Can Male Anti-Heroes Be Good Fathers?

Fatherhood in American Antihero Television Narratives; The Shield, The Sopranos and Breaking Bad

2251150H

2022

University Of Glasgow

Contents

Introduction- Page Two

Chapter One- Lost Potential And The Neglect Of Fatherhood- Page Three

Chapter Two- How Death Unveils The AntiHero’s True Motive- Page Six

Introduction

The antihero is a morally complex character. The viewer unwillingly roots for them despite their usual affiliations with crime. Thus, it is hard to envision any antihero living up to parental expectations. For Vic Mackey in The Shield, his job spearheading an anti-gang unit of the Police takes up most of his time. His family rarely see him but, since Vic pays the bills, he can attempt to justify his absences. However, as his criminal activities increase in frequency, Vic’s Strike Team become his family with a member, Shane, in particular seeming more like his figurative son. Similarly, Tony Soprano in The Sopranos has a limited relationship with his children because of his role as the boss of the New Jersey Mafia. As his insecurities over his mental health surface, Tony begins to punish those closest to him that share similar problems. His son Anthony is handled aggressively by his Father even after it is shown that Anthony also has a panic disorder. Just like Vic, with time away from his immediate family, his criminal life takes more of his attention. In particular, his nephew (on his Wife’s side) Christopher acts as his figurative son as he is part of the Mafia. However, Christopher’s substance addiction decreases his reliability, which frays his relationship with Tony, who greets Chris’ mental health concerns with anger and mockery. To Tony, mental health concerns represent lost potential. Baggage that prevents men from sustaining their power. For Walter White in Breaking Bad, his change from schoolteacher to lead chef of a meth cooking empire after a cancer diagnosis, ultimately pushes his family away. Instead, like Vic and Tony, Walter takes solace in the figurative fathering of Jessie, a former student of his, who is involved in the meth business. All three men’s ability as a father, whether biologically or figuratively, is thematically put to the test by death. As grave consequences approach, the viewer gets to witness what truly motivates the antihero’s actions – power or family?

Chapter One- Lost Potential And The Neglect Of Fatherhood

Walter White is an "extremely overqualified high school chemistry teacher."[1] His lost potential is suggested in the pilot episode as Walt, early in the morning, is shown using his stair stepper machine whilst the camera pans to a close up of a plaque on his wall indicating his contributions towards science that led to a Nobel prize. He appears as a man with his best days behind him. Furthermore, the act of the stair stepper mimics sleepwalking; perhaps, this was a deliberate choice to demonstrate his upcoming awakening.[2] Walt himself, after Jesse demands to hear why he has chosen to 'break bad', claims, "I am alive."[3] In some ways, Walt is finally using his dormant and brilliant scientific mind. Financially he is getting the rewards he feels he is due. Interestingly it is proposed that "the antihero rises to power. He struggles to maintain power."[4] Walter, without question, rises to power, and, in many ways, his downfall is his desire for more power, ultimate power. On the other hand, Tony Soprano starts in a powerful position. As Capo, Tony is the only lateral position below the boss of the family, plus his father was once boss himself; therefore, Tony is destined for the top position. However, Tony's struggle to maintain power is due to his egotistical desire never to be disrespected, which comes through his self-hatred over his mental health issues.

The Sopranos begins with Tony Soprano embarking on his first trip to see a psychiatrist after experiencing a panic attack. He states, "It is good to be in something from the ground floor. I came too late for that, and I know. But lately, I'm getting the feeling that I came in at the end. The best is over."[5] Tony is not only suggesting the best days to commit crime are over, but that the legends of the Mafia are all gone- he does not feel worthy to fill their shoes. It is discovered that Tony's panic attacks were likely triggered by a family of ducks that were living in his back garden pool before eventually leaving. His psychiatrist theorised that this was representative of Tony's fear of losing his family, which the viewer can assume would happen through his death or incarceration. Although it is, perhaps, his relationship with his son Anthony and his nephew Christopher that truly worries Tony as he has a fear of leaving his family behind to be looked after by unsuitable men. Firstly, his son Anthony is not suited for a life of crime, which does not surprise Tony yet does little to subdue his frustrations. After trouble in school, it is decided that not only will Anthony join a military school, but he will have to endure a new parenting technique; more specifically, Tony's draconian parental methods have been put in place, replicating the way Tony himself was raised. Anthony huffs his way down the stairs to present himself in his new military uniform, his two parents watch on with pride. Moments before Anthony collapses with a panic attack; Tony yells at him, "you need toughening up."[6] Tony's warped impression of masculinity combines with his frustration over his "faulty genes."[7] In some ways, Tony’s lost potential is due to poor mental health. Franz Kafka, who famously wrote a letter to his father but opted not to send it, discussed his relationship with his father, which poses a surprising parallel to Tony Soprano’s type of fatherhood. He states that his father, “encouraged m when, for example, I saluted well and marched, but I was no future soldier.”[8] Tony wants his son to be the man he himself fails to represent regardless of Anthony’s nature. Once Anthony’s mental health concerns surface, Tony knows he is also not the strong silent type. Tony’s rise to the boss of the New Jersey mafia is plagued with insecurity and threats to his ego get in the way of what is best for the business, similar to Walter White in this regard. After this episode with his son, Tony focuses his attention more on his figurative son and literal nephew, Christopher. Crucially, Chris does have potential in the criminal world.

In many ways, Christopher is what Tony wants in a son. He is ambitious, has a knowledge of the business and comes from infamy, with his late father Dickie Moltisanti being somewhat of a legend amongst the family. Tony never misses an opportunity to remind Chris of how much Dickie meant to him.[9] However, his love of Christopher is tested many times throughout the series, most of which came from the consequences of Chris' crippling substance addiction. Chris is tied up and left by the docks after having a gun pointed at him by a hitman hired by Junior Soprano – Tony's Uncle. Junior's actions were fuelled by Chris and his fellow drug addict friend, Brendon, hijacking a lorry from someone who works for Junior.[10] Tony is let down by his Uncle’s treatment of his nephew, but more importantly Tony is introduced to his nephew's drug addiction and how unreliable he may become as well as the political issues his actions may cause. Although Chris did get clean for much of the series, he was punished politically and financially for being drug-free. Politically, he was ostracised as he needed to avoid much of the family's typical meeting spots. They tended to be places where alcohol was consumed and, crucially, business dealings took place. Chris mistakenly thought he could confide in Tony with his struggles. He states, "you understand the human condition at least," as Tony's stint in therapy would hopefully give rise to an empathetic response to mental health struggles.[11] However, it is clear to the viewer that Tony does not accept his battle with mental illness. In this sense, he deems his panic disorder as a mutant gene, a weakness that negatively impacts his business. Tony commits abhorrent acts to maintain his power. This may explain his mistreatment of Christopher and his eventual murder. Tony murders Christopher because his drug addiction made Christopher far too much of a liability. In contrast, The Shield shows Shane murdering with a very similar justification, yet he is vilified by his figurate father, Vic Mackey. However, the murder is committed for survival and not for the preservation of power.

Chapter Two- How Death Unveils The Antihero’s True Motive

The Shield's Vic Mackey represents a stereotypical man. Brash and confrontational, Vic justifies assaulting accused criminals and planting evidence on the knowledge that they are guilty. Importantly, the viewer is shown that his actions tend to produce the correct legal result, and thus, his illegal methods are almost ignored. The ‘us against them’ attitude that supports Walter White's actions also cements Vic's belief system. However, with Vic his behaviour is not motivated by power to the same extent as Walt. Vic seems content with his role as a mid-level detective. In the pilot episode, Vic shoots and kills a fellow police officer Terry when he finds out Terry is working with the new police captain, Aceveda, to gather evidence to put Vic behind bars.[12] This has the biggest impact on Shane, Vic's second in command. It is a pivotal moment in the show as it tells the viewer, from the very beginning, that Vic is a hypocrite. Furthermore, it introduces the viewer to what Vic is willing to do to avoid prison. On the other hand, despite the continual reference throughout the series, having arguably Vic's biggest crime appear in the very first episode allows the viewer time to forget but not forgive. Just as Vic tells Shane at Terry's funeral, "Did it need to be done? You're god damn right it did."[13] Shane is a step behind Vic in his progression towards accepting the necessity of his actions. The scene parallels Jessie and Walter White as Walter is shown to be far more ready to accept what he must do to survive. In contrast, Jesse requires more time and never fully forgives himself. Vic drags Shane into his warped moral compass and, in doing so, loses control of Shane once the transformation is complete. Shane becomes more and more independent, ruling over Ronny and Lem whenever Vic is absent.[14] His adherence to Vic’s philosophy increases his illegal activity and, justifies murder. Death is a constant theme in all three television shows, and it is death that ultimately breaks open the father-son relationship Vic and Shane had. For Walter and Jessie, death highlights their differences.

Gale Boetticher is an excellent chemist who is hired by Walter’s drug king pin boss, initially, to work with Walter as Jessie was briefly out of the picture due to his drug addiction and a falling out with Walt. When it becomes clear to Walter that Gale is being primed to replace him, Walter plans to kill Gale. With the knowledge that his boss’s business cannot afford to miss a week of cooking, Walter and Jessie can ensure their essentiality if Gale is removed from the equation.[15] The act turns Jesse into a murderer directly, his actions may have indirectly led to the death of others before, but now he is the one to pull the trigger. Walter had been a murderer for months, having killed a drug dealer, Krazy 8, within the first few episodes of the series. Keeping Krazy 8 captive in Jesse's basement, Walt brings his prisoner down a plate of food, but his ongoing fight with cancer leads him to collapse metres away from Krazy 8, tied to a pillar.[16] Awake and recovering, Walt cleans up the broken parts of the plate and prepares another sandwich. He notices a piece of the plate is missing and knows Krazy 8, who he was about to let free, has the piece and will attempt to stab Walt. The broken plate is full of symbolism; it illustrates an unsalvageable history. The plate will never be complete again, and Walt's knowledge of what must be done is a crack to his psyche that has no cure. Gale is Jesse's broken plate and Walt, knowing his struggles after killing Krazy 8, shows a staggering lack of empathy. Whilst held captive by one of his boss’s henchmen after Gale's murder, one of the henchmen, Victor, begins cooking meth, all to the chagrin of Walt. The brutal act he forced Jesse to commit is all but forgotten. As Jesse sits by his side frozen in trauma, Walt smugly leans back on his stool, quietly judging and laughing at the Victor's attempt to cook.[17] His transformation into Heisenberg, his criminal pseudonym, allows this emotional detachment; he cannot comprehend the guilt because he is not the same man who killed Krazy 8 in season one. Even after Gale's death, Walt casually samples the coffee Gale made in the lab.[18] His relationship with guilt has become incredibly limited. We see Heisenberg and Walt battle as they both stare down at Jesse's girlfriend Jane overdosing. With Jessie fast asleep after a dose of heroin, Walter is left standing over the bed Jessie and his girlfriend share.[19] She begins to choke on her vomit and Walt, instinctually goes to help. Suddenly, his criminal side takes over and he lets her choke and die. His former self still momentarily resides in Walter but ultimately, his new character is the dominating force. The death of Jane is significant as it gives Walter the opportunity control Jessie as he is one of few pillars in Jessie’s everchanging life. Power has become Walter’s greatest driving force. For Vic, the murder of Lem by Shane is unjustifiable despite similar actions being taken throughout the series to squash threats. It becomes apparent that family is more important to Vic than power which illustrates a poignant difference between him, Walter and Tony.   

Lem, a fellow member of the Strike Team, is forced to wear a wire for the Internal Affairs Division.[20] He takes heroin from a criminal informant to bargain with. Unbeknownst to Lem, the criminal informant's girlfriend was an informant for the Internal Affairs Division and witnessed Lem taking the drugs. Detective Kavanaugh leads the investigation into the Strike team and hopes the naturally more empathetic Lem will be easier to flip. Shane quickly identifies Lem as a threat to the team's livelihood as he too knows Lem is very different to himself and Vic. At this point in the show Shane is married with a child on the way, and thus, his literal family takes precedence over his work. On the other hand, Vic is going through a divorce and rarely sees his own children. As his biological family grows more distant, his work family become his priority. Similarly, as Walter loses touch with his family, Jessie and the meth business become his newborns. Interestingly, Walter shows his literal newborn, Holly, his hidden stack of money.[21] He states, "that’s right, daddy did that." however, the scene feels far more like an introduction than the reveal of a future gift. It is Walter showing his newborn to his other child, his money. Like Walter, Vic sacrificed time with his family with the naïve belief that money equates to attention. Just as Walter is a victim of the extortionate health care prices in North America, Vic is perhaps a victim of a society that underpays first responders. More importantly, Vic's son and daughter both get diagnosed with autism at a young age which forces Vic to plead for more overtime or skim more money off the street.[22] Ultimately, both men have reasons to boil over with frustration at the US health care system, especially Walt, who has had to deal with his cancer diagnosis and the presumable cost of his son, who has had cerebral palsy since birth.[23] Vic's real family grows more distant with more time at work, and he is too loyal to see that Lem is a real threat to the team. Following the pragmatic logic instilled into him by Vic, Shane murders Lem.[24]

Lem decides to cut a deal with the police, where he takes sole responsibility for the crimes committed by the Strike Team. However, it becomes apparent that Lem will not be safe in jail. He goes on the run and eventually meets Shane alone as Ronny and Vic cannot shake a tail from IAD.[25] Lem refuses to keep running and decides he will turn himself in. With his wife and newborn at home, Shane sees Lem as too much of a liability and, foreseeing a betrayal, murders him. Unlike Walter, who encouraged the necessary murder of Gale, when Vic discovers Shane was behind Lem's death, he threatens Shane's life. Shane states, "You think you're looking at me through some window when all you're really doing is looking in a mirror…All I was doing was following your gameplan Coach!"[26] This is the pinnacle of Vic's hypocrisy as the justification for Terry's murder is almost identical to Shane's justification. In contrast, Walter continuously claims his actions are for his family until he finally admits his criminal activities are for his desire for power.[27] According to Vic, family is paramount and his commitment to his family is authentic. However, Vic and Walter are, without question, very different antiheroes. It is perhaps more productive to compare Tony Soprano's relationship with death and how that impacts his ability to father his son and Chris.

Both Tony and Walter dread the helplessness of death. Walter remembers the stories told to him about his father, but his only actual memory of him is in the hospital as he desperately clung to life. Walter wants to ensure any memory of him is of a strong man.[28] At this point in the series, the viewer has seen Walter refuse a job offer that came with lucrative health insurance.[29] Furthermore, when his son starts crowdfunding online for his father after the diagnosis, Walter is deeply angered and ashamed. Labelling it “charity” to which his wife replies, “why do you say that like it is some sort of dirty word?”[30] Clearly, being self-sufficient is pivotal to Walt’s ego and his success in the drug business has made Walter feel even more repulsed by the notion of receiving a handout. Walter cries to his son the previous day, stating, “it’s all my fault." Walter lies about the reason why his face is bruised. In truth, the wounds were from his other son Jessie after their frayed relationship entered new realms of fragility. It is one of the few times in the show where Walter appears genuine with his son, which his son acknowledges. Walter Junior takes his father to bed. Walter states, "that's good Jessie.". He struggles to avoid contaminating his everyday life with his Heisenberg (his criminal pseudonym) life in his state of grief. The bruises represent his new inescapable nature, as even in normal settings, his criminal life will surface in one way or the other. His ordinary life is increasingly further out of reach, so he confuses his son for Jesse as his relationship with Jessie is still salvageable, whereas any interpersonal relationships he may have had as Walter White are uncalibrated. Walter apologises for bringing up his father and the tears that accompanied the memory; however, his son is thankful for the conversation. Claiming, "it was real" in contrast to the performative father he has been since he got diagnosed with cancer. For Tony, the masculine urge to always present as a strong man is at the core of his personality. Throughout the series, he bemoans the loss of the "strong but silent type", the Gary Coopers of the world.[31] The irony is that Tony is not the strong silent type. Tony Soprano is a man with a panic disorder who goes to talk therapy. Everything he hates, he embodies. Tony fears abandoning his family and Walter is plagued with the determination to leave money that he earned behind for his family. The desire for positive memories to leave behind for his son is swallowed up by his egotistical desire to be at the head of a drug empire. To eclipse where he would have been if he stayed in with Grey Matter, the chemical company he founded in college. For Tony, he punishes those who fail to reach their potential due to similar mental health concerns. Further, these issues increase the fragility of Tony’s power, which, above all else, is what matters most to him. Using this logic, Tony sees an opportunity to kill his figurative son, Christopher.

Christopher falsely thinks Tony will be empathetic towards his drug addiction because Tony is in therapy. However, Tony begins mocking Christopher about his sobriety, which leads to a relapse.[32] Christopher became Tony's primary driver and one of few confidantes as Tony felt you could only trust blood.[33] The irony here is that Christopher is not a blood relative; he is Tony's wife's second cousin. The ignorance is deliberate on Tony's part. His real son does not have what it takes for criminal life thus, Chris is Tony’s last option. It becomes apparent to the viewer that Christopher is high whilst driving Tony as he constantly changes the song playing in the car, which fittingly is The Departed Soundtrack, a film all about informants within criminal organisations. Tony never fully trusted Christopher, even checking him for wires after Chris confesses to Tony that his fiancée has been working with the federal government.[34] As Chris fiddles around with the CD player, an oncoming car forces Tony to grab the wheel and divert away from a crash. In doing so, the car flips and both men end up injured. Christopher, struggling to breathe, asks Tony to call him a taxi as he knows he could never pass a drug test. Tony takes out his phone and begins dialling but stops. Flipping the phone back up and placing it into his pocket, Tony covers his nephew's mouth until he chokes on his blood and dies. Amid the suffocation, the camera pans to the empty baby's chair in the backseat of the car, following Tony’s line of vision. It suggests that perhaps, Christopher is not fit to be a father and our antihero Tony is doing the right thing. Tony himself constantly mentions the empty baby's chair when talking to other crime family members about Christopher's death the morning after, a clear attempt to manipulate the perception of Chris’ death. This is all to convince Tony that he made the right decision. However, the timing of the shot is very significant. The decision to kill his nephew had nothing to do with his inability as a father; instead, it is about his drug addiction and how that weakness makes him unreliable. He murders Christopher to preserve his power. It parallels Heisenberg battling his former self as he watches Jane die, as mentioned earlier. It is a technique often used in antihero television where the show will regularly put the spectator's pro-attitude for the antihero to the test through reality checks."[35] However, on this occasion the reality check is slightly dulled by the viewer’s instinctual defending of Tony. By this point the viewer has committed many hours into watching the show and some academics have labelled their adherence to an antihero as “partly akin to a fictionalised Stockholm Syndrome, where time spent with hideous characters engenders our sympathy as he start to see things from their perspective.”[36] Christopher's murder is the biggest test for the viewer's loyalty to Tony Soprano. During an acid trip later in the series, Tony shouts from atop a hill in Atlantic City, "I did it!" with a big smile.[37] Away from all closest to him, Tony can finally reveal the relief he feels knowing his nephew is dead. On the other hand, Jessie never feels any relief for killing Gale, as unlike Walter, power is not of any concern to Jessie. Shane learns to accept his murder of Lem, albeit after a brief substance addiction problem.[38] Vic, however, never forgives Shane just as he cannot forgive himself for what he turned Shane into.

The pilot episodes of Breaking Bad, The Shield and The Sopranos represent one of the main differences exhibited by Walter White. In The Shield, Vic is a cocky police officer who seems above the rest. He and his team do not need to wear a uniform, and thus, he stands out amongst the herd. He asks out a fellow police officer Danny in the pilot and it is made clear they have had an affair in the past. The viewer instantly sees that Vic has authority, he disrespects Acevada in the pilot, is a womaniser and an adulterer.[39] Similarly, Tony displays his 'gomaah' proudly in the pilot and is prioritised seats at a busy restaurant.[40] On the other hand. Walt struggles to maintain an erection as his wife gives him a handjob while lying in bed heavily pregnant discussing birthday plans for Walt.[41] Like Walter's "neutered career", Walter is too distracted by his frustration at where he is in his life to perform physically as a husband.[42] Walt’s lack of enthusiasm for his birthday is palpable and it is obvious upon watching the series why this is so. Even before his cancer diagnosis, Walt's birthday was not something to celebrate as it is just another year of him not fulfilling his potential. Walter White is not the typical antihero. However, his ego is still the key to his demise, just as with Tony Soprano. His problem with masculinity is minimally associated with sex. Instead, the need to "provide" appears to motivate the most initially. Walter even quit the meth business momentarily; however, he changes his mind after a conversation with his boss Gus. "What do Men do? Men provide." states Gus.[43] As stated earlier, Tony, too, suffers from his definition of manhood warping his life due to his lack of ability to live up to his own expectations. Vic's problems with masculinity are rarely seen, if they do exist, as he exhibits the stereotypical man. Even when he shows signs of panic, he reacts aggressively. Vic returns home to an empty house. Realising his family has left him, Vic has a panic attack.[44] Interestingly, it is the notion of losing your loved ones that fuelled Tony's panic attacks. Vic strips off his holstered gun and sits on a chair clutching his chest and yelling. After briefly crying, his sadness turns to aggression as he throws his police badge through his kitchen window. Symbolically, his job is tossed away and briefly, his true focus appears to be his family. Vic deals with emotion like a child; whenever overwhelmed with feelings, he turns to aggression. As he stands over Lem's dead body, he is frozen with grief until a comment from a Detective Kavanaugh allows Vic to explode with anger and the two break into a fight.[45] When faced with photos of Shane’s murder suicide of his family, Vic appears close to breaking down but realises he is being watched on CCTV. Instead of processing his emotions, Vic springs up and rips the camera from the wall and destroys it. He cannot let himself be seen as vulnerable. However, Vic does seem to be a better father than Tony and Walter as he is at the very least authentic. It appears more likely that Vic’s criminal pursuits are a distraction as opposed to an unrelenting desire for power. The money the strike team continuously skimmed from drug busts over the years was always described as going towards the “retirement fund”.[46] Vic is willing to, and expects to, continue his work as a mid-level police detective. When his job is under threat, Vic even begins blackmailing high up members of state to save his job.[47] Any desire for power he has is more about needing to avoid restrictive bureaucracy- if under supervision Vic is unable to continue with his criminal activities, including those pursuits that result in arrests. On the other hand, Tony’s need for power coincidentally coincides with his family’s survival.

Tony’s self-hatred creates problems. He is aware of his existence within a dying organisation and longs for the past. Yet, as mentioned earlier, Tony is of a different ilk. Tony goes against the foundation of the mafia. He considers allowing a member of the Mafia, Vito, to continue to work for him despite his exposed homosexuality and continuously disrespects made men within the organisation who questioned his authority.[48] For Richie and Feech, two made men Tony disposed of, they both had just gotten out of a long stay in prison and bowing down to a new boss who had never himself been in jail, was a real problem.[49] The one-time Tony came close to incarceration during his rise to power, he had a panic attack and fainted, preventing him from attending a robbery which resulted in the arrest of his cousin.[50] All roads lead to his insecurity. The shame, caused by his panic disorder, gives Tony an imposter syndrome as he doesn’t truly feel fit to lead. He is an ineffective father as he demands certain behaviour from his sons that he contradicts with his own behaviour. In other words, Tony treats those with similar ailments to him the same way he treats himself regarding those problems. Tony’s hypocrisy is void of guilt because he justifies it with his idealistic picture of what a man should be. A picture Walter White also imagines. Once, his home life becomes more of a secondary job as opposed to a natural devotion, Walter is an interpersonally absent father to his real son. When his death was inevitable after the cancer diagnosis, justifying his absences in his pursuit to obtain money to leave behind for his family, was easier for the viewer to accept. However, once he enters remission Walter repeatedly punches the hand dryer in the bathroom of the hospital.[51] It is Walt’s first acceptance, and possible awareness, of his true motives. After a life of subordination, power is now Walt’s prerogative. As such, his relationship with Jessie is the only thing that rivals his desire for power in significance. The former version of Walt, before the creation of Heisenberg, comes out only through conversations with Jessie. As mentioned earlier, his real son bemoans the performative father he has been since his diagnosis. However, with Jessie, the former Walter partially appears. For instance, he talks to Jessie about his future with a girl he is seeing. Walter appears genuinely proud of Jessie, the way a father is proud of his son. Walter then, when Jessie informs him that he broke up with his girlfriend, ignores the announcement and keeps the conversation solely on business proving once again that he is performing a fatherly role.[52]  Ultimately, when Walt’s power is under threat as his brother-in-law Hank becomes close to cementing his suspicions with evidence, his survival is priority. Jessie and Walter meet in the middle of the desert. After Walter attempts to convince Jessie to go on the run and start a new life, Jessie states, “Will you just stop working me for like ten seconds straight…drop the whole concerned dad routine…you need me gone because you’re dickhead brother-in-law is never going to let up. Just ask me for a favour! Tell me you need this.”[53] The scene mirrors the conversation Walter had with his real son as Jessie is now also able to decipher when Walter is performing. Jessie bursts into tears as Walter slowly walks towards him. Like vulnerable prey, Jessie wears his suspicions on his face as Walter hugs him. The rest of the scene is silent apart from Jessie’s sobbing, however, Walt’s face expresses a reluctant acceptance. He knows he does need Jessie to leave and he knows what he will do if he refuses. Walter will kill Jessie to save himself and maintain his power. Any remnant of the previous version of Walter is transparent as he is performing as a man that no longer exists. For Vic though, when presented with the perfect opportunity to rid himself of Shane, he changes his mind.

Vic does not change as a father. Rather, he struggles to find the time to spend with them due to his divorce, his need for overtime and his criminal exploits. His attention instead is diverted towards Shane and the Strike team. Vic never forgives Shane for killing Lem and plans an assassination with Ronny.[54] Just before the plan plays out, Vic changes his mind. However, he is too late, and the plan goes ahead but Shane survives. It is obvious to Shane that Vic and Ronny sought his death. In retaliation, Shane clumsily blackmails a street thug to kill Ronny and Shane plans to kill Vic himself.[55] Both attempts fail and Shane goes on the run before murdering his own family and committing suicide.[56] It is important to note here that Vic was not willing to kill Shane. He corrupted Shane and he is aware of his culpability. Walter does not turn Jessie into a criminal as he was already cooking meth. However, Walter turns Jessie into his partner in their drug empire and in turn, pulls him deeper into the criminal world under the illusion that Jessie is now ‘applying himself’.[57] Walter weaponises his hatred of his lost potential to falsely place Jessie under the same umbrella despite Jessie’s unsatisfactory performance in science when Walter was his teacher. His support of Jessie is inauthentic as his willingness to kill him, after Jessie informs on him to his brother-in-law, proves his true motives are for himself and himself alone.[58] For Tony, Anthony’s lack of potential is a mirror as it reflects the disadvantages that created his lost potential – Chris’ substance addiction also performs this function. Thematically, death unveils the true motives of both Walter and Tony as they are willing to murder their figurative sons for not just their survival, but more importantly to sustain their enormous power. Out of the three awful men, Vic is the only one whose evil has a limit. Family is consistently off limits with Vic until he is on the brink of arrest. In that moment, he chooses his real family and informs on Ronny, the only other surviving member of the strike team, and gains immunity for himself.[59] Vic wrongly believed his wife had just been arrested and thus, speedily signed his immunity clause whilst insisting his wife is also covered. Overall, as foreshadowed by the scene of Vic having a panic attack, when all is stripped away Vic was willing to throw away work family to protect his real one.

In conclusion, Vic is the best father out of the three due to his authenticity. He is unwilling to murder his figurative son Shane because he accepts he is to blame for Shane’s corrupted moral compass. Unlike Tony and Walter, who are both willing to murder anyone if their own power is preserved. Ultimately, Vic’s interest in power is minimal compared to Tony and Walter, and thus, he can limit his horrendous crimes when it involves his family. Power is a vacuum to Tony and Walter, which gradually sucks out their humanity as their stature grows.

Bibliography In Order Of Appearance (MHRA)

Gilligan, Vince, Breaking Bad (Albuquerque, New Mexico: AMC, 2009)

Wilkes, Ted, "Sight Unsound: Why The First 10 Minutes Of The Breaking Bad Pilot Matter The Most", Methods Unsound, 2016 https://methodsunsound.com/breaking-bad-episode-one-analysis/  [Accessed 1 April 2022]

Vaage, Margrethe Bruun, The Antihero In American Television (New York: Routledge, 2017), pp. 99-109

Chase, David, The Sopranos (New Jersey: HBO Entertainment, 1999)

Kafka, Franz, and Howard Colyer, Letter To My Father, 1st edn ([Morrisville, NC]: Lulu.com, 2008), pp. 9-11

Ryan, Shawn, The Shield (Los Angelas: FX, 2002)

Pearson, Roberta E, and Anthony Neil Smith, Storytelling In The Media Convergence Age, 1st edn (Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2014), p. 76-88

[1] Vince Gilligan, ‘Bit By A Dead Bee’, Breaking Bad, (Albuquerque, New Mexico: AMC, 2009), 26:30.

[2] Ted Wilkes, "Sight Unsound: Why The First 10 Minutes Of The Breaking Bad Pilot Matter The Most", Methods

Unsound, 2016 https://methodsunsound.com/breaking-bad-episode-one-analysis/  [Accessed 1 April 2022].

[3] Vince Gilligan, ‘Pilot’, Breaking Bad, (Albuquerque, New Mexico: AMC, 2009), 36:18.

[4] Margrethe Bruun Vaage, The Antihero In American Television (New York: Routledge, 2017), pp. 99.

5 David Chase, Pilot, The Sopranos, (New Jersey: HBO Entertainment, 1999), 03:53.

[6] David Chase, Army Of One, The Sopranos, (New Jersey: HBO Entertainment, 1999), 36:30.

7 David Chase, Unidentified Black Male, The Sopranos, (New Jersey: HBO Entertainment, 1999), 49:00.

8 Franz Kafka and Howard Colyer, Letter To My Father, 1st edn ([Morrisville, NC]: Lulu.com, 2008), pp. 9-11.

[9] David Chase, For All Debts Public And Private, The Sopranos (New Jersey: HBO Entertainment, 1999), 06:00.

[10] David Chase, Denial, Anger, Acceptance, The Sopranos (New Jersey: HBO Entertainment, 1999), 39:52.

[11] David Chase, Walk Like A Man, The Sopranos (New Jersey: HBO Entertainment, 1999), 14:40.

[12] Shawn Ryan, Pilot, The Shield (Los Angeles: FX, 2002), 45:00.

[13] Shaun Ryan, Our Gang, The Shield (Los Angeles: FX, 2002), 13:05.

[14] Shaun Ryan, Two Days Of Blood, The Shield (Los Angeles: FX, 2002), 38:50.

[15] Vince Gilligan, Full Measures, Breaking Bad, (Albuquerque, New Mexico: AMC, 2009), 24:44.

[16] Vince Gilligan, And The Bag’s In The River, Breaking Bad, (Albuquerque, New Mexico: AMC, 2009), 36:33.

[17] Vince Gilligan, Box Cutter, Breaking Bad, (Albuquerque, New Mexico: AMC, 2009), 26:49.

[18] Vince Gilligan, Open House, Breaking Bad, (Albuquerque, New Mexico: AMC, 2009), 0:32.

[19] Vince Gilligan, Phoenix, Breaking Bad, (Albuquerque, New Mexico: AMC, 2009), 45:24.

[20] Shaun Ryan, Enemy Of God, The Shield, (Los Angeles: FX, 2002), 43:15.

[21] Vince Gilligan, Phoenix, Breaking Bad, (Albuquerque, New Mexico: AMC, 2009), 14:40.

[22] Shaun Ryan, Rice Burner, The Shield, (Los Angeles: FX, 2002), 39:20.

[23] Vince Gilligan, Bit By A Dead Bee, Breaking Bad, (Albuquerque, New Mexico: AMC, 2009), 26:30.

[24] Shaun Ryan, Postpartum, The Shield, (Los Angeles: FX, 2002), 59:00.

[25] Shaun Ryan, Postpartum, The Shield, (Los Angeles: FX, 2002), 50:40.

[26] Shaun Ryan, Chasing Ghosts, The Shield, (Los Angeles: FX, 2002), 42:45.

[27] Vince Gilligan, Felina, Breaking Bad, (Albuquerque, New Mexico: AMC, 2009), 33:32.

[28] Vince Gilligan, Salud, Breaking Bad, (Albuquerque, New Mexico: AMC, 2009), 24:18.

[29] Vince Gilligan, Gray Matter, Breaking Bad, (Albuquerque, New Mexico: AMC, 2009), 12:45.

[30] Vince Gilligan, Phoenix, Breaking Bad, (Albuquerque, New Mexico: AMC, 2009), 20:28.

[31] David Chase, Pilot, The Happy Wanderer, Christopher, All Happy Families, The Sopranos, (New Jersey: HBO Entertainment, 1999), 25:47, 06:30, 15:35.

[32] David Chase, Cold Cuts, The Sopranos, (New Jersey: HBO Entertainment, 1999), 36:49.

[33] David Chase, Everybody Hurts, The Sopranos, (New Jersey: HBO Entertainment, 1999), 04:30.

[34] David Chase, Kennedy And Heidi, The Sopranos, (New Jersey: HBO Entertainment, 1999), 16:30.

[35] Margrethe Bruun Vaage, The Antihero In American Television (New York: Routledge, 2017), pp. 109.

[36] Roberta E Pearson and Anthony Neil Smith, Storytelling In The Media Convergence Age, 1st edn (Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2014), p. 76.

[37] David Chase, Kennedy And Heidi, The Sopranos, (New Jersey: HBO Entertainment, 1999), 48:10.

[38] Shaun Ryan, Haunts, The Shield, (Los Angeles: FX, 2002), 38:12.

[39] Shawn Ryan, Pilot, The Shield (Los Angeles: FX, 2002), 09:28.

[40] David Chase, Pilot, The Sopranos, (New Jersey: HBO Entertainment, 1999), 40:30.

[41] Vince Gilligan, ‘Pilot’, Breaking Bad, (Albuquerque, New Mexico: AMC, 2009), 14:05.

[42] Roberta E Pearson and Anthony Neil Smith, Storytelling In The Media Convergence Age, 1st edn (Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2014), p. 88.

[43] Vince Gilligan, Más, Breaking Bad, (Albuquerque, New Mexico: AMC, 2009), 25:58.

[44] Shawn Ryan, Circles, The Shield, (Los Angeles: FX, 2002), 43:37.

[45] Shaun Ryan, Postpartum, The Shield, (Los Angeles: FX, 2002), 01:07:35.

[46] Shawn Ryan, The Quick Fix, The Shield, (Los Angeles: FX, 2002), 16:12.

[47] Shawn Ryan, Chasing Ghosts, The Shield, (Los Angeles: FX, 2002), 33:20.

[48] David Chase, Cold Stones, The Sopranos, (New Jersey: HBO Entertainment, 1999), 09:37.

[49] David Chase, House Arrest, All Happy Families…, The Sopranos, (New Jersey: HBO Entertainment, 1999), 41:39, 39:50.

[50] David Chase, Unidentified Black Males, The Sopranos, (New Jersey: HBO Entertainment, 1999), 49:00.

[51] Vince Gilligan, 4 Days Out, Breaking Bad, (Albuquerque, New Mexico: AMC, 2009), 45:50.

[52] Vince Gilligan, Hazard Pay, Breaking Bad, (Albuquerque, New Mexico: AMC, 2009), 44:40.

[53] Vince Gilligan, Confessions, Breaking Bad, (Albuquerque, New Mexico: AMC, 2009), 29:20.

[54] Shawn Ryan, Animal Control, The Shield, (Los Angeles: FX, 2002), 31:50.

[55] Shawn Ryan, Parricide, The Shield, (Los Angeles: FX, 2002), 46:15.

[56] Shawn Ryan, Family Meeting, The Shield, (Los Angeles: FX, 2002), 41:55.

[57] Vince Gilligan, Cancer Man, Breaking Bad, (Albuquerque, New Mexico: AMC, 2009), 34:30.

[58] Vince Gilligan, Rabid Dog, Breaking Bad, (Albuquerque, New Mexico: AMC, 2009), 35:50.

[59] Shawn Ryan, Family Meeting, The Shield, (Los Angeles: FX, 2002), 30:20.