Breaking Bad: How Every Main Character Dies In The Series

Over the course of its five-season run on AMC, "Breaking Bad" developed a reputation as one of the deadliest crime dramas in TV history. Its willingness to kill major characters — and its ability to do so in immensely satisfying ways — rivaled even that of the show's biggest influence, "The Sopranos."

While HBO's iconic series took an understated, almost pensive approach to its deaths, "Breaking Bad" brought all the drama, excitement, and blood fans expected. From the pilot episode to the epic series finale, characters are shot, poisoned, strangled, beheaded, and — in one especially spectacular scene — blown half to heck by a wheelchair. These aren't simply the most iconic deaths in "Breaking Bad" — they're some of the most memorable TV deaths of all time.

Season 1, Episode 3, "...And the Bag's in the River"

Walter White (Bryan Cranston) meets Domingo "Krazy-8" Molina (Max Arciniega) in the pilot episode of the series, when he's brought in by Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul) as a potential distributor. The relationship sours quickly (Jesse had ditched Molina's cousin during the DEA raid), and Walt tries to poison Molina and his cousin during a cook.

Once they discover Molina survived, Walt and Jesse are forced to hold him hostage in Jesse's basement. Based on a coin flip, it's decided Walter must handle him. The schoolteacher struggles to bring himself to murder a captive man. He tries to convince Jesse that Krazy-8 can be released and persuaded to stay silent and not pursue vengeance, spending nearly two episodes trying to connect with and take care of his prisoner. But when Walt sees Krazy-8 has taken a large ceramic shard of a broken plate to use in an ambush, he realizes it's over. He pretends to be undoing the bicycle lock long enough to get behind Molina, then pulls it tight against the pipe until he stops moving. His body is dissolved in hydrofluoric acid.

Season 2, Episode 2, "Grilled"

With Krazy-8 gone, his territory is taken over by Tuco Salamanca (Raymond Cruz). When Jesse first attempts to negotiate with him, Tuco robs Jesse of $35,000 worth of product and beats him within an inch of his life. So, obviously, Walt decides it's a good idea to continue doing business with him.

Shockingly, Tuco's increasing paranoia and volatility make him a danger to everyone he works with. Once the DEA begins to close in on his operations, he decides to kidnap Walt and Jesse. Tuco forces Jesse to drive them all to a shack in the desert, where his seemingly harmless uncle Hector (Mark Margolis) is waiting. Tuco just needs to keep all four of them together so that they can eventually escape to Mexico, where Walt and Jesse will be forced to cook for the cartel. They rush Tuco physically, with Jesse ultimately using Tuco's own handgun against him.

Meanwhile, Jesse's car has been outfitted with an anti-theft LoJack tracker, which Hank Schrader (Dean Norris) uses to track him for questioning. By the time he arrives at the shack, Walt and Jesse have hightailed it — Tuco is outside, bleeding, but not beaten. He engages Hank in a firefight, during which Hank shoots him in the forehead.

Season 2, Episode 11, "Mandala"

Back to selling bags on corners, Jesse turns his three closest friends into a crude distribution network. One of them — Christian "Combo" Ortega (Rodney Rush) — is quietly one of Walt and Jesse's biggest initial supporters. He not only organized early transactions of their blue meth, but was responsible for procuring the cheap RV that became their meth lab (which Combo basically stole from his own mother).

This only makes it all the more tragic that Combo is the first of Jesse's friends to die for the business. Combo had unwittingly breached the turf of rival drug kingpin Gustavo Fring (Giancarlo Esposito), which was closely monitored by ruthless enforcers — who seemingly had a practice of hiding behind young children who were willing to do their dirty work.

On the street, in broad daylight, Gus' men send a bike-riding child — 11-year-old Tomás Cantillo — to kill Combo. Tomás shoots him several times in the stomach with a handgun.

Season 2, Episode 12, "Phoenix"

Consumed by guilt and grief over Combo's death, Jesse decides to start using meth again — now in his new, clean apartment, rented to him by his sober girlfriend Jane (Krysten Ritter). Jane relapses by joining him, presumably as an attempt at comforting him. Things quickly spiral out of control when she introduces him to heroin.

Their lives collapse around the drug, with Jesse running afoul of Walt (to the extent that Walt begins withholding money from him) and Jane losing the trust of her father (John de Lancie). Before he can kick them both out of the apartment, Jane and Jesse blackmail Walt and make a plan to abscond with Jesse's returned earnings, get sober, and live happily ever after — after they use one last time.

Walt breaks into the apartment to win Jesse back, only to find him and Jane passed out in bed. When Jane rolls onto her back and begins to choke on her own vomit, Walt refuses to intervene and lets her die. Jane's death breaks Jesse and her father, the latter of whom accidentally causes a catastrophic plane crash as a result.

If you or anyone you know needs help with addiction issues, help is available. Visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website or contact SAMHSA's National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).

Season 3, Episode 7, "One Minute"

News of Tuco Salamanca's death eventually makes it back to the cartel. His family is not too pleased.

Tuco's twin cousins, Marco and Leonel Salamanca (played by real-life brothers Luis and Daniel Moncada), cross the border to seek vengeance against the mysterious Heisenberg. They believe he is the man who killed Tuco. Gus Fring, not willing to let the Salamancas assassinate his new business partner, informs the twins that their real target is Hank Schrader.

They ambush Hank in a parking lot, shortly after the DEA agent had been suspended (without his badge or gun) for assaulting Jesse. Unarmed, Hank manages to subdue Leonel and retrieve Leonel's gun during a brutal firefight. He sustains several critical injuries that leave him struggling and vulnerable to the ax-wielding Marco. Before Marco can bring down the blade, Hank manages to fire one last shot into Marco's head, killing him instantly.

Season 3, Episode 8, "I See You"

Leonel and Hank are both rushed to the hospital. Walt, his family, and practically the entire Albuquerque DEA office arrive to monitor Hank's health (the attack ultimately leaves him partially paralyzed, and he is unable to walk without months of extensive, costly physical therapy). Everyone in his corner is upset to learn that Leonel survived the attack — particularly Walt, whom Leonel recognizes as Heisenberg. Though Leonel says nothing, he angrily attempts to crawl toward Walter, despite having had both of his legs amputated.

Gus seizes the opportunity to strike against the Salamancas. While he distracts the officers in the lobby with a generous delivery of Los Pollos Hermanos, his enforcer, Mike Ehrmantraut (Jonathan Banks), steals away into Leonel's hospital room and covertly poisons him. He dies of apparent cardiac arrest.

Season 3, Episode 8, "I See You"

Gus' assassination of the Salamancas isn't entirely about concealing Walt. Sending the cousins after Hank served the dual purposes of saving his partner's life and setting the stage for a DEA crackdown. Heightened security domestically, as well as along the border, limits the capabilities of Gus' handlers in the cartel.

His direct superior, the congenial cartel liaison Juan Bolsa (Javier Grajeda), is the first to catch on, realizing that he will now be forced to hide in Mexico after the attack on Hank. On the phone with Gus, Bolsa expresses his suspicions — only for his house to be raided by Mexican federal police during the call. They open fire seemingly immediately. Whether that's because the Federales see the pistol in Bolsa's hand or because Gus had previously paid them off, the show declines to say.

Season 3, Episode 12, "Half Measures"

Out of rehab, Jesse begins attending Narcotics Anonymous meetings with the intent to sell fragile members meth. He abandons this plan once he meets Andrea Cantillo (Emily Rios), a young single mother trying to stay clean. As they form a relationship, he learns that her brother, Tomás, was the child who shot and killed Combo months earlier. The murder was part of a gang initiation — a gang that Jesse is horrified to learn is used in Gus' distribution network.

This revelation causes Jesse to behave erratically, to the point that Gus has to arrange a sit-down between him and the street gang's dealers. Gus acquiesces to Jesse's concerns and demands that the dealers keep children out of their operation. They then kill Tomás to prevent him from becoming a loose end. Jesse's attempted retaliation — which ultimately results in Walt running over the dealers with his car — is what causes the full fracture between them and Gus.

Season 3, Episode 13, "Full Measure"

With Jesse in the wind (on the run from Gus and his henchmen), Walt returns to cook for Gus alone. Gus reunites him with Gale Boetticher (David Costabile), a gifted chemist whom Gus had previously brought in as a replacement for Jesse, and whom Walt had fired in order to bring Jesse back into the fold. Walt quickly understands that, this time around, Gale isn't replacing Jesse — he's being groomed to replace Walt.

The tragedy of the situation is that Gale is probably the one purely decent person in "Breaking Bad." Even though he knows he's meant to step in after Walter's death, he merely thinks that's because Walt is going to die of cancer. Meanwhile, once Walter realizes that he's about to be killed by Mike, he wastes no time calling Jesse out of hiding to take out Gale. Jesse races to Gale's apartment, knocks on the door, and reluctantly pulls the trigger.

Season 4, Episode 1, "Box Cutter"

Gale's death is Walter's victory. Gus has lost his insurance policy and is now left to deal with the one man capable of producing his sacred blue meth. Unfortunately, out of either devotion to Gus or spite against Walt, the enforcer Victor (Jeremiah Bitsui) tries to find another way.

In the immediate aftermath of Gale's murder, Victor attempts to start a batch on his own, using what he learned while surveilling several of Walt's cooks. He seems to be off to a decent start — at which point Gus arrives and wordlessly slits his throat with a box cutter. It remains one of the most gruesome and debated deaths in the series, with fans questioning whether Victor was killed for attempting a cook (Walt's personal theory), for failing to protect Gale (or being spotted by Gale's neighbors at the crime scene), or simply as a message to Walt and Jesse.

Season 4, Episode 10, "Salud"

Gus' intractable machinations reach their climax in Season 4. While brilliantly grooming Jesse to turn on Walt and serve as his replacement, he has managed to make gains in his secret war against the cartel in Mexico — which, as we learn this season, was responsible for the death of Gus' former partner and lover Max Arciniega — who is named after the actor who portrayed Krazy-8. Max Arciniega, the character, is portrayed by "Dexter: Original Sin" actor James Martinez.

The cartel demands that Gus and Jesse fly out to Mexico to demonstrate their cooking process. Gus obliges, the cook goes swimmingly, and the imposing boss Don Eladio Vuente (Steven Bauer) calls for a celebratory toast beside the very pool Max died in. Unbeknownst to Eladio, Gus has poisoned the bottle of tequila — while he retreats to the bathroom to vomit up the toxins, Don Eladio and his men perish.

Season 4, Episode 13, "Face Off"

At this point, the Salamancas and the cartel are functionally extinct. Max has been avenged by their deaths — save for the man who actually pulled the trigger.

Hector Salamanca is old, angry, and unable to speak or move much beyond a finger. Gus had long been content to leave him a prisoner in his own body, forced to witness his family and empire crumble under Gus' boots. But when Gus learns that Hector has gone to the DEA, he is forced to pay Hector a visit in the nursing home, where he intends to kill him personally via lethal injection. For the first time, however, Gus is one step behind — Hector is already prepared to die.

In Walter's attempts to defeat Gus, he forged a final partnership with Hector. After facilitating Hector's meeting with the DEA as a means of baiting Gus, Walter outfitted his chair with an explosive Hector could trigger with his bell. When Gus gets close enough to use the needle, he realizes he's been tricked with barely enough time to scream. The explosion goes off perfectly — moments later, Gus emerges from the room half the man he was, framed in one of the most iconic death shots in television history.

Season 5, Episode 7, "Say My Name"

Gus' death leaves his meth empire open for the taking. Though the payout is enough for Mike to initially join Walt and Jesse's independent operation (serving as their equal partner and distributor), tensions with Walt and the increasing potential for DEA involvement are enough to make Mike walk away.

While attempting to escape, much of Mike's illicit wealth is seized in a DEA raid. Mike is desperate for funds, a weakness Walt attempts to exploit to get the names of Mike's imprisoned associates (liabilities Walt intends to kill). The attempt fails, with Mike simply taking the go-bag of cash by force and giving Walt one last dressing-down. In anger, Walt uses a revolver he stole from the bag to shoot Mike. Mike stumbles into a marsh, bleeding out by the water as Walt realizes he could've just asked their partner, Lydia, for the names.

Season 5, Episode 14, "Ozymandias"

More of a brother to Hank Schrader than Walt ever was, Steve Gomez (Steven Michael Quezada) was fittingly by his partner's side until the very end. The two investigate Walt's business throughout the series and are ultimately able to put him in handcuffs by organizing a sting operation with his ex-partner Jesse.

Walt called for backup before they did. Heisenberg's new partners — a gang of white supremacist criminals led by Jack Welker (Michael Bowen) — roll up to the scene and engage the two DEA agents in a firefight. Gomez is killed in the exchange.

Season 5, Episode 14, "Ozymandias"

Hank winds up wounded once the shooting stops. Uncle Jack learns he's a DEA agent and prepares to tie up the loose end — only for Walt to intervene.

Having finally had some humanity knocked back into him, Walter pleads with Jack to spare Hank, going so far as to offer him the $80 million stashed away in the nearby desert. Jack tries to get Hank to beg, but Hank refuses. He's smart enough to know Jack made up his mind when he found the DEA badge.

Before Hank can finish his last words, Jack executes him with a single gunshot. This entire exchange before his death, taking place in the opening sequence of the episode, is frequently praised as the greatest moment in the series.

Season 5, Episode 15, "Granite State"

Jack not only kills Hank, but elects to steal most of Walter's $80 million anyway (leaving him a single barrel worth about $11 million). He also takes Jesse captive, intending to use him as an enslaved meth cook for the rest of his life in order to preserve the legendary quality of the Heisenberg operation.

Jesse is treated brutally and worked to the bone for months. When he attempts to escape, he is caught and driven to Andrea's house. Andrea has been confused by Jesse's sudden disappearance and answers the door when a stranger — Jesse Plemons' Todd Alquist — claims to be there with Jesse. Todd points Andrea toward the car where Jesse is being held, then shoots her. Jesse is forced to watch, and is told that the gang will return for her son if he doesn't cooperate.

Season 5, Episode 16, "Felina"

Throughout the final season of "Breaking Bad," Todd Alquist grew into a dark mirror of Jesse Pinkman. He was the controllable sociopath Jesse might've become if he'd fully submitted to Walt. It's poetic that this reflection — proof of the man Jesse isn't, no matter how much guilt he feels — is the final enemy Jesse faces in the series.

After months of torture and forced labor, Jesse is freed by Walter's ambush on Jack's compound. Todd is seemingly the sole true survivor of the initial assault — but not for long. When Todd looks out a window to stare in awe at Walt's work, Jesse strangles him from behind with the very chains Todd used to bind him.

Season 5, Episode 16, "Felina"

As one of the most annoying characters in the series, Jack was begging for a satisfying death from the moment he first appeared onscreen. Walter comes to the compound under the pretense of wanting work, then demands revenge against Jesse for his betrayal. Jack shows Walter what they've done to Jesse, giving him the opening to tackle Jesse to the ground and shield him from the remote-controlled machine-gun turret in the trunk of his car.

Jack and all of his men (save Todd) are fatally struck. As Jack bleeds out on the floor, attempting to smoke one last cigarette, Walter shoots him dead.

Season 5, Episode 16, "Felina"

Prior to his ambush on the compound, Walter facilitates the reunion by ambushing Lydia and Todd at a café, pretending to be crazy and desperate for work. Lydia and Todd had a cringe-inducing pseudo-romantic manipulationship throughout Season 5 — Lydia exploits this to convince Todd to kill Walt when he comes to the compound.

Prior to their arrival at the café, however, Walt had actually replaced the artificial sugar at the table with ricin. Lydia, a Stevia addict, ingests it without a thought. After Todd's and Jack's death, Lydia calls Todd's phone to confirm that Walt is dead — Walt answers, informing Lydia that the "cold" he conspicuously predicts she's suffering from is the result of fatal poisoning. Her subsequent offscreen death is confirmed in the film "El Camino."

Season 5, Episode 16, "Felina"

By the end of Season 5, Walter White had run entirely out of rope. His empire had collapsed, the DEA was onto him, his money had greatly diminished, and everyone he considered a friend or a family member had either turned on him or been killed as a result of his greed.

Walt spends the finale righting what wrongs he can, ensuring that what remains of his wealth will go to his children while shielding them from culpability. His final loose ends are Jack and Jesse, both of whom he wants vengeance on. However, once he sees how broken his former lab partner is, Walt has a final change of heart and saves Jesse's life. In the process, he suffers a fatal wound from his own turret.

After killing Jack, saying goodbye to Lydia, and sharing one last look with Jesse, Walter walks into the compound's meth lab. He revels in its beauty in his final moments before collapsing to the floor with a peaceful smile.