Breaking Bad may be one of the greatest television shows of all time. But in the time of statistical analysis, the critical reception of television shows and movies allows for the closest thing to an objective metric one can have in gauging a show’s quality, and that even goes for dividing up a show by season.
With that said, let’s take the average of the aggregate reviewers’ scores found on Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic for every season of Breaking Bad to pin when the show was at its best and when it was at its worst. And for a show about a high school chemistry teacher that becomes a meth baron, it’s only fitting that the results are surprising.
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5. Season 1 – Average Score: 79.5
Though disagreement may rage among analysts of the show, most everyone, including critics, can agree that the first season of Breaking Bad was its weakest. The entire series would not have been possible without the building blocks it established, introducing mild-mannered chemist Walter White and his brash partner-in-crime Jesse Pinkman, but both characters were only at the start of their journey.
The engaging characterizations, stylized cinematography and unique setup were all there as fans followed Walter’s descent into the world of crime. But at almost half the length of subsequent seasons, Breaking Bad just hadn’t gained the legendary status it would go on to earn.
4. Season 2 – Average Score: 90.5
As the plot thickened in Season 2, Breaking Bad really started to hit its stride, with its Rotten Tomatoes score spiking from 86 percent in Season 1 to 97 percent in Season 2. With the meth business in full swing, the show really begins to settle into its central conceit, and the characters requisitely settle into their roles.
Skylar’s pregnancy and growing suspicion of Walt provides a growing tension paralleled in the introduction of recovery addict Jane, with the private lives of both Walt and Jesse conflicting with their mutual endeavor. By the end of the season, those tensions quite literally explode when two airplanes collide, underlining the show’s underlying message of karmic retribution.
3. Season 3 – Average Score: 94.5
The Rotten Tomatoes score for Breaking Bad‘s third season crests at 100 percent, while the MetaCritic score remains more reserved at 89 percent, but regardless of its rating, the middlemost season of the series sets its hook thoroughly into any viewer. As the business relationship with Gustavo Fring deepens, the series’ ascends from its relatable tale of a desperate family man into a far more grandiose drama, and it’s impossible to look away.
The season contains the series’ divisive “Fly” episode, ably communicating its protagonist’s full descent into villainy. Taking such a normal and loving father and twisting him into a downright supervillain is one of the series’ greatest accomplishments, and it’s in the third season that transition becomes clear.
2. Season 5 – Average Score: 98
Though Breaking Bad steadily got better over the course of its first three seasons, the fourth and fifth seasons of the show are where critics disagree. The two outings average out at 98 percent on Rotten Tomatoes and MetaCritic, but of the two, only the fourth season receives a full 100 percent, edging out the show’s epic finale. In comparing the seasons, it’s possible to see where the final installment faltered.
The show grew increasingly sensational as its story grew, and for some viewers, the final season may have pressed past the breaking point of believability. The Neo-Nazis who served as antagonists may have been irredeemable forces fitting for Walt’s final stand, but their relatively flat characters paled in comparison to Gus Fring.
1. Season 4 – Average Score: 98
Tensions between Walter and Gus finally come to a head in the show’s fourth season, and as one of the greatest villains in television history, it’s no wonder that his biggest season ranks as the show’s best. The season opens on “Box Cutter” to demonstrate the cold brutality Gus brings to the drug trade, and it ends on the iconic shot of the meth lord straightening his tie before dying at last.
Season 4 is probably the peak of both Walt and Jesse’s character arcs as both embrace their villainy in different ways. For Walt, that means recognizing his ambitions’ growth beyond simply providing for and protecting his family, while for Jesse, it is a process of self-acceptance and moral responsibility. It only makes sense that Breaking Bad would peak when both its characters fully broke bad, and it appears that critics agree with that sentiment.
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