When you spend some quality time at your parents’ house for the holidays and they have roughly 1000 channels from which to choose, many things can happen. First of all, you’re liable to get bed sores from all that time you spend on the couch, but I keep checking and so far I’m in the clear. Secondly, you get to watch your favorite movies over and over again. How many times did I watch Love Actually? Too many. Do you know how often The Breakfast Club is on when you have 1000 channels? Practically every other hour.
There’s also the fact that all that time avoiding your family and making-up for your lack of cable at your apartment, forces you to have realizations; massive realizations that would not have occurred in your brain had it not been for the fucking television.
Between proper holiday doses of It’s a Wonderful Life intermittent with old episodes of Breaking Bad, I had an epiphany, and it’s one I’m going to share. Epiphanies should never be kept from others, because this is the type of shit that changes the world.
Walter White and George Bailey are practically the same person! It’s just that over 60 years later our society has changed, so it might be hard to see the similarities at first, but I have broken it all down for you. You’ll see.
Photos: AMC/RKO Radio Pictures
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They're both pretty fucking selfless
George saved his brother's life and gave up his dreams for the sake of his family. Walter, when he found out he had cancer, resorted to making and selling meth for the sake of his family.
They're both ultimate family men
The reason behind this fact was just explained to you in the last slide. Were you not paying attention?
They both know a thing or two about poison
Walter makes meth, poisons kids and is a whiz in his high-tech lab. Yes, George uses his knowledge of poison to save lives (remember Mr. Gower's accidental fuck-up with the poison?), but this is about similarity in poison know-how, not ethics.
They both came from humble beginnings
Of course, we can say this about most people. But considering the later impact they'd have on those around them, this is an important factor in their evolution.
They're wives are sometimes scared of them
George shakes Mary, yells at the kids and storms out of the house. Mary is scared, you guys! Sklyer doesn't even like sleeping in the same bed with Walter most nights. It's hard not to be scared of the one "who knocks."
They both deal with some shady characters
Whether it's Mr. Potter or Gus, both George and Walter are up against some fucking assholes.
They both have a violent streak
Um, yeah, we don't need to get into this in regards to Walter, BUT George totally had a violent streak. How many times did he freak out at people? A lot.
They're both unstable
Granted, it's the shit that's surrounding them, but they both could use some therapy. Tony Soprano should suggest this to them -- you know, in television fantasy world.
They're both the RICHEST MAN IN TOWN
So what if one is literally and the other is metaphorically, it's still the truth. You can't argue the truth.
They're both a hero
One person's saint is another's devil. Either way, they're both heroes to someone. They're both heroes to me.
You can reach this post's author, Amanda Chatel, on twitter.
