Warning: The following article contains discussion of suicide.
For two shows that were primarily focused on the criminal underworld and the dark deeds that humans are capable of, it was hardly surprising that death featured heavily in both Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul, but some of these deaths were more shocking than others. Creators Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould regularly proved that they weren't interested in going for the cheap or gratuitous choices when it came to character deaths, and this approach led to some thrilling surprises throughout both series. Although it started out as an origin show for Breaking Bad's criminal lawyer Saul Goodman, a.k.a Jimmy McGill (Bob Odenkirk), Better Call Saul killed off several characters as Jimmy descended further and further into Albuquerque's criminal underworld.
The ending of Breaking Bad was arguably a foregone conclusion, with Walter White (Bryan Cranston) likely to either die from his terminal cancer diagnosis or as the consequence of his criminal actions. However, Walter's actions often had unexpected consequences for those around him, which led to some truly shocking deaths. Here's every shocking death from both Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul, and the reasons why they came as such a shock to audiences.
9
Jane Margolis in "Phoenix"
All the deaths that took place in Breaking Bad up until season 2, episode 12, "Phoenix" were members of Albuquerque's drug trade, and the larger Mexican cartels and could be chalked up to occupational hazards of such a dangerous way of life. However, all that changed in the penultimate episode of Breaking Bad season 2 when Walter stands back and lets Jane (Krysten Ritter) die. Jane's death in Breaking Bad was the moment that viewers realized just how far Walter was willing to go to maintain his hold on Jesse (Aaron Paul) and Heisenberg's crystal meth empire.
Walter saw recovering addict Jane as a threat after she blackmailed him for Jesse's share of the drug deal with Gustavo Fring (Giancarlo Esposito). Jane and Jesse planned to escape Albuquerque after getting clean, putting Walt's business at serious risk. In accidentally rolling Jane onto her back, then deliberately allowing her to suffocate on her own vomit, Walter sacrificed an innocent woman to protect himself. At that stage, it was the clearest sign of how much further Walt's ruthlessness would go in later episodes. As a means to control Jesse, a direct line can be drawn from Walter letting Jane die to Walt poisoning Brock in Breaking Bad season 4.
8 Donald Margolis, The Crew & Passengers Of The Wayfarer 515 Collision
The most shocking consequence of Walter's decision not to save Jane is the horrific midair collision between the Wayfarer 515 commercial airliner and a private chartered plane. The passengers and crew of both flights - a total of 167 people - were killed in the disaster, substantially adding to the total deaths attributed to Walter White in Breaking Bad. Although Walter did not explicitly cause the disaster, he had set events in motion that would ultimately lead to 167 people losing their lives, and the suicide of Jane's grieving father Donald (John de Lancie).
Grieving the death of his daughter, and blaming himself for his daughter's struggles with addiction, Donald returned to work too early. As an air traffic controller at Albuquerque airport, Donald's grief clouded his judgment, leaving him unable to avert Breaking Bad's plane crash, failing to direct the chartered flight out of the path of Wayfarer 515. Plagued by guilt over his part in the disaster, and still grief-stricken by the death of his daughter, Donald later took his own life. The Wayfarer collision and its aftermath was a shocking demonstration of the real-world ramifications that an intelligent and calculating genius like Walter White was too selfish to ever consider.
7 Gale Boetticher In "Full Measure"
Gale Boetticher (David Costabile) was a fascinating mirror of Walter White. As revealed in Better Call Saul season 4, episode 3, "Something Beautiful", Gale was also a teacher of chemistry prior to getting into the meth business. He was working at the University of New Mexico, working on improving the purity of crystal meth, something he would later do in Gus Fring's secret meth superlab alongside Walter White. Unlike Walter or Jesse, Gale seemed to be purely driven by a love of chemistry, and had an innocent, vulnerable quality to him, making his death in the Breaking Bad season 3 finale all the more shocking.
After relations between Gus, Walter and Jesse broke down, Gale became an unwitting bargaining chip in their struggle. As the only other person who knew Walt's recipe for Blue Sky meth, Gale's death would re-establish Walt's importance to Gus' meth business. Walt, therefore, ordered Jesse to murder Gale, to protect their positions, and save their lives. Jesse did so but was unaware that Gale's extensive notes on Heisenberg's Blue Sky production would later fall into the hands of the DEA. In death, Gale could have taken the fall as Heisenberg, but Walt's own hubris wouldn't allow him to let someone else take the credit, leading to his downfall.
6 Victor in "Boxcutter"
Following on from the murder of Gale, one of the most shocking deaths in Breaking Bad is Gus' brutal murder of his henchman Victor (Jeremiah Bitsui) in season 4, episode 1, "Boxcutter". Knowing that Walter has effectively derailed his plans to replace him with Gale, Gus is furious, but knows he can't kill Walter. In an attempt to prove to Gus that he no longer needs Walter, Victor - who has been observing the process in the superlab - cooks his own version of Blue Sky. This, combined with being spotted at Gale's apartment, does not go down well with Gus, who kills Victor with a boxcutter, sending a clear message to Walter and Jesse that he will kill anyone who jeopardizes his business interests.
Victor's death becomes even more shocking in Better Call Saul, where it's established that he's been working for Gus for a considerable amount of time. It proves that loyalty does not stand in the way of Gus' business interests. Ultimately though, it's Gus' brutal murder of Victor that makes Walt realize he has to kill his boss first, making a deal with Fring's arch-nemesis Hector Salamanca (Mark Margolis), to be rid of the Los Pollos Hermanos proprietor once and for all.
5
Andrea Cantillo In "Granite State"
Jesse got another shot at a happy ending when he met recovering addict Andrea Cantillo (Emily Rios). Once again, due to Walter's machinations, the two weren't able to be together. However, Jesse still cared for Andrea and her son Brock, affection which was used to horrific effect by Breaking Bad's Todd (Jesse Plemons). After Todd's uncle Jack had murdered Hank (Dean Norris) and Gomez (Steven Michael Quezada), they captured Jesse and forced him to continue cooking meth to Heisenberg's recipe. When Jesse attempted to escape, the neo-nazi group decided to send a message by driving him out to Andrea's home.
Once there, Todd convinced her to step outside of her house, with the promise of seeing Jesse. Once her back was turned, he shot her dead and left her body on the doorstep, in a cold and brutal display that was designed to break Jesse's spirits. It was a shocking moment that emphasized just how badly Walter had misjudged Todd and his uncle Jack when he originally signed on with them. Jesse eventually got to avenge Andrea in the Breaking Bad finale, but it's made clear in El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie that, like Jane's, Andrea's death casts a long shadow.
4 Chuck McGill In "Lantern"
Better Call Saul had a very different tone to the rollercoaster ride of its predecessor Breaking Bad. As such, it took three whole seasons before the first substantial death in the show, and it came as a huge shock to audiences. Following Jimmy's very public revelations about the mental health of his brother Chuck (Michael McKean), the once-revered attorney had his reputation ruined. As a result, he was forcibly retired from the very law firm he helped establish. Devastated by this, Chuck took his own life, by setting his home on fire in Better Call Saul's season 3 finale in a heartbreaking scene that was incredibly difficult to watch.
Chuck's death was key to Jimmy McGill's transformation into Saul Goodman. At first, it seemed that it freed Jimmy from the watchful eye of his older brother, enabling the worst aspects of his character. In reality, Jimmy's guilt over Chuck's death forced him to retreat back into his poorer habits, becoming the conman that his older brother always saw him as. However, despite the importance of Chuck's death to Jimmy's overall story, the shock and horror at the way the older McGill brother chose to end his life were hard for audiences to shake.
3 Fred Whalen In "Winner"
Fred Whalen (James Austin Johnson) was in the wrong place at the wrong time when he got caught in the middle of the feud between Gustavo Fring and the Salamancas. Fred helped Werner Ziegler make some calls on his escape from Gus' meth superlab, attracting the attention of both Mike Ehrmantraut (Jonathan Banks) and Lalo Salamanca (Tony Dalton). After following Mike to the TravelWire office, Lalo Salamanca killed Fred Whalen in the process of extracting information about Werner. Although it happens off-screen, Fred's death is a shockingly brutal crime that emphasizes how far Jimmy has fallen when he defends Lalo at the plea hearing.
2 Werner Ziegler In "Winner"
Mike may be a ruthless criminal fixer, but he always followed a code and is mostly seen killing those who also follow a criminal lifestyle. As a civilian engineer, Werner Ziegler didn't quite fit the bill, despite his work constructing Gus' underground lab. Audiences know that Mike has a heart, so when he was sent after the fleeing Werner in Better Call Saul's season 4 finale, they could be forgiven for thinking that Mike might have worked out some way to let Werner return to his wife. Sadly, after unwittingly giving information about the lab to Lalo, Werner is backed into a corner, leading to him being killed by Mike as he looks out at the stars over Albuquerque. It was a shocking moment that had a serious effect on Mike's mental health in Better Call Saul season 5.
1 Howard Hamlin In "Plan And Execution"
The most shocking death in Better Call Saul is that of Howard Hamlin (Patrick Fabian) in season 6, episode 7, "Plan and Execution". As one of the few remaining characters not to also feature in Breaking Bad, audiences expected some dramatic send-off for Howard, perhaps a disbarment thanks to Jimmy and Kim's scheme. What Howard got was much worse, and provided a brutal and shocking end to Jimmy and Kim's relationship. After being made a fool of in public by Jimmy and Kim, Howard arrived to confront the couple. In a shocking Howard twist, he was ambushed by Lalo Salamanca, who had arrived seeking Jimmy's assistance with his revenge plan against Gus Fring.
To get Jimmy and Kim's attention, and remove witnesses, Lalo put a single bullet in Howard's head, killing him. It was a horrifying moment, made worse by the Better Call Saul mid-season gap. Worse still, the lies that Jimmy and Kim told to maintain their cover story only made Howard's brutal death and loss of reputation even more heartbreaking. It was the most shocking death in the whole season, and perfectly paid off the Lalo tease in Saul Goodman's first ever Breaking Bad appearance.