With the finale of Breaking Bad coming next Sunday, now is as good of a time as any to look back on all of the great characters that have been created for the show. From "Pilot" through "Granite State," this is the list of those who went above and beyond to make Albuquerque the drug capitol of the southwest and milquetoast Walter White into the scariest guy in the world. It wasn't a pretty ride, but at least we have these 50 memorable characters to share the memories with.
20. Andrea and Brock Cantillo
Actors: Emily Rios and Ian Posada
First Episode: "Abiquiu"
Status: Dead (Andrea), Alive (Brock)
It seems like Jesse can't catch a break when it comes to relationships. After Jane dies and leaves him eager for acceptance, he turns to a mother and son who ends up getting poisoned by Walter. They're still alive, but it seems like just as things go well, these two have to suffer. These two characters have added an emotional weight to Jesse's post-season four stories and almost serves as his redeeming hope. Their cause is so noble that Jesse keeps giving them money for a better life, and who wouldn't want that? Andrea may not be as interesting as Jane, but because of her sobriety and dedication to family, she is the relationship that this show needs to get Jesse out of the black hole.
19. Holly White
Actors: Haven Tomlin (Season 4), Elanor Anne Wenrich (Season 5)
First Episode: "Phoenix"
Status: Alive
With the episode "Ozymandias," the internet seemed to be in unison of making Holly an Emmy nominee. She is also one of the more unfortunate characters to suffer from the color theory that pink is the color of death. She may not have said a lot, but her impact on many scenes, or just as leverage for Walter's sanity, gives her the edge in terms of baby characters. With death consistently lingering over her and the inability to comprehend the madness of the White family, she may be the least likely to be scarred long term. Still, the amount of love and focus on making Holly an upstanding citizen has been staggering and thus her limited existence on the show has become the glue to the show's emotional core. She is the family that Walter was saving money for, and even if she gets the money, she probably will live never knowing that any of this happened, sadly.
18. Marie Schrader
Actor: Betsy Brandt
First Episode: "Pilot"
Status: Alive
Her purple majesty and sister to Skyler was a character that started off in a caricature form as a kleptomaniac. As my distaste for "Open House" will suggest, I am glad that they moved beyond her addiction habits. Her innocence for most of the series and desire for Walter to have the best treatment has made her one of the sweetest central characters on the show who knows how to use handjobs for her benefit. What puts her in the top 20 however is her performance in season five in which she evolves from innocence into a woman out for revenge. She wants to take down Walter and won't let Skyler be taken down with him. After a brilliant sister fight in "Buried," she almost became a character who came full circle. From dark to light, she became so much more after the fact that when it was announced that Hank was dead, her ambitions and happiness that Walter was briefly arrested are shattered. It only takes a split second, but her reaction says it all. It may have took tragedy for Marie to be a fully realized character, but she earned it by being one of the most caring, kid watching characters in the show's existence who also just liked using a talking pillow.
17. Leonel and Marco Salamanca a.k.a. The Cousins
Actors: Daniel and Luis Moncada
First Episode: "No Mas"
Status: Dead
Of Breaking Bad's entire existence, I felt like the Cousins were in fact the least appealing villains of the show. They managed to have a menace just to the way that they walked, but they tended to have a cartoon feel to them simply because they never get to attack Walter. With exception to a memorable shootout in "One Minute," there is never a sense of threat to these two men who are coming to seek revenge for their fallen cousin Tuco. While it helped to establish the Salamanca family as an imminent threat to the universe, I feel like their inaction caused season three to be one of the weaker seasons simply because the payoff of their existence wasn't as strong. However, they did look pretty cool walking around in silence and putting Tortuga's head on an exploding tortoise.
16. Walter White Jr. a.k.a Flynn
Actor: R.J. Mitte
First Episode: "Pilot"
Status: Alive
One of the biggest struggles for me with the show is the disproportionate love of Walt Jr. compared to that of Holly. True, Holly was a big catalyst to the series and even resulted in some of Dave Porter's best use of score in "Mandala," but Walt Jr. was there since the beginning, and thus deserves more respect than he gets. Maybe it his limited screen time and that one towards the end of season five that he got any substantial story, but he seems to be the show's voice of reason. Even as he chooses Hank's work ethics over Walter's plethora of cars, he is almost more crucial for how much he has been ignored in the proceedings. By ignoring him, it only adds another level of irony to how Walter is doing his job for him, but never provides the emotional connection necessary to achieve the experience. Walt Jr. deserves more love, if just for those moments where he speaks his mind and reveals just exactly why he'd rather be called Flynn. It was subtle, but with a father figure like Walter, who would want to share that name?
15. Brandon Mayhew a.k.a Badger
Actor: Matt Jones
First Episode: "Gray Matter"
Status: Alive
In the first episode alone, Badger goes from "Got to prove to the man that I'm rehabilitated" to basically slamming Jesse into the floor of the RV after a cook goes terribly wrong. While Badger has had some great moments, including most of "Better Call Saul," he is better known for being the show's comedic relief. He usually is known for the riffs that he does after getting high with Skinny Pete and as the series got darker and darker, the need for fodder on Left 4 Dead and Star Trek grew more and more necessary. While it seems odd that the show's moral stance on consequences escapes these two, it almost helps to represent a portion of Jesse that wasn't attached to darkness and death. They just wanted to deal, and that's what they do. Badger's infinite clueless nature is probably one of the most endearing things to come out of the meth haze of the first few seasons. Sadly, he became more of a back burner type, but nonetheless, leave it to the writers to make those moments count.
14. Skinny Pete
Actor: Charles Baker
First Episode: "Cancer Man"
Status: Alive
The great debate in the series should be about who is the better character: Badger or Skinny Pete? Both work together as a team, but they also share opposite sides of clueless joy. I give the edge to Skinny Pete largely because he was the key to the series' entire run. Go back to "Crazy Hand Full of Nothin'" and remember how Walter met Tuco. It was Skinny Pete who had the connections and set the chain of events with the Salamanca family in motion. Even if he became reduced to riffing on pop culture references later on, this small move proved exactly why he was a critical introduction to the world. Also, to date, he holds the best line reading in the show's history. In the episode "Peekaboo," when he claims that he is "Sling mad volumes and fat stacking," it manages to be both the most hardcore thing he could say while also just being amazingly ignorant of success.
13. Steven Gomez
Actor: Steven Michael Quezada
First Episode: "Pilot"
Status: Dead
If there is one downside to the depiction of the D.E.A. in the series, it is the lack of memorable characters. While ASAC George Merkert barely missed the cut, it seemed like the universe of Hank was unmatched to the vibrant universe of Walter's drug empire. Despite all of this, the show didn't leave Hank without someone to play buddy cop with. The relationship with Steven Gomez evolved from throwing wisecracks at each other to a mutual take down of the meth empire. Gomez was always there to console Hank and serve as his backup. As the series went on, he never lost his charismatic wit nor his professionalism. It was a triumphant moment to have Gomez congratulate Hank in "To'Hajiilee" about Walter's capture, which sadly was short lived. He died as not only one of the strongest voices of good on the show, but also as the cop that you'd want on your side.
12. Tuco Salamanca
Actor: Raymond Cruz
First Episode: "Crazy Handful of Nothin"
Status: Dead
I think that as time went on, Tuco's power became more and more underrated. While the show had survived off of Walter and Jesse cooking together prior, I feel like Tuco's entrance introduced the show's madcap quality of terror. This bonkers character who gets high and beats up his henchmen managed to have power just by being a brutal force. He seemed unstoppable and his energy was simultaneously hilarious and scary. Tuco is probably the only Salamanca family member to ride that line brilliantly. Even if in the grand scheme of things he was only used as an introduction into the bigger universe, what an entrance it was. They started off the series' criminal empire hunt with a remorseless psychopath. Gus Fring may have overshadowed the show's sadistic side, but I feel like more credit should be given to the brilliance that is Tuco's meth-snorting, henchman punching ways.
11. Todd Alquist
Actor: Jesse Plemons
First Episode: "Hazard Pay"
Status: Alive
Former Vamanos Pest employee who helped come to prominence after the great train robbery. With the death of Drew Sharp, he established himself as the psychopath who would take down Walter thanks largely to his connections with Uncle Jack. He may help Lydia avoid seeing corpses that he just shot up and his manner is very gentlemanly, but don't let that fool you. He is dedicated to following his code. No half measures never seemed more extreme than it does through Todd. With a small affection for Lydia and a lack of skill to keep the meth business alive with Walter's 99% accuracy, he isn't as perfect or great as Gus Fring or the Juarez Cartel. That is probably what makes him toppling Walter all the more shocking and depressing. Just don't die with a hobby, or else he will keep it as a token of sick admiration.
Come back tomorrow when we cover #10-#1 which includes the best of the best from every season.
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