Breaking Bad: Every Major Death Ranked

The appearance of Tuco late in Breaking Bad’s first season is where the show’s dramatic sensibilities step up a notch. Walt and Jesse enter the big leagues when they get involved with the ill tempered maniac, and almost as soon as they meet him it’s clear they’ll need to kill him in due course, lest he kills them.

Tuce was apparently set to be the main antagonist of Season Two before plans changed due to issues with the actor, and that’s reflected by his somewhat sudden death. He kidnaps Walt and Jesse, planning to take them to Mexico. Hank, tracking Jesse, locates Tuco’s compound and shoots him in the head after a standoff.

There are ongoing ramifications from this, particularly for a battle-scarred Hank, but Tuco is never quite as well developed as the villains that would follow - he’s a somewhat generic (if convincingly portrayed) mad, bad cartel guy. As such, his death doesn’t resonate like some of those that follow will.

The shootout itself is a masterpiece in tension and release, but as far as the character goes, we’re not given an awful lot to work with.