I am a massive fan of television. I have been for years, but as I’ve gotten older, my love has only grown. While I’m a pretty big fan of the most shocking moments from Game of Thrones, another show that I’m pretty sure altered my brain chemistry in many ways was Breaking Bad. With five seasons, the fantastic AMC drama always found a way to blow my mind, one way or another, and today, we’ll go over some of the best moments.
Walt Blows Up Tuco’s Place (Season 1, Episode 6)
Truthfully, I think a good amount of the crazy moments in the series began to happen about midway through the show, but Seasons 1 and 2 had a fair amount of mind-blowing moments. One of the first instances where we see that Walt isn’t afraid to risk his life is when he tricks Tuco into believing he has brought him meth when in reality, it is a crystal of fulminate mercury – which is what leads to the big explosion. I can still hear it in my brain.
Jesse Survives Two Meth Addicts (Season 2, Episode 6)
The entire episode of “Peekaboo” is probably one of Jesse Pinkman’s best moments – and truly one of Aaron Paul’s best acting sequences in the whole show. This is why I have to point out that Jesse somehow survived until the very end with two meth addicts who were not only crazy, but one literally killed the other – all because he needed to collect money.
Walt Watches Hank Die (Season 5, Episode 14)
The best episodes of Breaking Bad include “Ozymandias,” for a good reason – it is probably some of the best television you could ever imagine. One of the most significant moments in the episode is when Jack Welker shoots Hank, and Walt watches him die.
Skyler Has An Affair With Ted (Season 3, Episode 3)
While Skyler certainly had her moments throughout the show, one of her most significant is when she openly admits to Walter that she slept with Ted. I mean, fans could see it coming from a million miles away, but the fact that she did do that at all still blows my mind.
Hank Is Nearly Taken Out By The Cousins (Season 3, Episode 7)
Hank has had plenty of run-ins with death throughout the series, and one that we have to talk about is when the Salamanca Cousins are hunting him down. Granted, they do get some shots on his body, and Hank nearly does die – in fact, he’s so injured that he needs PT to learn how to walk again.
The Crawl Space (Season 4, Episode 11)
Bryan Cranston’s best movies and TV shows seem endless. Still, I don’t think many other moments beat his acting in “Crawl Space,” a Season 4 episode where Walt discovers that Skyler has given the money to Ted – where he screams in agony and then laughs in disbelief, one that sends shivers down your spine.
Walt Admits He Continued The Meth Business Because He Liked It (Season 5, Episode 16)
The finale of Breaking Bad features many mind-blowing moments, but one that we can point out instantly is Walt’s confession to Skyler – his truth, really, the one that the audience all knew deep down but still felt shocked to hear: that he liked the meth business. He had made enough money years ago, but he kept pursuing it because he liked it, and he was good at it despite the pain and criminal activity.
Jesse Shoots Gale (Season 3, Episode 13)
The Season 3 finale features some of the best moments ever, and one that blows my mind every time is when Jesse pulls the trigger and shoots Gale. You don’t want to believe he’ll do it, but the camera cuts just as he shoots him, turning the screen to black, and you’re left sitting there as you wonder how they are going to come back from this.
Walt Spends A Whole Day Chasing Down A Fly (Season 3, Episode 10)
Look, while I actually do like “Fly” as part of the Breaking Bad episode line-up, I’ll say that it still blows my mind that these two meth scientists basically spent an entire day just trying to track a fly down. I know that it could lead to contamination and plenty of other issues, but should I spend the whole day?
Hank Realizes Walt Is Heisenberg (Season 5, Episode 8)
Hank’s realization in Season 5 of Breaking Bad is really the catalyst for everything that happens in the second half. He sees it from reading Leaves of Grass and makes the connection to Gale when he spots a note from the deceased scientist. All the pieces fall together.
“I Am The One Who Knocks” (Season 4, Episode 6)
Walter White has some of the best lines in the show – which makes sense because it really revolves around him – but when Cranston uttered this line in Season 4, I’m pretty sure the entire world shook with its intensity. Skyler is the one who urges Walt to give up this life, saying that his life could be in danger. Walt goes on with this short but intense monologue about how he is not in danger – he is the danger. He is the one who knocks and kills people, and wow, it blows my mind every time.
Gus’ Intense Elimination (Season 4, Episode 1)
I absolutely adore Gustavo Fring as a villain. He’s one of my favorite TV villains of all time, and Giancarlo Esposito brings him to life every time he’s given the chance to play him. While Gus has been menacing for the two seasons we have seen him so far, we see he’s willing to kill in the premiere episode of Season 4, where he blatantly slices the throat of one of the goons who worked for him as a message for Walt and Jesse. Chilling.
Walt Runs People Down In His Car (Season 3, Episode 12)
I mean, I didn’t know we were becoming Grand Theft Auto in Breaking Bad, but I know I was not the only person who gasped when this happened. Jesse certainly would have been shot by the dealers if Walt hadn’t come to run one of them down and then killed the other, telling Jesse to run. It’s an incredible sequence.
The End of Gus (Season 4, Episode 13)
Gus is one of the best villains of Breaking Bad, but his ending is even better. He’s tricked into meeting with Hector Salamanca, who has a bomb that is connected to his bell, and when he rings it, it goes off and also blows half of Gus’ face off – hence the title of the episode, “Face Off.” Talking about getting your mind blown – too soon?
Walt Kills Krazy 8 (Season 1, Episode 3)
Sometimes, I think of Walt’s rise to infamy and how it felt so slow. But then I rewatch episodes of Season 1, and I remember that he certainly showed signs of his willingness to kill—or at least to protect himself. When Walt kills Krazy 8 in Season 1 of the show, it’s the first time we see him blatantly murder someone—granted, it was also in self-defense, and it's his second kill, but this one felt far more personal.
Todd Shoots An Innocent Kid (Season 5, Episode 5)
Sometimes, I forget how incredibly talented the Breaking Bad cast is when I rewatch Season 5 and realize that Jesse Plemons had a prominent role as Todd during that season. And then, I’ll watch Todd and discover how I absolutely hate him when he does stuff like this. Todd works with Jesse and Walt to rob a train to fuel their meth lab, but when he spots a random kid who noticed what they did, he straight-up shoots him – just like that. Good God.
Walt Abducts Holly (Season 5, Episode 14)
“Ozymandias” is one of the best episodes of Breaking Bad. There were plenty of moments there that I could point out as absolutely fantastic, but one that stands out is when Walt abducts Holly. At this point, Skyler has kicked Walt out, so he steals Holly as punishment. While we know Holly won’t really be hurt by Walt himself, the baby is going to be in a lot of trouble if seen by others, and it’s extremely dangerous.
That Tortuga’s Head (Season 2, Episode 6)
Yeah…I don’t even want to get into this that much because the very idea of that Tortuga Head makes me a little nauseous. But basically, the drug lords use the head of Tortuga to attach to a turtle and make a bomb that blows up several DEA agents, and yes, it’s just as bloody as you can probably imagine.
Walt Poisoned Brock (Season 4, Episode 13)
I don’t even want to get into the horrors that Walt did in poisoning a child, but he did that – right here, in the finale of Season 4. Walt dared to lie to Jesse’s face and tell him that he didn’t poison Brock when, in the last seconds of the Season 4 finale, we see that he did have a Lily of the Valley plant in his backyard – the same poison that was in Brock’s system. Disgusting.
Walt Jr. Tells Walt To Drop Dead (Season 5, Episode 16)
If we’re being honest, I feel bad for Walt Jr. because he was the collateral damage for everything that happened with Walt and Skyler, but it still shocked me when he told his father to drop dead. Granted, it was the Breaking Bad finale, and it made sense for ties to get cut between them after what Walt did. But I think it’s just the way he delivered the line that made me pause for a second in shock. It was super well done.
They’re Able To Rob Somehow An Entire Train (Season 5, Episode 5)
I still can’t believe this happened a decade later, but in Season 5, Walt, Jesse, and Todd, another cook for meth who ends up working with them, steal meth from a train. For example, a legitimate amount of it can be bought from a moving train, and they are able to rob it all. Granted, we don’t need to talk about what comes after this, but it still blows my mind every time.
Walt Shoots Mike (Season 5, Episode 7)
I’ll be honest and say that I love Mike from both Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul. He’s really my favorite Breaking Bad character overall, and I will stand by him until the day I die. So when he was killed by Walt after a fight, and we just slowly watched him bleed out, I genuinely cried. Granted, I got to get more of him in Better Call Saul, but still.
How Walt Somehow Got A Whole Pizza On The Roof (Season 3, Episode 2)
This is more of a “how the heck did they even do that?” moment that blew my mind, but when Walt is trying to make amends with his family, and they turn him away, he angrily throws an entire pizza onto the roof of his house. Not a single slice breaks off. As someone who loves pizza, I feel entirely upset it was put to waste, but I am still blown away by it.
Walt Watches Jane Die (Season 2, Episode 12)
Arguably, one of the saddest Breaking Bad deaths had to be when Jane died. Jane and Jesse obviously weren’t the best for each other, but there was no denying the love between them. And when we see Jane overdose, and Walt sits there and watches because he happened to come in at the perfect time, it isn’t very pleasant. Heck, I’ve rewatched this show countless times, and it still gets to me.
“Say My Name” (Season 5, Episode 7)
We all knew at some point Walt would become the method he basically was destined to be, but hearing him demand someone to say his name? It sends chills down my spine every single time, and it blows my mind to see him so powerful – I don’t even know. Yeah, that’s the right word. Look at how powerful this man is – and scary, good god.
The Plane Crash (Season 2, Episode 12)
The finale of Season 2 was one of the most significant “mind-blowing” moments in the entire series. I mean, the fact that several name titles of Season 2 hinted at it, in itself, is a mind-blowing fact, but watching those two planes crash altered something profound in my brain that I don’t think I’ll ever get back. It was terrifying and shocked me to a new degree.
Skyler Attacks Walt (Season 5, Episode 14)
We all knew that this relationship was doomed from the start – so seeing Skyler attack Walt is more of a mind-blowing “it’s about time she did this” rather than “I can’t believe she’s doing this. Still, it’s shocking to see her go at her husband so adamantly when she loved him so much in the beginning.
The Tighty Whities Introduction (Season 1, Episode 1)
I don’t even need to get into how this was mind-blowing – we saw Walt come out of a trailer in tighty-whities in the first few minutes of the first episode, and somehow, we still kept watching. That, in itself, is mind-blowing.
Todd Shoots Andrea (Season 5, Episode 15)
Todd was really the worst in Breaking Bad, and one of his most heinous and shocking acts was when he shot Andrea, a friend/ex-lover of Jesse’s, simply because they wanted to keep Jesse in line. It also leaves Brock without a mother.
Gus’ Backstory (Season 4, Episode 8)
While plenty of fans have called for a show that focuses on Gus, we did get his backstory of how he became who he is in Season 4 of the show. And truthfully, it’s shocking to see Gus get thrown around like he did – and it makes us understand why he became so ruthless later on.
The Tub Falls Through The Ceiling (Season 1, Episode 2)
Honestly, I’d call this more disgusting than mind-blowing, but I know all of us were grossed the heck out when we saw the tub collapse through the ceiling in the second episode when they were trying to get rid of bodies. The blood – God, I’m gagging thinking about it.
Walt Succumbs To His Injuries (Season 5, Episode 16)
I don’t think any of us genuinely thought Walt was going to die in the Breaking Bad finale. He almost feels invincible, but eventually, he’s shot by his enemies when he saves Jesse one last time, freeing him from this horrible world. We watch as he reminisces in a meth lab about what he once did before he collapses to the ground, ending the show. Mind = blown.
Truthfully, this just makes me want to rewatch Breaking Bad again—it's time to put on my hazmat suit.
