By Dean Robbins

‘Breaking Bad’ heads toward a grim conclusion

I hope you’re not letting the Olympics distract you from the final season of “Breaking Bad.” This is TV history in the making, folks. The series is a profound investigation of corruption — the corruption of a single man’s soul. And the new episodes (Sundays, 9 p.m., AMC) suggest that “Breaking Bad” will work out its morality play with brutal integrity. If you want happy endings, maybe you should switch back to the Olympics.

Walt White (Bryan Cranston) initially had his justifications for becoming a New Mexico meth dealer. He was terminally ill and, as a low-paid high school teacher, needed money to leave to his family. In season five, though, justifications are in short supply. Like Macbeth, Walt is drunk with power. He’s obsessed with becoming the king – or, in modern parlance, the drug kingpin. Walt’s wife, Skyler (Anna Gunn), and kids are still around to remind us of his humanity, but his connection to them grows ever more remote. The long silences at home crackle with tension, forcing Skyler to say, “I’m scared of you.”

“Breaking Bad” should scare all of us as we contemplate the monster lurking inside an ordinary human being.

Olympics

Through Aug. 12 (NBC)

We’ve spent the last week watching nonstop diving, gymnastics and swimming. We’re exhausted, but we have to keep up our strength somehow. This week’s Olympics coverage includes must-see medal events in basketball, soccer and track. Mercifully, the schedule also features competitions that only a few people care about – water polo, badminton, handball — so the rest of us can take a much-needed nap.

I never thought I’d say this, but God bless badminton. CV