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Was this the moment there was no going back for Walter White? (unmarked spoilers for Breaking Bad)
- Thread starter Uzumaki Goku
- Start date
This scene and the season at large ruined Mike as a character, they cut him up because they needed someone to push back on Walt even if it didn't make any sense. Mike, who supposedly very close to Jessie at this point is telling Walt he 'ruined everything' by not letting Jessie get killed.
I would argue that's because Mike isn't referring to the state of their relationship in Season 4, but pre-Abiquiu in Season 3. Even at this stage, Walter is flirting with the idea of killing Gus which was largely driven by worry over what happened at the end of their contract.
While Gus at this stage already had reason to be annoyed with the replacement of Gale with Jesse (partially an insurance policy on the part of Walter, partially a method to silence Jesse), there isn't yet an open hostility on the part of Gus but Walter has absolutely explored the possibility of killing him both to reaffirm the security at the end of the contract and to a lesser extent due to greed highlighted in Kaefkaesque (which, ironically, helps reaffirm to Walter how dangerous Gus is by seeing the operation's scale and emphasising his danger).
At the same time, I do agree that the argument is flimsy. There was good reason for Walter to be skeptical of how much of a danger Gus represented towards him and a justified reason to think that Walter would not long-term be allowed to live. The speech from Mike is likely shoe-horned in as a way to try and re-emphasise to the audience members who haven't yet comprehend that Walter, ultimately, is not a good person and is doing this out of his own selfishness rather than a 'need' to do it.
I agree that there would have been more reasonable things for Mike to point out and while ultimately Mike is correct that their predicament ultimately boils down to Walter's actions, there probably were better things that could have been written into the scene.
EDIT:
Similarly, while I do agree that they needed somebody to call out Walter and it's probably why it was written in, I think it stretches back further than Half Measure. Mike had a very justifiable reason to butt heads with Walter in the season which very much was in both of their characters, but I do agree the 'climactic' scene could have been better written on Mike's behalf as there were many better things which could have been raised to highlight how their situation traces back to Walter.
Yeah at no point after can he ever go back, several episodes are spent with him trying only to start right back up again.
I actually agree with this more than my original answer. Good call.
Making Jesse kill Gale is also a moment that hasn't been mentioned yet.
Yes, it was a life-or-death situation at that point, but Walt should have known he was screwed the moment he killed those dealers to save Jesse. He could have turned himself in to the authorities, or accepted that Gus having him killed was the inevitable fallout of his actions.
He did neither, but instead manipulated Jesse into becoming a murderer, and killing Gale of all people.
Of course Gale isn't innocent, he got into the meth business voluntarily and his libertarian bla bla justification is bullshit. But he's still nowhere close to Walt's level as a criminal, more like a naive nerd who's in way over his head.
Yes, it was a life-or-death situation at that point, but Walt should have known he was screwed the moment he killed those dealers to save Jesse. He could have turned himself in to the authorities, or accepted that Gus having him killed was the inevitable fallout of his actions.
He did neither, but instead manipulated Jesse into becoming a murderer, and killing Gale of all people.
Of course Gale isn't innocent, he got into the meth business voluntarily and his libertarian bla bla justification is bullshit. But he's still nowhere close to Walt's level as a criminal, more like a naive nerd who's in way over his head.
Ironically the title itself is a spoiler despite containing a spoiler warning. For someone who has never seen the show the title is basically telling them that Walter, the main character will do something that turns him into a villain.
With that said, the moment was the time he started. Everything else snowballed from there.
EDIT:
I forgot to finish my post
With that said, the moment was the time he started. Everything else snowballed from there.
EDIT:
I forgot to finish my post
Last edited:
Turning down the pity pay off from his old business partner. It was there it became clear he wanted more than to just help his family.
The show's title is literally Breaking Bad. It's pretty up front about what the premise is.
The literal elevator pitch of the show was 'Mr Chips becomes Scarface', and the title of the show reaffirms this*. Walter becoming more openly villainous isn't a spoiler, it's the show's premise.
*although I'd argue the show transformed, as Walter's character became more developed and the show evolved from the initial premise, more into an exploration of how somebody who seems good can actually always have been 'rotten' and an event can trigger them embracing that, but that's not as good of a sales pitch.
it's the paper towel holder. the cancer was what he had convinced himself the reason was, once he was in remission he no longer had the excuse and it forced him to show himself his true colors.
Yeah, it's this. There are arguably earlier moments but this is the absolute point of no return.
The show is called "Breaking Bad."
Same, hahah.
Frankly the whole show is the moral equivalent of this meme:
... and I wouldn't have it any other way.
This, Gus was going to kill Walt and Jesse and have Gale replace them.
No going back was getting offered treatment from Elliot and he refused. That happened in episode 4? LMAO Walter is a villain and that is obvious from the start. It doesn't take him killing another murderer for there to be "no going back"
I wonder in what kind of headspace are people at when they think killing someone like Mike is crossing the line but poisoning a kid isn't?
The no turning back moment was when he refused help from Gretchen for his medical care and a lucrative job that would have helped his family after he died in order to satiate his pride. Up until then, as bad as becoming a cook and a dealer was, you could argue that he had no other choice but refusing help cemented that he'd rather create and sell something that caused death and misery rather than dent his precious ego.
If walt didnt let jane die jesse would have died for sure
but yeah walt did it for selfish reasons, he liked jesse and wanted his respect
the airplane stuff afterwards was a laughably comical consequence though
anyway id say poisoning a kid or having men straight up murdered, hard to say. I dont recall the entire series offhand
but yeah walt did it for selfish reasons, he liked jesse and wanted his respect
the airplane stuff afterwards was a laughably comical consequence though
anyway id say poisoning a kid or having men straight up murdered, hard to say. I dont recall the entire series offhand
It was when he turned down the help from his old friends who offered him a job and paying for his treatment. If I remember right he already had his life threatened and dropped 2 bodies before that episode. Walt got a taste of what the world he was going into was about and he still refused to take an out. Anything after that was just him continuing down the path he already chose.
Season FIVE??? No, as soon as he let Jesse's girlfriend die in season 2 he was irredeemable and Im kind of shocked it would take anyone five seasons to figure that out, you must be compassionate to the extreme, lol
Yep. Its basically revisionist history, Walt was shutting up and knowing his place. It was concern for Jesse that almost got him killed.
There were a lot of moments really. Everyone's said them all pretty much. But yeah, he had all the chances in the world to save Jessie's girl but decided to watch while she choked to death because he was jealous that she was trying to save him. That was early enough in the show too.
The fact that this does not IMMEDIATELY flag as rape for people is why I sideeye anyone who decries the term 'rape culture.'