Compare and Contrast Essay: Breaking Bad and Dexter

Throughout the semester, we have dissected the aspects of television to discover what defines a high- quality program. The notion of “quality television” can be broken down into four portions; innovation, influence, performance, and storytelling. In its simplest form, this defines shows who worked outside the box, crafted complex characters and narratives, and told a clear story while influencing culture.  Two shows that are widely regarded as possessing all four of these qualities and more are Showtimes Dexter and AMC’s  Breaking Bad. Both shows orbit around the idea of the American Dream and personal freedoms while taking very different creative routes to translate these themes across to their respective audiences.

At the core of these shows. Breaking Bad and Dexter share some key similarities.  Both shows feature male characters that have double lives; one could call them “anti-heroes”. Anti-heroes are defined are main characters in a story that lack the traditional traits of a hero.  In Breaking Bad we have Walter White, a humble chemistry teacher who had his life ripped apart by cancer. He had pure intentions, to support his family, but unfortunately lost his morals and humanity in this attempt to do so. He harnesses his knowledge of chemistry and creates a meth lab and eventually loses himself in the situation.  Dexter Morgan also has a seemingly normal life as a blood spatter analysis until we discover he also commits murders. While this sounds ireedemable, Dexter only kills those who are guilty of crimes but have escaped the judicial system. The concept of these two shows coupled with their potential made for an exciting watch for audiences who had never seena anything like it before.

Both respective main characters of Breaking Bad and Dexter create an internal emotional conflict for the audience members. Typically in cinema and television, we are taught to cheer for the good guy and catch the bad guy. However, in both these shows, the definitions of “good” and “bad” become blurred and complicated. These characters take every trope we are familiar with and flips them on their head. While Walter White becomes a drug lord, we can not help but feel a certain level of compassion due to his personal and familial situation. Dexter also has a normalcy factor that the audience is attracted to. Dexter also suffers from addiction and compulsion, and we see this issue fully run amuck. Dexter is able to justify his actions for himself, causing the viewer to do the same.  We, the audience, see ourselves in these main characters. Hopefully not because we are secretly run meth labs or commit murder, but we see two violently human beings dealing with internal struggles and trying to protect those closest.  

An area where Dexter excelled to the nth degree is during the opening sequence. It is an incredibly simple concept; it is Dexter going through his morning routine. Somehow, it is just gory and suggestive enough to perfectly capture who this man is. Every mundane act represents something more violent. Dexter nicks himself while shaving, and blood begins to drip down the sink. While making breakfast, he cuts the ham so carefully and calculated, signifying that he possesses expertise. He treats his floss as if he is about to strangle someone with it.  Almost the entire sequence it is filmed from a close distance so that we never see Dexter fully until the final clip. The final clip(s) depict him putting on a white tee shirt, in a way that makes it seem like he is about to suffocate himself. His clothes are surprisingly normal, symboling that he is covering his dark personality with a “normal” persona.  He smirks at the camera, making the audience feel as if we know something about this man that no one else does. Breaking Bad’s intro song takes a less gory approach, showing each characters name in a periodic table font. However, What Breaking Bad’s intro lacks in quality is made up for in overall cinematography.

The first and most visible stylistic differences between the programs were their focus on cinematography and overall production quality. Breaking Bad was daring, cutting edge, and thought-provoking. This care in production value was rarely seen in television up until this point, which was one of the main reasons it garnered such attention. These cutting-edge shots were not merely done for shock factor, they were used as a way to pique the audience’s interest. This can be seen automatically in the opening sequence of the pilot, with the now-iconic shot of a pair of khakis flying through the air. This shot is both simplistic and surreal. “Is that a pair of pants? Whose pants are these? Why did this person lose their pants?” These questions, while at face value seem both whimsical and trivial, create curiosity and yearning to know more in the audience that will be carried throughout the entire series. While the character of Walter White lost his pants in the literal sense, this scene also foreshadows his insecurities within his family dynamic and who wears the figurative pants in his relationship. The cinematography also contributes to the rewatchability of the series, because after each watch you discover more visual metaphors and general symbolism.

In the area of cinematography, Dexter took a slightly different route. The earlier seasons had an almost gritty, movie-like style. The colors were highly saturated, making it less aesthetically pleasing than Breaking Bad. The opening sequence is similar to Breaking Bad, in the sense that it involves an entire a scene where something is already happening/ about to happen. In both shows, we are unaware of what that something is, but can easily deduce it is going to be big. Within the first 10 minutes, Dexter has already killed someone, but his victim was a murderer himself. This immediately establishes a moral conflict for the audience that will continue throughout the series run. Dexter then begins to discuss his childhood, invoking sympathy in the viewer, which again will continue through the series run.

The area in which these shows differ most drastically is consistency. Many television shows typically have the same life cycle; a shaky pilot episode followed by a bumpy first season, the gaining of traction, footing, and momentum in the second and third seasons, a slight drop in decline, and the inevitable Flanderization of characters and a steep drop off in quality. Breaking Bad is arguably iconic, to the point where most begin to question if its rave reviewers are speaking about in intense hyperbole. I believe this show is so widely acclaimed because the quality is unwavering. The show is like a well crafted patchwork quilt, with every story and plot point weaving together seamlessly.

Very few shows are aware of when it is their time to make a graceful exit. Many series suck the life out of every plotline, fabricate almost unbelievable scenarios, and add in characters not fully thought out, eventually reaching the finish line crawling and panting. Unfortunately, Dexter is a perfect example of this. This show had superb quality towards the beginning of the series; a height of quality that wound up hurting them in the end, because it made the rock bottom seem so much lower.

Now moving on to the significance of these television programs, in regards to their effect on societal culture and the general landscape of television. Before Breaking Bad, I think many television creators severely underestimated the intelligence and attention spans of their audiences. Intellectual discussions were typically exclusively held for film and film buffs. By putting more focus on cinematography, visual metaphors, and symbolism the rewatchability and fanbase both grew exponentially. This is much more common in television today, with many networks completely leaving behind the traditional 22- minute episodes in favor of 42 minutes- one-hour episodes.  Furthermore, shows typically had themes that wavered throughout the episodes and were rarely consistent. If shows did want to portray an uncommon theme, it was usually done in one-off “very special episodes”, that were just uncontroversial enough to not pose a great risk for television networks.

Dexter pioneered something slightly different than Breaking Bad, and posed a question that is still relevant today, “Why are we so obsessed with serial killers?” Somehow, we, the audience, feel like we understand Dexter, even though we most likely can not put our finger on why. I believe it is because of the drastic gap between us and him. Watching characters like him that have less than stellar morals boost our internal moral superiority, keeping us coming back for more. I believe that in many ways, television characters have boosted our interest in true crime dramas that is popular today in new digital media, such as Youtube docuseries and podcasts. In the landscape of television and cinema, I think Dexter normalized the romanticism of “the bad guy” that is visible in “The Dark Knight’s” Harvey Dent and Marvel’s Loki.

After comparing and contrasting these two programs in terms of cinematography, storyline, and innovation, it is clear that Breaking Bad is ultimately of a higher quality than Dexter. The consistency in quality creates (ironically) an addiction to the program from start to finish. While Dexter possesses the same allure at the beginning of the series run, it unfortunately loses its way. There is yet to be another television drama that is as carefully crafted and well executed as Breaking Bad.