"Jesus Christ, Marie."
Despite being a dark and serious program, Breaking Bad has inspired its fair share of comedic goodness. There will be spoilers below.
Please add entries in the following format:
- The meme. [[labelnote:Explanation]]The explanation behind the meme, if necessary.[[/labelnote]] Explanation Like this.
- Further mutations and successor memes, if any.
Memes from Breaking Bad
- As a general note, Walt's lines of badassery get repeated often by fans:
- "I said 'Fuck you!' And your eyebrows!" Explanation Walt's reaction to Bogdan telling him to wipe down cars at the car wash.
- "I've got your restraining order right here!" *grabs crotch* "Restrain this!" Explanation Walt's reaction to Skyler threatening to get him a restraining order after the pizza throw scene.
- "You got one part of that wrong. This... is not meth." Explanation When Walt confronts Tuco in his new Heisenberg persona, Tuco more or less calls Walt an idiot for walking into his office with more meth after Tuco had beaten Jesse earlier. Walt quickly proves him wrong by picking up one of the supposed rocks of meth (actually mercury fulminate) and throwing it down, which causes a large explosion.
- "Stay out of my territory." Explanation Walt says this to two unassuming meth cooks outside of a parking lot. He manages to intimidate them. It became even more popular thanks to a similar scene in Isle of Dogs.
- "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!"Explanation Walt's rebuking Skyler's plea for him to get to the police, and simultaneously insisting that he has everything under control and that he will not be the one gunned down while opening the front door, but the one who knocks on it.
- "You're goddamn right." Explanation Walt forces Declan to say his moniker while cutting up a deal with him. Declan says it and Walter replies with the aforementioned quote. Often used as a reaction to something someone agrees with.
- "If that's true – if you don't know who I am – then maybe your best course would be to tread lightly." Explanation (spoilers) Walt's threat to Hank when the latter confronts Walt over being Heisenberg.
- Jesse, we need to cook.
- "You are not the guy. You're not capable of being the guy. I had a guy, but now I don't. You are not the guy." Explanation Mike's rant at Jesse in Shotgun after Jesse annoys him during their pickup runs.
- "I fucked Ted." Explanation Skyler has an affair with Ted and tells Walt this as an attempt to get Walt out of the house.
- Breaking Bad Comics: a series of fan created comics using Flanderisations of the characters. Breaking Bad meets Sweet Bro and Hella Jeff. Original here
◊. - Jesse: [Insert sentence], Bitch. Explanation Jesse has a tendency to say "yo" and "bitch" frequently, especially in the earlier seasons.
- With "YEAH, BITCH! MAGNETS!" seemingly gliding over all.
- Yo, gatorade me bitch! Explanation Jesse complaining about needing assistants in the meth lab to do the grunt work for him and Walt.
- An image of him captioned "Yeah, science bitch!"◊note Actually a case of Beam Me Up, Scotty!, since the actual quote is: "Yeah, Mr. White! Yeah, science!" is a popular reaction meme to scientific discoveries.
- Walter Jr.'s love of breakfast, which has been immortalized in a song and a rap on Robot Chicken.
- "They're not rocks, they're minerals." Explanation (spoilers) While bedridden from several gunshot wounds, Hank gained a hobby collecting minerals. Marie refers to them as rocks, which annoys Hank every time.
- Jesus Christ, Marie.Explanation Hank's aforementioned annoyed response to Marie's ignorance of the difference between rocks and minerals.
- This is the exact moment Walt becomes Heisenberg.Explanation Arising from amateur attempts to suss out Walt's Character Development, usually by pointing to various Kick the Dog or Moral Event Horizon moments. This then led to people calling any moment "the moment Walt becomes Heisenberg", including bits of the first episode, the moment of his conception, or scenes from earlier shows that feature Bryan Cranston. It even got its own subreddit!
- "I've got dipping sticks."
- Peter Schuler's One-Scene Wonder appearance in "Madrigal", in particular, his last meal of tater tots and "Franch" dipping sauce, accompanied by his BSOD demeanor, has earned quite a bit of love from the internet.
- "IS CHARACTER/OBJECT X GAY?" Explanation The copious degree of speculation concerning the exact nature of Gus's relationship with his deceased business partner Max prompted an influx of comedic posts on IMDB inquiring about the sexuality of numerous characters in the series, as well as several important intimate objects as well.
- [MUFFLED RAP MUSIC PLAYING IN THE DISTANCE]
- [REVVING INTENSIFIES]
- [WALT JR. VOMITING]
- [SADLY GO-KARTS]
- During the airing of the first part of season 5, IMDB took to calling Hank, "Honk". For no apparent reason. This has stuck around.
- "Walt Jr Is A Retard", has recently become a meme, with fans jokingly pointing to his cerebral palsy inflicted speech impediment as proof of his mental deficiency.
- "Josh Pankman isn't a murderer. He was driven to it by his best friend Wotter Wight. This man shaved his head and now people think he is bald. A beard confirms his masculinity." Explanation This is from a comment on a Breaking Bad fan video on YouTube by a user named Gitfacehal.
- Walt's off-hand threat to Saul, where he tells him "I'll send you to Belize", seemed to become one overnight.
- Belize◊ being used as a Deadly Euphemism is one straight after the episode. Bonus points for finding YouTube videos on Belize with a Breaking Bad reference in the comments.
- And on reddit, a redditor misheard the quote and asked "who is billy" on Breaking Bad's section, believing that Saul wanted to send Hank to Billy's.
- Hank and Marie, staring in horror/disgust/disbelief at their TV screen, replacing Walt's fake confession pinning Hank as Heisenberg with things like the VMAs or Hal's rollerdancing skills. Also literally sprang up overnight.
- Don't make Mike beatcha 'till yer legs don't work.explanation Mike threatens to break Saul's legs to coerce him into giving up Jesse
- "Cow house?" Explanation On Walt and Jesse's first cook, Jesse yells to Walt that he's found a barn, but doesn't know what it's called, and refers to it as a "cow house". Walt's reaction is priceless.
- "Better Call Saul!" Explanation Saul Goodman's catchphrase in his commercials.
- It got so big, in fact, it is now the name of the spinoff.
- "Have an A1 day!"explanation The slogan of the car wash where Walt once worked, and which he and Skyler later purchase to launder his drug money
- Walt throwing a pizza on the roof. Or, "Roof Pizza"!
- This meme has gotten so well known that Vince Gilligan asked fans to stop throwing pizzas on the roof of the Walter White house because it's not cool for the actual resident who lives there.
- "Huell, you happy?" "Reasonably." "What would make you unhappy?" "This little motherfucker not doing what he's told." Explanation Huell and Kuby's conversation about if Huell is or isn't happy with Ted at the moment. In particular, Huell's deadpan "Reasonably".
- Huell is still sitting around waiting.Explanation (spoilers) Hank tricks Huell into hiding in a safehouse under false pretense; as Hank dies shortly afterwards, Huell is presumably still afraid for his life and waiting for his return.
- Badger and Skinny Pete's Star Trek Fan Fic conversation. Now in animated form.
- Stop trying to make Low Winter Sun happen. It's not going to happen. Explanation Typical BB fan's response to AMC's constant promotion of Low Winter Sun.
- Meth Damon Explanation Todd Alquist bears quite the resemblance to Matt Damon, and the uninitated could easily think that Todd's name is actually Meth Damon, because the two are almost interchangable.
- Shut the fuck up and let me die in peace.Explanation (spoilers) Mike's dying words.
- "No more half measures." Explanation Mike's cautionary tale to Walt about dealing with Jesse has become popular.
- "Tight, tight, tight!" Explanation Tuco after snorting the first batch of Blue Sky meth.
- "Mexico, all's I'm sayin'." "Heh. Guy hit 10 guys in jail a two minute window. All's I'm sayin'." Explanation Huell and Kuby while lying on all of Walt's cash. The image of the two itself is also popular.
- "Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!" Explanation Skyler's Big "SHUT UP!" to Marie.
- Jesse has a Need for Speed. Explanation (spoilers) “Felina” has Jesse driving off at high speed in a car at the end, to a new life. One of Aaron Paul’s roles after the show is a part in the Need for Speed movie, and fans have joked that the entire show is a prequel to the film.
- In a similar vein, that the series is a sequel to Malcolm in the Middle, after a possible Noodle Incident. Plenty of jokes about Malcolm being a sequel to Breaking Bad have also been made.
- There's also juxtapositions of Walt's dramatic scenes in BB with silly things from Malcolm. For example.
- Walter looks like a live-action version of Ned Flanders early in the series. Fans have responded to this with numerous fanart of crossovers with The Simpsons.
- "Blood, Meth, and Tears"Explanation The final episode is named "Felina", which can be divided into chemical symbols Fe (Iron) Li (Lithium) Na (Sodium). Iron, Lithium and Sodium are key ingredients in the respective substances.
- Turning Mr. Chips into Scarface. Explanation Vince Gilligan's original pitch for the series has become so famous that it is often used to sum it up to newcomers.
- The Evil "[insert noun here]". Explanation During the Brazilian airing of the show, the name was translated as "A Quimica do Mal" (The Evil Chemistry). Since the original Breaking Bad had many fans in the country before it aired there on TV, they were displeased with this name. As a result, every time something Breaking Bad-related appears, they will make a joke about this title.
- Many people have parodied Walt's appearance in the "Change the Equation" season 1 poster◊ (the one where he has no pants and white underwear), sometimes crossing it over with other shows like Adventure Time◊, Bob's Burgers◊, The Smurfs◊, and even Pinky and the Brain◊.
- "He can't keep getting away with it!" Explanation Screamed by Jesse after he realizes he's been played by Walter far too many times. When the clip is used, it's in referral to the poster being tricked or in reaction to the actions of a person or artist known well as a Trolling Creator.
- "This is the moment where [character name] became [character pseudonym]." Explanation A popular Youtube comment during the run of the series for any clip where characters crossed the moral event horizon. Since characters are constantly doing this, it became a common comment on many Breaking Bad clips, leading to parodies being posted on more irrelevant clips such as "This is the moment where Chuck became Captain Cook".
- "Jesse what the fuck are you talking about?"Explanation A set of screenshots◊ from the scene of Jesse and Walt eating after the start of Box Cutter. It tends to depict Jesse using modern internet slang, much to the confusion of Walt. Their flashback scene in El Camino is also used this way.
- "Breaking Good Episode 1" Explanation A parody and essentially mini-abridged retelling of Breaking Bad and its characters' relationships, made from quickly typed-out posts and equally hastily-made narration. It became popular enough to warrant some follow-ups.
- Many characters' names are corrupted and rewritten as part of the style, such as "Jesser" and "Mr Wahit".
- Similarly, misnaming of meth, such as "methé" and "methér."note Pronounced "meth E" and "meth her" respectively, despite what the accented letters would otherwise imply. Sometimes altogether replaced with "cocainer" as the product that Walter and Jesse cook.
- 20003 km/h of methé Explanation One of "Mr Gusto"'s lines, representing his request for Walter to cook him many pounds of meth. Alternatively, "448 kbps of metheŕ", what Walart White also describes as his "amount" of product.
- "Jesee whre is the cocainer" "In my nose mr whiter" Explanation One of the more recognizable and often-quoted lines from the video.
- Walt's Breakdown. Explanation (spoilers) In season 5 episode 14, Walter collapses in despair after seeing Hank get shot in the head. The utter shock on Walter's face has led to the sequence being used for various gifs, and the first few frames of the shot have also been used as reaction images.
- "Walt, I dunno man. Been pretty sus lately."/Hank's Sussy Baka Explanation As part of a charity drive, one of many Cameo videos included commissioning Dean Norris to portray Hank interrogating Walt as if they were playing a game of Among Us, ending with him declaring Walt to be a "Sussy Baka". The already memetic tendencies of Among Us subjected the video to spread and numerous edits.
- Walt: [confesses to being Heisenberg] Hank: Heh heh! Good one.Explanation Walt and Hank's game of "Cat and Mouse" over the course of the series is one of the show's most famed aspects, and usually, Walt manages to slip away thanks to Hank always underestimating him. At times, it reaches absurd and comedic points, like when Hank notices the suspicious weight of Walt's duffel bag. Walt responds with a Sarcastic Confession of it being his drug money and successfully gets Hank off his back. As a way of mocking how blind Hank tends to be, fans have joked that, even if Walt ever confessed to being Heisenberg to his face, Hank still wouldn't have believed him.
- Stickers.Explanation Throughout the first few episodes, Jimmy has trouble getting past Mike's parking lot booth because he doesn't have the right number of parking validation stickers
- Anything to do with Tony the Toilet Buddy.
- Fuck Chuck.Explanation Fans' reaction when it's revealed Chuck has sabotaged Jimmy's attempts to become a legitimate lawyer
- A Chicago Sunroof.Explanation The act of defecating through an open sunroof, preferably when there are not children sitting the in back seat. Jimmy owes Chuck a favor for getting him out of criminal charges relating to doing this.
- Squat Cobblersexplanation Jimmy's brought in by Mike because Daniel Wormald, a drug dealer Mike has been helping out, has gotten himself into trouble with the cops, who have found out about the hiding place where Daniel stashes his drugs and cash. To cover Daniel's end, Jimmy spins to the cops a bogus tale about Daniel stashing non-existent videos of himself sitting in pie while crying.
- "It's when a man sits in pie! He sits in a pie! And he... he wiggles around. Maybe it's like Hellman's Mayonnaise. It has a different name west of the Rockies. I don't know. But, uh, technically, he does a crybaby squat, so there's tears, which makes it more specialized. Not all pie sitters cry. But I'm gonna tell you something: This guy? He's a regular Julianne Moore once he gets the waterworks cranked up."
- Howard's job offer.Explanation Howard offers Jimmy a job at several points throughout season 5, which lead to a meme where several tense interactions or phone calls are replaced by Howard offering him a job again.
- "Your honor..." followed by Saul giving his "defense" to his client.Explanation A larger and more general meme, involving a lawyer giving their defense of a client in silly off-kilter arguments, such as "finders keepers." Screenshots from the show depicting Saul defending his clients in court happen to be the most popular and defining variants.
- "Hello, and welcome to Los Pollos Hermanos family. My name is Gustavo, but you can call me Gus." Explanation A Twitter account by the handle of @mynamesgustavo goes around posting this short clip from the employee training video for Los Perros Hermanos created to promote season 3 of the show.
- The bald cap.explanation When Walt reappears in a flashback, many viewers noticed that Bryan Cranston was wearing a very obvious bald cap. It's excused by the fact that had Cranston actually shaved for the role, then everyone would've known something was up.
- Pepperoni pizza.explanation When Jesse threatens to kill Todd out in the desert, Todd manages to dissuade him from doing so by offering him...pizza. His favorite pizza, to be exact, which is pepperoni. Todd's dissonance towards the whole thing, contrasted by Jesse's filthy appearance, emotionally drained, and overall depressing appearance makes it all the more memetic for how out of place it is, yet managing to remain a powerful moment of acting.
- Fat Todd.explanation People noticed that Jesse Plemons had gained some weight since the finale of Breaking Bad, thus giving us another example of Bellisario's Maxim.
