When Walt confronts former student Jesse Pinkman in his driveway and forces him to start cooking meth with him, it is the beginning of a very large snowball. When Walter arrives in Albuquerque on his 52nd birthday he confronts Gretchen and Elliott at their home and coerces them into putting his remaining money into a trust fund for Walter Jr. It looked like he took a bullet from his own machine gun when it was mowing down Uncle Jack and his band of nazis. Not only does Walt set off a bomb in a nursing home he destroys any protection provided by Gus and places himself at a top position that he does not have the skills to fill. In a climactic moment, Walt lures Gus to a nursing home and detonates a bomb that kills him. Walter White's final farewell in . BILLINGS, Mont. [35] In 2011, The New York Times named Cranston as one of the "eight actors who turn television into art". Hank is an important aspect of the show's dynamic. This pseudo-noble raison d'etre becomes empty long before Walt has the self-awareness to realize it. The Walt we first meet is dorky, somewhat comical, and seems to have the best interests of his family at heart. The first episode follows him as he goes about his mundane life. Another layer of absolution is added by Walt not even receiving the death he wants. The fate of Walt was purposely left ambiguous so viewers would have the chance to interpret their own ending. They have a choice between death or a lifetime in prison no choice at all, in practical terms. Did Walter White Really Die? At the start of the show, Cranston gained 10 pounds to presage the character's gradual physical deterioration. Jack pleads with Walt to let him live, offering him extremely large amounts of money. "[2][6] AMC officials were initially reluctant with the casting choice, having known Cranston only as the over-the-top character Hal on the comedy series Malcolm in the Middle and approached actors John Cusack and Matthew Broderick about the role. "[34] Robert Bianco of USA Today called Walt "one of the greatest dramatic creations ever to grace our TV screens". Saul is eventually discovered and taken by DEA agents. After a few attempts at bluffing him, Skyler comes to uneasily accept the situation and helps Walt launder his drug money, but refuses to have anything to do with him outside of business. [22] Walt and his wife Skyler (Anna Gunn) have a teenage son named Walter Jr. (RJ Mitte), who has cerebral palsy. But I think the most horrifying part of Breaking Bad may be that Walt, at his core, didn't really transform at all. 3. Later he reluctantly agrees to undergo treatment but refuses Gretchen and Elliott's offer to pay for it, choosing to re-enter the drug trade with Jesse. Cookies help us deliver our Services. After several months alone, Walt goes to a local bar, where he calls Walter Jr. and tries to give him money. When Gilligan left much of Walter's past unexplained during the development of the series, the actor wrote his own backstory for the character. They own their own business a business which launders money he makes by implementing the scientific methods he loves. Walt manages to convince Jesse that Gus is the one responsible. He calls Skyler, knowing that the police are listening in, and berates her for failing to follow his orders, as a way of clearing her of involvement in his crimes. Gus rids himself of the Mexican cartel's influence in the area with the help of Mike and Jesse. The first moment of redemption for Walt comes in the silencing of his enormous ego and the pride that has ruled him for so long. Amid the fear of death, looking back at his life and how he'd been ripped off added a heaping scoop of anger to his simmering resentment. While the circumstances of Doran's case do elicit a comparison to the "Breaking Bad" character, the title of real-life Walter White may still belong to an Alabama man of the same name who was arrested in 2008 -- the same year the show premiered -- on several charges, including unlawful manufacturing of a controlled substance and trafficking meth. While some residents were unhappy with the makeshift grave-site for closure with the show, tickets for the event raised over $30,000 for a local charity called Albuquerque Healthcare for the Homeless. AMC. Walt became a high-school chemistry teacher in Albuquerque, and barely Jesse strangles Todd with a chain, killing him. This could explain why he was able to walk around and have a phone conversation before collapsing. [49] They were made by former sculptor Trevor Grove. When you got down to it, Walt desperately wanted to teach everyone a lesson, and I don't mean in the style of Mr. The Better Call Saul episode "Breaking Bad" expands on Walt and Saul's first meeting where Saul quickly deduces Walt is Heisenberg and urges Walt to seek higher goals with his meth business. Once they found out that he was responsible for the attack, among many other things, they probably would have tried to resuscitate him so he could be properly prosecuted. If you take anything away from this article, let it be this: Walter White is selfish. [1] Both the character and Cranston's performance have received critical acclaim, with White frequently being mentioned as one of the greatest and most iconic television characters of all time. Series creator Vince Gilligan has not confirmed the character's death, which continued to add to the long-time discussion. When Walt is scared, he acts irrationally and violently. In 2008, when the popular TV drama Breaking Bad broke on to screens around the world, Walter White was already a known name in the heart of the American south's drugs trade. When Brock, the son of Jesse's new girlfriend Andrea, falls desperately ill with ricin-like symptoms, Jesse attacks Walt, believing that he poisoned him. Fast forward several years into the future and he is stuck teaching bored teenagers basic chemistry and working at a car wash in the evenings. Walt realizes that the restaurant owner, Gus Fring (Giancarlo Esposito) was the man they were supposed to meet. Jesse's refusal to shoot Walt rips control away from him, and displays the tortured addict's own achievement of freedom. The real-life Montana dealer whose TV namesake died at the climax of "Breaking Bad" in September was shot by his own son in an argument over a . Walt panics and garrotes him to death with the lock. "[12] Regarding White's fate in the series ending, Cranston foresaw it as "ugly [with no] redemption",[13] although earlier, Gilligan divulged his plans to "end on a high note, in a way that will satisfy everyone". Before joining Screen Rant, Kara served as a contributor for Movie Pilot and had her work published on sites such as The Mary Sue, Reel Honey, and Pure Fandom. The universe is random. He had no control for so long in his life, with the threat of cancer taking away that final choice acting as an ultimate cruelty. Walt tries to persuade Skyler and Walter Jr. to go on the run with him, but they refuse. Just after her departure, two passenger planes collide directly above Walt's house; the accident was caused by Donald, who works as an air traffic controller and was so overcome with grief that he was not paying attention to his work. His ego is inflated by the fact that the chemistry involved is easy for him. Walt also gave one last visit to Skyler (Anna Gun) and Holly before he poisoned Lydia (Laura Fraser) by swapping herStevia for ricin. Walt undergoes an operation to remove the remaining cancerous growth. - Walter White, a Lockwood man who coincidentally has the same name as the lead character in the AMC television series "Breaking Bad . Name one thing in this world that is not negotiable. Like the master of logic that he is though, he masks this all in a thick cloud of supposed loyalty. Walt calls Skyler to tell her they are safe and that he has "won", as the camera pans to a potted Lily of the Valley plant next to Walt's pool, indicating that Walt had in fact poisoned Brock to goad Jesse into action. Sadness Ranking: 1/10. The brazen attack on Gus shows a loss of the foresight and caution that once characterized the doomed chemistry teacher. His vocal proclamation about wanting to go out on his own terms reinforces all the choices he has made so far and strengthens his resolve moving forward. He directed a broad program of legal challenges to racial segregation and disfranchisement. Jack's men take all but one barrel of Walt's money and abduct Jesse; as Jesse is taken away, Walt spitefully tells him that he watched Jane die. [59][60], Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series, List of awards and nominations received by, Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series, Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series, TCA Award for Individual Achievement in Drama, Golden Nymph Award for Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series, "Walter White - #12 Top 100 Villains - IGN", "Sepinwall on TV: Bryan Cranston talks 'Breaking Bad' season two", "Vince Gilligan: Without Tony Soprano There Would Be No Walter White", "From Walter White To LBJ, Bryan Cranston Is A Master Of Transformation", "Breaking Bad: Bryan Cranston/Vince Gilligan Q&A", "Bryan Cranston on 'Breaking Bad' end: 'There's no redemption', "You Can Totally Still Catch Up on 'Breaking Bad' Before the Premiere", "Breaking Bad, 'Peekaboo': Jesse collects a debt", "Breaking Bad: This guy walks into an oncologist's office", "The 100 Greatest TV Characters of the 21st Century", "25 Best TV Characters in the Past 25 Years", "The 50 Best Movie and TV Show Twists of All Time", "Breaking Bad: 10 years on, TV is still in Walter White's shadow", "Breaking Bad Season 5, Episode 11 Recap: Cigs, Lies, and Videotape in 'Confessions', "The Big Secret of 'Breaking Bad': Walter White Was Always a Bad Guy", "Anthony Hopkins' Awesome Letter To 'Breaking Bad', "AMC Drops 'Worst Charity' From 'Breaking Bad' Fundraising Website", "Walter White returns: Breaking Bad's Bryan Cranston stars in Super Bowl commercial", "Bryan Cranston Brings Back Walter White for 'SNL' Cold Opening", "Where 'Breaking Bad' is just getting started", "Walter White Laid to Rest in 'Breaking Bad' Charity Funeral", "Warren Ellis on Breaking Bad and the Horrible Glory of Heisenberg", "Was The "Breaking Bad" Finale All Just A Fantasy In Walter White's Head? Horrified, Skyler asks for a divorce in return for her silence and demands that Walt have nothing to do with their children. The ripples extend out from him and destroy lives all around him. Despite wacko . Walt says that his cancer is back and he will likely be dead in six months, making an arrest pointless. Once his death clock begins ticking, Walt makes all his choices out of fear and panic. Walter Jr. angrily rejects the gesture, however, and hangs up. Jesse is reluctant to work with Walter again, stating that ever since they became associates, Jesse has felt more alone than ever. The Real Housewives of Atlanta The Bachelor Sister Wives 90 Day Fiance Wife Swap The Amazing Race Australia Married at First Sight The Real Housewives of Dallas My 600-lb Life Last Week Tonight with John Oliver. So, get up. Fans mourned the death of "Breaking Bad's" Walter White on Saturday The fictional character was laid to rest in Albuquerque Some have opposed the fake grave site and have signed an online petition Walt finds the meth and makes the delivery on time, but misses the birth of his daughter. The end result shows that there is no one whose life can't be destroyed by Walter White. As he waits for them, however, he sees Gretchen and Elliott on Charlie Rose downplaying his contributions to Gray Matter and resolves to return to Albuquerque to put things right. You just don't. Here is some evidence to aid both sides of the Walter White death debate. He initially does not want to go through the treatment, fearing that his family will remember him as a burden and a helpless invalid, much as he remembers his own father. Walt breaks into Jesse's apartment where the meth is stored and finds him passed out with his girlfriend Jane Margolis (Krysten Ritter). Walt's anesthesia-induced references to a "second cell phone" the one he uses to deal drugs makes Skyler suspicious, leading her to uncover many of his lies and leave with their children. His cancer had returned and he wasn't receiving any professional care. [38] Cranston was also nominated in 2012 and 2013 for season four and the first half of season five, but lost out to Damian Lewis for Homeland and Jeff Daniels for The Newsroom, respectively. "[5] Gilligan needed to have this character come into a midlife crisis that would put him into seeking risky options and lead to more criminal activities. You're not alone. With Hank's help, Jesse lures Walt into a trap by claiming to have found his money. Aside from production, though, he is not capable of running any other aspect of drug dealing. Fearing that any of this will derail Hank's career in law enforcement, Walt is forced to convince Gus to hire Jesse to replace Gale as his assistant, agreeing to share 50% of his earnings with Jesse. It's an escape from the world of drugs most meth kingpins could only dream of. Bryan Cranston, who plays White on the award-winning AMC series, is . Enraged, Hank accuses Walt of being Heisenberg, which a stunned Walt neither confirms nor denies. The man is smart and has years of experience in a world to which Walt is a newbie. Now separated from Skyler and living in an apartment, Walt admits to her that he has been financing his treatment by cooking meth. The entire show presents a set of scenarios that turn concepts of good and bad on their heads. This question has been on the mind of viewers since the series ended in 2013 and, now, we break down both sides of the argument. Walter White's death on "Breaking Bad" is apparently hitting some people harder than others . We break down the arguments and explain what it means for the movie. Tom Wood. What follows is a long, complex slide into darkness, domination, and deceit. December 19, 2013 / 10:40 AM / CBS/AP. Did Walter White truly die at the end of the Breaking Bad series finale? White became a badass billionaire and indirect serial killer; Jackson . Hank connects Mike to the blue meth and begins pressing several of his associates, who are now in prison, to give information on the blue meth operation. Walt deduces that Gus plans to eventually kill him and replace him with Jesse. The episode where he and Jesse get stranded in the desert is the episode where Walter White dies and Heisenberg is born. is the real walter white still alive. Jane blackmails Walt into giving Jesse his share of their drug money after Walt initially refused due to Jesse's drug use. [26][27][28], From TheGuardian.com, Paul MacInnes lauded Walter White's character as a whole, noting his quick transformation into becoming Heisenberg. Answer (1 of 26): WW is a character like no other. He doesn't only get what he deserved; he gets what he wanted. Even though he was able to walk around the compound before collapsing, Walt was losing blood. When August of 2012 rolled around, Doran was diagnosed with stage three melanoma, an almost identical situation to that of fictional chemistry teacher Walter White. The character development of Walter White, as well as Bryan Cranston's performance, has received universal acclaim, from both critics and audiences. The single-family ranch-style home has 1,910 square feet of living space on top of a 7,318 square foot lot. For the first three seasons, he won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series thrice consecutively, becoming the first actor to accomplish this feat since Bill Cosby for I Spy. [50], A Breaking Bad fan group placed a paid obituary for Walter White in the Albuquerque Journal on October 4, 2013. He visited Gretchen (Jessica Hecht) and Elliot (Adam Godley) to set up his family financially. Add to all this the fact that his power over Jesse is removed: Gus sees Jesse as an unstable factor that does not need to exist in the equation. Danny Trejo as Tortuga. [44][45] Cranston reprised his role of the character in a commercial for Esurance which aired during Super Bowl XLIX, one week before the premiere of Breaking Bad spin-off Better Call Saul. Walter White, however, constantly has a way to get out of the predicament in which he has landed himself. As a token of appreciation, Skyler lets him see his daughter, Holly, one last time. Walt continues to be offered routes with positive outcomes for most parties involved. Walt rescues Jesse, who had been kept as a prisoner in the lab, and together they destroy all the evidence and torch the lab. But that's just wishful thinking. After a failed attempt to poison Tuco, they manage to escape on foot. Nobody has ever really done that to this extent. He collaborated with costume designer Kathleen Detoro on a wardrobe of mostly neutral green and brown colors to make the character bland and unremarkable, and worked with makeup artist Frieda Valenzuela to create a mustache he described as "impotent" and like a "dead caterpillar". Walter and Skyler's home is particularly damaged by the Wayfarer 515 disaster, which is ironic since the collision is ultimately the result of Walter's . Get out in the real world.". The fictional . During the twenty-five years preceding the Supreme Court's 1954 Brown v.Board of Education decision, White was one of the most prominent African American figures and spokespeople in the country. With the DEA skeptical and Hank being unable to drive due to his condition, he enlists Walt's help in the investigation as a driver and tracker. "You need to stop focusing on the darkness behind you. Walter Hartwell White, perheen kesken Walt, on Albuquerquen New Mexicon ylkoulun kemianopettaja.Sarjan alussa Walt tytt 50 vuotta, ja pian tmn jlkeen hnell todetaan parantumaton keuhkosyp. [32], Similarly, Scott Meslow wrote in The Atlantic that Walt's capacity for villainy was present well before the series even began, and that cancer was only the catalyst, stating that "all the elements that have since turned him into a monster were already in place. In the end, Breaking Bad is about freedom, control, and power albeit, in ways no one, not even the protagonist, could have planned for. He kidnaps Holly, but has a moment of conscience and leaves her to be found and returned. The following appearances are based on the chronological narrative in Breaking Bad. This plane crash, which plops a symbolically-loaded charred teddy bear into Walt's pool, is a direct result of his decision to stand by and watch Jesse's girlfriend choke to death in a heroin overdose. Under questioning by Walt, Gus explains that he was observing the pair, and refuses to work with them because Jesse is a drug addict. [29] From the same website, Rebecca Nicholson wrote about Walt's death, praising the fact that instead of facing the consequences, "Walter dies happy. Later, the cousins die in their attempt to take Hank's life but manage to temporarily paralyze him from the waist down. He has cerebral palsy, as manifested in speech difficulties and impaired motor control, for which he uses . Around his 52nd birthday, Waltleft his wooded seclusion to tie up some loose ends. 14 Copy quote. Walter White. He has become a powder keg of emotions. Evidence from Gale's murder leads Hank to suspect that Gus is involved in the blue meth business. Walt gave Jesse the opportunity to . This enrages Hank enough to badly beat up Jesse at his house and send him to the hospital. It's not inevitable. Gilligan said the character had to be simultaneously loathsome and sympathetic, and that "Bryan alone was the only actor who could do that, who could pull off that trick. Emilio recognizes Walt as accompanying the DEA during the bust and believes he is an informant. Had Walt not marched to his death, he would have continued fighting for every ounce of power he could get. You're going to see that underlying humanity, even when he's making the most devious, terrible decisions, and you need someone who has that humanity - deep down, bedrock humanity - so you say, watching this show, 'All right, I'll go for this ride. [8], Cranston contributed a great deal to the character's persona. Throughout the five seasons of Breaking Bad, Walter White caused the death of almost 300 people, directly or indirectly. Skyler forces Walt into paying for Hank's care and creates a cover story about Walt counting cards at casinos to explain how he made his money. Jack's pleas fall on deaf ears, and Walt executes him with a shot to the face. Her favorite slasher icon is Ghostface, but Michael Myers still gives her nightmares. Walt feels powerless against an indifferent world, one that chewed him up and spat him out among pretty, polished lives panning out far better than his. He won the TCA Award for Individual Achievement in Drama in 2009, and was nominated in 2010, 2012 and 2013; was nominated twice for the Prism Award for Best Performance in a Drama Series Multi-Episode Storyline; won two Saturn Awards for Best Actor on Television in 2012 and 2013 (tying with Kevin Bacon for The Following on the latter occasion), and was nominated in 2009, 2010 and 2011; and won the Golden Nymph Award for Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series in 2013. He always has been the one to come out victoriois after outsmarting the opponent. Walt shows up at Jesse's house and tries to convince him to betray Gus, but Jesse refuses and tells Walt they are finished. This also ensures few questions as to his kids' trust fund. A US judge has sentenced meth dealer Walter White to 12 years in prison, in a case of life mirroring art a few months after the end of cult TV show "Breaking Bad," local media reported. [55] While Nussbaum merely stated that it would be her preferred ending,[56] Macdonald emphasized the seemingly unreal scenarios of Walt's final day, as well as what he deemed as unreliable acting. Saul also has his cleaner, Mike Ehrmantraut (Jonathan Banks), investigate Walt's background, and despite Mike's cautions, Saul continues to support Walt. [6], Gilligan has said it has been difficult to write for Walter White because the character is so dark and morally questionable. [17] Around this time, Walt dated his lab assistant, Gretchen Schwartz (Jessica Hecht). Nobody does that. Greenwald states: I've been thinking a lot about Walter White, the 'shadow' on his recent CAT scan, and the black cloud that has long since overtaken his heart. Walt revels in his success and adopts the Heisenberg alias in his business dealings going forward. He realizes that any feeling of control he's had is just him thrashing around in the midst of chaos. His decisions begin to severely affect the lives of those around him, displayed in a destructive manner by the airplane crash over Albuquerque. Discovering that Tuco stole the meth and savagely beat Jesse, Walt visits Tuco's lair with another bag of crystals, claiming to be "Heisenberg" (a reference to the theoretical physicist Werner Karl Heisenberg). His real-life, honest-to-God name is Walter White. Live life on your own terms.". . His product is unrivaled in its quality, which gives him the ability to pull the strings from time to time. He even manages to ruin the lives of the corrupt individuals around him. Afterward, Walt tells Jesse: "You're really lucky, you know that? The cops were arriving when Walt was on the ground and they are trained to care for gunshot victims. 3. [15][16] Using some of the prize money, Walt then founded the firm Gray Matter Technologies with Elliott Schwartz (Adam Godley), his former classmate and close friend. Although AMC officials initially hesitated to cast Cranston due to his previous comedic role on Malcolm in the Middle, Gilligan cast him based on the actor's past performance in The X-Files episode "Drive", which Gilligan wrote. He chooses to actively ignore that choice. Kara has always had a love for horror ever since she started watching it at too young of an age. In honor of the AMC series' epic series finale last Sunday, The Albuquerque Journal took the time to honor the fictional character who lived and died in their hometown with an obituary that Walter White (Bryan Cranston) would have loved. In the case of a lot of criminals inBreaking Bad, you can understand the trap they have fallen into. Walter Hartwell "Walt" White, Sr. on kuvitteellinen hahmo yhdysvaltalaisessa televisiosarjassa Breaking Bad.Hahmon on luonut Vince Gilligan ja hnt nyttelee Bryan Cranston.. Hahmo. The rift in their marriage worsens when Skyler sleeps with her boss, Ted Beneke (Christopher Cousins). Walter White married Gladys Leah Powell in 1922. The ambiguity of the show's final shot has led "Breaking . [15][21] Walt also has another job at a local car wash to supplement his income, which proves to be particularly humiliating when he has to clean the cars of his own students. We get to see the dark consequences of breaking bad play out alongside the emotional torment involved in breaking good. Horrified, Jesse and Mike resolve to leave the business. Walt becomes less sympathetic throughout the show, as series creator Vince Gilligan wanted him to turn from "Mr. Chips into Scarface". This might have been in Walt's mind when he carried out the meth lab attack. [6], Gilligan cast Bryan Cranston for the role of Walter White based on having worked with him in "Drive", a sixth season episode of the science fiction television series The X-Files, where Gilligan worked as a writer. In the aftermath of Gale's murder, Mike holds Walt at the lab to await Gus' arrival. Walter Hartwell "Walt" White, Sr., also known by his alias Heisenberg, is one of three main protagonists (alongside Jesse Pinkman and Saul Goodman) of the Breaking Bad franchise. Walter tells Jesse that he is as good as him cooking meth. As part of his drug kingpin grand finale, Walt attack the neo-Nazi compound with a machine gun equipped to his car. The Walter White we first meet is a product of circumstance. By the halfway point of the series, it is beginning to become apparent that we may not be rooting for the good guy. It is not merely a metaphor or phrase of poetry.