Looking at how many people Walter White killed on Breaking Bad highlights his decent into villainy. Throughout the five seasons of Breaking Bad, Walt caused the death of almost 300 people, directly or indirectly. As the character descended into wickedness, Walt didn’t necessarily seem to fall under the label of a psychotic murderer. However, while it’s true that Walt killed many people for self-defense reasons and only by chance played a key role in a chain of events that caused a plane crash, he also killed many characters in cold blood, including fan favorites.
Whether those deaths could have been avoided remains a strong topic of discussion among Breaking Bad fans. It’s certainly possible to analyze just how evil Walter White became as his body count increased, taking into consideration both the people that he directly killed and the deaths that he inadvertently caused. It is a shocking number that cements how complex of a television protagonists Breaking Bad‘s Walter White truly was.
Season 1 — 2 Deaths
Emilio Koyama
The journey of how many people Walter White killed on Breaking Bad all began with Emilio. When Walt and Jesse come face to face with Krazy-8, a local drug distributor impressed by Walt’s quality meth, and Emilio, Jesse’s partner, the situation quickly gets out of control as Emilio recognizes Walt from the day he got arrested. Walt has no option but to reveal to Krazy-8 and Emilio his meth formula in exchange for his life. However, Walt shows his best chemistry teacher skills by tricking the duo into a deadly vapor that knocks Krazy-8 out and kills Emilio.
Krazy-8
Krazy-8 becomes the center of one of Breaking Bad season 1’s most harrowing dilemmas as Walt must decide whether he should spare the man’s life or not. After recklessly disposing of Emilio’s body, Walt and Jesse still need to decide what to do with Krazy-8, who was just a minor character in the show but ended up later having a relevant storyline in Better Call Saul. Walt is ready to let the man go but realizes Krazy-8 got ahold of a glass shard and intends to ambush him. This causes Walt to kill Krazy-8 in self-defense, choking the man to death.
Season 2 — 168 Deaths
Jane Margolis
Even with how many people Walter White killed on Breaking Bad, this remains one of the most shocking. Jane Margolis remains a key supporting character in the series even after her early death, which occurs in the same season in which she’s introduced. With their relationship being Jesse’s most impactful throughout the show, Jane’s death on Breaking Bad signals the first hint at Walt’s shattering psyche: although he doesn’t kill Jane with his own hands, he watches her collapse on a heroin overdose, refusing to aid her while he had all the resources and knowledge to do so. Walt believed Jane posed a serious threat to his business with Jesse and was certainly relieved to hear his passiveness did end up causing her death.
Wayfarer 515 Passengers
The number of how many people Walter White killed in Breaking Bad is certainly padded by this moment. No one could’ve guessed that the mysterious pink teddy bear in Breaking Bad was foreshadowing not only Jane’s death but also a disaster of massive proportions, indirectly caused by Walt’s decision to not intervene in her overdose. Jane’s death caused her father, an air-traffic controller, to break down at work and make a deadly error, causing a tragic plane collision that resulted in 167 dead. The symbolic teddy bear falls from the debris straight to Walt’s yard, almost as a souvenir brought from destiny itself.
Season 3 — 3 Deaths
Gus Fring’s Dealer Duo
One of Walter White’s most badass moments in Breaking Bad also represents a turning point in his villain status. Aiming at saving Jesse from an unfortunate fate, Walt tracks his partner as he prepares to kill the two drug dealers who caused the death of Jesse’s best friend, Combo. In an anxiety-inducing sequence, Walt comes seemingly out of nowhere and runs over the two criminals. The scene ends with one of Walt’s best one-liners in Breaking Bad, as he solemnly orders Jesse, “Run.”
Gale Boetticher
Gale Boetticher was a man marked for death ever since he became as good as “Heisenberg” at cooking meth. It was all just a matter of who would kill him in the end. As Walt and Gus’s relationship came close to a boiling point, Walt and Jesse are quick to realize the only way to prevent Gus from killing the two of them is to get rid of Gale, their potential meth cook substitute. Walt manipulates Jesse to execute the order, and although he’s not the one who pulls the trigger, he’s the biggest culprit in the murder.
Season 4 — 5 Deaths
Hector, Tyrus, & Gus Fring
Walter White pulls off his master plan to deal with Gus Fring by manipulating Hector Salamanca to finally get his desired revenge. With Hector paralyzed and only able to communicate through a ringing bell, no one could’ve suspected him. This makes the old man the perfect tool for Walt, who attaches a pipe bomb to Hector’s wheelchair. In an anxiety-inducing scene, the explosive device blows up inside Hector’s nursing home room, killing him, Gus Fring, and Gus’s associate Tyrus, perfectly accomplishing Walt’s iconic plan. There are questions of how realistic Fring’s Breaking Bad death is, but it was certainly memorable.
Gus’ Henchmen
Walter White is a vile person, but Breaking Bad fans can’t complain when he decides to kill people in order to save Jesse. After indirectly causing Gus Fring’s memorable death, Walt still needs to deal with the two henchmen keeping Jesse captive at the superlab, and he does not hesitate at pulling the trigger at them. Walt rescues Jesse, and the two bid farewell to Gus’s lab with a final clean-up and a legendary exit as the place burns to the ground behind them.
Season 5 — 22 Deaths
Mike Ehrmantraut
Every Breaking Ban fan who liked to defend Walter White’s actions had a hard time doing so when Mike’s death happened. Mike Ehrmantraut was an easy fan favorite; although he was far from being a good man, he was one of the few criminals in the show with some sense of morality. Mike’s honor led to his Breaking Bad death, as he refused to disclose Gus’s imprisoned men’s names and consequently got shot by Walt. As he leaves Mike to die, Walt bids farewell to the last bit of humanity and remorse he still has left in him, getting much closer to his Heisenberg persona than he’s ever been.
Mike’s Imprisoned Men
After getting rid of Mike, Walter White’s main objective was to eliminate anyone who could possibly identify him or Jesse to the police. This would ensure his business and identity remained safe, even if it meant ordering the murder of 10 people who may or may not be involved. Walt contacts Jack Welker, Breaking Bad season 5’s main antagonist, who guarantees his infiltrated men will take care of Mike’s imprisoned accomplices, killing them one by one in a series of ghastly acts of violence inside the prison.
Hank Schrader & Steven Gomez
It’s weird to think Hank Schrader was almost killed off in season 1 of Breaking Bad because the moment he’s shot dead by Jack Welker represents the vital moment when Walt finally realizes the horror he’s brought with his drug empire. He has to come to terms with the fact that Hank’s blood is on his hands since he’s the one who brought him into that mess. Hank’s death changes everything; it finally breaks Walt’s fantasy about a prominent future, and it breaks his family apart once and for all. To make it even worse, another innocent life was taken alongside Hank: Steven Gomez, a competent agent dead in service.
Jack Welker & His Gang
Even with how many people Walter White killed in Breaking Bad, most of the audience was cheering for him when it came to these deaths. Walt’s remote machine gun takes down all the major antagonists of Breaking Bad season 5 at once, terminating Jack Welker’s Nazi gang, avenging Hank’s death, and rescuing Jesse from captivity. Walter knew that of the lives he destroyed, Jesse was hit the hardest. Walt owed his partner a chance of redemption, prompting him to go all in as an army of one. Jack dies solemnly as he smokes a cigarette, representing the futility of revenge, a topic that ruled the final season.
Lydia Rodarte-Quayle
Lydia was easily one of the most detestable characters in Breaking Bad, and fans were happy to see her slowly succumb to a horrible death. Walter White made sure to kill her as treacherously as she turned against him, poisoning her with ricin and leaving her with no choice but to gradually watch her own body malfunction.
Walter White
The final life Walter White took on Breaking Bad was his own, with no better method than dying due to injuries inflicted by his own device. His demise isn’t actually shown, but the spinoff movie El Camino confirms Walt’s death through a news report. Walt knew the only way to protect his loved ones was to finally give in, and the Breaking Bad finale, “Felina,” finally showed him admitting his own mistakes and his selfishness. In the end, he didn’t succumb to cancer and got rid of the ordinary life that scared him so much, but he died knowing there was nothing good about what he had done.
