Breaking BadLists about AMC's monumental series that follows mild-mannered chemistry teacher Walter White as he becomes kingpin Heisenberg, and the spin-off that follows Saul Goodman, a scam artist-turned lawyer.
September 22, 2022 5.1K votes 871 voters 39.6K views
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Vote up the Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul ends that still hurt.
Who would have expected the Breaking Bad universe to become a hallmark of television history? Viewers theorized and debated the actions of Walter White, Jesse Pinkman, and the best characters in Better Call Saul, but they have also had their hearts torn out and put in a blender due to some tragic final scenes for these individuals. Much like Game of Thrones, this universe goes hard when it wants to say goodbye to its characters.
From Howard Hamlin being at the wrong place at the wrong time to Jesse losing those he loved, readers may want to reach for the box of tissues, because it's about to get heavy around here.
Mike is the ultimate fixer for Gus Fring's operation. No matter how intense things get, he maintains a cool and methodical approach. Throughout both Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul, he follows a certain code of honor and proves himself as someone who could be relied on. His line of work might be shady, but Mike never makes anything personal. It's always business to him.
In Breaking Bad Season 5, Mike meets his maker after he tries to leave the drug business - but it isn't a cartel hitman who takes him out. Walt's fury and determination to get intel causes him to shoot Mike in the stomach out of anger. Walt then follows him to a river bank to finish the job, where he expresses regret for what he did. What makes this scene even worse is that Mike could have gotten rid of Walt many times before but didn't, and he could have just stopped helping White, too. Mike thought he could handle the chaos that came with the chemistry teacher's methods, and he paid the ultimate price for being wrong.
Many fans dismissed Hank Schrader as a joke in the first season of Breaking Bad, but as the series and character developed, he became a fan-favorite since he proved to be someone who was trying to do the right thing. Yes, he might be abrasive and rude, but deep down, Hank is a genuine white knight who believes in serving and protecting - even if it means taking down his own family.
After a long cat-and-mouse game with Walt, Hank finally believes he has his man in Season 5. With his partner Steve Gomez, Hank plans to take Walt into custody. When Walt calls for backup in the form of Jack Welker and his goons, Hank and Gomez wind up outmatched. Gomez meets is end offscreen, leaving Hank on his knees at the start of the gut-wrenching episode “Ozymandias.” While Walt didn't want Hank to perish, he's powerless to do anything to save his brother-in-law. Hank stays defiant until the end, refusing to beg for his life.
After the loss of Jane, Jesse struggles to get close to someone again, fearing another tragic fate from being in his orbit. When he meets Andrea in an NA meeting, he's actually there to try to sell his product to recovering addicts like her. As he learns more about Andrea's situation and her family, he sees the ultimate human cost of what he and Walter White brought in the Albuquerque drug trade. Jesse gives her money to move to a better part of town, and they start a relationship. He also tries to be a role model to her son Brock, but ultimately leaves them both after thinking about what kind of future they would have being close to a mess like him.
His fears come true when Andrea is used as a threat to make Jesse work for Jack Welker's crew. Todd takes her out on her own doorstep as a message to Jesse so he will continue to cook product for them or risk Brock meeting the same fate. The worst part about Andrea's end is that she is innocent in this entire ordeal and didn't do anything to deserve her fate. For Jesse, it's yet another loss to have on his already fragile conscience.
In a crime drama, it's expected that people may meet some untimely ends. On a show like Breaking Bad, which deals with cartels and violence, it's almost a given that the body count will be high. However, there's a limit, especially when it comes to innocent bystanders, and bystanders don't get much more innocent than Drew Sharp.
In Season 5, Drew Sharp rides around on his dirt bike in the desert and picks up a spider. He then happens to bump into Walter White, Jesse Pinkman, and Todd Alquist just after they complete their train caper. Drew has no idea what's going on, so he just waves at the trio. Todd waves back, too, then pulls a piece and shoots the child. It's a cold-blooded moment that finally breaks up Walt and Jesse's operation. That death and what they have to do to cover it up is the point where their union and empire starts to collapse.
As a mid-level lieutenant sucked into the Fring-Salamanca feud, Nacho Varga falls into a nihilistic depression driven by the fact there is no safe end for him or his family. Throughout Better Call Saul, the burden of the cartel life weighs heavily on him.
In Season 6, Nacho knows his options are grim. On the run from the Salamanca family after betraying Lalo to Gus Fring, Nacho realizes that even Fring is looking to get rid of him because of the threat he presents to the Chicken Man's place in the cartel. In his final act of defiance, he makes his way back to Fring alive and makes one last deal. He walks to his demise and takes all the blame for Lalo's hit, clearing Gus's name to Don Eladio for his father's safety. He also gets the chance to tell the Salamancas exactly what he thinks about them before taking his own life. It's an emotionally charged end for Nacho, who seemed like he genuinely wanted to leave it all behind him, but he was in too deep to ever get out.
Howard Hamlin never stops being an interesting character in Better Call Saul. Initially introduced as a typical corporate lawyer who looks at the world through a privileged lens, he's never a bad person at heart. In fact, he tries more than once to do what's best for Jimmy McGill and Kim Wexler, despite their open hostility towards him.
In Season 6, Kim and Jimmy set out to ruin Howard's career. They succeed in driving the man to the breaking point, but they take everything too far in their quest to embarrass him. When Howard finally goes to the couple's apartment to "congratulate" them for ruining his life, he is eliminated by Lalo Salamanca simply for being at the wrong place at the wrong time. Howard's demise is devastating proof that Kim and Jimmy bring out the worst in each other.
