Breaking Bad: Every Major Death Ranked

Pity poor Gale Boetticher, perhaps the most likeable mass producer of methamphetamine ever to appear on TV. All he wanted to do was perfect his craft, chat about science, and make a little cash. Is that really so unreasonable?

Gale’s death is complex because, on one hand, he’s an innocent figure (relatively speaking) who certainly didn’t deserve to be gunned down in cold blood by Jesse Pinkman. David Costabile plays those final moments perfectly, a man finally realising the true horror of the industry he’s part of.

On the other hand, most Breaking Bad fans will have been rooting for Jesse to pull the trigger if it means Walt getting one over on Gus, and our “heroes” living to cook another day.

His murder is a gutpunch for the viewer and especially for Jesse, who’s never quite the same in its aftermath, hardened irreversibly. But this is the world these men are operating in, and when you get in bed with folks like Gus Fring, ultimately it comes down to kill or be killed.