Dean Norris, who played DEA agent Hank Schrader on Breaking Bad shared a funny deleted scene from the lauded series on his Instagram. Schrader was an agent obsessed with hunting down the drug lord Heisenberg, who happened to be his brother-in-law, Walter White (Bryan Cranston). Though the beloved Breaking Bad character perished in the season 5 episode "Ozymandias," he made a surprise return to fans' TV screens last year in the acclaimed prequel series, Better Call Saul.
The Breaking Bad prequel comes from masterminds Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould and follows the journey of small-time lawyer Jimmy McGill (Bob Odenkirk) to becoming criminal attorney Saul Goodman. Now coming up on its sixth and final season, Better Call Saul has introduced new characters as well as brought back some familiar faces from the Breaking Bad universe. One of the biggest delights from the series came with the return of Hank and his loyal partner Steve Gomez (Steven Quezada). While their cameos may have signaled to fans that the end of the Saul Goodman-inspired series may be fast approaching as it inches closer to the Breaking Bad timeline, the appearance of the DEA agent duo brought fans back in time to Hank's tried-and-true glory days. A time before Heisenberg.
Norris celebrated his 58th birthday on social media on Thursday, April 8, by sharing a deleted scene from the first season of Breaking Bad. In fact it was supposed to be Hank's first scene, and Norris posted the clip on Instagram, saying, "Thanks for all the bday love. Here’s a deleted Breaking Bad scene, Hanks first." The short, but hilarious clip shows Hank making his first appearance at Walter's birthday party, along with his wife Marie (Betsy Brandt), in very Hank fashion. Watch the video from Norris' Instagram below:
Better Call Saul season 5 finished up around this time last year, with some major cliffhangers leaving questions regarding the fate of some of the show's main characters. The villainous cartel member Lalo (Tony Dalton) sped off with vengeance on his mind after learning of Nacho's (Michael Mando) betrayal. Meanwhile, Kim Wexler (Rhea Seehorn) seems to be following Jimmy down a similar dark path. As fans have hoped for years, the series is beginning to merge storylines with Breaking Bad at a steady pace, showing Hank already crossing paths with drug dealer Krazy-8. Fans of the original series will remember that the criminal in question was the DEA informant who helped in busting Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul), Walt's future partner in cooking crystal meth. It's worth noting that, this portion of the story, the storyline involving Hank and Krazy-8 is still unresolved, leaving the possibility of Norris returning to Better Call Saul season 6, which will premiere in early 2022, a strong possibility.
Until then, Norris sharing with fans this Breaking Bad scene provided a nice little throwback sense of nostalgia for fans, and probably for the actor, as well. It was a snapshot of Hank and Marie's early days, when things were not so complicated yet. And given the murderous trajectory the show took in its five-season run, and how things may transpire in Better Call Saul, it's worth remembering that calm before proverbial Walter White storm.
More: Better Call Saul: How Hank Helps Mold Breaking Bad's Saul Goodman
Source: Dean Norris