Dean Norris reflects on Breaking Bad‘s greatest episode of all time 10 years later. Premiered in 2008, the highly acclaimed AMC series follows high-school chemistry teacher Walter White (Bryan Cranston) who, after being diagnosed with terminal lung cancer, begins cooking crystal meth with his former student, Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul), to secure his family’s financial future. Dean Norris played Hank Schrader, Walt’s brother-in-law and a DEA agent who was unceremoniously killed off in the show’s antepenultimate episode, “Ozymandias,” which is widely considered to be Breaking Bad‘s best episode.
During a recent interview with TV Insider, Dean Norris reflected on Breaking Bad‘s “Ozymandias” over a decade after the all-time great episode aired. The actor discussed the episode’s lasting impact and Breaking Bad‘s enduring popularity overall. The show’s legacy, particularly this episode, saw a resurgence during the pandemic, with many people binge-watching it while staying at home:
I think that’s the great thing about TV today. It’s now a novel that’s on the shelf. Every year, new people experience the whole series… So I think it’s great that it lives on in the ether, just in the cultural zeitgeist. And it continues to have that kind of impact. I think it’s more known now than it was when it first came out… A lot of people binged it. And it’s fun. I get 15-year-old kids, and 18-year-old kids, always coming up to me and they’ve just seen it [for the first time], and here it is [nearly] 15 years later.
Norris also reflected on later reprising his role as Hank Schrader in the Breaking Bad spinoff Better Call Saul alongside his DEA partner, Steve Gomez (Michael Quezada). The actor especially enjoyed his return in the prequel series since it allowed him to portray an earlier, more vibrant version of his character:
It was great to see everybody again. It was great to be back in Albuquerque. We had to keep it very under wraps. They didn’t want to spoil that we were there, so we were constantly hidden from the crowds watching and stuff like that, but it was so amazing to revisit it. It was nice because we got to go back to the early Hank where he was funny and confident and a blowhard, as opposed to the depressed Hank that [emerged in later seasons of Breaking Bad].
The Show (& Especially “Ozymandias”) Has Stood The Test Of Time
Dean Norris’ comments highlight how Breaking Bad, and especially the episode “Ozymandias,” have stood the test of time. Over the years, the show has seen several resurgences in popularity, such as when the spinoff Better Call Saul premiered in 2015, running until 2022 and becoming one of the rare spinoffs to match the quality of its predecessor. Breaking Bad also saw a bump in popularity when the sequel movie, El Camino, premiered on Netflix in 2019, and once again during the pandemic, as Norris mentions.
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“Ozymandias” has especially stood the test of time. It’s been universally acclaimed since its initial airing, and today, it is not only widely considered to be Breaking Bad‘s best episode, but one of the greatest television episodes of all time. In fact, it’s the only TV episode to have an aggregate 10/10 rating on IMDb. Breaking Bad‘s cultural impact has not waned, but has actually seemed to grow over the years, continuing to captivate audiences long after its initial run.
Our Take On Why “Ozymandias” Is So Great
Hank’s Death Was Genuinely Shocking
The episode’s place in history owes a lot to Hank’s death, one of the most genuinely shocking and emotional moments in television history. Hank faces death with courage and refuses to beg for his life – a truly dignified and honorable moment and a fitting conclusion for the character’s journey. This is not to mention Dean Norris’ subtle yet strong performance, which made Hank’s death a truly historic moment in Breaking Bad.
Source: TV Insider
Breaking Bad
10/10
- Release Date
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2008 – 2012
- Showrunner
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Vince Gilligan
- Directors
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Vince Gilligan, Michelle Maclaren
- Writers
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Peter Gould, Gennifer Hutchison, Vince Gilligan, George Mastras, Moira Walley-Beckett, Sam Catlin, Thomas Schnauz