(Credit: Netflix)

Complex characters have always been at home on Netflix. It’s just the way it is. Crime-solving teens, immortal misfits, ambiguous heroes, relatable villains – you name it and Netflix has it. But did you know that the streaming platform also features a character who’s not only a hero to popular culture, but also a villain? Sounds strange, right?

Well, it won’t when we give you the name: Walter White from Breaking Bad. One of the most well-thought-out character arcs of television history, there isn’t a person who remains oblivious to his historic persona.

Walter White rises from the ashes of the audience’s sympathy, evolving into a dramatic villain, while Breaking Bad taps deep into the human psyche to represent the potential of authority in a person who had none in his past. When the show begins, he’s just an ordinary guy, trying to make ends meet as a chemistry high school teacher while counting his last days, following a terminal cancer diagnosis.

His decision to cook methamphetamine is originally seen as an act of desperation, until it’s not. Caught in the paradox of self-sacrifice, he’s determined to ensure a better life for his family when he’s not around. He might come across as an anti-hero who goes to morally questionable lengths for the one thing he loves.

But over the course of Breaking Bad, this man evolves, and so do his motivations. Overwhelmed with the authority of the criminal underworld, when Walter White finally relishes the taste of power, money becomes subservient. He adopts the alias Heisenberg, and his brilliance becomes the vehicle of his power play of manipulation and violence.

The best part about this show is that it doesn’t sugarcoat the arc as unnatural. It perfectly embodies the idea that nobody is born a criminal. A life lived righteously doesn’t always end up in sainthood. Sometimes, it just means a knock on the devil’s door, either the one that takes you to the afterlife or the one that shows you life.

Breaking Bad has always been a character-driven story. One that the world of entertainment has learned to regard highly. Despite being conceived as a well-intentioned character, his swift transition to a morally ambiguous figure has been hailed as a pioneering example of realist character development in popular culture. Once determined to eliminate the threat, Walter becomes one himself.

While everyone wishes they could feel the magic of this troubled heroism once more for the first time, thanks to Walter White’s sensitive approach and terrifying antagonism, this character lives forever ahead of his time.