While astounding performance from Bryan Cranston and the show’s incredible ensemble cast, the dialogue in Breaking Bad was always top-tier.
From the arrogant egomania of Walter to the pain and heartache felt by Jesse Pinkman, the characters in Breaking Bad delivered powerful speeches, exceptional monologs, and insightful soliloquies that have remained memorable more than a decade after the show went off the air. Right from its astounding pilot through to its all-time great finale, Breaking Bad told an epic, almost Shakespearean story of corruption, identity, power, and morality.
10 “My Name Is Walter Hartwell White”
Walter White - Season 1, Episode 1: “Pilot”
Breaking Bad's opening scene thrusts viewers into the deep end, where we see Walter White speeding through the New Mexico desert in his makeshift meth-lab RV. The first piece of dialogue we hear would also be one of Bryan Cranston’s most iconic monologs as he holds a camcorder to his face and speaks directly to his family before uttering, “This is my confession.” This moment told us everything we needed to know about our lead character and that no matter how crazy the situation looked, he acted out of love for his family.
While it was not immediately apparent how or why Walter got himself into so much trouble, this ionate monolog helped add high stakes to the entire pilot episode as we’re later introduced to the mundanities of Walt’s tragic day-to-day life. This speech was central to hooking us right from the get-go in the pilot episode, as we know Walt’s life as a high school chemistry teacher and part-time carwash attendant will soon be disrupted as he gets in over his head in a life of crime.
9 "I've Got The Talking Pillow Now"
Walter White - Season 1, Episode 5: “Gray Matter”
Walter White’s unwillingness to undergo treatment for his inoperable lung cancer was a major conflict in the first season of Breaking Bad. While Skyler tried to convince him to explore every option, Walt was worried not only about the financial strain it would put on his family but also that prolonging the inevitable would only make him a burden on the ones he loves. This all came to a head when Skyler, Marie, Hank, and Walt Jr. hosted an intervention using a talking pillow to try to make him see sense, and Walter finally opened up about his reluctance.
While Walt’s ego was central to him becoming Heisenberg, his prideful nature also meant he did not want to rely on anyone else, financially or physically. In this powerful speech, Walter spoke about not wanting to “choke down thirty or forty pills every single day and lose my hair and lie around too tired to get up and so nauseated that I can’t even move my head.” Later in the series, we learn that Walt’s father died of Huntington’s disease when he was just six years old, and this memory of his sick father informed his unwillingness to undergo treatment.
8 “Some Perfect Moment”
Walter White - Season 3, Episode 10: “Fly”
While the season 3 episode “Fly” was the most divisive episode in all of Breaking Bad, it did feature a rare moment of reflection from Walter White. Amid a psychological breakdown, in a state of pure exhaustion, to rid the lab of a contamination-causing fly, Walter spoke from his heart to his partner Jesse Pinkman. This moment saw Walter speak about the perfect time to die and his sad realization that things had already gone too far, and he had irreparably destroyed his family and the way they would him after he died.
As Walter soliloquized about having lived too long, he realized that his wife would only the bad times and that his attempt to leave something behind for his family had only torn it apart. While Walt was so close at this moment to understanding where he had gone wrong, this quickly unraveled as he spoke about finding “some combination of words” that, if spoken in “a specific order,” could explain everything to Skyler. This was an infrequent point of honest self-reflection from Walt and a level of vulnerability that we wouldn’t see again until the finale.
7 “Half Measures”
Mike Ehrmantraut - Season 3, Episode 12: “Half Measures”
Mike Ehrmantraut was a fascinatingly layered character who had some outstanding monologs across both Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul. A prime example of this was the chilling “half measures” speech that he delivered to Walter, which not only gave insight into Mike’s time as a beat cop in Philadelphia but also the entire philosophy that underpinned his criminal behavior and actions. In this monolog, Mike told Walt a story about a serial domestic ab and his plea for his life after being scared straight with a gun in his mouth.
Mike went easy on this criminal, and after the ab's wife ended up dead, he realized, “I chose a half measure when I should have gone all the way.” This taught Mike the consequences of hesitation in the criminal world and was a guiding principle that he internalized in all his actions since. While Mike tried to make this point to convince Walter of how to deal with Jesse Pinkman, Walter instead internalized it another way, as he did not hesitate to poison Brock, kill Mike’s men in lockup, and eventually take out an entire Nazi compound with a machine gun.
6 “I Will Kill Your Infant Daughter”
Gus Fring - Season 4, Episode 11: “Crawl Space”
Some of the best Breaking Bad scenes took place in the desert and conjured the feeling of an epic Western movie showdown. This was certainly the case when Gus Fring brought Walter White out to the desert to inform him that he was fired from the meth lab and to let him know that if he put one foot wrong, then he would be a dead man. However, Walt realized that it was Jesse’s unwillingness to cook if he was killed that had kept him alive, and he continued to talk back at Gus.
While Gus Fring has always maintained an air of sophistication, he shed all niceties as he informed Walt that any further action would not only mean his death but also the murder of his wife and children. This menacing speech from Gus gave us a brief glimpse into the ruthless impulses that saw him slit the throat of his own employee just a few episodes prior. This was the moment that told us Walt no longer had any choice; it was kill or be killed, and he had to find a way to eliminate Gus once and for all.
5 “I Am The One Who Knocks”
Walter White - Season 4, Episode 6: “Cornered”
Walter White’s “I am the one who knocks” speech was a defining moment in Breaking Bad that signaled the full embracement of his Heisenberg persona. With chilling intensity and terrifying ion, Walt was no longer afraid to hide his darkest side from his own wife and insinuate that he was far more capable of evil than any wrongdoers she was fearing. While Walt may have falsely thought this moment of arrogance might put her mind at ease, it only served to highlight how deeply entrenched he was in the world of crime.
While Walt may have viewed himself as untouchable in that moment, the truth was that the threat of Gus Fring was still looming over his head, and to us viewers, he just looked like a delusional man frightening his own wife. Walt had gone so far down the route of unhinged meth lord that he failed to see how maniacal he looked to Skyler. As an attempt to reposition himself as a predator and not a victim, Walt’s “I am the one who knocks speech” only further damaged his relationship with his family.
4 “I’m Here To Sell You Meth”
Jesse Pinkman - Season 4, Episode 7: “Problem Dog”
Jesse Pinkman was perhaps the most tragic character in all of Breaking Bad, and his difficulties accepting the consequences of his life of crime were tough to watch. From the drug overdose of girlfriend Jane to being forced to murder Gale Boetticher, Jesse carried a world of pain that tried to bury through drug use, meth dealing, and exploitation. While Jesse tried to embrace his darker side in season 4, this all fell apart when he broke down in a drug group meeting and revealed the only reason he was even there was to sell them meth.
With tears in his eyes, Jesse tried to use the analogy of a “problem dog” to explain killing Gale, and after a woman called him out as a bad person, he broke down and told them, “You’re nothing to me but customers.” In the welcoming and understanding world of drug rehabilitation, Jesse felt like a fraud and attempted to push anyone who offered him comion and understanding out of his life. As Jesse was still cooking and contributing to the evil in the world, he felt like a fraud accepting empathy from the very people whose lives he was destroying.
3 “Say My Name”
Walter White - Season 5, Episode 7: “Say My Name”
The “say my name” speech from Breaking Bad represented the ultimate power play from Walter White. With an understanding of the widespread legend of his Heisenberg alter ego, Gus Fring out of the picture, and seemingly no adversaries to face off against, Walt felt comfortable throwing his weight around and ensuring Declan and his crew accept his plans for buying out Mike and Jesse and continuing to cook. By comparing his cooks to Coca-Cola and everyone else as “tepid, off-brand, generic cola,” we see that Walt has truly been overtaken by delusions of grandeur.
With a cold confidence, Walt had finally achieved his goal of power and recognition as he no longer hid behind his pseudonym and called out to be recognized as Heisenberg. With the iconic utterance of “you’re goddamn right,” Walt truly enjoyed the moment and highlighted how much his drug manufacturing had become separated from his desire to leave something behind for his family. While viewers might argue about the moment that Walt turned into Heisenberg, this was the point where he demanded to be recognized under that name.
2 “I Don’t Even Know Who I’m Talking To”
Hank Schrader - Season 5, Episode 9: “Blood Money”
While the central story of Breaking Bad was Walter White’s transformation into Heisenberg, it was Hank Schrader’s pursuit of his brother-in-law that was the beating heart of this story. With Hank always one step behind, viewers eagerly awaited the moment he figured it all out, and after this finally came in the season 5A finale, it was clear that Hank would finally be forced to confront Walt. This incredible moment came not in a police station but in Hank’s own garage after Walt questioned him about a tracker he found on his car.
While Hank tried to keep his composure, he couldn’t help but lash out at Walt, punch him in the face, and reveal that he knows everything. As Hank screams, “All along, it was you,” he lets Walt know he’s figured out not just his connection with Gus Fring but the fake call about Marie in the hospital, setting off the bomb with Hector Salamanca, that he was Heisenberg. This interaction became even more menacing as a distraught Hank told Walt, “I don’t even know who I’m talking to,” to which Walt threateningly replied that his advice would be “tread lightly.”
1 “I Did It For Me”
Walter White: Season 5, Episode 16: “Felina”
Many of Walter White’s most iconic quotes came from a place of arrogance and ego, and this was a big reason why the “I did it for me” speech in the finale was so effective. As Walt’s final goodbye to Skyler, this was his last chance to be honest with his wife, who he had consistently deceived for the past five seasons. In a state of frustration, Skyler said she could not hear the excuse that he did it for the family one more time before Walt sheds the facade and opens up for the very first time.
As Walt told Skyler, “I did it for me,” he lets her know that his time as Heisenberg made him “feel alive.” This simple moment got to the heart of Walter’s entire character arc and highlighted how being Heisenberg filled a gap in his soul that he carried for years. As a chemistry genius still bitter about missing out on billions by prematurely leaving Gray Matter, Walt’s final interaction with his wife told her that he was right all along, and he validated all the pain and suffering that he selfishly put her through over the course of Breaking Bad.
Breaking Bad
- Release Date
- 2008 - 2013-00-00
- Network
- AMC
- Showrunner
- Vince Gilligan
Cast
Walter White
Jesse Pinkman
WHERE TO WATCH
- Directors
- Vince Gilligan, Michelle Maclaren
- Writers
- Peter Gould, Gennifer Hutchison, Vince Gilligan, George Mastras, Moira Walley-Beckett, Sam Catlin, Thomas Schnauz
- Franchise(s)
- Breaking Bad
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