History Characters / BreakingBadWalterWhite

[[Characters/BreakingBadWaltsFamily Walt's Family]] ('''Walter White'''), [[Characters/BreakingBadHeisenbergsEmpire Heisenberg's Empire]] ([[Characters/BreakingBadJessePinkman Jesse Pinkman]], [[Characters/BreakingBadSaulGoodman Saul Goodman]]), [[Characters/BreakingBadDEAAndPolice DEA and Police]], [[Characters/BreakingBadJuarezCartel Juarez Cartel]], [[Characters/BreakingBadSalamancaFamily Salamanca Family]] ([[Characters/BreakingBadHectorSalamanca Hector Salamanca]]), [[Characters/BreakingBadLosPollosHermanos Los Pollos Hermanos]] ([[Characters/BreakingBadGustavoFring Gustavo Fring]], [[Characters/BreakingBadMikeEhrmantraut Mike Ehrmantraut]]), [[Characters/BreakingBadMadrigalElectromotive Madrigal Electromotive]], [[Characters/BreakingBadAryanBrotherhood Aryan Brotherhood]], [[Characters/BreakingBadOtherCriminals Other Criminals]], [[Characters/BreakingBadOtherCivilians Other Civilians]]-]]]]]

** And an even more severe one when [[spoiler:Hank is killed right in front of him.]]

** Walt has an equally memorable one in the third-to-last episode, "Ozymandias", upon seeing he has lost everything. To sum it up:

%%* DamnItFeelsGoodToBeAGangster: "[[InnocuouslyImportantEpisode I am....awake.]]"

%%* FootDraggingDivorcee: In Seasons 2-4.

%%* HiddenVillain: To Hank. [[spoiler:Until "Gliding Over All".]]

%%* LaughingMad: An epic instance at the end of "Crawl Space".

%%* MyGreatestFailure: Selling his stock in Gray Matter.

%%* SympatheticMurderer: Season 1, with Krazy-8. Later, not so much.

%%* BigBadEnsemble: With Lydia and Jack Welker during Season 5 as a whole.

%%* CantKillYouStillNeedYou: Forces this on Gus after he murders Gale.

%%* CarFu: Uses this on two child-murdering drug dealers at the end of season 3.

%%* DiesWideOpen: [[spoiler:From blood loss, in "Felina".]]

%%* EvilFeelsGood: [[spoiler:He fully admits it to Skyler in the last episode.]]

%%* MistakenForGay: By Jesse at first because he insists on making meth in his underwear.

* {{Narcissist}}: [[ItsAllAboutMe Self-absorbed attitude]], [[ManipulativeBastard manipulation of others]], especially Jesse, [[AttentionWhore excessive need for attention and to be admired]], [[SmugSnake incredibly arrogant and haughty]], [[{{Envy}} envious of others' success]], LackOfEmpathy, even when doing tasks like [[spoiler: bombing a nursing home or poisoning a child]]. Walter ticks most, if not all, of the boxes, especially in the later seasons.

* {{Narcissist}}: [[ItsAllAboutMe Self-absorbed attitude]], [[ManipulativeBastard manipulation of others]], especially Jesse, [[AttentionWhore excessive need for attention and to be admired]], [[SmugSnake incredibly arrogant and haughty]], LackOfEmpathy, even when doing tasks like bombing a nursing home or poisoning a child. Walter ticks most, if not all, of the boxes, especially in the later seasons.

%%* {{Narcissist}}: Examples of ItsAllAboutMe, ManipulativeBastard, NeverMyFault, and most of all, his {{Pride}} are all over this character page.

%%* BeardOfSorrow: He grows one during [[spoiler:his self-imposed exile]].

* BaldOfEvil: As noted above, Walter shaving his head coincides with him adopting the ruthless Heisenberg persona, after which he has no qualms, threatening, extorting, and murdering to maintain his power.[[spoiler: Notably, when he grows it back for "Granite State" and "Felina", he's become TheAtoner.]]

* BeardOfSorrow: He grows one during [[spoiler:his self-imposed exile]].
* BecauseImGoodAtIt.

* BigBadEnsemble: With Lydia and Jack Welker during Season 5 as a whole.

* BornLucky: [[InvokedTrope Invoked]] by Jesse, when he mentions just how successful Walter has been in the meth business to [[spoiler:Hank and Gomez]].

* BreakThemByTalking: Attempts one on Jesse in "Say My Name". [[spoiler:It doesn't stop Jesse from leaving his business]].

* ByronicHero: He either develops into one as the show progresses or he always was one and is gradually exposing it.

* CantKillYouStillNeedYou: Forces this on Gus after he murders Gale.

* CarFu: Uses this on two child-murdering drug dealers at the end of season 3.

* ClandestineChemist: A TropeCodifier which provides the trope image. Walt is a brilliant chemist, but after leaving a company that became successful without him and working as a chemistry teacher to make ends meet, he doesn't get to use his full potential. Until he enters the meth business.

* CrucifiedHeroShot:
** His [[spoiler:arrest in "Ozymandias"]].
** The final shot of "Crawl Space". The same shot recurs in the final episode, "Felina", [[spoiler:when he dies from blood loss as the police arrive]].

* DamnItFeelsGoodToBeAGangster: "[[InnocuouslyImportantEpisode I am....awake.]]"

* DiesWideOpen: [[spoiler:From blood loss, in "Felina".]]

* TheEveryman: Started off as this. Got tired of being it and wanted to get some [[ItAmusedMe excitement]] in his life by using his knowledge to commit crimes.

* EvilFeelsGood: [[spoiler:He fully admits it to Skyler in the last episode.]]

* FootDraggingDivorcee: In Seasons 2-4.

* HiddenVillain: To Hank. [[spoiler:Until "Gliding Over All".]]

*** In "Green Light", Walt dismissed the meth Jesse cooked all by himself (which he looks very proud of btw) as garbage, as well angerly tell Jesse that Gus won't work with a junky like him. In "One Minute", Walt admits that Jesse's meth is as good as his, so Walt only said that to hurt Jesse for cooking his recipe without him.

* LaughingMad: An epic instance at the end of "Crawl Space".

* LivingLegend: In Season 5, Heisenberg has become this to drug lords in the American Southwest, as evidenced by his scene with Declan.

* MistakenForGay: By Jesse at first because he insists on making meth in his underwear.

* MurderIsTheBestSolution: In Season 5, this is Walt's answer to [[spoiler:dealing with Mike's incarcerated associates.]]

* MyGreatestFailure: Selling his stock in Gray Matter.
* {{Narcissist}}: Examples of ItsAllAboutMe, ManipulativeBastard, NeverMyFault, and most of all, his {{Pride}} are all over this character page.

* OhCrap: Several in the final episodes: [[spoiler:realizing Hank found and took ''Leaves of Grass'']] in "Blood Money", and [[spoiler:realizing that Hank is talking to Skyler]] in "Buried".

* ParentalSubstitute: To Jesse. Which doesn't stop him from being horribly abusive to him.

* PrecisionFStrike: Delivers a really hateful one to Gretchen when she tells him how sorry she feels for him.

* SesquipedalianLoquaciousness: His manner of speech, especially when contrasted with Jesse's.

-->'''[[spoiler:Marie]]''': (to Skyler) That arrogant asshole thinks he's some criminal mastermind, but he's not.

* SympatheticMurderer: Season 1, with Krazy-8. Later, not so much.

* TalkingYourWayOut: Probably too many times to list...
** [[spoiler:Deconstructed to all hell in "To'hajiilee" and "Ozymandias".]]

* TearsOfRemorse: Walt with his first murder. Also, after he lets Jane die.

* ThisMeansWar: Against [[spoiler:Jack for stealing 70 million dollars of his money and murdering Hank.]]

** [[spoiler: This makes the rather tragic contrast in a {{Jerkass Woobie}} way of the few times he was a positive example of this. He really ''did'' intend to properly retire from the drug trade in "Gliding Over All", as shown when he rebuffs Lydia in the very next episode. And in "Ozymandias", he really genuinely tries his absolute hardest to save Hank, even with Hank arresting him, by being willing to give up $80 million. He not only fails at saving him but his family believes he meant to get him killed.]]

* WhyCouldntYouBeDifferent: The flipside of him increasingly viewing and treating Jesse [[LikeASonToMe like a second son]] is that he has a form of this trope going on towards Flynn. While Walt does love Flynn, it is also clear that he, at the same time, at least subconsciously views him as somewhat of a disappointment, being especially frustrated by his son's independent streak, which his lowkey irritation of him rejecting his birthname name of "Walter Junior" and some other incidents, such as his dogged insistence that Flynn drive a car "the right way" rather than a way that allows him to compensate for his handicap, bears witness to. In a nutshell, it is frequently implied that the main reason why he favors Jesse is because of Jesse's whole WellDoneSonGuy complex, which makes him more obedient and dependent on Walt and allows Walt to act as a more "traditional" father figure, a relationship which he cannot have with his more strong-willed and free-spirited biological son.

* AMFMCharacterization: The show's music supervisor decided that Walt's musical tastes are stuck in TheSeventies, as he's a fan of Boz Scaggs and Music/SteelyDan. In "[[Recap/BreakingBadS3E2CaballoSinNombre Caballo Sin Nombre]]", he sings along to "Horse With No Name" by Music/{{America}}, because he thinks it's a cool song even if no one else does.