Breaking Bad's Season 5— A Dark Abyss

 
When last we saw middle-aged hit-man Mike (Jonathan Banks), Jesse Pinkman had to abandon him in a Mexican care facility while he recuperated from gunshot wounds sustained in Gus Fring’s violent coup d’etat of the Mexican Cartel. Now that Walter White has killed the king by blowing away Gus, who will Mike hail to? Not only that, but Walt and Jesse seem to have occasion to return to the junkyard that previously held their iconic RV, before it was crushed to bits! At least Mike seems to have calmed down by the time they all get there. Might they be looking for a new ride to re-start their operation once again? Not since Michael Corleone (Al Pacino) has one character's complete fall from grace been felt in a such a compelling way. And while Al Pacino's transformation in The Godfather took close to three hours, actor Bryan Cranston has had four seasons to explore the intricate nuances of a one-time high school chemistry teacher turning into a vicious, amoral drug kingpin.

Season 5 of AMC's Breaking Bad begins tonight, with Walter White (Cranston) moving further and further beyond redemption. This is Breaking Bad's final season and we can only "speculate" that the complexity of this cautionary tale will end quite badly for the one-time solemn and timid family man— now the meth czar of the American Southwest. Season 4 ended with Walter eliminating his chief rival, Gus Fring, via a brutal, explosion— one that literally blew off half of his enemies' face. It's a far cry from teaching kids the periodic table of elements in chemistry class. But desperation, sent Walt onto his dark and dangerous path. Diagnosed with terminal cancer in Season 1, Walter began cooking and selling meth to avoid financial ruin and to take care of his family. With 16 episodes remaining in the series, the only question is how much more will Walter's morals break apart. How bad can he get? "He's enjoying the power; he likes feeling like a player," Anna Gunn, the actress who plays Walter's wife and half-willing accomplice, told AP recently. And that's the hard truth of the matter. Initially, Walter turned to crime out of sheer necessity. Now he enjoys it. the rush of pure power that comes with a potentially horrifying price.