From watching Jane die to poisoning Brock, Walter White did some truly reprehensible things across the five seasons ofBreaking Badthat made viewers fall out of love with him. When audiences were first introduced to Walt, he was a mild-mannered everyman: a husband, father, and high school chemistry teacher. He wasn’t too far removed from Bryan Cranston’s last major TV role – Hal fromMalcolm in the Middle– except he was a much sadder version of that sitcom dad archetype. Naturally, audiences loved the character. But that all changed after he “broke bad.”
Breaking Badcreator Vince Gilligan took the TV antihero stories pioneered byThe SopranosandMad Mento the next level. Gilligan challenged television’s usual M.O. of maintaining the status quo with a story of change. Whereas Tony Soprano and Don Draper were bad guys from the outset and remained bad guys until the very end, Walt transformed from a loving family man into a cold-hearted monster. Along the way, he did plenty of awful things that made the audience question their initial love for the character.
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Bryan Cranston’s 10 Best Moments From Breaking Bad, Ranked
From watching Jane die to his “I am the one who knocks” speech, Breaking Bad gave Bryan Cranston plenty of opportunities to show off his acting range.
10When Walt Let Jane Die
Season 2, episode 12
Walt had done plenty of terrible things before he watched Jane die, from blowing up Tuco’s headquarters to killing Krazy-8, but Jane’s death was arguably his point of no return. Jesse and Jane’s relationship arc came to a head in season 2, episode 12, “Phoenix,”when Walt became concerned that Jane was a good influence on Jesse– which was bad for Walt. Jane encouraged Jesse to assert himself and become more independent from Walt, and Walt didn’t like that.
When Walt went to speak with Jesse and found him passed out next to Jane, Walt accidentally knocked Jane onto her back and she started choking on her own vomit. Although he could’ve easily saved her, he stood back and watched her die. Walt actually let a woman die just to make his own life slightly more convenient.
9When Walt Made A Fake Confession Tape To Blackmail Hank
Season 5, episode 11
The second half ofBreaking Bad’s final seasonfollowed up on the shocking midseason cliffhanger of Hank finally realizing that his own brother-in-law is the elusive Heisenberg. With his back against the wall, in season 5, episode 11, “Confessions,” Walt gives Hank a DVD. On the DVD, Walt tearfully “confesses” that Hank is the mastermind behind his drug operation and that he’s been forcing Walt to cook meth for him.
This was actually kind of brilliant. The confession DVD might not hold up in court, but Walt’s fabricated version of events is more believable than Hank having no idea that his brother-in-law is a drug lord. But it’s also pretty despicable that Walt would coerce his own family like this.Hank is a lawman just trying to bring a notorious criminal to justice, but his rival happens to be a diabolical genius, so his hands are tied.
8When Walt Pressured Walt, Jr. To Drink
Season 2, episode 10
Walt allowed his criminal persona to slip into his personal life in season 2, episode 10, “Over.” After Walt is told he’s in remission, he decides to quit the drug business and the Whites throw a party to celebrate. Walt and Hank are drinking tequila and Walt decides to pour some for Walt, Jr., which is initially a sweet, innocuous father-son bonding moment. But then, Walt keeps pouring tequila and pressuring his son to drink it.
When Hank tries to intervene and take the bottle away, Walt demands that he give it back. He keeps pressuring Walt, Jr. to drink until he ends up vomiting in the pool. This is the moment that Walt, Jr.’s idolization of Hank – and Walt’s resentment over it – finally came to a head.It showed that Walt was willing to sacrifice anything (including his son’s well-being) for his own fragile sense of pride.
7When Walt Ordered Jesse To Kill Gale
Season 3, episode 13
Gus is determined to kill Walt, who’s been nothing but trouble, but Walt comes up with a way to force Gus to keep him alive
Walt managed to convince Jesse that he was an equal partner in their business, but that was never the case. Jesse was Walt’s lapdog who he manipulated into doing all his dirty work. Walt came up with the ideas, but Jesse was the one who had to do all the traumatic follow-through. In season 3, episode 13,“Full Measure,”Gus is determined to kill Walt, who’s been nothing but trouble, but Walt comes up with a way to force Gus to keep him alive.
Walt has Jesse go to Gale’s apartment and murder him, so that Walt will be the only meth cook left capable of creating product that’s up to Gus’ standards. It was a smart move on Walt’s part, but it destroyed Jesse. Killing Gale was one of the devastating traumas that would haunt Jesse for the rest of the series.
6When Walt Killed Mike
Season 5, episode 7
Walt killed a bunch of people throughoutBreaking Bad’s run, but he almost always had a solid reason to kill them. He killed Krazy-8 because, if he didn’t, Krazy-8 would’ve killed him. What made his murder of Mike Ehrmantraut so contemptible was that he didn’t have to do it. In season 5, episode 7, “Say My Name,”Walt impulsively shoots Mike when Mike refuses to give him the names of the nine men he’s paying off.
But after dealing Mike a fatal gunshot wound, Walt realizes he could’ve gotten the names from Lydia Rodarte-Quayle, so he didn’t have to kill Mike. Mike was a killer himself, involved in a dangerous, cutthroat world, so it was always likely that his life would end this way. But it just proved he was right about Walt’s egotistical behavior ruining everything.
5When Walt Forced His Way Back Into Skyler’s Life
Season 3, episode 3
After Skyler found out about Walt’s secret double life as a meth kingpin, she kicked him out of the house. But in season 3, episode 3, “I.F.T.,” Walt defied her wishes and just moved back into the house. She called the police to have him removed, but they couldn’t do anything without a court order. So, Walt just stayed in the house without Skyler’s consent and forced her to live under the same roof as him.
It’s astounding to think thatSkyler was the character who got the most hatewhen Walt pulled stunts like this. When Walt did ruthless, duplicitous things in the criminal underworld, it was par for the course –it was an ugly side effect of operating in that world.But when he brought that ruthlessness home, it highlighted just how awful Walt could be.
4When Walt Told Jesse He Watched Jane Die
Season 5, episode 14
Walt seized the opportunity to tell him that he watched Jane die
Season 5, episode 14,“Ozymandias” isBreaking Bad’s most explosive episode. All the conflicts and tensions that the series had been building from the very beginning came to a head in “Ozymandias.” Walt’s meth empire came crumbling down, Hank and Gomez were killed, and Walt sold out Jesse to his white supremacist partners. But just before Jack took Jesse away, Walt seized the opportunity to tell him that he watched Jane die.
Talk about kicking someone while they’re down. Jesse had just been taken captive as a meth-cooking slave by a neo-Nazi gang – it was arguably the lowest point of his entire life – and Walt went and made it even worse by revealing thathe could’ve saved Jane and changed the tragic trajectory of his past couple of years.Needless to say, Jesse is devastated.
Season 5, episode 8
Everything seems to be going well for Walt in season 5, episode 8, “Gliding Over All.” He’s made enough money to quit the meth business, he’s tied up all the loose ends by disposing of Mike’s corpse, and his family finally comes back together as Walt, Jr. and Holly move back into the house. But to get to a place where he can retire and feel safe, Walt has to go fullGodfather.
Walt demands that Jack and his gang kill all of Mike’s henchmen in prison, and insists that it all be done at the same time. Although Jack warns him it’ll be difficult to figure out, Walt manages to orchestrate the brutal murders of 10 men across three different prisons, all in the space of two minutes.This is Walt’s Don Corleone moment.
2When Walt Kidnapped His Own Daughter
“Ozymandias” reaches its climax when Skyler deduces that Hank has been killed and threatens Walt with a kitchen knife. Walt manages to wrestle the knife out of Skyler’s hands, but Walt, Jr. – finally seeing his father for who he really is – jumps in front of his mom to protect her. Realizing that he’s destroyed his family and there’s no going back, Walt decides to leave, but not alone.
Walt literally kidnaps his own daughter before he leaves. Seeing the look of horror in Skyler’s eyes as she desperately tries to get her baby back from the monster abducting her, it sinks in just how far gone Walt is. Thankfully, he comes to his senses, leaves Holly at a firehouse, andshe’s returned to Skyler.But just the fact that he had the impulse to kidnap his own daughter is terrible.
1When Walt Poisoned Brock
Season 4, episode 13
Walt did plenty of horrible things inBreaking Bad, but at least he targeted most of those horrible things at adults. The most unforgivable thing he did in the series was poisoning an eight-year-old boy. In season 4, episode 13, “Face Off,” Walt’s feud with Gus comes to a head and it becomes clear that one of them will have to kill the other. When Jesse’s girlfriend’s son Brock is poisoned, Walt convinces him Gus did it.
Breaking Bad
Cast
Breaking Bad, created by Vince Gilligan, follows a chemistry teacher turned drug kingpin named Walter White (Bryan Cranston) as he attempts to provide for his family following a fatal diagnosis. With nothing left to fear, White ascends to power in the world of drugs and crime, transforming the simple family man into someone known only as Heisenberg.
Jesse resumes his loyalty to Walt and the two team up to hatch a plan to assassinate Gus. The plan is a success, Gus is killed horrifically, and Walt declares,“I won.”But the final shot of the episode reveals that Gus didn’t poison Brock; Walt did. Walt was so determined to win that he endangered a child’s life. This was one ofBreaking Bad’s most shocking twists.
