Walter White from "Breaking Bad"

 

(Credits: AMC)

I have been really excited to get the chance to say a few words about, probably, my favorite character on TV I have ever had the chance to watch and experience a long story with. You might have noticed an overall theme in some of my character choices: downfall, change, an anti-hero. These qualities are so well placed and serve such an effective purpose when it comes to Walter White. 

Breaking Bad has become such a classic by now. The story of a high school chemistry teacher becoming a ruthless drug king pin was, and still is, a fascinating concept, that gives a chance for plenty of creative freedom and choice. 

What really makes the difference for me is the massive change Walter White goes through as a character, yet he still stays true to what he initially wished to be. Walter starts the series off as a scared, sheltered, and fragile family man. By the end of the story, he becomes a brave, ruthless, and manipulative individual. A far cry from where he began. 

But the real question we can explore with Walter is the idea of living on borrowed time. Walter had spent 50 years scared of taking hold of his life and making risky choices because of the possible consequences. His diagnosis of a terminal illness ultimately completely changes this view and gives him a new chance at life. At some point, we as the audience, should ask ourselves: Did Walter's terminal illness change him for the worst, or did it just let him be the person he has always wanted to be?

To complete this theme, I will sign off from my last ever blog post with one of my favorite Walter White quotes:

"I have spent my whole life scared. Frightened of things that could happen; might happen; might not happen. 50 years I've spent like that. Finding myself awake at 3am. But you know what? Ever since my diagnosis, I sleep just fine. I came to realize it's that fear is the worst of it, that's the real enemy. So, get up, get out in the real world and you kick that bastard as hard as you can, right in the teeth."

Barry Berkman from "Barry"

 

 
(Credits: HBO)

I just recently finished watching "Barry" for the first time in preparation for the third season coming out later this month. I have to admit, the general premise of the show initially served as a deterrent from delving deeper into the HBO original. A hitman coming to LA for a job and then slowly falling in love with acting really sounded like it could not go that far on its own, but I was totally proven wrong. 

At the heart of this premise is the main protagonist, Barry. His internal conflict between his past hitman life and the current one he is trying to build for himself rises fast over the short seasons and has strong culminations with plenty of action and satisfying results. At the same time, the conflict itself is covered by the use of amazing black comedy, and unique and flashy characters that add a great deal of flavor to the constructed world. 

It is a combination that shouldn't really work, but it absolutely does. And that's what really makes it so great. Even more so in the era of sequels and spin offs, Barry's cool original premise should be a good sign for HBO material and TV in general. 

I am really looking forward to following Barry in its third season starting April 24th. Together with Better Call Saul's last season that started this Monday, as well as Moon Knight, the next month or two look really positive for a lot of TV fans. 

Homelander from "The Boys"

 

(Credits: Amazon Prime Video)

I absolutely love The Boys. I never got to watch it when the first 2 seasons originally aired in 2019 and 2020 but I recently caught up on in to prepare for the third season coming out this June, and I got to say, it's definitely something I don't see every day on TV. 

I generally find the concept of the show itself to be such an unusual tone combination that really should not work when it comes to live action, yet it does so quite well. We have these characters running around in superhero outfits, looking like they were taken directly out of a comic book, but discussing heavy things like relationship problems, death, corruption, political schemes, and all kinds of things we face in real life. It works perfectly, and the fact that it does is amazing considering the overall sci fi concept of the show. 

At the center of this whole tone is Homelander. He is this world's version of Superman, but he takes on a much more "darker" and "grounded" tone. By that, I mean he is essentially someone who desires to be loved at any cost, is extremely narcissistic, and is involved in many political incidents that cost the lives of others. Watching him gives us a nice idea of what type of heavy commercialization would exist if superheroes were actually real, in some form, in the real world. 

His performances and character in general are what has made the whole show for me so far. I can't help but be most excited for his turn of events in Season 3, after he was heavily humiliated in last year's finale. 

Omni-Man from "Invincible"

 

(Credits: Amazon Prime Video)

I have never been a huge comic book person. There were some stories that interested me like "The Walking Dead" but, generally, I have stuck with the TV medium. One big exception to this has been "Invincible" in all of its formats. Most recently, I had the chance to watch the first season of the show with my friends and really enjoyed the loyalty to the original material, as well as the plenty of liberties that were taken to improve it. 

We are first introduced to Omni-Man as the big hero of the story. The strong "All American" Superman of this world that stands for justice and honesty. By the end of the first episode, however, it becomes quite clear that we are actually dealing with someone with very ill intentions to humans and the people around him. 

I think the biggest thing for me, personally, is the twist on our expectations in regard to a classic superhero story. Maybe at this point, in 2022, that tale has become quite cliched, but it still interests me quite a bit. We come in expecting a tale of a father and son becoming more as superheroes but end up experiencing a clash of world views about humanity and loyalty to your home world. Those kinds of conflicts are rarely seen in classic superhero stories as far as I am aware, although I have noticed the medium of superhero movies in general expanding in its scope and themes over the years, which is always a welcome sign. 

I usually wouldn't spend time discussing an animated TV show, mainly because they tend to be quite shorter in run time and overall span (with some exceptions), which leads me to less things to discuss. But "Invincible" can really be considered an exception and a wonderful story about loyalty to your loved ones and what it means to be human. With Omni-Man being a central part of that theme. 

Dexter Morgan from "Dexter"

 

(Credits: Showtime)

By this point, I think it has become increasingly clear I really enjoy certain anti-heroes of the early 2000s that ended up shaping a lot of what we now consider the evil or flawed protagonist in modern TV. Dexter, with its original premise being an evil man using his evilness against others he deemed bad, rather than direct personal gain, is one prime example of this. Although the story and character arc slowly declined in the later seasons, Dexter still serves as a testament to great presentation of an anti-hero and his motivations. 

What really adds to the experience is the new main "villain" each season, that not only presents a challenge for Dexter, but also puts on focus the hypocritical and inconsistent beliefs the main character has. I really enjoy when antagonists serve to not only challenge, but actively be a commentary for what the "good guy" stands for. This is mostly present in the first four seasons of the show. 

Now, I come back to Dexter after having the chance to watch the new series from last year, "Dexter: New Blood". The newer series attempted to fix a lot of the mistakes of the original and it largely succeeded. Sadly, like the original, "New Blood" also fell into the trap of writing a great story only to not be able to finish strong and instead leave the fans feeling cheated and disappointed. 

Glenn Rhee from "The Walking Dead"

  
(Credits: AMC)

With The Walking Dead's final season soon to be in full swing, and with the final story arc already in play, it seems fitting to revisit this long-standing TV universe that began all the way back in 2010. Back in those early days, one great character that stood out and quickly became a fan favorite in the first few seasons was Glenn. He portrayed levels of commitment, loyalty, and generally positive thoughts in the face of the horrors present in the world of the Walking Dead universe. 

Some of these positive characteristics are further highlighted because of actual environment Glenn operates in. Surrounded by other that tend to exhibit selfish behavior, ruthless murder, as well as cheaters and thieves, Glenn seems to serve as a positive role model and represents the good fight of survival and the better part of humanity. Of course, pure blame cannot be placed on the people around him: in many cases people are pushed to drastic measures when existing in a brutal world like "The Walking Dead". 

Ultimately, the biggest tragic, yet interesting, part of Glenn's character is his ending arc. He faces the idea that even when you are good to others, loyal to your friends, and generally a morally right person in a world of brutal survival, you still don't get to have a happy ending. At times, it even suggested that he could have fared better if he wasn't as selfless and loyal as he sometimes tends to be. For me, this is the most interesting part in his development and ultimate end, and one of the main reasons why I added him to this list on my weekly blog. 

Omar Little from "The Wire"

 

(Credits: HBO)

It has taken me about 7 weeks to finally come back to the "The Wire", one of my personal favorite shows from the last 20ish years. This has mainly been due to the fact that I have tried to diversify some of the source material I talk about in this blog. Yet, some shows really pack a number of interesting characters I can briefly explore, leading me to return to me now and most likely in the future as well. 

Recently, Omar Little, one of the main characters from "The Wire", was trending in the news again after the sudden passing of the wonderful actor Michael K. Williams. For many, this was a chance to return to the brilliance of characterization and exploration of humanity that is Omar Little, while others had a chance to get introduced to him for the first time. 

For me, Omar has always represented something more in the realm of crime and drama TV. His uniqueness shines in the role he plays and the way he is presented: a legendary stick-up man, almost picked from the pages of a fairy tale, put into the grim realism of the real world. This contrast is so highly evident yet is played smoothly with no faults. 

Additionally, I really like the highlighted hypocrisy of what it means to be a man defined by society clearly embedded in Omar's characterization. In many ways, Omar carries himself in the classic "machismo" fashion, with strong and aggressive domination of conversations and situations he finds himself in. Yet, his enemies and friends alike don't fully recognize this, since Omar is gay. To them, he cannot possibly represent masculinity because of such a fact. I believe that the show and Omar's character successfully criticized such thinking by creating an absolutely badass hero in a TV realm full of many stereotypes involving gay men.