Breaking Bad/Characters: Difference between revisions

 

== Walter White ==

 

The main character of the series, Walt is a high school chemistry teacher who gets diagnosed with lung cancer. Realizing he doesn't have much time left teams up with a former student to use his chemistry know how to make primo crystal meth to make tons of money to leave behind for his family.

 

* [[Acquired Situational Narcissism]]: Walter gets seriously overconfident whenever he succeeds. It's most visible in season 4, after his small victory against {{spoiler|Gus}} puts him on a huge power binge.

* [[Alliterative Name]]

* [[Badass Boast]]: "I am the one who knocks!"

* [[Badass Bookworm]]

* [[Because I'm Good At It]]. One of the major (if unspoken) reasons Walt continues to cook. When Jesse cooks his own batch of meth crystals, Walter takes offense and examines the crystals, pointing out every flaw in them.

** He also acts very smug in the Season 4 premiere, when {{spoiler|Victor, one of Gus' henchmen}} tries to cook his own batch of meth.

* [[Becoming the Mask]]: Walt invents "Heisenberg", his criminal alter ego, as both a convenient pseudonym and a coping mechanism. As times goes on and his behavior becomes more flagrantly amoral, it begins to seem as though there may not really be a difference between the two.

* [[Berserk Button]]: Does not like having his pride threatened or his decisions protested one bit.

* [[Beware the Nice Ones]]

* [[Can't Spit It Out]]: He seems completely incapable of expressing the kinship he feels for Jesse, even though he goes batshit every time he's in danger. {{spoiler|This bites him in the ass in "Bug", since his constant belittling of Jesse who is still moved by Gale's death and finds some satisfaction in working with Mike, finally pushes him over the edge. And boy, was the biting long overdue.}}

* [[Car Fu]]: {{spoiler|Uses this on two child murdering drug dealers at the end of season 3.}}

* [[The Chessmaster]]: Thinks he's this and does pull off a pretty round of [[Xanatos Speed Chess]] against Gus in the season 3 finale but is at a loss for what his next move is. {{spoiler|Until the season 4 finale, that is.}}

* [[Completely Missing the Point]]: Of Mike's monologue in "Half Measures".

** {{spoiler|Also in "Salud" to Walt Jr. - he lies that he's back into gambling to explain his injuries.}}

* [[Consummate Liar]]

* [[Cut Lex Luthor a Check]]: Inverted. He made barely anything legally, holding a job at a high school.

* [[Dare to Be Badass]]: To Jesse. "Jesse, look at me, you are a blowfish."

* [[Deadpan Snarker]]: Sometimes to excess.

* [[Death Glare]]: Surprisingly, a master of this. Just see his expression near the end of "Over", "Bullet Points" or in "Cornered".

* [[Face Heel Turn]]: The whole series appears to be this for Walter.

* [[Happily Married]]: With Skyler before the series.

** Possibly justified in that Walt is scrambling to buy himself more time and really has absolutely no clue what to do next.

* [[Important Haircut]]: "Badass, dad!"

* [[Jerkass]]: To everyone (mostly Jesse) except his family.

* [[Justified Criminal]]: Possibly a deconstruction as it's slowly being shown that his actions have far reaching consequences that he couldn't imagine.

* [[Kick the Dog]]: {{spoiler|Letting Jane die and arguably ordering Gale's death though that was for survival. The way he treats Jesse in Season 4. Using his neighbor as potential hitman fodder. Poisoning a little boy. The [[Kick the Dog]] moments are coming far more frequently as the show goes along.}}

* [[Laughing Mad]]: An epic instance at the end of "Crawl Space".

* [[Let's Get Dangerous]]: Walter's brain seems to work best when he is in mortal danger. Practically every brilliant gambit he comes up with is created when (sometimes literally) looking into the barrel of a gun.

* [[Motivational Lie]]: Uses one to try to get Jesse on his side in the season 4 finale.

* [[Motive Decay]]: An interesting case of this. Walt constantly tells himself that he's doing what he does to provide for his family, and on a certain level he may be right. However as the series goes on, it becomes increasingly clear that his decision to cook is as much motivated by his the desire to feed his ego as it is for helping his family.

* [[Playing Against Type]]: See [[Tom Hanks Syndrome]].

* [[Parental Substitute]]: To Jesse. Which doesn't stop him from being horribly abusive to Him.

* [[Playing Sick]]: His {{spoiler|fugue state}} in season 2.

* [[Pride]]: Walt's biggest failing. The whole source of this mess even beyond his cancer. If not for his pride, he would have been a rich and successful, award-winning chemist, and none of the events of the show would ever have happened.

* [[Properly Paranoid]]: In season 4. He deduces a lot of things around Jesse's work with Mike, but he's too unhinged to use the clues to his advantage, though.

* [[The Quiet One]]: Walt starts out as a man of few words and even fewer actions, but subverts this later on when he becomes comfortable with his new lifestyle.

* [[Sarcastic Confession]]: To Hank in the season 3 premiere.

'''[[Secret Identity|Heisenberg]]:''' Fulminated mercury... a little tweak of chemistry. }}

* [[Secret Identity]]: His Heisenberg persona that he uses to sell meth.

* [[True Companions]]: With Jesse, despite the fact that they have sometimes violent disagreements and {{spoiler|at least one major rift in season 4}}.

* [[Villain Protagonist]]: Has been slowly sliding into this ever since {{spoiler|his cancer went into remission and his actions have become less and less justified.}}

 

== Jesse Pinkman ==

 

A comfortable upper-middle-class kid--and (flunked) student of Walter's in the not-too-distant past--he becomes a lowlife drug dealer. Walt enlists (by which we mean blackmails) him as his business partner because of his street smarts and knowledge of the drug trade. Seemingly a total jerk {{spoiler|eventually we see he has hidden depths and isn't as heartless as he seems. In fact he's starting to prove more morally conflicted about what he's done than Walt has.}}

 

* [[The Aggressive Drug Dealer]]: Subverted. He tries very hard to be one, but ultimately can't bring himself to do it.

* [[A Real Man Is a Killer]]: Brutally subverted. There are plenty of people that Jesse wants to kill throughout the first three seasons, and his reasons are at least noble in a macho, street honor sense. {{spoiler|Nevertheless, he doesn't actually get to end a life until the very end of Season 3, when he kills Gale. Jesse does not issue a Pre-Mortem One-Liner.}} Not to mention that the event {{spoiler|appears to completely shatter him and for the entire episode after Jesse barely speaks because he's still in shock.}}

* [[Berserk Button]]: Seeing children threatened or harmed drives Jesse into a near-homicidal rage.

* [[Big Brother Mentor]]: He tries to be this to his younger brother Jake but fails. Though he does take the rap for Jake's joint and steps on the joint afterwards.

* [[Book Dumb]]: Talks like an idiot, dresses like an idiot, but highly intelligent and deeply flawed and troubled. [[Freudian Excuse]] suggests that much of his behavior started as a way to piss off his parents for pushing him too hard until he left to take care of his aunt.

* [[The Caretaker]]: He was this to his Aunt before she died of cancer.

* [[Children Are Innocent]]: A firmly held belief of his. {{spoiler|This leads to him plotting the deaths of two drug dealers who are the bosses of Tomas, an 11 year old who murdered Jesse's friend Combo. This situation ultimately leads to the collapse of Walt and Gus's business relationship.}}

* [[Functional Addict]]: Complete with a downward spiral into heroin addiction, rehab, and then later getting back on the meth.

* [[Heel Realization]]: In the third season premiere.

** Subverted by the end of the season.

* [[Hidden Depths]]: Is surprisingly kindhearted.

* [[The Igor]]

* [[Killed Off for Real]]: Subverted. Was originally supposed to die in episode 9, but has sticked around for the rest of the series.

* [[Sophisticated As Hell]]: "It's totally Kafkaesque, yo."

* [[Tragic Villain]]: He's been forced to do things that have convinced him he'll never be able to leave the drug trade. Made worse by the fact that Walt blackmailed him into the heavier stuff.

* [[True Companions]]: With Walter, despite the fact that they have their disagreements and {{spoiler|at least one major falling out}}.

* [[Undying Loyalty]]: Walt vouches for Jesse that he has this.

* [[Villain Protagonist]]

 

 

== Skyler White ==

 

Walter White's wife, who is pregnant with their daughter when the show starts. Walt's criminal activities give rise to a lot of mysterious late nights and other odd behavior that he does not explain, which puts a serious strain on their marriage. While Skyler tries to be supportive, she can be a little bossy and overbearing, which clashes with Walt's need to show he can do everything himself.

* [[Dumb Blonde]]: Far from it, but she knows how [[The Power of Acting|to play]] [[Obfuscating Stupidity|the part]].

* [[Hot Mom]]

* [[The Power of Acting]]: Turns out to be one of Skyler's best weapons. Whether she's faking contractions to bail her sister out of her shoplifting problems, making up a story about Walt's gambling addiction on the fly, or convincing a locksmith that Walt's condo is her home, Skyler can sell it.

* [[The Smart Guy|The Smart Chick]]: Not as smart as her husband but once {{spoiler|she starts to get involved with his business}} it becomes clear that she has a lot of business smarts {{spoiler|and her elaborate lie to the family about where the money is coming from is pretty ingenious}}.

** Actually, given that for all his brilliance as a chemist and meth cook Walt does things like {{spoiler|suggest to Hank that Gale wasn't Heisenberg}} and {{spoiler|buy Walt Jr. a flashy, expensive, attention-grabbing car when the family is supposed to be strapped for cash}}, both of which Skyler immediately points out are incredibly stupid things to have done, it's quite arguable that she is just as smart as he is, or at the very least more prudent.

* {{spoiler|[[Villain Protagonist]]}}: Might be on her way to becoming one of these {{spoiler|since she's now taking a more active role in her husband's business.}}

* [[Women Are Wiser]]: Averted. She may be more practical than Walt but She is even greedier and has quite a ruthless streak.

* {{spoiler|[[Your Cheating Heart]]}}: In the second episode of season 3 {{spoiler|with Ted Beneke}}.

 

== Hank Schrader ==

 

Walter and Skyler's brother-in-law, Mike is a DEA agent. He is aware of Walter's alter ego "Heisenberg", knows that Heisenberg is the one who makes the blue meth, and has some connection with Jesse, but does not know that Walter is Heisenberg. Despite Hank's obnoxious behavior he is a decent guy and good at his job, but is not able to outmaneuver Walter. Instead Hank usually picks up the remains of Walter and Jesse's messes.

 

* [[Bald of Awesome]]

* [[Big Damn Heroes]]: In the second episode of season 2 he unknowingly saves Walt and Jesse from Tuco.

* [[Broken Ace]]: {{spoiler|Hasn't been the same ever since the taskforce bombing in season 2.}}

** {{spoiler|Now literally broken after getting shot by one of the Twins.}}

* [[Genius Bruiser]]: Arguably, in is connection of {{spoiler|Gale's murder}} with Gus Fring.

** This is an important part of Hank's growing characterization. While he initially might have come off as a loud, overbearing dumb cop, he's actually a very skilled investigator.

* [[Hero Antagonist]]: Becomes one once he makes catching the elusive "Heisenberg" his goal; unusually for this trope, he's unaware that the [[Villain Protagonist]] he's pursuing is [[Hidden Villain|right under]] [[Devil in Plain Sight|his nose]].

* [[Hidden Depths]]: For the first season Hank seems mostly to be a textbook [[Boisterous Bruiser]] but in season 2 {{spoiler|after he kills Tuco}} we begin to see that Hank secretly feels a lot of anxiety and fear about his job.

* [[Nice Guy]]: By Season 4, He has evolved to be possibly the only genuinely likeable main character on the show.

* [[Retirony]]: {{spoiler|Subverted and somewhat inverted. After getting in a whole mess of trouble for beating up Jesse he tells Marie he thinks that "The universe is telling me I shouldn't be a cop anymore." and believes that he is ultimately going to be fired for it. Around this time Gus gives the cousins the okay to kill Hank. However, Hank ends up getting to keep his jobs and immediately after the cousins try to kill him but he narrowly escapes.}}

* [[Stepford Smiler]]: Despite being deeply traumatized by {{spoiler|his shootout with Tuco}} and {{spoiler|the bombing in Juarez}}, he continues to maintain his blustery, backslapping persona in front of colleagues and friends.

* [[Sympathetic Inspector Antagonist]]

** Following up on that in the next episode, {{spoiler|"Except... What are Gustavo Fring's fingerprints doing at Gale Boetticher's apartment?"}}

 

 

== Gustavo "Gus" Fring ==

 

Gus is the largest distributer of crystal meth in the American Southwest. His front is a chain of fast food chicken restaurants, "Los Pollos Hermanos", which he uses to give money to law enforcement and otherwise come off as an important member of the community. He employs Walt and Jesse in season two, but almost immediately looks for a way to get his hands on Walter's recipe and replace the two.

* [[Crazy Prepared]]: {{spoiler|He had a secret hospital set up with medical staff on his payroll to revive him when he self-poisoned. Not only that, the hospital is supplied with matching blood types for himself, Jesse and Mike (and they even know Jesse's entire medical history.}}

* {{spoiler|[[Critical Existence Failure]]: One can be pretty sure getting half of your face blown off counts.}}

* [[Even Evil Has Standards]]: Invoked in "Full Measures" when he insists he would never order the death of a child. {{spoiler|Subverted. He later threatens to kill Walt's entire family including his son and his infant daughter.}}

* {{spoiler|[[Facial Horror]]: Walks away after an explosion and straightens his tie with ''half his face blown off'' right before he dies.}}

* [[Fake Nationality]]: The character at least claims to be from Chile; Giancarlo Esposito is half African-American, half Italian, and though his Spanish is very good he doesn't sound like a native speaker.

* {{spoiler|[[Fatal Flaw]]: His obsession with personal revenge against Tio Hector proves to be his downfall.}}

* [[Gut Feeling]]: Has a very good sense for when he's in danger, occasionally bordering on [[Spider Sense]] territory. {{spoiler|Unfortunately for him it fails him at the worst possible time, resulting in his death.}}

* [[Kick the Dog]]: Possibly his ordering the death of {{spoiler|Tomas}} though its never explicitly said that he did. Definitely his threat to Walt that {{spoiler|he would murder his entire family including his infant daughter}} should Walt interfere with {{spoiler|Hank's murder.}}

* {{spoiler|[[Killed Off for Real]]}}

* [[Machiavelli Was Wrong]]: Gus refuses to use the threat of the Cousins coming after Walt in order to scare him into working for him stating that "I don't believe fear to be an effective motivator." {{spoiler|Subverted in season 4 where he's not above doing things like brutally murdering his own henchman or threatening to kill Walt's family in order to keep Walt in line.}}

* {{spoiler|[[Manipulative Bastard]]: He convinces the cousins to go after Hank instead of Walt. This starts his scheme to take over meth production and distribution in the region.}}

* [[Mysterious Past]]: Starting to be revealed as of "Hermanos".

* [[Playing Both Sides]]: {{spoiler|Plays the US and Mexican governments against the Mexican cartel to seize control of the West Coast meth trade. Also pulls this by telling the Cousins that they can kill Hank in place of Walter since he actually shot Tucco but then proceeds to anonymously tip Hank so that he can get the jump on them and take them out of the equation.}}

* {{spoiler|[[Perfect Poison]]}}: Uses the same bottle of tequila {{spoiler|to dispatch Don Eladio and all his captains at once}}.

* [[The Quiet One]]: Is very soft spoken, calm and collected even in the most stressful situations.

* [[Rule of Cool]]: {{spoiler|His death scene is this trope in full force.}}

* [[The Stoic]]

** Taken to [[Up to Eleven]] when {{spoiler|he calmly walks away from an explosion with half his face blown off and even straightens his tie before falling over dead.}}

* [[Villainous Breakdown]]: Suffers a brief, almost non-verbal one when it dawns on him that {{spoiler|Hector has drawn him into a trap. Esposito [[Incredibly Lame Pun|goes out with a bang]] by conveying Gus' rapid transition from [[Evil Gloating|triumph]] to [[Didn't See That Coming|confusion]] to [[Oh Crap|shock]] to [[Despair Event Horizon|terror]] with nothing more than facial expressions and a single scream.}}

** {{spoiler|He almost recites this trope word for word when he fires Walt, who (albeit unwillingly) led Hank to the laundromat.}}

 

 

== Walter White Jr. ==

 

Walt and Skyler's son. He does not take the news that his father is dying of cancer well and lashes out in a stereotypically rebellious teenager-ish way (including changing his name to Flynn), but eventually gets over it and acts a lot more mature as series progresses. Jr. has cerebral palsy and walks with crutches and speaks with a slight slur.

 

* [[Dawson Casting]]: Notably averted, RJ Mitte is actually 17 years old (as of season 3).

** Though as the show's timeline progresses far more slowly than production time, he does become noticably older than he should be, which may be at least part of the reason for his becoming [[Out of Focus]].

* [[Disabled Snarker]]

** Until his parents' separation, at which point he sides with his dad and demands to be called Walt Jr.

* [[Out of Focus]]: Has appeared less in Season 4 than in any other season. It is likely due to not even a year passing in-story while the actor has aged visibly, as noted above.

 

 

== Saul Goodman ==

 

A sleazy lawyer Walt and Jesse hire as their legal council. Saul has vast connections, and is the one who introduces Walt and Jesse to Gus. Saul also helps them with other criminal activities, like helping Walter buy a carwash to launder his money with. While he initially likes the money Walt and Jesse bring in, later appearences mostly consist of Saul exasperated at the bigger messes Walt and Jesse get into. [http://www.bettercallsaul.com/ Has his own website.]

 

* [[Ambulance Chaser]]

* [[Amoral Attorney]]: "Going gets tough, you don't want a criminal lawyer. You want a ''criminal'' lawyer, know what I mean?"

* [[Catch Phrase]]: "Better call Saul!"

* [[Comic Relief]]: Despite being a surprisingly skilled lawyer, pretty much every other word out of Saul's mouth is hilarious.

* [[Deadpan Snarker]]: If there's a sarcastic line said, there's a ninety-seven percent chance Saul is the one saying it.

* [[Even Evil Has Standards]]: Was unwilling to give up Walt and Jesse to Gus, only doing so when Mike threatened to break his legs.

 

== Mike Ehrmantraut ==

 

Gus' number one hitman, investigator, and all around problem fixer. Extremely loyal to Gus. Gets along with Walt at first, but stops liking Walt as Walt does more stuff that threatens to ruin their operation. Then he starts to develop a mild respect for Jesse. Despite his horrific profession, Mike at least acts like a decent person and loves his granddaughter.

* [[The Ace]]: Pulls off all assignments given to him by Gus flawlessly.

* [[Affably Evil]]: A nice guy and a loving grandfather, but he'll kill you without hesitation if it's his job.

* [[Badass Grandpa]]

* [[Bald of Evil]]

* [[Face Heel Turn]]: Had one years before the start of the series. See [[Start of Darkness]] below.

* [[Jack Bauer Interrogation Technique]]: Threatens Saul with this in the season 3 finale.

* [[Punch Clock Villain]]

* [[Start of Darkness]]: Described to Walt in the episode "Half Measure". Mike used to be a cop. He once gave a repeatedly abusive husband an intimidating warning rather than killing him. Later on the man beat his wife to death and that's when Mike decided to never take a half measure again.

* [[The Stoic]]: Mike's too world-weary to get worked up over anything. He reacts to most problems with mild irritation.

 

== Marie Schrader ==

 

Skyler's sister and Hank's wife. Marie causes a lot of problems, like accusing Walter of smoking marijuana and shoplifting, but is also supportive of Skyler and her family and Hank and the problems his job causes.

 

== Brandon "Badger" Mayhew ==

 

The first of Jesse's three friends introduced, and one of his dealers. Not the smartest person around, but is very upbeat.

 

* [[Book Dumb]]: Enough to make Jesse look like [[The Chessmaster]] by comparison.

* [[Chekhov's Gunman]]

* [[The Ditz]]: Described by the creators as "Jesse's Jesse".

 

 

== Christian "Combo" Ortega ==

 

Another one of Jesse's friends and dealers. Possibly smarter than Badger and Skinny Pete.

* [[Antagonistic Offspring]]: Its revealed he stole and sold his mother's RV to Jesse. She knew and didn't report it to the police.

* [[Chekhov's Gun]]: {{spoiler|His death comes back in a big way at the end of season 3.}}

* {{spoiler|[[Killed Off for Real]]}}

 

== Skinny Pete ==

 

Jesse's third friend and dealer.

* [[Book Dumb]]: He manages to misspell the word ''street'' ("streat").

* [[Catch Phrase]]: His use of "church" as slang for "true."

 

 

== Tuco Salamanca ==

 

Walt and Jesse's first boss. Tuco is an unstable, paranoid man who snorts meth all day. At first Walter (and reluctantly Jesse) want to be Tuco's main supplier, but they quickly change their mind after they are hired when Tuco beats one of his subordinates to death over a minor misunderstanding.

* [[Big Bad]]: The show's first. {{spoiler|Ultimately, subverted as he only ends up hanging around for a couple episodes before biting the dust two episodes into season 2.}}

* [[Even Bad Men Love Their Mamas]]: Despite being an awful person he still gladly takes care of his elderly uncle, who apparently beat the "family is all" mantra into all the young Salamancas.

* [[Jerkass]]

* {{spoiler|[[Killed Off for Real]]}}

* [[Large Ham]]

* [[Real Life Writes the Plot]]: {{spoiler|Tuco was apparently supposed to be on the show a bit longer but actor Raymond Cruz didn't enjoy playing such a disturbed character for so long and asked to be written out.}}

 

 

== Hector 'Tio' Salamanca ==

 

A former kingpin and Tuco's uncle. Hector is confined to a wheelchair thanks to a stroke, and can only communicate with a bell.

 

* [[Bald of Evil]]

* [[Chekhov's Gunman]]

* {{spoiler|[[Driven to Suicide]] / [[Death Equals Redemption]]: Blows himself up with Walt's bomb and takes Gus and Tyrus with him.}}

* [[Killed Off for Real]]

* [[Last of His Kind]]: After Gus' {{spoiler|murder of Don Eladio and company}}, he is the {{spoiler|last surviving member of the Salamanca family}}.

* [[Retired Monster]]: By circumstance rather than choice.

* [[The Speechless]]

* {{spoiler|[[Suicide Attack]]}}

* [[You Killed My Father]]: {{spoiler|Killed Gus' "brother" Max.}}

 

 

== Jane Margolis ==

 

Jesse's landlord when his parents kick him out, and eventually Jesse's girlfriend. Jane is nice girl and a former drug addict, but relapses and becomes a lot less nice thanks to Jesse's drug habit.

* [[Off the Wagon]]: A former addict having a love affair with an addict meth dealer. It was bound to happen.

* [[Perky Goth]]: She favors goth styles and designs tattoos, but is otherwise pretty upbeat.

* [[Retirony]]: {{spoiler|Retiring from heroin.}}

* [[Statuesque Stunner]]

 

 

== Andrea Cantillo ==

 

A single mother Jesse meets at a drug addict support group, eventually the two start up a relationship. Andrea has a son, Brock, that Jesse gets along with. {{spoiler|Is the older sister of the kid who shot Combo.}}

 

== "The Cousins" Leon and Marco Salamanca ==

 

Two assassins who go after Walter {{spoiler|to avenge Tuco's murder}}. Best described as two human Mexican [[The Terminator|Terminator robots]].

* [[An Axe to Grind]]

* [[Axe Crazy]]

* [[Bald of Evil]]

* [[Big Bad|Big Bads]]: In season 3. {{spoiler|For half a season.}}

* [[Chekhov's Gun|Chekhovs Hollow Point Bullets]]: {{spoiler|One of the hollow point bullets given to Marco for free by an arms dealer earlier in the episode ends up getting dropped and then fired directly into the head of Marco by Hank.}}

* [[Creepy Twins]]

* [[Roaring Rampage of Revenge]]: They go on one seeking revenge on Walt for his involvement in {{spoiler|Tuco's death}}.

* [[Rule of Cool]]: They seem to live by it. They wear awesome clothes, they're incredibly calm and collected, they walk unflinchingly even into cars and they decide to kill {{spoiler|Hank}} with an axe. {{spoiler|[[Deconstructed Trope|The last two bits are their undoing.]]}}

* [[The Sociopath|The Sociopaths]]

* [[Those Two Bad Guys]]: The Cousins. Except that they don't talk much.

 

== Ted Beneke ==

 

Skyler's former boss. Sexually harassed her at a Christmas party, allegedly because he was drunk. When Skyler gets her old job back he tries to get into her pants again.

* [[Chekhov's Gunman]]

* [[Dogged Nice Guy]]: Towards Skyler.

* [[Foil]]: For Walt.

* {{spoiler|[[Killed Off for Real]]}}

* [[Justified Criminal]]: Is cooking the books at Beneke Fabricators, but only doing so to save his father's company and the jobs of the people it employs.

** Becomes much less justified when he uses the obviously dirty money he receives through Saul to buy a Mercedes SL instead of paying off the debts.

* [[White Collar Crime]]: In contrast to the more working-class variety practiced by Walt and Jesse.

 

 

== Steven Gomez ==

 

Hank's partner. Hanks makes fun of Gomez for being Latino, Gomez makes fun of Hank for being white, but they get along fine. A good cop in his own right.

 

* [[The Danza]]

* [[Nice Guy]]: Hank gives him a lot of crap, but he never loses his cool.

* [[Pride]]: In season 4 Hanks goads him into {{spoiler|conducting an extrajudicial search of Gus' industrial laundry facility}} by insulting his abilities as a cop.

 

 

== Gale Boetticher ==

 

Another meth cooker that Gus forces Walt to replace Jesse with. Walt and Gale get along well, but in reality {{spoiler|Gus is using Gale to learn how Walt cooks his meth so he can dispose of Walt and Jesse and replace them with Gale, who is a lot more maneagable.}}

* [[Adorkable]]

* [[Ambiguously Gay]]: There's hints of this; Gale likes Mexican opera music and his apartment is well decorated, but it's never really explored further than this so he may just be [[Camp Straight]].

* {{spoiler|[[Bolivian Army Cliffhanger]]}}: The last scene of season 3 is this for him.

** {{spoiler|the creator has stated categorically that this was unintentional; there was no intended irony in the final scene, they just wanted to concentrate on Jesse's reaction.}}

* {{spoiler|[[Killed Off for Real]]}}

* [[No Good Deed Goes Unpunished]]: The season 4 premier reveals in a [[Flash Back]] that {{spoiler|his dedication to making the best meth possible in Gus' lab is what inspired Gus to hire Walt. Which didn't work out to well for him in the end}}.

* {{spoiler|[[Sacrificial Lamb]]: Exists primarily to provide an innocent victim to show how much Walt has had to compromise his morals.}}

 

 

== Domingo Gallardo "Krazy 8" Molina ==

 

A drug dealer Jesse brings along with him in the pilot. He and his partner try to kidnap Walt and Jesse to force them to make meth, but instead is caught by Walt and Jesse and tied up in Jesse's basement. {{spoiler|He is the first person Walt kills.}}

* [[Even Evil Has Standards]]: Is disgusted by Walt keeping him locked in a basement.

* [[Hidden Depths]]: He attempts to invoke this to get Walt to release him but it was merely a ruse so he could stab Walt as soon as he got out.

* {{spoiler|[[Killed Off for Real]]}}

* {{spoiler|[[The Informant]]: For the DEA.}}

* [[Not Quite Dead]]: After the explosion in the pilot.

* [[Real Life Writes the Plot]]: Was supposed to die in the pilot but the actors and crew enjoyed working with him so the character was kept {{spoiler|for two more episodes}}.

* {{spoiler|[[Sacrificial Lamb]]}}: Serves this purpose by being {{spoiler|Walt's first murder victim}}.

 

 

== Tortuga ==

 

The DEA's informant on the Mexican Cartel. {{spoiler|1=He is beheaded, his head is put on a turtle, and is rigged with bombs, blowing up all the DEA members who sent ot meet him except Hank.}}

 

* [[Affably Evil]]: Is obviously a pretty despicable guy but we mostly see him lounging around, listing off Sky Mall items he would like in return for informing on the Cartel.

* [[The Informant]]: The DEA's in the Mexican cartel.

* [[Meaningful Name]]: He says so; his name means "tortoise" in Spanish, which he claims is reflective of his way of getting things done - slow, but successful. {{spoiler|1=When the Twins murder him, they deliver his head to the DEA on the back of a tortoise.}}

 

 

== Don Eladio ==

 

The head of the Mexican Drug Cartel and Gus' main competitor for control of the Southwest drug trade.

* {{spoiler|[[Anticlimax Boss]]}}: For Gus.

* [[The Cameo]]: Steven Bauer isn't terribly famous but it counts since creator Vince Gilligan has ofter referred to the show as taking Walter from being a teacher to becoming [[Scarface]].

* {{spoiler|[[Killed Off for Real]]}}

* [[Smug Snake]]

 

== Bogdan ==

 

Walter's boss at the carwash. {{spoiler|Reappears in season four when Walter and Skyler buy his carwash.}}

 

* [[Bad Boss]]: Forces cashiers to do menial labour. He tries to [[Justified Trope|justify]] his actions by explaining that "a boss has to be tough."

* [[The Bus Came Back]]: After disappearing early in season 1 he comes back in season 4.

* [[Chekhov's Gunman]]: At the beginning of the series he's the [[Jerkass|obnoxious boss]] at Walt's second job, but he comes back in a big way.

* [[Jerkass]]

** They ring hollow, however, since he treats running a carwash as something that requires a degree and an iron fist (and he's talking to someone who by that time directly killed at least three people) and Walt shuts him up completely by taking his first earned dollar from him.

 

 

== Carmen Molina ==

 

The principal at Walter's school.

* [[The Danza]]

* [[Hot Teacher]]: Seriously, how many high school principals do you know that look like her?

* [[Reasonable Authority Figure]]: Is quite helpful to Walt, at least at first.

 

 

== Wendy ==

 

A prostitute who works out of a motel that Jesse sometimes does drugs with.

 

* [[Chekhov's Gunman]]: Ultimately subverted; she reappears in season 3 as part of {{spoiler|Jesse's plot to kill the dealers who murdered Combo}}, but doesn't end up going through with it.

* [[Once a Season]]: So far has shown up to play a small but somewhat crucial role in one episode of every season.

 

 

== Don Margolis ==

 

Jane's father. Does not like Jesse.

 

== Victor ==

 

One of Gus' henchmen.

 

== Tyrus Kitt ==

 

Another one of Gus' henchmen.

 

== Maximino "Max" Arciniega ==

 

Shown only in flashbacks, Max was the meth cooker to Gus' meth distributor, mirroring the relationship between Walt and Jesse. He was the one who proposed cooking meth for the Mexican Cartel, {{spoiler|and was killed when they were unimpressed with crystal meth and felt he had wasted their time.}}

* [[Chekhov's Gunman]]: His name gets dropped earlier in the same episode in which he appears.

* {{spoiler|[[Killed Off for Real]]}}

* [[The Smart Guy]]: {{spoiler|He knows the science, while Gus knows the business.}}

 

{{reflist}}

[[Category:Characters]]