Breaking Bad: Walter White’s Enemies, Ranked Least To Most Dangerous
You don't get to become Breaking Bad's Walter White without making a few dangerous enemies along the way. But just how dangerous were they?
Walt envisions a life where he has millions of dollars when he abandons his teaching job and starts cooking meth. What he never foresees is the number of enemies he will have. As soon as he transforms from the family man Walter Hartwell “Walt” White Sr. to the drug kingpin Heisenberg, the antihero’s list of foes starts getting longer and longer.
How does he deal with his enemies? Walt somehow relies on the 48 Laws Of Power, switching between Law 2 (Learn how to use your enemies) and Law 15 (Crush your enemies totally). Both options work well for him as he eventually dies on his terms rather than getting arrested or killed by someone else.
Elliott Schwartz
Elliott is one of Walt’s few non-violent enemies. Before the events of the series, Walt starts Gray Matter Technologies with Elliot (and Gretchen as an employee) but he sells his stake for $5000 because dating Gretchen is making him uncomfortable. After his departure, Gray Matter grows to be a billion-dollar company. Elliot also marries Gretchen. Both of these things make Walt resentful.
As Walt is being hunted down by authorities later in the series, Elliot and Gretchen lie to the media that he contributed nothing to the company, despite the fact that his work was key. A disappointed Walt eventually gives the couple the undesirable task of delivering $9.72 million to his son on his 18th birthday, lying that he has two assassins ready to kill them if they don’t.
Krazy-8
Krazy-8 is a tough peddler but Walt outsmarts him easily. The distributor forces Jesse to take him to Walt after Jesse tries to sell him the blue meth. Unfortunately, Krazy-8’s cousin Emilio recognizes Walt as the man who was with Hank during an attempted drug bust. This makes Krazy-8 believe that Walt is working with the authorities. His plan is to force Walt to teach his formula then kill him.
Following Walt into the RV turns out to be a bad move as Walt creates an explosion using chemicals. The phosphine gas produced kills Emilio and incapacitates Krazy-8. Walt and Jesse then hold Krazy-8 in captivity before the former chokes him to death.
Ted Beneke
Ted gives Walt his biggest emotional blow by sleeping with his wife Skyler. The Beneke Fabricators owner had always been obsessed with Skyler ever since she started working with him. During her first stint working for him, she rejects his advances but when he employs her a second time, things are a little different because Skyler’s marriage is shaky.
Walt is preoccupied with cooking meth, so Ted fills the void. When Walt learns what happens, he goes to confront Ted at his office but he gets thrown out. Apart from the affair with Skyler, Ted isn’t much of a threat to Walt. In fact, his destructive financial habits prove he is more of a threat to himself than to anyone else.
Lydia
Like a lot of other characters, Lydia initially starts off as an associate of Walt. Having been a supplier of methylene for Gus, the Head of Logistics at Madrigal Electromotive GmbH is reluctant to work with Mike and Walt after the death of her former partner but the two arm-twist her into doing so.
After Walt is exposed as Heisenberg, Lydia forms a new working relationship with Jack Welker’s gang. She even orders a hit on Walt but when she calls to confirm if it’s done, Walt (who has just taken out Welker’s gang) answers and tells her that he has put ricin in her tea. She knows what that means.
Mike
Mike is dangerous for most of the series but he surprisingly isn’t much of a threat to Walt. His fallout with the skilled meth chook starts after the memorable death of Gus Fring. Having worked for him for years, he had grown to love the Los Pollos Hermanos owner. Mike and Walt fail to agree on many things, making the two clash constantly.
When Mike refuses to give out the name of associates and insists on them getting paid to keep quiet, Walt shoots him in the stomach. Walt regrets this minutes later because he could have easily asked Lydia for the names. It’s too late as Mike dies by the river bank.
Tuco
Tuco has the ruthlessness needed to be a top drug kingpin. The only thing holding him back is his impulsiveness and erratic behavior. There are a couple of occasions where he almost makes Walt and Jesse pee their pants. The incident in the car junkyard where he punches No-Doze to death is a good example.
Despite valuing them as partners, Tuco enjoys intimidating Walt and Jesse. He makes plans to take them to Mexico to work as meth cooks against their consent. This leads to an epic final showdown in which Tuco almost ends the lives of the two partners. Luckily, Hank shows up. After an intense shootout, Hank lies on the ground dead.
Jesse
Jesse’s love-hate relationship with Walt is part of what makes the AMC series so great. Walt is mostly responsible for their spells of bad-blood. He keeps manipulating Jesse, even going as far as to poison Brock. Jesse eventually concludes that “Mr. White is the devil” and starts snitching on him to the DEA.
Jesse is dangerous because he is the only man who knows too much about Walt. He literally knows everything. He lures Walt to the location he had buried his money, not knowing that Hank and Gomez are with him at the location, waiting to arrest him. That particular scenario doesn’t end well for either Walt, Jesse, or Hank.
Hank Schrader
As smart as he is, it takes Hank forever to figure out that Walt is Heisenberg. That doesn’t take away from the fact that Hank is an extremely fearless and capable DEA agent.
The shootout with The Cousins is proof enough of how Hank can be such as badass. He is also the first to figure out that Gus is a drug lord when the rest of the department thinks he is just a philanthropic restaurateur. Before his death, he also holds well for a few minutes despite being outnumbered by Welker’s gang.
Gustavo “Gus” Fring
There’s a reason why Gus is one of TV’s best-ever villains. A man who slices an employee’s neck with a box-cutter is a man who should never be messed with. Everyone knows this and that’s why Walt is often worried, looking over his shoulder and imagining ways to eliminate the man.
Often calm and composed, Gus is as ruthless as drug lords come. Not to forget that he wipes out Don Eladio’s cartel in one scene by making them drink poisoned tequila. It’s a shame that Gus doesn’t last until the final season.
Jack Welker
As the leader of a white supremacist gang with Neo-Nazi ideologies, there is no shortage of things to fear about Jack Welker. He orchestrates the murders of 10 inmates across three penitentiaries within a two-minute window. He also murders Declain’s entire gang and takes over his operation.
Jack is also responsible for one of the most emotional deaths in the series. He murders Hank, despite several pleas from Walt not to do so. He then takes Jesse and keeps him in captivity for a couple of weeks. Though Walt eventually gets his revenge, the damage that Jack does can never be forgotten.
