Top 10 Worst Things Walter White Has Done

This is why Walter White is such a classic character. Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the top 10 crazy Walter White moments.

For this list, we’ll be looking at scenes in Breaking Bad featuring Walt that made us shake our heads in disappointment or drop our jaws in shock.

After deciding that Gus needs to go, Walt allies himself with Hector Salamanca, who Gus often visits to torment. And the two come up with a rather explosive plan—Walt will plant a bomb in Hector’s wheelchair, which will blow both Hector and Gus to kingdom come. And, you know, maybe some innocent bystanders who get caught in the blast. Luckily, no one was harmed, but can you imagine if some poor old lady was standing directly in front of the door that shoots off like a rocket? It just goes to show the lengths that Walt will go to to look out for number one.

#9: Kidnapping His Own Daughter

Things got a little wild for Walt near the end, there. And in the heat of the moment, he just up and kidnapped his own daughter, much to the horror of Skyler and Walter Jr. The great thing about this moment is that it not only paints Walt as a selfish a-hole, but it somehow manages to make us feel sympathetic at the same time. Walt just wants to be with the one person in his family who doesn’t hate him or want him dead, and when Holly asks for her mama, he is utterly devastated. With that one word, Walt finally realizes that it’s all over.

At the end of season three, Walt’s future with Gus looks grim. He had betrayed Gus by murdering his drug dealers, and soon finds himself training Gale, who Gus intends to replace him with. Rather than going to the DEA, as Jesse suggests, Walt decides to murder Gale. Only, Walt is taken by Mike before he can, forcing him to utilize Jesse. Throughout much of the first three seasons, Jesse is a deadbeat, but he’s certainly not a killer, and the despondent look on his face says it all. This moment is the catalyst for Jesse’s eventual downfall, and it’s harrowing to witness.

#7: Handing Jesse Over to Jack

In the episode “To’hajiilee,” Walt puts out a hit on Jesse and requests that his death be quick and painless. That all changes when Todd realizes that Jesse was working with the DEA. Rather than killing Jesse, Jack’s gang kidnaps him and forces him into meth-making slavery. And just when you thought Jesse couldn’t sink any lower, too. This is arguably Walt at his most petty and despicable. Not only does he betray Jesse’s hiding location to Jack, but he spitefully reveals to the already-frightened Jesse that he was responsible for Jane’s death. It’s a low blow, and it proves just what a conceited ass Walt has become.

It didn’t take long for Walt to murder someone, did it? In the show’s very first episode, Walt concocts a chemical reaction that kills Emilio and incapacitates Krazy-8. Unfortunately for Walt, Krazy-8 survives the poisoning, forcing Walt to murder him in cold blood. You can call it self-defence, seeing as how Krazy-8 would have killed him, but Walt still poisoned him, kidnapped him, and chained him up in Jesse’s basement, so it’s not as if his hands are clean here. It’s not quite Breaking Bad material—seeing how it’s only the third episode—but it’s still a major transformative moment in Walt’s character, and it helps inaugurate him into the dangerous world of drug dealing.

Fans have different opinions about when Walt embraced his aggressive and authoritarian alter ego, but many point to the brilliant ending of "Half Measures," in which Walt murdered two of Gus’s dealers in cold blood. The collision itself is graphically depicted, leaving viewers to gawk in equal parts disgust and amazement. And then Walt gets out of the car, grabs a gun, and shoots the survivor square in the face. With this moment, Walt truly becomes Heisenberg. Before this, he had always shown remorse towards murder. Now he’s completely in command, confident, and determined even in violence. With this act, Walt has accepted his destiny and his true character.

#4: Blowing Up Tuco’s Headquarters

Of course, you could also argue that Heisenberg was “born” when Walt blew up Tuco’s headquarters in season 1. After all, it’s when he officially adopts the name and changes his appearance! After Tuco puts Jesse in the hospital, Walt goes to Tuco’s and shows him what for by blowing up his office with fulminated mercury. It’s certainly badass, and it’s made even better by that tantalizing opening scene which shows a freshly-shaved Walt walking away from the explosion with a bloody nose. As badass as Heisenberg is, there’s still some Walter White in there... but it’s definitely a major step towards his full transformation.

Despite it being a season later, yet more fans claim that Heisenberg’s true birth was the moment Walt watched Jane choke to death on her own vomit. Walt wasn’t a fan of Jane’s influence on his partner, and when opportunity struck, he just couldn’t pass it up. It’s not a great scene because a major character died. It’s a great scene because we physically witness Walt’s transformation from caring father figure to calculating drug dealer. He initially rushes to help, and shows remorse and disgust for his actions, but quickly composes himself, now confident in his decision. It’s at this point that Walt’s money and empire became more important than human life.

#2: Going Full Godfather

It’s amazing how fluid and natural this show presented Walt’s character development. In the series premiere, we would never imagine Walt owning his own drug empire and having his enemies simultaneously assassinated, Michael Corleone style. But when this scene played in the season 5 episode "Gliding Over All," it seemed like just another day in the life. And it is both an extraordinary and horrifying sequence. The heinous and graphic violence is brilliantly juxtaposed with Nat King Cole’s soothing "Pick Yourself Up," and it’s an idiosyncratic blend that only Breaking Bad can pull off. While Breaking Bad is full of depravity, this scene is especially sickening.

Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few dishonorable mentions.

• Whistling After Dissolving the Body of a Child
• Killing Mike
• Getting Laundromat Employees Deported (or Killed)

Yes, we know he calculated the precise dosage to ensure Brock’s survival, but he still poisoned a kid, damn it! In order to take out Gus, Walt concocts an elaborate scheme which involves poisoning Brock with his lily of the valley berries and tricking Jesse into believing that Gus poisoned Brock with ricin. It can’t be denied that Walt is an extremely intelligent and conniving bastard, but intentionally poisoning a child is truly an irredeemable act. There’s a reason the season ended on the image of Walt’s plant—Walt’s moral compass has been irrevocably shattered, and that is more shocking and emotional than any death or touching goodbye could have been.