Bryan Cranston’sBreaking Badcharacter, Walter White, seemingly had it all figured out when it came to how he would make enough money to leave behind for his family, but he didn’t account for one specific (but important) thing when it came to his foray into the drug trade. Thankfully, someone else sorted it out for him.
Breaking Bad’s brilliant storytelling techniques mean it’s still one of thebest shows on Netflixyears after its final episode.Walt’s plan to make money from methis at the heart of the narrative inevery season ofBreaking Bad, even when things start to go very wrong for Cranston’s character. That said, the show ignores what could have been a massive error by Walt.
Walt’s Original Plan Was For Skyler To Find His Drug Money After He Died
Getting caught for making meth was obviously never part of Walt’s plan. If he was ever discovered to be the man behind the operation, he wanted to have already succumbed to his lung cancer by then. He often mentioned that he’d be able to rest easy if he left enough cash behind for Skyler (Anna Gunn) and Walt Jr. (RJ Mitte).
Walt’s original plan goes off the rails inBreaking Bad, as his wife finds out what he is up to before he dies. In fact, he responds so well to his cancer treatment that he ends up having far more time than he expected, which meant trying to keep his second life a secret for far longer.
Walt’s intention for his family to only reap the benefit of his criminal activity after his death fell by the wayside.
Therefore, Walt’s intention for his family to only reap the benefit of his criminal activity after his death fell by the wayside, asSkyler laid her eyes on piles of his ill-gotten gains several times throughout the series. Of course, this was pretty much always bound to happen from a storytelling perspective, as it would have been a little boring otherwise.
Skyler Would Have Struggled To Spend The Money Walt Left For Her & Walt Jr.
Walt’s original cancer prognosis left no time for money laundering
The issue with Walt’s original plan was that the money he was trying to leave for his family would have been in the form of cold, hard cash. So,Skyler would have struggled to spend it without raising suspicion. She could have used small amounts here and there for groceries and so on, but larger purchases would always have been a risk.
Furthermore,Skyler may never have found out how all the money came to be in her husband’s possession, and she would surely have started to wonder why he let them struggle financially when he had so much cash to hand. Plus, while Walt’s plan came from a place of love, the mystery would likely have tarnished his memory if he’d died before Skyler found the money.
Skyler Finding Out About Walt’s Criminal Activity Was The Best Thing For Him
Walt’s wife was pivotal in her husband’s money laundering scheme
Walt’s wife finding out about his meth empire was a huge turning point inBreaking Bad. While it initially seemed like an awful thing to happen to Cranston’s character, it ultimately turned out to be a blessing in disguise. As an experienced bookkeeper,Skyler was able to help launder Walt’s money so they could spend it more freely.
That said,Bob Odenkirk’s Saul Goodman was also an important part of this fortunate turn of events. It was Saul’s idea and constant pushes to launder Walt’s money that set the wheels in motion, but Skyler was the sane head who pointed out the flaws in the lawyer’s techniques. Without Skyler, both Walt and Saul could have been caught out inBreaking Bad.
Breaking Bad
Cast
Breaking Bad, created by Vince Gilligan, follows a chemistry teacher turned drug kingpin named Walter White (Bryan Cranston) as he attempts to provide for his family following a fatal diagnosis. With nothing left to fear, White ascends to power in the world of drugs and crime, transforming the simple family man into someone known only as Heisenberg.
