‘Breaking Bad’: Here’s What the ‘Meth’ Was Really Made of, According to Bryan Cranston
Breaking Bad‘s portrayal of an “every” man becoming a drug kingpin isn’t completely realistic but that’s not the point of the show. A lot of care went into the making of the AMC series, including all the little details surrounding the making of Walter White‘s (Bryan Cranston) Blue Sky meth. Creator Vince Gilligan garnered help from the real DEA to ensure accuracy without giving it all away. As it turns out, Blue Sky was made out of something many have consumed.
Walter White never tasted his own product on ‘Breaking Bad’
One of the most prominent characters in Breaking Bad wasn’t a character at all. The blue methamphetamine that changed cancer-stricken Walter White into drug kingpin Heisenberg might be the worst villain of the show. While the product killed many and made money for the cartel, White, and countless others, White never tested the product for himself. It’s a choice Gilligan said they came close to.
“Should Walter White ever try his own product? He’s so proud of the product. What would happen if he tried it? Would he like it? Would he get hooked on it? A lot of the recovering meth cooks we talked to or read about said that they became hooked on the process of cooking, as some heroin addicts become hooked on the process of getting a needle ready,” Gilligan told Entertainment Weekly in 2018.
“It just seemed to us that it was enough that Walt was hooked on the power and the chemistry — and the process. It would’ve muddied the waters if he started using the drug, because this was a man who never had control in his life, and suddenly he’s got control. Why mess up a good thing?”
Here’s what the Blue Sky’Meth’ was really made of
A lot of the 62-episode series is painfully accurate without giving exact details. For example, cooking the meth couldn’t provide the real formula, but it’s close enough that everyday viewers believe in it. The blue meth, however, was to show how much better Walt’s product was compared to all others, which are white. So what was the blue stuff made out of?
“Whenever you see Walter and Jesse’s signature blue meth, what you’re actually seeing is blue rock candy. More specifically: blue rock candy from The Candy Lady, a boutique candy store in Albuquerque,” Cranston said.
In an interview with Australia’s Kiis FM, he described the candy as “vile tasting pieces of sugar.”
He continued: “And in the 16th, 17th hours some days of working on the show I first noticed Aaron Paul taking a handful of products that we were making and he’s eating it and he’s like ‘I just need some sugar, I’m crashing’. I tried it and then pretty soon the entire crew was eating the sugar because we’re all exhausted and we wanted the sugar rush to get us through the night.”
The Bad Candy Lady is a must-see attraction for ‘Breaking Bad’ enthusiasts
That blue rock candy transformed The Candy Lady’s boutique candy store into The “Bad” Candy Lady. On the website, it states that the Breaking Bad props Department asked if they could have an edible prop for the series.
“They wanted something that did not look like regular street Meth. Debbie Ball came up with a crushed ‘white’ crystal rock candy-flavored as cotton candy for them,” it says. “Breaking Bad then continued to purchases the prop for filming the second season.”
When Cranston presented David Letterman with some of the blue candy during an appearance on The David Letterman Show, The Candy Lady’s business skyrocketed which led to retail sales of the candy and other Breaking Bad products.
However, there’s a statement to assure fans it’s all on the up-and-up.
“The Candy lady does not endorse recreational and illegal drug use. Here we encourage people to use the show’s popularity and events to teach others about the Real Consequences, Life Cost and Danger of “Meth” and other illicit drug use,” it says.
