It's likely that Walt went there knowing full well that it was a suicide mission. Jesse (Aaron Paul) managed to escape after he strangled Todd (Jesse Plemons), while Walt took one last walk around the meth lab. [35] In 2011, The New York Times named Cranston as one of the "eight actors who turn television into art". "THE DEATH DOCTOR" CHAPTER VII. Once we reach the series finale, every person who has had any relation to Walter White is either dead or dealing with a life in shambles. Series creator Vince Gilligan has not confirmed the character's death, which continued to add to the long-time discussion. Jack pleads with Walt to let him live, offering him extremely large amounts of money. [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. 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. [36] Following the show's conclusion, actor Anthony Hopkins wrote a fan letter to Cranston, in which he praised the show and called Cranston's performance as Walter White the best acting he had ever seen. Walt becomes increasingly ruthless as the series progresses, and later adopts the alias "Heisenberg", which becomes recognizable as a kingpin figure in the Southwestern drug trade. As the character descended into wickedness, Walt . Many expected that it would be in the form of flashbacks but maybe Gilligan always intended for Walt to survive. Walt, however, hates not being in control. The ripples extend out from him and destroy lives all around him. The choice that gets him into this whole mess is made without any immediate anxiety, though. Walter White's final farewell in . She loves to binge a new series and watch movies ranging from Hollywood blockbusters to hidden indie gems. In the world of meth, in contrast, people sing his praises continuously. However, in this scenario, Walt is not in control of everything like he was before. Cranston reprises his role in the movie El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie in a flashback scene, taking place during the events of the episode "4 Days Out" from the show's second season. 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. He realizes that any feeling of control he's had is just him thrashing around in the midst of chaos. Cranston won four Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series, three of them being consecutive. Walt shows up at Jesse's house and tries to convince him to betray Gus, but Jesse refuses and tells Walt they are finished. "Yeah, I'm gonna give you that . Especially Jesse, who shines through as the emotional center of morality, when, under normal circumstances, he is easy to brush off as a loser. Walt refuses to accept this because it would remove what little control he has. 12 Copy quote. Jack's pleas fall on deaf ears, and Walt executes him with a shot to the face. Nobody has ever really done that to this extent. [37], Cranston has received various awards and nominations for his performance as Walter White. Walt tries to persuade Skyler and Walter Jr. to go on the run with him, but they refuse. 2. Even though Walt is smart and logical, he lacks insight into the psychological rationale behind what he is doing. When Walt isn't in control, he gets scared. He notices on a dial that Jesse has cooked a perfect batch of his product, and smiles to himself. White was initially given a $2,000,000 bail for his second arrest, but for some reason, the judge had a change of heart and lowered it to $10,000, so White could enter "The Foundry," a faith . Walter Hartwell White Jr., commonly known simply as Walt Jr. or Junior and also by his alias "Flynn", is Walter and Skyler's seventeen-year-old son, and the older brother of Holly. Answer (1 of 26): WW is a character like no other. Tortuga (Danny Trejo) was a drug runner for the Jurez Cartel under Juan Bolsa (Javier Grajeda). [6], Gilligan has said it has been difficult to write for Walter White because the character is so dark and morally questionable. It is the death of every aspect of who he is that fuels Breaking Bad's immortal ending. I have no idea how he does it. Throughout the show, we constantly hear Walt preaching that everything he does is for his family. . Bryan Cranston, who plays White on the award-winning AMC series, is . Walt asks Jesse what he would like to study if he went to college and encourages Jesse to find a life outside of cooking meth in the future. At the end of Breaking Bad season 5, Walt (Bryan Cranston) went on a farewell tour of sorts. Hank Schrader, the incorruptible DEA agent, is always in the mix as his lovable brother-in-law. As Walt becomes more absorbed in his own selfish pursuit of power, his loved ones begin to suffer around him. Did Walter White truly die at the end of the Breaking Bad series finale? But it is a real-life effort by its organisers to turn the show's immense popularity into a force for good, with a healthcare charity for Albuquerque's . Walt gives Jesse his life savings to buy an RV that they can use as a rolling meth lab. His ego is inflated by the fact that the chemistry involved is easy for him. In the best option offered him, Walt brings in vast quantities of money making meth, Jesse is stable, andWalt's family situation is secure. - Walter White, a Lockwood man who coincidentally has the same name as the lead character in the AMC television series "Breaking Bad . His real-life, honest-to-God name is Walter White. Walter apologizes to Jesse for Hanks beating while Jesse is planning to sue Hank. [29] From the same website, Rebecca Nicholson wrote about Walt's death, praising the fact that instead of facing the consequences, "Walter dies happy. Everything that takes place from that moment is a dying Walt's fever dream as he dies. We hear it so much that we share in Skyler's disgust in that fateful statement by the time the final season comes, rolling our eyes right alongside her. Around his 52nd birthday, Waltleft his wooded seclusion to tie up some loose ends. 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. Walter Hartwell White Sr., also known by his alias Heisenberg, is a fictional character and the protagonist of the American crime drama television series Breaking Bad, portrayed by Bryan Cranston. Total - 1 None Domingo Gallardo Molina/Krazy 8 - Garroted against a pole by Walter White with a bike lock . Walt sees Emilio's partner fleeing the scene, and realizes it is one of his former students, Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul). He doesn't only get what he deserved; he gets what he wanted. The best, most faithful, and most complicated adaptation of The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is not going to be a direct, official adaptation like Steven Moffat's brilliant Jekyll, or . Why Fans Still Debate Breaking Bad's Ending, Breaking Bad: Why Walter White Left Gray Matter, Better Call Saul Should End With Jimmy Meeting Walter White. [9][10] Cranston also repeatedly identified elements in scripts where he disagreed with how the character was handled, and would go so far as to call Gilligan directly when he could not work out disagreements with the episode's screenwriter(s). He studied chemistry at California Institute of Technology and, after graduate school, worked as a researcher at Los Alamos National Laboratory. AMC. Walt was hit by a ricocheted bullet and the series ended with the antihero bleeding out on the ground. This tints their meth blue, which becomes a signature of Walt's product. 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. When Walt is scared, he acts irrationally and violently. Walter White's Chaotic Beauty. The Vice show Fringes found the real Walter White, a former meth kingpin from Alabama. The past is the past. This could explain why he was able to walk around and have a phone conversation before collapsing. Here is some evidence to aid both sides of the Walter White death debate. A.J. It was resentment. Walter White in 1985. That White was arrested on the same charge in . Walt and Jesse are sitting down at a buffet breakfast talking about how they are going to move a batch of recently cooked meth. As sirens are closing in on his mobile meth lab in the desert, he impulsively puts a gun to his head and pulls the trigger. Walt makes a deal with Hector to draw Gus in by setting up a meeting with the DEA. [7] When both actors declined, the executives were persuaded to cast Cranston after seeing the X-Files episode. If you take anything away from this article, let it be this: Walter White is selfish. As he stared up at the ceiling, it seemed like he was already passing on. But as much as he loves the scientific process, he begins to love its products more especially attention and praise. 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. The physical manifestations of the cancer result in Walter pushing back against his demise and becoming bolder in his dive into the meth world. [43] In 2015, series creator Vince Gilligan publicly requested fans of the series to stop reenacting a scene in which Walt angrily throws a pizza on his roof after Skyler refuses to let him inside; this came after complaints from the home's real-life owner. It's an escape from the world of drugs most meth kingpins could only dream of. Walter White. The skit had White on a CNN broadcast where he is the front runner for Donald Trumps cabinet nominee for the Drug Enforcement Administration. The brazen attack on Gus shows a loss of the foresight and caution that once characterized the doomed chemistry teacher. Walt drives to Jack's compound and demands to see Jesse. Up until this point, most of the choices he's made are to save his own life. Throughout the five seasons of Breaking Bad, Walter White caused the death of almost 300 people, directly or indirectly. With that said, keeping him alive in any way allows the character to return in future projects. The Walt we first meet is dorky, somewhat comical, and seems to have the best interests of his family at heart. Another layer of absolution is added by Walt not even receiving the death he wants. Law enforcement has his body, no one needs to be further harassed. Jane blackmails Walt into giving Jesse his share of their drug money after Walt initially refused due to Jesse's drug use. Obtaining a list of the prisoners from Lydia, he enlists Todd's uncle Jack Welker (Michael Bowen), a criminal with ties to the Aryan Brotherhood prison gang, to kill the nine men simultaneously at multiple prisons to prevent the DEA from realizing that they were being targeted until it was too late. Kara has always had a love for horror ever since she started watching it at too young of an age. A 'real-life Walter White ' was once sentenced to more than 12 years in prison for dealing crystal meth. The 52-year-old died by lethal injection at the Federal Correctional Institution in Terre Haute, Indiana, where he's been on death row since 2005. These people need to continue down their path in order to survive, having no other route available to them. Walt's death is not only necessary for the happiness of all those around him but for himself as well. [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. Walt is briefly mentioned in passing by Saul Goodman (now going by the alias Gene Takavic) as he attempts to explain to Jeff how crazy his life had become and how much money he could get by getting into "the game". As the police arrive, Walt collapses to the floor and dies with a look of contentedness on his face, fulfilling his comment to Hank that he will never see the inside of a prison cell. The remedy he chooses to combat all this is power. Victor reminds Walt that they have to meet the 200 pounds-a-week quota. As for other franchises, Kara's favorite OG Avenger is Thor, and her favorite Disney Princess is Leia Organa. But in reality, there's always been another route for him an option that could have avoided all the turmoil he endures. As part of his drug kingpin grand finale, Walt attack the neo-Nazi compound with a machine gun equipped to his car. "You need to stop focusing on the darkness behind you. 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. 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.