History YMMV / BreakingBad

** If you find out a family member is involved in criminal activities, kick them out of your life and report them to the authorities immediately; associating with them is only putting yourself and your loved ones in danger. Early on, Jesse’s parents kick him out of his deceased aunt’s house when they discover a meth lab he built in the basement. However, they didn’t report the meth lab to the cops, so Jesse and Saul are able to blackmail them in order to buy the house back when they try to sell it. Skyler goes along with Walt's schemes despite knowing they're wrong [[{{Greed}} simply because of how much money is being made]]. [[spoiler: Not only does Skyler lose her brother-in-law, her sister’s respect, and her reputation once shit hits the fan, she nearly gets railroaded by the feds and almost loses custody of her kids. Flynn cutting his father out of his life after finding out about his father’s crimes in the antepenultimate episode, as well as calling the cops on Walt after he protects Skyler from him and refusing to take any of his illegal drug money, means he’s in a much better position]]. Meanwhile, [[spoiler:Hank not going to the DEA with the reveal that Walt is Heisenberg and instead trying to take him down himself (or at the very least, not calling the DEA for backup once he had conclusive evidence against him) leads to him and Gomez getting killed by the Neo-Nazis, Jesse’s horrible 6-month enslavement, and most of the evidence he gathered against Walt’s involvement with the Neo-Nazis being destroyed]].

** Uncle Jack and the Neo-Nazis are well liked among the fanbase but the fact that they are the succesor villains to Gus and the Salamancas of the previous seasons, which are more interesting, more complex and much more iconic characters makes them a bit OvershadowedByAwesome, especially given they are the show's FinalBoss.

* FriendlyFandoms: With fans of ''Film/TheIrishman'', due to having plots involving organized crime and corruption as well as the shared presence of Creator/JessePlemons. The fact that ''Film/ElCamino'' was released a month before ''The Irishman'' certainly helps.

* JerksAreWorseThanVillains: In a show featuring Walter White (drug manufacture with intent to distribute, theft, arson, multiple homicides in first and second degrees), Gustavo Fring (narcotics distribution, kidnapping, assault, multiple homicides in first and second degrees), and Jack Welker (multiple homicides including deaths of federal agents, drug manufacture and terroristic threats), the most hated characters in the show are:
** Walt's wife Skyler. Her list of crimes? Disagreeing with Walt, being "difficult", wanting to protect her children, smoking three times while pregnant, and sleeping with another man when Walt won't go along with a divorce. Yes, she does get worse as time goes on, to the point of [[spoiler:advising Walt to kill Jesse]] in Season 5, but she's still not even nearly as bad as others. That said, nowadays she's seen [[RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap in a much more sympathetic light]] than before, though Skyler haters still exist.
** Ted Beneke. His list of crimes? Cooking the books on his company, avoiding paying his taxes, fucking Skyler, ''[[AmbiguousSituation maybe]]'' blackmailing Skyler, and [[TooDumbToLive being an idiot]]. In a show filled with cool, charismatic, threatening, and cunning criminals, Ted is a criminal with none of those qualities. While there are Skyler fans out there, there is not a single person in the ''Breaking Bad'' fandom who even remotely likes Ted, with everyone considering him a frustrating idiot.

** Skyler might be one of the biggest base-breaking characters in all of television. Especially in Seasons 4 and 5. She's either a JerkassWoobie who takes a lot of abuse to protect her family while providing a lot of emotional depth and [[MemeticMutation meme-worthy]] lines, or a hypocritical [[VillainProtagonist Villain Tritagonist]] with no right to take the moral high ground when she argues with Walt. She's a particularly interesting case, in that most of the hate against her stems primarily from her constant opposing and arguing with her DracoInLeatherPants husband, who is praised as one of the best characters ever by fans willing to [[DracoInLeatherPants ignore]] or [[EvilIsCool embrace]] all his evil deeds because he's a "badass", while his wife is bashed and hated for being a "bitch".

** Walt himself. While he gets plenty DracoInLeatherPants treatment it is clear that Walt didn't start out evil which many fans claim he did, people even demonize him for killing Emilio and Krazy-8 even though Emilio was trying to kill him at the time of his death and he was deeply conflicted over what to do with Krazy-8. Even as he gets more ruthless he does still care about his family and Jesse, he also felt remorse for [[spoiler:killing Mike]] and becomes TheAtoner in the last episode, but many fans act like he's far worse than Don Eladio and the Salamancas with no redeeming features.

*** If Saul didn't cross it in his first appearance when he argues for killing Badger, then he defiantly crosses it when he suggests Walt [[spoiler:kill Hank]].

** Walter himself. On one hand, there are the people who see him as a badass anti-hero who does terrible things for [[JustifiedCriminal the sake of his family]], and believe that he really does care for them. On the other hand are the people who also view his [[MoralEventHorizon increasingly crueler actions]] as a byproduct of his ego swelling to a dangerous degree, and believe that he's become just as bad, if not worse, than Gus and the Cartel. Even [[http://collider.com/bob-odenkirk-jonathan-banks-aaron-paul-breaking-bad-season-5-interview/182937/ some members of the cast have sharply divided opinions on the character.]] It has become so bad that by the end of 5B, the base has nearly been shattered completely between those who do and don't want him to succeed.

** In "[[Recap/BreakingBadS2E8BetterCallSaul Better Call Saul]]", Saul told Walt and Jesse that if shanking Badger in prison was off the table, one of them would go to jail regardless of the solution they take to free Badger. Ironically, ''Series/BetterCallSaul'' ends with [[spoiler:[[Recap/BetterCallSaulS6E13SaulGone Jimmy going to jail though with]] WordOfGod [[Recap/BetterCallSaulS6E13SaulGone that he’ll get out on good behavior,]] [[Recap/BreakingBadS5E16Felina in contrast to Walt dying from a stray gunshot]] [[Film/ElCamino and Jesse successfully fleeing to Alaska]]]].

* EvilIsSexy: Lydia Rodarte-Quayle is a DirtyCoward who would throw you under the bus in a heartbeat if it meant saving her own skin. That doesn't stop many fans from finding her attractive, on account of her being played by the perfectly lovely Creator/LauraFraser.

* ValuesDissonance: To an extent. Vince Gilligan has talked in the past about the difficulty that the studio had marketing the show outside of the US, since its entire premise rests on a detailed understanding of the US Healthcare system. In most other countries, where healthcare is subsidized by the government, Walter White turning to crime to support his family after his cancer diagnosis makes absolutely no sense in a country where [[JustEatGilligan he could just call a doctor and ensure that the government compensates for his family after he's gone.]] In the United States, however, where the healthcare industry is run for profit by private companies with little to no government regulation or interference and where medical expenses are the #1 leading cause of bankruptcy, having to turn to crime to protect your family from entering a financial black hole after medical treatment is [[RealismInducedHorror an entirely sympathetic and rational fear.]] Thankfully, many (if not most) non-Americans are aware of the US healthcare system’s problems, so the series still became quite popular. Hell, it even spawned a few memes around the potential AntiClimax ending ("Breaking Bad: Canada Edition") that mocks the US healthcare system for making a outlandish premise plausible.
* ValuesResonance: The show has gained more attention in the early years of the 2020s for its searing portrayal of toxic masculinity, particularly Walt's pride being dependent in large part on wanting to prove he can be successful and provide for his family all by himself without any handouts or "charity", Hank's denial of his own PTSD and lashing out at his wife when he's temporarily rendered paralyzed (and to say nothing of his insistence that he [[spoiler:be the one to take down Walt after discovering the truth]], CowboyCop style), and Gus' obsessive quest for revenge against Hector.

* CrossesTheLineTwice: The scene where Ted Beneke tries to escape from Huell and Kuby, only to slip on a carpet and crash headfirst into a counter. Huell and Kuby's nonchalanat reaction adds the cherry on top. What makes the whole thing ridiculous is the context of the scene. Huell and Kuby went to Ted's house simply to force him to ''pay his taxes'', with the money that Skyler donated to him and Ted started to spend elsewhere. He had no reason to escape because Huell and Kuby didn't try to hurt him and [[ShootTheShaggyDog he had already signed the check he was forced to sign anyway]]. Even after the reveal that [[DeathByFallingOver he was hospitalized and crippled for life]], the whole thing just further established Ted's reputation as a pathetic coward afraid to take responsibility.

* CrossesTheLineTwice: The scene where Ted Beneke tries to escape from Huell and Kuby, only to slip on a carpet and crash headfirst into a counter. Huell and Kuby's nonchalanet reaction adds the cherry on top. What makes the whole thing ridiculous is the context of the scene. Huell and Kuby went to Ted's house simply to force him to ''pay his taxes'', with the money that Skyler donated to him and Ted started to spend elsewhere. He had no reason to escape because Huell and Kuby didn't try to hurt him and [[ShootTheShaggyDog he had already signed the check he was forced to sign anyway]]. Even after the reveal that [[DeathByFallingOver he was hospitalized and crippled for life]], the whole thing just further established Ted's reputation as a pathetic coward afraid to take responsibility.

* CrossesTheLineTwice: The scene where Ted Beneke tries to escape from Huell and Kuby, only to slip on a carpet and crash headfirst into a counter. Huell and Kuby's MajorInjuryUnderreaction adds the cherry on top. What makes the whole thing ridiculous is the context of the scene. Huell and Kuby went to Ted's house simply to force him to ''pay his taxes'', with the money that Skyler donated to him and Ted started to spend elsewhere. He had no reason to escape because Huell and Kuby didn't try to hurt him and [[ShootTheShaggyDog he had already signed the check he was forced to sign anyway]]. Even after the reveal that [[DeathByFallingOver he was hospitalized and crippled for life]], the whole thing just further established Ted's reputation as a pathetic coward afraid to take responsibility.

* ValuesResonance: The show has gained more attention in the early years of the 2020s for its searing protrayal of toxic masculinity, particularly Walt's pride being dependent in large part on wanting to prove he can be successful and provide for his family all by himself without any handouts or "charity", Hank's denial of his own PTSD and lashing out at his wife when he's temporarily rendered paralyzed (and to say nothing of his insistence that he [[spoiler:be the one to take down Walt after discovering the truth]], CowboyCop style), and Gus' obsessive quest for revenge against Hector.

** Saul's [[EvenEvilHasStandards genuine disgust]] with Walt for [[spoiler:bombing a nursing home to kill Gus]] is made even more heartwarming after it's revealed that Jimmy specialised in elder law and had a great rapport with his elderly clients before becoming a "criminal lawyer".

* WhatDoYouMeanItsNotPolitical: While WordOfGod has stated that the show is a story of how "Mr. Chips became Scarface," the original driving force behind Walt's meth manufacturing, to help pay for his medical bills, has prompted pro-single payer health care advocates in the US to use the show to [[http://www.anorak.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/breaking-bad-in-the-UK.jpg highlight the issue of health care costs in the United States,]] as well as the War on Drugs. Even the creator has [[http://www.rollingstone.com/movies/news/bryan-cranston-on-the-joy-of-cooking-meth-obamacare-and-malcolm-in-the-middle-20110610 claimed]] that the show could not be set anywhere else but the United States[[note]]At least until the Mexican remake "Metastasis" was set in Colombia[[/note]].

** Walt himself spends the entire series gradually tip-toeing over the line. He arguably crossed it in "Phoenix" when he allowed Jane to choke to death on her vomit, and then went even father in "Face-Off" when he [[spoiler:non-lethally poisoned Brock, a young child, in order to manipulate Jesse over to his side and kill Gus. The latter is not only one of his most heinous acts, but it's the one that goes on to haunt him the most over time]].

** If you find out a family member is involved in criminal activities, kick them out of your life and report them to the authorities immediately; associating with them is only putting yourself and your loved ones in danger. Early on, Jesse’s parents kick him out of his deceased aunt’s house when they discover a meth lab he built in the basement. However, they didn’t report the meth lab to the cops, so Jesse and Saul are able to blackmail them in order to buy the house back when they try to sell the house. Skyler goes along with Walt's schemes despite knowing they're wrong [[{{Greed}} simply because of how much money is being made]]. [[spoiler: Not only does Skyler lose her brother-in-law, her sister’s respect, and her reputation once shit hits the fan, she nearly gets railroaded by the feds and almost loses custody of her kids. Flynn cutting his father out of his life after finding out about his father’s crimes in the antepenultimate episode, as well as calling the cops on Walt after he protects Skyler from him and refusing to take any of his illegal drug money, means he’s in a much better position]]. Meanwhile, [[spoiler:Hank not going to the DEA with the reveal that Walt is Heisenberg and instead trying to take him down himself (or at the very least, not calling the DEA for backup once he had conclusive evidence against him) leads to him and Gomez getting killed by the Neo-Nazis, Jesse’s horrible 6-month enslavement, and most of the evidence he gathered against Walt’s involvement with the Neo-Nazis being destroyed]].

** Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Depression are serious conditions and needs treatment by psychiatric professionals. Nearly ALL the main characters suffer from both at various points in the story, and all choose to try toughing it out on their own, which only leads to their mental conditions deteriorating further. For instance, Hank suffers PTSD from killing Tuco, but rather than getting help, he accepts a hazardous reassignment and gets traumatized even further.
** In dangerous situations, it's best to quit while you're ahead. Early on, Walt calculates the exact amount he needs to make in order to ensure his family will survive without him, but as Jesse points out in Season 5, Walt crosses that amount very early on yet refuses to simply get out - and when he does get out, it's because he's made so much money that it's literally impractical for him to keep going. If he had gotten out of the business as soon as he could rather than let his pride dictate his actions, [[spoiler:he wouldn't have lost everything he ever loved and died alone]].
** If you find out a family member is involved in crime, kick them out of your life and report them to the authorities immediately, since associating with them is only putting yourself and your loved ones in danger. Early on, Jesse’s parents kick him out of his deceased aunt’s house when they discover a meth lab he built in the basement. However, they didn’t report the meth lab to the cops, so Jesse and Saul are able to blackmail them in order to buy the house back when they try to sell the house. Skyler goes along with Walt's schemes despite knowing they're wrong [[{{Greed}} simply because of how much money is being made]]. [[spoiler: Not only does Skyler lose her brother-in-law, her sister’s respect, and her reputation once shit hits the fan, she nearly gets railroaded by the feds and almost loses custody of her kids. Flynn cutting his father out of his life after finding out about his father’s crimes in the antepenultimate episode, as well as calling the cops on Walt after he protects Skyler from him and refusing to take any of his illegal drug money, means he’s in a much better position]]. Meanwhile, [[spoiler: Hank not going to the DEA with the reveal that Walt is Heisenberg and instead trying to take him down himself (or at the very least, not calling the DEA for backup once he had conclusive evidence against him) leads to him and Gomez getting killed by the Neo-Nazis, Jesse’s horrible 6-month enslavement, and most of the evidence he gathered against Walt’s involvement with the Neo-Nazis being destroyed]].

** AMC was very doubtful that the show would amount to anything. Even its creator, Creator/VinceGilligan, didn't know if it would work. One executive described the idea of a high school chemistry teacher turning meth dealer, "the single worst idea for a television show [he'd] heard in [his] whole life". While it got mediocre ratings for most of its run, they eventually exploded at the end, and it remained critically acclaimed for its entire run, climaxing with almost universal adoration with its final episodes. Nevermind that it's also spawned tons of merchandise and [[Series/BetterCallSaul a successful spinoff]].
** Character-wise, Peter Gould was reportedly very anxious about introducing Saul Goodman to the universe, as they needed some levity but he was worried it would be like introducing Bozo the Clown to ''Film/{{Scarface}}''. Not only did Saul become an EnsembleDarkhorse, but he got a prequel which made him a TragicVillain too.

* AwardSnub: Frequently the cause of this to other shows, especially at the UsefulNotes/{{Emmy Award}}s, where if Creator/BryanCranston was nominated for Best Actor, you can bet he'd win it (in particular, ''Series/FridayNightLights'' fans were very grateful for the two year gap between Seasons 3 and 4, which allowed Kyle Chandler to win for that show's last season).

** Walter himself. On one hand, there are the people who see him as a badass anti-hero who does terrible things for [[JustifiedCriminal the sake of his family]], and believe that he really does care for them. On the other hand are the people who also view his [[MoralEventHorizon increasingly crueler actions]] as a byproduct of his ego swelling to a dangerous degree, and believe that he's become just as bad, if not worse, than Gus and the Cartel. Even [[http://collider.com/bob-odenkirk-jonathan-banks-aaron-paul-breaking-bad-season-5-interview/182937/ some members of the cast have sharply divided opinions on the character.]] It has become so bad that by the end of 5B, the base has nearly shattered completely by people who do and don't want him to succeed.
** Skyler might be one of the biggest base breaking characters in all of television. Especially in Seasons 4 and 5. She's either a JerkassWoobie who takes a lot of abuse to protect her family while providing a lot of emotional depth and [[MemeticMutation meme-worthy]] lines, or a hypocritical [[VillainProtagonist Villain Tritagonist]] with no right to take the moral high ground when she argues with Walt. She's a particularly interesting case, in that most of the hate against her stems primarily from her constantly opposing and arguing with her DracoInLeatherPants of a husband, who is praised as one of the best characters ever by fans willing to [[DracoInLeatherPants ignore]] or [[EvilIsCool embrace]] all his evil deeds because he's a "badass", while his wife is bashed and hated for being a "bitch".
** Though not quite as polarizing as Walt or Skyler, Jesse also qualifies for this status. One half of the fandom believes that he's the biggest [[TheWoobie Woobie]] in the entire show, and that he deserves a happy ending, whilst the other half believe that he's nearly as bad as Walt and believe that he should share whatever fate befalls Walt. The divide grew even bigger as of Season 5B. Is he [[spoiler:a noble soul trying to find redemption by helping Hank catch Walt, or is he a whiny bitch and a rat who keeps blaming Walt for everything bad that happens to him because he can't take responsibility for his own actions? Or a man pushed to the edge by trauma seeking vengeance? And is said revenge justified or petty?]] You decide!
*** Some see Jesse as an incompetent idiot that needs people like Walt and Gus to keep him in line before he self-destructs and ends up in jail due to being impulsive and reckless with his criminal behavior. Others defend Jesse by pointing out a reason he tends to act so impulsive is ''because'' of the emotional abuse and manipulation he suffers from people like Walt and Gus, and if they didn't treat Jesse like an incompetent idiot he probably wouldn't lash out as much as he does.
** Hank joined the list in Season 5B, for reasons similar to Jesse. Some believe that [[spoiler:his quest to take down Walt at all cost is a justified one. Others believe that his obsessiveness and desire to best Heisenberg have made him barely any better than Walt, and that he is driven more by ego rather than an actual desire to do good.]]
** Marie Schrader. Fans who hate her feel that she never shuts up, and that what she says is usually irrelevant and self-centered. Other fans feel that, while she can be annoying in early seasons, it's more humorous than genuinely grating, and that her development over the course of the series makes her into a genuinely likable person. [[spoiler: The fact that, come ''Better Call Saul'', her cameo appearance in the final season led to much rejoicing from the fanbase, it appears that even more viewers appreciate her character than first assumed.]]

* BetterOnDVD: Has been hailed by many as arguably the ultimate example. Watching the show on DVD or Netflix lets you enjoy the show without the horrible feeling fans got at the end of each episode when they had to wait another week to see what happened next, in addition to spotting all of the {{Foreshadowing}} and symbolism. In fact, Vince Gilligan himself gives Netflix, and binge watching in general, major credit for seeing the show's massive jump in viewers in its final year.

** Over "[[Recap/BreakingBadS3E10Fly 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. Most people are at least in agreement that it doesn't really advance the plot of the show very much, unlike [[ContinuityLockout just about every other episode]].

** While the second half of Season 5 is almost universally loved and the first half is still well liked there is a disagreement between those that believe the plot line of the first 8 episodes was rushed and could have filled a full 13 episode season and those who like those episodes specifically ''because'' of the faster pacing.

** There are also some who feel that the finale focused too much on Walter and does not feature the other main characters enough. Jesse in particular only appears in a short role -- though in his case, it was more than made up for with the sequel film, ''Film/ElCamino''. ''Series/BetterCallSaul'''s finale also helped alleviate this by providing more of a conclusion for Saul and [[spoiler:Marie]].

** [[spoiler:Mike assassinating Leonel Salamanca in the hospital]] is pretty cathartic if you watched ''Series/BetterCallSaul'', since it's revealed [[spoiler:the Cousins [[WouldHurtAChild threatened to assassinate Mike's granddaughter]].]]

** Skyler White was a major BaseBreakingCharacter for a good while thanks to her opposition towards Walter's participation in the meth trade and her role in his eventual downfall. "Fuck Skyler" was a popular fan catchphrase during the show's run, and the sentiment stuck around for nearly a decade after its conclusion. However, when the publicity towards ''Film/ElCamino'' and the final season of the prequel series ''Series/BetterCallSaul'' brought renewed attention to ''Breaking Bad'', people started criticizing Walter's fanbase as running off a very generous DracoInLeatherPants interpretation of him, and in turn, Skyler was widely reevaluated as being a victim of Walter's actions. Consequently, while she still remains divisive, she has a much bigger number of supporters compared to in 2013.

* CrossesTheLineTwice: The scene where Ted Beneke tries to escape from Huell and Kuby, only to slip on a carpet and crash headfirst into a counter. Huell's and Kuby's MajorInjuryUnderreaction adds the cherry on top. What makes the whole thing ridiculous is the context of the scene. Huell and Kuby went to Ted's house simply to force him to ''pay his taxes''. No less, with the money that Skyler donated him to ''pay his taxes'' and Ted started to spend elsewhere. He had no reason to escape because Huell and Kuby didn't try to hurt him and [[ShootTheShaggyDog he had already signed the check he was forced to sign anyway]]. Even after the reveal that [[DeathByFallingOver he was hospitalized and crippled for life]], the whole thing just further enstablished Ted's repuation as a pathetic coward afraid to take responsability.
* DesignatedVillain: Jesse’s parents are shown as uncaring people who are more concerned about how his actions affect them. However, anyone who been through the horror of having an addict in their family will tell you there comes a point where you have to just let them go and make it clear that either they get serious about getting clean or they have to stay away. Every time we see them we hear things like “we can’t go through this again” or Jesse saying “not another intervention”, indicating that they did try very hard to get him clean in the past. When we first meet them, they reluctantly allow Jesse to stay with them until they think he brought a joint into their house, which is not an unreasonable conclusion.

** Skyler mostly got the RonTheDeathEater treatment during the original run of the show, but over the years she's RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap with old viewers starting to sympathize with her... and to make up for the infamous hate she (and her actress) used to receive, now many fans see her as a saintly woman who suffers from an abusive husband and blatantly ignore her obvious flaws like her hypocrisy and greed.
** Jesse also gets a good deal of DracoInLeatherPants from people -- apparently, realizing that you're a bad guy but continuing to cook meth and doing bad things that aren't as bad as the other criminals you work with makes you a good person. Actually discussed in-episode: when Jesse wants out of the operation with his cut of the money, Walt points out that it's still drug money he'd be taking and asks why he would want it if he's [[LampshadeHanging "so pure, with such emotional depth"]]. To Jesse’s credit though, after he gets the money he actually takes what Walt said at face value and he tries to rid himself of it. Peter Gould confessed in the "Gloves Off" podcast that this tendency crossed over to the writer's room, as they liked Jesse so much they were mentally absolving him of everything he did.
** Even Gus gets this treatment to some extent, with some fans seeing him as a BrokenBird who was driven to evil by the Cartel's [[spoiler:murdering his business partner, who is also loosely implied to have been his lover]], ignoring the fact that he was shown to already be a meth dealer even before this happened, and is implied to have had a dark past of some kind in Chile (though the latter one's never actually elaborated on, probably contributing to Gus being seen this way). Even after [[Series/BetterCallSaul revealing]] that he had sociopathic tendencies as a child (torturing an animal to death for eating his fruit), people still defend him and blame all his faults on the Cartel. Some fans even blame Walt for ruining their business relationship, even though Gus basically forced him into it and was clearly planning on getting rid of him as soon as he became unable to work. They also seem to forget that Gus started their feud by having a child ''murdered'' and not understanding Walt's decision to save Jesse when he tried avenging that child.

** Many fans like to forget that Mike technically is a villain. Some downplays his villainy and others even goes as far to say that he doesn’t even count as a villain at all, despite the fact that he is a [[ProfessionalKiller cold-blooded murderer]] working for a drug lord and has no problems with killing people if he is paid for it, which makes it hard to argue for why he actually would be any less villainous than any other characters.
** Many try to paint Saul as a victim who only did terrible things because he was afraid of Walt, ignoring that he tried to convince Walt to come back to cooking when he had quit and repeatedly suggested Walt kill people so he could save himself from going to prison. This tendency got more pronounced after ''Series/BetterCallSaul'' detailed how "Saul" is a mask for a very traumatised, self-loathing man, so people will forget all the sleaze and cowardice.
** While Hank isn't evil, many fans like to ignore his flaws such as his hypocritical behavior, like when he thought Hugo the janitor was a scumbag for smoking weed but was perfectly fine smoking illegal cuban cigars. His poor treatment of Marie in Season 4 is often forgotten, ignored, or justified due to his mental state. This is especially true in Season 5 where he tries force Skyler into a confession and shows no concern over Jesse's possible death. Regardless of his methods, it's questionable whether we should side with him in his investigation as his primary motive seems to be spite against Walt. While Walt should be punished for his actions, it doesn't seem like any lives would be improved by Hank catching him after he retired. By going solo in his quest to bring down Walt, then later roping in Gomez but not involving the DEA, [[spoiler:he got Gomez and himself killed.]] He was aware of whom Walt had killed and that he must still have allies, yet took Gomez into a deadly situation without arranging any backup, entirely because he personally wanted to take Walt down. He is also shown taking advantage of his power to bully Wendy the prostitute for no other reason than he can. He’s also an unrepentant casual racist. All the way back in the pilot, his mean spirited mocking of Walt and disdain for his life is part of what pushed Walt into Heisenberg in the first place. Despite all of this, many ''Breaking Bad'' fans will tell you that Hank's some kind of saint.

* EscapistCharacter: Walter White is an interesting version. He's a lower middle-class teacher who gets crapped on in every possible way, including getting cancer...and he completely manages to turn his life around by living a double life as a badass drug dealer, getting wealthy, and commanding the respect of hardened criminals. A lot of people can identify with his initial hardships, and so we root for him when he starts kicking ass. As the show goes on, this makes it all the more disturbing when he gradually loses touch with his humanity, his family dissolves, and he begins indiscriminately killing anyone who gets in his way--becoming a VillainProtagonist. Because we're encouraged to identify with him in the beginning, his downfall carries the implication that ''we'' could go bad just as easily as him [[WhatYouAreInTheDark if given the chance]]. Interestingly, Walt's Escapist Character status ends up working as something of a SecretTestOfCharacter for the audience. As Walt gradually begins committing more heinous acts over the course of the series, there will inevitably come a point when the audience stops fantasizing about ''being'' him and starts seeing him as the villain--probably when he finally does something that the viewer would never do. By pinpointing his MoralEventHorizon, we also end up learning how far ''we'' would really go if we were put in his shoes and forced to make life-or-death decisions to survive in the criminal underworld.
* EveryoneIsJesusInPurgatory: Would be an understatement for fans of this show. Literally every aspect has been analysed by the fandom for some sort of meaning, from the RV to everyone's fashion choices to coffee mugs to the fact that Walt wears white briefs. One reddit user decided to take this up to eleven by trying to find tongue-in-cheek symbolism for every item in the [[http://i.imgur.com/M6nGsJy.jpg restaurant scene]] from "[[Recap/BreakingBadS5E11Confessions Confessions]]".

** [[VillainProtagonist Walter White]], a.k.a the notorious "Heisenberg", goes from being Mr. Chips to Scarface. While he may have an ego at the size of Jupiter, he nevertheless proves his brilliance multiple times over the course of the show. Not only is he a master chemist, but also a surprisingly skilled engineer and strategist and uses his wits to comes up with all sorts of plans and traps that are crazy enough to work. [[spoiler: Even at the time of his downfall, he doesn’t quite give up as he tries to make up for the mistakes he made as best as he can and eliminates the remaining bad guys before he dies]].
** [[AffablyEvil Mike]] [[AntiVillain Ehrmantraut]] is a former beat cop who uses his skills from police training to survive in the criminal underworld. He is shown to be a very skilled detective, gunman and tactician. The high light of this arguably goes to the scene when he takes out an entire hit-squad [[OneManArmy on his own]].
** [[ProfessionalKiller Marco and Leonel Salamanca]] are mute hitmen who reach the trope for their intimidating, precise and professional nature.
** [[BigBad Gustavo Fring]], a MagnificentBastard, is a [[TheChessmaster brilliant]] and [[FauxAffablyEvil sophisticated]] mobster who is basically the ideal drug lord personified. He has almost single-handedly built up a drug empire and took out the entire Juarez Cartel, whom murdered his partner. He is the man Walt wishes he was.

** Heisenberg. If you paid attention in chemistry, this would bring to mind the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle. If you studied German history, Walt's similarities to Werner Heisenberg are incredible. Especially in Season 5, where Walt works with a group of Nazis.

** In many later episodes, Walt is frequently compared to the American poet Creator/WaltWhitman. If you know a little bit about Whitman, it's even funnier to watch Gretchen rubbing Walt's bald head and commenting "You've got a good-shaped head!" Whitman was a notable advocate for phrenology, a pseudoscience which holds that the shape of a person's skull is indicative of their mental aptitude.

** Many people agree that while it was tightly plotted, compelling and contained an incendiary performance from Bryan Cranston, Season 1 suffered from having its run truncated by the Writers' Strike. Season 2 picked up at exactly the point Season 1 left off and went on to exceed all viewer expectations, not only developing Walt and Jesse as characters, but giving ostensibly ancillary characters (from [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold Hank]], Skyler and even [[EvenBadMenLoveTheirMamas Tuco]]) an unexpected depth. [[InsufferableGenius Walter]] himself, started as a mildly complex character in the first season, but the second season began adding a massive amount of depth and layers that eventually made him one of the most complex characters ever put on television. Add to this the addition of Bob Odenkirk as [[BunnyEarsLawyer Saul Goodman]], Jonathan Banks as [[HitmanWithAHeart Mike Ehrmantraut]] and Giancarlo Esposito as [[MagnificentBastard Gustavo "Gus" Fring]]. The pace of the show markedly picks up from the beginning of Season 2, with every episode feeling like an 'end of season cliffhanger'. While Season 1 was great, Season 2 onwards was as addictive as, well... crystal meth. From there, it never looked back, eventually ending with one of the most critically acclaimed final seasons in TV history.

*** All the scenes with Mike and his granddaughter became rather harder to watch after ''Series/BetterCallSaul'' revealed exactly why he's so devoted to her: For one thing, [[spoiler:her mother isn't his daughter, but rather, his daughter-in-law and late son's wife.]]
*** In "[[Recap/BreakingBadS3E11Abiquiu Abiquiu]]" , Skyler skeptically looks over Saul's degree from the University of American Samoa, which is PlayedForLaughs, a way of emphasizing what a tacky and fraudulent lawyer Saul is. Knowing the struggle, the heartache, and the eventual betrayal related to that degree from ''Better Call Saul'' will undoubtedly make that scene much less funny on future viewings.

*** Saul's fear of Lalo becomes a lot less funny after "[[Recap/BetterCallSaulS6E7PlanAndExecution Plan & Execution]]" where it's revealed that [[spoiler:not only did he not know Lalo was alive until he showed up in his apartment, but within minutes of getting there he executed Howard Hamlin right before him.]] There's also "[[Recap/BetterCallSaulS6E8PointAndShoot Point and Shoot]]", where [[spoiler: he's held hostage by Lalo, and repeats the same plea that he hasn't done anything before a gag is shoved in his mouth.]]

*** In "Sunset" Saul has Francesca call Hank and pose as a member of hospital staff, telling him Marie has been seriously injured in a car crash. Saul looks uncharacteristically guilty afterward as if he feels his actions have crossed a line. This seems more understandable after watching the ''Better Call Saul'' episode "Fall", where we learn that [[spoiler:the love of his life almost died in a car crash]].

*** Saul’s frequent MurderIsTheBestSolution references become more disturbing when [[spoiler: he and Kim indirectly got Howard Hamlin killed, he was tied down and ended up lying besides the man’s corpse, and it broke him and Kim up]], the final straw to make him Saul in the first place.
*** Even Saul’s “greatest lawyer” mug gets made tragic, as [[spoiler: everybody including him knew that Kim was a better lawyer than he was, and he gets said mug as soon as she quits the law business.]]

*** Saul deadpan repeating a line Mike constantly heard from abused wives ("deep down he really loves me") gets worse after learning how his emotionally abusive older brother Chuck really fucked him up, and one of the reasons why Mike hates Saul is because he knows Jimmy is trying to prove Chuck right by being his worst self.

*** There also exists some eerie similarities between Wayfarer 515 and the chain of events in January 2020 that led up to the crash of Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752. What happened in that case was that President Donald Trump (Walter White) first caused the death of Iranian general Qasem Soleimani (Jane Margolis), who was a very important personnel to Iran’s military (Donald Margolis), thus devastating them greatly. Yet, the latter party tried to do right by continuing their duties of protecting the sky. But in the process, they committed a fatal error, inadvertently downing a civilian aircraft, killing all on board. The main differences however being that UIA 752 was shot down due to the Iranian military misidentifying the airliner as a hostile US Force aircraft, whilst Wayfarer 515 collided with another plane in midair due to Donald Margolis’ failure to deal with Jane’s loss. Yet, disturbingly similar, both aircraft were Boeing 737s and the 167 occupants aboard both the Wayfarer and the other aircraft matched the exact number of the 167 passengers aboard UIA 752.

** Saul's loan out company turns out to be the name of Kim's favorite movie, the ''Series/BetterCallSaul'' writers confirming in "Amarillo" commentary that they combed over Saul scenes and added context to humanize him.

** Aaron Paul's next major TV role was as Eddie Lane in ''Series/ThePath''. Eddie, a convert to the Meyerist cult, still has a relatively ambiguous backstory with hints to illegal activity and drugs. That, combined with the fact that Eddie is portrayed to be at least 10 years older than Jesse Pinkman (older than Aaron Paul, who played far younger than his actual age with Jesse) has yielded several theories that "Eddie Lane" is the new identity assumed by fugitive Jesse.

** In 1999, Aaron Paul was in a [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kt6JI9gzECo&feature=kp Corn Pops commercial]] where his parents are trying to talk to him about acting responsibly and being a functioning member of society, but he's too distracted by a drug-like obsession with the cereal to listen. It plays oddly like an in-canon prequel to the show.

** During "[[Recap/BreakingBadS2E10Over Over]]", Jesse shows off several superhero ideas he had drawn as a kid, and asks Jane if she would ever want superpowers. One heated argument later, and she later draws a picture of herself as a superhero that she self-deprecatingly calls "Apology Girl". Come late 2014, and Creator/KrystenRitter would end up being cast in the Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse as the title role of [[ComicBook/JessicaJones Jessica Jones]] for their Creator/{{Netflix}} lineup.

*** Though it's worth noting that the original ''Machete'' concept was popularized by a fake trailer in the 2007 film ''Film/{{Grindhouse}}'', although that was originally conceptualized in the 90s, which lead to writer-director Robert Rodriguez putting the character in Film/SpyKids first. In that sense, it amounts to more of a ShoutOut.

** Even though they didn't get much screen time together, the closeness between Max and Gus, lampshaded by the comments Hector throws their way, could definitely count as well. Led to many "Is Gus Gay?" questions being asked.[[note]]Initially given the ShrugOfGod treatment where it was described as a valid interpretation of a deliberately ambiguous relationship, although WordOfGod much later confirms that they were unambiguously a couple.[[/note]]

* ItWasHisSled: Due to being one of the show's {{Signature Scene}}s, it has become well known that [[spoiler:Gus dies in an explosion that blows off half of his face.]] [[SpoiledByTheMerchandise Even the merchandise]] treats the scene as a LateArrivalSpoiler.

** Skyler as of Season 5, as Walt's sociopathic tendencies begin to seep into their home life. In Season 3, it's hard not to feel bad for her when Walt Jr. hates her guts for kicking out Walt... and she can't fight back because that would involve explaining Walt's new life in the drug trade.

** Thanks to heavy CerebusRetcon, Saul Goodman went from PluckyComicRelief who ended up having a VillainousBreakdown, to Jimmy [=McGill=] trying desperately to not be himself while faced with constant reminders (Skyler as a more sensible version of Kim for one) of his old life, and both recognises Jesse being abused but wants that for himself because Walt reminds him of Chuck. All that said, he's still awful, with being a misogynistic and racist sex pest, trying to throw Jesse under the bus, suggesting murder every five minutes and went into bed willingly with Walt because money, distraction and he couldn't deal with PTSD in any kind of adult way.

** Ted Beneke. His list of crimes? Avoiding paying his taxes, fucking Skyler, ''[[AmbiguousSituation maybe]]'' blackmailing Skyler, and [[TooDumbToLive being an idiot]]. In a show filled with cool, charismatic, threatening, and cunning criminals, Ted is a criminal with none of those qualities. While there are Skyler fans out there, there is not a single person in the ''Breaking Bad'' fandom who even remotely likes Ted, with everyone admitting he's an idiot.

** Hector Salamanca. One of the most ruthless villains on the show is also considered one it’s most iconic characters, since all he has is his facial expressions and his bell and delivered some very memorable moments with that. He also proved to be a very effective villain in ''Series/BetterCallSaul''.

** Walt, to those who don't strap him in leather pants. You won't found many who don't agree his more increasing megalomania deplorable nature and depth as a {{Villain Protagonist}} is a big drawing point of the show.

* MexicansLoveSpeedyGonzales: The majority of Hispanic characters in the show (barring Gomey and Andrea, who are both relatively minor players) are antagonistic cartel members, many of whom aren't even played by Hispanic actors and thus have hilariously bad Spanish, and the show's "[[WarmPlaceWarmLighting Mexico yellow filter]]" has become infamously memetic online... and yet the show is very much well-loved in Latin America, to the point of getting a shot-for-shot remake in Colombia, with plenty of memes on the Spanish/Portuguese-speaking internet originating from the show. Much of this might be due to how much the show absorbs from its Southwest US setting, including its Hispanic influence, as well as Walter eventually becoming [[HeWhoFightsMonsters no less brutal]] than his Hispanic rivals.

* SacredCow: The show is more than not regarded as not one of, but ''the'' greatest TV show of all time. Any criticism of the series result sin massive outcry from loyal fans.

** Skyler mostly got the RonTheDeathEater treatment during the original run of the show, but over the years she's RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap with old viewers starting to sympathize with her... and to make up for the infamous hate she (and her actress) used to recieve, now many fans see her as a saintly woman who suffers from an abusive husband and blatantly ignore her obvious flaws like her hypocrisy and greed.

** Walt himself spends the entire series gradually tip-toeing over the line, but he finally leaps over it in "Face-Off" when he [[spoiler:non-lethally poisons Brock, a young child, in order to manipulate Jesse over to his side and kill Gus. It's not only one of his most heinous acts, but it's the one that goes on to haunt him the most over time]].