Both Breaking Bad and its prequel series Better Call Saul have high body counts. Centered around Walter White’s descent from a chemistry teacher to a drug kingpin and the criminal underground of drug cartels, many characters succumb to the deadly side of the drug industry. Many of these lovable characters had painfully sad deaths in the Breaking Bad universe.
Some viewers may have rewatched Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul and reflected on the most tragic deaths in the franchise. Across two shows and a movie, certain characters stood out for leaving viewers in tears as they made their final exit. That said, not everyone who died between Breaking Bad, El Camino, and Better Call Saul deserved to be mourned. Despite their lack of innocence, however, there is a fine line that even viewers hesitate to cross when it comes to doling out death and judgment.
Both Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul are television masterpieces — and although their fandoms are mostly overlapping, some still consider the latter show to be superior. These two narratives aren’t consistently action-oriented, but they each have their own fair share of character deaths. Unsurprisingly, some of these deaths are deeply tragic. As such, we’ve updated this list of saddest Breaking Bad deaths.
Walter White is easily one of the most controversial characters in the history of television. Despite his insistence on protecting his family, Walt’s path is paved with the blood of countless innocents. Some fans even valorize his character when it was clearly meant to be maligned and for good reason. Walter makes so many bad choices throughout Breaking Bad that he finds himself with no recourse after Hank’s death.
Finally determined to fix his mistakes, Walter breaks into Skyler’s apartment to apologize, and she only considers it after he admits that he did everything for himself. In the end, he secures revenge for Hank by killing Jack and his men; his actions also help Jesse escape, creating the only redeeming factor that viewers can accept. Walter’s death is saddening not because of his familial love, nor even because of his redemption, but because he understands just how much he has lost.
All things considered, however, there are several Breaking Bad deaths more tragic than Walter White.
