I can’t believe that the third season opener of one of the best shows on television is about to air this Sunday and yet I have never once written about this show for Idol Chatter. “Breaking Bad” (Sundays, AMC, 10:00 p.m.) is an epic American saga that surpasses shows like “The Sopranos” or movies like “Fargo.” The storytelling on “Breaking Bad” is gigantic, sweeping, and, dare I say it, of Old Testament-sized proportions in which crime, punishment and the dark side of human nature are examined with ruthless, poetic style.
Season three promises to pick up where season two left off, when chemistry teacher/cancer survivor/meth expert Walt allowed the girlfriend of his drug dealing partner Jesse to die of an overdose. Not only were the repercussions unbelievably severe and far-reaching in last season’s finale, but the consequences also continue in the season three opener as Jesse comes out of rehab and Walt’s wife finally figures out Walt’s secret life.
So to celebrate what looks to be another spectacular, gripping season, I would like to point out a few painful, uncomfortable spiritual truths that are always at the heart of this show.

1.The Road to Hell Really is Paved with Good Intentions
From the beginning of the series, Walt has justified his ever-increasing list of heinous crimes with the logic that he has to provide for his family before he dies of cancer, not leaving them with huge debts from his lack of insurance coverage. Yet Walt’s decision to just cook and sell a little bit of meth has turned into a slippery slope of rash, destructive decisions .In Season 3, it has turned him into a man that his family doesn’t even recognize anymore.
2. Everything Done in Darkness Will Be Revealed in the Light
It’s not just Walt who has deep, dark secrets. Viewers have witnessed the uncovering of a relative’s kleptomania and his brother-in-law’s post-traumatic stress disorder. It doesn’t matter the size of the secret, nothing can stay hidden forever on “Breaking Bad.” However, when the truth is revealed, sometimes the truth brings a character a costly sense of freedom.
3.The Wages of Sin is Death
Perhaps the biggest reason I love this show is that there is little room for gray in Walt’s world. It is a world of cathartic black and white, where every action has a consequence and the wages of unrepented sin, yes, is most often death – usually a ghastly one. In fact, death is often the least of the consequences for some of the characters on “Breaking Bad” as so many characters – Jesse, for example- are living out a certain kind of hell on earth.