Breaking Bad as the Modern Macbeth

A quick Google search will tell you that I’m not the first one to draw these parallels, but I did think of it all by myself (high-five me). The following post contains major spoilers, obviously, so proceed at your own risk. Also, I’m assuming you have a basic knowledge of Breaking Bad and Macbeth because I can’t be bothered to write up a proper summary. 

First up, the most obvious of the parallels. (Also I find them the most unlikeable and uninteresting, so let’s get them out of the way.) Walter White as Macbeth. I would argue that both Breaking Bad and Macbeth are character studies on the lust for power and ambition - fatal flaws that lead to the destruction of the main characters and everyone around them. After the prophecies (the diagnosis for Walter and the witches for Macbeth), Walter and Macbeth make decisions (cooking meth/murdering Duncan) that kick off the entire plot. While Macbeth is doomed from the moment he murders Duncan, I would argue the moment Walter seals his fate as an evil (yes, evil) person is when he allows Jane (an innocent person Jessie loves) to die. This is a parallel to Macbeth murdering the innocent Fleance. Walter tries to murder Jessie in his lust for power, although unlike Macbeth murdering Banquo, he doesn’t succeed. And that whole “say my name” thing? “This tyrant, whose sole name blisters our tongues, was once thought honest.” (Hank/Malcolm on Walter/Macbeth.) Walter and Macbeth are the villains in these stories, and they kinda suck.  

Jessie, whom I just want to have a shred of happiness, acts as Banquo. Throughout the show, Jessie flips between being Walter’s ally and his enemy, generally depending on the choices Walter makes, much as Banquo does in Macbeth. Jessie/Banquo were both supposed to share in Walter/Macbeth’s power and fortune but ultimately had their lives ruined. They make mistakes, I’m not denying that. Banquo doesn’t accuse Macbeth of murdering Duncan and pledges allegiance to an evil tyrant. Jessie almost never stands up to Walter, and there’s no way around the fact that he is a murderer. However, Jessie never kills people out of hatred or pride or ambition, he only kills in order to protect the people he loves. At heart, Banquo and Jessie are good people. Every time Jessie and Brock hang out it just makes a little sad, okay? I’m not crying, you’re crying. 

Skylar acts as Macduff and Lady Macbeth at different times throughout the series; she has a Lady Macbeth moment when she convinces Walter to murder Jessie for selfish reasons, or when she convinces him to buy the carwash to better launder their money. However, she is often Macduff and acts as a foil to Walter, attempting to stop him from his selfish ambitions, from trying to divorce him to kicking him out to calling the police on him. I know a good portion of the fanbase hated her character but I believe she acts as reasonably as she could in the situation she finds herself in (minus the affair), and she suffers greatly from the actions of Walter. Obviously, he started cooking for her and their children, but much like Macduff and Lady Macbeth she loses everything - her husband, her home, her livelihood, and almost her children.

 

Finally, the setting itself is a massive character in both Breaking Bad and Macbeth. Macbeth is set in a dark, damp, and dreary Scotland, lending to the secrecy and underhanded nature of the characters and their actions. Evil deeds take place under the cover of darkness. On the other hand, New Mexico is harsh and dry and endless, revealing the stark hopelessness of Jessie and Walt’s situation as the show hurtles towards its inevitable conclusion. 

Tales of tragedy and woe are as old as time itself, whether it is a Scottish Thane with a bloody dagger or an old chemist turned meth kingpin. These are stories of ambition and cowardice gone wrong. A slow descent into madness. The fear of losing everything. It’s the same story in a different time, and I'm so glad I've had the privilege of enjoying them both.