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Originally Posted by orthodoc
Yes, but isn't about his choices in the face of a terminal illness, about his rejection of any caring or responsibility toward anyone not in his family? He produces meth to finance his treatment so that his family doesn't suffer. What about the people he harms? Am I missing something?
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There are overarching themes about accomplishment, about doing something that no one else could have achieved, about wanting to leave a legacy that's more than just money. The show doesn't glorify these, rather it shows the downfall that can come from such hubris. It's about how we all make bad choices when confronted with our most dire fears. Walt doesn't start cooking to finance his cancer treatment, he reluctantly does it so his children--a special needs son, and a newborn baby--won't be homeless and destitute when he dies. At first, he doesn't even want treatment; the money he plans for is just enough to care for them after he's gone. He doesn't try to get people hooked on meth, he just figures the meth heads are going to buy it from someone anyway, it might as well be him for a couple months. You start out thinking Walt is a weak but fundamentally caring guy, but slowly over the course of the series, pride transforms him into a total bad guy. Other characters start out being bad guys, and you realize that they're more good guys, in the end.
It's about how none of us are perfect, and we all have the potential in us to be a bad guy, given the right circumstances. It's about how evil isn't born; it's made. It's a cautionary tale.
I can still understand not wanting to watch the base storyline, it's pretty intense. But it's definitely about more than a jerk who gets people hooked on meth.