10 TV Shows That Went Too Far (In Completely Unexpected Ways)

By the time Vince Gilligan’s masterpiece reached its fifth season, few viewers could argue that the propulsive, intensely dramatic thriller was a light-hearted show. By now the series had already explored overdoses, multiple murders, suicide, corpse disposal, and just about every conceivable human sin in its gradually escalating, blackly comic portrait of a man driven to desperation by an uncaring world.

That said, as seen when the tortured protagonist genuinely regrets endangering the life of a child during his usual meth-making shenanigans, the story of formerly mild-mannered high school teacher Walt White did have a few lines it wouldn’t cross. At least, until the closing moments of season five’s fifth instalment Dead Freight.

As relative newcomer Todd drew a pistol and murdered an innocent child in cold blood, the audience was left as shell-shocked as our pair of outlaw protagonists. Until this point Jesse and Walt had at least only encountered criminals with some semblance of a conscience, and Todd represented a darker turn for the series as a whole.

However unlike many entries on this list, the turn was seen by many viewers as a positive development, with viewers approving of the amoral new villains. You see, by leaping over the threshold of “too far” so early on, Todd and co gave us an excuse to revel in Walt’s violent revenge. Clever, that.