Walter White Was Not The Villain In ‘Breaking Bad’ … He Was Its Tragic Victim

Created by Vince Gilligan, Breaking Bad is arguably the greatest television show of all time. The story follows chemistry teacher Walter White (Bryan Cranston), who, after being diagnosed with lung cancer, decides to cook and sell methamphetamine with his former student, Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul). The entire endeavor starts as a desperate attempt to secure the financial future of his wife, Skyler (Anna Gunn), son, Walter White Jr. (RJ Mitte), and infant daughter, Holly. 

On the surface, the five-season crime drama chronicles Walter’s transformation into the infamous blue meth cook who goes by the alias Heisenberg and his descent into the criminal underworld. But upon closer examination, the series is actually an exploration of how far an inherently good, quiet, intelligent person can be pushed before they snap. To paraphrase Jesse, “Some straight is not all of a sudden just gonna break bad.”

Walter’s Family Did Not Appreciate Him 

Season 1 begins by chronicling Walter’s day-to-day life in Albuquerque, New Mexico. His job as a chemistry teacher is underwhelming, especially since the kids in his class refuse to pay attention. To make ends meet, Walter works a second job at a local car wash, where his boss forces him to do menial tasks that he was not hired for. The situation at home is not much better. His pregnant wife, Skyler, is always complaining about something and speaks to Walter in a degrading manner. 

Their teenage son Walter Jr., who has cerebral palsy, idolizes his DEA Agent uncle Hank Schrader (Dean Norris) and considers his father second best. This is evidenced when the teen is busted for trying to purchase alcohol with his friends. Instead of calling his actual father, Walter Jr. calls Hank and pretends he is his dad. Even during his 50th birthday party, Walter becomes a background character to his wife and her sister, Marie Schrader (Betsy Brandt), with Hank taking center stage for his latest drug bust. 

The Cancer Diagnosis 

After being diagnosed with cancer, Walter decides to keep his illness to himself while contemplating his life choices. He later takes Hank up on his offer to go on a drug bust ride-along where he plans to recruit a partner. Walter, who sees Jesse fleeing the scene, meets up with him later that night and blackmails him into a partnership in which he will cook crystal meth. The initially unwilling Jesse is pleased with the arrangement once he sees that the purity level of Walter’s product is extremely high. 

Meanwhile, Walter’s family eventually learns about his cancer diagnosis. His decision not to undergo chemotherapy is met with anger and frustration instead of the love and support he needs. Skyler becomes insufferable and criticizes Walter for his choice because she only thinks about herself. Walter Jr. is no different and resorts to calling his father a coward during a family intervention, which includes Hank and Marie, who, after listening to their brother-in-law, appear supportive of his choice. 

A Victim of Circumstance

Walter eventually relents and goes to see an oncologist who puts him on an aggressive course of chemotherapy. At the same time, Jesse decides to grow their drug operation by showing his product to distributors Domingo “Krazy-8” Molina and Emilio, who demand to see how it’s made. Caught in his first impossible situation, Walter pretends to cook but creates a toxic phosphine gas, which kills Emilio and incapacitates Krazy-8, who they eventually kill in Jesse’s house. 

While most people see this as the origin story of a ruthless drug lord, it was Jesse’s choices that turned their operation into a violent mess. When the pair eventually struck a deal with Gus Fring (Giancarlo Esposito), Jesse, due to his lack of professionalism and restraint, was the reason their partnership ended with Fring being killed in an explosion at a nursing home. Everything that happened after that was almost always out of Walter’s control. 

The Real Monsters 

Throughout the series, the bossy Skyler slowly becomes withdrawn after realizing that her husband can no longer be pushed around. However, her supposed fear does not stop her from laundering money or giving most of it to her boss, with whom she was having an affair. Walter Jr. also gets everyone to call him Flynn because, for some reason, he no longer wants to share a name with his father. As his personal life falls apart, despite his best efforts, Walter becomes more invested in his drug business. 

During the second half of Season 5, Hank finally realizes that Walter is Heisenberg. Since he has no actual proof, Hank attempts to force Skyler to turn on her husband. When that doesn’t work, Marie talks to her sister and tries to kidnap Holly. Hank is ruthless in his pursuit of evidence and makes it very clear that he does not care that Walter is family. This is a stark contrast to Walter, who even killed to protect his brother-in-law. 

The Breaking Point 

Walter’s biggest breaking point comes when he realizes that Jesse has turned against him. He decides to give himself up. But things go awry when Jack and other members of the Aryan Brotherhood show up and kill Hank despite Walter asking them not to. He is destroyed when he returns home to find that Skyler and Flynn think he is directly responsible for killing Hank. His wife attacks and injures him with a knife, yet his son calls the police and lies that it was Walter who attacked Skylar. 

Walter eventually leaves his home with the intention of disappearing. While he could have lived out the rest of his days in peace, he decides to avenge Hank and rescue Jesse instead. Walt arranges to meet Jack and his men, who he kills with a remotely operated machine gun. Walt asks Jesse to kill him, but Jesse refuses, telling Walt to do it himself if he wants to die. They share a final look before Jesse drives away. Walt, the series tragic victim, admires Jack’s meth lab before dying from his injuries.