I read these "...and philosophy" books not as literary criticism/philosophy but as geek essays geeking about the thing they geek over. The quality of the essays are vary wildly (as you would expect), but there are some surprisingly bad clunkers in there. Also, this was published before the series had aired its final season, so it's almost like reading essays about a book that ignore the last five chapters, or talking about a movie you hadn't seen the last 30 minutes of.

1. Walt's Rap Sheet: decent. How much blame, legally and ethically, does Walt have on the deaths he caused? This essay had a clear question, and it provides clear answers. Whether you agree or not... I give it a B.

2. Heisenberg's Uncertain Confession: terrible. Talks about souls (being part of the chemical composition of the body?), St. Augustine, Werner Heisenberg, strict materialism, redemption... and I think there might have been an interesting idea in there somewhere drawing all these things together, but it needed an editor or a friend or something -anything!- to bash it into shape. A big large hammer, maybe. Uh.. and despite my utter lack of physics knowledge I don't think Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle works the way he's trying to make it work. Like, trying to work it to prove human free will and the existence of the soul. Yeah... F for fail.

3. Was Skylar's Intervention Ethical: Ha, talk about a clear question. Unfortunately, a clear answer was less apparent. I liked the humor, but the essay rambled and lost focus constantly. I got the impression that the writer didn't really expect or care that this would be publicly published. One part of the essay was titled "Coercion Due To Chickenshit" to give you an example of the informality, which could work if done well. But this was like a first draft. Poor. C-

4. Finding Happiness in a Black Hat: meh. Writer took on the unenviable task of making existentialism an ethical (as in strongly moral) philosophy. Doesn't seem like it should be that hard (it's philosophy! they're all kinda ethics...) until you try to work out how, logically, a person shouldn't act like a evil shit when living "authentically" (haha scare quotes). I'm not saying it's impossible, but unselfishness is not exactly existentialism's strong suit. And dude... are you sure you wanna use Walter White as an example of how existentialism works as ethical code? Uh... I mean, okay you haven't seen the 5th season but Walter White aka Heisenberg as a arguably goodish individual kinda died at the end of the 3rd. Maybe it works to prove how you can still totally admire Walter White as a badass even when he is acting like an evil shit? I would like the essay more if it actually had the balls to say that. oh and the most important thing. this is what gets me the most in this essay... it ignores Breaking Bad events that are inconvenient to its ideas. Like the last section which lists off ways that Walter White accepts responsibility for his actions and conveniently forgets about the freakin' plane crash and all those lies he tells Jesse (about Jane and Lily of the Valley). Quote: "Walt also accepts consequences for each decision and action he makes as Heisenberg" Haha, like whatevs. D for intellectual dishonesty.

5. Hurtling Towards Death: OMG a decent essay! Unfortunately, it focuses on Heidegger and damn me if there's a philosopher who resonates with me less. I swear, if I come across another essay in this book that theorizes on authenticity, I am gonna have to write an imaginary Dear John letter to the author stating, "It's not you, it's me" and move the fuck on. B

6. Macbeth on Ice: Shakespeare nerd talking about Macbeth and Breaking Bad. Interesting. A-

7. Walter White's Will to Power: Blah blah blah Nietzsche blah blah. I can't even remember this one, really. B

8. Better Than Human: Eh... at least when that Shakespeare nerd was talking about Macbeth I could follow along. When this writer talks about Mad Men I just get confused. Maybe it'll be interesting to a Mad Men fan? Also more Nietzsche blah blah blah. Damn existentialism why are like all the essays in this book about existentialism C

9. The Riddle of Godfather Gus: Most of this essay was just, like, summaries of what happened in the episodes. Useless. D

10. If Walt's Breaking Bad, Maybe We Are Too: I find myself naturally drawn toward this "consequentialist" way of thinking, so I enjoyed reading about it a bit which I have never done before. But because of my... familiarity? I didn't get any new earth shattering revelations. B

11. I Appreciate the Strategy: OMG I am existentially fatigued. I blew my wad complaining about it in that first essay that dealt with it and now I can't bother. C because I no longer care

12. What's So Bad About Meth?: Haha, oh philosophy. With a title like that, you might expect... I don't know... facts on meth use. But that sorta stuff is way to specific for these big thinkers. Drugs are illegal. so drugs are bad. Mmmmmkay? C

13. It's Arbitrary?: A bit better than the previous one in trying to prove the evilness of drug use, but bible quotes? Not really my bag. Also, trying to convince me that "drugs cloud your mind therefore bad" while basically giving a free pass to alcohol is really stupid. I mean, are you trying to prove or disprove the arbitrariness of "this drug okay, that drug bad" or not? C

14. Does Cooking Make Walt a Bad Guy? OMG this is really decent. Actually written like the author knows something about drug use and doesn't lose focus on reality. So grateful I give it an A.

15. Been through the Desert on a Horse with No Name: I guess it's alright if you are a Lacan fan. I am not. It reads like a college essay. Like, "Use your favorite TV show to demonstrate your understanding of Lacan" instead of... something interesting. C

16, 17, 18, 19. These were decent but I have stopped really caring anymore. ahahhaha. ( )

Occasionally found the prose style a bit grating.Moreover, the essays are fairly uneven in quality. However, it's interesting to read and think about some of the deeper themes that lie behind 'Breaking Bad'. ( )