Walter White’s death in the Breaking Bad finale was a tragic but poetic end to his story — and if he’d survived, it could’ve ruined the final episode. In Breaking Bad season 5, episode 16, “Felina,” Walt returned to Albuquerque to settle his old scores. He figured out a way to get what was left of his blood money to his family via the Schwartzes, he killed his remaining enemies, and he brought a machine gun to Jack Welker’s compound. During the massacre, Walt took a bullet to the gut and bled out while fondly reminiscing in a meth lab.
Although confirming Walt’s death in El Camino. This is for the best; if Walt had survived, it could’ve ruined Breaking Bad’s story.
5 The Reason Walt Broke Bad In The First Place
Catalyst for Heisenberg
Walt’s death paid off the reason he broke bad in the first place. After being diagnosed with lung cancer and told he only had a short time left to live, Walt decided to start cooking and selling meth to make enough money to ensure his family would be taken care of when he ed away. This put a ticking clock on the series; the entire story was building up to Walt’s untimely death.
Exactly two years later, on his 52nd birthday, he was killed by a gunshot wound. In the end, it wasn’t cancer that killed Walt, but his projected death did come to .
In the first episode, on his 50th birthday, Walt was told he had two years to live. Exactly two years later, on his 52nd birthday, he was killed by a gunshot wound. In the end, it wasn’t cancer that killed Walt, but his projected death did come to . If Walt had survived, the Breaking Bad finale would’ve lacked this poetic irony.
4 Walter Would Have Never Paid For The Characters He Killed
Justice for Walt's Victims
Throughout the five seasons of Breaking Bad, Walt killed a lot of people and got even more people killed. He killed Mike, he ordered Jesse to kill Gale, he watched Jane die and did nothing to stop it, he invited Jack and his gang to come and kill Hank and Gomez, and he had all of Mike’s guys shanked in prison in the space of two minutes. After causing all that death and devastation, it was fitting that Walt himself would die at the end of the story.
Walt’s death was his comeuppance for all the deaths he was responsible for. If he’d survived, he might’ve been taken to prison, but he would’ve lived on. If Walt wasn’t killed, he never would’ve paid for the deaths he caused.
3 Walt's Last Stand Against All His Enemies
Walt's Final Showdown
Walt’s return to Albuquerque was his last stand against all his enemies. In Breaking Bad’s penultimate episode, “Granite State,” after being told to drop dead by his son, Walt realized he had nothing to live for and called the police to turn himself in. But after seeing Gretchen and Elliott diminish his accomplishments in a TV interview, Walt decided he still had some old scores to settle and headed back to New Mexico.
Throughout the final episode, Walt has no plans for the future. He has the Schwartzes living in fear, he poisons Lydia with her favorite sweetener, and he slaughters Jack and his neo-Nazi gang. It’s a suicide mission; he just wants to get his money to his family and exact revenge against his enemies.
2 Walter Had Become An Irredeemable Monster
Walt's Moral Decay
At the beginning of Breaking Bad, Gilligan famously set out to turn Mr. Chips into Scarface. Walt was first introduced as a mild-mannered high school teacher who seemingly wouldn’t harm a fly. But by the end of the series, he’d become an irredeemable monster who didn’t think twice about poisoning a child, blowing up a nursing home, and kidnapping his own daughter.
By the time the Breaking Bad finale rolled around, death was the only fitting conclusion to Walt’s arc.
Walt’s survival would’ve come off as a redemption arc of sorts. But by that point, Walt didn’t deserve redemption. By the time the Breaking Bad finale rolled around, death was the only fitting conclusion to Walt’s arc.
1 Walt Sacrificed Himself To Save Jesse
Walt's Heroic Act
Although it’s never explicitly stated on-screen, it seems as though Walt was planning to kill Jesse along with Jack and his gang when he went to their compound in the Breaking Bad finale. As far as Walt knew, Jesse had partnered with Jack to keep selling his signature blue-tinged product in his absence. However, when Jack brought out Jesse and Walt saw that Jack was keeping his former partner as a meth-cooking slave trapped in a hole in the floor, he had a change of heart.
Walt often manipulated Jesse throughout Breaking Bad, but he did really care about him. When the bullets started flying, instead of hitting the deck as planned, Walt jumped on Jesse and shielded him from the gunfire. This meant that Walt ended up taking the bullet that killed him. If Walt had survived that gunshot, then his sacrifice for Jesse would’ve been less impactful.
Breaking Bad
- Release Date
- 2008 - 2013-00-00
- Network
- AMC
- Showrunner
- Vince Gilligan
Cast
Walter White
Jesse Pinkman
WHERE TO WATCH
Breaking Bad, created by Vince Gilligan, follows a chemistry teacher turned drug kingpin named Walter White (Bryan Cranston) as he attempts to provide for his family following a fatal diagnosis. With nothing left to fear, White ascends to power in the world of drugs and crime, transforming the simple family man into someone known only as Heisenberg.
- Seasons
- 5
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