Walt's Family (Walter White), Heisenberg's Empire (Saul Goodman), DEA and Police, Juarez Cartel, Los Pollos Hermanos, Madrigal Electromotive, Aryan Brotherhood, Other Criminals, Other Civilians
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Drug Enforcement Administration (Albuquerque)
Gomez
Special Agent Steven "Gomie" Gomez
"Wanna know how to say ‘get bent’ in Spanish?"
Portrayed By: Steven Michael Quezada
Appearances: Breaking Bad | Better Call Saul
Hank's closest friend in the DEA. Hank 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 but less competent than Hank.
- By-the-Book Cop: Or at least, generally more insistent on following proper police procedure than Hank is.
- The Confidant: Hank trusts him more than anyone, with the exception of Marie.
- Cheshire Cat Grin: To
memetic levels
- Cultural Posturing: A large part of his friendship with Hank. He gives as good as he gets.
- Deadpan Snarker: When your partner is Hank, you kind of have to be.Hank: "Alright, some of you already know my brother-in-law. He's a good man. The doctors are saying this operation has a real chance of helping him. Of course they're also saying they want to be paid in private islands, so dig deep. Biggest donation gets a six-pack of my very own Schraderbrau. Home brewed to silky perfection."Gomie: "Smallest donation gets two six-packs."
- Dying Moment of Awesome: Taking on Jack's gang with a shotgun despite being clearly outmatched by their automatic weapons.
- Foil: Many of the tropes mentioned here add up to "Hank's foil". Gomez is this to the extent that just about every suggestion he ever makes to Hank turns out to be wrong. Lampshaded when, while questioning Mike Ehrmantraut, Hank makes up a completely ridiculous theory about Mike's granddaughter being the muscle of Gus Fring's operation and attributes it to Gomez; Gomez doesn't even blink.
- Forgotten Fallen Friend: Refreshingly averted. With only a few exceptions, every time Hank is mentioned after his death, Gomez is mentioned as well, including when Walt gives Skyler the lottery ticket that has the coordinates of his burial site. When Saul Goodman is eventually prosecuted for helping Walt in the Better Call Saul series finale, the viewers not only see Marie return but are also introduced to Gomez's widow Blanca for the first time in-person, revealing the two of them are there together to seek justice for their husbands' murders.
- Happily Married: The few times we hear about his life outside of work (plus a few cast and crew interviews), we get this impression. In the Better Call Saul series finale, it's revealed that before his death, he had three children, and we finally see his wife.
- Hero Antagonist: Same as his partner Hank. He follows him in attempting to catch the elusive and increasingly brutal Heisenberg, unaware that he's actually Hank's in-law Walter White.
- In-Series Nickname: Gomie.
- Killed Offscreen: We last see Gomez in "To'hajiilee" holding his own with Hank against Jack's crew. At the start of "Ozymandias", Gomez is seen lying dead. Hank soon follows.
- Manly Facial Hair: Sports a nice goatee in the later seasons.
- Nice Guy: Hank gives him a lot of crap, but he never loses his cool. He also seems far more relaxed and cool with others around the office.
- Only Sane Man: In contrast to Hank's very emotional and at times, even morally questionable conduct, Gomez is about as professional as they come. Becomes even more apparent once he gets in on the Heisenberg case. He frequently questions Hank on his plans, and even threatens to go public with the case if it means that it gets solved.
- Pride: In season 4, Hank goads Gomez into conducting an extrajudicial search of the laundry that Hank believes hides Gus' meth lab, by insulting his abilities as a cop.
- Red Oni, Blue Oni: The blue to Hank's red.
- The Reliable One: He'll do almost anything to help out Hank, even going outside the law with him in the second half of season 5.
- Satellite Character: Apart from being extremely loyal to Hank and not entirely competent, we never learn too much about him and he's rarely seen without his partner.
- Token Enemy Minority: What Hank likes to regard him as.
- Undying Loyalty: Gomez is fully aware that Hank's actions in the second half of season 5 are bending the law at best, and that assisting in any way pretty much dooms his job, too. While he expresses some misgivings about Hank's plans, he backs his former partner absolutely and to his grave.
- Vitriolic Best Buds: For all their insults, it’s clear that he and Hank really do care about each other.
Merkert
ASAC George Merkert
"He's someone else completely. Right in front of me... right under my nose."
Portrayed By: Michael Shamus Wiles
The Assistant Special Agent in Charge (ASAC) of the Albuquerque DEA Unit, serving as the boss for Agents Hank Schrader and Steven Gomez.
- Benevolent Boss: He's good to those who work under him and is respected in return. His employees are clearly saddened to see him scapegoated about Gustavo Fring and Hank even makes clear they aren't letting him go without a farewell party.
- Da Chief: Merkert is the ASAC at the Albuquerque DEA unit until Season 5, when he's forced out.
- Foreshadowing: His relationship with Gustavo is extremely similar to Hank's with Walt, leading Hank to assume that arresting Walt would lead inevitably to Hank's dismissal."I had him out to my house. Fourth of July. We cooked out in the backyard. My son shucked the corn. My daughter cut up potatoes. Fring brought sea bass. Every time I grill it now, I make a little foil pouch, just like he showed me. That whole night, we were laughing, telling stories, and drinking wine. And he's somebody else completely. Right in front of me. Right under my nose."
- Foil: To Hank. Both of them are highly respected people within the DEA and are determined to get Heisenberg's Blue Sky meth off the streets at any cost. However, while Hank is a Cowboy Cop who bends and later outright breaks several laws to try to bring in who he thinks is involved with the case, Merkert is a strict Consummate Professional who acts logically and rationally for the most part. It's further contrasted in their two Internal Reveals: when Hank finds out who Heisenberg really is, he goes off the deep end just so he can capture his brother-in-law himself despite knowing that it will destroy his career, whereas Merkert simply resigns in disgrace because he's so ashamed of being completely fooled by Gustavo Fring's public persona.
- Put on a Bus: After Gus' death, he resigns from his post, as he's disappointed in himself for having had a close personal friendship with the man and not realized sooner that he was a drug lord.
- Reasonable Authority Figure: He's a pretty good boss, all things considered. He does suspend Hank, but he's largely sympathetic about it and from both a legal and professional standpoint, he didn't really have a choice.
- It Was with You All Along: He's shocked to discover that his long-time friend and pillar of the community Gustavo Fring was the biggest drug kingpin in Albuquerque.
- What the Hell, Hero?: Marie calls him out for suspending Hank and leaving him unarmed before the Cousins attacked. To be fair, Merkert couldn't have possibly seen it coming and he really had no alternative course of action given the situation at the time.
Drug Enforcement Administration (El Paso)
Ramey
SAC Ramey
Portrayed By: Todd Terry
Special Agent in Charge of the El Paso DEA branch.
- The Bus Came Back: He shows up for a couple of Season 2 episodes before disappearing, returning after Merkert resigns in Season 5.
- Da Chief: He heads up the El Paso branch of the DEA making him Merkert's, and later Hank's, immediate superior. Fittingly, he ends up butting heads with Hank during Season 5.
- Jerkass Has a Point: The audience may perceive him as an Obstructive Bureaucrat as he is by telling Hank to stop looking into the Heisenberg case, but he does rightly point out that Hank continuing to personally oversee one case is having a detrimental impact on the other cases his office handles. As the head of the Albuquerque DEA office, Hank has to oversee all their investigations, not get personally involved in his old one.
- Obstructive Bureaucrat: He grows impatient with the progress of the DEA's investigation into Mike Ehrmantraut, ordering the investigation closed.
- Police Are Useless: Apparently investigating the right-hand man of the biggest meth operation in the United States isn't worth DEA resources.
Vanco
Agent Vanco
Portrayed By: J.D. Garfield
A DEA agent in El Paso, he becomes Hank's partner when the latter is given a job there.
- An Arm and a Leg: Loses his leg to the infamous "Tortuga Bomb"
- Asshole Victim: It's hard to feel too sorry for him after he gets his leg blown off by a decapitated head turtle bomb. He still got off better than the Mexican official with whom he was badmouthing Hank to earlier, who was blown to pieces by the bomb.
- Jerkass: He's rude and condescending towards Hank, and can't even look Hank in the eyes when talking about how much he dislikes him, instead preferring to speak the insults in Spanish to a fellow agent.
- Hiding Behind the Language Barrier: Insults Hank while conversing with another agent in Spanish, which Hank is not fluent in.
- Put on a Bus: Without a leg.
Albuquerque Police Department
Detective Tim Roberts
APD Det. Tim Roberts
Portrayed By: Nigel Gibbs
A detective with the Albuquerque Police Department. He works closely with Hank Schrader and the D.E.A. under George Merkert's watch.
- The Bus Came Back: After a brief appearance in Season 2, he has a much more important role in Season 4.
- Chekhov's Gunman: Briefly shows up to help look for Walt in early Season 2. He comes back later as the detective investigating Gale's murder, and also becomes involved in the Gus Fring case.
- Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: Despite voicing his suspicions about Gus Fring to Hank, he quietly disappears from the narrative afterwards without really contributing much to the Fring investigation. Of course, at that point it's become a DEA investigation, so there's no reason for him to be overly involved.
- Friend on the Force: He's friends with Hank, and helps avoid Jurisdiction Friction between the APD and DEA. In addition to his help with the Gus Fring case, he also helps Marie avoid a theft charge due to her kleptomania.
- Police Are Useless: Averted, for the most part. He's the only one other than Hank who suspects that Gus Fring is the head of a vast meth empire, but his relatively low ranking means he can't do much about it.
- Small Role, Big Impact: Had he not asked Hank for help on the Gale Boetticher homicide, not only would Hank likely still be collecting minerals at his house, Hank probably never would have figured out that Walt was Heisenberg.
Kalanchoe & Munn
APD Dets. Kalanchoe & Munn
Portrayed By: Gonzalo Menendez & Jason Douglas
Two Albuquerque Police Department detectives who question Jesse on occasion.
- Bad Cop/Incompetent Cop: Both times they appear, they don't seem to grasp that they're in over their heads and generally have little idea what's going on. They also let Hank interrogate their suspect, blatantly violating police procedure.
- Bladder of Steel: Invoked. Munn justifies his ability to stay with Jesse in the interrogation room by saying he has a bladder the size of a hot water bottle.
- Friend on the Force: Downplayed, they don't have the same history and relationship with Hank as Roberts, but they still agree to let him question Jesse privately for a while, despite not being the proper procedure.
- Good Is Not Nice: To the point, were despite being detectives investigating a suspect, their demeanors make them come across as far more unlikeable than the criminals they investigate. In fact, you probably wouldn't put it past them to be a Dirty Cop pair given how slack they were with letting Hank interrogate Jesse.
- Hate Sink: They certainly give off the vibes of being antagonistic and sadistic to Jesse during both his interrogations and all but admit outright that they want Jesse to give them an excuse.
- Jerkass: Don't quite seem to grasp that antagonizing the person they're interrogating usually doesn't yield good results.
- Smug Snake: Overconfident and cocky with Jesse.
- Those Two Guys: Never seen without the other.
Getz
Det. Getz
Portrayed By: DJ Qualls
A young detective with the Albuquerque police department. He arrests Badger during an undercover operation, and later assists Hank and Gomez with the operation they think is to catch Heisenberg.
- Bad "Bad Acting": When going undercover as a drug addict, he ends up overplaying the part. Luckily for him, Badger ignores his gut instincts and sells him meth anyways.
- Butt-Monkey: Saul, Hank, and Badger of all people mock him mercilessly during his time on screen usually due to his youthful appearance, although Hank also makes a jab at his shoddy police work.
- Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: Does not appear again after Season 2 aside from an offhand mention by Tim Roberts in mid Season 4.
- Good Cop/Bad Cop: He attempts to act the part of the "Good Cop" during his interrogation of Badger.
- Improbable Age: Getz looks far too young to be a detective, which Saul lampshades immediately. Hank later refers to Getz as "Detective Doogie Howser". His youthful looks and slight frame are probably the reason he was chosen to go undercover as an addict. Ironically, Qualls was in his early 30s when playing the part, and typically plays younger characters.
- Lying to the Perp: Deliberately lies to Badger about the "cops have to answer truthfully if asked if they are a cop" myth, claiming it's a real law written in the constitution.
- Must State If You're a Cop: Deliberately invoked by him; he lied to Badger that he's not an undercover cop when he in fact is one, in order to trick him into offering meth so he gets busted.
- Perp Sweating: He tries interrogating Badger before being ushered out of the room by Saul.
- Undercover Cop Reveal: He baits Badger by getting the guy to fall for the old urban legend that undercover cops can't deny that they're cops when asked directly.
