Aaron Paul and Bryan Cranston at our Breaking Bad premiere. Photo: David Goldberg

In an exciting collaboration with AMC, the Film Society of Lincoln Center recently hosted free marathon screenings of every episode of the critically acclaimed show Breaking Bad. To celebrate the show’s upcoming finale, Film Society also hosted “The Perfect Batch: Breaking Bad Cast Favorites,” a series of panels in which the show’s cast and creator each selected two episodes to screen, discussed the series, and answered audience questions. 

The event sold out the minute it went on sale (crashing our ticketing system in the process) and provided Breaking Bad fans with a fascinating inside look at the beloved show. For Breaking Bad addicts who couldn’t attend: fret not! FilmLinc Daily has compiled videos of all of the panels below. (They can also be viewed on FilmLinc’s Youtube Channel.) Caution: These videos contain spoilers if you are not caught up with the show, but none about the upcoming season.

During our first panel, Anna Gunn and RJ Mitte, who play Walter White’s wife Skyler and son Walt Jr., and Bob Odenkirk, who plays the morally uncentered criminal lawyer Saul Goodman, spoke with New York Magazine‘s Matt Soller Seitz. They talked about the casting process, their characters’ morality, and saying goodbye to the show.

During the second panel, Seitz moderated again and spoke with Emmy winner Bryan Cranston, who plays the central character, Walter White. Cranston spoke about finding the core of the character, honest acting, and the ease of performing good writing.

For our third panel, Emily Nussbaum of The New Yorker moderated a conversation with Dean Norris and Betsy Brandt, who play Hank and Marie Schrader. They talked about figuring out their characters’ backgrounds, the color purple, and the specificity of the show’s writing (down to the motivation behind their choice of bathroom).

Finally, Nussbaum spoke with Vince Gilligan, the creator-executive producer-writer-director mastermind behind the show. In an hour-long conversation, Gilligan addressed a wide range of topics, including the evolution of Walter White, the backlash against Skyler, and his desire to leave some questions unanswered. 

And, just for fun, here’s a lyrical ode to Breaking Bad‘s central character, Walter White, as played by Bryan Cranston.

Walter White from Bernhard Fasenfest on Vimeo.