Even though Breaking Bad ended its five-season run more than a decade ago, fans still talk about the show to this day. Widely considered to be one of the best crime dramas ever on television, the story is tightly told through its beautifully written and acted seasons. Slowly but surely, we watch the moral descent of a man from a docile father and schoolteacher to a terrifying drug kingpin.
While the story wrapped up wonderfully with one of the best TV show endings, there are still some lingering questions fans have and aspects of the show that people still debate. In some cases, there’s no definitive answer to these questions. But in all of them, there are compelling arguments to be made one way or another.
Was Walt Ever Actually Doing It for His Family?
By the end of the universally loved TV series, Walt (Bryan Cranston) admits that “I did it for me,” advising that he recognized he was good at making and selling drugs and leaned fully into this new menacing identity. So, there’s no question this is the place he was in for the latter part of the series and his journey. The question some fans have, however, is if Walt was ever doing it for his family. When he started the journey, Walt just wanted to make quick money to put aside a nest egg for Skyler (Anna Gunn) and the kids once he died. But did he? Or was he looking for some type of thrill, some adrenaline rush in his life before it was over?
Slowly but surely, he got caught up in the drug underworld. Once his impossibly pure meth was praised by dealers and competitors, and he realized what a hot commodity it (and he) was, the power trip began. The common belief is that Walt did indeed have honorable intentions in the beginning. Even if this is true, fans debate the precise moment when those intentions changed.
Did Skyler Deserve the Hate?
Skyler was indisputably the most hated character on the show. It’s a puzzling reality considering that the series was filled with unsavory characters while she was just a wife and mother trying to care for her family. But as Walt rose to become a beloved antihero, everything Skyler did and said was viewed as just getting in the way. When Walt gave her the “I am the danger” speech and Skyler recoiled in horror, fans cheered instead of feeling sympathy for the woman who just wanted to keep her family safe.
It’s one of the most talked about aspects of the show, Cranston even bringing it up during a recent Hot Ones episode with his Malcolm in the Middle co-star Frankie Muniz. Interestingly, Muniz admitted to hating Skyler while watching the series, even wishing Walt would kill her. But Cranston was quick to defend the character, pointing out how absurd it was for fans to dislike her.
Was the “Fly” Episode Art or Filler?
“Fly” is the tenth episode of the third season of the show, and arguably the most controversial of the series. It takes place almost entirely in the meth lab as Walt, who hasn’t slept in days, and Jesse (Aaron Paul), are making another batch of meth. The amount is off. Walt is unaware that Jesse has been skimming some off the top for personal sales. When Walt is left alone in the lab, a housefly buzzes around him, and he becomes obsessed with killing it before it can contaminate his supply.
The entire episode, which some believe is among the most skippable of the show, follows Walt desperately trying to kill this fly. It goes on through to the next morning, when Jesse arrives to find Walt on the floor, having fallen while trying to swat it. Talk to some fans, however, and they’ll say the episode was brilliant, a representation of the characters’ journeys and an important exploration of Walt’s mental state. In reality, the bottle episode was made because the show was over budget at the time, and they needed to do a simple shoot in a single location. Regardless of the motivation behind the slow, subdued episode, fans still debate its merits.
Was Jesse a Victim?
Diehard fans of the show are aware that Jesse was initially going to be written off. However, the chemistry between him and Cranston and the way the storyline was going made it worthwhile to keep the character. His journey is slightly different from Walt’s, a small-time drug dealer pulled into this world by Walt for help. While Jesse initially leaned fully into the work, even trying to run his own side thing, he eventually became terrified by how dark it was getting.
After he killed Gale (David Costabile), things changed for Jesse. He wanted out many times but had no choice but to continue. This has caused fans to continuously question if Jesse was a victim or as much a villain as Walt. Jesse still had a moral compass, as explored in the follow-up movie El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie. He was haunted by things that Walt seemed unbothered by. So, fans still discuss his role and whether he was a vulnerable, lost young man who got in over his head, or a mature young man who could have left at any moment but chose not to do so.
The Meaning of the Pink Teddy Bear Eye
That pink teddy bear carried so much weight and symbolism in the series, one of the greatest crime drama shows of all time. And fans continue discussing to this day just what it stands for. The bear fell from the Wayfarer 515 plane, the one that crashed midair while being flown by Jane’s (Krysten Ritter) father. He was so distraught by her death that he had this accident, coincidentally right in front of Walt’s house. The bear falls into Walt’s pool, and it’s badly burned. Its eyeball rises to the surface. The bear is later fished out of the pool as authorities are collecting evidence against Walt.
The most obvious symbolism behind the bear is it being a representation of the dire consequences of Walt’s actions. While he felt letting Jane die was for the greater good, in essence, her death led to the death of hundreds, including this innocent child. Others point out the similarities between the state the bear was in, its distinct burns, and what happened to Gus Fring (Giancarlo Esposito). It’s likely that the bear is a symbol of both these things, and more generally, a loss of innocence. The fact that Walt keeps the eyeball when he finds it in his pool’s filter suggests he wants this reminder of the cost of what he has done.
Did Huell Ever Leave the Safe House?
Huell (Lavell Crawford) was an important side character on the show, Saul’s (Bob Odenkirk) muscle and apparently also a skilled pickpocket. In fact, it was Huell who stole the ricin that Walt used to poison Brock (Ian Posada), one of the most heinous things he ever did (thankfully, Brock survived). In the end, Huell is taken to a safe house by a DEA agent, where he learns from Hank (Dean Norris) and Gomez (Steven Michael Quezada) that Walt is taking out anyone connected to the Brock poisoning incident. Believing that Jesse is dead based on a fake photo he’s shown, Huell provides the intel they need, fearing for his life. He’s told to hold tight in the safe house. But then, we never saw him again. Huell doesn’t appear in El Camino either, leaving us wondering what happened to him.
It appears that in the Breaking Bad companion book, creator Vince Gilligan solved the mystery, so fans didn’t have to picture Huell still in the room binge-watching shows and afraid to use his phone. Gilligan says it’s likely that once Agent Van Oster (Phil Duran) learned that Hank and Gomez were missing, he would have ordered Huell to be brought back to headquarters. After being questioned, Huell would likely have been released since he didn’t know much. From there, fans can use their imagination to figure out if he became a reformed man or continued down a path of crime.
Did Lydia Really Die?
At the end of the show, as Walt is tying up all his loose ends, he meets with Lydia (Laura Fraser). He slyly later calls her hours later to reveal that he poisoned the stevia packets she put in her tea. Since he waited a specific amount of time for the ricin to take effect before advising her, the suggestion is that she dies from this lethal poisoning. It’s too late to get help once she finally understands why she’s feeling so ill. But is ricin always lethal? It is entirely possible to survive this poisoning, which has fans Googling the topic and the details of ricin.
There are treatments like flushing the stomach with charcoal that can potentially lessen the symptoms and ensure the person doesn’t die if they get this treatment in time. If Lydia was particularly strong and was able to get help in time, it’s possible she survived. Since she does not appear in El Camino, we can infer that she did indeed die and the dosage Walt gave her was too strong to possibly survive. But it’s still fun to look into the medical possibilities of the situation and the chance that she didn’t.
Was Mike a Good or Bad Person?
One of the most complex characters on the show, which was an obvious masterpiece after the first 10 minutes, was Mike Ehrmantraut (Jonathan Banks). He was a kind and calm soul who also did heartless things. Fans were forever torn about Mike and whether he was a good person. He was a dirty cop whose actions arguably led to the death of his son. But he spent the rest of his life trying to ensure that his daughter-in-law and granddaughter were taken care of. And that’s all he seemed to care about. His backstory in Better Call Saul even confirms his reluctance to do what he does, but a feeling that he has no other choice. While Walt arguably became drunk with the power he amassed and lost sight of what he was supposed to be doing, Mike was always laser-focused on keeping his family protected. That said, his motivations don’t negate the horrible things he did.
But then, there’s Mike’s “no half measures” speech, which hits hard. He recalls visiting the same household multiple times as a man continuously abused his wife, yet she refused to press charges every time. When Mike arrested him one time, he took the man to the side of the road and threatened to kill him, but didn’t pull the trigger. A few weeks later, the man killed his wife. From that point, Mike promised himself he would always go all the way. You have to respect the story behind the rule, which makes trying to reconcile if Mike was good or bad even more of a challenge.
