All 5 Seasons of Breaking Bad, Ranked

Say my name (my name is Aiden).

I've got some strange things coming out this week that will be very exciting, but, before that begins, I've got one last random TV ranking to release. A few weeks back, I ranked every season of Game of Thrones. Now it's time to rank every season of Breaking Bad. I love Game of Thrones, but it is not Breaking Bad. If we are judging by pure quality, this is the greatest show of all time. It's not my favorite (you will see what that is later this week), but it's definitely second. I've talked about it a bit on the blog, but not in a few years, so I thought it was a good time to do a ranking. So here is my ranking of all five seasons of Breaking Bad.

5. Season 2

A solid yet slower second season

The second season of Breaking Bad is kind of strange, because it spends the first few episodes really wrapping up season one. Then it spends a bit of time meandering and re-establishing the characters. And then it kicks into high gear. Obviously, it's still a great season of TV, but when you compare it to the other seasons of the show, it's pretty clearly the weakest. A lot of the stuff with Jesse and Jane drags, because it's just watching Jesse revert to the worst version of himself. Of course, it pays off in a shocking and unpleasant way, which I give it props for. I think season two has a lot of strong aspects, but the season as a whole is very good...but not quite great.

4. Season 1

A great sign of things to come

Season one of Breaking Bad does what every single great first season of a TV show should do: it establishes the characters. Off the bat, you sympathize with Walter White. You see this genius who has had life get in the way of him truly succeeding, and lung cancer now threatens to end his wasteful-seeming existence. To deal with this, he turns to cooking meth to provide for his family...and we slowly see him enjoy it. Why? Because he's good at it. Because he's successful. That is a supremely compelling and interesting character, and it lays the groundwork that the entire show builds around. I think this season is a bit weird because it feels incomplete: the story of these season ends in episode two of season two. But, again, the story of season one is not the focus: the focus is on the characters, mainly Walt, and laying the groundwork for the show to come.

3. Season 3

The first explosive season of Breaking Bad

Season three feels like the season where Breaking Bad hit the ground running. After Skyler finds out about his meth dealings, Walt has to deal with these ramifications. And, instead of cleaning up his act, he dives further into the drug world and becomes more confident and more Heisenberg-y. Meanwhile, Hank begins to get closer to discovering the truth about Heisenberg. Half the season is spent on the Salamanca twins trying to chase Walt down and eventually going after Hank. The other half is spent showing how Walt's arrogance and ignorance is destroying his partnership with Gus Fring...and that is a partnership you do not want to destroy. It all builds to an explosive climax wherein Walt holds Gus off by having Jesse kill Gale. Wow. What a cliffhanger. And what a setup for the final two seasons of this show.

2. Season 4

The Gus-Walt war is just as thrilling as you'd expect

Seasons four and five of Breaking Bad are basically tied in my mind. Both of them are essentially perfect seasons of TV. Season four gives us this season-long drug war between the two kingpins. At the beginning of the season, it is clear that Gus is the antagonist. He is doing terrible things and is threatening Walt's family and life. By the end of the season, however, it's not so clear. This season adds nuance to the conflict by giving us Gus's story and his side and showing how Walt may be the true monster. The final few episodes of this season are some of the most thrilling, intense, and shocking episodes of TV I have ever seen. The face-off (*wink*) between Walt and Gus at the end of the season is just electric. And, by the end, you see that Walt has truly become the villain of the show.

1. Season 5

The perfect wrap-up to the tragedy of Walter White

All villainous stories are tragic, and Breaking Bad understands that. The first half of season five feels like an epilogue to what came before. Walt has taken over the drug empire. He's got more money than he knows what to do with. He tries to set everything up so that he can get out of the drug life scot-free...and he does. Until a faithful trip to the toilet reveals Walt's true identity to Hank. And the conflict that the entire show has been building up to is what wraps up in the second half of season five. Hank, feeling more betrayed than ever, bring out every tool in the tool box to take down his brother-in-law...and ends up being tragically shot by Jack Welker. This shows Walt how terrible he has truly become, and the final two episodes show him in a reflective state as he tries to make up for the things he still can. He admits to Skyler that he did it all because he liked it. He saves Jesse from the Nazis. And then he dies, no more successful or important than he was at the beginning of the show. What a perfect, tragic ending to one of the best stories ever told.