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"Mature Content!" |
| “ | Heh, you got me. | „ |
| ~ Walter when Hank suspects him |
| “ | My name is Walter Hartwell White. I live at 308 Negra Arroyo Lane, Albuquerque, New Mexico, 87104. To all law enforcement entities, this is not an admission of guilt. I am speaking to my family now. Skyler, you are the love of my life. I hope you know that. Walter Jr., you're my big man. There are going to be some things that you'll come to learn about me in the next few years. But just know that no matter how it may look, I only had you in my heart. Goodbye. | „ |
| ~ Walter White in his first appearance. |
| “ | I have money! It's buried out here. It's eighty-million dollars. Eighty-million. You can go anywhere! You can do anything. Think about it. You can have any future that you want. Eighty-million, and all you've got to do is let him go. | „ |
| ~ Walt, completely ready to sacrifice all of his money just to ensure his brother-in-law's life. |
| “ | I did it for me. I liked it. I was good at it. And I was... really... I was alive. | „ |
| ~ Walt during his last conversation with his wife Skyler, finally admitting that he entered the meth business to satisfy his own ego. |
Walter Hartwell "Walt" White, Sr., also known by his alias Heisenberg, is the main protagonist of the crime drama series Breaking Bad and a minor character in both El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie and Better Call Saul.
He is a brilliant but underachieving chemist working as a high school chemistry teacher. One day, Walter is diagnosed with terminal lung cancer, which spurs him on to use his chemistry knowledge to cook and sell crystal meth to provide for his family after his imminent death. As the series progresses, however, White becomes more involved in the drug world and the formerly mild-mannered unassuming teacher slowly changes to the point where he transforms into an increasingly sinister and dangerous criminal mastermind. As such, the character's newfound ruthlessness is evident by the fact that he became more driven by ego and greed than his stated altruistic motives, becoming the eventual main villain of the series.
He is portrayed by Bryan Cranston.
His Good Ranking[]
What Makes Him Admirable?[]
In General[]
- He has great responsibility for the fact that Gretchen and Elliot's company, his former friends were so successful and even though they got rich at his expense he was able to continue his life as a teacher with a mission (at least until he got cancer).
- While he later abandoned his good intentions to satisfy his ego, he did originally go into the drug business in order to afford for his family and give them a good life, and was willing to stop at various points.
- While he does many heinous acts, he often does them with understandable motives and sometimes with genuine remorse and an attempt to help the victims of the situations he brought about.
- Overall, his actions actually did a lot of good by getting rid of several huge crime businesses, such as Los Pollos Hermanos, the Cartel, the Neo-Nazis, his own drug empire, and possibly Madrigal Electromotive.
- Although in the end he was mainly concerned with making money, he still conducted himself as an undisputed family man, which was proven when he was willing to trade every cent of the money he made to Jack trying to bribe him not to kill Hank.
- In addition to holding some of his more human qualities despite his condition, he made clear that taking down big crime organizations (especially for personal wrongs) was fully part of his intention.
- As detestable as it may be, he nurtured Jesse to produce pure meth, making him earn more money and rise up the ranks as a drug dealer. Jesse could never have progressed this far without Walt's intervention. During the series Walt increasingly over time refers to Jesse as "family".
Season 1[]
- Stands up for Walt Jr. by assaulting the bullies who were making fun of him for his disability.
- Although he blackmailed Jesse into working with him, this saved the latter after Krazy-8 framed him as a snitch (without his knowledge), which could have been worse for Jesse had not for Walt intervened.
- After Jesse was knocked unconscious, Walt put him in a trailer so they could escape.
- He felt immense remorse for poisoning Emilio and Krazy-8, nearly killing himself for self-defense.
- After keeping Krazy-8 in Jesse’s basement, he was willing to let him go, only going against it when realizing Krazy-8 was manipulating him so he could kill him. Even when killing him, he was reluctant to do so and tried to justify keeping him alive.
- He manages to save Jesse from being killed from Emilio, Krazy-8, and Tuco Salamanca.
- Despite not initially wanting to get chemotherapy treatment for his cancer, Walt ultimately agrees to do so for the sake of Skyler and Walt Jr.
- He shows slight regret that Hugo the janitor was fired, asking Hank if he really was a criminal.
- He even agrees to come to a party with Gretchen and Elliott in an attempt to get a grant for medical assistance, although he is offended that Elliott offered to hire him (understandable since Walt was one of the founders of the company).
- He avenges Jesse after Tuco puts him in hospital and gives him the $15,000 he obtains from Tuco as compensation for his injuries.
- He moves to stop Tuco when he's beating No-Doze up and tries to revive him, even though it was too late.
Season 2[]
- He stands at the window to make sure Tuco doesn't try to get close to his family's house (which he actually did).
- As Tuco Deciding that Walt will work for him and Jesse will be killed, Walt tries to talk him out of it. Later when Tuco threatens Jesse's life Walt gives Jesse time to respond by admitting that they both tried to poison him.
- Though unintentionally, by leaving Tuco injured, he allows Hank to finish him off, allowing his brother-in-law to be recognized for stopping a drug lord.
- After Jesse's money is seized by the DEA, Walt helps him by giving him some of his share.
- He tries to burn the drug money in his barbeque, though he quickly changes his mind.
- After Hank gets PTSD from the bomb incident in El Paso, Walter attempts to cheer up Hank and make him feel better.
- He saved an innocent man from being arrested by Hank and the DEA when he is falsely believed of being Heisenberg (who was actually a fake Heisenberg sent by Saul), and causes a distraction by blocking Hank and his crew with his car from getting footage of Jesse telling Badger to get on the bench where the actual fake Heisenberg was at, and while he did this mostly to avoid conflict he did at least save an innocent man who would’ve been possibly arrested if it hadn’t been for Walter or Jesse.
- While he does not give Jesse half the money, it was out of protection since he was getting back into drugs. Although he was initially reluctant to do so, he eventually does give Jesse his money after seeing his condition and even offers him breakfast.
- Tells Walt Jr. not to get mad at his mom for her neglecting him.
- Apologizes to Walt Jr for. making him get drunk.
- After Skinny Pete is robbed by two drug addicts he gives Jesse his gun and sends him to avenge them, also causes help to be called for their child as well as deterring other robbers.
- When Jesse causes their trailer to get stuck in the desert, Walt manages to save them both by making an alternative engine.
- He arrives for his daughter's birth and apologizes for being late.
- Sent Jesse to rehabilitation after Jane overdosed.
Season 3[]
- After Saul confesses that he planted microphones in his house he calls Mike to take them down.
- He refuses to sell to Gus again and even returns the half he received for Jesse's cooking. However he gives in when Gus offers him a job at the drug lab.
- After the APQ crash, Walter was willing to quit the business after seeing that it ruined everything he worked for.
- Tries to advise Jesse to stay away from Gus, as he realizes Gus is trying to get to him using Jesse, which could endanger Jesse as well as throw Walt back into crime.
- He tries to return to his home and restore family life, despite his wife's behavior, abandoning it only after hearing about her infidelity with Ted Beneky.
- Although Sol tries to convince him he refuses to leave Skyler, even if she finds out about his double life and he even attacks Sol in anger for his advice.
- Although he objected to this, he gives Skylar a signed divorce document (although she did not use it).
- Against Saul's advice, he brings Skyler together with him, making her a client of the latter.
- He tries to prevent Hank from getting to Jesse's trailer and even though it was also for his sake Jesse was at a higher risk and at first he wasn't even aware of it.
- While it was also to protect himself, Walter tried dissuading Jesse suing Hank Schrader to also protect him.
- Comforts Marie when she's upset about Hank being shot.
- He confronts Gus and rightly suspects him of being responsible for Hank's shot.
- Sent some money for Hank to recover in the hospital.
- He warns Jesse not to get the meth weighed wrong as Gus might get revenge on them both for it.
- After realizing that Jesse was looking for revenge he asked Saul and Mike Ehrmantraut to arrest him for petty offenses so that he wouldn't be caught for a murder that Gus didn't approve of. When Mike refuses he acts on his own, saving Jesse's life by killing the two rival dealers and tried protecting him from Gus.
Season 4[]
- Tried to ensure Jesse's safety by telling Gus he wouldn't cook for him unless his partner's life was spared.
- To not his children involved in crime, he works alongside Skyler on a theory that explains that Walt was addicted to gambling, which takes him out in a humiliating way.
- In order to help out his son, he buys him a brand new car.
- Collaborates with Hank in spying on Gus, although he is forced to help him in addition because Gus prevented Hank from revealing important information.
- When he finds Tyrus stalking his house he calls the police, causing the latter to leave reluctantly.
- Tried to warn Jesse against going to Mexico with Gus.
- He tried disappear and get a new identity through Sol's associate, partly to prevent Gus from killing his family.
- After Gus threatens to murder his family, Walter has Saul make a warning to the DEA and sends Skyler, Walt Jr, and Holly to the DEA's protection while he stays behind to sort matters personally with Gus and/or his henchmen so they wouldn’t be in trouble.
- Although he indirectly kills Gus by using Hector as a suicide bomb, it’s a logical response to his cruelty and the fact that he threatened to massacre the White family (including Walt’s baby daughter Holly). Even if Walt showed no remorse for causing the death of Gus, he still saved his entire family before freeing Jesse after he was borderline imprisoned by Gus' men.
Season 5[]
- Although this is done by hacking the police computers he manages to focus the police on the crimes of Madrigal Electromotive.
- Forgives his wife for giving his money to Ted Beneke.
- Fully leaves the meth business in the mid-finale of Season 5 and was willing to fix his relationship with his wife and children, only returning when Hank found out his secret identity and was planning to put him behind bars.
- In fact although he did it sarcastically he was the one who led Hank to find out about him (by a book by Walt Whitman given by Gale.) in the first place, after losing his other sources of information.
- Tries to apologize to a dying Mike for fatally shooting him.
- Invites Jesse to dinner with his wife.
- Saved his wife when she tried to drown herself unconsciously during his birthday.
- Gives Jesse his half of the money from their work together, even though he had already threatened not to return it to him. He also returns the money to him when Jesse tries to donate it to Mike's granddaughter and Drew Sharp's parents.
- He reacts sadly, though humbly, to the fact that their two children have been moved in with Hank and Marie and even asks Junior to obey them.
- When Walter fully sees Jesse’s spiral into depression, he offers him Ed Galbraith's services for Jesse to disappear and start a new life. He also hugs him so he doesn't think he wants him dead.
- Is kind and friendly to Andrea and Brock when he meets them, and gives Brock his condolences saying he heard he was "very brave". when he poisons Brock in amounts too small to kill him and calms down as it turns out Brock survived.
- Trying to talk about Brock with Jesse, even after he tried to burn down his house (though the latter fears that Walt waiting for him at corner and ruins the conversation).
- Takes Skyler and the kids to a hotel to protect his family from potential retaliation by Jesse after his poisoning of Brock was discovered.
- Was extremely unwilling to have Jesse or Hank killed, even after they discovered Walter’s true nature, and while Walt eventually decided to have Jesse killed, he tells Jack and his men to make his death quick and not have him die in front of Andrea and Brock.
- He refuses to go back to cooking the meth even when Todd calls him and when Lydia goes as far as washing his car.
- After Hank knocks him down he gives up trying to fight back and lets Hank stop him.
- When seeing that Hank and Gomez were with Jesse, attempts to call off Jack and his men and willingly have himself arrested by Hank. After Jack and his henchmen betrayed Walt and came anyway against his wish, he attempts to make them cease the violence on Hank and his men, especially with the threat they meant for him.
- When Jack is about to kill Hank, Walter tries begging for his life, offering Jack the 80 million dollars for him to spare his brother-in-law, and was heartbroken when Jack refused and killed him anyway.
- He keeps the money he made for his family close, prevents others from finding it, buries it in the desert and passes out at the end of the job and finally drives the only barrel that Jack left him in the desert until he trades car with an Indigenous woman.
- He makes himself look like an abusive monster during a phone call with Skyler to protect her from the legal ramifications of his actions and ensure she isn't shunned by the family.
- He send Holly back to Skyler and put her in a firetruck after he kidnapped her and realizing she wanted to be with Skyler.
- After he loses everything in the penultimate episode, tries to call the cops to have himself be turned in, only to leave before they come after hearing Gretchen and Elliot downplay his involvement in their company, Gray Matter.
- He leaves a $100 dollar tip to a kind Denny's waitress.
- Gets Gretchen and Elliot to give the remaining amount of his money (about 10 million dollars) to Walt Jr. and doesn’t care when Junior wouldn’t know the money won't come from them. Also, even though he threatened them, he treats it as atonement for them, for what he believed they had done to him.
- When Skinny Pete and Badger didn't like the threat to the Schwartz couple, Walt gave them money as a reward, without them asking.
- He gives Skyler the coordinates to Gomez and Hank’s bodies, telling her to use that to get a deal with the DEA so she can get her life back together. It's later revealed in Better Call Saul this worked as Skyler was mentioned to get a plea deal.
- In the end he gives in to Skyler and reluctantly admits that he acted not for the sake of the family but to satisfy his ego and since he knew how to act.
- He kills Lydia, Jack and all his men out of revenge for Hank and Gomez and frees Jesse from his enslavement from Jack's gang. He also sacrifices his own life - even if accidentally - by shielding Jesse from his machine gun's bullets. This action, plus his previous two actions, gives him at least some semblence of redemption. While he wanted to kill Jesse originally, he later went against it due to seeing just how bad Jesse was treated and he didn’t realize Jesse was being tortured.
- In a flashback scene from El Camino he suggests that Jesse leave the crystal cooking and attend college.
What Makes Him Inconsistent?[]
- He spends the entire show (until the very last episode) as a villain who commits way too many heinous crimes such as letting Jane choke on her own vomit, ordering Jesse to kill Gale to save his own skin, poisoning Brock (a 6 year-old boy) to frame Gus for it, spitefully murdering Mike simply for criticizing his egomania and blaming him for his current situation, orchestrating the deaths of 10 prisoners with the help of the absolutely vile Jack Welker so the inmates couldn't testify against him, temporarily selling Jesse out to Jack and Todd while telling him that he let Jane die just to spite him and kidnapping his baby daughter Holly once Skyler turned against him. This is something which culminates in Season 5 as him being a crime lord, and he only shows remorse for few specific actions.
- He only "redeems" himself because Gretchen and Elliot insulted his ego on live television, which made him realize he needs to tie up loose ends and go out in glory.
- Additionally, his "redemption" was merely partial, not complete, because while he fixed his relationship with Jesse and showed remorse for what he did to his family (as well as fulfilled his original goal of financially securing them), he did not show remorse for all the other people's lives that he harmed.
- Even regardless of his crimes, he exhibits traits that prevent him from being Pure Good or Near Pure Good, for example: insulting Jesse often, having an exaggerated ego, and mocking Gretchen and Elliot without them seriously harming him.
Trivia[]
- Walter White is the only character in the Breaking Bad franchise to be both Inconsistently Admirable and Inconsistently Heinous. He was originally joined by Mike Ehrmantraut before he was made a Villainous Benchmark.
External Links[]
- Walter White on the Villains Wiki
- Walter White on the Inconsistently Heinous Wiki
- Walter White on the Entertainingly Detestable Wiki
- Walter White on the Moral Ranking Wiki
- Walter White on the Breaking Bad Wiki
- Walter White on the Wikipedia
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 Inconsistently Admirable
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Animated Features Live-Action Features Live-Action Television See Also | ||
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Walter White | Jesse Pinkman | Nacho Varga | Hank Schrader | Mike Ehrmantraut | ||