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Schwartz Family

    Gretchen 

Gretchen Schwartz

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/schwartz_gretchen_8773.jpg
"What about the soul?"

Portrayed By: Jessica Hecht

"What happened to you? Really, Walt? What happened? Because this isn't you."

Walt's former college chemistry assistant and now co-owner of Gray Matter, a successful pharmaceutical company. Apparently a former romantic interest of Walt's, she is married to Walt's former partner and friend, Elliott Schwartz.


  • Amicable Exes: She tries to be this with Walt, but of course, stubborn Walt finds it difficult to hide his resentment.
  • Berserk Button: Implied given the slight but noticeable edge in her voice when confronting Walt in the restaurant about how he involved her and Elliot in the lie that they were paying for his medical bills when he never had any intention of taking their offer. His utter contempt and ungratefulness towards them made all but clear causes her to walk out of the establishment and Walt's life for good. At least, until the tail end of Season 5.
  • Big Fancy House: Gretchen and Elliott are seen in two different homes, both of them expensive and large as befitting their wealth. The second boasts a spiffy eastward view of the puesta de sol.
  • Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: This is what Walt believes her to be, although when determining whether or not this is true one definitely has to consider the source of the accusation.
  • Blatant Lies: Understandably downplays Walt's contributions to Gray Matter on the Charlie Rose show to merely contributing to the company's name.
  • The Bus Came Back: After a long absence, Gretchen and Elliott return in "Granite State" to do some PR clean-up on Charlie Rose.
  • Brainy Brunette: She's not just the arm candy of Walt and then Elliott. She's one of the founders of Gray Matter and a chemistry whiz in her own right.
  • Chekhov's Gunman: She returns in "Granite State", where Walt happens to catch her giving an interview with her husband. She tries to minimize Walt's involvement in the company, and thinks that the Walter White she personally knew is gone forever.
  • Fear Is the Appropriate Response: When Walter intrudes into their home and has what they believe snipers aimed at them.
  • Fiction 500: She's directly involved with Gray Matter, making her incredibly rich like her husband.
  • Happily Married: To Elliott, with whom she has an apparently stable marriage.
  • Laser-Guided Karma: To Walt, anyway. For most of the show, she's shown to be the more selfless of the two as she's quick to offer to pay for Walt's cancer treatment out of an appreciation for his role in Gray Matter's founding (which Walt refuses) and it's implied that their falling out which led to Walt leaving Gray Matter in the first place was largely Walt's own fault. In "Granite State", when she and Elliot actually do attempt to "cut Walt out" by downplaying his contributions to his company, Walt manages to track them down. Now, with the help of Skinny Pete and Badger, they will be remembering him for life.
  • Let Me Get This Straight...: In "Peekaboo":
    Gretchen: Let me just get this straight: Elliot and I offered to pay for your treatment, no strings attached – an offer which still stands by the way – and you turn us down out of pride, whatever. And then you tell your wife that in fact, we are paying for your treatment. Without our knowledge, against our will, you involve us in your lie, and you sit here and tell me that that is none of my business?
    [long pause]
    Walter: Yeah. That's pretty much the size of it.
  • Noodle Incident: Something happened between her and Walt that led to their breakup and his leaving Grey Matter. Walt views whatever happened as her and Elliot personally horribly wronging him. Word of God explained after the show's run that Gretchen and Elliott did nothing to Walt. While they were dating, Gretchen invited Walt to spend the Fourth of July at her home and he felt intimidated by her family's wealth. Not willing to be with someone he felt inferior to, he immediately broke up with her without giving her a reason and impulsively sold his company stocks and research to her for $5000. It was only after Gray Matters became a billion-dollar company did he start twisting the facts and accuse her of "stealing" his research.
  • Old Flame: To Walt. They dated back in their youth and the early days of Gray Matter, but the aforementioned Noodle Incident drove them apart, resulting in Walt leaving both Gretchen and his company.
  • Put on a Bus: Doesn't appear in the third and fourth seasons and returns in the final two episodes.
  • Silk Hiding Steel: We quickly learn who wears the pants around Casa Schwartz when Walt turns up unannounced. Elliott is sweating bullets and eagerly accepting Walt's terms, while Gretchen refuses to shake the intruder's hand (but does so when Elliott prods her from behind).
  • That Man Is Dead: While Heisenberg may still be out there, Gretchen is convinced the Walter White she knew so many years ago is gone forever. It no doubt didn't help that he told her to fuck off in their last conversation.

    Elliott 

Elliott Schwartz

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/schwartz_elliott_3409.jpg
"To Elliott: Sorry about the buckle rash. Eric Clapton."

Portrayed By: Adam Godley

Walter's old college science partner and co-owner of Gray Matter, a successful pharmaceutical company co-founded by Walter. He is married to Gretchen Schwartz.


  • Ambiguously Jewish: He has a Jewish name ("Elliott" is believed by some to derive from the Hebrew "Elijah", while "Schwartz" is a common Ashkenazi last name), but it's never brought up in the story.
  • Big Fancy House: Gretchen and Elliott are seen in two different homes, both of them expensive and large as befitting their wealth.
  • Blatant Lies: He discredits Walt's contributions to Gray Matter in a TV interview with Charlie Rose, which is blatantly false. However, this is the first thing most company owners would do in such a situation to protect their reputation.
  • The Bus Came Back: In "Granite State" and "Felina".
  • Chekhov's Gunman: Returns in "Granite State", where Walt happens to catch him giving an interview in which he dismisses Walt's contributions to the firm as next to none, which convinces Walt not to surrender and return to Albuquerque.
  • Evil Former Friend: Averted, but Walt sees him as this. Walt believes that Elliott "betrayed" him, stole his girlfriend, and made the fortune that should have been Walt's. In reality, Elliott seems like a pleasant enough guy who's willing to pay for Walt's treatments. It's possible this is more a case of Downplayed Trope than an outright aversion, as in "Granite State" Elliott goes on TV and marginalizes his former colleague's contributions to his company after Walt goes into hiding. As noted above, though, this isn't entirely unreasonable behavior for the owner of a large company trying to do damage control in light of the discovery that one of its founders was an acquaintance of one of the most wanted men in America. In addition, it's revealed that the whole "stole his girlfriend" is Blatant Lies as Walt broke up with Gretchen and sold his shares simply because he felt insecure around her wealthy family and wanted to cut bridges without telling anyone.
  • Fear Is the Appropriate Response: When Walter intrudes into their home and has what they believe snipers (actually Badger and Skinny Pete with laser pointers) aimed at them.
  • Fiction 500: He's renowned as a billionaire pharmaceutical king. Specifically, Grey Matter Technologies is said to be worth $2.16 billion ("with a b") by Walt.
  • Happily Married: He has a nice, stable marriage to Gretchen.
  • Improvised Weapon: "Get back, ruffian! Or I'll.... poke you with this cheese knife!"
  • Just One Little Mistake: Two instances over the course of the show:
    • In "Gray Matter", he unwittingly torpedoes his attempt at reconciling with Walt by saying the wrong thing at the wrong time when he offers to hire him, emphasizing the medical insurance, as opposed to emphasizing needing Walt for his intelligence.
    • In "Granite State", he and Gretchen downplay Walt's role in the founding of Gray Matter in an attempt to cover their own reputations (given that Walt is now a wanted man). This unwittingly leads Walt right to them and allows him to exact his revenge by coercing them into laundering his remaining money (and giving them a reason to constantly look over their shoulders for the rest of their lives).
  • Manchild: His birthday party smacks of this, with Skyler even commenting on his childish decision to open his presents in front of everyone one by one.
  • Nice Guy: He's a Sheep in Sheep's Clothing who only wanted to help Walter White provide for his family.
  • Put on a Bus: To a greater extent than Gretchen after Season 1, who at least made a quick return in Season 2 when confronting Walt on his lies and had earlier appeared in "...And the Bag's in the River" before their formal debut. Elliot himself only came back when the fifth and final season was entering its last chapter.
  • Protect This House: Subverted. He is completely unable to defend himself and his wife from Walter, being much too frightened to do so.
  • Self-Made Man: The Schwartzes claim this in "Granite State", in order to dissociate themselves from Walt and his contributions to Gray Matter.
  • Underestimating Badassery: Inverted. He folds rather quickly before Walt, who has never been a particularly good fighter and is emancipated and dying from cancer at the time.
  • We Used to Be Friends: A one-sided example. To say Walt feels acrimonious to Elliott is an understatement.

Margolis Family

    Jane 

Jane Margolis

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/JaneMargolis_863.jpg
"Do right by Jesse tonight or I will burn you to the ground."

Portrayed By: Krysten Ritter

Appearances: Breaking Bad | El Caminonote 

"Well, then why should we do anything more than once? Should I just smoke this one cigarette? Maybe we should only have sex once if it's the same thing. Should we just watch one sunset? Or live just one day? It's new every time, each time is a different experience."

Jane Margolis was Jesse's neighbor/landlord/girlfriend. She was a tattoo artist who ironically had no tattoos of her own, and also was a recovering addict. Although she first appeared aloof, she and Jesse soon became a couple, a fact which she hid from her father, Donald, the owner of the building in which she and Jesse lived.


  • Birth-Death Juxtaposition: She dies the same episode in which Holly is born.
  • "Blackmail" Is Such an Ugly Word: Zigzagged. When Walt asks about the purpose of Jane's call over Jesse's money, she insists that it is doing right by Jesse and "getting off your ass and being a decent human being." After Walt starts ranting about how she contacted him through his and Skyler's number and if Jane herself should talk about moral decency given she and Jesse are just going to use that money to buy more heroin, ordering them to get clean first before he sends in that money, she drops all pretense and relents to saying it's blackmail with what she knows about him.
  • The Bus Came Back: Jesse fantasizes she were still alive and right next to him as he was driving on the road to Alaska in El Camino.
  • Call-Forward: She says "I think I just threw up in my mouth a little" in a flashback.
  • The Cameo: Appears briefly in a flashback in El Camino.
  • Commitment Issues: Hinted early on when Jesse asks why Jane, a tattoo artist, doesn't have tattoos, to which she answers that it's "too big a commitment". Later, when her father picks her up to go to rehab, she acts like a total stranger to Jesse, with Jesse suspecting that she's not as committed to their relationship as he is. They make amends, however, and Jesse and Jane go steady.
  • Deadpan Snarker: She has a very deadpan, fast-quip sense of humor.
  • Gold Digger: Possibly in love with Jesse for his money.
  • Hoist by His Own Petard: If she hadn't blackmailed Walt, he may not have come over and shaken Jesse while the two of them were nodded out, thus causing her to roll onto her back. Even if he had, Walter likely wouldn't have let her die just for being a bad influence on Jessie alone.
  • Hope Spot: She and Jesse dream of going clean and running away together with $480,000, but it's all clearly the delusions of addicts. Sure enough, she dies that very night.
  • Ignored Epiphany: She tells Jesse that they need to get clean and get rid of their drugs. Unfortunately, they decide to get high instead.
  • Lady Macbeth: Tries to convince Jesse to turn on Walt when he won't give him his share of the money, and it almost works. Too bad she dies before the plan can come to fruition.
  • The Lost Lenore: Although her presence in the show is a relatively short-lived one, her death deeply affects Jesse, and his guilt over it shapes a lot of his behavior during the third season. Notably, during the events of El Camino, she is the one Jesse fantasizes is still with him in Alaska.
  • Manic Pixie Dream Girl: Well, crosses out the "manic" part, but she serves as this to Jesse. She is arguably the one who is able to get him out of his funk after his confrontation with Spooge and his woman, and Jesse is perhaps the happiest we've ever seen him be when he and Jane are together. However, her desire to keep Jesse a secret from her father, coupled with Jesse's reaction to Combo's death, leads to the relationship taking a much more tragic turn.
  • Manipulative Bitch: Becomes this after falling Off the Wagon, blackmailing Walt, and scheming with Jesse.
  • Misplaced a Decimal Point: Jesse mentions that Walt owes him money. She asks how much, and Jesse says "Four eighty". She says she'd be pissed too if someone owed her almost $500, whereupon Jesse clarifies that he meant $480 thousand.
  • Ms. Fanservice: Quite noticeable during her post-coitus scenes with Jesse.
  • Not So Above It All: After falling Off the Wagon, her level-headed personality goes out the window and she becomes significantly more conniving and irrational.
  • 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.
  • Raven Hair, Ivory Skin: Her complexion is part of what contributes to her Perky Goth image.
  • Statuesque Stunner: She's a tall, beautiful woman... which Jesse absolutely notices.
  • Sugar-and-Ice Personality: When Jesse first meets her, she acts rather aloof towards him. However, after they become a couple, we see a much bubblier side of her personality. Perhaps the biggest example of this comes during Over, in which she callously dismisses Jesse to her father as "just a tenant", but then gives Pinkman an "Apology Girl" drawing.

    Donald 

Donald "Don" Margolis

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/margolis_donald_8260.png
"You can't give up on [family]. Never. I mean, what else is there?"

Portrayed By: John de Lancie

Jane's father. He works as an air-traffic controller and owns the building his daughter managed for him. He sent Jane to rehab once before and goes with her to recovery meetings.


  • Ambiguously Jewish: The surname Margolis is generally one held by Jewish people of Ashkenazi descent.
  • Butt-Monkey: Loses his daughter, then shortly thereafter becomes the public face of a major and widely reported tragedy.
  • Chance Meeting Between Antagonists: He meets Walt inside a bar and they have a conversation. Walt doesn't find out that he's Jane's father until he sees his face again on the news.
  • Chekhov's Gunman: His job plays a major role in the Season 2 finale.
  • Despair Event Horizon: Crosses this after Jane dies; afterward, it's all downhill.
  • Driven to Suicide: Tried to shoot himself after causing the plane crash at the end of Season 2. It's uncertain if he ultimately survived or not. Though considering Jesse didn't mention him to Saul when trying to give his money away to those he had hurt, it's assumable that he did in fact die.
  • Drowning My Sorrows: In the midst of his turmoil regarding Jane and Jesse's house life, he ironically happens to drink with Walt.
  • Nice Guy: Has a couple of ill-tempered moments, but by the standards of the series he's a decent human being.
  • Outliving One's Offspring: His daughter dies of a heroin overdose. Worse, the poor man arrives at their apartment right when EMTs are putting her into a body bag.
  • Papa Wolf: Subverted. Don is a permissive father who tries to lay down the law on his daughter, but ultimately caves.
  • Uncertain Doom: A radio report mentions that he was rushed to the hospital after a suicide attempt. Walt switches to another station. The show never confirms if he was successful. This is the final mention of Don.
  • Unwitting Instigator of Doom: His comment to Walt in the penultimate episode of the second season about how one can't give up on one's family was what convinced Walt to visit Jesse one more time, triggering the chain of events that resulted in Jane's death and, ultimately, the Wayfarer 515 disaster.

Pinkman Family

    The Pinkmans 

Diane Pinkman & Adam Pinkman

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/oxcf9ja.jpg

Portrayed By: Tess Harper & Michael Bofshever

Appearances: Breaking Bad | El Camino

The (overbearing) parents of Jesse and Jake.


  • The Bus Came Back: They have a minor role in El Camino.
  • Education Mama: The way they treat Jake makes them come off like this.
  • Jerkass: They often come off as this, being overbearing and self-righteous parents who pass judgment on Jesse and badmouth him behind his back (and occasionally to his face, which they don't like seeing) but do little to help him solve his problems actively. They also kick him out of his aunt's house. Jesse also mentions that his mother did nothing for her own sick sister Ginny who was dying of cancer.
  • Hypocrite: For all the indignation they make out of Jesse using and dealing drugs, they certainly have no problem with fraud.
  • I Have No Son!: They effectively disown Jesse for his drug use and refuse to have him in their lives anymore, with little care he'd be homeless without one of the two properties in their estate.
  • Laser-Guided Karma: They kick Jesse out of his own house when they find out that he's been cooking meth in the basement, and threaten to tell the police if he doesn't move out. Later, when they're trying to sell the house, Jesse and Saul come up with a plan to buy the house at a greatly reduced price, and Saul pulls his own card when he threatens to tell the police that the Pinkmans found a meth lab in the basement and did nothing. The look on their faces when Jesse shows up at his house with the keys is priceless.
  • No Name Given: Jesse's Mom is only ever referred to as Mrs. Pinkman. She gets one in El Camino, where her first name is revealed to be Diane.
  • Pet the Dog:
    • Diane shows honest concern for Walt when Hank comes looking for him, as she remembers that Walt tried hard to get through to Jesse and reluctantly provides him with information to assist him in finding Walt when Hank had no power to make her do anything.
    • In El Camino, they both show honest concern for Jesse. On the news, they urge him to turn himself in but it's out of concern for his safety.
  • Parents as People: Both of them seem to generally not like Jesse for reasons other than him being an addict, although it does seem to be a big part of it, likely him being an underachiever. They're also helicopter parents to Jake, paying attention to his achievements but not engaging with him personally. As a result, both Jake and Jesse consider each other 'the luckier one'.
  • Put on a Bus: Justified. Once Jesse buys back his aunt's house, he doesn't want anything more to do with them. The feeling is mutual so they cease to be present in the narrative. They're Back for the Finale in El Camino.

    Jake 

Jake Pinkman

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/fc1n66j.jpg

Portrayed By: Ben Petry

Jesse's overachieving younger brother.


  • Kick the Dog: Lets Jesse take the fall when the housekeeper finds a joint belonging to him and tells their parents, and then has the audacity to ask Jesse for it back after his parents kick him out, setting him back on track for a life of crime.
  • Not So Above It All: Despite him being an overachiever, Jake takes after his brother when he smokes (or at least plans to) a joint of weed.
  • Parental Favoritism: He falls under this, as his parents greatly prefer him over Jesse often showering him with love and planning on sending him to Space Camp.
  • Put on a Bus:
    • Shows up once, early on in the first season, and is only mentioned once afterward.
    • He's in London during El Camino. However, this is because of the 10-year gap between his debut and the film, and his actor had outgrown the role.
  • Youngest Child Wins: Is doted on by his parents while his older brother is estranged from the family. Subverted, as they pay more attention to his achievements than to him personally.

Cantillo Family

    Andrea 

Andrea Cantillo

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/cantillo_andrea.jpg
"I take care of my baby. I'll do anything for him."

Portrayed By: Emily Rios

A love interest of Jesse Pinkman's. She is a recovering meth addict and single mother to a young son named Brock. Jesse meets her at a drug addicts' support group meeting and initially tries to get her to relapse so she will become a customer of his, but he reverses course when he learns she has a young son to care for.


  • Anyone Can Die: Murdered by Todd in "Granite State" as a penalty for Jesse's first escape attempt from the neo-Nazis' compound.
  • Boom, Headshot!: Todd kills her by shooting her in the back of the head.
  • Functional Addict: Seems to be one, at least compared to most of the other addicts on this show, although her relationship with her mother seems to be quite strained.
  • Mama Bear: Though not a perfect person, she clearly does love her son.
  • Morality Pet: Along with her son Brock, she serves as one for Jesse.
  • Practically Different Generations: Andrea is a young adult while her kid brother Tomás is only a few years older than her son (and therefore Tomás' nephew) Brock.
  • Replacement Goldfish: Initially serves as one for Jesse following Jane's death, but he later cuts off contact when he concludes (through manipulation from Walter) that getting too close to her would endanger her. He was right.
  • Targeted to Hurt the Hero: Todd shoots her while Jesse is Forced to Watch by the other neo-Nazis in order to break his spirit and punish him for his escape attempt.
  • Too Dumb to Live: She herself told Jesse how she grew up and lived in a gang-infested, crime-ridden neighborhood, so she really should've known better than to follow a black-clad stranger out on the street in the dead of night just because he claimed to be a friend of her ex-lover's. Granted, she probably would've died anyway, but at least Jesse wouldn't have been Forced to Watch if she'd stayed in the house.
  • Too Good for This Sinful Earth: At the end, Andrea was a good person who wanted to get her life together and create an even better one for her son Brock. But all because of Walter, she unknowingly got caught up in his web which resulted in her death at the hands of the Neo Nazis.
  • Unwitting Instigator of Doom: She couldn't possibly have known that by confiding to Jesse about her brother falling in with drug dealers, she'd set off a chain of events involving the deaths of her brother, the dealers he was working with, and a few other people she never knew and would indirectly be a contributing cause to all of the events of the rest of the series, including her own murder in the penultimate episode.

    Brock 

Brock Cantillo

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/thnlsz5.png

Portrayed By: Ian Posada

The young son of Andrea Cantillo.


  • Children Are Innocent: In Jesse's opinion. Andrea vows to maintain said innocence, feeling she failed with her kid brother, Tomás.
  • Small Role, Big Impact: As a character, Brock remains relatively static. However, Walt's poisoning of him, and Jesse's eventual discovery of it, is the final nail in the coffin for their partnership.
  • Trauma Conga Line: His uncle dies, his mother is a drug addict, he gets seriously poisoned, and his mother is murdered by a Neo-Nazi gang. He's most likely about to head into foster care since he doesn't seem to have any family left alive save for possibly his grandmother. Poor kid can't catch a break.

Other Family

    Kaylee 

Kaylee Ehrmantraut

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/guxoctn.png

Portrayed By: Kaija Bales

Appearances: Breaking Bad | Better Call Saul

The young granddaughter of Mike Ehrmantraut.


  • Bit Character: She shows up occasionally to demonstrate Mike's more human side.
  • Cheerful Child: Always seems in good spirits, although we usually only see her when she's in the company of her beloved grandfather.
  • Children Are Innocent: Is completely oblivious to who her grandfather really is, and threatening to interrogate her is the one thing that Hank and Gomez do that really angers Mike.
  • Morality Pet: For Mike. He loves her deeply and she loves him right back, showing that Mike may be a killer but he's not a sociopath.
  • Satellite Character: She only ever appears while spending time with her grandfather.

    Kiira Rodarte-Quayle 

Kiira Rodarte-Quayle

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/aewkjal.png

Portrayed By: Lillian Presley Leyba

The young daughter of Lydia Rodarte-Quayle.


  • Disappeared Dad: The audience is never given any mention of her father and Lydia appears to be single.
  • Morality Pet: For Lydia. Mike spares Lydia's life because of Kiira, although he comes to regret this later. Lydia's relationship with Kiira isn't explored much, but when Mike tries to kill her, Lydia requests that he just leave her body for Kiira to find so that she doesn't think Lydia abandoned her.
  • My Parents Are Dead: Even without the Disappeared Dad, her mom gets poisoned with high-grade ricin and is not expected to live.
  • Satellite Character: She exists solely to give the otherwise ruthless Mike a reason to spare Lydia.
  • Spear Carrier: She shows up in one episode and is never seen or mentioned again.

J.P Wynne High School

Faculty

    Carmen Molina 

Principal Carmen Molina

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/molina_carmen_881.jpg

Portrayed By: Carmen Serano

"Please feel comfortable coming to me with any problems, any issues. Anything at all. You know, completely confidential."

The assistant principal at the high school where Walt teaches and Walt Jr. attends.


  • The Bus Came Back: Briefly returns in the final episode to tell Walt Jr. that Marie is on the phone, only to find out that Walt wants to talk.
  • Hot Teacher: Seriously, how many high school principals do you know that look like her? Hank thinks so, and Walt even makes an awkward pass at her at one point.
    Hank: Chick's got an ass like an onion: makes me wanna cry.
  • Nice Girl: She's understanding toward Walt and is a kind, helpful person in general.
  • Put on a Bus: Justified; there isn't much reason for her to be around once Walt gets fired.
  • Reasonable Authority Figure: She is quite helpful to Walt, and only fires him when his behavior becomes too unprofessional to ignore.

    Hugo Archuleta 

Hugo Archuleta

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/7l0zrtf.jpg

Portrayed By: Pierre Barrera

A custodian at Walt's school, he takes the blame for the stolen lab equipment based on his criminal record and becomes one of the first lives to be ruined by Heisenberg.


  • Bit Character: Basically exists to give the writers a way to deflect suspicion of stealing the lab equipment off of Walt.
  • Fall Guy: Subverted. He's initially blamed for stealing the equipment that Walt actually stole, but Hank is unable to find any evidence of that fact. However, he does end up losing his job when the police found marijuana in his car and the investigation into the missing equipment falls dormant soon after.
  • Nice Guy: Seeing Walt vomiting in the bathroom, he cleans it up and even gives Walt a piece of gum, saying that Walt has got a class to teach.
  • Put on a Bus: Never seen again after he's fired and arrested, presumably because he's in prison for possession.
  • Small Role, Big Impact: He only shows up in one episode, but he's one of the first people whose life gets ruined by Heisenberg, and it's an early sign of the consequences of Walt's actions.

Students

    Louis Corbett 

Louis Corbett

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/unknwxo.jpg

Portrayed By: Kyle Swimmer (EP: Gray Matter) Caleb Landry Jones (onward)

Walt Jr.'s best friend. They both attend JP Wynne High School. He frequently gives Walt Jr. rides to school and helps him set up a PayPal account for donations to Walt Jr.'s website.


  • Bit Character: Has maybe ten lines throughout the show, but he shows up consistently and is frequently mentioned.
  • Characterization Marches On: Louis's first appearance in Season 1 is noticeably rugged looking and he has no qualms about abandoning Walter Jr. when they get in trouble with an off-duty police officer. His subsequent appearances are much more ordinary looking and he also goes out of his way to help Walter Jr. whenever he can, such as driving him to school.
  • The Generic Guy: From season 2 onwards. Louis doesn't really stand out in any way and appears to be just an average teenager.
  • Nice Guy: He's a polite young man and a loyal friend to Flynn. Even Walter seems to hold him in some regard as a good person who can be trusted. He also helps set up a PayPal account, SaveWalterWhite.com, in order to help out the White family.
  • Satellite Character: He exists only as a friend for Walter Jr. Whenever Walt and Skyler need to have emotional scenes or advance the plot, Louis is a convenient answer to the question of where Walter Jr. is.

    Chad 

Chad

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/jsvg0ab.png

Portrayed By: Evan Bobrick

A disrespectful student from Walter White's chemistry class at the J. P. Wynne High School.


  • Hate Sink: Only role in the story is to be an unlikeable youth showing partly why Walter hates his current position in life.
  • Improbably Cool Car: Drives an expensive-looking Corvette which is a sign that he's a spoiled kid from a wealthy family, making it even more humiliating for the financially-struggling Walt when he has to wipe it down for him while working at the car wash.
  • Jerk Jock: He's an entitled little shit of the highest order. He constantly interrupts Walt's class and later mocks him at his second job.

    Barry 

Barry

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/nmfckbj.png

Portrayed By: Jonathan Ragsdale

A vacuous and absent-minded student in Walt's chemistry class. He is failing and will have to take summer school to redeem his poor grades; Walt has No Sympathy for him, telling him off, "Don't bullshit a bullshitter!"


  • Book Dumb: He somehow scored a 58 on Walt's chemistry test without even knowing what a bond is.
  • Insane Troll Logic: He tried exploiting the Wayfarer plane crash into meaning automatic A's for everyone at school.
  • Never My Fault: Refuses to take responsibility for his own ineptitude in school and just tries shifting it on others or possible disorders he claims to be diagnosed with such as ADHD or autism.
  • "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Walt delivers an effective one towards him.

Others

    Dr. Delcavoli 

Dr. Delcavoli

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/n8loqob.jpg

Portrayed By: David House

Walter White's physician. He is one of the top 10 oncologists in the United States.


  • Mr. Exposition: Regarding the course of Walt's treatment and how it progresses.
  • Nice Guy: He's a friendly, extremely talented doctor who never condescends to his patients.
  • Put on a Bus: Justified. Once Walt's cancer is treated, he doesn't really have much to do.
  • Small Role, Big Impact: Although there's no way he could have foreseen this, causing Walt's cancer to go into remission likely had a significant impact on Walt's attempts to take over the meth business rather than just worrying about taking care of his family after he was gone.
  • Take Our Word for It: Is stated to be one of the top ten oncologists in the country, although we never see him leave his office or do anything but offer exposition.
  • What the Hell, Hero?: Gives a very polite version to Walt when he reveals that he has been coughing up blood, which neither he nor Walt’s family knew about. He very calmly explains that Walt could rupture his esophagus and bleed to death, and to not keep any more secrets from now on.

    Bogdan Wolynetz 

Bogdan Wolynetz

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Portrayed By: Marius Stan

The owner and proprietor of the car wash at which Walt is employed. He is abrasive and rude to Walter, who finds this job degrading and tedious.


  • Asshole Victim: Thanks to some machinations from Skyler White and Saul Goodman, Bogdan is forced to relinquish his business for much less than what he got it for. However, considering how much of a jackass he was to Walter and Skyler, it's clear that nobody is going to feel sorry for him.
  • Bad Boss: He is rude to his employees, uncompromising, and ignores their rights as workers. In his first appearance, he orders Walt to wipe down cars, even though they had previously discussed that Walt (as a cashier) should not have to do this, so this has clearly been an ongoing problem. Bogdan is also frequently “short-handed”, most likely because his other employees don’t want to work there. When Walt and Skyler take over the business, not only is it running more smoothly than under Bogdan’s management, but the workers are much happier.
  • Big Ol' Eyebrows: Almost everybody calls attention to Bogdan's exceptionally thick eyebrows. He has been nicknamed "Eyebrows" by Walter and Skyler, and this aspect of his appearance has even led to one of the funniest quotes in the whole series.
    Walt: I said "Fuck you!" And your eyebrows!
  • 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 obnoxious boss at Walt's second job, but he comes back in a big way.
  • Jerkass Has a Point: Although he's needlessly venomous about it, he's not wrong when he says that the boss of a business has to be stern and disciplined. His little speech is sort of vindicated in season 5 when Walt replaces Gus, as Walt proves to not be as good a leader as he thought he'd be.
  • Jerk with a Heart of Jerk: His final conversation with Walt, when it seems he may be more human, shows that he is at heart just a cruel, mean-spirited person.
  • Laser-Guided Karma: Is manipulated into selling his carwash at a much lower price by the man he treated so badly. And, just to rub it in, he forces him to hand over his first dollar which he had framed. Which Walt then uses to buy a coke.
  • Mean Boss: He forces cashiers to do menial labor and often drives employees to quit, including Walt. He tries to justify his actions by explaining that "a boss has to be tough."
  • Mugging the Monster: This guy insults Walt and Skyler, demanding them to pay twenty million for his car wash. Walt and Skyler, at that point already a couple of hardened criminals, are supremely pissed off.
  • "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Gives a couple of them to Walt. They ring hollow, however, since he treats running a car wash 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. Then he buys a Coke with it.

    Group Leader 

Group Leader

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Portrayed By: Jere Burns

"Kicking the hell out of yourself doesn't give meaning to anything."

A counselor who leads group therapy sessions at Narcotics Anonymous. His real name is not revealed. He takes a calm, non-judgmental approach to lead discussions and emphasizes that those attending his sessions are there not to improve themselves, but to learn self-acceptance.


  • The Atoner: For killing his daughter by accident.
  • Dark and Troubled Past: He was a major alcoholic and addict, resulting in him causing a terrible accident.
    Group Leader: I killed my daughter. It was July 18th, which is my birthday. July 18th, 1992. I was high on cocaine and I was drunk. Cocaine wasn't an issue. I had bought myself two grams as a birthday present. I had plenty left. But I was out of vodka. And this is in Portsmouth, Virginia where instead of selling liquor in the supermarkets they have these ABC stores which close at 5 pm, and right then it was like 4:42. So I'm arguing with my wife. "Come on. Go to the ABC for me, it's my birthday. Come on. They're not gonna sell it to me". And she's saying "No, no." So I'm pissed. And the clock is ticking, so I jump in my truck. She's my 6-year-old daughter. She's playing at the end of the driveway. So...
  • Everyone Has Standards: He throws Jesse out after learning he's just there to sell meth to the other addicts.
  • A Father to His Men: The Group Leader is very in touch with his group and cares deeply about them.
  • Nice Guy: He's a soft-spoken guy who genuinely wants to help other recovering addicts. He's never condescending or judgmental, and it takes a lot to get him to kick Jesse out. Namely, when Jesse reveals he was in the meeting to sell meth to other addicts.
  • No Name Given: He's only ever known as 'Group Leader'.
  • Shut Up, Kirk!: Jesse gives him a brutal one. Self-acceptance is all well and good, but at some point, as Jesse implies, you've got to improve yourself. When he tries to save face, Jesse asks him how a father could possibly just accept himself as the guy who killed his daughter.
  • Title Drop: For "Kafkaesque".
  • Wham Line: In response to Jesse accusing him of never having truly hurt someone, he responds with "I killed my daughter.". This stops Jesse cold.

    Fran 

Fran

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Portrayed By: Debrianna Mansini

Appearances: Breaking Bad | Better Call Saul

A waitress at Loyola's Diner, where Mike is a regular customer.


  • Ascended Extra: Very downplayed, but she only appears in one episode of Breaking Bad. In Better Call Saul, she is a recurring character.
  • Nice Girl: She's always polite to Mike.
  • Ship Tease: With Mike, whom she adorably flirts with.

    Drew Sharp 

Drew Sharp

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Portrayed By: Samuel Webb

An inquisitive teen growing up in McKinley County in northwestern New Mexico who appears at the wrong place at the wrong time.


  • Boys Like Creepy Critters: First time we see him, he finds a tarantula in the desert. He liked it, so he tried to take it home in a jar. It's about the only thing we get to learn about his personality.
  • Chekhov's Gunman: He appears during the cold open, and doesn't pop up again until the end of the episode when he stumbles upon the train robbery. He then gets shot dead.
  • Children Are Innocent: Jesse certainly believes so, and Drew sure seems like a friendly enough child. He timidly waves to the trio when he sees them stealing from a train, and Todd kills him before it can be ascertained just how much he knows, how likely he is to tell, or if he even understands what he saw.
  • Death of a Child: He gets shot by Todd for witnessing the robbing of the train, and his death is portrayed tragically.
  • My God, What Have I Done?: Not by Todd, who feels absolutely no remorse about it, or even by Walt, who rationalizes it, but by Jesse, who becomes horribly affected by Drew's death.
  • Sacrificial Lamb: Serves as an innocent victim to show that Todd is very evil and provide a gut punch to Jesse so hard that he desires to leave the meth business.
  • "Shaggy Dog" Story: The entire purpose of robbing the train in this way was to avoid casualties. Todd murdering Drew made the entire alternate route completely pointless. To make matters worse, it seems unlikely Drew even knew what he was witnessing; even Walt admits that he was probably harmless.
  • Small Role, Big Impact: He's killed by Todd before he can do much beyond stumble onto the train heist. Still, Drew (or rather his death) has a massive impact on the remainder of the show: he establishes Todd as a character to the viewer and pushes Jesse out of the meth business completely.
  • Walking Spoiler: Drew's a walking Wham Episode.
  • We Hardly Knew Ye: He only appears once, and Todd kills him before he even gets a word out.

    Pamela Orbic 

Pamela

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Portrayed By: Julie Dretzin

A divorce attorney hired by Skyler to handle her divorce from Walt during the third season. Ends up becoming her confidant.


  • The Confidant: Pamela is the only person Skyler tells about Walt's drug operation.
  • Good Lawyers, Good Clients: She is a much more ethical attorney than Saul or some of the other lawyers featured on the show who mostly defend career criminals. Skyler's decision to stop seeing Pamela is a key factor in her development into becoming a criminal accomplice to Walt.
  • Not the Intended Use: She's Skylar's lawyer, but Skylar takes advantage of the attorney-client privilege to use her more as a therapist, confiding all of her familial baggage in her. Pamela even calls her out on this, telling her that she's half as qualified and twice as expensive as an actual therapist.
  • Only One Name: Her surname is never mentioned onscreen. The script for IFT reveals her last name of "Orbic".
  • Only Sane Man: She calls Skyler out when she begins to rationalize staying with Walt after learning just how much money he has made.

    Ken 

Ken "Wins"

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Portrayed By: Kyle Bornheimer

Appearances: Breaking Bad | Better Call Saul

A loud and obnoxious stockbroker.


  • The Bus Came Back: Made a return after 8 years in Better Call Saul.
  • Disproportionate Retribution: He's a jackass, but Walt blowing up his car for just stealing a parking space seems a bit excessive.
  • Hate Sink: He basically represents that one obnoxious asshole that everyone has to deal with in normal day to day life.
  • Jerkass: Ken is thoroughly unpleasant. He loudly boasts into his Bluetooth most of the time and swipes Walt's parking space.
  • No Name Given: His full name is unknown; among fans, he's known by his vanity plate. Ken is confirmed to be his first name, at least.
  • Politically Incorrect Villain: He has a very objectifying view of women.
  • Vanity License Plate: As befitting such an arrogant braggart, he has a vanity plate on his BMW. No prizes for guessing what it says.

    Louis Schanzer 

Louis "Lou" Schanzer

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/qugmshf.png

Portrayed By: Tom Bowen

One of Todd's neighbors.


  • Nosy Neighbor: He is very nosy, even repeatedly bothering the police investigators in order to get involved with the investigation.


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