Few would callBreaking Bada happy show. There are moments of dark comedy here and there (mostly during the earlier seasons), and it can also be described as thrilling/entertaining. But uplifting it’s not, given the show commences with its central character, a high-school science teacher named Walter White, getting diagnosed with stage-three lung cancer and turning to a life of crime as a way to pay for his treatment and leave something behind for his family.
He does this by producing methamphetamine, which is already risky and criminal, but gets worse when he lets greed and a pursuit of power get the better of him.Breaking Badis about an initially desperate and perhaps sympathetic man making immoral decision after immoral decision, ultimately transforming into a monster by the end… or was he terrible the whole time, and he just hid it better early on? Either way,the show’s high stakes and exploration of a crime-related story lead to plenty of intense episodes, with the following being amongBreaking Bad’s darkest ever.
The following article contains spoilers for all five seasons of Breaking Bad.
Breaking Bad
10"…And the Bag’s in the River" (2008)
Season 1, Episode 3
To start things off in relatively gentle territory, comparatively speaking, season 1’s “…And the Bag’s in the River” is an early indication ofBreaking Bad’s brutality andcommitment to exploring difficult moral territory. Sure, some of the future episodes that revolve around ethical dilemmas and/or death scenes hit harder, but this is something of a turning point, showcasing the first of Walt’s numerous murders.
As he gets more powerful, much of the destruction he causes isdone without getting his hands physically dirty, but here, he has to deal with an immediate problem himself. Walt faces anguish at resorting to murder the way he does here, and it’s a great deal more hands-on than the death he caused inBreaking Bad’s pilot episode. It’s somewhat understandable, compared to some of the things Walt does later, but the strangling of Krazy-8 feels like a key stage in his forthcoming moral descent.
9"Crawl Space" (2011)
Season 4, Episode 11
“Crawl Space” is best rememberedfor its final scene, which sees Walt having a rather terrifying breakdown after his wife, Skyler, tells him she’s given the money he stashed to her boss to help him out. It’s a twist of fate, coming at a time when he believes he needs the money to save his family from inevitable death.
This is all because Gus wants to kill Walt’s brother-in-law, DEA agent Hank Schrader, and threatens Walt’s entire family - including his infant daughter - should Walt try and interfere. Gus has proven himself to be someone who doesn’t mess around at this point, and sounding so believable when he threatens to kill Walt’s infant daughter makes it impossible to call his bluff. SoWalt deteriorates psychologically, snapping and laughing like the Joker at the end of “Crawl Space,” genuinely believing everyone’s screwed. They more or less are, but not just yet; the true screwing is still about a season away. More on that later.
8"Full Measure" (2010)
Season 3, Episode 13
ThoughJesse eventually gets a well-deserved happy ending, he goes through a great many awful things throughoutBreaking Bad,arguably standing alongside Skyler as the person most often negatively impacted by Walt’s actions. “Full Measure,” a high point of - and conclusion to - season 3, isn’t the first time he goes through something terrible, but it does mark the first time he’s forced to kill someone.
He struggles with it even more than Walt did with Krazy-8, because the killing itself is colder and done to a character who’s more sympathetic. Walt and Jesse find themselves in a predicament, and Walt believes the only way out is by killing the dorky and endearing Gale… which Jesse is forced to carry out, the murder itself being off-screen, but still leaving animpact as the final image of the season.
7"Face Off" (2011)
Season 4, Episode 13
“Crawl Space” sets up a mad rush to the finale of season 4, “Face Off.” The whole final third ofBreaking Bad’s fourth season is top-tier, and there is a certain amount of catharsis to “Face Off,” especially if you don’t entirely hate Walt at this point. Your mileage may vary, but Gus was also cruel and capable of terrible things, andthe conflict between Walt and him was possibly a “bad vs. worse” kind of thing.
Walt wins in “Face Off.”This feels like a victory, but in hindsight, it’s another turning point in the show. Without a major opponent, Walt’s ego and penchant for cruelty ascend to new heights in season 5, where he’s an unequivocal villain. And even if you can put that aside, there’s still the reveal at the very end of “Face Off,” which revealsWalt intentionally poisoned a childas part of his grand takedown of Gus, with such a shot certainly helping to sour the victory.
Season 5, Episode 5
In “Crawl Space,” an infant girl was threatened. In “Face Off,” a child was poisoned (though survived).Then, in the next season’s “Dead Freight,” a child is actually killed. It’s an escalation as well as an indication that no one’s safe. Though he’s not a prominent character by any means, his death still leaves a mark, and the moment hangs heavy over the rest of season 5… particularly any scene that Todd’s in.
Todd’s vibe was always a bit off, but “Dead Freight” makes it clear just what he’s capable of when it comes to leaving no witnesses atthe scene of a daring train heist. And the moment hits even harder because the episode before then is so much fun, recalling the more adventure-filled early episodes ofBreaking Badthat saw Walt and Jesse cooking in their RV in the desert. “Dead Freight” is a comparable romp until it isn’t, with the cold-blooded murder of a child serving as a stark reminder to viewers that they’re no longer in the comparatively lighter early seasons ofBreaking Bad.
5"ABQ" (2009)
Season 2, Episode 13
Season 2’s finale reaches new heights dramatically (while also introducing a fan-favorite character), pushing things to an extent that almost feels comical in scope. Like the aforementioned season 4, season 2 concludes with a run of episodes that prove game-changing, and certain events are set in motion a couple of episodes earlier that pay off in devastating ways during “ABQ.”
A choice Walt made (more on that later) eventually leads to a grief-stricken air traffic controller losing concentration while on the job,thereby leading to a horrific midair collision that leaves more than 160 people dead. Walt just so happens to witness it all, and it resolves some of the eerie cold opens that were shown throughout season 2. Even if it’s over the top, “ABQ” does a great job at showing how there’s so much more at stake than just Walt and his family; his actions can - and do - cause destruction on a much larger scale.
4"Granite State" (2013)
Season 5, Episode 15
“Granite State” is the penultimate episode ofBreaking Bad, and is only saved from being the most miserable episode of the show due to it setting up a conclusion that ultimately feels bittersweet. The finale sees Walt achieving a victory of sorts while also dying, and ties up loose ends as cleanly as a show like this could. It’s not an entirely happy ending, and most characters are worse off than ever before, but there’s a slight sense of things being made right (emphasis on “slight”).
The episode before that point is a middle ground between the horrors of Breaking Bad’s third-last episode and its somewhat redemptive conclusion. Despair and grief hang heavy over “Granite State,” things seem hopeless, andJesse gets to experience the worst of it, being enslaved and having to go through another untimely - and cruel - death of a loved one. The fact the episode also feels so cold adds to the sense of darkness, with only the ending (and a guest-starringRobert Forster) warming things up a little.
3"Say My Name" (2012)
Season 5, Episode 7
While thescene that gives “Say My Name” its titleis kind of entertaining and memorable, it also drives home the full-on villain Walt has become at this point in season 5. One gets the sense he’s enjoying post-Gus life a little too much, and he oversteps things even by his standards during “Say My Name,” when he feels slighted by Mike and resorts to straight-up murdering him.
Unlike with Krazy-8, which could be justified, or the deaths in the airplane collision, which he didn’t directly cause,Walt’s murder of Mike in “Say My Name” is entirely in cold blood. Mike’s criticisms are valid, but he told Walt things Walt didn’t want to hear, and he reacted in the worst way possible. Mike was one of the more sympathetic characters on the show, at least by season 5’s standards, and his death here is a sign that things are only going to get worse.
2"Phoenix" (2009)
Season 2, Episode 12
Immediately before “ABQ” is “Phoenix,” which isn’t as death-filled as the finale of season 2, but it is the one that sets in motion the events that play out there. It’s infamously the episode where Walt effectively kills Jesse’s girlfriend. He sees her choking on her vomit whenshe and Jesse are passed out after shooting up, and chooses not to move her at that moment to prevent the choking.
Walt didn’t want her taking his fellow meth manufacturer away from him, and so he seized the opportunity to let her die. He had his reasons, but they were entirely selfish and awful ones that speak to Walt’s true nature.It’s a pivotal moment in the show;one from which Walt can’t really recover morally, and the events also traumatize Jesse to a great extent, possibly even for life.
1"Ozymandias" (2013)
Season 5, Episode 14
“Ozymandias” isa legendary TV episode, often regarded asBreaking Bad’s finest hour alongside being its darkest. The entire show was always building toward inevitably terrible things; a tragic downfall that would ruin Walt’s life, and possibly the lives of everyone around him, too. “Ozymandias,” more than any other episode, showcases that long-brewing and tragic downfall.
Everyone was expecting an episode like this to be devastating, but “Ozymandias” still surprises owing to just how devastating it gets.An endearing side character dies off-screen, Hank’s killed in front of Walt, Walt admits to Jesse he let his girlfriend die, Jesse’s enslaved, Walt loses most of his money, and then effectively loses his family for good. It’s a traumatic and compelling hour of television, and it’s hard to imagine a wayBreaking Badcould’ve conceivably gotten darker than this.
