Breaking Bad 

Breaking Bad: 10 Things Walter White Did That Went Totally Against His Personality

In Breaking Bad, Walter White's traits are made clear to the viewer from the start. However, there are moments where he doesn't act like himself.

Like the rest of the characters in Breaking Bad, Walter “Walt” White has obvious traits that viewers are familiar with. On most occasions, the meth cook can be counted on to act in a specific way. However, there have been a couple of moments where his behavior totally went against his personality.

As the smartest character on the show, Walt always makes logical decisions. Whenever he has deviated from who he truly is as a person, there have been negative consequences either for him or for other parties. Sometimes his decisions have been triggered by high-pressure situations. And at times he has just been surprisingly malevolent.

He Quits Gray Matter Technologies

Walt, Gretchen, and Elliott in Breaking Bad

Walt co-founds Gray Matter Technologies with Elliot Schwartz, but quits after meeting the wealthy parents of Gretchen, an employee he has been dating. According to him, he felt intimidated by Gretchen’s wealthy parents so he decided to leave and sell his shares for a mere $5,000.

Normally, Walt is more of a capitalist than a hopeless romantic. It’s therefore surprising that love, not money, is what drives him to make a major decision early in his career. It was always obvious that Gray Matter Technologies was destined to be a billion-dollar company. And since his heart adores dollars, marrying into a rich family ought to have been something appealing to him too. Then there’s his love for Chemistry. Walking away from a company where he has all the tools and control he needs to succeed is indeed strange.

He Shoots Mike

Walt orders Mike to give him the names of his associates in Breaking Bad

When Walt asks Mike for the names of former associates so that they won’t have to be paid off anymore, Mike declines. In a fit of rage, Walt shoots Mike.

Walt normally thinks more clearly than everyone else, especially in high-pressure situations, but on this occasion, he can’t see the better option that is right in front of him. It’s one of the most unnecessary kills in Breaking Bad, since Walt could have simply asked Lydia for the names instead of confronting Mike with a “give me the names, or you die” attitude. This wrong and tragic decision seems more fitting to the villains than Walt.

He Tells Hank That Gale Isn’t Heisenberg

Hank realizes Walt is Heisenberg in Breaking Bad

After reading through Gale’s notes, Hank concludes that he is Heisenberg. He heaps praise on the man too, stating that he was good at his craft. Jealous, Walt argues that Gale might have just been a copycat.

For most of the series, Walt is shown to be extremely good at masking who he really is. He also makes decisions using logic rather than emotion, therefore it’s baffling that he’d suddenly get jealous because a dead criminal is being praised. By suggesting that the real criminal is still out there, he gives Hank the urge to dig deeper, with the DEA agent soon discovering that he is indeed Heisenberg.

He Sacrifices Jesse To Jack Welker’s Gang

‘Ozymandias” sits on top of the pile of Breaking Bad‘s best-ever episodes because it has many memorable moments. In one of them, Walt gives Jesse up to the Neo-Nazis, who torture him and force him to cook meth.

Judging from his actions throughout the show, it’s clear that Walt loves Jesse even more than his family. The younger cook is a loose cannon but Walt reveres him because the two work so well together. It thus makes little sense that he would hand him over to be tortured and possibly slaughtered. It’s truly unlike him and that’s why he tries to rectify this blunder later by staging a one-man raid on Jack’s compound.

He Poisons Brock

Walt and Brock sit on a couch in Breaking Bad

In order to get Jesse to go after Gus, Walt poisons Andrea’s son, Brock. This triggers Jesse, who opts for vengeance, not knowing that Walt did all the devil’s work using the poisonous plant known as Lily of the Valley.

Walt adores youngsters and Examples of why he deserves “Father of the Year” are littered all over the show. His love for minors is also part of the reason why he chooses to be a teacher. Poisoning a child, therefore, seems extreme, even by his standards. It’s something he would only gladly do to an adult. Even more bizarre is that he isn’t remorseful about it.

He Gives Jesse His Life Savings

The RV that Walt and Jesse use to cook meth in Breaking Bad

Shortly after he meets Jesse and agrees to cook with him inside a mobile lab, Walt hands him his life savings of $7,000 so that he can buy an RV. Jesse squanders most of the money and gets a used 1986 Fleetwood Bounder instead.

As a chemist, little details mean the world to Walt. It’s puzzling that he never cares to find out how much the RV cost. Jesse spends most of the $7000 in a strip club but Walt never finds out. Even more puzzling is that he would risk his money by handing it over to a criminal he doesn’t know well yet his goal is to make sure his family doesn’t lack anything. The usual Walt would also have analyzed all the RV’s background details to make sure no trouble comes their way. Interestingly, he doesn’t do that.

He Puts His Neighbor In Danger

Walt tricks his neighbor Becky Simmons into entering his house in Breaking Bad

Saul’s secretary, Francesca, demands payment when Walt breaks her door. Quickly, he goes to his house to retrieve the $25,000 but instead of entering, he calls his neighbor Becky Simmons from afar and requests her to check if Walter Jr. left a burner on. He does this to confirm whether Gus Fring has rigged his house with explosives or sent a hitman to wait for him.

Normally, Walt only harms people he doesn’t care about or those that get in his way. Mrs. Simmons doesn’t fall into either of those categories. She is on good terms with the Whites and that’s why she’s more than glad to drop what she’s doing to go take a look. By sending her there, Walt is aware that she might die but he risks it anyway.

He Gets Undocumented Immigrants To Clean The Lab

Walt stares at the camera as the immigrants from the laundromat clean the lab in Breaking Bad

Walt gets frustrated when Mike goes on an excursion with Jesse, leaving him alone in the lab. Unable to clean, he gets undocumented immigrants that work at the Lavandería Brillante industrial laundromat above the Superlab. This causes the cautious Gus to send the women back to their country in order to prevent any situation where they’d testify.

Walt, more than anyone else understands how hard it is to make a living. He’s had to work two jobs before hence he logically ought to respect other sources of livelihood. It could be presumed that becoming a wealthy drug manufacturer makes him forget how hard it is at the bottom but the old Walt would never risk making innocent people lose their jobs just because he is feeling too lazy to clean.

He Tries To Flirt With The Principal

Walt tries to kiss the principal, Carmen ,in Breaking Bad

Heartbroken after Skyler cheats on him, Walt flirts with Carmen, the principal of J.P. Wynne High school, and even tries to kiss her. Consequently, he gets slapped with an indefinite suspension.

The chemist has never had an interest in being a lothario, so him doing this seems rather odd. Everything else has always mattered to him more than love and intimacy. Unlike protagonists in other TV shows who always have varied relationship arcs, Walt never even has any prospects away from his marriage. Judging from his history, risking his job by choosing to flirt isn’t Walter-like at all.

He Threatens Skyler

Walt's "I am the danger" moment in Breaking Bad

When Skyler shows concern about Walt’s safety, the meth cook reacts angrily, insisting that he is not in danger. Contrary to that, he is the danger. It’s one of the scariest moments in Breaking Bad and Walt surely deviates from his normal character.

Walt totally values his family and even though he and Skyler have had their fair share of arguments, he respects her. Her concern is genuine since she understands that the drug trade is a dangerous business. She has also stood by him, despite his career change being hard for her to digest. The ordinary Walt would appreciate this. The new one doesn’t.

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