One of the best books ever written on the human shadow is James Hollis’ Why Good People Do Bad Things. That would be a perfect subtitle for the “Breaking Bad” series.

 

But then the series would need a second subtitle, “And Also Why Bad People Do Bad Things,”so I suppose it’s good they just kept it simple. “Breaking Bad.”

 

While watching “Breaking Bad” and “Better Call Saul” and “El Camino” I felt annoyed, amused, upset, saddened, horrified –you name it. It’s hard to watch people shoot themselves in the foot over and over again, even when they finally win terrific battles against amazing odds. Even when they can also be funny and lovable.

 

It’s hard to watch because it’s a lot like real life. (And no, I do not have a meth lab out in my barn.)

 

We are pretty unconscious about the effects our actions have on our loved ones. We do tend to think of ourselves as ‘caring for’ others while we mostly ignore them.We can make questionable little choices every day that eventually pile up into huge multiple-car-life-wrecks. Plus, who doesn’t envy the wildly successful, want revenge on the bad guys, or crave credit for their accomplishments? Who wouldn’t like to strike it rich at least once?

 

You don’t have to work with gangs or drug cartels to practice cringe worthy selfishness on a daily basis. No indeedy. It’s what we do. It’s how humans roll.

 

That’s why this series is so fascinating. While portraying lives most of us will never come anywhere close to living, it very successfully portrays how each of us act.