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.