I will never be over how much he made Jesse suffer. Jesse is not an innocent baby but until the very end, he never wanted to hurt anyone and he was a lost guy who needed a dad figure. Walt did care for him but he manipulated and hurt him to get what he wanted. It broke my heart to see him so torn up and then being sold into slavery… so messed up. I was so happy when he got away
It's so satisfying but sad when Jesse clocks onto his schemes and manipulation techniques towards the end. Like Walt's fake 'Dad' speeches. It shows Walt didn't realise that Jesse developed so much as a person over their time together. The disrespect was palpable.
@wellthisisinteresting4912 Jesse made himself suffer. Jesse was a POS and a rat. Walter saved Jesse numerous times. Jesse was an ungrateful POS and junkie.
@@goodmorningandgoodluck8613 Nah. Walt only killed Jack and his gang for killing Hank which was hypocritical since Walt was also responsible for his death by calling them to stop Hank arresting him.
The fact that in a show full of drug dealers, murderers and other criminals, the most hated character is a manipulated pregnant woman is simply hilarious
I see two things here. She was a bit of a controlling nag, and that automatically gets under everyone's skin because we've all met someone like that, and we saw things through Walter's eyes. She thinks he's cheating, we know he's not, so she looks bad for accusing the protagonist of something he's not doing even though he's doing something much worse. Tony Soprano was a terrible person and yet we cheered him on because we also saw things through his eyes. I actually understood her point of view much better when I watched the show a second time.
I’d like to point out that whenever Walt is telling a lie he also exhibits body language of a liar too for example giving an answer where you would expect him to be nodding his head but instead he’s shaking it. It’s masterful
Listening to the portion on Jesse just breaks my heart. It was never more clear that he was trying to manipulate Jesse than the moment he wanted to leave the business. The worst part of that dialogue for me was when he tells Jesse, “to do what? Oh that’s right. Video games and go karts.” Not only does it imply that, to Walt, those are fruitless and meaningless activities, but Walt held onto those instances as future ammunition against Jesse. Jesse invited Walt to do those activities with him when they were still working for Gus. Jesse wanted to do something fun outside of work with his partner, of which he refused, only to be attacked for wanting to do those things at all.
@@npineapple3077 walter literally poisoned a child to manipulate him and that's okay because he sold drugs? Also it was Walt who got Jesse to kill people. Jesse has done terrible shit as well, but it's a case of lesser vs greater evil.
It's truly showing the ruthlessness of Walt, and how I think that he always had this in him to some extent. To use genuinely friendly gestures and intentions as ammunition confirms this.
...And how dare he imply gaming is a waste of time? Being happy is never a waste of time. You can't take all that money with you to the grave. You only have one life, spending it how you want to is more meaningful then a miserable life full of accomplishments.
Fun Fact: Samuel L. Jackson showed up unannounced during filming on the Pollos Hermanos set one day, dressed in his Nick Fury outfit from The Avengers (2012). Both productions were happening on the same studio lot, and Jackson wanted to be an extra during the scene being filmed. The producers denied his request to appear as Nick Fury on the show.
He clarified this later in an Instagram post, he “just wanted to go into Hermanos & buy some chicken in the background of a scene as myself, but never got the time to do”
Skyler and Jesse are the two who my heart broke for most, Skyler just wanted to protect her family... and she was constantly punished for it. I literally cant belive the fanbase turned on her so hard. But Jesse on the other hand... jesus, even if hed just been left as a junkie he'd be better off. Walt literally ruined every opportunity for happiness Jesse had, and by the end of the show and hes finally free... how can he be happy again after all the trauma? And not to mention, the helplessness, because at the end of it, Jesse had nothing. Its really tragic
The fanbase wanted a perfect victim, but she never was. Perfect victims don't exist. She was genuinely looking to protect this family unlike Walt. She laundered his money and begged him so many times to leave the business. Walt admitted it himself in their final conversation that everything he did was for himself. No matter how many times he told gus, mike or skyler, they saw right through him too
Skyler didn't just want to protect her family--she wanted to control Walt as she always had. The moment he began to break away from her control she resisted him. A significant part of the first season is seeing Walt finally come in to his own as a man of action who recovers some control over his own life--and Skyler's treatment of him early in the show is a big part of his motivation to change. She disrespected him, dismissed him and presumed to speak for him on numerous occasions. Meanwhile the guy is trying to survive in a criminal endeavor full of the most vile and terrible people in the world, and he's getting shit about using the wrong credit card from his freaking WIFE. My favorite line in BB is "...I am the ONE WHO KNOCKS!". This is the moment when Skyler finally realizes how powerful Walt and and that he is NOT to be fucked with--by anyone, including her. She doesn't run her mouth as much after that. Better to be a ruthless monster than to be disrespected by everyone--especially by your own wife. I don't want to slam Skyler too hard, as there are things about her character I certainly sympathise with, and even admire. But watching Walt deal with all this horrible life-and-death shit and then seeing his wife bitch at him over the trite and mundane is the most irritating thing about the show. To depict either Skyler--or Jesse--as victims is idiotic and simplistic, and it make clears the low intelligence of many people who post on these boards. What makes this show and others like it so good is that NO character is a victim--ALL are complicit on some level, though some more than others. Just like real people. Most people think that THEY are the victims for whom our "hearts" should "break", but in reality we are all guilty, or complicit, to some degree. At least have the intellectual sophistication and self-awareness to realize that.
@@projectixj9868I wonder if you realize that youre sympathizing with Walt so much that youre going with the line-- oh his bitch wife is trying to control him so much. Let me tell you what, Walts situation in his family and in life was shit. Their partnership was far from perfect and she did take the role of control in their relationship since she felt that was her place. And je felt EMASCULATED. But my point is, does tjis take away from her humanity? People act like her being a bitchy white suburban mom makes her undeserving of sympathy when her whole family is at risk due to walt "being a macho man," which for him, is being a dangerous drug dealer. Btw, his way of taking control, in season 2 or so, had resulted in walter Sexually assaulting Skylar. He raped her, but most people forget this or are so taken by Walt that it doesn't come off to them as anything but walt reclaiming sexual prowess in his relationship. And it may have been that for him. But it was also assault. So i just think only viewing her as his bitch wife standing in his way, essentially, means you have been blindsided by walt. Edit: im also confused by you saying theyre not victims. Yeah, in the end they are and thats an absolute fact. Like do u remember the last season? Being a victim, btw, doesn't mean they never did anything wrong.
@@evanmil0minefly Not a gaslit at all. You're not watching some Disney cartoon movie. Most characters here are supposed to be flawed and kinda morally gray, some more than others.
What is the most fascinating is that Walt is, while being an expert manipulator, actually a terrible liar. More times than Skylar or Jesse did not fully believed his lies, but they had to go along because they didn't have all the information and because of Walt's manipulation tactics as described they were described in this video. Skylar, on the other hand, is a master class in lying and coming up with a believable narrative, so much so, even Walt is deeply impressed by it. Which later he sees as an useful tool, of course.
Skylar isn't a 'good liar', she just has high social intelligence and actually knows, understands, and empathizes with the people they needed to lie to, namely her sister and brother in law, better than Walt understands or empathizes with most of the people he lies to. Agree that he's made to look like an awkward liar which tricks the audience into believing he must still be a 'good' person, because difficulty lying is usually associated with being a person of integrity. I think, in Walt's case, his awkwardness with lying is just indicative of his pathological self-centredness and lack of empathy rather than him having some kind of moral difficulty with lying.
One of my favourite aspects of Walt's character is that he's an awful liar; it's always obvious *when* he's lying, but never entirely obvious to the other characters *why* he's lying. I remember reading that Cranston wasn't told that Walt did poison Brock until after filming the confrontation scene with Jesse, meaning that Cranston played that scene as if Walt was genuinely innocent. This was a brilliant move; Jesse had in fact figured Walt out (just getting the motivation wrong) and Walt finally managed to convincingly lie to Jesse at the very moment his life depended on it.
You never read that because that never happened. First off, you read the script in its entirety before anything is filmed. Also, how would he give an accurate performance if he believed the character was innocent? That doesn't make any sense Second, when you watch the scene, you can see through cranston's acting and the writing that he is manipulating Jesse. The gun-to-the-head moment is an absolute foghorn, signalling that Walt does not believe what he is saying.
Walter white was so manipulative and such a well written character, that he had his fan base rooting for him and calling the trapped pregnant wife the bad-guy. Amazing stuff really, love this show.
She is not perfect, but come on, her husband became an unrecognisable monster, we all rooted for Walt, but in reality we most likely wouldn't be able to root for him
I keep thinking about how he went back to Marie in the season whether using the gambling and he throws Skylar under the bus with her affair with Ted. Walt was angry about the gambling addiction narrative and never wanted to use it because it undermined his ownership and pride of how he gained his money. Being able to use Skylar as an excuse was so helpful to him
Or, some people are manipulated, while others understand reality, and as such are rooting for him up until that shit with Jane. The series is literally about how capitalism and prohibition are bad.
This is probably the best, most thought-out discussion on Walter white I’ve seen, putting real words and labels on previously abstract feelings. We knew he was manipulative, but it was hard to put a finger on his exact tactics. Well done.
@@josiahcmiller yea abstract. Correctly labeling the blow-fish idea as a tactic of his was really well done, same with "completing the loop". It all happens subconsciously, but being able to label these tactics and point them out is a really great contribution I haven't seen done before in all the Walter white videos I've seen. Many other's stop at just calling him "manipulative" and nothing much deeper than that.
Breaking Bad is actually so funny. Walter White was so toxic that seasoned drug lords were like I cannot work with this man I have to put my mental health first
I've had inklings of Walter's manipulation tactics bouncing around in my head, but I've never been able to completely grasp the language and philosophy of it until this video. Really good analysis on this video!
the utter genius of the writing team to create such a deep and rich story is really incredible, this should be the standard that television should be nowadays. I cant wait to see what the next Breaking Bad will be.
If this becomes the standard, you wouldn't see more than few shows. Not everyone can make shits of these levels like how walter was the only 1 who could make 99.1% pure meth
25:26 I never noticed, but this scene showing each of their faces obscured by shadows subtly showing that Walt and Gus are two sides of the same coin. Beautiful cinematography and subtle story design. Love it
She was a pain in the ass. Another foolish character who didn't know who they were messing with--and fucked around and found out. Anyone who gets between two friends and business partners and begins to meddle for their own gain deserves what they get.
@@americanwallace5216 Then again, there's also the factor of the whole shitshow chain reaction that little thing did. Sending Jane's father into depression which then caused a plane to crash, killing even more innocent people who had nothing to do with the biz
Fantastic breakdown of Walt's manipulation. I would 100% watch a video detailing Mike's understanding of Walt as a manipulator since he is the only main character who never truly gets on board with any of Walt's behavior. It ultimately doesn't save Mike, since Walt is uncompromising when the coercion he's selling isn't being bought.
This is my own personal interpretation but Mike understood Walter because he knew that they where similar individuals, in the sense that they where both older men who got involved in the drug game for the sake of their families. The main difference being that Mike never forgot what he was doing and why. He was working exclusively for his granddaughters sake, so he was selfless despite that fact that he was technically committing crimes. Whereas Walter completely lost the plot and became increasingly selfish, and as someone who was in a similar position to him and could’ve gone down the same path, Mike saw that in Walter and actively tried to check it.
@@cannakage7114 Also has never been pridefull or ambitious in that sense, he literally just was traumatized by the murder of his son and wanted to secure the future of his remaining family at any cost, but he never did it for showing it off or to feel superior.
@@cannakage7114 Actually yeah, as Gus was not your typical "tough guy" like Hank (which Walt felt inferior to for this and other reasons) but he was a serious and respected business man. And well, Mike is evident when you compare how his actions affected his family vs Walt´s lol. Jesus, the fact that we can talk about them as characters in a book or a videogame and that matches the perception of what Walt would´ve like to have from them makes his narcicism more evident, as he mostly wanted status for the status itself, not for what was happening behind the scenes, "the EMPIRE" lets say.
@cannakage7114 I personally think mike was doing it because he liked it too, he could have had many other legit jobs, but he was a criminal because deep down he liked doing it, but hated himself for it, he's no different then Walt in that he uses his family as an excuse to do heinous acts
Skylar is scum. The whole series is about how capitalism and prohibition are bad. She supports prohibition. She is scum. Walter becomes a bad person when he does what he does to Jane and Brock.
This! Amazing how the same audience can fall over themselves with sympathy for Saul who was fully capable of defending himself both physically and legally, and still have absolutely none for pregnant and vulnerable Skylar.
we just hate Skyler cuz she's inconsistent. one episode, she is supporting Walt's meth business, then the next episode she does a complete 180 and hates it again.
Yet that isn't actually true. Her "inconsistency" makes perfect sense in-context to the show. It's why she does things like smoking when she's pregnant. Certainly not good, but it makes sense as to why she did it. She joins Walt for a number of reasons, which make sense. It's not just some random retcon or inconsistency that came out of nowhere. The way her character is developed is consistent throughout the story She's hated on because she's literally opposing Walter and feels "naggy" along with feeling like a hypocrite@@icantfigureoutausername
One of the most fun parts about Breaking Bad and Walter's character as a whole is watching him lie so effortlessly yet so believably, and how it only prolongs his inevitable downfall.
Is it a downfall though? In season 1, he thinks he’s going to die, and wants to leave money for his family. By the end of season 5, he’s accomplished that before he dies, and even took all his enemies with him. Seems like more of a win than a loss
Good job covering so many things without spoiling, covering seasons without ruining curiosity for those who may not have seen it yet. Thank you, Just an Observation. Well done.
30:34 this goes into a phrase I use in my own story. "Good can triumph over evil, But. It truly takes a Monster to understand the Monster." This is why Gus and Walter were such great foils for each other, as they were both the same kind of Monster.
@draco747 not anymore, we have created nice padded societies where people can go about their social lives without much concern for their safety or need to hurt others. Most people only hurt others for their own gain or out of their selfishness, people who hurt others for no reason are generally sociopaths/psychopaths and even then a lot of them don't really care to because it makes more problems for them than its worth. You dont have to be a monster to survive anymore, but we still need monsters to keep other monsters away from the door.
@@erickane8163 It ain’t about surviving anymore, like you said, it’s really about trying to live life at its peak & that can birth the same kind of monster in its own right. You see it everyday still it’s just more discrete than usual crime 🤷.
Huh?? Gus was a measured and composed Machiavellian with some genuine compassion while Walt was a raving Narcissist starved for validation. > insert the "we are not the same" meme here.
@@Thriving_in_Exile Man the concept of a foil went over your head there didn't it. Gus and Walt are like batman and the Joker. Cleary there not the same. But at the end of the day Bruce Wayne does dress up like a giant bat and beats up criminals. Thats not sane. The Only thing Gus and Walter have in common is there both Monsters. It took a Monster, Walter. To take out another Monster, Gus.
I’m a little surprised nobody mentions death being the real root. The power of believing he was going to die soon, completely changed his energy and changed capacity to break out of his former self. Without Walt’s explosion of leverage over “all non dying people”, the entire shift in Walt’s life would never have been possible. It’s hard to overstate how rare and powerful it is to really think you’re going to die soon: because 99.9% of people walking on earth never have this belief in the same way. Most “dying soon” people are elderly and tired. So to be running that software at 55 or whatever, gives Walt a leg up that’s almost impossible to grasp unless you’ve been there.
That's why I don't think Walt is inherently bad. Not only do we see him from the beginning trying his best while having a really hard time, after the diagnose he is willing to risk himself for the betterment of the family. The more he infiltrates the gang connections the more he finds himself in difficult situations between himself and other people. In these situations, he generally tries to put his life on top. However, by the end when he realizes his life is forfeit then it's no longer between his life and someone else's, it's between "helping" the good guy against the bad guy... I think this derives from the fact that the more we do what is "right" or what is "supported" by society, the more we feel we have nothing to fear/lose and that other people, the law, the universe, god etc. will aid us when shit hit the fan. Whereas when we feel that we have to take a matter into our own hands because we are "wrong" or that no one has our back, then we tend to put ourselves first because otherwise we are fucked. I think that is what happens between many characters in the show. They are not purely evil, they just follow a path where self-preservation becomes more and more paramount until it reaches a point where they will even kill another dude to save themselves.
@@AlexTTzer0 Exactly. Walt gets a bad rep from way too many people, including the guy who made this video. 1 Lying isn't really manipulation when you're trying to not get caught. He's not trying to manipulate people he's just trying to assure them that everything is fine. 2. Justifying your crimes isn't really manipulation either. Especially when he's right. Gus was literally trying to murder jesse, so he killed to protect jesse, then Gus set his sites on walt, so walt killed gus. It sounds too good to be true but he was legitimately telling the truth about his rational. Then after Gus died, Walt had a major ego spike. He was king, and his only flaw in getting caught was his love for Jesse. Jesse ultimately ratted him out and what does Walt do? He saves Jesse's life at the end and restores his freedom. Walt isn't a bad guy. He's just very good at being bad. So we interpret that as that he's changed, but he's the same fish in a different pond.
@@renaldoawes2210 Very interesting statement. "Walt isn't a bad guy. He's just very good at being bad". I wonder for how many guys we can say the same thing... But does it make any difference is the rhetoric question...
I never did and never will understand the hate for Skyler. She genuinely loved Walt and was, as explained in this video, completely manipulated and gaslit. I think that people who have been through abuse like this can see where Skyler is coming from and understand her reactions and feelings. She's an extremely strong female character that I really resonated with, because if my spouse was doing those things to me, I know I'd probably have a lot of the same reactions she did.
The only time I really loved skylers character was when she told Jesse to look into a different career besides selling drugs the rest she was kinda mid or outright annoying
the dude's a masterclass liar in all except one major thing: *actually building back trust*. it's a long-term failure caused by a lack of real emotions and real empathy for people that ends up losing him everything. Walt fully understands manipulation and using people's emotions, but ironically it's his lack of humanity that ends up coming back to haunt him the most. he can never properly gauge the actual damage he's causing and just the sheer rate at which he's losing people's trust and love for him with each consecutive lie. when's a time you actually remember Walt taking Skylar out to eat or for a vacation or literally anything when it isn't directly following a lie? when's a time you actually remember Walt appreciating Jesse and caring for him in a meaningful way outside of the confines of his endless manipulation? the reason everyone eventually turns on him is because they can see he's a compulsive manipulator even when he has these amazing elaborate stories anyone logically "should" believe.
you made 1 little error: he became a criminal, just by doing it he already destroyed his family at the end, how do you find a possibility for him to stay criminal and save his family at the same time? he was forced to lie and by keep lying he was kind of destined to lose at the end what will happen if he just say to his wife somewhere in the season 1 that he in fact sells drugs, without any bs he sold to her? do you think she will stay with him cause he was honest? this how will it look like: uhm my dear wife, i just killed a guy and i earn real cash by selling drugs, what? nope i am still a good guy...wai- why do you suddenly packing? if your answer to my question "should he do this" is yes then your delusions seems to have no bounds so, no matter if he is honest or not, he already lost, thats why that story was so good, cause you already know from season 1 that will be a story of a guy who lost all he had and just ended with his "empire" and try to convince himself that its all he wants btw the "its for a family" excuse ended even before he begin to work for Gus so he didn't build any real trust in anyone and never really tried, he just tried to build enough trust to stay in his crime empire and avoid losing it (and his life) keeping his family was more like a means to prove his strong now, so nobody will take his family from him than him actually caring if he wanted anything more than his empire, he will either try more with that trust building or drop the idea of his empire, he made a choice and paid the price at the end when he symbolically was alone
This video just proves why skylar could never forgive him in the time he had left. She mustve felt so betrayed. Like imagine the most caring man ever for your entire marriage. And then he does the most horrendous things and spits lies to you. Never confiding in you and hiding everything. Theyre supposed to be one. And he seperated himself from that in unforgivable ways.
They have never been one honestly. Skyler was an extremely manipulative and toxic relationship partner and plays a huge role in Walts self protection journey which ultimately resulted in him breaking bad. Examples? She abuses his family loyalty by questioning his provider status through some hints. Like selling ebay crap on his birthday evening instead of sharing full attention intimacy. Like offering to work during pregnancy for Ted who was known to have a crush on her. She bargains trust and family life as a 'treat' to correct his course of actions. She even intentionally puts the well-being of herself and her unborn child at risk, in a desperate attempt to regain control over Walt emotionally. Gotta understand that Walt hasnt been manipulative all the time, he was a legit good guy who got ran over and neglected by too many people with serious mental issues, infecting him in the process.
The scariest thing about Walter White isn't his intelligence or how far he falls from grace over the course of Breaking Bad, but how he was just waiting for the right opportunity (i.e cancer) to act upon his worst impulses which becomes all the more obvious upon a second viewing.
I don’t think he was waiting for a chance to do what he did, but just kind of fell into it. The decades of being disrespected, broke, and powerless caused him to lose faith in the traditional system of morality and law we all follow.He wanted to feel competent, free, and powerful like he used to in his past, and unfortunately that desire led him down one of the worst paths imaginable.
How do you know he was waiting for the cancer to become a bad person? The few flashbacks we see before his cancer (his scene with Gretchen, him buying the house with Skylar) indicate nothing of the sort.
I think the realization that his life was ending combined with his impotent rage to create a truly terrifying monster. Remember a strong man well respected acts with clemency and decency having had their power and their goodness respected all their life. A wicked strong man with means and power acts with it and reveals his true face so for what reason would he have to deceive. A powerful and competent man showing restraint in anger is admirable for he truly has the power to destroy and harm people. A weak man has been questioned ridiculed and held back by the notions of a society that hates weak men and gives them neither respect or honor. A weak man who thinks himself great is the most dangerous of all. For we all have the power to deceive and even a weak man can thrust a dagger true. I fear not the powerful, but the weak for the weak are inclined to bury their grievances, and a grievance planted in the mind only grows to hatred well watered by the transgressions of others. Walt is such a man he has had his grievances and envy and hate grow over time to bear the fruit of cunning and evil. He drinks from the well of power and fairly soon has a taste of power and money. A man familiar with the taste of both would know to sip lightly for fear of drowning, but walt has tasted neither riches nor power although he was once with in sight of them both. He is so parched so denied even a drop of either, lost in a desert of failure tortured by the memory of success squandered that when he first drinks a drop he cannot stop. No power on earth save his death will prevent him from drinking his fill, even when he drinks so deep and so long that he makes himself sick he simply wipes off his mouth and comes back for more.
@@emperortgp2424 Actually if you really think about it, in that house buying scene a few things were already off. His grandiose sense of importance slips out when he tells Skyler they'll need a larger house because he wants to have several children. Watch her reaction closely, it sounds like they had never talked about something like that prior and she didn't seem to want such a large family for herself. Walt already had big dreams, wanted more, and wasn't so much asking his wife's opinion on that as he was subtly hinting that to her. There's some trace if resentment for how he looked down on his life and accomplishments up until that point.
Your terminology is brilliant and storytelling is magnificent. "Weaponized" and "Twisted" are some of the best uses of these words I've seen in a while. It all fit perfectly. Well done. I feel like Walter White and Emperor Palpatine have identical similarities.
If you see ANY interview of Vicent he maintains that he is 100% dumbfounded about people's passion of Walter. They wrote him as unlikable as possible and commits so many crimes and still so many dudes root for him, no matter what. He said that one of the biggest reasons os Bryan Cranston's acting. Bryan is SO good that he was able to charm dudes into thinking that his vicious acts were okay
@@randomusername3873 thats not the point, You can like walters character and still point out his very flawed way of living. My point is im talking specifically about people who idolize him while hating on skylar when hes MUCH worse. It has nothing to do with the way a character or story is written.
Walt slammed on the gas pedal, adrenaline coursing through his veins as he careened around the sharp corner of the go-kart track. Beside him, Jesse whooped with excitement, his laughter echoing through the air. "Yo, Mr. White, this is sick!" Jesse shouted, leaning into the turn. Walt couldn't help but grin. It was a far cry from the usual tension-filled drug deals and close calls with the law. For once, they were just two guys enjoying a day out. As they completed another lap, Walt's phone buzzed. He glanced at the screen, a frown forming as he saw the missed call from Saul Goodman. "Everything okay?" Jesse asked, noticing Walt's expression. Walt hesitated before answering, debating whether to tell Jesse about Saul's call. But then he decided to keep it to himself, not wanting to ruin the moment. "Yeah, everything's fine," Walt replied with forced cheerfulness, pushing the worry aside. They continued racing around the track, the thrill of the speed momentarily distracting Walt from the chaos of his double life. But as they crossed the finish line, reality came crashing back. Back at Jesse's apartment, they sat on the couch, nursing beers and reflecting on the day's adventure. But their lighthearted conversation was interrupted by another call from Saul. This time, Walt couldn't ignore it. He stepped outside to take the call, leaving Jesse to sense the tension mounting within him. When Walt returned, his face was grave. He didn't need to say anything for Jesse to know that something was wrong. "What's going on, Mr. White?" Jesse asked, his voice tinged with concern. Walt hesitated, then finally confessed about the trouble brewing with Gus Fring and the Cartel. He explained the danger they were in and the difficult decisions that lay ahead. Jesse listened in stunned silence, his mind racing with the implications of Walt's revelation. But before he could respond, they were interrupted by a knock on the door. Walt tensed, his hand inching towards the gun tucked in his waistband. But when Jesse opened the door, they were greeted by a familiar face - Mike Ehrmantraut. "Looks like you two could use some help," Mike said with a grim smile. And so, with Mike's expertise and Jesse's unwavering loyalty, Walt faced the challenges ahead with a newfound sense of unity. Together, they navigated the treacherous world of drugs and crime, forging an unlikely bond on the go-kart track that would carry them through the darkest of times.
Incredible analysis of such a dark, manipulative, and complex character. And yet despite how terrible a human being Walt/Heisenberg is, he’s so manipulative that you, as the viewer, are still somewhat behind him. By the time the end of the 5th season rolls around, you’re meant to cheer Walt on as he takes out the neo-Nazis. Such an incredible show. Bravo to your analysis!
LOL. I mean, of course you are, they're neo-Nazis. Also, the show is about how capitalism and prohibition are bad. Nota single mention of this in the whole video. It's such a bad analysis I'm thinking of unsubscribing.
To be fair, I think that has more to do with the fact that THEIR Neo-Nazis. The writers basically do the same trick with The Salamanca & Gus (intentionally pitting Walt against someone whose more immoral than him, so he ends up looking like the "good guy"). BTW, writers originally considered having Walt mow down a bunch of cops at the end, before realizing it went too far.
Bravo Vince, a once in a lifetime screenwriter. So glad he invented New Mexico and chicken, plus the colour purple so Marie could put all them purple blouses on her scrawny ass.
The audience think they have been manipulated into rooting for Walt. In reality people have been intentionally manipulated and gaslighted on a much deeper level. Most people see these stories as just harmless Hollywood entertainment, but it is not. It is well thought-out, deliberate social engineering and it's been going on since forever. Entire societies, even the entire world is shaped and moulded generation after generation by these evil spellcasters and everyone remains spellbound and totally oblivious of how every thought they have, every opinion and worldview has been purposefully implanted in their minds.
Even before the events of the show, Walter lied to Skyler and said the reason he left Grey Matter and made their lives and their unborn son's future life more financially difficult and more financially insecure was because Elliot and Gretchen cut him out, rather than the real reason which was that he left because he felt inadequate around Gtetchen's family's wealth because he has a superiority/inferiority kind of complex and because he is a narcissist who can't stand not being the most capable person in the room in order to get sympathy, understanding, and zero judgment and zero chance of protestation from Skyler. He was always manipulative and selfish even long, long before his cancer diagnosis. Even when he was a mere 6 years old he believed his father to be weak, pathetic, miserable, and deserving of his slow, suffering, painful death for being weak for being incapable of ensuring he wasn't born with wonky genes. Even as a 6 year old facing down the death of his own father through no fault of his father's he looks at any signs of weakness with disdain. That is his true self coming out. We think that he is a decent but overly passive person at the start of episode 1, but very early on we learn of his spiteful envy towards Elliott and Gretchen and we realise he has always been spiteful, envious, manipulative, and selfish, he just became passive due to becoming apathetic due to his life going nowhere and becoming disinterested and losing any future prospects. He basically only initially decided to not just give up and die to provide for his family until he got into it too much and started doing it for himself for selfish reasons. Every single time he gives an overly windy long speech we initially think he is just giving people a pep talk in order to psych them up and give them the motivation that they need to do what must be done, but then we eventually come to realise that he withholds a lot of information and lies to people, and that he is actually just behaving totally manipulatively. The way he uses Skyler's fear of him to manipulate her in the first half of season 5 is just downright sickening and nauseating. Same with the way he talks Jesse up in order to get him back into cooking and casually converses with him about his future prospects with Andrea and Brock even after knowing full well he deliberately poisoned Brock, an innocent child, hospitalising him and putting him at risk of potentially dying, without a care in the world just completely detached is also very sickening and vexing. I still felt sympathies for Walter for some of the things that happen to him, but as far as his plight for getting money for his family goes, I quickly lost all sympathy for that plight of his when Elliot offered him a position at Grey Matter before straight up offering to pay for his treatment and Walter turned it down because he said that he was far too prideful to accept "charity" as if charity is a grave sin yet making drugs and killing children like Drew and almost Brock are way better morally. At that point I was fully against Walter. And that was all the way back in season one. Walter isn’t an excellent liar. Everybody calls him out on it. He always constantly gets called out on it. Everybody can tell when he is lying to them. Jesse knows that Walter is manipulating him, and Skyler in the earlier seasons keeps calling him out on his bullshit and keeps demanding to know the actual truth, before eventually finally managing to find out that he is a drug dealer by figuring it out on her own. Every single time he tries to lie, nobody believes him. It almost starts to become a way to have plausible deniability to basically plant your feet and refuse to tell the truth without admitting that is what you’re doing even when both you and the other person knows that’s what you’re doing because being overly open and honest about that would be far too brazen and having plausible deniability at least lets you pretend to play dumb and not know what the other person is talking about or what they’re trying to accuse you of or why they’re accusing you. It’s, like, “swallow my lies even though we both know that I’m lying because I’m not going to give you the truth no matter what, so deal with it.”
The times he was caught lying was more like "you've done this shit so many times before I'm not falling for it" rather than walt inheritly being a bad liar
@sabertoothtooth2572 Walter is good at coming up with lies, but he's bad at selling them. And it's not because Bryan Cranston is a bad actor because when Walter is telling the truth, Bryan Cranston is extremely convincing, it's only when Walter is lying it's obvious. Even the bit when Walter is telling Jesse that Gus is the one who poisoned Brock is obvious lying in hindsight when you go back with the foreknowledge of Walter's lies and deceit. Bryan Cranston is that good that he is able to convincingly act both a character telling the truth and a character lying without their lying being unrealistically over the top, just very realistic, especially for a pathological liar that doesn't bat an eyelid whenever they're telling lies nor even considers manipulating wrong for a single second even before the much worse moral decay over the course of the show.
So great that you're back ! We surely missed your astuteness. Awesome video, i can't even Begin to imagine the amount of work (and rewatch) behind it. Congrats !
what gets me is that according to the wiki, walt and gus only knew each other for around 75 days. may 1st 2009 was the day walt agreed to start cooking for gus, may 20th was gale’s death and the boxcutter scene (btw how fucked is victors death in retrospective) and gus dies july 15. 75 days. gus spent over 20 years building his empire and plotting his revenge and in little over 2 months its completely gone. walt spent more time on his own cooking in tents and houses than he did in the lab and he was only on gus’s good side for like 20 days before literally being on his shit list for the remainder.
at first I was like why would jesse switch up on gus after gus was actually starting to like jesse especially after jesse was indispensable during his revenge on the cartel? and why did mike never like walt? its because gus was only nice to jesse for like a month and like jesse said before all that, he was gonna get wasted in the desert cuz he was junkie garbage. mike just never liked walt but after only really knowing the guy for a a couple months and the guy blows up your entire secret operation that you had going for years all for what? pride? give me a break. the more the show is put into context as a 50 year old man with an enormous ego going on a 2 year bender and ruins everyone involved’s life.
Walt was horrible to Skylar. She was so innocent and just wanted to protect her kids. Imagine your spouse lied and manipulated and abused you the way he did to her. She’s annoying in the show because the writing is great and made us root for the bad guy
I think the EVILEST thing walt accomplished? He made the viewer side with him. Knowing he's not a good protagonist, if it was from ANY other character's viewpoint: He is a villain. Yet, we side with him. We enjoy seeing him succeed. We love to hate his schemes and groan at other's inabilities to see his obvious lies. It is masterful writing, and Walter White is one of my favourite character's ever to grace the screen.
I watched the full series 5 times. I didn’t really dislike Walt until the most recent time I watched. He really is a vile human, especially the way he treats Jesse.
So glad you made this. I remember whenever Walter opened his mouth I would feel anger because every single thing he said was a red flag and wanted to yell at every person that bought it to run.
@@iloveyoubigmantyrone5609 Oh for sure, every time he uses that slimey fake caring tone of voice when manipulating Jesse I just wanted to punch him in the mouth. That's good acting lol.
I thought Walter was the shit at first , but I was younger and appreciated how clever he was. Now that I’m older and watching the series 2-3 times , Walter is really disgusting. His manipulation tactics are brilliant yet psychotic
@@iloveyoubigmantyrone5609 he doesn't need to gaslight anyone. just the fact that he makes redditors like you go mad would be enough to love him. everything else (like forming a drug empire) is a bonus
Same, I watched it in 2021 and I was sympathetic to Walt, but I completely understood where Skylar was coming from. And that was the first season lmao. It's baffling to me that so many people idolize Walt and demonize Skylar when that's clearly not what the show was going for...
33:15 The heartbreaking thing is Walt throws go karting in Jesse’s face which Jesse mentioned doing with him once to try and which was one of the only he tried establish a greater connection with Walt and Walt uses that against him later to make fun of him
People complain and hate on Skylar, but it was Walter that was hard to spend that much time with during periods for me. If it wasn't for Bryan Cranstons incredibly charismatic & magnetic performance I'd have a hard time finishing the show regardless of how well written the show was.
Walt becomes a lot better at manipulating over the course of the series. At first, he's really awkward. He also generally doesn't think out his lies enough and they fall apart too easily. But at the end of season 4, he manages to pull off a masterful manipulation of Jesse.
Never understood why people hated Skyler so much. Sure, she was annoying and bothersome, but then we have people like Tuco, the Salamanca twins, Héctor, Gus Fring, the one who tortured Jesse and killed Andrea (I believe Todd was his name?), etc. Watching people hate her so much when I pitied her powerlessness most of the time was interesting. But at least Anna was hella praised for her role.
Normal fans of the show find Walt an interesting character but don't justify his actions. But some of the fanboys think they have to defend him to find his character interesting.
The evil characters you listed were presented as obvious evil characters, no explanation or justification need, and that means there is no need for a discussion where people can be very opinionated and emotional. On the other hand, Skyler is somewhat of a gray character. She was against Walt cooking meth which is a reasonable response to a socially shunned illegal activity, but on the other hand she refused to recognize Walt's equally reasonable response to what is essentially a death sentence, which is to secure the future of his family, at least financially. This fact is made worse by her hypocrisy helping Ted commit tax fraud and sleeping with him at the same time. She also smoked when she was still pregnant with holly. Skyler is not a consistently good person, and in some fucked up way that is worse than being a consistently bad person.
@@excalibro8365 Cooking meth isn't a reasonable response to getting cancer. Walt became a drug dealer for the money for himself, the power and because he liked being feared as Heisenberg. The "I'm doing it so my family's OK when I die" was an excuse.
@@excalibro8365the tax fraud was specifically to keep the IRS at bay; she was Ted’s accountant and they would have investigated her which would put her family at risk. And she did not have some hot and heavy affair behind Walt’s back. She had filed for divorce and he refused to leave. She slept with Ted in order to push Walt away which is why she TOLD HIM IMMEDIATELY! Yes, she smoked while pregnant. Holly was still born healthy. Skyler is not inconsistent. She was only ever motivated to do as much damage control as possible and did the best she could with the information she had, which was constantly changing and never included the full facts of the situation. A situation she didn’t choose to be in; had she had a choice, none of it would have ever happened in the first place. It is odd how tightly people hold onto the “sins” that you mentioned, disregard the context of her actions, and try to stretch them into something that resembles a villainy that is “almost as bad” as Walt’s. How much people minimize the fact that Walt forced her into the situation but get butthurt anytime she tries to cope and/or problem solve in ways that aren’t centered around Walt’s preferences. How high people’s standards are for the level of perfection she has to attain in order to be considered a victim. How people can watch every episode, see exactly what she was put through, and and get so annoyed (or even enraged) that she isn’t somehow “being better.”
I'll never understand the arguments that people like villains more than her Like of course, the crazy druglords are more interesting than skylar. They are also presented as clearly evil and obstacles to overcome And people generally enjoy villains more
Excellent. As stated the worst type of emotional abuse one can be subjected to. Keeping you suspended questioning yourself and unable to move forward. Great package highlighting the aspects of manipulation used by W.W. Great series, fantastically written and brilliantly acted.
Thank you for calling emotional manipulation viz Walter and Skyler for what it is - abuse. Unless you have been on the end of someone who can lie and manipulate like this, it's difficult to understand the impact it has on the victim's psyche. You begin doubting your own instincts, your memory, and your ability to defend yourself. You don't know which way is north on your moral compass. You begin to think your entirely justified anger and suspicion is actually YOUR character fault, rather than a healthy and normal reaction to the abusive behaviour of someone you trust. Eventually you begin to question if you're actually going crazy, they can be so effective at convincing you that something you can see with your own two eyes, isnt' really there. When there are no physical marks left behind, other people can even start to think YOU actually the problem - while the abuser stands by looking sane, saying "see how she is?", neglecting to mention everything leading up to your "overreaction". To deliberately manipulate someone who trusts you into doubting what they can see in front of them, is one of the most insidious and evil abuses there is. Sometimes they're so good at it, that the victim's ability to trust others AND trust their own gut never fully recovers. I would never have believed this level of psychological trauma and lying was possible until it happened to me and we really need to talk more about this. WW is an excellent tool for that!
Also having to keep telling them obv things like we can't use that Mastercard when there is a very good reason for not doing so and dismissing it as nagging is just tiring. You feel like you're babysitting instead of having a partner in life.
@@ariesa9751 I read that there's a term for that: weaponised incompetence. They're knowingly reckless but play it off as unconscious impulsivity to avoid taking responsibility, when they know full well they shouldn't be doing it.
"You begin to think your entirely justified anger and suspicion is actually YOUR character fault." I love this line. NEVER consider that your immediate feelings might be wrong, kids! NEVER EVER EVER! Anyone challenging the way you interpret your experiences is an evil GASLIGHTER! You're immediate reactions are NEVER WRONG, kids, NEVER! Anyone who questions them, or implies you should question them, is an ABUSER! What a load of crap. Anyone who believes this is going to have an unhappy life indeed. Generation Alpha is doomed. You've brought it on yourselves.
Walter manipulated himself that he is doing all that for family or he is a good guy who trapped in a situation But when he earned enough money so he can ran away in another country But he still continued the journey even after harming everyone The scene when he yelled at Skyler out of nowhere made me cringe
40:50 Am I wrong or did we actually never get definitive confirmation that Gus ordered Tomás to be killed? Gus ordered the two dealers to use "no more children", but them killing Tomás might have been simply their low life way of interpreting that order. Gus seemed genuinely offended when Walter suggested that it was Gus who ordered Tomás' murder, which happened during a cards-on-the-table, "man-to-man" conversation. Someone let me know if I missed something, because as far as I can recall this was left intentionally vague.
THAT is soooo right, yep, very very manipulative!!! Yeah I must say I was not on Walt's side for very long myself, and I had a LOT of arguments with my husband and friends who all kept defending him for many seasons even, whereas me I started hating him long before the end of the first season... hating him but LOVING the character that is!!!
The time it takes for a person to realize that Walter White is an evil person can show you what kind of person they really are. For me, it took to Jane's death to realize he was evil
I feel like it's hard to just call him evil because he's so much more than that. Evil is like Judge Holden or Eric Cartman. Many of Walt's worst actions are too complex when it comes to his motives behind it to be truly "evil" or make him some devil in human clothes. Things like him poisoning Brock are terrible but aren't pure evil because we know of the stakes there if he doesn't. Him letting Jane die is horrific, but we get his thought process, flawed as it may be. Many things he does are out of a mistaken form of self-preservation that he takes to the most ridiculous levels possible. So I'd say he isn't evil throughout the show, which is precisely what the final 3 episodes of the series offer. A glimpse into Walt's humanity once more@@chedder3390
One of the best series on television. I went into it during 2020 out of curiosity with no interest, even after hearing all the hype for years. After the first episode i was hooked. Such a psychological thriller mixed with so many layers that take many times to rewatch and review. I recommend this series to anyone i meet who enjoys good quality production.
Dude these videos are masterpieces. Every video (Especially the Breaking Bad ones) you do it's just an absolute amazing analysis and I love every second of it. I've re-watched Breaking Bad at least 5 times and 2 of those times were directly cause of your amazing videos.
Great video! It blows my mind how far some people will go to defend Walt, but I have to wonder if some of those people have been manipulated in kind by real people in their lives, perhaps making it impossible for them to see the differences here.
It blows my mind, too. It's so often immature people who also think Skylar was in the wrong for her feelings surrounding all of Walts behavior while they root for Walt and justify his horrific behavior. Adults with the experience and social/emotional capacity of children.
I think people are mistaking defending morally terrible decisions for just liking him. You can like characters who do bad shit. He is very cool in his evil ways. Besides, he isn't a complete sociopath, he has humane parts of him even if its destroyed and overshadowed by ego. Remember... this is a tv show... it's meant to be enjoyed. And I enjoy seeing Walter manipulate people, cook meth, and combat people who are so much more experienced and healthy. I enjoy watching normal family stuff much less so.
@@brianquishpe6820Depends on how you define sick monster, these categories are very vaguely-defined, morality is a spectrum rather than a collection of descriptors
@@crypt5129 Walter is very bad person but he is capable of being human and having emotions it's just his ego and pride that is his downfall and his resentment to how things went for him in the past
Great Video! I just found your channel today and subscribed! BB is one of my all-time favorite shows, mainly due to how truly fascinating Walt's character is from a purely scientific standpoint. Your ability to empathize with him from a human perspective in order to illustrate his motivations was very well done! I look forward to checking out more of your vids!
Episode 1 is meant to make you sympathize with walter. The rest is a test of how long you're willing to stay with him
Copypaste
Episode 1 is meant to make you sympathize with walter. The rest is a test of how long you're willing to stay with him
Episode 1 is meant to make you sympathize with walter. The rest is a test of how long you're willing to stay with him
Episode 1 is meant to make you sympathize with walter. The rest is a test of how long you're willing to stay with him
Episode 1 is meant to make you sympathize with Walter. The rest is a test of how long you’re willing to stay with him
Can't believe you didn't even mention when Walt refused to go go-karting with Jesse
The ultimate dick move
"Disgraceful!" "Disgusting!" "Despicable!" -Gordon, James, and Henry. Tidmouth Sheds, Tidmouth, Sodor, 1954
@@JustanObservation didn't he really have a meeting tho ? I think he did, the one with Saul and skyler about the carwash.
@@monstar3626 it had ended before jesse's request
Same as Niko in GTA IV. To deny a simple game of bowling to his own cousin, his own family. Disgusting
I still can't believe that Walt committed such terrible crimes. Especially not going Go-Karting with Jesse
yea what an absolute asshole
If he had just went, he'd have been at least 30% more sympathetic
@@joedwyer3297 he would have found a way to manipulate tht situation too
I will never be over how much he made Jesse suffer. Jesse is not an innocent baby but until the very end, he never wanted to hurt anyone and he was a lost guy who needed a dad figure. Walt did care for him but he manipulated and hurt him to get what he wanted. It broke my heart to see him so torn up and then being sold into slavery… so messed up. I was so happy when he got away
It's so satisfying but sad when Jesse clocks onto his schemes and manipulation techniques towards the end. Like Walt's fake 'Dad' speeches. It shows Walt didn't realise that Jesse developed so much as a person over their time together. The disrespect was palpable.
Jesse didn’t get away. Walt saved him.
He went back for him.
@@Dilmahkana
Jesse was a POS and a rat.
@wellthisisinteresting4912
Jesse made himself suffer.
Jesse was a POS and a rat.
Walter saved Jesse numerous times.
Jesse was an ungrateful POS and junkie.
@@goodmorningandgoodluck8613 Nah. Walt only killed Jack and his gang for killing Hank which was hypocritical since Walt was also responsible for his death by calling them to stop Hank arresting him.
The fact that in a show full of drug dealers, murderers and other criminals, the most hated character is a manipulated pregnant woman is simply hilarious
She was the final villian. Noticed she the only one that survived
Skyler became more sympathetic to me as the series progressed.
Well the most vile and inhumane scene of the show was her singing happy birthday 😂
I see two things here. She was a bit of a controlling nag, and that automatically gets under everyone's skin because we've all met someone like that, and we saw things through Walter's eyes. She thinks he's cheating, we know he's not, so she looks bad for accusing the protagonist of something he's not doing even though he's doing something much worse. Tony Soprano was a terrible person and yet we cheered him on because we also saw things through his eyes.
I actually understood her point of view much better when I watched the show a second time.
lmao never thought about it that way but honestly, in modern American Society, this doesn't surprise me AT ALL!!
I’d like to point out that whenever Walt is telling a lie he also exhibits body language of a liar too for example giving an answer where you would expect him to be nodding his head but instead he’s shaking it. It’s masterful
Body language is pseudoscience
Listening to the portion on Jesse just breaks my heart. It was never more clear that he was trying to manipulate Jesse than the moment he wanted to leave the business.
The worst part of that dialogue for me was when he tells Jesse, “to do what? Oh that’s right. Video games and go karts.”
Not only does it imply that, to Walt, those are fruitless and meaningless activities, but Walt held onto those instances as future ammunition against Jesse. Jesse invited Walt to do those activities with him when they were still working for Gus.
Jesse wanted to do something fun outside of work with his partner, of which he refused, only to be attacked for wanting to do those things at all.
@@npineapple3077 walter literally poisoned a child to manipulate him and that's okay because he sold drugs? Also it was Walt who got Jesse to kill people.
Jesse has done terrible shit as well, but it's a case of lesser vs greater evil.
@@npineapple3077you obviously didn’t watch the show with a critical lense, yea man Jesse motivation was to play video games bro you nailed it 😂
It's truly showing the ruthlessness of Walt, and how I think that he always had this in him to some extent. To use genuinely friendly gestures and intentions as ammunition confirms this.
Wow. Even reading that made me feel for Jesse.
...And how dare he imply gaming is a waste of time? Being happy is never a waste of time. You can't take all that money with you to the grave. You only have one life, spending it how you want to is more meaningful then a miserable life full of accomplishments.
Fun Fact: Samuel L. Jackson showed up unannounced during filming on the Pollos Hermanos set one day, dressed in his Nick Fury outfit from The Avengers (2012). Both productions were happening on the same studio lot, and Jackson wanted to be an extra during the scene being filmed. The producers denied his request to appear as Nick Fury on the show.
That would’ve been stupid I’m ngl
He clarified this later in an Instagram post, he “just wanted to go into Hermanos & buy some chicken in the background of a scene as myself, but never got the time to do”
Samuel L Jackson should’ve played Tyrus
@@benbleyendaal4636 he definitely could've played the part at least as well as the actual actor but I think his fame would betray the role
We would have a half hour youtube video connecting the 2 universes
Skyler and Jesse are the two who my heart broke for most, Skyler just wanted to protect her family... and she was constantly punished for it. I literally cant belive the fanbase turned on her so hard. But Jesse on the other hand... jesus, even if hed just been left as a junkie he'd be better off. Walt literally ruined every opportunity for happiness Jesse had, and by the end of the show and hes finally free... how can he be happy again after all the trauma? And not to mention, the helplessness, because at the end of it, Jesse had nothing. Its really tragic
The fanbase wanted a perfect victim, but she never was. Perfect victims don't exist. She was genuinely looking to protect this family unlike Walt. She laundered his money and begged him so many times to leave the business. Walt admitted it himself in their final conversation that everything he did was for himself. No matter how many times he told gus, mike or skyler, they saw right through him too
Skyler didn't just want to protect her family--she wanted to control Walt as she always had. The moment he began to break away from her control she resisted him. A significant part of the first season is seeing Walt finally come in to his own as a man of action who recovers some control over his own life--and Skyler's treatment of him early in the show is a big part of his motivation to change.
She disrespected him, dismissed him and presumed to speak for him on numerous occasions. Meanwhile the guy is trying to survive in a criminal endeavor full of the most vile and terrible people in the world, and he's getting shit about using the wrong credit card from his freaking WIFE. My favorite line in BB is "...I am the ONE WHO KNOCKS!". This is the moment when Skyler finally realizes how powerful Walt and and that he is NOT to be fucked with--by anyone, including her. She doesn't run her mouth as much after that.
Better to be a ruthless monster than to be disrespected by everyone--especially by your own wife.
I don't want to slam Skyler too hard, as there are things about her character I certainly sympathise with, and even admire. But watching Walt deal with all this horrible life-and-death shit and then seeing his wife bitch at him over the trite and mundane is the most irritating thing about the show.
To depict either Skyler--or Jesse--as victims is idiotic and simplistic, and it make clears the low intelligence of many people who post on these boards.
What makes this show and others like it so good is that NO character is a victim--ALL are complicit on some level, though some more than others.
Just like real people.
Most people think that THEY are the victims for whom our "hearts" should "break", but in reality we are all guilty, or complicit, to some degree.
At least have the intellectual sophistication and self-awareness to realize that.
@@projectixj9868I wonder if you realize that youre sympathizing with Walt so much that youre going with the line-- oh his bitch wife is trying to control him so much. Let me tell you what, Walts situation in his family and in life was shit. Their partnership was far from perfect and she did take the role of control in their relationship since she felt that was her place. And je felt EMASCULATED.
But my point is, does tjis take away from her humanity? People act like her being a bitchy white suburban mom makes her undeserving of sympathy when her whole family is at risk due to walt "being a macho man," which for him, is being a dangerous drug dealer.
Btw, his way of taking control, in season 2 or so, had resulted in walter Sexually assaulting Skylar. He raped her, but most people forget this or are so taken by Walt that it doesn't come off to them as anything but walt reclaiming sexual prowess in his relationship. And it may have been that for him. But it was also assault.
So i just think only viewing her as his bitch wife standing in his way, essentially, means you have been blindsided by walt.
Edit: im also confused by you saying theyre not victims. Yeah, in the end they are and thats an absolute fact. Like do u remember the last season? Being a victim, btw, doesn't mean they never did anything wrong.
@@projectixj9868 nice gaslit
@@evanmil0minefly Not a gaslit at all. You're not watching some Disney cartoon movie. Most characters here are supposed to be flawed and kinda morally gray, some more than others.
What is the most fascinating is that Walt is, while being an expert manipulator, actually a terrible liar. More times than Skylar or Jesse did not fully believed his lies, but they had to go along because they didn't have all the information and because of Walt's manipulation tactics as described they were described in this video. Skylar, on the other hand, is a master class in lying and coming up with a believable narrative, so much so, even Walt is deeply impressed by it. Which later he sees as an useful tool, of course.
Skylar isn't a 'good liar', she just has high social intelligence and actually knows, understands, and empathizes with the people they needed to lie to, namely her sister and brother in law, better than Walt understands or empathizes with most of the people he lies to. Agree that he's made to look like an awkward liar which tricks the audience into believing he must still be a 'good' person, because difficulty lying is usually associated with being a person of integrity. I think, in Walt's case, his awkwardness with lying is just indicative of his pathological self-centredness and lack of empathy rather than him having some kind of moral difficulty with lying.
@@a.r.8954Is Skyler a good liar or not? Because you say she's not, but then list like 3 attributes that should make of her an objectively good liar.
Exactly.@@Δ-Δ-Δ-Δ
@@a.r.8954so in other words she's a good liar.
@@a.r.8954 I've never seen someone dick-ride Skylar so much, what is up with you foaming at the mouth on every comment chain bro?
One of my favourite aspects of Walt's character is that he's an awful liar; it's always obvious *when* he's lying, but never entirely obvious to the other characters *why* he's lying. I remember reading that Cranston wasn't told that Walt did poison Brock until after filming the confrontation scene with Jesse, meaning that Cranston played that scene as if Walt was genuinely innocent. This was a brilliant move; Jesse had in fact figured Walt out (just getting the motivation wrong) and Walt finally managed to convincingly lie to Jesse at the very moment his life depended on it.
Wow that’s so cool I never knew that
he convinced me too
Even more, the video shows that is implied that Walt planned it to be like this
You never read that because that never happened.
First off, you read the script in its entirety before anything is filmed. Also, how would he give an accurate performance if he believed the character was innocent? That doesn't make any sense
Second, when you watch the scene, you can see through cranston's acting and the writing that he is manipulating Jesse. The gun-to-the-head moment is an absolute foghorn, signalling that Walt does not believe what he is saying.
I think him being an awful liar is intentional. It's like the red hearing. All part of the mind games
Walter white was so manipulative and such a well written character, that he had his fan base rooting for him and calling the trapped pregnant wife the bad-guy. Amazing stuff really, love this show.
Skyler is bad too though
Just remember the happy birthday song
She is not perfect, but come on, her husband became an unrecognisable monster, we all rooted for Walt, but in reality we most likely wouldn't be able to root for him
The only time Skyler ever did bad things was when she was complying with Walt and agreeing with his schemes. @@kainlives7958
I keep thinking about how he went back to Marie in the season whether using the gambling and he throws Skylar under the bus with her affair with Ted. Walt was angry about the gambling addiction narrative and never wanted to use it because it undermined his ownership and pride of how he gained his money. Being able to use Skylar as an excuse was so helpful to him
Walt was so manipulative he even managed to manipulate the fanbase into rooting for him.
Americans are very easily manipulated though. Look at trump
Bravo, Vince???
Or, some people are manipulated, while others understand reality, and as such are rooting for him up until that shit with Jane. The series is literally about how capitalism and prohibition are bad.
@@AholeAtheistdumbest analysis of Breaking Bad I've ever heard
@na6733starting to think these comments calling out bots are bots
Walt was gaslighting, gatekeeping, girlbossing ahead of his time.
This deserves to be pinned, idc
Yeppers
None of those should be words.
wopsie
if you are describing girlboss as being a spiteful narcissistic POS, then yes. I agree.
It's a huge testament to this show that people are still talking about and analyzing it 10 years after it ended
This is probably the best, most thought-out discussion on Walter white I’ve seen, putting real words and labels on previously abstract feelings. We knew he was manipulative, but it was hard to put a finger on his exact tactics. Well done.
Abstract?
@@josiahcmiller yea abstract. Correctly labeling the blow-fish idea as a tactic of his was really well done, same with "completing the loop". It all happens subconsciously, but being able to label these tactics and point them out is a really great contribution I haven't seen done before in all the Walter white videos I've seen. Many other's stop at just calling him "manipulative" and nothing much deeper than that.
Wait this isn't a tutorial?
kid named finger
finger?
Breaking Bad is actually so funny. Walter White was so toxic that seasoned drug lords were like I cannot work with this man I have to put my mental health first
LOLLLLL right??
Sorry but thats a dumb take
@@m00nbutter7it’s a joke
@@TheBeigeRaider i dont believe you
Its a joke, and its funny, dont take everything serious on a constant information stream like the internet @@m00nbutter7
I've had inklings of Walter's manipulation tactics bouncing around in my head, but I've never been able to completely grasp the language and philosophy of it until this video. Really good analysis on this video!
the utter genius of the writing team to create such a deep and rich story is really incredible, this should be the standard that television should be nowadays. I cant wait to see what the next Breaking Bad will be.
not necessarily my favorite, but objectively maybe the best tv show ever made
it’s Succession
Better Fuck Chuck
If this becomes the standard, you wouldn't see more than few shows. Not everyone can make shits of these levels like how walter was the only 1 who could make 99.1% pure meth
BCS was the new BB which was the new Sopranos. The bar is set so incredibly high, I think we’re gonna’ be waiting a long time.
25:26 I never noticed, but this scene showing each of their faces obscured by shadows subtly showing that Walt and Gus are two sides of the same coin. Beautiful cinematography and subtle story design. Love it
... also forshadowing how gus will end
wow, that is a genius discovery. very cool.
@@ROCKLIKEACOBB More like genius filmmaking and cinematography lol but appreciate the comment 😊
But how do we know it's a coin. Why can't it be a mirror? Why can't it be a reflection from a bus window?
The Sopranos use this technique over and over, it's very effective.
The moment I would never forgive Walt was when Jesse's first love was murdered with her own vomit. Letting her die was pure evil.
She was a massive security risk, she had to go.
Never trust a junkie
yeah, but remember Jane could've killed Jesse with the whole heroin thing. she wasn't a very good girlfriend imo
She was a pain in the ass. Another foolish character who didn't know who they were messing with--and fucked around and found out. Anyone who gets between two friends and business partners and begins to meddle for their own gain deserves what they get.
@@americanwallace5216 Then again, there's also the factor of the whole shitshow chain reaction that little thing did.
Sending Jane's father into depression which then caused a plane to crash, killing even more innocent people who had nothing to do with the biz
Fantastic breakdown of Walt's manipulation. I would 100% watch a video detailing Mike's understanding of Walt as a manipulator since he is the only main character who never truly gets on board with any of Walt's behavior. It ultimately doesn't save Mike, since Walt is uncompromising when the coercion he's selling isn't being bought.
This is my own personal interpretation but Mike understood Walter because he knew that they where similar individuals, in the sense that they where both older men who got involved in the drug game for the sake of their families. The main difference being that Mike never forgot what he was doing and why. He was working exclusively for his granddaughters sake, so he was selfless despite that fact that he was technically committing crimes. Whereas Walter completely lost the plot and became increasingly selfish, and as someone who was in a similar position to him and could’ve gone down the same path, Mike saw that in Walter and actively tried to check it.
@@cannakage7114 Also has never been pridefull or ambitious in that sense, he literally just was traumatized by the murder of his son and wanted to secure the future of his remaining family at any cost, but he never did it for showing it off or to feel superior.
@@cannakage7114 Actually yeah, as Gus was not your typical "tough guy" like Hank (which Walt felt inferior to for this and other reasons) but he was a serious and respected business man. And well, Mike is evident when you compare how his actions affected his family vs Walt´s lol. Jesus, the fact that we can talk about them as characters in a book or a videogame and that matches the perception of what Walt would´ve like to have from them makes his narcicism more evident, as he mostly wanted status for the status itself, not for what was happening behind the scenes, "the EMPIRE" lets say.
@cannakage7114 I personally think mike was doing it because he liked it too, he could have had many other legit jobs, but he was a criminal because deep down he liked doing it, but hated himself for it, he's no different then Walt in that he uses his family as an excuse to do heinous acts
Mike read him to filth 😂
It's cool how Walter also managed to gaslight the vast majority of the audience watching the show to turn on Skyler
Skylar is scum. The whole series is about how capitalism and prohibition are bad. She supports prohibition. She is scum. Walter becomes a bad person when he does what he does to Jane and Brock.
This! Amazing how the same audience can fall over themselves with sympathy for Saul who was fully capable of defending himself both physically and legally, and still have absolutely none for pregnant and vulnerable Skylar.
we just hate Skyler cuz she's inconsistent.
one episode, she is supporting Walt's meth business, then the next episode she does a complete 180 and hates it again.
Yet that isn't actually true. Her "inconsistency" makes perfect sense in-context to the show. It's why she does things like smoking when she's pregnant. Certainly not good, but it makes sense as to why she did it.
She joins Walt for a number of reasons, which make sense. It's not just some random retcon or inconsistency that came out of nowhere. The way her character is developed is consistent throughout the story
She's hated on because she's literally opposing Walter and feels "naggy" along with feeling like a hypocrite@@icantfigureoutausername
"erm actually that isn't true"🤓 @@errwhattheflip
The wardrobe color choices in addition to the themes explored in this video make so much more sense and feel that much more deliberate and trenchant
Breaking Bad already was my favorite series of all time, yet videos like these always surprise me with how much nuance and quality there is
One of the most fun parts about Breaking Bad and Walter's character as a whole is watching him lie so effortlessly yet so believably, and how it only prolongs his inevitable downfall.
He lied really badly, especially to his wife.
Is it a downfall though? In season 1, he thinks he’s going to die, and wants to leave money for his family. By the end of season 5, he’s accomplished that before he dies, and even took all his enemies with him. Seems like more of a win than a loss
@@kendawgthemasterdude Having your brother in law murdered, your wife and son hating you, yeah, real winner.
Good job covering so many things without spoiling, covering seasons without ruining curiosity for those who may not have seen it yet. Thank you,
Just an Observation. Well done.
30:34 this goes into a phrase I use in my own story. "Good can triumph over evil, But. It truly takes a Monster to understand the Monster."
This is why Gus and Walter were such great foils for each other, as they were both the same kind of Monster.
If you aren’t a monster you’re food, anybody who gives 2 💩 about themselves is a monster
@draco747 not anymore, we have created nice padded societies where people can go about their social lives without much concern for their safety or need to hurt others. Most people only hurt others for their own gain or out of their selfishness, people who hurt others for no reason are generally sociopaths/psychopaths and even then a lot of them don't really care to because it makes more problems for them than its worth. You dont have to be a monster to survive anymore, but we still need monsters to keep other monsters away from the door.
@@erickane8163 It ain’t about surviving anymore, like you said, it’s really about trying to live life at its peak & that can birth the same kind of monster in its own right. You see it everyday still it’s just more discrete than usual crime 🤷.
Huh?? Gus was a measured and composed Machiavellian with some genuine compassion while Walt was a raving Narcissist starved for validation.
> insert the "we are not the same" meme here.
@@Thriving_in_Exile Man the concept of a foil went over your head there didn't it.
Gus and Walt are like batman and the Joker. Cleary there not the same.
But at the end of the day Bruce Wayne does dress up like a giant bat and beats up criminals. Thats not sane.
The Only thing Gus and Walter have in common is there both Monsters. It took a Monster, Walter. To take out another Monster, Gus.
Love how this is organized w the “ladder” image. Makes it really fun to watch.
I’m a little surprised nobody mentions death being the real root. The power of believing he was going to die soon, completely changed his energy and changed capacity to break out of his former self.
Without Walt’s explosion of leverage over “all non dying people”, the entire shift in Walt’s life would never have been possible.
It’s hard to overstate how rare and powerful it is to really think you’re going to die soon: because 99.9% of people walking on earth never have this belief in the same way. Most “dying soon” people are elderly and tired.
So to be running that software at 55 or whatever, gives Walt a leg up that’s almost impossible to grasp unless you’ve been there.
That's why I don't think Walt is inherently bad. Not only do we see him from the beginning trying his best while having a really hard time, after the diagnose he is willing to risk himself for the betterment of the family. The more he infiltrates the gang connections the more he finds himself in difficult situations between himself and other people. In these situations, he generally tries to put his life on top. However, by the end when he realizes his life is forfeit then it's no longer between his life and someone else's, it's between "helping" the good guy against the bad guy...
I think this derives from the fact that the more we do what is "right" or what is "supported" by society, the more we feel we have nothing to fear/lose and that other people, the law, the universe, god etc. will aid us when shit hit the fan. Whereas when we feel that we have to take a matter into our own hands because we are "wrong" or that no one has our back, then we tend to put ourselves first because otherwise we are fucked.
I think that is what happens between many characters in the show. They are not purely evil, they just follow a path where self-preservation becomes more and more paramount until it reaches a point where they will even kill another dude to save themselves.
@@AlexTTzer0 Exactly. Walt gets a bad rep from way too many people, including the guy who made this video. 1 Lying isn't really manipulation when you're trying to not get caught. He's not trying to manipulate people he's just trying to assure them that everything is fine. 2. Justifying your crimes isn't really manipulation either. Especially when he's right. Gus was literally trying to murder jesse, so he killed to protect jesse, then Gus set his sites on walt, so walt killed gus. It sounds too good to be true but he was legitimately telling the truth about his rational. Then after Gus died, Walt had a major ego spike. He was king, and his only flaw in getting caught was his love for Jesse. Jesse ultimately ratted him out and what does Walt do? He saves Jesse's life at the end and restores his freedom.
Walt isn't a bad guy. He's just very good at being bad. So we interpret that as that he's changed, but he's the same fish in a different pond.
@@renaldoawes2210 Very interesting statement.
"Walt isn't a bad guy. He's just very good at being bad".
I wonder for how many guys we can say the same thing...
But does it make any difference is the rhetoric question...
I never did and never will understand the hate for Skyler. She genuinely loved Walt and was, as explained in this video, completely manipulated and gaslit. I think that people who have been through abuse like this can see where Skyler is coming from and understand her reactions and feelings. She's an extremely strong female character that I really resonated with, because if my spouse was doing those things to me, I know I'd probably have a lot of the same reactions she did.
No Skyler didn’t love Walt. If she did she wouldn’t have continually been a bitch to him and wouldn’t have cheated on him.
The only time I really loved skylers character was when she told Jesse to look into a different career besides selling drugs the rest she was kinda mid or outright annoying
i like skyler and i think shes a great character, but shes also a pretty fucking bad person, obv not as bad as walter but shes still pretty bad
@@bitterman7258Walt Jr. called it straight she’s just as bad if she went along with it
You'd fuck Ted?
the dude's a masterclass liar in all except one major thing: *actually building back trust*.
it's a long-term failure caused by a lack of real emotions and real empathy for people that ends up losing him everything.
Walt fully understands manipulation and using people's emotions, but ironically it's his lack of humanity that ends up coming back to haunt him the most. he can never properly gauge the actual damage he's causing and just the sheer rate at which he's losing people's trust and love for him with each consecutive lie.
when's a time you actually remember Walt taking Skylar out to eat or for a vacation or literally anything when it isn't directly following a lie?
when's a time you actually remember Walt appreciating Jesse and caring for him in a meaningful way outside of the confines of his endless manipulation?
the reason everyone eventually turns on him is because they can see he's a compulsive manipulator even when he has these amazing elaborate stories anyone logically "should" believe.
you made 1 little error: he became a criminal, just by doing it he already destroyed his family at the end, how do you find a possibility for him to stay criminal and save his family at the same time?
he was forced to lie and by keep lying he was kind of destined to lose at the end
what will happen if he just say to his wife somewhere in the season 1 that he in fact sells drugs, without any bs he sold to her?
do you think she will stay with him cause he was honest?
this how will it look like: uhm my dear wife, i just killed a guy and i earn real cash by selling drugs, what? nope i am still a good guy...wai- why do you suddenly packing?
if your answer to my question "should he do this" is yes then your delusions seems to have no bounds
so, no matter if he is honest or not, he already lost, thats why that story was so good, cause you already know from season 1 that will be a story of a guy who lost all he had and just ended with his "empire" and try to convince himself that its all he wants
btw the "its for a family" excuse ended even before he begin to work for Gus
so he didn't build any real trust in anyone and never really tried, he just tried to build enough trust to stay in his crime empire and avoid losing it (and his life)
keeping his family was more like a means to prove his strong now, so nobody will take his family from him than him actually caring
if he wanted anything more than his empire, he will either try more with that trust building or drop the idea of his empire, he made a choice and paid the price at the end when he symbolically was alone
This video just proves why skylar could never forgive him in the time he had left. She mustve felt so betrayed. Like imagine the most caring man ever for your entire marriage. And then he does the most horrendous things and spits lies to you. Never confiding in you and hiding everything. Theyre supposed to be one. And he seperated himself from that in unforgivable ways.
They have never been one honestly. Skyler was an extremely manipulative and toxic relationship partner and plays a huge role in Walts self protection journey which ultimately resulted in him breaking bad. Examples? She abuses his family loyalty by questioning his provider status through some hints. Like selling ebay crap on his birthday evening instead of sharing full attention intimacy. Like offering to work during pregnancy for Ted who was known to have a crush on her. She bargains trust and family life as a 'treat' to correct his course of actions. She even intentionally puts the well-being of herself and her unborn child at risk, in a desperate attempt to regain control over Walt emotionally. Gotta understand that Walt hasnt been manipulative all the time, he was a legit good guy who got ran over and neglected by too many people with serious mental issues, infecting him in the process.
the amount of relief and happiness just seeing this thumbnail brought me so much happiness
The scariest thing about Walter White isn't his intelligence or how far he falls from grace over the course of Breaking Bad, but how he was just waiting for the right opportunity (i.e cancer) to act upon his worst impulses which becomes all the more obvious upon a second viewing.
I don’t think he was waiting for a chance to do what he did, but just kind of fell into it. The decades of being disrespected, broke, and powerless caused him to lose faith in the traditional system of morality and law we all follow.He wanted to feel competent, free, and powerful like he used to in his past, and unfortunately that desire led him down one of the worst paths imaginable.
He was always an arrogant ass
How do you know he was waiting for the cancer to become a bad person? The few flashbacks we see before his cancer (his scene with Gretchen, him buying the house with Skylar) indicate nothing of the sort.
I think the realization that his life was ending combined with his impotent rage to create a truly terrifying monster.
Remember a strong man well respected acts with clemency and decency having had their power and their goodness respected all their life. A wicked strong man with means and power acts with it and reveals his true face so for what reason would he have to deceive. A powerful and competent man showing restraint in anger is admirable for he truly has the power to destroy and harm people.
A weak man has been questioned ridiculed and held back by the notions of a society that hates weak men and gives them neither respect or honor. A weak man who thinks himself great is the most dangerous of all. For we all have the power to deceive and even a weak man can thrust a dagger true. I fear not the powerful, but the weak for the weak are inclined to bury their grievances, and a grievance planted in the mind only grows to hatred well watered by the transgressions of others.
Walt is such a man he has had his grievances and envy and hate grow over time to bear the fruit of cunning and evil. He drinks from the well of power and fairly soon has a taste of power and money. A man familiar with the taste of both would know to sip lightly for fear of drowning, but walt has tasted neither riches nor power although he was once with in sight of them both. He is so parched so denied even a drop of either, lost in a desert of failure tortured by the memory of success squandered that when he first drinks a drop he cannot stop. No power on earth save his death will prevent him from drinking his fill, even when he drinks so deep and so long that he makes himself sick he simply wipes off his mouth and comes back for more.
@@emperortgp2424 Actually if you really think about it, in that house buying scene a few things were already off. His grandiose sense of importance slips out when he tells Skyler they'll need a larger house because he wants to have several children. Watch her reaction closely, it sounds like they had never talked about something like that prior and she didn't seem to want such a large family for herself. Walt already had big dreams, wanted more, and wasn't so much asking his wife's opinion on that as he was subtly hinting that to her. There's some trace if resentment for how he looked down on his life and accomplishments up until that point.
Your terminology is brilliant and storytelling is magnificent. "Weaponized" and "Twisted" are some of the best uses of these words I've seen in a while. It all fit perfectly. Well done. I feel like Walter White and Emperor Palpatine have identical similarities.
You gotta admit Walt trying to pin the whole thing on Hank is absolutely hilarious 😂
Nah the “confession” video had me laughing 😂
Gaslighting King
If you see ANY interview of Vicent he maintains that he is 100% dumbfounded about people's passion of Walter.
They wrote him as unlikable as possible and commits so many crimes and still so many dudes root for him, no matter what.
He said that one of the biggest reasons os Bryan Cranston's acting. Bryan is SO good that he was able to charm dudes into thinking that his vicious acts were okay
hes a man so hes “badass” him good skylar bad is all those idiots can come up with lol
you ever hear of the joker? travis bickle? eric cartman?
Not just dudes, womens too
People like an incredibly well written character with a great story? What a shocker
@@randomusername3873 thats not the point, You can like walters character and still point out his very flawed way of living.
My point is im talking specifically about people who idolize him while hating on skylar when hes MUCH worse. It has nothing to do with the way a character or story is written.
Walt slammed on the gas pedal, adrenaline coursing through his veins as he careened around the sharp corner of the go-kart track. Beside him, Jesse whooped with excitement, his laughter echoing through the air.
"Yo, Mr. White, this is sick!" Jesse shouted, leaning into the turn.
Walt couldn't help but grin. It was a far cry from the usual tension-filled drug deals and close calls with the law. For once, they were just two guys enjoying a day out.
As they completed another lap, Walt's phone buzzed. He glanced at the screen, a frown forming as he saw the missed call from Saul Goodman.
"Everything okay?" Jesse asked, noticing Walt's expression.
Walt hesitated before answering, debating whether to tell Jesse about Saul's call. But then he decided to keep it to himself, not wanting to ruin the moment.
"Yeah, everything's fine," Walt replied with forced cheerfulness, pushing the worry aside.
They continued racing around the track, the thrill of the speed momentarily distracting Walt from the chaos of his double life. But as they crossed the finish line, reality came crashing back.
Back at Jesse's apartment, they sat on the couch, nursing beers and reflecting on the day's adventure. But their lighthearted conversation was interrupted by another call from Saul.
This time, Walt couldn't ignore it. He stepped outside to take the call, leaving Jesse to sense the tension mounting within him.
When Walt returned, his face was grave. He didn't need to say anything for Jesse to know that something was wrong.
"What's going on, Mr. White?" Jesse asked, his voice tinged with concern.
Walt hesitated, then finally confessed about the trouble brewing with Gus Fring and the Cartel. He explained the danger they were in and the difficult decisions that lay ahead.
Jesse listened in stunned silence, his mind racing with the implications of Walt's revelation. But before he could respond, they were interrupted by a knock on the door.
Walt tensed, his hand inching towards the gun tucked in his waistband. But when Jesse opened the door, they were greeted by a familiar face - Mike Ehrmantraut.
"Looks like you two could use some help," Mike said with a grim smile.
And so, with Mike's expertise and Jesse's unwavering loyalty, Walt faced the challenges ahead with a newfound sense of unity. Together, they navigated the treacherous world of drugs and crime, forging an unlikely bond on the go-kart track that would carry them through the darkest of times.
This is cinema
And they all lived happily ever after, the end!
Incredible analysis of such a dark, manipulative, and complex character. And yet despite how terrible a human being Walt/Heisenberg is, he’s so manipulative that you, as the viewer, are still somewhat behind him. By the time the end of the 5th season rolls around, you’re meant to cheer Walt on as he takes out the neo-Nazis. Such an incredible show. Bravo to your analysis!
LOL. I mean, of course you are, they're neo-Nazis. Also, the show is about how capitalism and prohibition are bad. Nota single mention of this in the whole video. It's such a bad analysis I'm thinking of unsubscribing.
To be fair, I think that has more to do with the fact that THEIR Neo-Nazis.
The writers basically do the same trick with The Salamanca & Gus (intentionally pitting Walt against someone whose
more immoral than him, so he ends up looking like the "good guy").
BTW, writers originally considered having Walt mow down a bunch of cops at the end, before realizing it went too far.
Them all dying together was fitting. They were versions of each other.
Bravo Vince, a once in a lifetime screenwriter.
So glad he invented New Mexico and chicken, plus the colour purple so Marie could put all them purple blouses on her scrawny ass.
The audience think they have been manipulated into rooting for Walt. In reality people have been intentionally manipulated and gaslighted on a much deeper level. Most people see these stories as just harmless Hollywood entertainment, but it is not. It is well thought-out, deliberate social engineering and it's been going on since forever.
Entire societies, even the entire world is shaped and moulded generation after generation by these evil spellcasters and everyone remains spellbound and totally oblivious of how every thought they have, every opinion and worldview has been purposefully implanted in their minds.
Even before the events of the show, Walter lied to Skyler and said the reason he left Grey Matter and made their lives and their unborn son's future life more financially difficult and more financially insecure was because Elliot and Gretchen cut him out, rather than the real reason which was that he left because he felt inadequate around Gtetchen's family's wealth because he has a superiority/inferiority kind of complex and because he is a narcissist who can't stand not being the most capable person in the room in order to get sympathy, understanding, and zero judgment and zero chance of protestation from Skyler. He was always manipulative and selfish even long, long before his cancer diagnosis. Even when he was a mere 6 years old he believed his father to be weak, pathetic, miserable, and deserving of his slow, suffering, painful death for being weak for being incapable of ensuring he wasn't born with wonky genes. Even as a 6 year old facing down the death of his own father through no fault of his father's he looks at any signs of weakness with disdain. That is his true self coming out. We think that he is a decent but overly passive person at the start of episode 1, but very early on we learn of his spiteful envy towards Elliott and Gretchen and we realise he has always been spiteful, envious, manipulative, and selfish, he just became passive due to becoming apathetic due to his life going nowhere and becoming disinterested and losing any future prospects. He basically only initially decided to not just give up and die to provide for his family until he got into it too much and started doing it for himself for selfish reasons. Every single time he gives an overly windy long speech we initially think he is just giving people a pep talk in order to psych them up and give them the motivation that they need to do what must be done, but then we eventually come to realise that he withholds a lot of information and lies to people, and that he is actually just behaving totally manipulatively. The way he uses Skyler's fear of him to manipulate her in the first half of season 5 is just downright sickening and nauseating. Same with the way he talks Jesse up in order to get him back into cooking and casually converses with him about his future prospects with Andrea and Brock even after knowing full well he deliberately poisoned Brock, an innocent child, hospitalising him and putting him at risk of potentially dying, without a care in the world just completely detached is also very sickening and vexing. I still felt sympathies for Walter for some of the things that happen to him, but as far as his plight for getting money for his family goes, I quickly lost all sympathy for that plight of his when Elliot offered him a position at Grey Matter before straight up offering to pay for his treatment and Walter turned it down because he said that he was far too prideful to accept "charity" as if charity is a grave sin yet making drugs and killing children like Drew and almost Brock are way better morally. At that point I was fully against Walter. And that was all the way back in season one.
Walter isn’t an excellent liar. Everybody calls him out on it. He always constantly gets called out on it. Everybody can tell when he is lying to them. Jesse knows that Walter is manipulating him, and Skyler in the earlier seasons keeps calling him out on his bullshit and keeps demanding to know the actual truth, before eventually finally managing to find out that he is a drug dealer by figuring it out on her own. Every single time he tries to lie, nobody believes him. It almost starts to become a way to have plausible deniability to basically plant your feet and refuse to tell the truth without admitting that is what you’re doing even when both you and the other person knows that’s what you’re doing because being overly open and honest about that would be far too brazen and having plausible deniability at least lets you pretend to play dumb and not know what the other person is talking about or what they’re trying to accuse you of or why they’re accusing you. It’s, like, “swallow my lies even though we both know that I’m lying because I’m not going to give you the truth no matter what, so deal with it.”
thank god.. someone with a brain
The times he was caught lying was more like "you've done this shit so many times before I'm not falling for it" rather than walt inheritly being a bad liar
@sabertoothtooth2572
Walter is good at coming up with lies, but he's bad at selling them. And it's not because Bryan Cranston is a bad actor because when Walter is telling the truth, Bryan Cranston is extremely convincing, it's only when Walter is lying it's obvious. Even the bit when Walter is telling Jesse that Gus is the one who poisoned Brock is obvious lying in hindsight when you go back with the foreknowledge of Walter's lies and deceit. Bryan Cranston is that good that he is able to convincingly act both a character telling the truth and a character lying without their lying being unrealistically over the top, just very realistic, especially for a pathological liar that doesn't bat an eyelid whenever they're telling lies nor even considers manipulating wrong for a single second even before the much worse moral decay over the course of the show.
@@sabertoothtooth2572 he breaks the cardinal rule of convincing lies: spare unnecessary detail. his long ramblings give him away
TLDR
I've never encountered a breakdown so thorough and all-encompassing... well done. Subscribed.
So great that you're back ! We surely missed your astuteness. Awesome video, i can't even Begin to imagine the amount of work (and rewatch) behind it. Congrats !
what gets me is that according to the wiki, walt and gus only knew each other for around 75 days. may 1st 2009 was the day walt agreed to start cooking for gus, may 20th was gale’s death and the boxcutter scene (btw how fucked is victors death in retrospective) and gus dies july 15. 75 days. gus spent over 20 years building his empire and plotting his revenge and in little over 2 months its completely gone. walt spent more time on his own cooking in tents and houses than he did in the lab and he was only on gus’s good side for like 20 days before literally being on his shit list for the remainder.
at first I was like why would jesse switch up on gus after gus was actually starting to like jesse especially after jesse was indispensable during his revenge on the cartel? and why did mike never like walt? its because gus was only nice to jesse for like a month and like jesse said before all that, he was gonna get wasted in the desert cuz he was junkie garbage. mike just never liked walt but after only really knowing the guy for a a couple months and the guy blows up your entire secret operation that you had going for years all for what? pride? give me a break. the more the show is put into context as a 50 year old man with an enormous ego going on a 2 year bender and ruins everyone involved’s life.
Yeah the whole timeline to the show falls to shit under scrutiny.... Hank was crippled for like 2 weeks lol .Crazy 2 years for the White family.
He was just that toxic lmao
Walt was horrible to Skylar. She was so innocent and just wanted to protect her kids. Imagine your spouse lied and manipulated and abused you the way he did to her. She’s annoying in the show because the writing is great and made us root for the bad guy
Exactly!!!
This is a very impressive and nuanced analysis that is beautifully constructed. Really top work!
I think the EVILEST thing walt accomplished? He made the viewer side with him. Knowing he's not a good protagonist, if it was from ANY other character's viewpoint: He is a villain.
Yet, we side with him. We enjoy seeing him succeed. We love to hate his schemes and groan at other's inabilities to see his obvious lies.
It is masterful writing, and Walter White is one of my favourite character's ever to grace the screen.
I watched the full series 5 times. I didn’t really dislike Walt until the most recent time I watched. He really is a vile human, especially the way he treats Jesse.
So glad you made this. I remember whenever Walter opened his mouth I would feel anger because every single thing he said was a red flag and wanted to yell at every person that bought it to run.
A master class video of a legendary topic. *Well done sir.* I love deep dives and psychology and you absolutely did an excellent job! ❤
This is one of the best TH-cam videos I've ever seen. So fascinating, and your editing and choice of clips is inspired!
I came into Breaking Bad late and never saw Walt as a "badass". I'm glad this reading is becoming much more common.
Same, and it's not fair on Bryan's acting chops. He played the gaslighter SO well it's eerie how it swayed that original fanbase
@@iloveyoubigmantyrone5609 Oh for sure, every time he uses that slimey fake caring tone of voice when manipulating Jesse I just wanted to punch him in the mouth. That's good acting lol.
I thought Walter was the shit at first , but I was younger and appreciated how clever he was. Now that I’m older and watching the series 2-3 times , Walter is really disgusting. His manipulation tactics are brilliant yet psychotic
@@iloveyoubigmantyrone5609 he doesn't need to gaslight anyone. just the fact that he makes redditors like you go mad would be enough to love him. everything else (like forming a drug empire) is a bonus
Same, I watched it in 2021 and I was sympathetic to Walt, but I completely understood where Skylar was coming from. And that was the first season lmao. It's baffling to me that so many people idolize Walt and demonize Skylar when that's clearly not what the show was going for...
33:15 The heartbreaking thing is Walt throws go karting in Jesse’s face which Jesse mentioned doing with him once to try and which was one of the only he tried establish a greater connection with Walt and Walt uses that against him later to make fun of him
Brian Cranston featuring in the ad for this video was just too real for me
He's back! 🎉 Missed your vids dude!
People complain and hate on Skylar, but it was Walter that was hard to spend that much time with during periods for me. If it wasn't for Bryan Cranstons incredibly charismatic & magnetic performance I'd have a hard time finishing the show regardless of how well written the show was.
Walt becomes a lot better at manipulating over the course of the series. At first, he's really awkward. He also generally doesn't think out his lies enough and they fall apart too easily. But at the end of season 4, he manages to pull off a masterful manipulation of Jesse.
Never understood why people hated Skyler so much.
Sure, she was annoying and bothersome, but then we have people like Tuco, the Salamanca twins, Héctor, Gus Fring, the one who tortured Jesse and killed Andrea (I believe Todd was his name?), etc.
Watching people hate her so much when I pitied her powerlessness most of the time was interesting.
But at least Anna was hella praised for her role.
Normal fans of the show find Walt an interesting character but don't justify his actions. But some of the fanboys think they have to defend him to find his character interesting.
The evil characters you listed were presented as obvious evil characters, no explanation or justification need, and that means there is no need for a discussion where people can be very opinionated and emotional. On the other hand, Skyler is somewhat of a gray character.
She was against Walt cooking meth which is a reasonable response to a socially shunned illegal activity, but on the other hand she refused to recognize Walt's equally reasonable response to what is essentially a death sentence, which is to secure the future of his family, at least financially. This fact is made worse by her hypocrisy helping Ted commit tax fraud and sleeping with him at the same time. She also smoked when she was still pregnant with holly.
Skyler is not a consistently good person, and in some fucked up way that is worse than being a consistently bad person.
@@excalibro8365 Cooking meth isn't a reasonable response to getting cancer. Walt became a drug dealer for the money for himself, the power and because he liked being feared as Heisenberg. The "I'm doing it so my family's OK when I die" was an excuse.
@@excalibro8365the tax fraud was specifically to keep the IRS at bay; she was Ted’s accountant and they would have investigated her which would put her family at risk. And she did not have some hot and heavy affair behind Walt’s back. She had filed for divorce and he refused to leave. She slept with Ted in order to push Walt away which is why she TOLD HIM IMMEDIATELY! Yes, she smoked while pregnant. Holly was still born healthy.
Skyler is not inconsistent. She was only ever motivated to do as much damage control as possible and did the best she could with the information she had, which was constantly changing and never included the full facts of the situation. A situation she didn’t choose to be in; had she had a choice, none of it would have ever happened in the first place.
It is odd how tightly people hold onto the “sins” that you mentioned, disregard the context of her actions, and try to stretch them into something that resembles a villainy that is “almost as bad” as Walt’s. How much people minimize the fact that Walt forced her into the situation but get butthurt anytime she tries to cope and/or problem solve in ways that aren’t centered around Walt’s preferences. How high people’s standards are for the level of perfection she has to attain in order to be considered a victim. How people can watch every episode, see exactly what she was put through, and and get so annoyed (or even enraged) that she isn’t somehow “being better.”
I'll never understand the arguments that people like villains more than her
Like of course, the crazy druglords are more interesting than skylar. They are also presented as clearly evil and obstacles to overcome
And people generally enjoy villains more
ive been waiting months for the next upload! so happy to see you uploading again, can't wait to watch!!
Excellent. As stated the worst type of emotional abuse one can be subjected to. Keeping you suspended questioning yourself and unable to move forward. Great package highlighting the aspects of manipulation used by W.W. Great series, fantastically written and brilliantly acted.
Thank you for calling emotional manipulation viz Walter and Skyler for what it is - abuse. Unless you have been on the end of someone who can lie and manipulate like this, it's difficult to understand the impact it has on the victim's psyche. You begin doubting your own instincts, your memory, and your ability to defend yourself. You don't know which way is north on your moral compass. You begin to think your entirely justified anger and suspicion is actually YOUR character fault, rather than a healthy and normal reaction to the abusive behaviour of someone you trust. Eventually you begin to question if you're actually going crazy, they can be so effective at convincing you that something you can see with your own two eyes, isnt' really there. When there are no physical marks left behind, other people can even start to think YOU actually the problem - while the abuser stands by looking sane, saying "see how she is?", neglecting to mention everything leading up to your "overreaction".
To deliberately manipulate someone who trusts you into doubting what they can see in front of them, is one of the most insidious and evil abuses there is. Sometimes they're so good at it, that the victim's ability to trust others AND trust their own gut never fully recovers. I would never have believed this level of psychological trauma and lying was possible until it happened to me and we really need to talk more about this. WW is an excellent tool for that!
Also having to keep telling them obv things like we can't use that Mastercard when there is a very good reason for not doing so and dismissing it as nagging is just tiring. You feel like you're babysitting instead of having a partner in life.
@@ariesa9751 I read that there's a term for that: weaponised incompetence. They're knowingly reckless but play it off as unconscious impulsivity to avoid taking responsibility, when they know full well they shouldn't be doing it.
Thanks for this comment.
Always feels reassuring to hear it put into words.
"You begin to think your entirely justified anger and suspicion is actually YOUR character fault."
I love this line.
NEVER consider that your immediate feelings might be wrong, kids! NEVER EVER EVER!
Anyone challenging the way you interpret your experiences is an evil GASLIGHTER!
You're immediate reactions are NEVER WRONG, kids, NEVER!
Anyone who questions them, or implies you should question them, is an ABUSER!
What a load of crap.
Anyone who believes this is going to have an unhappy life indeed.
Generation Alpha is doomed. You've brought it on yourselves.
So happy to see that you posted a new breaking bad video. Thanks and greatings from Germany.
Walter manipulated himself that he is doing all that for family or he is a good guy who trapped in a situation
But when he earned enough money so he can ran away in another country
But he still continued the journey even after harming everyone
The scene when he yelled at Skyler out of nowhere made me cringe
Wow
That’s high quality content.
The narrative, the editing, the analyse…
I’m entertained and impressed
You really are a brilliant content creator. Every show you cover I end up liking more
It's actually scary how many people identify with Walt and think he's the good guy of the series.
People that are emotionally immature. I used to think he was cool when I was 19. 10 years later I think hes miserable
He is he just want to make for his family
@@Georgy6282 he's still our favorite character
Wait you don't think Walt was the good guy....? 🫣
@@HipHopAn0n did... did you not watch the series?
He has returned from silence!!! Glad to see a new video after a long time.
Brian Cranston. Love him in Breaking Bad and Malcom in the Middle. What an actor! I will watch anything he is in.
A great Lyndon Johnson in All the Way
Try Your Honor and the Upside, he was great in those as well
40:50 Am I wrong or did we actually never get definitive confirmation that Gus ordered Tomás to be killed?
Gus ordered the two dealers to use "no more children", but them killing Tomás might have been simply their low life way of interpreting that order.
Gus seemed genuinely offended when Walter suggested that it was Gus who ordered Tomás' murder, which happened during a cards-on-the-table, "man-to-man" conversation.
Someone let me know if I missed something, because as far as I can recall this was left intentionally vague.
THAT is soooo right, yep, very very manipulative!!! Yeah I must say I was not on Walt's side for very long myself, and I had a LOT of arguments with my husband and friends who all kept defending him for many seasons even, whereas me I started hating him long before the end of the first season... hating him but LOVING the character that is!!!
Your husband liked him ?? holy red flag
@@rishaa682 😂😂Ex!! 😂 I'd say he was VERY slow to wake up to Walt, kept believing his bullshit justifications, but so did everyone I know!!🤷🏻♀
The time it takes for a person to realize that Walter White is an evil person can show you what kind of person they really are. For me, it took to Jane's death to realize he was evil
I sincerely hope you got out of that relationship, sounds like he let his mask slip and showed you the real him.
I feel like it's hard to just call him evil because he's so much more than that. Evil is like Judge Holden or Eric Cartman. Many of Walt's worst actions are too complex when it comes to his motives behind it to be truly "evil" or make him some devil in human clothes. Things like him poisoning Brock are terrible but aren't pure evil because we know of the stakes there if he doesn't. Him letting Jane die is horrific, but we get his thought process, flawed as it may be. Many things he does are out of a mistaken form of self-preservation that he takes to the most ridiculous levels possible.
So I'd say he isn't evil throughout the show, which is precisely what the final 3 episodes of the series offer. A glimpse into Walt's humanity once more@@chedder3390
Glad that you're back! Your videos are fantastic, without exception.
One of the best series on television. I went into it during 2020 out of curiosity with no interest, even after hearing all the hype for years.
After the first episode i was hooked. Such a psychological thriller mixed with so many layers that take many times to rewatch and review.
I recommend this series to anyone i meet who enjoys good quality production.
Wonderful analysis. Walter White was a horrible person who ended up destroying the family he supposedly wanted to protect.
Bravo 👏
Thank god I was missing a Just an Observation Breaking Bad video for a long time.
23:10 "to launder his money legally."
I just thought that line was funny :)
Amazing video, one of the best on breaking bad. Take a bow sir as i know this must have been a long project.
the king of character analysis is back
Insane video. One missing thing would be that Walt even goes so far and hugs Jesse at 40:02 for more manipulation
Definitely the best analysis of Walter White's lying and manipulation tactics in Breaking Bad. Keep up the good work!
Great video! Love how you used the ladder as a guide to the levels of manipulation
Dude these videos are masterpieces. Every video (Especially the Breaking Bad ones) you do it's just an absolute amazing analysis and I love every second of it. I've re-watched Breaking Bad at least 5 times and 2 of those times were directly cause of your amazing videos.
Great content as always. This is the best channel analyzing movies and series and I mean it. Chapeau bas.
Best in depth Walter White analysis on TH-cam 👍🏻
“What the hell is that?” Is such a genius way to manipulate Jessie. He’s old enough to not be “up to date” with the latest gatchments and gitchmos
What a great video. I applaud you sir for the work you put it making this. Keep up the good work my dude. 👍👍👏
Great video! It blows my mind how far some people will go to defend Walt, but I have to wonder if some of those people have been manipulated in kind by real people in their lives, perhaps making it impossible for them to see the differences here.
It blows my mind, too. It's so often immature people who also think Skylar was in the wrong for her feelings surrounding all of Walts behavior while they root for Walt and justify his horrific behavior. Adults with the experience and social/emotional capacity of children.
@@meowmachine9147Walter is evil , skyler is annoying, I’d rather choose evil than annoying
I don't see people defending Walt. I see more people whining about people defending Walt.
@@emperortgp2424 I see both. But I already understand my perspective 😉
I think people are mistaking defending morally terrible decisions for just liking him. You can like characters who do bad shit. He is very cool in his evil ways. Besides, he isn't a complete sociopath, he has humane parts of him even if its destroyed and overshadowed by ego. Remember... this is a tv show... it's meant to be enjoyed. And I enjoy seeing Walter manipulate people, cook meth, and combat people who are so much more experienced and healthy. I enjoy watching normal family stuff much less so.
This was the first time I've watched your content. Great job, kept me engaged from start to finish, I'll definitely watch again.
I thouroughly enjoyed this breakdown, it's crazy how much thought went into the character development on a psychological level! Great job!
Woohoo you're back! Thanks for returning with a great long form video. Excited to see what else you come up with this year.
It isn't like Skylar was innocent. She did cheat on Walt with Ted. And gave Walt's money to Ted. So Walt didn't make up a lie to Marie.
Great video bro! This is the best analysis of Walter White I've ever seen!
Walt is such a morally grey and deep character. Amazingly written
Idk by the end he's kinda just an evil man (except for Felina where he somewhat redeems himself)
There’s good, neutral, bad and evil. He starts off morally good, then becomes neutral, then bad and then evil. A completely sick monster
@@kainkong274he never was a sick monster he always had emotions as we see when he cries for Hank and saves Jesse
@@brianquishpe6820Depends on how you define sick monster, these categories are very vaguely-defined, morality is a spectrum rather than a collection of descriptors
@@crypt5129 Walter is very bad person but he is capable of being human and having emotions it's just his ego and pride that is his downfall and his resentment to how things went for him in the past
He made people believe he was strong at his weakest and weak at his strongest
Wow, welcome back!
Happy New Year and welcome back. Great analysis as usual.
one of the best analyzes ive ever seen. congratulation on this, this video is special.
Welcome back, Pete... Thanks for the video 👍
Great Video! I just found your channel today and subscribed!
BB is one of my all-time favorite shows, mainly due to how truly fascinating Walt's character is from a purely scientific standpoint.
Your ability to empathize with him from a human perspective in order to illustrate his motivations was very well done! I look forward to checking out more of your vids!
I can't imagine my wife not backing me for being a drug lord.
Bro just gave one of the greatest comeback