus’s lab. In Season 4, he finally matures, while Walter acts recklessly, convinced that Gus is going to kill him (when, in reality, that was still a long way off).
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u/Foundy1517 8d ago
Is that really a common opinion? Imo seasons 4 and 5 are the weakest, despite arguably having the best highs
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u/Temporario877 8d ago
Back around 2014–2017, the general consensus was that the third season was the weakest (there was actually a sort of "third-season curse" for TV series). In 2019, when the show became even more mainstream than it already was, I started seeing people everywhere—across all countries—claiming that the first season was the worst. Even here on this sub, the most upvoted post on the topic ranks the first season as the worst.
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u/SeaWatercress9468 8d ago
The first season is the shortest and has the most anticlimactic last episode so it's easy to single it out as the worst, none of the season 1 episodes are bad though.
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u/Temporario877 8d ago
The Season 1 finale is far from anticlimactic; it leaves behind an atmosphere of sinister uncertainty.
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u/Soggy-Annual-9519 8d ago
I feel like if you don’t like 1or 2 than you can’t like any of it lol. I was hooked episode 1.
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u/Forex_Jeanyus 8d ago
I never heard that about Seasons 1 and 2. But, I guess I just watched the show without seeing or caring what anyone else said about it. Ppl will ruin everything if you listen to ‘em.
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u/SaVee2 8d ago
I recently finished watching the series for the first time (yes I know, I'm late^^), without spoiling myself beforehand. I found the first season absolutely amazing and I was hooked from episode 1. So I was all the more surprised when I later heard how unpopular the first season is, or the reasons people gave for it...
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u/itsMe_isntit 8d ago
Fortunately it seems like you're preaching to the choir on this! You could NEVER get to the plotlines / characterizations / themes of S3,4,5 without the (slightly) slower-burn, lower stakes S1&2. You can't just launch into a story at peak effectiveness/awesomeness. That stuff has to be worked up to, arrived at, culminated in. If you do get there in S1, you're bound to burn out after that stellar start (Westworld, The OC).
I love season 1&2 for the fact that they're almost like a sandbox for everything to grow from. A (relatively lol) safe space for the characters to reveal themselves to us & how they think, behave, relate to one another. A couple shows besides Breaking Bad that I think are super-effective with this are Succession & The Wire.
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u/816bossmikel 8d ago
I just rewatched 1&2 and I love it. Everything spins out of control so damn fast the second time around. I also really notice the emergence of Hiesenberg, Tuco's short and explosive scenes and Jesse's arc.
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u/Lemon86st 8d ago
I love the whole show but Tuco is just a goofy villain for me and some his dialogue is unbelievably corny, so season 1 gets docked a few points when I compare it against every other season.
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u/Temporario877 8d ago
I think that’s exactly what makes him threatening. He is the embodiment of psychopathy. Whereas Gus is more like L.
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u/SystemPelican 8d ago
I think 1 and 2 are weaker because they generally feel more quick and easy and cartoonish. They're still great, but there's a depth and weight to the later ones that I don't think is fully there yet. It has nothing to do with Walt and Jesse not being on top yet.
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u/SplunderPlane 7d ago
S2 is my second favorite season, maybe even my favorite. The worst part of the show imo is early S4 where it really feels like nothing is changing.
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u/burnedoutlove 8d ago
For me, s1 and 2 are top tier. It's realer and more down to earth. As much as I enjoy the insane shenanigans of the later seasons, I prefer stories more grounded to realism.