This Scene in ‘Breaking Bad’ Could Increase the Series’ Death Toll
As a crime drama, Breaking Bad has plenty of violence and death throughout the series. Many of the main characters don’t even make it to the end. The series boasts a pretty high death count, thanks to its gun violence, explosions, and criminal activity. However, not all of the death scenes are explosive and violent. One small and innocuous scene in Breaking Bad might increase the series’ death count by one more person. It’s a scene that could have gone unnoticed by many fans.
Who dies in ‘Breaking Bad’?
It’s hard to get an accurate death count for a television series. Most fans aren’t counting along the way. However, a Wiki Fandom site for Breaking Bad suggests that the death toll throughout the series is somewhere around 271 people. One of the main reasons for this high amount occurs in season 2.
In the episode “ABQ,” two passenger jets collided in the sky above Albuquerque due to an error caused by air traffic control. This crash resulted in 167 deaths, more than all of the other seasons combined. However, there are plenty of other events that increased the death count in Breaking Bad. For example, Walt killed six gang members with a remote-activated machine gun while exacting his revenge at the end of the series.
Who caused the plane collision in ‘Breaking Bad’?
The plane collision that occurred in season 2 of Breaking Bad happened due to a chain of events. Walt’s partner, Jessie Pinkman, was dating a woman named Jane Margolis. In the episode “Pheonix” she began to blackmail Walt for Jesse’s share of the drug money he was owed. Later, Walt broke into Jesse’s home and saw Jane choking on her own vomit from a heroin overdose. He did nothing, leaving Jane to die.
Jane’s father, Donald Margolis, was devastated by the news of his daughter’s death. In spite of this, he quickly returned to his job as an air traffic controller. Still devastated and distracted, he accidentally caused two planes to crash into each other, resulting in the deaths of 167 people. This means that Donald Margolis caused the most deaths in Breaking Bad.
Did Donald Margolis die?
After the plane crash, Donald mostly fades from the series. However, one very brief scene gave fans an update on his whereabouts. In the episode “Green Light” Walt is listening to the radio when he hears that Donald is being rushed to the hospital due to a self-inflicted gunshot wound. It can only be assumed that the grief of losing his daughter and the guilt of causing a plane crash caused Donald to attempt suicide.
No more details are given about Donald after this scene. It isn’t completely impossible that he survived his attempted suicide. However, most fans who noticed this small detail in “Green Light” also assumed that Donald didn’t survive. If that’s the case, then the death count of the series is raised by one more person.
