History Awesome / BreakingBad

* Walt gunning down the Neo-Nazis with an automatic machine gun. And then killing Jack, even though it means he'll never See his money.

** If anything, it makes it ''[[CrazyAwesome more]]'' awesome. Remember, it was hearing Gretchen and Elliott cutting Walt out of Grey Matter's success that caused Walt to decided to head back to Albuquerque [[TheLastDance and tie up loose ends]]. He actually ''could have'' had them killed... but instead chose to scare them into passing his remaining money to his children, with a death threat that never was to begin with.

* Walt blows up Tuco's den with a few crystals of fulminate of mercury, aka mercury (II) fulminate, the stuff that makes some types of gunpowder in a cartridge go "boom!" As a notable piece, this came [[ImportantHaircut in the scene after Walt shaved his head bald]].

* Before the finale, Music/{{Badfinger}} was an obscure band that had faded from common memory. The use of their song, 'Baby Blue' in the finale increased interest in the song by a large percentage, and it might actually have brought them out of obscurity.

* Walter has to decide whether or not to kill Krazy 8 and realizes that Krazy 8 is planning to kill him with a broken shard of plate. Rather than use gunfire, a knife or simply letting him starve, he chokes him to death by pulling on the bike lock holding him by the neck to the pole. [[TearJerker Though it stops being an awesome moment when Walter breaks down in tears over the fact that he had to]] kill someone for the first time.

[[AC:"[[Recap/BreakingBadS5E5DeadFreight Dead Freight]]"

* Walt's badass stroll out into the parking lot after intimidating the shit out of a wannabe meth cook as TV on the Radio's "DLZ" plays in the background, culminating in walking up to the punk and his associate as the square up to him, only for them to quickly back down and flee as Walt looks them dead in the eyes with cold fury and issues a simple five word command, ''"Stay out of my territory"''. The look in his eyes shows that this is the point where he realizes how much he loves being a badass.

[[AC:"[[Recap/BreakingBadS2E3BitByADeadBee Bit By a Dead Bee]]"

** Awesomer when you take into consideration the fact that this could be seen as [[FridgeBrilliance Walt exiting and Heisenberg entering]].

* Lesson one: don't threaten a guy -- who has ready access to red phosphorus AND the knowledge to use it -- with a gun. It'll not go well with you and your lungs won't forgive you for quite a while... if you don't wind up dead, that is.

[[AC:[[Recap/BreakingBadS1E1Pilot Pilot]]"]

* Gus' UnflinchingWalk through a hail of bullets, calling out the the Cartels' sniper bluff that they won't kill him.

[[AC:"[[Recap/BreakingBadS5E8GlidingOverAll Gliding Over All]]"

* "[[Recap/BreakingBadS1E1Pilot Pilot]]":
** Walt's badass yet hilarious quitting his job at the car wash.
** Walter, upon seeing three men, stronger than him, teasing his son in a store, left the store, walked around it, reentered it, and kicked one of them in the back of the leg. He then proceeded to face the three down, and get them to back off.
*** Awesomer when you take into consideration the fact that this could be seen as [[FridgeBrilliance Walt exiting and Heisenberg entering]].
** Walt is coerced into making meth for Krazy 8 and Emilio. While doing so, he uses his knowledge of chemistry to cause the red phosphate to explode in their faces. Turning around this seemingly hopeless situation was an early indication that Walt is indeed capable of being a badass.
** Lesson one: don't threaten a guy -- who has ready access to red phosphorus AND the knowledge to use it -- with a gun. It'll not go well with you and your lungs won't forgive you for quite a while... if you don't wind up dead, that is.
** The use of [[SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic Out of Time Man]].
* "[[Recap/BreakingBadS1E3AndTheBagsInTheRiver And the Bag's in the River]]", where Walter has to decide whether or not to kill Krazy 8 and realizes that Krazy 8 is planning to kill him with a broken shard of plate. Rather than use gunfire, a knife or simply letting him starve, he chokes him to death by pulling on the bike lock holding him by the neck to the pole. [[TearJerker Though it stops being an awesome moment when Walter breaks down in tears over the fact that he had to]] kill someone for the first time.
* In "[[Recap/BreakingBadS1E4CancerMan Cancer Man]]", Walt blows up an asshole stock broker's car with a squeegee across the battery. Even the other people who see it don't even bother to help him put it out as Walt just casually drives away.
* In "[[Recap/BreakingBadS1E6CrazyHandfulOfNothin Crazy Handful of Nothin]]", Walt blows up Tuco's den with a few crystals of fulminate of mercury, aka mercury (II) fulminate, the stuff that makes some types of gunpowder in a cartridge go "boom!" As a notable piece, this came [[ImportantHaircut in the scene after Walt shaved his head bald]].

** Raymond Cruz improvising a method of intimidating Walt: putting his lit cigarette out on his own tongue.
* In "[[Recap/BreakingBadS1E7ANoRoughStuffTypeDeal A No Rough Stuff Type Deal]]", Skyler, accused by storeowners of stealing the tiara, decides she doesn't have to put up with this mess, pretends to go into labor, and threatens the prospect of bad publicity, also while keeping silent about Marie's culpability so she can deal with the matter on her own terms.

* "[[Recap/BreakingBadS2E1SevenThirtySeven Seven Thirty-Seven]]":
** After Walt's borderline near-rape of her, Skyler, acknowledging she knows that Walt is going through a difficult time, firmly lets him know that his issues do ''not'' give him the right to take out his woes on her.
** When Hank visits Skyler and asks her to support Marie, she ''snaps'' and goes on a badass tirade about how he's prioritizing her "spoiled kleptomaniac bitch sister" over her family's real problems.
* "[[Recap/BreakingBadS2E2Grilled Grilled]]":
** Walt and Jesse fighting off Tuco to escape, doing an epic turning of the tables that's executed so perfectly you'd think they [[FissionMailed planned to get into this situation]].
--->[[WhosLaughingNow Who's the BITCH now?!]]
** Punctuated by Walt's decision to just leave him there to bleed to death.
** Walt's fierce and brief ReasonYouSuckSpeech answer to Tuco.
--->We tried to poison you. We tried to poison you ''because you're an insane, degenerate piece of filth, '''and you deserve to die'''''.
** Hank taking down Tuco with a [[BoomHeadshot shot to the head]].
* "[[Recap/BreakingBadS2E3BitByADeadBee Bit By a Dead Bee]]": Also belongs to SugarWiki/FunnyMoments, but when Hector is apprehended by the DEA following Tuco's death, he refuses to cooperate with them. How does he do this? By purposefully defecating himself, forcing the DEA to wheel him out. His smug grin afterwards sells it.
* Walt's badass stroll out into the parking lot after intimidating the shit out of a wannabe meth cook in "[[Recap/BreakingBadS2E10Over Over]]" as TV on the Radio's "DLZ" plays in the background, culminating in walking up to the punk and his associate as the square up to him, only for them to quickly back down and flee as Walt looks them dead in the eyes with cold fury and issues a simple five word command, ''"Stay out of my territory"''. The look in his eyes shows that this is the point where he realizes how much he loves being a badass.
* Skyler in "[[Recap/BreakingBadS2E13ABQ ABQ]]" tearing down all of Walt's lies throughout the past two seasons. Walt goes from being totally convinced he can blow this off as usual to desperately offering to tell her everything if she'll stay in the house. The moment he starts to realize he's really in trouble?

* "[[Recap/BreakingBadS3E1NoMas No Mas]]":
** The Cousins walking away from an exploding truck without flinching. One of them even starts smoking a cigarette.
*** Creator/BryanCranston, who directed the episode, mentioned in an interview how everyone at that shot were really excited about how badass those two guys performed that scene were.
** Skyler figuring out exactly what Walt's been up to the last two seasons. Walt's stunned.
* "[[Recap/BreakingBadS3E2CaballoSinNombre Caballo Sin Nombre]]":
** The pizza toss. Made more awesome by the fact that Bryan Cranston nailed it on the first take.
** Jesse getting his aunt's house back. First Saul "[[BlackmailIsSuchAnUglyWord convinces]]" Jesse's parents to sell it to an unseen client for half the price they want, just by casually revealing he knows about the meth lab in the basement. Later on, Jesse, just as casually, walks to the front door while his parents try to get him to leave before the new owner comes by. Jesse shows them the keys, waltzes inside, and leaves his parents stunned.
* For those few who like Skyler and think she was in the right being angry at Walt, there was also this line from "[[Recap/BreakingBadS3E3IFT I.F.T.]]":

* "[[Recap/BreakingBadS3E7OneMinute One Minute]]": Hank vs. The Cousins. Hank survives two characters shown to be [[AxCrazy axe-wielding mass-murderers]] with only one minute's warning. And he's unarmed to begin. And he manages to survive multiple gunshots to his torso. And he kills the 2nd cousin ''after'' being shot to hell. [[BadassInCharge Holy Shit]].
* "[[Recap/BreakingBadS3E8ISeeYou I See You]]": Gus' {{plan}} to take out his Mexican opposite number and take over the whole operation. Especially impressive in how fast he was able to put such a complex plan together, and have it work perfectly.
** Later seasons and ''Better Call Saul'' actually make clear that this is part of a revenge plan he's been working on for two decades.
* "[[Recap/BreakingBadS3E9Kafkaesque Kafkaesque]]": Skyler coming up with a complex cover story on the spot about how she and Walt are in a position to pay Hank's medical bills, even integrating Walt's "fugue state" ploy.
* "[[Recap/BreakingBadS3E10Fly Fly]]". BottleEpisode or not, don't you dare say that the titular fly falling dead at Walter's feet isn't awesome.

* "[[Recap/BreakingBadS3E12HalfMeasures Half Measures]]" gives us Jesse Pinkman standing up to friggin' Gus Fring, minutes after meeting him personally for the first time and full-on ''knowing'' Fring is who he is. It may not have accomplished much, but it took an enormous amount of guts and he did it with little to no hesitation.
** In the final scene, Walt runs over two gang members before they could kill Jesse. He then takes the gun from the survivor and shoots him in the head. He tells Jesse to "Run!"
* The finale "[[Recap/BreakingBadS3E13FullMeasure Full Measure]]":
** Mike storming that warehouse and killing those guys with the silenced pistol. Prior to that, he uses party balloons to disable the security at Chow's warehouse, and then using Chow's expression of sheer terror to figure out where the Cartel assassin is on the other side of a wall.
** As Victor and Mike prepare to kill Walt, he tricks them into letting him call Jesse under the pretense he'll sell him out. It's actually so he can tell Jesse what's going on and tell him to kill Gale, giving him the leverage to have Gus keep him alive. The best part is the OhCrap reaction Victor and Mike give Walt as he recites Gale's address and they realize what he's done.

* Gus' first non-flashback appearance in "[[Recap/BreakingBadS4E1BoxCutter Box Cutter]]". [[TranquilFury Every. Single. Second. Of it.]]

* In "[[Recap/BreakingBadS4E2ThirtyEightSnub Thirty Eight Snub]]", Mike calmly listening to Walt's case that they should team up to kill Gus, and then walloping him right in the middle of the bar without a word.
* Jesse driving in a go-kart track in "[[Recap/BreakingBadS4E3OpenHouse Open House]]", taking out his frustration, while yelling at the top of his lungs. It sends shivers down one's spine.
** Skyler swindling away the car wash Walt used to work at to use to launder their drug money, for less money than she originally offered and telling the owner straight out it's because she doesn't like him. Made more awesome by the fact that neither Walt nor Saul thought she could pull it off ''and'' by the fact that, once she ''did'' pull it off for the original offer, she went the extra mile and got the owner to call her back after reducing the price. Accounting, after all, seems to be ''her'' turf...
* Mike killing two Cartel gunmen who attack a shipment in "[[Recap/BreakingBadS4E4BulletPoints Bullet Points]]", followed by simply acting slightly annoyed when he realizes part of his ear was shot off.
* "[[Recap/BreakingBadS4E6Cornered Cornered]]": "I am not in danger, Skyler! ''I '''am''' the danger!'' A guy opens his door and gets shot, and you think that of me? No! '''''I am the one who knocks.'''''"

* "[[Recap/BreakingBadS4E7ProblemDog Problem Dog]]": Hank figuring out Gus' role in things by following a seemingly ridiculous hunch and tricking Gus into pretty much giving him his fingerprints.
* "[[Recap/BreakingBadS4E9Bug Bug]]": Gus' UnflinchingWalk through a hail of bullets, calling out the the Cartels' sniper bluff that they won't kill him.
** In the same episode, Skyler gives a performance of her lifetime pretending to be a ditzy vapid hussy ''in front of the IRS investigator'' in order to write off Ted's fraud as her ignorance in bookkeeping. It's wasted on Ted, of course, but she gets mad props for her acting skills.
* Jesse's BadassBoast to Benicio Fuentes, the chief chemist of the Juarez Cartel superlab, in "[[Recap/BreakingBadS4E10Salud Salud]]".

** In the Cartel lab, Jesse cooks meth with 96% purity. Remember that Gale Boetticher, a trained chemist with a master's degree, also created 96% purity methamphetamine. Granted, he's cooking someone else's formula, but he's doing it from memory, under pressure, and equals trained chemists with years of experience. One would imagine if he applied himself in graduate school, he could actually be an amazing chemist.
** Gus killing Don Eladio and all his capos with poisoned Tequila. [[SelfPoisoningGambit To get them to drink it, he first has to drink a shot himself]], then lets slip nothing for a while afterwards, until he finally asks to use the bathroom shortly before the poison will take effect so he can throw it up. And even when he's alone, he still goes through the process as calmly and methodically as possible. Afterwards, he starts feeling some of the effects, but still manages to shout to the survivors that their boss is dead, so they should just grab some stuff from the corpses and leave. He's pretty much becoming a bigger {{Magnificent Bastard}} with every new scene by now.

* Despite "[[Recap/BreakingBadS4E11CrawlSpace Crawl Space]]'s NightmareFuel content, on a meta-level, Creator/BryanCranston's portrayal of Walt's LaughingMad HeroicBSOD[=/=]VillainousBreakdown is just amazing in that scene.
** After Gus recovers from being poisoned, he makes sure to visit Don Salamanca's nursing home to make sure he knows what happened, and who it was who did it. He tells him that Jesse killed the only blood he had left on earth, and the cartel he worked his whole life for is exterminated. An incredible example of ''BestServedCold'', especially since Don Salamanca is the one who killed Gus' best friend/surrogate brother/very possible lover.
* "[[Recap/BreakingBadS4E13FaceOff Face Off]]":
** While Saul is lying low, Francesca, his secretary, forces Walt to part with $25,000 so she'll contact Saul for him. This is also while Gus' agents are scoping out Walt's house, forcing him to risk an encounter with said gunmen to get her cash. This is basically ''the only time in the entire series'' anyone suffers ''no consequences'' for fucking with Walt.
** Gus and his henchmen are walking to his car, which, little do they know, has been rigged to explode by Walter. On his way, Gus begins to sense that something is amiss. He stops before entering the car, walks over to a view of the city from the hospital parking garage and starts gazing out at the city. He is not entirely sure if Walt is on one of the buildings in the distance with binoculars, freaking out due to the sheer fact that his target has already seen through his plan. It doesn't matter. Gus just walks away, leaving his car behind... Damn. He dies later on, but still.
** After the bomb explodes, Gus coolly walks out of the room and adjusts his tie as if nothing has happened. And then we see that he's missing half of his face, and he drops dead.
*** What's especially powerful about Gus' death is that it's perfectly in character. There is no sense of remorse or spite. Gus retains his dignity until the ''very'' end. What might have been a lesser character's VillainousBreakdown, Gus merely adjusts his tie, and and gives a stoic, nonchalant look into space, as if to say "well played, Walter." Probably the greatest death scene in the entire show.
*** Equally awesome is Salamanca's death in the same way, a character who had been helpless and immobile for the entire run of the series up until this point gives Gus the DeathGlare to end all death glares before finally getting revenge for the deaths of his family members, as well as going out in a blaze of glory.
** Walt and Jesse burn down the super-methlab.
** After Gus's demise, Skyler contacts Walt to see if he is alright, and his reply...

* A small one in "[[Recap/BreakingBadS5E3HazardPay Hazard Pay]]": Skinny Pete, Jesse's junkie friend from which no one would expect any talent, [[TheCastShowoff starts playing "Solfegietto" by Christian Phillip Emmanuel Bach at the music instrument store.]] It leaves you thinking what would have been from him if he hadn't done meth.

* The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t808e5BMyI8 new car scene]] from "[[Recap/BreakingBadS5E4FiftyOne Fifty-One]]". It's set to ''Knife Party''.
* "[[Recap/BreakingBadS5E5DeadFreight Dead Freight]]". Two words: train heist!. Totally successful one too, up until the last minute of the episode where Todd shoots a child witness.
* "[[Recap/BreakingBadS5E6Buyout Buyout]]": Walt {{MacGyvering}} his way out of zipcuffs with an exposed wire from a coffee machine, which he holds on the cuffs until they break even as it also burns his wrist.

* "[[Recap/BreakingBadS5E7SayMyName My Name]]":
** Walt's deal to keep his meth business while making his competitors into his employees, culminating one of the most iconic moments in the franchise.
--->'''Declan:''' Who the hell are ya?\\

** Mike's TheReasonYouSuckSpeech to Walt, and after this drives Walt to shoot him, his last words are still telling Walt "Shut the fuck up, and let me die in peace."
** Walt and Jesse arguing about Jesse leaving the meth trade, culminating in Jesse walking out while Walt yells at him.
* "[[Recap/BreakingBadS5E8GlidingOverAll Gliding Over All]]" gives us two memorable montages:
** All ten "loose ends" getting killed in prison in increasingly brutal fashion, including one ''being burnt alive.'' All of them are pulled off in the space of two minutes.
** Walt and Todd pulling off multiple cooks while Lydia cooperates with sending their meth business off to the Czech Republic.
** ''"You got me!"'' and Hank's look of sheer disbelief afterwards.

* Skyler telling Lydia to get the hell out of the car wash in "[[Recap/BreakingBadS5E9BloodMoney Blood Money]]".

** Jesse having a smoke in Saul's waiting room to piss off [[ScaryBlackMan Huell]] and Francesca. SmokingIsCool taken to maximum proportions.
** "It was you. All along it was YOU!" And the punch that preceded it.
** "Maybe your best course of action would be to tread lightly."
*** Hell, the entire garage scene was this, for both the characters and the actors.
** Jesse [[ShutUpHannibal demanding Walt actually drop all the lies for once, and just tell him the real reason he wants him to do something]]. It doesn't work, but it's definitely something Walt deserves at this point.
** Hank's [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oafSFeV8S9s montage]] reviewing all the evidence related to Heisenberg, going all the way back to the thermite incident at the start of the show. Seeing him put [[HardWorkMontage 5 seasons worth of history together in the span of two minutes]] is very cool.
* "[[Recap/BreakingBadS5E10Buried Buried]]":
** Marie slapping Skyler when she learns the whole truth, including that Skyler knew exactly what was going on when Hank was shot by the Cousins. And then she tells Hank to do whatever it takes to bring Walt down.
*** Next episode, she doubles down and tells Walt to his face that maybe he should kill himself if he really wants this drama to go away.
* "[[Recap/BreakingBadS5E11Confessions Confessions]]":
** Walt's confession: claiming Hank was the real mastermind who used him as a patsy, and tying in several events across the show's history to give him a completely airtight case if Hank doesn't stop chasing him. And all while giving a flawless performance as the kind of person he was when the show started.
*** Also, it's the smuggest way to deliver the '''real''' kicker of the tape: that even if Hank decides to risk it and try to bring Walt down, he's already lost, since Marie used Walt's drug money to pay for his treatment.
* "[[Recap/BreakingBadS5E12RabidDog Rabid Dog]]":
** Hank convincing Jesse to back off his rash decision to commit arson, and in spite of their past history, treating him fairly decently. (Well, mostly.)
** Jesse having the courage to tell everything he knows about Walter White ''and'' to contradict Hank and Gomez regarding how they think Walter White will handle his meeting with Jesse. And on top of that, Jesse rattling Walter's cage right at the end.
* "[[Recap/BreakingBadS5E13Tohajiilee Tohajiilee]]":
** Hank and Jesse work together to create a brilliant plan to trap Walt with hard evidence against him. It culminates in the arrest taking place completely in real time, letting us see every single step as Heisenberg is brought down. Normally, this kind of thing would come off as {{Padding}}, but here the show has earned every single second of the moment it's been building towards for five seasons.

** Jesse spitting on Heisenberg. Considering the way Walt used and abused Jesse over the course of his career as "Heisenberg", it's a very awesome comeback.
* "[[Recap/BreakingBadS5E14Ozymandias Ozymandias]]":
** Hank facing his imminent [[FaceDeathWithDignity death with clarity and dignity]].

** Marie's firm but fair and more than justified talk with Skyler.
** Walt Jr./Flynn on the same day he finds out his father is [[BrokenPedestal Heisenberg]], tackles him off of Skyler when they start to fight, then calls the police on Walt right in front of him. This from a kid who's needed crutches to walk for the whole series.
** Walt's last phone call to Skyler. With the understanding that the speech is meant to absolve Skyler from any culpability.
** One of the [[WhamLine hardest hitting]] lines in the whole episode is said by ''a baby''. Even better? '''''It wasn't scripted'''''.
* "[[Recap/BreakingBadS5E15GraniteState Granite State]]":
** Saul finally grows a spine and says two words to Walt he should have said 2 seasons ago: "It's over".
** Ed nonchalantly telling Saul that it'll be about 2 days to erase his identity and give him a new life in Nebraska.
** Jesse's escape from his prison. Even though he doesn't get out of the compound, the sheer fact that he managed to get out of his outside dungeon is pretty damn awesome.
** Flynn's (previously known as Walt Jr.) long overdue ReasonYouSuckSpeech to Walt. While it doubles as a TearJerker since Walt had become more sympathetic after realizing the consequences of his actions, it was still nice to see the character LockedOutOfTheLoop the longest outright refuse his father's money and furiously remind Walt of his role in Hank's death.
** At the end, Walt storms out of the New Hampshire bar after seeing a news report of blue meth still circulating and Gray Matter refusing to acknowledge any of his contributions to the company. What really sells this scene, though, is the full ''Breaking Bad'' theme playing as policemen arrive at an empty bar.
* "[[Recap/BreakingBadS5E16Felina Felina]]":
** The entire finale is one for Walt. He has become a full MagnificentBastard and demonstrates it with full gusto, executing an obviously well-laid plan one step at a time to ultimately get everything he could hope for at this point -- money for his children, freedom for Skyler and Jesse, a proper burial for Hank and Gomez, vengeance on Jack, Todd, Lydia, and their associates, and death on his own terms.
*** The death scene itself for doing the nigh impossible of being both a straight up TheBadGuyWins ending AND a subversion. At the end of Walt's journey, he's finally dying with all of his major goals accomplished, with nothing but fondness for the life he'd led and no regrets at all -- he even succumbs to the bullet wound before the police find him, going out on his own terms rather than waiting for his cancer or the law to do him in. But we also see visually the sum of all the sacrifices he'd made and all that he'd lost, in that he dies ''in a meth lab.'' There's no one, friends or family, to give him comfort in his final moments, no money, no prizes or rewards of any kind - just lots and lots of meth and equipment. That's when it dawns on you that this ''is'' his life at the very end -- his career as Heisenberg consumed his entire life. Basically, [[JustForFun/ComeForTheXStayForTheY he came for his family, but stayed for the meth.]] It makes for a moment that is simultaneously proud AND pitiful.
** Walt blackmailing Gretchen and Elliott with hitmen to give his money to Walter Jr. for him. [[SugarWiki/FunnyMoments The fact that the hitmen turn out to just be Badger and Skinny Pete with laser pointers doesn't make it any less awesome.]]
*** If anything, it makes it ''[[CrazyAwesome more]]'' awesome. Remember, it was hearing Gretchen and Elliott cutting Walt out of Grey Matter's success that caused Walt to decided to head back to Albuquerque [[TheLastDance and tie up loose ends]]. He actually ''could have'' had them killed... but instead chose to scare them into passing his remaining money to his children, with a death threat that never was to begin with.
** Walt's final meeting with Skyler has him finally stop throwing his family under the bus for the motive for his actions and fully admit that a majority of his "Heisenberg" actions were more for himself than his family. Finally seeing him own up to his actions and his ego after the events of the past year and how he constantly fell back on his family as justification definitely counts.
** Walt gunning down the Neo-Nazis with an automatic machine gun. And then killing Jack, even though it means he'll never see his money.
** Scumbag though he may be, Jack taking his OneLastSmoke before dying is pretty ballsy.
** Walt's [=M60=] opening fire. That brief moment when the trunk opens to reveal the gun is equally awesome.
** Jesse killing Todd by strangling him with his handcuffs. Accompanied by a rather satisfying sound of Todd's neck snapping.
*** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ue-lVK6Y5pI At a viewing party of the finale at the Spot Bar in LA]], the amount of cheering and screaming that ensues when Jesse wraps his cuffs around Todd's throat is so loud ''that the audio is clipping''.
** Walt telling Lydia over the phone that he poisoned her with the ricin.
** Jesse getting in a car and driving at high speeds, busting through the gates in the process. The joy in his face and the freedom he has regained makes it an awesome ending for him.
** Jesse telling Walt to just give him the honest truth for once, and this time it works. And then Jesse still doesn't kill him, refusing to let Walt dictate anything about his life anymore, a far more fitting revenge in the end.

** Creator/VinceGilligan's direction deserves its own spot, as Walt spends the whole episode appearing to just fade in and out of scenes, like a ghost who's finally done haunting these people.

* Before the finale, Badfinger was an obscure band that had faded from common memory. The use of their song, 'Baby Blue' in the finale increased interest in the song by a large percentage, and it might actually have brought them out of obscurity.
* Giancarlo Esposito's long-con to become a main character on the show. Gus was originally meant to be a one-off guest character, but Giancarlo played him as a frighteningly calm man with secrets which enraptured audiences and had them demanding more. When he did another guest apperance for Season 2 it solidified Gus's EnsembleDarkhorse reception, and Esposito had all the cards when, for season 3, he said he'd only come back if he was given a regular slot.

** Bryan Cranston's final (fourth) win also tied him for most victories in the Lead Actor in a Drama Series category, making him the only one to match Dennis Franz's performance in ''Series/NYPDBlue''. Similarly, Aaron Paul became the first person to win the Supporting Actor category three times since it was separated from Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series in 1970.

* Bob Odenkirk casually revealing that ''El Camino'' had already been finished without anyone knowing, meaning that the entire production team and crew managed to keep the movie a secret without a single person leaking anything about it.

-->''"I'm the guy your boss brought here to show you how it's done. And if this is how you run your lab...no wonder. You're lucky he hasn't fired your ass. Now, if you don't want that to happen, I suggest you stop whining like a little bitch...and do what I say."''

--> '''Tuco:''' Are you fuckin' nuts?!
--> '''Walt:''' ''[holds up the other crystals]'' Wanna find out?

-->[[WhosLaughingNow "Who's the BITCH now?!"]]

-->"We tried to poison you. We tried to poison you ''because you're an insane, degenerate piece of filth, '''and you deserve to die'''''."

-->"But then...I called your mother. Yeah. [[SarcasmMode Thanks for that, too.]]"

-->'''Walter:''' You might want to hold off.
-->'''Mike:''' Yeah? ''(Cocks gun)'' Why?
-->'''Walter:''' Because your boss is gonna need me. 6353 Juan Tabo, Apartment 6.
-->'''Mike:''' ''(OhCrap Realization Face)''
-->'''Walter:''' Yeah.

-->'''Jesse''': (to Gus) Tell this asshole that if he wants to learn how to make my product, he's gotta do it my way. The ''right'' way.\\
'''Fuentes''': ...I speak English.\\
'''Jesse''': Then you know what the word "asshole" means. Now go get me my phenylacetic acid.....'''''asshole'''''.

-->'''Walter White:''' "[[BadassBoast I won.]]"

--> '''Declan''': Who the hell are ya?
--> '''Walt''': You know. You all know exactly who I am. (''beat'') SayMyName.
--> '''Declan''': Do what? I do- [[BlatantLies I don't have a damn clue who the hell you are]].
--> '''Walt''': Yeah you do. [[BadassBoast I'm the cook. I'm the man who killed Gus Fring]].
--> '''Declan''': Bullshit. [[LiesToChildren Cartel got Fring]].
--> '''Walt''': You sure?
--> ''(all the dealers look at each other nervously, while Mike gives a 'kid, just don't' shake of his head)''
--> '''Walt''': That's right. Now... SayMyName.
--> '''Declan''': (''terrified whisper'') You're [[TheDreaded Heisenberg]].
--> '''Walt''': You're goddamn right.

* Walt's badass stroll out into the parking lot in "[[Recap/BreakingBadS2E10Over Over]]" as TV on the Radio's "DLZ" plays in the background, culminating in the coldly delivered line, ''"Stay out of my territory"''. The look in his eyes shows that this is the point where he realizes how much he loves being a badass.

** Walt's deal to keep his meth business while making his competitors into his employees, culminating in a killer SayMyName moment. "You're goddamn right."

** He was also so impressed by Giancarlo Esposito that he recommend the ''Series/{{Westworld}}'' crew put him on the show, resulting in a quite memorable cameo.

* The episode "Ozymandias" itself is one for the cast and crew. It not only broke the show's viewing record, getting 6.37 million viewers, it also received unprecedented acclaim from critics and fans alike. Many critics are hailing it as, not only the best episode in the series, but a contender for the best single episode in '''''television history!''''' Accompanying this, it had a perfect 10/10 on IMDB for well over a year, with nearly 56,000 people having rated it, the only item on the entire site that had such a score from so many people. It would later drop to 9.9/10, before returning to 10/10 in early 2016 following a crackdown on {{troll}} voters, holding that score for over a year. As of May 2017, it's back at 9.9/10 from over 87000 votes.

** Walt is coerced into making meth for Krazy 8 and Emilio. While doing so, he uses his knowledge of chemistry [[spoiler:to cause the red phosphate to explode in their faces]]. Turning around this seemingly hopeless situation was an early indication that Walt is indeed capable of being a badass.

* Who could forget "[[Recap/BreakingBadS1E3AndTheBagsInTheRiver And the Bag's in the River]]", where Walter has to decide [[spoiler:whether or not to kill Krazy 8 and realizes that Krazy 8 is planning to kill him with a broken shard of plate. Rather than use gunfire, a knife or simply letting him starve, he chokes him to death by pulling on the bike lock holding him by the neck to the pole.]] [[TearJerker Though it stops being an awesome moment when Walter breaks down in tears over the fact that he had to]] [[spoiler:kill someone for the first time]].

* "[[Recap/BreakingBadS3E7OneMinute One Minute]]": Hank vs. [[spoiler:The Cousins. Hank survives two characters shown to be [[AxCrazy axe-wielding mass-murderers]] with only one minute's warning. And he's unarmed to begin. And he manages to survive multiple gunshots to his torso. And he kills the 2nd cousin ''after'' being shot to hell]]. [[BadassInCharge Holy Shit]].
* "[[Recap/BreakingBadS3E8ISeeYou I See You]]": Gus' {{plan}} to [[spoiler:take out his Mexican opposite number and take over the whole operation]]. Especially impressive in how fast he was able to put such a complex plan together, and have it work perfectly.

** [[spoiler:In the final scene, Walt runs over two gang members before they could kill Jesse. He then takes the gun from the survivor and shoots him in the head. He tells Jesse to "Run!"]] OH MY GOD!

** [[spoiler:As Victor and Mike prepare to kill Walt, he tricks them into letting him call Jesse under the pretense he'll sell him out. It's actually so he can tell Jesse what's going on and tell him to kill Gale, giving him the leverage to have Gus keep him alive.]] The best part is the OhCrap reaction [[spoiler:Victor and Mike]] give Walt as he [[spoiler:recites Gale's address]] and they realize what he's done.

** Jesse also has to be recognized here: As Walt is struggling not to vomit, Jesse, who's been catatonic for the whole episode after [[spoiler:killing Gale]], looks at Gus with an unflinching "bring it on" gaze. Badass.

** Gus [[spoiler:killing Don Eladio and all his capos with poisoned Tequila. [[SelfPoisoningGambit To get them to drink it, he first has to drink a shot himself]], then lets slip nothing for a while afterwards, until he finally asks to use the bathroom shortly before the poison will take effect so he can throw it up. And even when he's alone, he still goes through the process as calmly and methodically as possible. Afterwards, he starts feeling some of the effects, but still manages to shout to the survivors that their boss is dead, so they should just grab some stuff from the corpses and leave.]] He's pretty much becoming a bigger {{Magnificent Bastard}} with every new scene by now.
** The scene also includes [[spoiler:Mike garroting the Cartel's sniper, and Jesse gunning down the one Cartel member left before driving away with the seriously wounded Mike and poisoned Gus.]]

** [[spoiler:After Gus recovers from being poisoned, he makes sure to visit Don Salamanca's nursing home to make sure he knows what happened, and who it was who did it. He tells him that Jesse killed the only blood he had left on earth, and the cartel he worked his whole life for is exterminated. An incredible example of ''BestServedCold'', especially since Don Salamanca is the one who killed Gus' best friend/surrogate brother/very possible lover.]]

** Gus and his henchmen are walking to his car[[spoiler:, which, little do they know, has been rigged to explode by Walter.]] On his way, Gus begins to sense that something is amiss. He stops before entering the car, walks over to a view of the city from the hospital parking garage and starts gazing out at the city. He is not entirely sure if [[spoiler:Walt is on one of the buildings in the distance with binoculars, freaking out due to the sheer fact that his target has already seen through his plan.]] It doesn't matter. Gus just walks away, leaving his car behind... Damn. [[spoiler:He dies later on, but still.]]
** [[spoiler:After the bomb explodes, Gus coolly walks out of the room and adjusts his tie as if nothing has happened. And then we see that he's missing half of his face, and he drops dead.]]
*** What's especially powerful about [[spoiler:Gus' death]] is that it's perfectly in character. There is no sense of remorse or spite. No, [[spoiler:Gus]] retains [[spoiler:his]] dignity until the ''very'' end. What might have been a lesser character's VillainousBreakdown, [[spoiler:Gus]] merely adjusts his tie, and and gives a stoic, nonchalant look into space, as if to say "well played, [[spoiler:Walter]]." Probably the greatest [[spoiler:death scene]] in the entire show.
*** [[spoiler:Equally awesome is Salamanca's death in the same way, a character who had been helpless and immobile for the entire run of the series up until this point gives Gus the DeathGlare to end all death glares before finally getting revenge for the deaths of his family members, as well as going out in a blaze of glory.]]

** After [[spoiler:Gus's demise]], Skyler contacts Walt to see if he is alright, and his reply...

* Walt's KansasCityShuffle over the season's final two episodes [[spoiler:in which he murders Gus]]. Awesome because it retroactively highlights his transition from ActionSurvivor fearing for his family's lives to MagnificentBastard drug kingpin, [[spoiler:especially the Lily Of The Valley he grew in his backyard, signifying he was a few more steps ahead of Gus than we all thought he was.]]

* The season's opening scene: a flashforward where Walt makes an illicit deal which leaves him with a car key. Then it turns out [[spoiler:he was actually buying what was in the trunk of the car: a freaking M60 MACHINE GUN.]]

* A small one in "[[Recap/BreakingBadS5E3HazardPay Hazard Pay]]": Skinny Pete, Jesse's junkie friend from which no one would expect any talent, [[spoiler: [[TheCastShowoff starts playing "Solfegietto" by Christian Phillip Emmanuel Bach at the music instrument store.]]]] It leaves you thinking what would have been from him if he hadn't done meth.

* When Walt goes completely Heisenberg on Skyler, tearing down each of her plans to protect their kids from him, she finally shuts him up by simply stating that her only real plan is to [[spoiler:hold out and hope his cancer comes back]]. And 90% of the viewers voted that they agreed with her.

* "[[Recap/BreakingBadS5E5DeadFreight Dead Freight]]". Two words: [[spoiler:train heist!]]. Totally successful one too, up until the last minute of the episode [[spoiler:where Todd shoots a child witness]].

* Todd getting punched by Jesse counts after Todd tries to rationalize [[spoiler:shooting a child dead]].

** Mike's TheReasonYouSuckSpeech to Walt, [[spoiler:and after this drives Walt to shoot him, his last words are still telling Walt "Shut the fuck up, and let me die in peace."]]
** Walt and Jesse arguing about Jesse leaving the meth trade, culminating in [[spoiler:Jesse walking out while Walt yells at him.]]

** [[spoiler:All ten "loose ends" getting killed in prison in increasingly brutal fashion, including one ''being burnt alive.'' All of them are pulled off in the space of two minutes.]]
** [[spoiler:Walt and Todd pulling off multiple cooks while Lydia cooperates with sending their meth business off to the Czech Republic.]]
** [[spoiler:''"You got me!"'']] and Hank's look of sheer disbelief afterwards.

* Skyler telling [[spoiler:Lydia]] to get the hell out of the car wash in "[[Recap/BreakingBadS5E9BloodMoney Blood Money]]".

'''[[spoiler:Lydia]]:''' Excuse me?\\

'''[[spoiler:Lydia]]:''' I...\\

** [[spoiler:"It was you. All along it was YOU!"]] And the punch that preceded it.
** [[spoiler:"Maybe your best course of action would be to tread lightly."]]

** Hank's [[spoiler:[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oafSFeV8S9s montage]] reviewing all the evidence related to Heisenberg, going all the way back to the thermite incident at the start of the show. Seeing him put [[HardWorkMontage 5 seasons worth of history together in the span of two minutes]] is very cool.]]

** Marie [[spoiler:slapping Skyler when she learns the whole truth, including that Skyler knew exactly what was going on when Hank was shot by the Cousins. And then she tells Hank to do whatever it takes to bring Walt down.]]
*** Next episode, she doubles down [[spoiler:and tells Walt to his face that maybe he should kill himself if he really wants this drama to go away]].

** Walt's confession: [[spoiler:claiming Hank was the real mastermind who used him as a patsy, and tying in several events across the show's history to give him a completely airtight case if Hank doesn't stop chasing him. And all while giving a flawless performance as the kind of person he was when the show started.]]
*** [[spoiler:Also, it's the smuggest way to deliver the '''real''' kicker of the tape: that even if Hank decides to risk it and try to bring Walt down, he's already lost, since Marie used Walt's drug money to pay for his treatment.]]

** Hank [[spoiler:convincing Jesse to back off his rash decision to commit arson, and in spite of their past history, treating him fairly decently. (Well, mostly.)]]
** Jesse having the courage [[spoiler:to tell everything he knows about Walter White ''and'' to contradict Hank and Gomez regarding how they think Walter White will handle his meeting with Jesse. And on top of that, Jesse rattling Walter's cage right at the end.]]

** [[spoiler:Hank and Jesse work together to create a brilliant plan to trap Walt with hard evidence against him. It culminates in the arrest taking place completely in real time, letting us see every single step as Heisenberg is brought down. Normally, this kind of thing would come off as {{Padding}}, but here the show has earned every single second of the moment it's been building towards for five seasons.]]
** [[spoiler:And the fact that they do it with little more than a camera phone, a barbecue pit, intimate knowledge of how Walt will react, and brains (no, literally)...]]
** [[spoiler:Jesse spitting on Heisenberg. Considering the way Walt used and abused Jesse over the course of his career as "Heisenberg", it's a very awesome comeback.]]

** Hank [[spoiler:facing his imminent [[FaceDeathWithDignity death with clarity and dignity]]]].

** Walt Jr./Flynn [[spoiler:on the same day he finds out his father is [[BrokenPedestal Heisenberg]], tackles him off of Skyler when they start to fight, then calls the police on Walt right in front of him]]. This from a kid who's needed crutches to walk for the whole series.
** Walt's last phone call to Skyler. With the understanding that the speech is [[spoiler:meant to absolve Skyler from any culpability]].

** Saul finally grows a spine and says two words to Walt he should have said 2 seasons ago: [[spoiler:"It's over"]].
** Ed nonchalantly telling [[spoiler:Saul]] that it'll be about 2 days [[spoiler:to erase his identity and give him a new life in Nebraska]].
** Jesse's [[spoiler:escape from his prison. Even though he doesn't get out of the compound, the sheer fact that he managed to get out of his outside dungeon is pretty damn awesome.]]
** Flynn's (previously known as Walt Jr.) [[spoiler:long overdue ReasonYouSuckSpeech to Walt. While it doubles as a TearJerker since Walt had become more sympathetic after realizing the consequences of his actions, it was still nice to see the character LockedOutOfTheLoop the longest outright refuse his father's money and furiously remind Walt of his role in Hank's death.]]
** At the end, [[spoiler:Walt storms out of the New Hampshire bar after seeing a news report of blue meth still circulating and Gray Matter refusing to acknowledge any of his contributions to the company. What really sells this scene, though, is the full ''Breaking Bad'' theme playing as policemen arrive at an empty bar.]]

** The entire finale is one for Walt. [[spoiler:He has become a full MagnificentBastard and demonstrates it with full gusto, executing an obviously well-laid plan one step at a time to ultimately get everything he could hope for at this point -- money for his children, freedom for Skyler and Jesse, a proper burial for Hank and Gomez, vengeance on Jack, Todd, Lydia, and their associates, and death on his own terms.]]
*** [[spoiler:The death scene itself for doing the nigh impossible of being both a straight up TheBadGuyWins ending AND a subversion. At the end of Walt's journey, he's finally dying with all of his major goals accomplished, with nothing but fondness for the life he'd led and no regrets at all -- he even succumbs to the bullet wound before the police find him, going out on his own terms rather than waiting for his cancer or the law to do him in. But we also see visually the sum of all the sacrifices he'd made and all that he'd lost, in that he dies ''in a meth lab.'' There's no one, friends or family, to give him comfort in his final moments, no money, no prizes or rewards of any kind - just lots and lots of meth and equipment. That's when it dawns on you that this ''is'' his life at the very end -- his career as Heisenberg consumed his entire life. Basically, [[JustForFun/ComeForTheXStayForTheY he came for his family, but stayed for the meth.]] It makes for a moment that is simultaneously proud AND pitiful.]]
** [[spoiler:Walt blackmailing Gretchen and Elliott with hitmen to give his money to Walter Jr. for him. [[SugarWiki/FunnyMoments The fact that the hitmen turn out to just be Badger and Skinny Pete with laser pointers doesn't make it any less awesome.]]]]
*** [[spoiler:If anything, it makes it ''[[CrazyAwesome more]]'' awesome. Remember, it was hearing Gretchen and Elliott cutting Walt out of Grey Matter's success that caused Walt to decided to head back to Albuquerque [[TheLastDance and tie up loose ends]]. He actually ''could have'' had them killed... but instead chose to scare them into passing his remaining money to his children, with a death threat that never was to begin with.]]
** Walt's [[spoiler:final meeting with Skyler has him finally stop throwing his family under the bus for the motive for his actions and fully admit that a majority of his "Heisenberg" actions were more for himself than his family. Finally seeing him own up to his actions and his ego after the events of the past year and how he constantly fell back on his family as justification definitely counts.]]
** Walt [[spoiler:gunning down the Neo-Nazis with an automatic machine gun]]. And then [[spoiler:killing Jack, even though it means he'll never see his money.]]
** Scumbag though he may be, [[spoiler:Jack taking his OneLastSmoke before dying is pretty ballsy.]]
** [[spoiler:Walt's [=M60=] opening fire. That brief moment when the trunk opens to reveal the gun is equally awesome.]]
** Jesse [[spoiler:killing Todd by strangling him with his handcuffs. Accompanied by a rather satisfying sound of Todd's neck snapping.]]
*** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ue-lVK6Y5pI At a viewing party of the finale at the Spot Bar in LA]], the amount of cheering and screaming that ensues when [[spoiler:Jesse wraps his cuffs around Todd's throat]] is so loud ''that the audio is clipping''.
** Walt [[spoiler:telling Lydia over the phone that he poisoned her with the ricin]].
** Jesse [[spoiler:getting in a car and driving at high speeds, busting through the gates in the process. The joy in his face and the freedom he has regained makes it an awesome ending for him.]]
** Jesse [[spoiler:telling Walt to just give him the honest truth for once, and this time it works. And then Jesse still doesn't kill him, refusing to let Walt dictate anything about his life anymore, a far more fitting revenge in the end]].
*** And the fact that [[spoiler:Walter accepts this, without trying any more tricks]]. Almost crosses into SugarWiki/{{Heartwarming Moment|s}}.

* The ''Series/{{Mythbusters}}'' managed to debunk two of White's dirty tricks in their ''Breaking Bad'' special, but they prove the last one [[spoiler:the automated machine gun in the trunk]] as not only functional (after a few test runs), but working almost ''exactly'' as shown. Even Vince Gilligan was left with his jaw on the floor.

* "[[Recap/BreakingBadS3E2CaballoSinNombre Caballo Sin Nombre]]": The pizza toss. Made more awesome by the fact that Bryan Cranston nailed it on the first take.