Everything in Breaking Bad has a purpose, from briefly worn costumes to throwaway lines to the set design surrounding the main characters’ home. This masterclass in television, near universally considered to be one of the best TV shows of all time, is so because of all the complex symbolism that elevates protagonist Walter White’s (Bryan Cranston) gradual moral degradation. As the series is primarily about Walt becoming more villainous as he rises in the drug trade, the world around him reflects the state of his family and his mind.
The best theories about Breaking Bad often center around this symbolism, and one of the most debated subjects among audiences is the meaning of swimming pools throughout the series, a set piece that appears constantly. The Whites have a swimming pool in their backyard, the site of many important scenes, namely tense family gatherings or all-out fights. The appearance of another pool when Gustavo Fring (Giancarlo Esposito) kills the entire cartel also illustrates the visual’s importance. Audience members have offered up many diatribes of what this represents, which can somewhat be cohered into one statement.
The Whites Never Use Their Swimming Pool Leisurely In Breaking Bad, But It’s The Setting Of A Lot Of Conflict
The Whites Only Have A Pool For Appearances & Intense Family Meetings
Just about everyone has noted that for all the pools that are seen throughout Breaking Bad, we never see anyone swimming in one for leisure. This is most obvious with the pool at the Whites’ house, as this location has the most screen time. On the other hand, the backyard/pool is where a lot of conflict takes place: Walt bullies Walter Jr. (RJ Mitte) into drinking too much, the reveal of the lily of the valley plant Walt used to poison a child, Skyler (Anna Gunn) submerging herself, debris from the plane collision falling into the water, and various arguments.
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Outside the White home, namely concerning Gus Fring’s backstory and eventual revenge, a poolside setting is where murder happens, often tainting the water with blood or someone’s body. One of the only pools that doesn’t end up polluted is the one at Elliot (Adam Godley) and Gretchen’s (Jessica Hetch) house, where they are protected by their legally acquired wealth, which infuriates Walt and prompts him to hurt them differently. Thus, these locations are associated with conflict throughout the series and perhaps continue to remind characters of these events long after they have happened, especially if it is at their home.
Walt Is Constantly Trying To Keep The Swimming Pool Clean
Walt Clings To The Idea That He Can Keep His Work & Home Life Separate
Thoroughly noted by viewers such as The Take via YouTube, Walt seems to be on a constant quest to keep the swimming pools around him clean, which are contaminated by Band-Aids, drug money, and most hauntingly, the pink teddy bear from the destroyed plane. This is widely interpreted to be representative of Walt trying to keep his growing illegal business and his home life separate, and he displays an obsession with sterilization elsewhere in the series. Most famously, he goes into overdrive to protect his production from contamination during the divisive bottle episode “Fly” of Breaking Bad.
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Notably, that fly continues to haunt him outside the lab. Walt even stops to fish a Band-Aid out of the pool at his new apartment, a setting mostly separate from his family, showing his paranoia about his work and guilt seeping into his life everywhere he goes. Yet just as Walt cannot keep the debris from the water, he can’t be a criminal without it destroying his family. At one point, he starts burning his money in the backyard, but panics and uses the pool to save it, showing how his greed will ultimately overpower love and family.
Water Holds A Lot Of Life & Death Meaning When Breaking Bad Is Set In The Desert
Swimming Pools Do Not Symbolize Life In Breaking Bad
In general, both via the dirtiness and the violence and conflict associated with it, Breaking Bad is flipping some common symbolism and mythology. Namely, water is typically associated with life, while Breaking Bad makes it a symbol of death (via Reddit). This is even more poignant when the series is set in the New Mexico desert environment, where water is even more important to life.
Just as Walt cannot keep the debris from the water, he can’t be a criminal without it destroying his family.
Based on The Take’s analysis, where the idea of water being associated with emotions is mentioned, the symbolism could also be flipped because of how Walt claims victimhood and denies responsibility throughout the series. What might be a peaceful sight in another series, especially if it were a natural body of water rather than an expensive, non-life-sustaining human-made one, prompts characters to think about feelings they don’t want to, so they shut them down.
The Swimming Pool Also Further Represents The Financial Strain Experienced By The White Family
If They Don’t Have A Ton Of Money, Buying A House With A Pool Might Have Been A Mistake
Another widely noted connotation of the swimming pools in Breaking Bad is how they are a class symbol. Typically, a home with a pool costs more and is an indicator of an idealized suburban family life. Which is why it is so striking that we never actually see the White family or anyone else using a pool, because any ideas of content domesticity are false, either a front for a violent business or reflecting a dysfunctional family slowly being destroyed by it (also argued by The Take).
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Especially in the case of the Whites, having a home with a pool is read as an attempt to maintain a façade when we know that they are almost always struggling financially (via Reddit). In fact, this might have been a financial mistake on Walter and Skyler’s part when the mortgage on their house is one of their biggest expenses. Other locations, like Don Eladio’s (Steven Bauer) or Elliot and Gretchen’s houses, also have pools they don’t use, mostly just showing off their wealth.
“The Pool Is The Source Of All Evil”: How The Whites’ Swimming Pool Might Have Actually Influenced Breaking Bad’s Plot
The Pool Is Just A Reminder To Walt Of All His Problems
Referring to all these theories, one Reddit user calls the swimming pool “the source of all evil” in Breaking Bad, effectively summarizing the various ideas of violence and wealth that this set piece represents. And maybe that in some way actually affected the outcome of Breaking Bad. Skyler, of course, steps into the pool to prompt concern, which leads to the kids being taken away. However, Walt is also regularly shown sitting by the pool at his house or another one, stewing in his thoughts.
It also may just be a material reminder of how much debt they are in, and the fact that he couldn’t really provide such niceties for his family with his legitimate career.
The pool is literally reflective, making it the perfect setting for Walt to contemplate all that he has done. It also may just be a material reminder of how much debt they are in, and the fact that he couldn’t really provide such niceties for his family with his legitimate career. Breaking Bad is, above all, a character study about how Walt justifies his actions until it is far too late to undo the damage, and everything that piles onto the conflict is likely important.
Source: Reddit, The Take
10/10
- Release Date
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2008 – 2013-00-00
- 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
