Nonsense. He was acting out. He spent decades tamping down his own sense of life, and when he realized that those decades were all he’d ever have, he turned the blame and frustration outward. When he steps on the kid’s leg in the very first episode, he was lashing out for his own sake as much as his son’s.
I’m not saying that the money wasn’t part of his motivation, but there is never a point in this series when he’s not the angry, frustrated man who wants to carve his name into history.
It was never fully explained, and I don’t know if it ever will, but somehow Walt and Gretchen were dating, and they broke up. Walt ended up with Skylar, and Elliot ended up with Gretchen. I always imagined Walt cheated on her with Skylar, and got Skylar pregnant, and thats why he bailed, but who knows.
Those two represent all the unfulfilled potential that he sees in himself, and showing them up is basically the entire catalyst for his behavior. His ego wanted to one up these two so bad, there’s no way he was taking hand outs from them
He did it out of desperation, his ego didn’t blow up until after he dealt with Gus. His cockyness and boldness when dealing with Gus and playing him to keep himself alive and then taunting him with Gale wasn’t ego, but it was to show Gus that he wasn’t just a tool. Once he beat Gus, that’s when he did things to fuel his ego, whilist working to ensure his family would be well off.
Walt wasn’t always a beta. Check the flashbacks–he was a creative, dynamic man brimming with ideas. He made himself into a beta to deal with his post-Gray Matter life.
He knocked Skylar up, took the first job he could to pay the bills/get insurance, and before you knew it, 17 years later he couldn’t take it anymore, and broke bad.
The diner scene was in Season 2. I forget exactly what triggered it, but Gretchen got around Walt’s family (probably just a visit). I remember Skyler thanking her for treating Walt, and then that led to the diner scene, where she questions Walt’s refusal of their help and mentions the falling out between them. He ended it with “Fuck you.” We don’t know what the falling out was. I hope it’s explained in a flashback, even though the broad strokes of the situation already explain why Walt wouldn’t want their help.
I find it funny that when Gretchen told Skyler after the diner convo that they can’t pay for Walt’s treatment anymore, Walt said Gray Matter is broke, and Skyler didn’t google that for truth.
Spoiler
I thought that was stupid at first, and only “accepted” it because it’s the badass ending Gustavo deserved. Then I read somewhere that some bombing victims (with more damage than Gus, if you can believe it) have done minor things (like walk around) shortly before they died. Shock is a weird thing.
I’ve read a few news stories with the writers saying that all loose ends get tied up. I hope the whole Gretchen/Elliott/Gray Matter thing is included in that. Even if it’s just Elliott flying in on his big Dumbo ears to take a bullet for Holly or Walter Jr.
I went and checked it out, it’s Peekaboo. Season 2.
It’s the one episode I always skip on a rewatch. The sub plot with the meth heads and the red haired kid gets to me too much, so I skip it.
I rewatched the scene, and I didn’t see anything in it that indicates he was already a teacher when he met skylar. It talks about how walt mysteriously up and left Gretchen in the middle of a family vacation and that was the end of it. Pretty sure it’s implied that it was money related; Walt couldn’t stand her rich family and how much they took everything for granted, and walked away from her and the whole situation.
Still no timeline of events between that, his teaching job, having Jr, etc
I think it has to be for Lydia. The parallelism and foreshadowing is too much for it not to be. He took the ricin to kill her in episode 8, and didn’t. And he’s taking it back for episode 16 to finish the job.
…you finally find the scene from a previous episode (S2 episode 12) of Jesse wearing a jacket similar to the one Future Walt has on… the same Walt who directly/indirectly mimics his opponents after they die… this show is the real life Portal 3.
I don’t want to be bitching about another show or starting wars here, but I have to say that watching Season 5 Breaking Bad episodes and Season 8 Dexter episodes back to back makes the Dexter episodes so funny they’re (almost) enjoyable.
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