Breaking Bad & Better Call Saul: Every Character Ranked Worst To Best

At the start of Breaking Bad, Hank Schrader was portrayed as little more than a crass macho man who worked as a DEA agent, casually made racist comments, and took pleasure in putting away those he deemed to be bad guys.

Like Skyler, Hank was made to be almost unlikeable, so audiences could better get invested in Walt's story, but as Heisenberg became more amoral, Hank became the show's true hero, a determined investigator who faced death, severe PTSD, career pitfalls and betrayal in a desperate bid to bring his brother-in-law down.

Going from boisterous tough guy to wounded and emotional protagonist, Hank's development easily rivals that of Walt, and his final moments on the show remain one of TV's most devastating twists because of his staggering growth.