Breaking Bad/YMMV: Difference between revisions

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*** Likewise, did Gale know that {{spoiler|Gus was planning to kill Walt when he told him that he'd be [[Deadly Euphemism|dying from cancer soon]]}}, or was he taking his boss' words at face value?

* [[Badass Decay]]: Justified with Hank. He goes through a [[Humiliation Conga]] that ultimately leads to [[Break the Haughty]], leaving him rather helpless and emasculated in the end. {{spoiler|He gets better though.}}

* [[Base Breaker]]:

** Walter would develop into one long after the show finished airing. Depending on who you ask, he's either a thoroughly unsympathetic scumbag and pure evil incarnate, or a tragic [[Anti-Hero]] pushed into the role of an [[Anti-Villain]] due to circumstances beyond his control. Similarly, arguments about whether he's a genuine [[Badass]] or a petulant, pathetic egomaniac who ''thinks'' he's badass tend to spring up when he's discussed.

** Jesse's got a strong fan following due to the [[Hidden Depths|softer side]] hidden under his veneer of a [[Book Dumb]] gangbanger, and think that in light of the horrific [[Trauma Conga Line]] that he's subjected to, he's easily the most sympathetic character in the show. However, just as many people criticize or hate him entirely for making a ''ton'' of stupid decisions to the point of being an active liability to Walt, and find him even less sympathetic than his mentor since his stupidity is often the thing that triggers the traumatic events he suffers through.

** While well-liked for being a lovable [[Noble Demon]] who takes Walt to task for his stupid and hypocritical actions, Mike has a loud hatedom due to his ''own'' penchant for stupidity and hypocrisy. To those people, his famous [[Reason You Suck Speech]] comes off as less of a [[Crowning Moment of Awesome]] and more of a self-righteous attempt at acting like his shit doesn't stink and feel that as petulant as it was, {{spoiler|he absolutely deserved to get shot by Walt}}.

** Thanks to their over-the-top actions and presentation as sadistic, near-unstoppable [[Terminator|Terminators]] in human skin, the Salamanca Twins have fans split on whether they're the shows coolest villains, or its lamest.

* [[Broken Base]]:

** Over [[Bottle Episode|"Fly"]]. Much of the fandom seems to think that it's either the best or the worst episode of the show. It's either a brilliant character study, or a pointless [[Filler]] episode.

** The {{spoiler|plane crash}} at the end of season 2 is either a [[Contrived Coincidence]] that's a [[Cliffhanger Copout]] after all the vague flashforwards and build up or its a great metaphor for how Walt's actions have consequences he can't imagine.

** While one of the show's most popular characters, fans don't quite agree on if Hank's {{spoiler|crusade against Walt}} in the final season is done out of a genuine desire to punish the man for his many crimes or if it's motivated purely by ego and spite towards him.

* [[Catharsis Factor]]:

** Tuco finally getting his just desserts in "Grilled" is ''incredibly'' satisfying after all the pain he put Walt and Jesse through. Whether it's Walt's ''vicious'' [[The Reason You Suck Speech|verbal takedown]], his screams of agony when Jesse shoots him in the gut and ''kicks'' the bullet wound, or Hank finishing him off Scarface-style, you'll be cheering as you watch this "insane, degenerate piece of filth" meet a gruesome end.

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** No matter how badly the scale of his crimes escalate, plenty of fans will bend over backwards to make excuses for Walt's actions. Endangering innocent people? Manipulating and gaslighting Jesse? Murder? {{spoiler|Poisoning children?!}} [[Sarcasm Mode|It's not his fault, it's everyone else's for never cutting him a break!]]

** While he's more sympathetic than Walt and has clear lines he'll never cross, Jesse's often painted as an innocent angel who can do no wrong instead of the ''deeply'' flawed and troubled criminal that he really is.

** From 2019 onward, Skyler's attracted a surprising amount of defenders who desperately try to whitewash her into being a blameless victim of Walt's cruelty. While nowhere near as outright awful as he is by the end of the show, she's far from blameless herself since she's complicit in laundering Walt's money, was willing to cover up Ted's own illegal actions, and {{spoiler|tried pressuring Walt into murdering Jesse once he finally turns against him}}. Hell, even before that she smoked while pregnant, risking the health and life of the unborn baby Holly purely out of passive-aggressive spite towards Walt.

* [[Ensemble Darkhorse]]:

** Hank and Saul. Especially Saul, he even has his own spinoff now!

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* [[Fashion Victim Villain]]: Good god, just look at some of Saul's suits.

* [[Fan Nickname]]: Todd is "Meth Damon", due to the show's subject matter and, well, looking a lot like a version of Matt Damon who got kinda screwed up on meth.

* [[Fridge Brilliance]]: The title of the final episode of season four, 'Face Off', suggests a direct confrontation between characters. It isn't until you've seen the episode that you ~~realise~~ the title means {{spoiler|blowing Gus's face off}}.

* [[Fridge Brilliance]]: The title of the final episode of season four, 'Face Off', suggests a direct confrontation between characters. It isn't until you've seen the episode that you realize the title means {{spoiler|blowing Gus's face off}}.

* [[Genius Bonus]]: Heisenberg. If you paid attention in chemistry, this would bring to mind the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle.

* [[Growing the Beard]]:

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** Whether it's Jesse goofing off with the lab equipment or Walt's slapstick-laden war against a stray housefly, the sillier moments that take place in Gus' underground superlab feel weird with the knowledge that {{spoiler|they're happening directly on top of the shared grave of Howard Hamlin and Lalo Salamanca}}.

** When Walt and Jesse kidnap Saul Goodman so they can press-gang him into helping them build their criminal empire, his terror over "Lalo" potentially sending them after him is hilarious. It's a lot less funny in light of Lalo's ascension from a throwaway line to a fleshed-out character that quickly establishes himself as one of the series' most ''terrifying'' villains and leaves Saul traumatized by his actions.

** While Hector's refusal to look at Gus seems to stem from their tumultuous history together and Gus' psychological torture of the man, it truly seems to be rooted in the fact that the last time Hector looked him square in the eye, {{spoiler|it set off a domino effect that led to the death of his beloved nephew Lalo, the ~~destruction~~ of the Juarez Cartel and the ~~entire~~ Salamanca family, and him losing the ~~respect~~ of ~~his~~ ~~bosses~~ ~~Don~~ ~~Eladio~~ ~~and~~ ~~Juan~~ ~~Bolsa~~}}.

** While Hector's refusal to look at Gus seems to stem from their tumultuous history together and Gus' psychological torture of the man, it truly seems to be rooted in the fact that the last time Hector looked him square in the eye, {{spoiler|it set off a domino effect that led to the death of his beloved nephew Lalo, the beginning of the end of the Juarez Cartel and the Salamanca family as a whole, and him losing his last chance at removing Gus from the playing field before he could do too much damage to their operations}}.

* [[Hell Is That Noise]]: ~~I'd~~ ~~like~~ to ~~thank~~ Breaking Bad ~~for~~ ~~ruining~~ the simple ~~call~~ ~~bell.~~ ~~Now~~ I ~~can't~~ ~~play~~ ~~Pit~~ ~~anymore!~~

* [[Hell Is That Noise]]: Only a show like ''Breaking Bad'' can turn the simple ringing of a call bell into something ominous.

* [[Hilarious in Hindsight]]: "The Fly" is an unconventional episode that has people split down the middle on whether they love it or hate it. It's meant to be a cerebral character study that sheds new light on Walt and Jesse's mindsets, and just so happens to be directed by Rian Johnson. This was nearly a decade before the release of ''[[The Last Jedi]]'', which was even more polarizing and hit a lot of superficially similar beats, up to being directed by the same guy!

* [[Holy Shit Quotient]]: All the freaking time.

* [[Jerkass Woobie]]: Both Jesse and Walt qualify. While the suffering they endure tends to be a result of their own evil actions, the trauma they suffer due to awful things happening beyond their control helps them maintain an air of sympathy. It certainly helps that when they're at their most emotionally vulnerable, they tend to show genuine remorse for the awful things they do (even if it isn't enough to turn them away from the path they're walking on).

* [[Jerkass Woobie]]: Both Jesse and Walt qualify.

** Hank, whose private pain is concealed by a willfully ignorant and obnoxious public personality.

* [[Magnificent Bastard]]: ''Gus.'' The owner of Los Pollos Hermanos chain of chicken restaurants, and now the biggest Meth dealer of them all. Uses his chain as a cover, never been caught, and organizes anti-drug fun runs that means he associates with DEA agents that tell him all about their work. The Cartels respect him enough that he's able to call off a hit with but a single text message to two killers seeking personal vengeance. The only reason Walt is still alive is Gus can use him. Walt even figures out Gus is using him to break free of the Cartels to the point he's planning everything for his own advantages including Hank and the Cousins.