When Vince Gilligan pitched AMC a new show about a chemistry teacher who becomes a meth kingpin, he touted accordingly: “You take Mr. Chips and turn him into Scarface.” And so Walter White was born – before he died, inevitably, felled by the anguish and ambition, grief and greed that transformed a middling nobody diagnosed with cancer into the one who knocks. Fifteen years after its debut (to a paltry 1 million viewers who became a tenfold army come closing time), Breaking Bad remains one of the few genuine masterpieces from the Peak TV period – good enough to spawn a spinoff (Better Call Saul) that might have been better, great enough to withstand a coda (El Camino) that wasn’t all that necessary. This duffel contains a Breaking Bad précis: a brown paper lunch bag marked “WALT,” a road map of New Mexico, Walter and Skyler’s divorce petition, the show’s famous car wash speech and, of course, nearly 5 pounds of blue meth portioned in its original 1-gallon bag by Walter and Jesse for street distribution. The perfect keepsake from the perfect show. Yeah, science.
Intelligent Collector