History Awesome / BreakingBad

[[AC:"[[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.

* One of the [[WhamLine hardest hitting]] lines in the whole episode is said by ''a baby''. Even better? '''''It wasn't scripted'''''.

* Saul finally grows a spine and says two words to Walt he should have said 2 seasons ago: "It's over". ''Series/BetterCallSaul'' makes this even more satisfying, as one of the reasons Saul sought out Walt was because he had recreated his childhood with Chuck and thought he deserved a degrading form of love. After years of being such an ironic ExtremeDoormat to the point [[spoiler: where he thought there was reason to fear saying no to ''Kim'']], he's finally got better in this little way.
* Ed nonchalantly telling Saul that it'll be about 2 days to erase his identity and give him a new life in Nebraska.

* 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.
** This is made more awesome when you take into consideration the fact that this could be seen as [[FridgeBrilliance Walt exiting and Heisenberg entering]].

* The use of [[SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic Out of Time Man]].

* Saul paying a visit to Skyler to tell her how Ted Beneke's been spending his late "great-aunt Birgit's" money so they could force him to pay the IRS. Sure, it may have had some dire unexpected consequences later on, but at the time it was the smart thing to do.

* Crossed with Heartwarming: Walt offers all of his money to Jack if it means he doesn't kill Hank. While it's a futile effort, the fact that he was willing to sacrifice everything he gained by cooking meth if it means his DEA agent brother-in-law—who was arresting him—gets to live, it shows he does still care deeply about his family despite his stronger interest in getting into it for his own self-fulfillment. Despite the ego that almost always drives his actions, Walt still without a doubt cares about his family.

'''Walter:''' [[EvilSoundsDeep''Yeah'']].

'''Walter:''' Yeah.

* 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]].

* Saul finally grows a spine and says two words to Walt he should have said 2 seasons ago: "It's over".

'''Walt:''' ''[holds up the other crystals]'' Wanna find out?

-->'''Mike:''' We had a good thing you stupid son of a bitch! We had Fring, we had a lab, we had everything we needed and it all ran like clockwork! You could've shut your mouth, cooked, and made as much money as you needed. It was perfect, but no! You just had to blow it up. '''[[ItsAllAboutMe You, and your pride and your ego!]]''' You just had to be the man! If you'd done your job, known your place, we'd all be fine right now!

-->'''Mike:''' We had a good thing you stupid son of a bitch! We had Fring, we had a lab, we had everything we needed and it all ran like clockwork! You could've shut your mouth, cooked, and made as much money as you needed. It was perfect, but no! You just had to blow it up. '''You, and your pride and your ego!''' You just had to be the man! If you'd done your job, known your place, we'd all be fine right now!

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

[[AC:"[[Recap/BreakingBadS5E7SayMyName My Name]]"]]

* Despite the NightmareFuel content, on a meta-level, Creator/BryanCranston's portrayal of Walt's LaughingMad HeroicBSOD[=/=]VillainousBreakdown is just amazing in that scene.

[[folder:Meta-Examples]]
* The viewership for "Granite State." It was competing against Sunday Night Football, the series finale of ''Series/{{Dexter}}'', and, in the Eastern and Central time zones, the ''Emmy awards'', and it still managed to break the show's viewing record, getting 6.58 million viewers.
* 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. And in August 2019, [[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2301451/?ref_=ttep_ep14 it regained its perfect 10/10 score]] with ''over 105 thousand'' votes!
* "Felina" was watched by ''10.28 million people'' when it first aired, [[http://www.avclub.com/articles/ratings-roundup-doomed-meth-kingpin-defeats-storyb,103511/ setting a record for non-football broadcast TV]].
** This is even more impressive considering the series started with less than a million viewers and before 2013, its record was 2.9 million viewers. With the Final Eight, it saw an astronomical increase, it shattering its own viewing record four times.
* The entire Final Eight for the cast and crew. It's hard to think of a more intense, emotionally-compelling, and wonderfully written ending to a beloved series than this.
* 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. The song even charted for the first time in the UK.
* Creator/GiancarloEsposito'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' 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.
* '''''Creator/AnthonyHopkins''''' binge-watched the entire series in two weeks and then sent a letter to Bryan Cranston praising the show and Cranston in particular, calling his performance as Walter White "the best acting [he's] seen -- ever."
-->'''Anthony Hopkins:''' Thank you. That kind of work/artistry is rare, and when, once in a while, it occurs, as in this epic work, [[SugarWiki/HeartwarmingMoments it restores confidence.]]
** He was also so impressed by Giancarlo Esposito that he recommended the ''Series/{{Westworld}}'' crew put him on the show, resulting in a quite memorable cameo.
* The show pretty much sweeping the 2014 Primetime Emmys, winning Series, Writing (for the series' best episode, "Ozymandias") and acting for Cranston, Paul, AND Gunn. Notably, the show was one of the very few to win the top prize in drama for a final season (alongside ''Series/TheSopranos'' and ''Series/UpstairsDownstairs''), and Cranston was able to pull out the victory over a heavy favorite in Creator/MatthewMcConaughey (for ''Series/TrueDetective''). Take into account the win for Editing it received at the Creative Arts Ceremony, and ''Breaking Bad'' earned 6 prizes for its final season, the most it ever received in a single year. Just. Awesome.
** In addition, despite ending almost a year before, you would be hard-pressed to find too many people complaining about the wins it took. This was a series that truly deserved the praise that it got.
** 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 Creator/DennisFranz'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.
** Additionally, the show actually increased in Emmy nominations almost every year it was on the air, reflecting the increasing prominence and acclaim it was bestowed as it progressed. Along with the fact that their best episode was one of their last, this makes ''Breaking Bad'' probably one of the biggest, if not ''the'' biggest, aversion of SeasonalRot ever.
*** Season 1: 4 nominations (2 wins)
*** Season 2: 5 nominations (2 wins)
*** Season 3: 7 nominations (2 wins)
*** Season 4: 13 nominations (1 win)
*** Season 5a: 13 nominations (3 wins)
*** Season 5b: 11 nominations (6 wins)
* Creator/BryanCranston's performance as Walter White becoming only the fourth performance in television history to win an Emmy Award, a Golden Globe, a SAG award, a TCA prize for Individual Achievement, and a Critics Choice Television Award. The other three prior to him were Creator/TinaFey in ''Series/ThirtyRock'', Julianna Margulies in ''Series/TheGoodWife'', and Creator/ClaireDanes in ''Series/{{Homeland}}''. Even discounting the Critics Choice Award as too recent a prize to count for a sample size, that still only adds in Creator/AlecBaldwin for ''Series/ThirtyRock'', James Gandolfini and Edie Falco for ''Series/TheSopranos'', and Creator/PaulGiamatti for ''Series/JohnAdams''. Quite a pantheon of performances.
* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CXpE9u-yuTs Walt's mighty return for a 2015 Super Bowl Esurance commercial.]] Not only is he dressed in his meth suit, but Cranston nails the performance even two years after the series ended. He even reenacts the "say my name" bit (with a more commercial-friendly response, of course).
** Not only that, but [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uq9aDpoMVPY Jesse got a narrating job for a Weight Watchers commercial]], and he does a damn good job at trying to convince the viewer into eating whatever they want, overlayed with footage of FoodPorn.
* This line from the Trickster in ''Series/TheFlash2014'': "This is going to be my masterpiece. My Mona Lisa. My ''Breaking Bad'' season five." Yes, even psychopathic comic book villains love the show that much.
* The ''Series/{{Mythbusters}}'' managed to debunk two of White's dirty tricks in their ''Breaking Bad'' special, but they prove the last one (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.
* Bryan Cranston made a cameo as Walter in a 2016 episode of ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'' revealing that he'd faked his death and had been laying low, until he was appointed the head of the DEA by UsefulNotes/DonaldTrump.
* Creator/BobOdenkirk casually revealing that ''Recap/ElCamino'' 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.
[[/folder]]

** And the fact that Walter accepts this, without trying any more tricks. Almost crosses into being a SugarWiki/{{Heartwarming Moment|s}}.

!!As a Moments subpage, all spoilers are unmarked [[Administrivia/SpoilersOff as per policy.]] Administrivia/YouHaveBeenWarned.'''

** Leading up to this, Jesse grows some courage and, when he learns that he was expected to synthesize a key ingredient that had always been provided for him at Gus's lab, not only demands it be brought to him, but chews out Fuentes on the unkempt state of his lab.

* Mike dealing a nasty blow to Walt's ego and neatly summing up Gus's legacy, all with just one line. "Just because you shot Jesse James, don't make you Jesse James."

* Creator/GiancarloEsposito'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.

-->'''[[BaldOfAwesome Walt:]]''' [[PreAssKickingOneLiner This... is not meth.]]

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/8eacc9c7_019d_4cb1_8de7_9333a3b7ac6b.jpeg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:The beginning of Walt’s dark side.]]

'''As a Moments subpage, all spoilers are unmarked [[Administrivia/SpoilersOff as per policy.]] Administrivia/YouHaveBeenWarned.'''
----

* The entire finale is one for Walt. , 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.

* Despite th NightmareFuel content, on a meta-level, Creator/BryanCranston's portrayal of Walt's LaughingMad HeroicBSOD[=/=]VillainousBreakdown is just amazing in that scene.

* 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.

*** And the fact that Walter accepts this, without trying any more tricks. Almost crosses into SugarWiki/{{Heartwarming Moment|s}}.