Four will go down as one of the best seasons in television history...Book it for a win of Best Drama at the Emmys
Well said. As much as I've grumbled about
Breaking Bad being out of contention for this year's Emmys, obviously that extra time in the writing room paid off dividends, and we have what in any just world would surely be considered a shoo-in for next year's Emmys. Here are the awards I think
Breaking Bad should be in line to win:
BEST TV DRAMA - BREAKING BAD
Easy, hands down. As I said before, if
The Wire Season 4 is the greatest single season of television ever made, then
Breaking Bad Season 4 is surely the second greatest.
BEST LEADING ACTOR IN A DRAMA - BRYAN CRANSTON
It'll be his fourth win for the same character, but each season Cranston gets better, and adds enough new dimensions to the character of Walter White to make each new win well deserved all over again.
BEST LEADING ACTRESS IN A DRAMA - ANNA GUNN
This one will be controversial, as Skyler has her haters. But Anna Gunn does great in what is too often an overlooked and thankless role. Something worth pointing out, while often (even in good shows) the wife characters are just the female leads, Anna Gunn makes it so that the marriage between Skyler and Walt is utterly believable, where you can see how these two personalities would be drawn to one another. Her character arc tapered off a bit in the last few episodes, but early in the season especially she was on top form.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A DRAMA - GIANCARLO ESPOSITO
Aaron Paul, Dean Norris and Giancarlo Esposito all deserve nominations in this category, and choosing just one to win is very tough. But Aaron won it last year, and Dean can get the nod next year. This, however, was Gus' season. He was a terrifying Big Bad in Season 3, but in Season 4 we got development, nuance, and even traces of humanity in the character that evoked our sympathy, so much so that you had some people saying the wrong person died after the season finale.
BEST WRITING - GEORGE MASTRAS & SAM CATLIN, CRAWL SPACE
Again, it was hard choosing just one in this category, but if I had to pick the most masterfully written episode of the season, it would be this 11th episode that took us screaming into the endgame. THAT ending... man. That could have been how you ended the penultimate episode of the whole series, never mind the season!
BEST DIRECTING - VINCE GILLIGAN, FACE-OFF
The directing in this was of the quality you'd find in a Hollywood movie. The masterful, agonosing drip-feed tension of Tio's talkboard, all those slick slow pan-ins - from Walt in the parking lot listening to the radio to the final reveal - and of course that crazy SFX shot of Gus, not to mention the poignant depiction of Gus' walk to the nursing home. Everything about this episode was just beautiful, haunting and memorable. Gilligan showed himself to be a TV auteur.