Warning: article contains spoilers for season four.
Where’s a television show to go when it’s already achieved greatness? It’s a question that Vince Gilligan, creator of lauded drama Breaking Bad, has to face.
Over the course of Breaking Bad’s first four seasons, the program has variously been described as: ‘‘changing the way we watch television’’ (The Guardian); and ‘‘the best show on TV’’ (pretty much every critic).
It has a shelf of Emmys, has been nominated for Golden Globes and sits in the same revered corner as Mad Men, The Wire and The Sopranos.
All this from a concept that was, on paper, almost as bleak as the stilted conversation on The Shire.
Walter White (Bryan Cranston) was a well-mannered family man until being diagnosed with lung cancer.
He then developed alter ego Heisenberg and became one of the most ruthless drug linchpins in Alberquerqe.
The longer the show has gone on, the darker it’s become. White ‘‘broke bad’’ long ago; and by the end of season four he was a frightening, disturbed character who planted a bomb in a nursing home to finally kill his employer/nemesis Gus (Giancarlo Esposito).
The scene of Gus staggering from the debris, only for the camera to pan around and reveal half his face missing as he slumps to the floor, is one of the most powerful ever made for TV.
News filtered through that season five would be Breaking Bad’s last; however, the series will be split into two mini-seasons of eight episodes each, with Walt’s final bow to be in 2013.
The long-awaited season premiered on the weekend with a now-customary ‘‘flash forward’’ – in which viewers are teased by something that will feature in episodes to come.
This time it is a bearded and hairy White celebrating his 52nd birthday alone (set at least a year ahead of the current storyline); using a fake ID and purchasing an almost comically large gun in a diner car park. Is he on the run? Who’s the gun meant for? All will be revealed.
It gives way to a strong season premiere that reunites White with his meth-making sidekick Jesse (Aaron Paul) and Gus’ former right-hand man Mike (Jonathan Banks) as they try to wipe the hard-drive of an incriminating laptop stored in an evidence room.
It is less violent than the season four premiere (in which we learnt that box cutters and throats don’t go well together) but no less captivating; full of suspense, brilliant cinematography and wit (yes, wit).
Gilligan has promised Breaking Bad’s final season will be its darkest yet. Strap yourself in, it’s going to be a hell of a ride. Showcase, Sunday, 7.30pm.
