From Gus Fring’s gruesome death to Walt’s darkly hilarious but deeply disturbing meltdown in the crawlspace, there are some truly great scenes in Breaking Bad. Breaking Bad had arguably the best writing in the history of television, so the series rarely had a bad scene. But Breaking Bad’s finest moments have become legendary.
10
Walt’s Meltdown In The Crawlspace
Walt laughs in the crawl space in Breaking Bad
When Gus threatens Walt’s family, Walt decides it’s finally time to uproot and races home to gather the family and hastily pack their things. As he frantically scrounges around the crawlspace to collect enough cash to recruit Saul’s disappearer, Walt is horrified to find that almost all his money is gone. Skyler confesses that she gave it to her lover, Ted.
This is when Walt snaps. Instead of getting angry at Skyler, he bursts into hysterical laughter. His last hope is gone, and he’s convinced that he and his family will be swiftly executed, so he erupts into a manic episode. This moment is both deeply disturbing and darkly hilarious. It marked a shift in Walt’s psyche, and the series itself.
9
“I Am The One Who Knocks”
Walt talking to Skyler in Breaking Bad
When Skyler becomes concerned that Walt is in danger, Walt lashes out with arguably the most iconic monologue in the entire series. Walt furiously tells Skyler that he’s not the one in danger; he’s the one who endangers other people’s lives. He’s not the guy who gets shot in his home; he’s the guy who knocks on the front door.
This is a perfect example of Breaking Bad’s masterful use of subtext. Underneath Walt’s fury, he’s deeply insecure. When Skyler expressed genuine worry about his wellbeing, all Walt heard was that she thinks other men are stronger and more powerful than him, so he lost his cool. This scene encapsulates the monster raging within Walt.
8
Jesse Kills Gale
At the end of Breaking Bad’s third season, when it becomes clear that Gus is training Gale to produce Walt’s meth so he can bump off Walt, Walt acts fast to make that impossible. While Mike comes to assassinate Walt, Walt sends Jesse to Gale’s apartment to kill him, forcing Gus to keep Walt alive for quality control.
It’s a perfect plan; the only hiccup is that Jesse actually has to pull the trigger — and, unlike Walt, Jesse actually has a conscience. When Jesse comes face-to-face with Gale and Gale begs for his life, Jesse can barely bring himself to shoot. Aaron Paul captures the pain in Jesse’s tear-filled eyes with heartbreaking authenticity.
7
The Methylamine Train Heist
Jesse, Todd and Walt standing in desert Breaking Bad
Vince Gilligan conceived Breaking Bad as a contemporary western. It’s a story of outlaws on the frontier of New Mexico, contending with gunslinging gangs and getting into armed standoffs. In its final season, the show delivered the oldest western trope there is — a great train robbery — when Walt, Jesse, and Mike set out to steal methylamine from a cargo train.
The train heist goes off without a hitch. Kuby keeps the drivers busy, Jesse and Todd discreetly extract the methylamine and replace it with water, and Walt masterminds the whole thing. But just as they’re celebrating their victory, a young boy sees all their faces, and Todd shoots him dead without blinking. It’s a horrifying twist ending to an action-packed triumph.
6
Walt Watches Jane Die
Walt watches Jane die in Breaking Bad
After Jane starts interfering in Walt and Jesse’s business, Walt tries to come up with a way to get her out of the picture — and then it falls right into his lap. As he heads over to Jesse’s house and finds both Jesse and Jane passed out on a heroin bender, Walt breaks in and tries to shake his partner awake.
When he accidentally knocks Jane onto her back and she starts choking on her own vomit, Walt’s first instinct is to help her. But then, it occurs to him that if she dies, all his problems will go away, so he leaves her to die. Bryan Cranston’s performance conveys Walt’s cycle of emotions with heart-wrenching authenticity, creating a truly unforgettable scene.
5
Hank Realizes Walt Is Heisenberg
Hank reads a book on the toilet in Breaking Bad
In the midseason finale of Breaking Bad’s final season, the moment that fans had been dreading since the beginning finally came to pass: Hank figured out that Walt was Heisenberg. The elusive drug lord he’d been chasing for months to no avail was right under his nose the whole time. It significantly raised the stakes ahead of the midseason hiatus.
This would be a great twist no matter what, but what makes it a great scene is the way it happens. Hank doesn’t bust one of Walt’s drug deals or stumble across a bundle of cash or something equally dramatic; he notices an inscription from Gale in a book in Walt’s bathroom while he’s sitting on the toilet. It’s hilariously anticlimactic.
4
Walt Runs Over Two Drug Dealers To Save Jesse
Walt shoots a drug dealer in Breaking Bad
When Jesse realizes that a couple of Gus’ drug dealers are using his girlfriend Andrea’s little brother Tomás to deliver packages, he starts rocking the boat. Gus agrees to stop using children in his drug deals, but that just encourages the dealers to murder Tomás because he’s no longer useful to them. So, Jesse blindly sets out to exact revenge.
As Jesse approaches the dealers, gun in hand, and they pull out their own weapons, ready for a confrontation, it seems like an unwinnable situation. And then, Walt’s Pontiac Aztek charges onto the scene and wipes out the dealers. Walt executes the surviving one and tells a stunned Jesse, “Run.” This badass sequence proved that Walt really does care about Jesse.
3
The Death Of Gus Fring
Gus’ death in Breaking Bad
Walt’s rivalry with Gus finally reaches a boiling point in the season 4 finale. It becomes clear that if Walt doesn’t kill Gus, Gus will kill him. So, Walt hatches a scheme playing on Gus’ weaknesses. Gus can’t resist the opportunity to gloat to a Salamanca, so Walt uses that to his advantage and straps a bomb to Hector’s wheelchair.
As Walt detonates the device, Gus’ face is blown off. He leaves the room with half a face and calmly adjusts his tie before dropping dead. It’s an eerie, unsettling moment that flies in the face of Breaking Bad’s usual realism. But that’s what makes it so effective; it feels slightly surreal, which plays into the shock of the moment.
2
“Tread Lightly”
Walt confronts Hank in Breaking Bad
After Hank reads Gale’s inscription on the toilet, he races home and starts looking through all the old case files. He doesn’t want to believe that Heisenberg could be Walt, but the closer he examines the evidence, the more undeniable it seems. When Walt pieces it together, he rushes over to Hank’s house to do some damage control.
The ensuing confrontation is a masterclass in one-on-one acting. Dean Norris nails Hank’s confusion and despair as he tells Walt he doesn’t even know him, and Cranston nails Walt’s switch from desperation to intimidation. Walt ominously telling Hank to “tread lightly” deftly sets up the main conflict of the last leg of the series.
1
Walt Calls Skyler To Clear Her Name
Walt on the phone in Breaking Bad
The greatest scene in Breaking Bad isn’t a big plot twist or an explosive action sequence; it’s a character moment that tells us exactly who Walt is to his core. The third-to-last episode, “Ozymandias,” is generally considered to be Breaking Bad’s greatest installment, because it’s the climax of the whole series. Hank is killed, Walt, Jr. finds out, and Walt hires the disappearer.
When his family refuses to go with him, Walt leaves without them. He initially kidnaps the baby to spite Skyler, but soon has a change of heart. He calls the house, knowing the cops will be listening in, and makes up a story to clear Skyler’s name. This teary-eyed performance-within-a-performance is Cranston’s greatest Breaking Bad moment — and proof that Walt still had a heart at the end.
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