Dance, Puppets, Dance

     Like millions of other viewers, I am addicted to AMC’s Breaking Bad.  I have exercised exceptional restraint, not watching Season Five until it’s over.  The waiting week to week is more agonizing than sitting down and watching the whole season in, say, a weekend.  I’m a big fan of the non-stop marathon when it comes to shows that, not only grab a hold of you, but also consume your every thought.  Like a junkie, strung out on the drug that is Breaking Bad, I can’t “take a hit” then wait an entire week for more.  Like Skinny Pete or Badger, I always want just one more little bump or, in my case, just one more episode.

     I can’t tell what delights me more; its pure, unadulterated, celebration of the antihero or the way the man behind the scenes pulls the string and the puppets all dance.  Manipulation is the key ingredient and no one is immune.  Each and every character has fallen prey, in one way or another, to someone’s deception.  Trickery, deceit, all ingredients in the master recipe that’s been cooked and served up to eager fiends. Yet, it goes deeper still.  We, the viewers, are mere pawns in the game.  The puppeteer has pulled the strings and we all dance.