‘Breaking Bad’: The 8 Most Shocking Deaths Fans Still Can’t Get Over

 The cult classic drama Breaking Bad is filled with twists and turns plus tons of surprising moments throughout. Walter White gradually becoming Heisenberg might be a slow, gradual process. But some of the deaths on the show were jaw-dropping because they seemingly came out of nowhere.

Even major characters didn’t escape being killed on Breaking Bad. Here’s a definitive list of the most surprising deaths over all five seasons.

Tuco Salamanca

The drug distributor Tuco helped Walter White break into the game but he was always a loose cannon. His outbursts threatened Walt and Jesse’s illusion of feeling in control of their growing business, and eventually, they realize they had to do something drastic.

Walt tried to poison Tuco with ricin but is unsuccessful because of Tuco’s uncle Hector. Then they got into a physical fight just before DEA agent Hank Schrader showed up and killed Tuco in a shootout. Indirectly, Walt and Jesse are responsible for Tuco’s death, which allows them to become bigger players in the meth trade.

Gale Boetticher

The death of Gale represents a turning point in Jesse Pinkman’s story. Walt convinces Jesse to murder Gale for their own self-preservation, which is arguably necessary, but still isn’t an excuse for murdering an innocent man in cold blood.

Walt is mostly culpable for Gale’s death. But that doesn’t take the blame off Jesse, who tortures himself for shooting Gale in his apartment for the rest of the series.

Jane Margolis

If Gale was the turning point for Jesse, then Jane’s death was the turning point for Walt — not that he felt bad about it. Jesse and Jane were in the midst of a drug binge when the incident happened. Just when Jane seemed to convince Jesse to leave Walt behind with his share of the money they’d earned, a tragic accident happened.

Walt went over to Jesses’ apartment to find Jesse and Jane sleeping and high. When Jane starts choking on her vomit in her sleep, Walt has a natural reaction and makes a move to save her — but then stops himself. He stood there and let Jane die, which wound up having incredible psychological consequences for Jesse. Especially when Walt spitefully tells Jesse what he did during season 5.

Hector Salamanca and Gus Fring

Walt and Jesse’s boss Gus Fring is used to people wanting him dead. He’s an extremely meticulous, methodical, observant person and it’s not easy for Walt to come up with a way to kill him. But eventually, he does.

Walt achieves his goal by rigging a bomb to Hector Salamanca’s wheelchair, turning him into a suicide bomber and helping Hector finally get his revenge on longtime nemesis Gus, too. Gus never sees it coming and the shot of him staggering away from Hector with half his face blown off is impossible to forget.

Mike Ehrmantraut

Cartel enforcer Mike Ehrmantraut went through a lot over his lifetime, from his time serving on the Philadelphia police department to working for Gus. He’s a skilled sniper and cleaned up any “loose ends” his boss Gus Fring brought him. Mike has killed a lot of people but never expects to get killed himself.

But Mike is not a fan of Walter White and eventually, his character assessment turns out to be absolutely accurate. Walt shoots Mike in a fit of anger, for no real reason other than their animosity, and it marks a low point in the series. Fans loved Mike and didn’t want to see him die in the end.

Hank Schrader

Walt’s brother-in-law DEA agent Hank Schrader had no idea he was hunting a member of his family the whole time. Once he figured out Walt was Heisenberg, it kicked off a crazy sequence of events that culminated in Hank’s death at the hands of white supremacist Jack Welker.

Even as Walt pleaded for Hank’s life, the veteran agent knew exactly what was going to happen. “You want me to beg? You’re the smartest guy I ever met, and you’re too stupid to see — he made up his mind 10 minutes ago,” Hank tells Walt just before getting shot by Uncle Jack.

Walter White

Considering that Breaking Bad is the story of Walter White, it’s quite shocking when he dies surrounded by his beloved blue meth. The story focused on what happened when Walt received a terminal cancer diagnosis and yet it’s still wild to see the unstoppable Heisenberg die. It happens right after he admited to Skyler that he was no longer trying to build a drug empire for the good of his family — he was doing it because he liked feeling powerful.

Some fans question if Walt is really dead, though. But showrunner Vince Gilligan promised that he really is.