Breaking Bad: Every Alternate Ending Considered

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Breaking Bad delivered an unforgettable finale, but series creator Vince Gilligan considered a handful of other alternate endings. Debuting in January 2008, the crime drama ran for five seasons until coming to a close in the fall of 2013. The show saw Walter White rise in the crime world and become a powerful drug lord until he lost everything in the final season, including his own family. While Walt’s downfall always seemed inevitable, there were other options as to how it would all unfold.

The final episode of Breaking Bad, season 5, episode 13, “Felina”, came in the aftermath of everyone finding out Walt was Heisenberg and him going into hiding. With his looming death, Walt decided to set things right, including getting money for his family, taking out his enemies, and rescuing Jesse. The episode ended with Walt using an M90 machine gun to take out Jack Welker and his crew, but he was wounded and died in the end as well. It was a critically acclaimed finale, but Breaking Bad‘s ending nearly went in a few other directions.

Walt Goes Full Rambo

Walt Was Going To Ambush The Nazi Compound

According to the Breaking Bad Insider podcast (via The Wrap), Gilligan revealed Walt’s use of the M60 machine gun could have gone much differently. In the original version, Walt was going to ambush Jack Welker’s neo-Nazi compound “in Rambo fashion.” It was intended that he would hold the gun while it rained bullets into the building full of his enemies.

With the return of the character’s cancer, it didn’t feel right to transform Walt into an invincible action hero. Instead, the series had Walt use his brains to mount the gun in the trunk of his car, which Gilligan claimed was “MacGyveresque.”

Walt Has A Showdown With Police

Walt Almost Embraced His Western Outlaw Persona

In addition to the discussions of turning Walt into a Rambo-like figure, there was also an idea to transform the central figure into Jesse James, as shared in the podcast. Worrying Walt’s attack on bad guys like Welker’s gang was too predictable, Breaking Bad toyed with the idea of the former drug kingpin using his high-powered weapon on police.

To mirror famous Western outlaws, the police were set to find Walt while he was on the run. The encounter would have turned deadly quick when Walt pulled out the M60. With Breaking Bad feeling like a neo-Western story at times, it makes sense they would be compelled to go in this direction. The crew eventually backed off from the idea, claiming “It just didn’t seem right.”

Walt Breaks Jesse Out Of Jail

Walt Would Have Stormed A Jail To Free His Former Partner

The third alternate ending for Breaking Bad that Gilligan shared on the podcast focused on a jailbreak attempt. Instead of Jesse being held hostage at the neo-Nazi compound, there were talks of him ending up in prison. To make amends for everything that Walt had done to push Jesse down this path, Walt would have shown up with the M60 to wreak havoc. Not only did the writers consider having Walt attack a jail to break out his former partner, but Gilligan revealed there were discussions regarding the site of a prison bus.

Skyler Takes Her Own Life

Walt’s Crimes Nearly Had A Devastating Consequence For His Family

Gilligan also mentioned an alternate Breaking Bad ending for Skyler during his podcast appearance. According to the series creator, his team considered having Skyler leave with Ed Galbraith (Robert Forster), aka the “Disappearer.” Another option was to have Skyler go with Walt after Ed created new identities for the pair.

That plan was scrapped when the writers couldn’t find a plausible explanation explaining why Walt Jr. would willingly agree to join his parents. That idea then took a turn when it focused on Walt and Skyler stuck in a Motel 6. As Walt reassured Skyler that everything would be okay, he would find his wife dead after taking her own life.

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Saul Goodman Is Killed

Gilligan Said “Anything Is Fair Game”

Another character who almost didn’t make it out of the Breaking Bad series finale alive was Saul Goodman. During a 2014 interview (via EW), Gilligan shared that anything was “fair game” when developing the ending. He noted that there were talks of killing Odenkirk’s character though no specifics were given on how this would play out and who would be responsible.

Of course, the actor reprised his role as Saul to serve as the central figure of the spinoff, Better Call Saul. His death, however, wouldn’t have completely affected the series since Gilligan created it as a prequel to the events of Breaking Bad.

Every Major Breaking Bad Character Dies

Gilligan Talked About A “Bloodbath Ending”

In the same interview, Gilligan unearthed discussions to kill off every major character, and that presumably included Walt. He called it “some sort of Wild Bunch bloodbath of an ending,” referencing the violent Western film from 1969. Gilligan reiterated that it was a dark week when those talks arose, but in the end, the team questioned the intent of killing all the major figures of the series. Though Gilligan labeled the alternate ending as dramatic, he figured it wouldn’t satisfy the viewers.

The Fates Of The Main Characters In Breaking Bad Following The Real Finale:

Walt Is The Only Survivor

Walt’s Karmic Justice Would Have Been As The Sole Survivor

Interestingly, Gilligan shared details of a similar alternate ending in an interview soon after the Breaking Bad series finale aired. Along the lines of killing major characters, Gilligan revealed there wasn’t a concrete decision made on Walt’s fate. Though Cranston’s character died as a result of his actions in the series finale, his death wasn’t always set in stone.

In fact, there was an ending considered that had Walt as the last one standing, as the rest of his family and colleagues had perished. Gilligan believed this version would be heart-pounding, but he described it as “very much a kick-in-the-teeth kind of ending.”

Jesse Kills Walt

Jesse Nearly Took Revenge On His Twisted Mentor

Following Walt’s attack on the neo-Nazi compound with the machine gun, Jesse strangled Todd to death before acknowledging his former partner one last time. He then fled the area moments before the police converged on the compound as Walt was dying. In the same interview from 2013, Gilligan stated there was a thought to have Jesse kill Walt following the ambush.

However, the writers deemed Jesse taking Todd’s life showed that his “bloodlust had been satiated.” Coincidentally, Gilligan then pondered Jesse’s future, hoping Paul’s character “gets away with it and moves to Alaska and has a peaceful life communing with nature.” That idea turned into the Breaking Bad sequel film, El Camino, which followed Jesse’s fate as he eventually received a new chance at life in Alaska.

Breaking Bad Went With The Best Possible Ending

None Of The Alternate Endings Topped The Conclusion Fans Actually Got

While there are a lot of fun Breaking Bad alternate endings to consider, it is hard to deny that the show chose the right one in the end. It’s not easy for a series to stick a landing and it is likely impossible to end in a way that is going to please all the fans. However, the ending of Breaking Bad is about as close as a show can get to such an achievement with a conclusion that is true to the characters, fitting to the journey of the show, and thrilling right to the end.

Looking at the various alternate endings, the real finale incorporates certain elements the creators clearly wanted to see happen. This includes the fact that Walt saves Jesse, which makes for a fitting end to their relationship, as Walt dragged Jesse down this dark path but was also very protective of him.

Walt also had to lose, which he certainly did in the final couple of episodes. After starting all of this for his family, Walt’s actions left them with nothing and ruined their lives. However, Walt also had to embrace his journey of “Mr. Chips becomes Scarface” by going out in a blaze of glory.

In achieving all of this, Breaking Bad’s ending was met with praise from fans and critics. However, the Breaking Bad universe was able to add to that ending with its spinoffs while not cheapening a satisfying conclusion to Walt’s story. One of the few complaints the finale received was the lack of resolution for Jesse Pinkman, so El Camino gave him his own movie and his own happy ending. Likewise, Saul Goodman disappeared from the show before the finale only to get his own spinoff and an ending that served as the opposite of Walt’s .

Not only did Breaking Bad choose the right ending for its story, but it delivered two more equally satisfying conclusions that make for one of the best overall narratives on television to watch from beginning to end.

Breaking Bad

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.

Cast

Bryan Cranston
, Aaron Paul
, Dean Norris
, Betsy Brandt
, Anna Gunn
, RJ Mitte
, Bob Odenkirk
, Jonathan Banks
, Giancarlo Esposito
, Steven Michael Quezada
, Charles Baker
, Christopher Cousins
, Matt Jones
, Michael Shamus Wiles
, Lavell Crawford
, Jesse Plemons
, Ray Campbell
, Tina Parker
, Carmen Serano
, Emily Rios
, Krysten Ritter
, Laura Fraser
, Jeremiah Bitsui
, Mark Margolis
, Ian Posada
, David House
, David Costabile
, michael bowen
, Kevin Rankin
, Aaron Hill
, Harry Groener
, Patrick Sane
, Daniel Moncada
, Luis Moncada
, Marius Stan
, Bill Burr
, Todd Terry
, Jessica Hecht
, Tait Fletcher
, Rodney Rush
, Kaija Roze Bales
, Matt Metzler
, John de Lancie
, Tom Kiesche
, Jere Burns
, Maurice Compte
, Morse Bicknell
, Nigel Gibbs
, Tess Harper
, Raymond Cruz
, Max Arciniega
, Cesar Garcia
, Jesus Jr.
, Michael Bofshever
, Julie Dretzin
, Mike Seal
, Christopher Dempsey
, Javier Grajeda
, Mike Batayeh
, Chris Freihofer
, Louis Ferreira
, Gonzalo Menendez
, Jason Douglas
, Adam Godley

Release Date

January 20, 2008

Seasons

5

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