Entertainment
10 Most Essential ‘Breaking Bad’ Episodes, Ranked
Imagine you’re walking down the street, just minding your own business. Then bam, you’ve been cursed. For the rest of your days, you can only rewatch 10 episodes from Breaking Bad. At this point you’ve stopped in your tracks, devastated, confused. Why is this happening? But it’s no time for self-pity; you have to think fast! Which episodes from this beloved crime show will you choose? As most (if not all) fans can attest, there are so many worth watching again and again that it’s pretty hard to narrow down your favorites to 10.
Really every episode Breaking Bad feels essential to the whole, but which ones do you need the most to satisfy your occasional hankering for Vince Gilligan‘s most popular series? Probably not “Fly,” as cool and underrated as it is. Another mistake would be to choose half of your list from one specific season, which would make the rewatching experience feel even more imbalanced than it would with episodes more spread out from one another. Basically, you want to choose chapters that are not only perfect in and of themselves but also feel essential to grasping the character arcs over the course of the series. Capturing the suspense, the humor, the darkness, and what makes us keep coming back, these 10 episodes may just be enough to understand this show’s brilliance.
10
“Pilot”
Season 1, Episode 1
A pair of pants fall to the ground. An RV is racing through the desert, and a middle-aged man wearing nothing more than a gas mask and tighty-whities is behind the wheel. The guy in the passenger seat is knocked out, and there appear to be two bodies sliding around in the back. Now that is how you begin a series: the frantic energy, the darkly comedic imagery, the many questions the audience is left with.
Had the show not begun in medias res, it wouldn’t quite have the same energy. However, everything in between that opening scene and when we finally see how things turn out still keeps our gazes firmly on the screen. After getting diagnosed with cancer, Walter (Bryan Cranston) keeps it to himself while acting out in various entertaining ways. Watching him beat up a bully, quit the car wash, and team up with his old student Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul) is incredibly fun. No notes.
9
“Crazy Handful of Nothin’”
Season 1, Episode 6
You might think of “Crazy Handful of Nothin’” as the climax of season one. Walt and Jesse try to get back into the meth business, but now they have to work with Tuco (Raymond Cruz). Jesse makes a fool of himself, which leaves everything to a newly-bald Walt. In the meantime, Hank (Dean Norris) traces a gas mask back to Walt’s high school, at which point he watches a kind custodian take the blame for Walt’s crime.
This is the birth of Heisenberg. When he introduces himself to Tuco and his men, we can see that Walt’s not messing around. And when we see what Walt does, what he’s capable of, we see that he’s really not messing around. “Want to find out?” is one of the best lines in the show. Along with that opening scene, which produces a similar level of intrigue as the opener to “Pilot,” the audience witnesses a man who realizes just how much he can accomplish with enough nerve and grit.
8
“Phoenix”
Season 2, Episode 12
By the time we get to “Phoenix,” Jesse and Jane (Krysten Ritter) are using heroin in Jesse’s apartment. Her father Donald (John de Lancie) catches her, which is one of the saddest moments in the show. It’s painful to watch Jane’s father hang up that phone right before calling the police. This decision will haunt him for the rest of his life, and the tragedy that unfolds hits just as hard today as it did then.
After Walt missed the birth of his child because Jesse wasn’t around, he is both furious at and terribly concerned for Jesse’s well-being. His refusal to give Jesse his share until he’s clean echoes Donald’s attempt to help his daughter, and their coincidental meeting at a bar solidifies the episode’s theme of parenting a troubled adult. However, this episode is ultimately defined by that devastating final scene, where we see Walt take one big step further into his moral descent.
7
“Half Measures”
Season 3, Episode 12
Another big jump. In season three’s second-to-last episode, “Half Measures,” Jesse finds out that the guys who killed Combo (Rodney Rush) were also selling the blue stuff. Jesse is hell-bent on killing them, and Walt tries his best to try and calm his partner down. His plan to have Jesse arrested is stomped out by Mike (Jonathan Banks), who gives him an anecdote that goes down as one of the show’s greatest monologues by a mile.
As Gus steps in to bring the peace, even his meeting with the drug dealers fails. He tells them to stop using children, so they kill the kid who killed Combo. Not what Jesse had in mind, especially since that kid was actually his girlfriend’s brother. This leads to one of the biggest plot twists in the show. Along with that amusing moment when Marie convinces Hank to leave the hospital, this episode is non-stop perfection.
6
“Full Measure”
Season 3, Episode 13
Fans thought that the previous episode’s final scene was intense, but “Full Measure” tops it anyway. Pinkman’s on the run from Gus, who reluctantly allows Walt to keep cooking despite the double-homicide. But now that Gale (David Costabile) is back as Jesse’s replacement, it’s clear that Gus is just going to have Gale learn Walt’s process and then kill him off. So Gale has to go, and the episode’s great twist lies in whose job it is to kill him.
That final scene is so immersive—emphasizing just how confusing and horrifying this sudden extermination is for Gale while making it crystal clear just how difficult it is for Jesse to follow through. This finale leaves a permanent stamp on Pinkman’s psyche, darkens the show’s general tone more than any other finale, and solidifies the show’s reputation as one of the greatest thrillers of all time.
5
“Problem Dog”
Season 4, Episode 7
If you can’t afford to gift your child a Dodge Challenger, do you A) return it to the dealership, or B) drive donuts and blow it up? If you’re a sensible person, you pick option A, but Heisenberg’s pride is swelling too large in season four’s “Problem Dog.” Meanwhile, Hank manages to get Gustavo’s fingerprints and find out he knew Gale. Impressive police work, but the heart and soul of this episode is Jesse.
He almost kills Gus at a meeting, but doesn’t have the time. He later goes to a Narcotics Anonymous group meeting, where he gets as close as he possibly can to confessing his murder. Yet only so much understanding can come from describing Gale as “a problem dog,” and the conversation that ensues is excruciating. This scene is so intense, so well shot, and so beautifully acted that only an astounding drama could pull it off.
4
“Face Off”
Season 4, Episode 13
A clever play on words that foreshadows the episode’s climax, “Face Off” ends season four with a literal bang. So much has been said about this entry in the Breaking Bad saga that there really isn’t much to add. Hector Salamanca’s (Mark Margolis) visit to the DEA: hilarious. Gustavo’s visit to the nursing home: magnificent. The final moment when Hector actually looks at Gus and starts clinking his bell is one of the most legendary moments in television history.
There’s also the classic line, “I won.” So concise, so badass. But the greatest moment of the episode is the final scene, which has no words: a camera merely zooms in on a houseplant, resulting in a plot twist that completes Walter White’s transformation into a full-blown villain. From its humor to its suspense, “Face Off” is a slam dunk of an episode.
3
“Say My Name”
Season 5, Episode 7
In the beginning of “Say My Name,” Heisenberg can cash out so easily. In fact, every single person involved in the deal wants him to walk away. However, with the power of confidence, persuasion, and a bunch of meth that’s “ready to go,” the great cook gets to keep doing what he loves best. The line we all know and love, “Say my name,” shows just how far he’s come from season one.
With the DEA on his back, Mike has to flee town—even having to leave his granddaughter at the park. Walt is supposed to help him escape, but he’s so concerned with the men whom Mike has been paying off that he demands that Mike tell him who they are. When Walt shoots him, we can see how Heisenberg’s inflated ego and immaturity are clouding his judgment. With the sun going down, we say farewell to yet another iconic character.
2
“Granite State”
Season 5, Episode 15
A ton of material is packed into “Granite State,” yet the pace couldn’t possibly be any better. There’s even room for that hysterical joke in the beginning, when Saul takes a peek at a camera that shows Walt in a less-than-content state of mind. Most of the episode is dead serious, though, as we say goodbye to Saul and Walt says goodbye to New Mexico for a state whose slogan is particularly meaningful to the man’s storyline.
Meanwhile, Todd (Jesse Plemons) convinces his colleagues to let Jesse live. But that’s hardly merciful; they threaten Skyler in her baby’s room. Then they shoot Andrea (Emily Rios) in front of Jesse, which is one of the most difficult scenes in the show to watch. Meanwhile, it’s fascinating to see Walt all alone, surrounded by snow, with all his hair back (and more). That final scene in the bar, from the phone call to the television interview, is absolutely riveting. Everything here sets us up for one of the greatest series finales of all time.
1
“Felina”
Season 5, Episode 16
Some shows don’t stick the landing, and some do. With “Felina,” it’s pretty safe to say that Breaking Bad is an example of the best-case scenario. And that doesn’t mean everyone’s happy: Walt’s last conversation with Skyler works as an incredibly bitter and complex goodbye, Walt has to traumatize his two former colleagues to make them secretly use his meth money, and so on.
At this point, Walt is so used to manipulating people that his schemes to tie up all the loose ends almost seem effortless. We also have a fair amount of confidence that he’ll succeed, given this is the finale and all, and yet this doesn’t detract from the emotional power of this meticulously crafted character arc coming to a close. Along with that tense meeting with the neo-Nazis, the shootout, and his last interaction with Jesse, this series finale is as good as it gets.
Breaking Bad
- Release Date
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2008 – 2013-00-00
- Network
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AMC
- Showrunner
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Vince Gilligan
- Directors
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Vince Gilligan, Michelle Maclaren
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