List of Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul characters
Breaking Bad is an American television series created by Vince Gilligan that premiered in 2008. The show was followed in 2015 by the prequel series Better Call Saul, created by Gilligan and Peter Gould, and in 2019 by the film , directed by Gilligan. The following is a list of characters from both series and the feature film.
Main characters
Cast table
Introduced in ''Breaking Bad''
Walter White
Walter Hartwell White is an underachieving Albuquerque, New Mexico high school chemistry teacher who, after being diagnosed with lung cancer, starts manufacturing methamphetamine to provide for his family upon his death. Knowing nothing about the drug trade, he enlists the aid of his former student, [|Jesse Pinkman], to sell the meth he produces. Walt's scientific knowledge and dedication to quality lead him to produce crystal meth that is purer and more potent than any competitors'. To avoid the tedious collection of pseudoephedrine required for production, Walt devises an alternative chemical process utilizing methylamine, giving his product a distinctive blue color. His crystal meth, which is given the street name "Blue Sky," dominates the market, leading to confrontations with established drug makers and dealers.Walt is initially squeamish about the use of violence, but gradually comes to see it as a necessity. He also comes to find his new status as a drug lord psychologically rewarding, leading him to become less and less reluctant to resort to criminal acts such as theft, extortion, money laundering, depraved indifference, and murder. Walt's descent, Macbeth-like, into the criminal underworld unearths immense levels of deeply repressed ambition, rage, resentment, vanity, and an increasing ruthlessness which alienates him from his family and colleagues.
[|Skyler] White
Skyler White is Walter's wife. She has had several meager sources of income: writing short stories, selling items on eBay, working as a bookkeeper, and ultimately helping her husband launder money. Skyler and [|Walter] have a son, Walter Jr., and an infant daughter, Holly. Skyler loves Walter very much, but their marriage becomes increasingly strained due to his unexplained absences and bizarre behavior, ultimately leading to their separation. Later, once Walter reveals his operation, she aids him in laundering his funds. They buy the car wash where Walter had recently moonlighted. Although she helps Walter, she remains displeased with the overall situation. As Walter slowly becomes more of a "hardened criminal," her emotions of fear and worry for him become increasingly prevalent. When in the episode "Buried," Hank tells Skyler he is on to Walt but needs her help to provide sufficient evidence to build a successful case, Skyler replies that she needs a lawyer and later tells Walt they should remain quiet.Jesse Pinkman
Jesse Bruce Pinkman is a small-time methamphetamine user, manufacturer, and dealer. In high school, he was an indifferent student in Walter White's chemistry class. Now in his mid-20s, Jesse is Walt's business partner in the meth trade. Jesse is impulsive, hedonistic, and uneducated beyond high school, but he is financially ambitious and streetwise. He talks in playful slang, likes to wear garish clothing that follows the latest trends in youth culture, plays video games, listens to rap and rock music, takes recreational drugs, and drives lowriders. Walt treats Jesse like a foolish son in constant need of stern correction. Jesse's own family kicked him out of their house because of his drug use. Despite the friction between them, he and Walt have a deep bond of loyalty. As a result of his relationship with Walt, Jesse becomes an excellent meth cook, ultimately leading to his exploitation by others. Despite his criminal lifestyle, Jesse is far more conscientious than Walt. He is horrified, particularly during later seasons, by the brutality at the higher levels of the drug trade, but remains involved with Walt because he is not sure what else he can do. He is very protective of children; his desire to keep children out of the violent drug world gives rise to several key events throughout the series. He wrestles with feelings of guilt about the deaths, all drug-related, of people he has been associated with. Towards the end of the fifth season he is overwhelmed by guilt and his "blood money." Realizing how much pain he has caused for money leads him to attempt to give bundles of cash from his final payoff to people he knows and then throw them from his car window onto random lawns and porches. In , Jesse departs for a new life in Alaska.Hank Schrader
Henry R. Schrader is Walt and Skyler's brother-in-law and Marie's husband, who works as a U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agent. He is involved in investigating a meth dealer known as "Heisenberg," unaware for over a year that his prey is actually Walter. Hank has a cavalier exterior, but in reality the dark side of his job affects him more than he cares to admit leading him to suffer anxiety attacks from post-traumatic stress. In the course of his work, Hank is promoted to El Paso, Texas from Albuquerque for a short time but experiences a traumatic event and moves back to Albuquerque. Despite his brashness, Hank is highly competent at his job and cares deeply about his family. Hank is eventually promoted to Assistant Special Agent in Charge of the DEA in Albuquerque but is still determined to solve the "Heisenberg" case, which ultimately leads to his demise.Hank also had guest appearances in the fifth season Better Call Saul. When Domingo "Krazy-8" Molina is arrested, Jimmy McGill bargains with Hank to make Domingo his confidential informant, which allows Lalo Salamanca to feed information on [|Gus] Fring's operations to the DEA for the DEA to then seize.
Marie Schrader
Marie Schrader is Skyler's sister, Hank's wife, and Walt's sister-in-law. Marie works as a radiologic technologist. She does not hesitate to offer advice to others, but often fails to practice what she preaches. She shoplifts compulsively-apparently a manifest symptom of kleptomania—a behavior for which she sees a therapist. She appears self-centered and shallow, but is very devoted to her husband and cares deeply for her sister's family. Nearly all of her household and clothing items are shades of the color purple.In Season 3, Marie becomes a major source of comfort and support to her husband, when [|The Cousins] shoot and nearly kill him. With Walt and Skyler's help, she arranges for Hank to undergo an aggressive physical-therapy program their insurance does not cover. When Hank stubbornly decides to stay at the hospital, claiming he is completely disabled, she refuses to give up on him and masturbates him to prove he still has feeling below the waist. When he returns home, however, Hank is cold and brash to Marie, despite her attempts to make him comfortable, and she spirals back into kleptomania. Once Hank starts making progress with the case, his relationship with Marie improves again. When Walt and Skyler have marital problems, she takes in their children for a couple of days at Skyler's request while they work things out.
In the final season, Hank shares with Marie the truth about Walter's criminal activities, and Marie confronts Skyler. Learning Skyler knew of Walt before Hank was shot, Marie slaps her sister and storms out of the room. She tries to take Holly with her, but Hank commands her to return the baby. She then urges Hank "to get" Walter. Marie helps Hank try to stop Walt and Skyler, but their attempts are thwarted when Walt makes a DVD framing Hank. Marie is eager to help Hank when Jesse agrees to confess about Walt's crimes. She is initially unaware of Hank's death and reconciles with Skyler on the condition she tells Walt Jr. everything. Marie learns that Hank is missing when Walt kidnaps Holly, and eventually receives confirmation he is dead. She is last seen in her house two months later, now with blue instead of purple trim around the house, warning Skyler to be on the lookout for Walt.
Walter White Jr.
Walter Hartwell White Jr. is Walter and Skyler's teenage son and Holly's older brother. He has cerebral palsy, as manifested in speech difficulties and impaired motor control, for which he uses crutches. Angered by his parents' constant fighting, Walter Jr. tries to establish an independent identity, insisting on being called Flynn and asking his best friend Louis to teach him how to drive. When he discovers that Walt has cancer, Walter Jr. changes his attitude and sets up a website, "www.savewalterwhite.com," which requests and collects donations in an effort to help pay for Walt's cancer treatment. Walt's lawyer, [|Saul Goodman], arranges for a wave of fictional "donations" drawn from Walter's drug money, in order to launder it and also make Walter Jr.'s efforts appear successful. When Skyler and Walt separate, Walter Jr., given no explanation by either parent, only sees that his mother has inexplicably thrown his terminally ill father out of the house, and he takes his father's side and stops answering to the name Flynn. Always being "late to the game", Walter Jr. remains oblivious to his father's drug trade life until "Ozymandias," when Marie, confident that Walt is in Hank's custody, forces Skyler to reveal the whole truth to her son. Upon learning of his father's connection with Hank's death, Walter Jr. mistakenly concludes that Walt killed Hank. Feeling betrayed Jr. calls 911 when Walt fends off Skyler's knife attack, thus forcing Walt to leave and eventually end up on the most wanted list. In "Granite State," Walt attempts to talk to him over the phone and have him retrieve $100,000 that Walt planned to send to Louis' address; however, Walter Jr. angrily refuses and hangs up. In "Felina," Walt visits Skyler for the final time, and watches from afar as Walter Jr. returns to the safe house from school.Saul Goodman
Saul Goodman, real name James Morgan McGill, is a sleazy lawyer who acts as Walter and Jesse's attorney and provides some of the series' comic relief. He uses the name "Saul Goodman" because he thinks his clients feel more confident with a Jewish lawyer; this name is also homophonous with the expression "'s all good, man." Dressing in flashy suits, Saul maintains extensive connections within the criminal underworld and serves as a go-between connecting drug distributors, evidence removers, impersonators, and other criminals-for-hire. Despite his flamboyant appearance and mannerisms—punctuated by his outrageous low-budget TV commercials—Saul is a highly competent lawyer who is able to solve problems and find loopholes in order to protect his clients. He is also reluctant to be associated with violence or murder.His background is explored in Better Call Saul, taking place about six years before Breaking Bad. Originally a con man nicknamed "Slippin' Jimmy", he had been arrested in Chicago, but his older brother Chuck McGill, a partner in an Albuquerque law firm, freed him of those charges on the condition Jimmy would return with him to find legitimate employment. Jimmy became inspired to enter the legal profession due to Chuck, and though he earned his degree, found that Chuck had conspired behind the scenes to prevent him from finding any type of respectable legal work short of public defense. After Chuck's death and losing his own license to practice for a year, Jimmy returned to practice under the "Saul Goodman" name, drawing on the criminal clientele he had gained through his side business of selling disposable cell phones over the year before.
By the time of Breaking Bad, Saul has established an office in a strip mall and advertises across the city. He works with Gus and [|Mike] to help cover their drug business, and helps introduce Walter and Jesse to Gus as a potential buyer. Subsequently, he helps Walter and Skyler launder the drug money, and provides legal assistance for Jesse and his drug-dealing friends. As fallout between Gus and Walter plays out, and Hank discovers Walter's identity as Heisenberg, Saul uses the "disappearing" services of [|Ed] to relocate to Omaha, Nebraska under the name Gene Takavic, where he runs a Cinnabon store while remaining paranoid that someone may identify him from his past.
Gus Fring
Gustavo Fring is the Chilean-born proprietor of Los Pollos Hermanos, a highly successful fried chicken restaurant chain. He is also a public booster for the local DEA office and a member of the hospital board. However, despite outward appearances, Gus is a major drug kingpin initially affiliated with the Mexican drug cartel in Ciudad Juárez, who uses his restaurants as a front for methamphetamine distribution throughout the American southwest. Like Walter White, Gus is a criminal who "hides in plain sight," using his anti-drug philanthropy to conceal his true nature. Gus originally established Los Pollos Hermanos in Mexico several years previously, but emigrated to the United States after [|Don Eladio] and [|Hector] Salamanca murdered his meth cook, business partner, and close friend, Maximino Arciniega as punishment for supposedly insulting Eladio. As shown in Better Call Saul, Gus had long sought revenge on Hector for Max's death, and when Nacho causes Hector to have a stroke, Gus uses the opportunity to pay for Hector's recovery but only to a point where Hector recovers his mental faculties and can move his right index finger. As seen in both Better Call Saul and Breaking Bad, Gus seeks to create his own source of methamphetamine and eliminate his reliance on Cartel cocaine by building a "superlab" beneath an industrial laundromat. Gus initially plans for [|Gale] to be his cook, but when he discovers the superior quality of Walter's blue meth, he hires Walter and reluctantly allows Jesse to serve as Walter's assistant. This leads to a series of confrontations that culminate with Jesse killing Gale at Walter's instigation, saving Walter's life by making him irreplaceable to Gus. The relationship between Jesse and Walter falters as a result of Jesse's guilt, enabling Gus to draw Jesse in as an ally. Knowing his life is still at risk because Jesse has proved to be nearly as capable as Walter in the lab, Walter goads Jesse into providing information Walter uses to set a trap for Gus. During a visit with Hector at his nursing home, Gus plans to finally end Hector's life, but realizes too late that he has been tricked. Hector sets off Walter's homemade pipe bomb, killing himself, Tyrus and Gus.Mike Ehrmantraut
Michael Ehrmantraut is a former Philadelphia police officer who works for Gus—and, on occasion, Saul—as a private investigator, head of security, cleaner, and hit man. In the Better Call Saul episode "Gloves Off", it is implied that Mike is a Marine Corps veteran of the Vietnam War. His reasons for leaving the Philadelphia police are never specified during Breaking Bad, but given his story to Walt about missing a chance to kill an abusive perpetrator who eventually murdered a victim Mike was trying to help, and Hank's refusal to bring up the reason for Mike's departure from the police, it is implied that Mike decided to take revenge against the abuser, which resulted in Mike's departure. As a result, one of the lessons Mike employed in his criminal activities was to not take "half measures." The prequel series Better Call Saul revealed that Mike, a crooked cop, murdered two other crooked cops who had killed his son Matt, also a police officer, after Matt hesitated to involve himself in corruption. The next day Mike fled to Albuquerque to be near his granddaughter Kaylee and daughter-in-law Stacey. He initially worked as a parking attendant at the Albuquerque courthouse, where the evening and night hours often enabled him to take part in criminal activities during the day. Mike is a calm and calculating individual who efficiently performs his duties for Gus, using his extensive knowledge of police procedure to do so without detection. Prior to his murder of Werner Ziegler he is shown to go to extreme lengths to avoid killing anyone or targeting innocent bystanders. Mike makes a cameo in where he and Jesse discuss their plans before quitting the drug business. It is Mike's suggestion of a new life in Alaska that drives Jesse's ambitions following his escape from Jack Welker's gang.Lydia Rodarte-Quayle
Lydia Rodarte-Quayle is an executive of Madrigal Electromotive GmbH, working out of the company's office in Houston, Texas. She originally works with Gus Fring as a conspirator and supplier of chemicals required for his drug business in the American southwest. In Better Call Saul, Gus has Lydia help arrange a position for Mike in Madrigal as a security consultant as a means to launder money Mike had stolen from the Salamancas. Meant only as a paper job with no responsibilities, Mike takes the job seriously and inspects several Madrigal sites. Lydia complains to Gus, but he tells Lydia to let Mike be, leading Mike to help serve Gus as one of his own lead security men. Lydia later is present when Gus discreetly reports to Peter, the CEO of Madrigal about the situation with Lalo Salamanca that is stalling the construction of his superlab, but assures the both that he has plans to deal with Lalo.Within Breaking Bad, Lydia continues to quietly provided chemicals to Gus for Walt's meth production. Following his violent death at the hands of Walt, the DEA begins investigating the link between Gus and Madrigal. Lydia becomes anxious and asks Mike to eliminate 11 people who were involved with Gus and could expose her. When he refuses, Lydia makes the same offer to one of the 11 on her hit list and adds Mike to it. However, Mike ambushes and kills the new hit man, and deduces that Lydia is responsible. He consequently breaks into Lydia's home, ready to execute her, but allows her to live contingent on her providing methylamine for a new meth operation to be run by Walt, Jesse, and Mike.
After Lydia provides the first shipment, the DEA visits Madrigal and Lydia is forced to give up her man in the warehouse to the DEA. When Mike sends Jesse to Houston to pick up the next shipment, he and Lydia find a GPS tracker at the bottom of one of the barrels. Mike guesses that Lydia placed it because she wants out of the business, and again vows to kill her. After bugging Hank's office, they find that the tracker was planted by the DEA's Houston office. Lydia provides Walt, Jesse, and Mike information about a freight train that includes a tanker car full of methylamine, enabling a 1,000-gallon heist which ensures they can continue cooking meth almost indefinitely. Later, she provides Walt with a new market in the Czech Republic, using her resources and network to distribute the meth in large quantities.
After Walt quits, Declan and his gang take over the meth business, but produce a poor quality product. Lydia and Jack's gang arrange the massacre of Declan's crew, after which Jack's gang takes the methylamine and begins running Declan's business, later kidnapping Jesse to cook a better product for them. Months later, during a meeting with Todd, Walt interrupts a regular coffee shop meeting between Lydia and Todd to offer a new method of meth production. Lydia appears to agree to Walt's offer, but after Walt leaves she suggests to Todd that Walt should be killed at the meeting. That evening Lydia is obviously ill and calls Todd to check on whether the gang killed Walt. Walt answers Todd's phone and tells her that Jack and his gang are all dead and she will soon be dead too, because he added ricin to the stevia she used in her tea during the meeting at the coffee shop. In the 2019 movie , Jesse hears a radio news report that confirms Walt's death and mentions that a woman from Houston, presumably Lydia, is critically ill after having been poisoned. The report indicates that her suspected ties to Walt are being investigated, and that she is not expected to survive.
Todd Alquist
Todd Alquist is an exterminator for Vamonos Pest, a fumigation company used by Walt, Mike, and Jesse as the front for their meth business after Gus Fring's death. Todd and the other Vamonos employees are also burglars, gathering information from the houses they tent and selling it to outside parties. Todd notices and disables a nanny cam at Walt and Jesse's first post-Gus Fring cook site, attracting their attention to someone they think might be useful in the future. He aids in the heist of methylamine from a freight train, and gives a friendly wave to a boy who stumbles on the crime scene, but then shoots him without warning. The team reluctantly keeps Todd employed after the murder, accepting his explanation that he assumed there could be no witnesses to the crime or they all risked arrest. Todd's explanation, plus his claims that his uncle runs a gang with connections that could be valuable to the meth operation, convince Walt, Jesse, and Mike to keep him alive.After Jesse and Mike quit, Todd becomes Walt's assistant in the cooking process. Todd respectfully refers to Walter as "Mr. White", and after studying under Walt, he spends his breaks going over his notes, but refuses to accept payment until he satisfies Walt's standards. After Walt kills Mike, Todd helps dispose of Mike's car and body, and Walt uses Jack's prison connections to eliminate Gus's nine living former employees and their lawyer to keep them from exposing Walt.
After the gang captures Jesse, Todd convinces his uncle to force Jesse to cook for them instead of killing him. Jesse creates a batch with a level of purity comparable to Walt's. Thinking he deserves a reward for a job well done, Todd brings him ice cream and praises him for his skill. Todd's bad side is again on display when he shoots and kills Jesse's ex-girlfriend Andrea to punish Jesse for an escape attempt, but he politely apologizes before he shoots her. Months later, Walter kills Jack's gang by remotely firing an M60 machine gun installed in the trunk of a car. Todd survives, but Jesse strangles him with the chains of his handcuffs, choking him hard enough to snap his neck.
Todd's alternating from charming politeness and respectful gestures to sudden violent acts led his character to be called the most dangerous villain on Breaking Bad, and IGN named him 2013's best TV villain.
In , Todd appears in flashbacks that take place after Jesse's failed escape attempt and Andrea's death. Todd, Kenny, and Neil Kandy torment Jesse as Neil builds his new restraints. Todd later enlists Jesse's help to add a canopy to his El Camino and bury the body of Todd's cleaning lady, whom he murdered after she accidentally found his hidden money. After Jesse's escape from the compound, he returns to Todd's apartment and retrieves the cash to use in his escape from Albuquerque.
Introduced in ''Better Call Saul''
Kim Wexler
Kimberly Wexler was one of the key litigators at Hamlin, Hamlin & McGill. However, Kim's personal history with Jimmy complicated their working relationship, often putting her at odds with Howard Hamlin and Chuck McGill, threatening her promising career and eventually putting her in Hamlin's doghouse. This forced her to reevaluate her place in HHM and decide to leave, and she set up a practice of her own, sharing office space and expenses with Jimmy, but in separate firms. Despite this, because of their feud, she finds herself still in the middle of the dispute between Chuck and Jimmy. After Chuck commits suicide, Kim mourns his death with Jimmy and Howard. Jimmy and Kim eventually marry towards the end of the fifth season.Howard Hamlin
Howard Hamlin is the name partner and general go-to guy toeing the company line for hugely successful Albuquerque law firm Hamlin, Hamlin & McGill. Howard is one of life's winners. His good fortune, sun-kissed looks, and more than ample charm prove to be a constant source of frustration for Jimmy as is his relationship with Chuck McGill.After Chuck steps away from the firm due to his claim of electromagnetic hypersensitivity, Howard covers for him trying to avoid Chuck's condition from being reported to the insurance agency. He always follows Chuck's instructions to keep Jimmy from achieving any type of success in the legal business. After Jimmy doctors the paperwork that Chuck had done for the Mesa Verde bank, costing the firm the client, Chuck secretly records a confession from Jimmy about the doctored papers, and Howard helps Chuck to confirm the account. Chuck presents the evidence to have Jimmy disbarred, but Jimmy uses the opportunity to expose Chuck's supposed hypersensitivity as a psychological ailment. The firm's agency discovers this, and demands Howard either terminate Chuck or they will drastically raise their rates. Howard is forced to release Chuck. Due to an argument with Jimmy, Chuck kills himself later the same day, and Howard comes to bear the weight of causing Chuck's death. For much of a year, Howard remains emotionally withdrawn and works to regain the firm's standing following those events.
Nacho Varga
Ignacio Varga is a calculating, intelligent career criminal. He is the right-hand man to Tuco Salamanca, heir to the crime family of the same name. While not yet a kingpin himself, Nacho is bright and has the ear of his terrifying boss. Nacho hires Jimmy as his lawyer after being introduced to him by Tuco at the start of Season 1. He secretly begins working with Mike Ehrmantraut at the end of season 1. He admires Mike's calm and calculated approach, especially when compared to Tuco's impulsive and irrational way of working. After secretly working with Mike to get Tuco sent to prison, Nacho becomes fearful that Tuco's uncle Hector will discover this and harm him or his father, and takes the step of replacing Hector's heart medication with placebos. During a key meeting between Hector and Gus, Hector has a heart attack due to the placebo, and Gus catches Nacho trying to switch back the pills. Because of this, Gus forces Nacho to become his mole in Hector's organization, quietly gaining information and performing small tasks behind the scenes to disrupt the Salamancas' sales.Chuck McGill
Charles Lindbergh McGill Jr. is Jimmy McGill's older brother. He is a named partner at one of Albuquerque's most prestigious law firms, Hamlin, Hamlin & McGill, which he co-founded along with his business partner, Howard Hamlin's father. A brilliant man who holds himself and others to high ideals, Chuck firmly believes that doing the right thing is the only true path to success. Chuck is critical of Jimmy's background as a scam-artist, considering his brother's attorney status an insult to the law.Chuck believes he suffers from electromagnetic hypersensitivity, an unusual affliction caused by mysterious circumstances, which makes it challenging for him to lead a normal life. He has twice shown no reaction to sources of electromagnetic radiation that were nearby but whose presence he was unaware of, suggesting that he suffers from a mental illness rather than the physical condition he claims.
In the season 3 finale "Lantern," after suffering a severe relapse of his condition, Chuck commits suicide by intentionally knocking over a lantern, which causes a fatal fire. Chuck's death continues to affect Jimmy, Kim and Howard's lives.
Lalo Salamanca
Eduardo "Lalo" Salamanca is another of Hector's nephews, introduced in season 4 of Better Call Saul. He arrives from Mexico soon after Hector's stroke to help run the family's drug operation, and takes a greater interest in the day-to-day details than Hector did, which makes Nacho uneasy. Lalo visits Hector in the nursing home and gives him the gift of a front desk call bell, which Lalo kept as a souvenir after Hector killed a hotelier and burned down the building after the hotel owner was disrespectful to him. Lalo attaches the bell to Hector's wheelchair, enabling him to communicate more effectively with his right index finger, the only body part Hector can move after he emerges from his coma. Lalo thanks Gus for giving Hector first aid and paying for his care, but also surveils Gus's subordinates in order to learn their regular activities. When Werner escapes from Mike's supervision, Lalo becomes aware that Werner was constructing something for Gus, and becomes more suspicious of Gus' intentions with the cartel.Supporting characters
Cast table
Law enforcement
Getz
Getz is an Albuquerque police detective who arrests Badger Mayhew while undercover, for possession of meth.Steven Gomez
Steven Gomez is Hank's DEA partner and friend since Season 1. He is knowledgeable about the inner workings of Mexican gangs. He does not seem to mind Hank's off-color remarks about his ethnicity. Gomez, or "Gomey" as Hank affectionately calls him, is promoted to El Paso after Hank witnesses a deadly attack on the Mexican border. Gomez has been Hank's right-hand man in the "Heisenberg" case since the beginning. After the Salamanca Brothers nearly kill Hank, Gomez starts performing tasks that Hank cannot perform due to his handicap. At the end of Season 4, Gomez visits Gus's industrial laundry after a GPS links Gus's car to a visit. Gomez and K9 units find no trace of any lab on the property.After Walt and Jesse ignite the lab, Gomez returns with Hank to find it destroyed, with little evidence remaining. Gomez is the only DEA officer whom Hank tells about his revelation that Walter White is Heisenberg, and Gomez continues to be Hank's partner through their final investigation, which leads to both the arrest of Walt and a shootout with Jack's gang. Gomez is killed in the gunfight, shortly before Hank is killed.
Gomez was originally set to die in the first season. However, when the 2007–2008 writers' strike cut the season short, the writers reworked their ideas and he remained alive until the last season.
Quezada reprises his role as Gomez in Better Call Saul, appearing in the fifth season episode "The Guy for This" in which he and Hank interview Domingo Molina after the latter is arrested following the discovery of a drug house belonging to the Salamanca family. Jimmy McGill, representing Molina as Saul Goodman, convinces Hank and Gomez to allow Molina to go free in exchange for Molina becoming a confidential informant. Information provided by Molina leads to the discovery of "just shy of a million dollars" in drug money.
Kalanchoe and Munn
Detectives Kalanchoe and Munn are detectives with the Albuquerque Police Department, questioning Jesse first in regard to the poisoning of Brock Cantillo, and then in regard to the large amount of money he has been giving away.George Merkert
Assistant Special Agent in Charge George Merkert is Hank's boss at the DEA. He is impressed with Hank's tenacity and hard work, and recommends him for a transfer to El Paso. When Hank returns to Albuquerque after being wounded, Merkert is frustrated by Hank's stalling a second transfer to El Paso, unaware that Hank is suffering from panic attacks and is afraid to go back. After Hank attacks Jesse, Merkert is forced to suspend Hank without pay but tells him off the record that Jesse will not press charges. Following Hank's shooting and subsequent recovery, Merkert welcomes Hank back to work but refuses to act on Hank's suspicions of Gus Fring beyond a basic interview. When Gus is revealed to be a drug kingpin, Merkert is permanently relieved of his duties in the DEA due mainly to his and Gus's extensive personal interactions and the subsequent doubt cast on Merkert's integrity following Gus's downfall.SAC Ramey
Special Agent in Charge Ramey is the head of the southwestern United States DEA offices, and thus the highest ranking DEA agent appearing on the show. He appointed Hank to replace George Merkert as ASAC. He reappears in in which he gives a press conference watched by Skinny Pete and Badger on the massacre of Jack Welker's gang by Walter White and the status of Jesse Pinkman.Tim Roberts
Tim Roberts is a detective with the Albuquerque Police Department, who works closely with Hank Schrader and the DEA under George Merkert's watch.Roberts first appears at the White household asking Skyler about Walt's disappearance after Tuco Salamanca kidnaps both Walter and Jesse and takes them to his uncle's house. Hank asked Roberts to take the case of Walter's disappearance as a personal favor to Hank, believing Walter had one of his "episodes" wherein he forgot where he was and would turn up days later.
Roberts next appears after Marie Schrader is arrested and taken to the police station for pilfering property at the open houses she visits. Hank contacts Roberts after Marie tells Hank about her predicament. Roberts gets the homeowners to drop their charges after their property is returned, and he takes Marie home for Hank.
Roberts also investigates Gale Boetticher's murder. He consults with Hank after he finds Gale's notebook and asks what all the notes and drawings mean, and whether or not Gale may have been working in a meth lab. This piques Hank's interest in the case, and he embarks on his own investigation of Gale and his ties to Fring.
The APD detectives' investigation of Gale's apartment yields Gus's fingerprint, which gives the APD and the DEA probable cause to officially request that Fring come in for questioning. Fring complies and then explains his ties to Boetticher, who won one of Gus's Maximino Arciniega scholarships that Gale used to pursue degrees in chemistry. Roberts is satisfied with Gus's explanations of how he knew Boetticher and why he was in Boetticher's home, but Hank remains dubious and continues investigating Fring and his personal and business dealings.
Gus's organization
[|Max Arciniega]
Maximino Arciniega is Gus's partner. Gus paid for Max's education in biochemistry and chemical engineering, at the University of Santiago in Chile. The pair then moved to Mexico and opened a chain of Los Pollos Hermanos chicken restaurants together. In the drug business, [|Max] is the chemist; he cooked the crystal meth, samples of which he and Gus started giving away. These samples gained the attention of Don Eladio, a local drug lord, whom Max and Gus approached in the hope of convincing the Don to join them in the meth business. Don Eladio, unimpressed by these upstarts and nominally dismissive of selling methamphetamine in lieu of cocaine, had Hector kill Max on the patio of his mansion as Juan Bolsa watched. Gus is forced to watch his partner's fatal head wound bleed into the swimming pool, a vision that stays with him. After moving to the US, Gus sets up a college scholarship in Max's name and determines to avenge his friend's death. It is possible that Gus and Max's relationship may have been a romantic one; series creator Vince Gilligan commented that they "probably were lovers," although he never completely confirmed or denied if that was the case.The character Maximino Arciniega shares his name with the real-life actor who plays Krazy-8 in Season 1.
Gale Boetticher
Gale Boetticher is a chemist hired by Gus Fring to help set up the new laboratory and serve as Walt's "lab assistant." He holds an MS degree in organic chemistry, with a specialty in X-ray crystallography. Gale had been pursuing his doctorate in Colorado under an NSF grant but realized that it was not the life for him because he loves being in the lab and wanted to preserve the "magic" he saw in chemistry. He describes himself as a "nerd" and a "libertarian." He is single, vegan and apparently cultured. He is a fan of foreign language music, appears to speak fluent Italian, and is fond of Walt Whitman.During the events of Better Call Saul Gale is working as a post-graduate student and researcher at the University of New Mexico, and discretely helps Gus to test the quality of meth by a new process, as Gus seeks to divest his need for drugs from the Mexican cartel. At some point before events of the third season of Breaking Bad, Gale helps Gus plan out space requirements and the equipment needed to produce large quantities of meth in Gus's underground laboratory under the industry laundry, and then sets up and tests it once it arrives. Though Gale is capable of producing meth, the quality pales in comparison to the blue meth that Walter has produced for Gus. Gus convinces Walter to work for him, and introduces him to Gale as his assistant, who shows great admiration for the quality of Walter's product. As a side project, Gale is shown working on a process for brewing a superior cup of coffee and impresses Walt with his results.
After Walt learns of Jesse's intentions to press charges against Hank, Walt fires Gale and re-hires Jesse. After Jesse's "disappearance", Gus re-hires Gale and instructs him to learn everything he can from Walt. He tells Gale that Walt has terminal cancer and that meth production cannot halt because of its high overhead. In reality, Walt is in remission, and Gus is planning to kill Walt, whom he now considers a liability for his unpredictable behavior and his relationship with Hank, who continues to get closer to the truth as he investigates the source of the blue meth. Gale agrees to take over the lab full-time after one more cook with Walt. Walt realizes that Gus plans to replace him and has Jesse locate Gale's address so that Walt can kill him to ensure Gus still requires Jesse and Walt's services. Before he can kill Gale, Mike and Victor bring Walt to the lab, where they intend to kill Walt. Walt convinces them to let him speak to Jesse under the pretense of luring Jesse to the lab to be killed. Instead, Walt tells Jesse to kill Gale as quickly as possible, before Victor can prevent it. Jesse arrives at Gale's apartment before Victor and reluctantly shoots Gale.
During the investigation at Gale's apartment, his lab notes are shown on a table close to his body. Later, an Albuquerque police detective gives Hank copies of the evidence taken from Gale's apartment. After reviewing it, Hank shows it to Walt and Walt Jr. A DVD shows Gale singing karaoke of the song "Major Tom " by German musician Peter Schilling, in front of images of rockets and wildlife, with subtitles in Thai script. Although Hank believes Gale to be the meth chemist known as "Heisenberg", Hank is affected by his culture and nerdiness, reflecting that such a "big brain" could have contributed to humanity if applied to something good. As Hank investigates Gale and discovers Gus's fingerprints inside the apartment, he begins to suspect Gus of being connected to the meth trade. Hank finally realizes that Walt is Heisenberg after finding a book of Whitman poems at Walt's house and seeing that the "W. W." dedication matches the tone and handwriting Hank observed in Gale's lab notes, with "W. W." standing for both Walt Whitman and Walter White.
Duane Chow
Duane Chow is the owner of Golden Moth Chemical, an industrial chemical manufacturing company that supplies chemicals to Gus's drug empire. During Gus's conflict with a Mexican drug cartel in Ciudad Juárez, the cartel enforcers come to Chow's offices and hold him hostage. Chow's captors are later killed by Mike, who shoots Chow in the hand for not telling Gus about the situation. After Gus's death, Chow starts being questioned by the DEA, as he was on Gus's payroll at the time of Gus's murder. Chow is also on the list of eleven men whom Lydia suggests that Mike kill before they can make a plea deal with the DEA. Lydia then hires one of the eleven, Chris Mara, to kill the other ten, and adds Mike to the list. Mara starts with Chow, whom he uses to lure Mike into a trap before shooting Chow in the head. Mike thwarts the attempt on his own life after getting from Chris the information Lydia gave him, and then kills Chris.Ron Forenall
Ron Forenall is Mike Ehrmantraut's contact at Madrigal Electromotive's chemical warehouse in Houston. He is in constant contact with Lydia Rodarte-Quayle, who tells him which containers she has taken off the manifests, which he sends to Golden Moth Chemical Company in Albuquerque, which in turn forwards them on to Lavanderia Brilliante and Gus's lab.Forenall is arrested after Hank and Gomez arrive at Madrigal's warehouse in Houston and Lydia identifies him in the warehouse. Forenall later appears as one of the nine incarcerated members of Gus's organization who Lydia lists to be taken out, along with Dan Wachsberger, Mike's attorney who rolls over on them. Forenall is last seen in a hallway when a prison door is shut and he is stabbed to death by the Neo-Nazis.
Barry Goodman
Dr. Barry Goodman is Gus's personal doctor, treating him and Mike after the showdown at Don Eladio's residence. He later informs Mike about Gus's death.He reappears in Better Call Saul as the doctor in a medical clinic for low-income Spanish-speaking patients. Per Gus's instructions, he provides Mike with cocaine to prepare a trap for Hector's smugglers when they cross the border.
Tyrus Kitt
Tyrus Kitt is one of Gus's henchmen. After Victor is killed, Gus promotes him to serve as Mike's second-in-command, monitoring Walt and Jesse's activities both inside and outside the lab. He spots Hector Salamanca leaving the DEA office, incorrectly assuming that Hector has turned into an informant. He is indirectly killed by Hector during the latter's showdown with Gus. He reappears in Better Call Saul, where he and Victor serve as co-muscle for Gus.Chris Mara
Chris Mara is one of Gus's henchmen and Mike Ehrmantraut's errand runners, who runs errands among Fring, the mules, and the dealers. One of his other side jobs is to assist Tyrus Kitt in monitoring who is coming and going through the doors of both the Albuquerque Police Department and the DEA's Albuquerque office.Chris first appears in "Bug," where he is shown taking cover when Gaff opens fire on the operatives at the Los Pollos distribution center, killing one of them while Jesse stands paralyzed. He is later shown among the men looking for Walt when Walt goes into hiding. Chris is watching from his car when Jesse exits the police station, after being questioned about Brock Cantillo's poisoning by ricin, and is seen when Hector Salamanca leaves the DEA office after questioning. He also is the one to drive Gus to the retirement home.
Chris later takes Duane Chow hostage in Chow's own home, forcing Chow to call Mike to come over so Chris can kill Mike. However, Mike sees Chris's car parked in Chow's driveway and senses that this is a trap. Mike outsmarts Chris with a toy on Chow's front door while he sneaks into Chow's house from the back. Chris confesses that since the DEA seized his hazard pay, he took up Lydia's offer that Mike refused: $10,000 for each of the 10 other men on the list, and triple for Mike. Mike then dispatches Chris in the same way that Chris killed Chow.
Dennis Markowski
Dennis Markowski is the former manager of Lavanderia Brilliante, the industrial laundromat which served as the cover for Gus's superlab. Following Gus's death, the DEA incarcerates Dennis, as he is on Gus's payroll at the time of Gus's death. Dennis agrees to keep his mouth shut when Mike ensures that he will still receive his money from the drug empire. When Dennis's funds are confiscated, Dennis, through his attorney, proposes a plea deal to the DEA, but Hank refuses, believing he can get a better deal from one of Gus's other incarcerated henchmen. Dennis is later killed on Walt's orders by several other inmates who pour flammable liquid into Dennis's cell and ignite it, burning him alive.Victor
Victor is Gus's loyal henchman. He appears throughout Better Call Saul from season three onward with Gus's introduction to the story, acting as Gus's bodyguard and enforcer along with Tyrus.Within Breaking Bad, he first appears as an apparent fellow customer in Los Pollos Hermanos, when he suddenly confronts Walter and tersely conveys Gus's non-negotiable offer to purchase Walter's meth and arrange for delivery within the hour. In Season 3, he continues his work under Gus. Gus instructs Victor to give half of the money for Jesse's meth to Walter as a way to convince Walter to cook again. After Walt kills two of Gus's dealers, Walt tells Gus that Jesse is "at least two time zones away." Victor guards the lab at all times when Walter and Gale are present and monitors their conversations. Walt suspects Gus is preparing to kill him and conspires with Jesse to kill Gale, making Walt indispensable as the only remaining cook. Victor picks up Walt from his home, telling him there is a leak in the lab. Walt is greeted by Mike when he arrives and deduces they plan to kill him. Walt begs Mike to spare him, offering to turn Jesse over. Under the pretext of contacting Jesse to lure him to a meeting, Walt convinces Mike and Victor to allow him to call Jesse using his cell phone. However, instead of arranging a meeting, Walt instructs Jesse to kill Gale before Mike kills Walt, leaving Walter as the only chemist available to Gus. Victor races to stop Jesse from killing Gale but arrives too late; he enters Gale's apartment and is seen by neighbors. He then forces Jesse back to the meth lab and watches over him and Walt with Mike until Gus arrives. He reveals that he knows how to cook meth himself from watching Walt and singlehandedly begins preparing a full batch in front of him. However, when Gus arrives, he unexpectedly murders Victor by slicing his throat with a box cutter. Walt, Jesse, and Mike are then forced to dispose of Victor's body using hydrofluoric acid, echoing Walt and Jesse's previous experience with Emilio. Walt later mentions to Jesse that Gus may have killed Victor because he had taken inappropriate liberties and " too close to the sun," as Walt put it.
Dan Wachsberger
Dan Wachsberger is an attorney hired by Mike Ehrmantraut to represent Ron Forenall, Dennis Markowski, and the other seven surviving members of Gustavo Fring's operation running out of the Lavanderia Brilliante in Albuquerque. Wachsberger takes the money from Mike and then deposits it to ten safety deposit boxes at the Cradock Marine Bank in Albuquerque: nine for Gus's surviving guys and their families to use in lieu of their "hazard pay" and one larger box for Mike's granddaughter Kaylee on her 18th birthday.Wachsberger first appears as he and Mike are going through the New Mexico Department of Corrections facility at Los Lunas south of Albuquerque. Dan signs in and tells the attending guard, Darla, that he has brought in his "paralegal" and they have come to see Dennis Markowski. Dan is consistently shown flirting with women, such as Darla and, at the bank, with Dorothy Yobs, whom he routinely lavishes with gifts of sugary baked goods. Dorothy gives Dan access to the safety deposit boxes at Cradock Marine Bank. Eventually, Hank and Gomez discover Mike and Dan's transactions and their safety deposit boxes at Cradock Marine Bank, and Gomez is sent to investigate. Gomez and his agents discover Dan making his routine drops in these boxes, arrest him, and successfully induce Dan to give them Mike.
The next and last time Wachsberger appears, he is in federal lockup at La Tuna near the Texas border outside of Las Cruces, when, on Walt's orders, he is stabbed to death at the same time the nine surviving members of Gus's operation are also killed off, including Ron Forenall and Dennis Markowski.
Mexican drug cartel
Eladio Vuente
Don Eladio Vuente is the head of a drug cartel in Ciudad Juárez which employed Juan Bolsa, Hector Salamanca, and Salamanca's nephews. He first met Gus Fring at a business meeting twenty years prior to the start of the series, where Gus and his partner Max attempted to propose a business deal wherein they would produce methamphetamine for the cartel. Unimpressed by their pitch, Don Eladio had Max executed for manipulating him into a meeting, but spared Gus's life due to an unrevealed past in Chile. At some time in the ensuing few years, he entered into a partnership with Gus, who served as Don Eladio's chief distributor in the American Southwest.Following the deaths of Juan Bolsa and the Cousins, and Gus's subsequent establishment of the superlab, Don Eladio orders retribution through his henchman Gaff, hijacking meth deliveries and killing some of Gus's operatives. Gus agrees to Eladio's demands—the formula for the blue meth, the services of a chemist, and a 50% share in the business—and travels to the cartel's superlab with Mike and Jesse. After Jesse cooks a successful batch, Eladio invites the three to a party at his villa attended by multiple capos of the cartel, toasting their new business venture with a bottle of premium tequila supplied by Gus, and chiding the latter for needing to be kept in line every twenty years. However, shortly afterwards the capos begin to collapse, victims of a poison Gus had put in the tequila. Eladio realizes that Gus has betrayed him, but he collapses dead into the swimming pool before he can take any action.
He reappears in Better Call Saul through a flashback, meeting and ridiculing Hector in his hacienda because of his inferiority to Gus Fring. Eladio has a larger role in season 5, episode 10 of Better Call Saul when he hosts a large gathering at the villa which culminates in the deaths of Eladio’s friends and family.
Juan Bolsa
Juan Bolsa is a high-level member of the Mexican drug cartel to which the Salamanca family and Gus belong. Within Better Call Saul he generally acts as the voice of the cartel to mitigate issues between the Salamancas and Gus Fring, wanting to make sure both are successful in their drug sales to help earn profits for the cartel but often secreting working deals with one side or the other for his own benefit. When the Salamanca's trucking route for smuggling drugs from Mexico is disrupted, Bolsa orders that they will use Gus's trucks instead, indirectly giving Gus more power over the Salamancas. Bolsa intercedes when Gus informs Lalo and himself about the fate of Werner Zeigler, telling Lalo that the cartel considers the matter closed. Similarly, when Lalo Salamanca is seeking to arrange for Jimmy McGill to get his bail money to get out of jail, Bolsa discretely arranges for a squad of gunmen to attack Jimmy, believing that keeping Lalo in prison is in Gus's best interests but unaware that Gus had his own plans.Within Breaking Bad, it is Bolsa who orders Tortuga's execution by The Cousins and later places his head on a booby-trapped tortoise for the DEA to find. He is also the cartel's liaison with Gus, and the one who arranges a meeting among Gus, the Cousins, and Hector to determine how to handle Walter following Tuco's death. Bolsa tells Gus he will urge the Salamanca family to be patient but advises that Gus risks losing favor with the cartel if he does not finish his business with Walter quickly. He goes on to say that he cannot guarantee the Cousins will listen to reason and leave Walter alive until his business with Gus is done. He has forbidden the Cousins to kill Hank, the person who killed Tuco, because DEA agents and other law enforcement officers are usually designated "off limits" since attacking them brings on more police scrutiny and enforcement. Gus secretly sanctions an attack on Hank instead of Walter, resulting in severe injuries to Hank and the deaths of The Cousins. Bolsa meets his end when Gus secretly tips off Mexican federales in Ciudad Juárez, who kill Bolsa as retaliation for The Cousins' attack on Hank. His name, translated literally from Spanish, is John Bag or John Sack; this is a nod to the character John "Johnny Sack" Sacrimoni from the HBO drama The Sopranos. Both characters are high-ranking members of powerful crime families who are very level-headed, well-spoken, and act as intermediaries between their families and others.
Hector Salamanca
Hector Salamanca is the elderly Don who was once a brutal Mexican drug kingpin and an associate of cartel boss Don Eladio. However, a stroke has rendered him unable to walk or speak, and he communicates only by ringing a hotel's front desk call bell attached to his wheelchair. Despite this, he is still of sound mind. He is [|Tuco Salamanca's] uncle, having raised Tuco as a son, along with Tuco's twin cousins Leonel and Marco. Though brutal, Hector is very loyal. He spent 17 years in San Quentin State Prison, never once revealing any information to the authorities. He taught his nephews that family is everything and lives by the creed himself. Hector loathes Gustavo Fring, calling him "chicken man" and a "dirty South American." Likewise, Gus despises Hector for killing Max and goes out of his way to torment the former kingpin by allowing Hector to live while he sees his younger relatives die, one by one.In the season 2 premiere, Tuco kidnaps Walt and Jesse and brings them to his disabled uncle Hector's decrepit shack of a home. Walt attempts to poison Tuco's food with a hidden vial of ricin, but Hector is shown to be of sound mind and he saves Tuco by knocking the food onto the floor. After killing Tuco in a shootout, Hank Schrader takes Hector in for questioning. Hector refuses to cooperate and defecates in his pants, much to the disgust of everyone in the interrogation room. Afterwards, he is sent to a nursing home near Albuquerque.
In season 3, The Cousins sneak into the U.S. to perform a retaliatory killing to avenge Tuco. They visit Hector, their uncle, who gives them Walter White's name. When the hit is narrowly avoided through the intervention of Mike and Gus, The Cousins bring Hector to a meeting with Gus. Gus is able to postpone the hit for the time being by telling Hector that Walt is invaluable to the cartel's methamphetamine operations.
In the season 4 finale, Walt is able to convince Hector to help him lure Gus into the open. Hector meets with Hank Schrader at the DEA building under the guise of becoming an informant. Walt's ploy works when Tyrus spots Hector leaving the DEA building. Suspecting Hector of being an informant, Tyrus alerts Gus. Gus and Tyrus plan to kill Hector during a meeting in his nursing home room and Gus orders Hector to look at him. When a sorrowful-looking Hector finally looks at Gus, Hector's facial expression changes to wrath as he begins repeatedly ringing his bell. Gus realizes that the bell is attached to a bomb under Hector's wheelchair and tries to run, but is caught in the explosion. Hector and Tyrus are instantly killed, while Gus dies a few moments after leaving the room.
''Better Call Saul''
After Mike and Nacho sideline Tuco by provoking him into attacking Mike over a staged fender bender, Hector approaches Mike and offers him $5,000 to recant his testimony that Tuco was carrying a gun, which will reduce Tuco's sentence. Mike refuses, but Hector makes repeated attempts to intimidate Mike into accepting, from having men break into Mike's house to having The Cousins threaten Mike's granddaughter. Mike eventually accepts $50,000 for recanting his testimony.Despite complying with Hector's demands, Mike is not happy about the threats to Kaylee's life and retaliates by attacking an ice cream truck transporting Hector's drug cash. Hector kills a witness who stopped to aid the driver, and later has the Cousins kill the driver and bury him in the desert. While Hector and the Cousins are preparing to kill the driver, Mike attempts to shoot Hector with a sniper rifle, but is stopped by someone unseen, who sets off his car horn and leaves a note warning him not to do it. Mike later learns it was Gus who tracked his location and warned him against killing Hector; Gus intends to take over Hector's drug operation, and believes the time is not yet right.
Hector is in competition with Gus for control of cross-border drug smuggling. The conflict escalates after Mike attacks another of Hector's trucks, this time planting drugs and causing two of Hector's drivers to get arrested at the customs inspection station. Juan Bolsa directs Gus to take over transportation of Hector's drugs, not realizing this is exactly what Gus wants.
After Hector starts planning to take over Nacho's father's business for his own use, Nacho turns on Hector and enacts a plan where he switches out Hector's heart medication for ibuprofen. Hector suffers a stroke while meeting with Gus and Juan Bolsa, but Gus saves him with CPR and he is taken to the hospital.
Gus arranges for a specialist, Dr. Maureen Bruckner, to be flown in from Johns Hopkins in Baltimore to oversee Hector's care. Over the next few months, her therapy regimen restores Hector's mental faculties, but he's unable to speak and he's immobile except for the index finger of his right hand. Gus has her discontinue treatment, effectively trapping his sound mind in his unhealed body.
Tuco Salamanca
Tuco Salamanca is a Mexican drug kingpin, and nephew to Hector. He is unpredictable and prone to violent outbursts, and often gets high on some of the drugs that lead to this behavior. In flashbacks during Breaking Bad, it is shown that Hector often punished Tuco along with the Cousins as kids.When first introduced in Better Call Saul, Tuco is second-in-command of the Salamanca drug family in Albuquerque under Hector. Tuco and his grandmother are inadvertently targeted as part of one of Jimmy's cons along with two skateboarders. Tuco along with Nacho takes Jimmy and the skateboarders out to the desert to kill them but Jimmy pleads for their release. Tuco eventually gives in, breaking one leg of each of the skateboarders as a warning and letting them go, though Nacho recognizes Jimmy as a shrewd lawyer going forward from the incident. Later, Nacho recognizes Tuco's behavior within the Salamancas has become more erratic. Having seen Mike's methods before, Nacho asks Mike if he could help assassinate Tuco, but Mike suggests an alternate plan instead: Mike creates a situation in which Tuco threatens him with a gun in front of the police, resulting in Tuco being charged with assault with a deadly weapon. Hector convinces Mike to claim the gun was his, so that Tuco is convicted on a lesser charge of assault and receives a shorter sentence. However, while in prison, Tuco stabs another inmate and injures a corrections officer, adding more time to his sentence. At the end of season five, approximately four years before the Breaking Bad events, Lalo tells Hector that Tuco has roughly a year left on his sentence.
At the start of events of Breaking Bad, Tuco is one of the first major drug deals that Walt and Jesse approach to sell their product. After Walt and Jesse witness him brutally assault and murder one of his henchmen, they plan to poison him by coating their next delivery of meth with ricin. The Drug Enforcement Administration raids Tuco's headquarters before they can execute their plan. Tuco then carjacks Jesse and kidnaps him and Walt, suspecting they reported the murder to the authorities.
Tuco forces Walt and Jesse into Jesse's trunk, and drives to the remote desert house of his uncle, Hector, who cannot walk or speak due to a previous stroke. He reveals that his cousins Leonel and Marco are coming to the house to take them all to Mexico, where Walt will cook his blue meth for the cartel. Thinking Hector is unaware of his surroundings, Walt sprinkles Tuco's food with ricin while Tuco is not looking, but Hector foils the plan. Tuco realizes what Walt intended and attacks Jesse while threatening to kill him with an M16 rifle. During the ensuing scuffle, Jesse shoots Tuco in the abdomen.
Hank arrives, having followed the LoJack signal of Jesse's car in the belief that Jesse is selling marijuana to Walt. Walt and Jesse hide nearby and see Tuco stagger to Jesse's car, recover his rifle, and fire at Hank. Hank returns fire with a Glock pistol and kills Tuco. Hank's DEA colleagues present him a paperweight embedded with Tuco's grill as a trophy, which he initially prizes but later throws into a river in disgust.
Leonel and Marco Salamanca
Leonel and Marco Salamanca, referred to as "The Cousins", are hitmen for a Ciudad Juárez Mexican drug cartel. Their austere, mechanical physicality and virtually non-verbal interaction makes them a fearsome presence and they kill without hesitation or emotion. Leonel and Marco's killings included the decapitation by machete of Tortuga, whose head was then attached to a tortoise as part of a bomb which inflicted casualties on several DEA agents. As children, the Cousins were raised by Hector Salamanca, who once tested them when he stopped a boyhood fight by nearly drowning Marco, which forced Leonel to hit Hector to make him release his grip. After Marco caught his breath, Hector reinforced the lesson that "family is all."In Better Call Saul the Cousins serve as Hector's enforcers. They are first shown threatening Mike's granddaughter Kaylee when Mike refuses to recant his testimony against Tuco. When Mike is waiting to shoot Hector from a hilltop with a sniper rifle, he sees Leonel and Marco kill the Salamanca's ice cream truck driver and drug smuggler Ximenez Lecerda, who Mike had robbed a few days earlier. When Hector suffers a stroke, a result of taking placebo medication that Nacho had planted instead of his nitroglycerin pills for his heart condition, the Cousins quickly arrive to watch over Hector at the hospital and refuse to leave his side. Gus, who has a vested interest in deciding Hector's fate as revenge for Max, arranges for a skilled therapist fluent in Spanish to see to Hector's recovery and explain his health to the Cousins. Separately, Gus learns what Nacho did with the pills, and forces Nacho to become his mole. To establish this story, Gus kills Arturo the next time he and Nacho come to pick up the Salamanca supply of drugs, and has their car driven to the remote desert and fired repeatedly into it, and then critically wound Nacho to make it look like a rival gang attacked and stole the drugs. Nacho calls the Cousins for help, who come to destroy the evidence, take Nacho to Dr. Caldera for immediate help, and then attack the headquarters of the rival drug gang to recover the "stolen" drugs that Gus has planted there. As their activities have drawn police attention, the Cousins return to Mexico. This gives Gus the opportunity to dismiss the therapist and leave Hector in a state where he can only move his eyes and his right index finger.
In Breaking Bad, following the death of their cousin Tuco, Hector summoned them to New Mexico to kill Walter. En route to being smuggled into the US, they hid with other undocumented immigrants in the back of a hay truck, and killed the entire group when one recognized them by their silver skull boot tips. The Cousins quickly tracked Walter to his house and were waiting inside to kill him when Mike informed Victor of their presence. Victor told Gus, who contacted the cartel. The Cousins then received a text message telling them to abort, so they left without Walter knowing they had been there. Although Gus gave them permission to kill Walter after Gus's partnership with him ended three months later, Gus was warned that the Cousins would probably ignore the arrangement. Mike later found outside Walt's house a chalk drawing of a scythe, which he believed the Cousins have left to send the message that their murder of Walt was imminent.
Gus redirected the Cousins by telling them Hank killed Tuco, and he told them they had his permission to kill Hank even though the cartel refrained from killing law enforcement officers, because that would draw undue attention to their activities. Leonel and Marco moved to kill Hank, but Gus anonymously warned Hank just before the confrontation. Aware of the threat, Hank saw Leonel advancing on him and backed his car up quickly, trapping Leonel between his car and another, which crushed Leonel's legs. Marco opened fire on Hank, who escaped out the passenger side door and crawled away. Marco strode after Hank, shooting and killing a passerby who surprised him, while another bystander escaped the same fate when Marco stopped to reload. Hank then surprised Marco from behind and shot him in the chest four times, but all four bullets were stopped by Marco's bulletproof vest. Marco shot Hank twice in the chest, but rather than finish him off with another shot, Marco returned to his car for an axe. Hank took advantage of the pause to load Leonel's empty gun with a hollow-point round that Marco had dropped next to him. When Marco re-approached Hank, Hank killed him with a shot to the head.
To silence Leonel while he was in the hospital following his leg amputation, Gus distracted the police assigned to the security detail by bringing them food from Los Pollos Hermanos, giving Mike the opportunity to sneak into Leonel's room and administer a lethal injection. Leonel died, and Mike quietly disposed of the syringe he used, unnoticed by the police officers nearby.
Gaff
Gaff is a member of Don Eladio's drug cartel. He is first seen coordinating the hijacking of a Los Pollos Hermanos truck that is transporting drugs and killing the guards inside by filling it with engine exhaust fumes. Gaff serves as the cartel's representative in a sitdown with Gus, where he rejects Gus's offer of $50 million to cut all ties and informs Gus there will be no negotiation, only an ultimatum to deliver the formula for the blue methamphetamine. Later, Gaff kills one of Gus's men with a sniper rifle at the chicken farm but stops shooting when Gus presents himself as a target and agrees to negotiate with Eladio. Gaff is present when the cartel is poisoned; Mike garrotes him as he checks on the ill Eladio.Gonzo
Gonzo is Tuco Salamanca's brother-in-law and one of his lieutenants. He dies while moving No Doze's body from under a stack of cars in a junkyard; the stack shifts and catches his arm under it, partially severing it and causing him to bleed to death. When Walter and Jesse learn he is dead, they incorrectly assume that Tuco is killing any witnesses to No Doze's murder, and fear for their own lives. Later, when Tuco finds Gonzo is not returning his calls, he falsely believes Gonzo is working as a police informant.No Doze
No Doze is one of the head lieutenants in Tuco's drug organization. Tuco beats him to death for telling Walter and Jesse, "Just remember who you're working for," which Tuco takes as an insult to his intelligence and an encroachment on his authority.Tortuga
Tortuga is an informant for the DEA in El Paso on the inner workings of the Mexican cartels. Cartel operatives cut off his head and place it atop a tortoise with "HOLA DEA" written across its shell. A hidden bomb in the head then explodes, killing the tortoise and a DEA agent, and severely injuring several of the DEA agents and Mexican policemen on the scene. Hank is physically unharmed as he was far enough from the explosion, but later develops post-traumatic stress syndrome. It is later revealed that Tortuga was beheaded with a machete by Tuco's cousins Leonel and Marco Salamanca under Juan Bolsa's direct order.Independent drug traders
Declan
Declan is a meth dealer who operates in Phoenix, Arizona. Mike attempts to sell Declan the methylamine stolen in the train robbery, but Walt suggests that Declan buy out Mike and Jesse, then take over distribution of Walt's methamphetamine in return for 35% of revenue, revealing that he is Heisenberg, the mysterious meth cooker whose product is renowned for its exceptional purity. After Walt stops producing meth, Lydia's customers express dissatisfaction with the product, so Lydia tries to convince Declan to replace his meth cook with Todd. Declan refuses, so Lydia arranges for Jack's gang to kill Declan's whole crew, take the remaining methylamine, and continue production with Todd as the cook.Emilio Koyama
Emilio Koyama is Jesse's former partner in the meth business and Krazy 8's cousin. According to Jesse, they met when they were still in elementary school. In the "Pilot" episode, Emilio is arrested during a DEA raid on a house in which the DEA is looking for a meth supplier who goes by the street name "Captain Cook". As Jesse proposes Krazy-8 to manage the distribution of the superior quality methamphetamine he produced with his new partner, he realized that Emilio made bail. Suspicious that Jesse ratted him out to the police, Emilio and Krazy-8 force Jesse to lead them to his new partner. Emilio recognizes Walter from the time of his arrest and suggests killing both Walter and Jesse. Walter convinces them to spare their lives if he teaches them his meth formula. While the three are in the RV, Walt deliberately causes a chemical explosion and flees, trapping Emilio and Krazy-8 inside the RV with deadly phosphine gas. Emilio dies and Jesse subsequently disposes of his body by dissolving it in hydrofluoric acid, albeit disastrously as it also dissolves Jesse's bathtub.Domingo Molina
Domingo Gallardo "Krazy-8" Molina is a meth distributor associated with his cousin Emilio and Jesse Pinkman and is the main antagonist of the first half of Season One. Unbeknown to Walter and Jesse, Krazy-8 is a DEA informant, who acquired the customers of the dealers he ratted out. Krazy-8 becomes suspicious of Jesse when Jesse attempts to sell him a new product after Emilio's arrest, and Krazy-8 forces Jesse to take him to Jesse's new partner. Krazy-8 and Emilio suspect Walter is involved with law enforcement and appear intent on killing him until Walter offers to teach Krazy-8 his drug formula. While mixing chemicals, Walter creates a small explosion that produces phosphine gas which appears to kill both Emilio and Krazy-8. Emilio dies, but Krazy-8 regains consciousness, prompting Jesse and Walt to imprison him in Jesse's basement for several days as they ponder what to do with him. Walt begins to bond with Krazy-8, who has regained his health, feeding him and sharing beers, and attempts to rationalize freeing him, but strangles him with a bicycle lock upon realizing that Krazy-8 plans to attack him with a concealed piece of a broken crockery. Later in the episode, it is implied that Walter disposed of Krazy-8's body with hydrofluoric acid in the same manner as Emilio's. From that point on, throughout the series, Walt makes sandwiches without bread crusts, adopting Krazy-8's manner of eating sandwiches.Krazy-8 also appears in Better Call Saul as part of the Salamanca drug ring. Initially one of the dealers, he takes on a lieutenant role under Nacho after Hector Salamanca suffers a stroke and becomes paralyzed, and continues in this position when Lalo Salamanca arrives from Mexico to oversee operations. Lalo is the one to have given Domingo the nickname "Ocho Loco" based on a bad poker hand he played during one of their games. Krazy-8 is arrested when one of the Salamanca drug houses is discovered by the local police, leading Nacho to seek Jimmy McGill's legal services to help free him. Jimmy, as Saul Goodman, creates a ploy that draws Hank to see Domingo, and through Saul's machinations, secures Domingo's release by assuring that he will be Hank's CI.
The fourth-season character Max Arciniega shares his name with the actor who portrayed Krazy-8.
Jack Welker
Jack Welker is Todd's uncle and the leader of a white supremacist gang. Walter pays Jack to kill Mike's crew after they are arrested, because Walt fears they can identify him as a member of Gus's operation and may enter into plea bargains since the DEA has stopped the payments Gus had arranged for their families. Jack's gang kills nine of Mike's men and their lawyer Dan Wachsberger in three prisons, within two minutes, which prevents any of them from warning the others or law enforcement authorities from adding extra protection. Jack also heads his gang's massacre of Declan's at Lydia's behest after Declan refuses Lydia's request to replace his shoddy meth cook with Todd.Jack and his crew are later hired by Walter to kill Jesse in exchange for teaching Todd to cook meth one more time. When Walter is lured to the money's location by Jesse, he calls Jack's crew for help, but calls it off when he sees Hank and Gomez are with Jesse. Nonetheless, Jack and his crew arrive and engage in a shootout with Hank and Gomez. Following the shootout, in which Gomez is killed, Jack murders Hank and abducts Jesse. Jack then orders the gang to dig up Walt's barrels of money, but at Todd's behest he leaves Walt alive with one barrel.
When Walter arrives at his hideout and remotely activates an M60 machine gun, the massive bullet spray kills Jack's henchmen, except Todd who manages to duck in time, fatally wounding Jack as well as Walter himself. Jack, despite his critical condition, still attempts to leverage Walter's remaining money, but Walter coldly shoots him mid-sentence with his own gun, in the same manner that Jack shot Hank.
Jack's gang includes his second-in-command Kenny, as well as Frankie, Lester, and Matt.
Jesse's friends and family
Andrea Cantillo
Andrea Cantillo is a love interest of Jesse Pinkman's. She is a recovering meth addict and single mother to a young son named Brock. Jesse meets her at a drug addicts' support group meeting and initially tries to get her to relapse so she will become a customer of his, but he reverses course when he learns she has a young son to care for. He engages in a romantic relationship with her, but ends it when he discovers that the 11-year-old boy who killed his friend "Combo" is her younger brother Tomas Cantillo. After the break-up, she confronts Jesse at his home about a large sum of money he had left for her at her home. He tells her the money is for her to move out of her bad neighborhood and to help raise her son. Saul continues to deliver money to her, in her new home, on Jesse's behalf. In Season 4, she and Jesse reunite. When Brock is poisoned, Jesse rushes to the hospital and stays there until the doctors notify him that Brock will survive. In Season 5, Walt manipulates Jesse into leaving her, by advising Jesse that he would have to be honest with her about all the crimes he has committed. While Jesse does send them off again, he continues providing for them financially. Later in the season, Andrea is again contacted by Walt in a failed attempt to lure Jesse out of DEA protection. Walter assigns Jack to watch over the house in case Jesse makes an appearance. Subsequently, Jack uses her as leverage against Jesse, who is kept prisoner by him and his team to cook meth for them. After Jesse attempts to escape from Jack's gang, Todd shoots and kills Andrea while Jesse is forced to watch.Brock Cantillo
Brock Cantillo is Andrea's eight-year-old son. Andrea is a recovering meth addict and single mother. Jesse meets her at a drug addicts' twelve-step program meeting and initially tries to get her to relapse, so she will become his customer, but he reverses course when he meets Brock and realizes she has a young son to care for. Jesse engages in a romantic relationship with Andrea, but ends it when he discovers that the 11-year-old boy who killed his friend "Combo" is her younger brother Tomas Cantillo ; however, Jesse continues to offer financial support to Andrea and Brock.In Season 4, Andrea and Jesse reunite. When Brock gets sick, Jesse rushes to the hospital, and warns the doctors about a possible ricin poisoning, then stays there until the doctors notify him that Brock will survive. Jesse fears Brock was poisoned by a ricin cigarette Jesse was carrying. Walt tries to convince Jesse that Gus poisoned Brock. This manipulation by Walt renews Jesse's loyalty to him rather than to Gus. In the final season's episode "Confessions" Jesse suddenly changes his mind about leaving town and assuming a new identity when he realizes Walt poisoned Brock. Jesse then rushes to Walt's house and attempts to burn it down, but is intercepted by Hank.
Subsequently, Brock and Andrea are used as leverage against Jesse, who is kept prisoner by Todd and Jack's gang to cook meth for them. After Jesse attempts to escape, Todd shoots and kills Andrea while Jesse is forced to watch. Then Jesse is threatened with Brock's death if he attempts to escape again.
In , Jesse writes a letter to Brock as he prepares to leave for a new life in Alaska with Brock being the only person he shows any interest in communicating with. After reading the letter, Ed promises to mail it next month when he is in Mexico City, ensuring that Brock will get it and that it cannot be traced back to Jesse in Alaska.
Jane Margolis
Jane Margolis is Jesse's attractive neighbour, landlady, and lover. She is a prolific drafter, a skill that she has used to become a tattoo artist despite not having any tattoos. She is also a recovering drug addict. She discovers that Jesse also has a past interest in drawing, and they become intrigued by each other. They quickly become a couple, and she relapses into drug addiction, introducing Jesse to heroin. She later phones Walt and successfully threatens to expose him if he refuses to give Jesse his share of money from a major methamphetamine deal with Gus Fring, a deal that Jesse's drug use had nearly ruined. After Walt drops off Jesse's cut of nearly half a million dollars at his duplex, she and Jesse discuss running away together to New Zealand to start new lives. They go into Jesse's bedroom and see the heroin, but instead of throwing it away as they had promised themselves earlier, they get high and fall asleep. That night, Walt returns to the apartment and finds the drugged-out couple unconscious in bed. In the process of trying to wake Jesse from his stupor, Walt accidentally turns Jane onto her back. She begins to vomit while asleep, and Walt silently stands at the bedside watching her choke and then asphyxiate to death. Series creator Vince Gilligan explained Walt's motive for allowing Jane to die during a 2013 panel discussion about Breaking Bad at the Film Society of Lincoln Center, stating that Walt was afraid Jane's bad influence would lead Jesse to an early death from heroin overdose.Jane's death leads to significant repercussions throughout the rest of the series, and is largely responsible for Jesse's downward spiral in the first half of the third season, as well as her father Donald's deep depression which affects him to the point that he fails in his duties as an air-traffic controller and causes a midair collision between a 737 and a King Air 350. In the episode "Fly", while under the influence of sleeping pills, Walt is tormented by his guilt over his inaction the night of Jane's death; he reveals to Jesse that on the same night she died, he unknowingly met her father in a bar, and questions the statistical improbability of that sequence of events, but stops shy of revealing his involvement. Walt finally reveals the full extent of his role in Jane's death to Jesse in the series' ante-penultimate episode, "Ozymandias", as a final blow after he ordered Jack to kill him, deeming him responsible for Hank's death and the loss of his fortune.
Jane appears in a flashback in , reminding Jesse that sometimes the universe takes people towards bad places, and despite her freespirited nature she considers it better to make life's important decisions by yourself.
Brandon Mayhew
Brandon "Badger" Mayhew is Jesse's friend. Despite being on probation, Badger still uses drugs. He had a job as a mascot for a bank, advertising on the street. During Season 1, Badger leaves the job to briefly team up with Jesse in order to cook crystal meth. However, disagreements between the two soon occur, and they bitterly part ways. In Season 2, Badger and Jesse reconcile, and he helps clear the meth lab from Jesse's basement and assists in hiding Jesse's RV to avert police suspicion. Walt and Jesse later employ Badger to sell their product, but he is soon arrested, causing complications. Once released, Badger flees New Mexico to lie low in California for a while. After Badger returns to New Mexico, Jesse takes advantage of him by easily persuading him to start selling for them again. Later, Badger appears at a Narcotics Anonymous meeting with Skinny Pete, informing a group of recovering drug addicts that "Blue Sky" is back in town with the intention of finding new buyers. Soon, he and Skinny Pete begin to find the meetings helpful and continue to attend regularly. Badger helps Jesse several more times over the series, and is in attendance at Jesse's house party, which lasted several days. He is also the lead singer for a band with Jesse called TwaüghtHammër. Badger is a science fiction fan and discusses an idea for a Star Trek script at length in the episode "Blood Money." He and Skinny Pete help Walt threaten [|the Schwartzes] in the series finale, "Felina", by holding laser pointers to imitate sniper rifles.Badger, along with Skinny Pete, appear in, helping Jesse hide for a night and to distract the police to give time for Jesse to escape. In particular, Badger drives Skinny Pete's car to the Mexico border while letting Jesse take his own car as Skinny Pete claims that "no self-respecting outlaw would be caught dead in that car." Jesse drives Badger's car throughout the remainder of the movie until he is taken by Ed to Alaska to start a new life.
Skinny Pete
Skinny Pete, real name Peter, is Jesse's friend. He served time in prison with Tuco and introduces him to Jesse. Jesse recruits Skinny Pete to deal meth, although Pete is on probation. When Pete is mugged by two addicts, Jesse is forced to get the money and product back. After Badger is arrested and Combo is killed, Pete quits dealing for Jesse, fearing being sent back to prison and for his own safety. He decides to sell meth for Jesse again, albeit on a smaller scale. He attends Narcotics Anonymous meetings with Badger. After following the program together and staying clean, they relapse when Jesse tempts them with meth. After a few days of heavy meth use they leave Jesse's house. In the Season 5 episode "Hazard Pay," Skinny Pete is shown to be a talented pianist as he plays a small section of C.P.E. Bach's Solfeggietto at a music store. He is also seen in the mid-season premiere "Blood Money," hanging out at Jesse's house and listening to Badger's Star Trek script.Skinny Pete is seen briefly in the series finale, having been hired by Walt to use laser pointers to imitate sniper rifles when Walt threatens Gretchen and Elliot should they decide to not take his money and give it to his children. The two are also the ones who tell Walt that indeed his trademark blue meth is still circulating, as pure as when he was producing it with Jesse, indicating that Jesse is still alive, something Walt did not know.
Pete, along with Badger, appears in El Camino, helping Jesse hide for a night and attempt to get rid of Todd Alquist's car. When the Lo-Jack is activated on the car, Pete has Badger take Pete's car to the Mexico border, the opposite direction Jesse is traveling in. At the same time, Pete takes the El Camino and Jesse takes Badger's car which Pete says no self-respecting outlaw would be caught dead in. Pete explains that he'll tell the police that Jesse came to him for help and they traded pink slips on their cars, explaining why Pete now has the El Camino. Pete gives Jesse his trademark hat to help him avoid detection, and when Jesse asks why he's helping, he says Jesse is his hero but it is hinted he is driven by guilt over taking Walter White's money in Felina. Pete is last seen in the film moving the El Camino to his driveway to await the arrival of the police.
Before the release of El Camino, Netflix dropped a teaser trailer of the DEA interrogating Pete on Jesse's whereabouts. Though it was not used in the film, several critics speculated after the premiere that the scene likely occurred after Skinny Pete parted ways with Jesse, making this his final chronological appearance.
Christian Ortega
Christian "Combo" Ortega is Jesse's friend and a dealer of Jesse's methamphetamine. He is also revealed to have been the one who originally owned the RV that Walt and Jesse cooked meth in, which Combo had sold to Jesse for $1,400 without his family's knowledge, which provides a big clue for Hank when tracking down "Heisenberg."Combo is later killed in "Mandala" when a rival drug group corners him while he is dealing methamphetamine on "foreign turf." Combo calls his friend Skinny Pete to report two men are "mad eyeballing" him. As he hangs up the phone, a kid on a bicycle shoots him several times, killing him on the street. Combo's death drives Jesse to spiral into drug addiction. Jesse eventually learns that the kid is Tomas Cantillo, the little brother of his new girlfriend Andrea and that Combo was murdered as part of a gang initiation. Jesse subsequently seeks retribution upon the dealers for Combo's murder and the murder of Tomas, putting him at odds with Gus Fring.
Adam and Diane Pinkman
Adam Pinkman and Diane Pinkman are Jesse Pinkman's parents. Due to Jesse's drug abuse, they have a strained relationship with their son, kicking him out of his late aunt's house after discovering a makeshift meth lab in the basement. Adam and Diane renovate the home, preparing it for sale. Unbeknownst to them, Jesse works with Saul Goodman to reacquire the home. Claiming to represent an anonymous buyer, Saul presents an offer significantly under market value. Offended, the Pinkmans begin to leave the negotiating table. As they are leaving, Saul mentions that the home used to host a meth lab, which is not revealed as required in the property disclosures. Realizing that the home price will plummet and they may be sued, Adam and Diane Pinkman reluctantly accept Saul's offer.On the closing date, Jesse visits his parents at the newly renovated home. When Jesse heads to the front door, Diane tells Jesse that the house has been sold, and that he needs to leave, as the new owners will be stopping by shortly. When Jesse does not stop, a confused Mrs. Pinkman asks where he is going. Jesse reveals that he is the new owner.
The Pinkmans appear in El Camino, requesting in a news interview that Jesse turn himself in. Knowing his parents are probably being monitored by the police, Jesse calls, indicates a willingness to turn himself in, and asks them to pick him up. Before hanging up, Jesse tells his parents they did their best when raising him, and the life he has led and the problems he has caused are his fault, not theirs. After his parents leave, Jesse's call is revealed to be a ruse to draw them and police away from the house. Jesse enters unobserved and recovers two handguns from his parents' safe, a Colt Woodsman and an Iver Johnson Hammerless.
Jake Pinkman
Jake Pinkman is Jesse's younger, over-achieving brother. Jesse accepts the blame for a joint belonging to Jake, which results in Jesse being thrown out of his parents' house. After apologizing to his brother, Jake asks for his joint back; Jesse responds by crushing it on the sidewalk and informing his brother that the marijuana is of poor quality anyway.In El Camino, when Jesse calls his parents he asks about Jake, and they tell Jesse that Jake is attending a band camp in London. When Jesse attempts to open his parents' safe, he correctly guesses that the combination corresponds to Jake's birthday.
Wendy
Wendy is a meth-addicted street prostitute, who associates with Jesse Pinkman and is featured in the online promotional material as one of Saul Goodman's clients. She helps Jesse maintain an alibi and withstands an intense interrogation from Hank Schrader on Jesse's behalf. Recognizing her loyalty to him, Jesse tries to convince her to help him kill two drug dealers who convinced an 11-year-old boy to murder Combo on Gus's orders. She declines at first, fearing the repercussions, revealing that she has a son whom she needs to protect, but Jesse persuades her to help by drawing a comparison between the murdered boy and her own son. At the last moment, she is spared the ordeal by Mike, who intervenes to take Jesse to a meeting with the drug dealers.She is the central character in the cold open of “Half Measures” where her name is a pun on the song “Windy” by The Association, which plays in the background.
Associates of Saul Goodman
Ernesto
Ernesto is a friend of Jimmy McGill and Kim Wexler from when the three of them were employed in the mail room at HHM. After Chuck McGill told Jimmy that he disapproved of his legal career and did not view him as a peer, Ernesto took over the daily supply run to Chuck's house.After Chuck suspected Jimmy of altering Mesa Verde documents to regain the bank as a client for Kim, Ernesto is enlisted to investigate, eventually finding the 24/7 copy store where Jimmy carried out the alterations. After Chuck is hospitalized from questioning the copy store clerk, Ernesto covers for Jimmy by explaining to Chuck that Jimmy's quick arrival to aid him was because of him calling Jimmy ahead of time.
As part of a plot to get Jimmy disbarred, Chuck manipulates Ernesto into hearing part of the recording of Jimmy's confession to the alterations and informing Jimmy via Kim. After Jimmy breaks into Chuck's house to destroy the tape and is witnessed doing so by Howard, Ernesto is fired for disclosing confidential information.
Huell Babineaux
Huell Babineaux is Saul Goodman's bodyguard, who also executes various intimidation tactics and performs other errands. Hired more for his size and pickpocketing skills than his intelligence, he has a condition approximating narcolepsy, and has digestive problems that keep him from being as stoic as Saul would like. Jimmy McGill hires Huell to plant a cell phone battery in his brother Chuck's pocket as part of Jimmy's defense strategy to discredit Chuck's mental health, as Chuck believes he suffers from electromagnetic hypersensitivity. Jimmy later hires Huell to serve as a bodyguard while Jimmy conducts his business re-selling pre-paid cellular phones. Huell inadvertently assaults a police officer while protecting Jimmy, and is arrested and faces up to two and a half years in prison as a result. As Jimmy is still disbarred for another month, he brings in Kim Wexler to defend Huell, who plans to jump bail and flee rather than go to prison. To get Huell out of trouble, Jimmy and Kim pull a con on the ADA.They forge tens of letters describing Huell as a hero and denouncing his arrest and send them to the judge. The con succeeds in forcing the ADA to accept a plea deal to a lesser misdemeanor, a plea that gets Huell four months probation and time served, ensuring that he does not have to go to prison.In Breaking Bad, Huell and Kuby are sent to intimidate Ted Beneke into paying his IRS debts with the money Skyler gave him, with no intent of actual violence, but Ted falls while trying to flee, leaving him paraplegic. In "Buried", Saul sends Huell and Kuby to collect Walt's money from a storage locker, and in "Confessions", Saul tasks Huell with pickpocketing Jesse's marijuana so Jesse will not be high when he contacts Saul's "disappearer" for a new identity. It is while Jesse is waiting for the disappearer that he realizes his marijuana is gone and understands that Huell had earlier pickpocketed from him the ricin cigarette that Walt had intended for Jesse to use in killing Gus. Jesse's realization that Huell stole the ricin cigarette enables him to understand that Walt must have poisoned Brock in order to turn Jesse against Gus.
Hank and Gomez later interrogate Huell to learn where Walt hid his money, telling him falsely that Walt intends to kill him to ensure that no one can trace Walt's drug-dealing past. They use a staged photo of Jesse, who appears to have been killed with a gunshot to the head, to coax Huell into revealing that he and Kuby packed Walt's money into seven barrels, then loaded the barrels into a rented van. Huell also reveals that the van was so dirty on the outside when Walt returned that they washed it before returning it, implying that Walt's money was buried somewhere in the desert. Hank and Gomez tell Huell to wait until they come back for him, but they are killed and never return, so his fate remains unknown.
Days before the release of , a countdown was shared on Breaking Bad's social media channels. Throughout the countdown, multiple videos were shown of Huell still sitting impatiently in the safehouse, watching the events of "Felina" on the news. Upon the countdown's conclusion, another video was shown of Huell, tired of waiting, saying "screw this", putting on his jacket and eventually leaving the safehouse on his own accord as the title credits of El Camino appear on his television. Though Huell did not appear in the film, it is humorously implied, through this breaking the fourth wall moment, that the length of time he waited for Hank and Gomez to return was long enough for the film to air.
Ed Galbraith
Ed Galbraith, also known as "the Disappearer", is an associate of Saul Goodman who specializes in providing criminals with new identities and new places to live. His legitimate side business is as a vacuum salesman and repairman. Ed helps Saul escape to Omaha, Nebraska.In "Granite State" Ed takes Walter White to New Hampshire, hiding him away in a cabin in a rural area. During Walt's time in hiding, Ed often visits Walt, bringing him supplies and chemotherapy, though he warns that if Walt leaves the location, their business relationship will be over for good. A lonely Walt also takes to paying Ed to spend time with him and play cards.
In El Camino, Jesse approaches Ed for relocation. Ed demands $125,000 to aid Jesse, plus $125,000 for the previous occasion Jesse was supposed to use his services, but failed to appear. Jesse is $1,800 short and Ed refuses to help. After Jesse obtains the money, Ed smuggles him to a car parked near Haines, Alaska and provides him with false identification documents and a cover story. Jesse gives Ed a farewell letter for Brock Cantillo, which Ed promises to mail from Mexico City in the near future, wishing Jesse luck on his new life and noting that not many people like them get a fresh start.
In Better Call Saul, in the flashforward at the beginning of season 5's "Magic Man," Saul calls Ed for a second extraction after a cab driver named Jeff recognizes him. Ed recognizes Saul and agrees to a second extraction, warning that it will cost him double. Saul agrees and Ed sets the extraction at 7:00am on Thursday at the same place he dropped Saul off. After a moment of consideration, Saul changes his mind and tells Ed that he will "fix it myself" instead.
Robert Forster's appearances as Ed in El Camino and Better Call Saul was his final role. He died of brain cancer on October 11, 2019, the same day the movie was released, though he appeared in Better Call Saul as Ed posthumously. Ed is one of only two characters to appear in Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul, and , along with Mike Ehrmantraut. The Better Call Saul episode "Magic Man" was dedicated to Robert Forster.
Francesca Liddy
Francesca Liddy is Saul Goodman's outspoken receptionist and secretary. Originally hired at the Wexler-McGill law firm, she continued to work for Jimmy when he re-branded himself as Saul. She was originally employed at the New Mexico Motor Vehicle Division.Patrick Kuby
Patrick Kuby is one of Saul Goodman's hired hands. He assists in facilitating the car wash sale to the Whites by impersonating an environmental inspector, and later intimidates Ted Beneke with Huell's help. He also aids Walt, Jesse, and Mike in their train robbery and helps Huell collect Walt's money from storage. Before moving to Albuquerque, Kuby was involved in organized crime in Boston.Other characters
Hugo Archuleta
Hugo Archuleta is a former custodian at JP Wynne High School. When Walt had to leave class to vomit, Hugo comforted him and cleaned up after him. After the DEA connects missing school equipment to methamphetamine production, Hugo is one of the initial suspects because of the access his custodial duties afford him. Hugo is soon placed under arrest for possession of marijuana and fired; after a search of his home, more marijuana is found but no methamphetamine or items that could connect him with the meth investigation.Ted Beneke
Ted Beneke is the president and owner of Beneke Fabricators. He gives Skyler back her old job back as his accountant during the second season. Ted has always been attracted to Skyler but does not make any advances after she returns. Ted commits tax fraud to keep the company alive and save everyone's jobs, which he admits to Skyler when she finds irregularities in the company's books. Skyler has an affair with Ted in season three to exact revenge against Walt, but ignores Ted's offer to leave some of her things at his house. When Walt finds out about their affair, he tries to confront Ted, who hides in his office. This escalates into a scene where Walt is escorted out by security guards and the company staff becomes aware of Skyler's relationship with Ted. Skyler gets angry at Ted when he shows up at her house to ask about their relationship, and she later severs both her personal and professional ties with him.In season 4, Ted meets with Skyler, who is now running a car wash, and notifies her of an Internal Revenue Service investigation into his company's taxes. Since Skyler kept the books, she can be linked to Ted's tax fraud, likely placing her entire family under surveillance, so she intervenes by pretending at Ted's meeting with the IRS to be an unqualified bookkeeper hired only for her looks. Her supposed incompetence forestalls a full investigation, provided Ted pays the back taxes and penalties. Skyler arranges to provide Ted the money by using the proceeds from Walt's meth production to have Saul pretend a long-lost dead relative in Luxembourg left Ted an inheritance. Saul discovers that instead of paying the IRS, Ted leased a new Mercedes and is using the funds to reopen his business. When Skyler urges Ted to pay the IRS first, he refuses, so Skyler tells him the money came from her. Ted still refuses to pay the IRS and Skyler perceives him to be blackmailing her into paying both his tax bill and the costs to reopen his business. Skyler has Saul send two of his men—Huell and Kuby—to force Beneke to write the check to the IRS. They succeed, but Ted panics and attempts to flee, tripping on a loose rug and crashing headfirst into a counter.
At the start of the fifth season, Saul informs Skyler that something happened to Ted, causing her to conclude that he died. Saul tells her that Ted is alive, but hospitalized. When Skyler visits him, she sees that Ted is rigidly sitting upright and wearing a halo brace. Ted tells Skyler he lied to medical personnel and police, claiming his broken neck resulted from an accidental fall, and that because he fears for the safety of his family, he will never mention how the injury occurred. Recognizing that Ted has been intimidated into keeping quiet about the source of his money, Skyler goes along with Ted's perception by coldly replying "Good" to his promise of silence.
Rebecca Bois
Rebecca Bois is Chuck McGill's ex-wife.Tomás Cantillo
Tomás Cantillo is Andrea Cantillo's younger brother.Clovis
Clovis is Badger's cousin who operates a vehicle towing and repair service. When Jesse's RV quits running, Clovis charges him an exorbitant amount to tow and store the vehicle, due to its cargo. Clovis repairs the RV and catches Jesse sleeping in it after Jesse has scaled the fence after being evicted from his home. Clovis orders Jesse to pay for the repairs and property damage and then threatens to sell off Jesse's inventory to cover the repairs, when Jesse claims he cannot furnish immediate payment. Jesse again breaks into the gated lot and drives through the gate without paying for the repairs. He later returns to pay Clovis for the repairs and damages and arranges to store the RV inside Clovis' gated lot for $500 per week. Clovis later sells Jesse a used red Toyota Tercel hatchback. Jesse decides to retrieve the RV, but Walter has warned Clovis that the DEA is looking for it, forcing Clovis to bring it to a junkyard to be destroyed.Louis Corbett
Louis Corbett is Walt Jr.'s best friend. They both attend JP Wynne High School. He frequently gives Walt Jr. rides to school and helps him set up a PayPal account for donations to Walt Jr.'s website.Dr. Delcavoli
Dr. Delcavoli is Walt's physician during the first two seasons. He is said to be one of the top 10 oncologists in the United States.Stacey Ehrmantraut
Stacey Ehrmantraut is Mike Ehrmantraut's widowed daughter-in-law and the mother of Kaylee; Mike's granddaughter.Old Joe
Old Joe is the owner of a local junkyard. He aids Walt and Jesse on several occasions by using his car crusher in addition to sharing his knowledge of the legal limits on police procedure and evidence gathering. He also provides the magnet system used to wipe the evidence from Gus's laptop, and constructs the portable laboratory equipment used in the Vamonos Pest undercover meth lab operation. In , Jesse contacts him in order to get rid of Todd's El Camino, which Joe agrees to do for free. However, Joe discovers that the police just activated the LoJack GPS tracker, causing him to flee, while advising Jesse, Skinny Pete and Badger to do the same thing.Betsy and Craig Kettleman
Besty Kettleman and her husband Craig Kettleman are clients of James "Jimmy" McGill. Craig, a county treasurer, being investigated on the disappearance of $1.6 million in county funds, calls Jimmy for help. They meet with Jimmy at a diner, where Craig's wife is hesitant to hire him. They decide to go to the Hamlin, Hamlin & McGill law firm instead, which angers Jimmy. A few days later, the Kettleman's receive an anonymous tip that their family is in danger. This turns out to be Jimmy, who fears Nacho might hurt the family to steal the stolen cash. The Kettleman's, along with their 2 kids, decide to stage a kidnapping and hide out in the woods. They are found by Jimmy, who finds out they actually stole the $1.6 million. After being told by Jimmy to hire him as a lawyer, they decide not to, and they bribe Jimmy with $20,000 to remain quiet. At a meeting with Kim Wexler, at the HHM firm, the couple is proposed a plea deal that includes a sixteen-month prison sentence, the return of the $1.6 million in embezzled money, and an admission of guilt. Besty suggests taking the case to trial, only to be told by Kim they would lose, and Craig would face a maximum sentence of 30 years. Hesitant that they didn't take the money, Betsy rejects the deal and fires Kim. They once again meet with Jimmy, who they hire, only to be once again told to take Kim's plea bargain. Besty once again refuses, and blackmails Jimmy into helping them, as pleading guilty would result in returning the money, which Jimmy has part of. With the help of Mike, Jimmy manages to find the Kettleman's money, which they deliver to a district attorney. After learning about this, Betsy threatens to have Jimmy arrested. He responds by saying that if they admit to bribing him, they'll both be arrested. After they are told by Jimmy to return to HHM, they accept, not wanting to risk their kids growing up without parents. At HHM, the couple accepts the plea bargain, resulting in Craig going to prison.Group Leader
The Group Leader is a counselor who leads group therapy sessions at Narcotics Anonymous. His actual name is not revealed. He takes a calm, non-judgmental approach to leading discussions and emphasizes that those attending his sessions are there not to improve themselves, but to learn self-acceptance. During an outdoor session at a campfire, he reveals to Jesse and other recovering addicts that in July 1992, while drunk on vodka and high on cocaine, he killed his six-year-old daughter by accidentally hitting her with his car. Jesse, still reeling from Jane's death, asks the Group Leader how can he not hate himself for what happened. The Group Leader responds that self-hatred and guilt stand in the way of achieving true change. The Group Leader is seen again in Season 4, when Jesse returns to a session distraught about killing Gale. During the session, Jesse breaks down and yells at the Group Leader, claiming that his philosophy about "accepting yourself" for making mistakes is wrong and people should be judged for the things they have done. Jesse then asks the Group Leader if he just accepts himself for killing his daughter and admits to the whole group that the only reason he comes to these meetings in the first place is to sell meth to them. He asks the Group Leader if he is okay with that, to which the group leader responds, "No." Jesse retorts, "About time," and leaves the session, never to return.Lawson
Lawson is Walter White and Mike Ehrmantraut's gun dealer. He sold Walt a.38 caliber snub handgun with the serial number filed off, and previously a sniper rifle which Mike intends to use in assassinating Don Hector Salamanca at a remote desert location. Walt purchases an M60 machine gun from Lawson in the restroom of a Denny's. After the purchase he gives Walt the keys to the car that has the M60 hidden in the trunk.Clifford Main
Clifford Main is a partner of the law firm Davis & Main.[|Donald] Margolis
Donald Margolis is Jane's father. He owns the building his daughter managed for him. He sent Jane to rehab once before and goes with her to recovery meetings. Donald becomes furious when he discovers that his daughter is back on heroin, suspecting Jesse is at fault. He nearly calls the police but relents when Jane promises to go back into rehab. Depressed, he goes to a bar and strikes up a conversation with a stranger about the heartache of raising children—that stranger turns out to be Walter White, who has recently been blackmailed by Donald's daughter Jane, although he does not realize the coincidence at the moment. Donald's words inspire Walter to help Jesse get clean from heroin. Walt returns to Jesse's apartment and witnesses Jane choking to death on her vomit while intoxicated on heroin. Heartbroken, Donald is present when the paramedics remove Jane's body and hardly reacts to Jesse's presence. A month later, he returns to work as an air traffic controller while still distraught and causes a mid-air collision of two airplanes just above Albuquerque. The collision kills 167 people—which explains the recurring images in the Season 2 flash-forwards of a burned pink teddy bear floating in Walter's pool. Shortly after the incident, Walter hears via his in-car radio that Margolis is rushed to the hospital after a self-inflicted gunshot wound; however, Walt turns the radio off before Margolis' fate is revealed. Later on, in the episode "Fly", Walter recalls that unlikely sequence of events, telling Jesse about the encounter at the bar, and wonders about the possible meaning of the coincidence.Carmen Molina
Carmen Molina is the assistant principal at JP Wynne High School, where Walt teaches and which Walt Jr. attends. In Season 3, Walt makes an awkward pass at her, resulting in him being placed on an indefinite sabbatical. In Season 5, she has been promoted to principal.Paige Novick
Paige Novick is the senior counsel of Mesa Verde and one of Kim's clients.Bill Oakley
Bill Oakley is a deputy district attorney.Pamela
Pamela is a divorce attorney hired by Skyler in the third season. Skyler confides in Pamela that Walter is a drug dealer, and Pamela urges her to contact the police.Gretchen and Elliott Schwartz
Gretchen Schwartz is Walt's former college chemistry assistant and now co-owner of Gray Matter, a successful pharmaceutical company. A former romantic interest of Walter's, she is married to Walter's former partner and friend, Elliott Schwartz, who created Gray Matter alongside Walt. Gretchen discovers that Walter lied to his family, having told them she and Elliott are paying for his treatment, and is horrified when Walter angrily and bitterly blames her and Elliott for ruining his life. Although she claims that Walter sees it wrong, what actually transpired remains unknown except that Walter left her and his research behind suddenly and without explanation after Gretchen took him to her parents' home for the weekend. Out of pity for Walter, Gretchen later covers for him and states that she did help Walter out on the condition that she would deny it if asked by Skyler. She also adds that the two will no longer be able to continue to "fund" Walt's treatment. When told this, Walter spins another lie in which he claims that he met with Gretchen and learned that she and Elliott have gone broke due to the recession, and hence cut off their financial help. Later, after Skyler's suspicions of Walter having an affair with Gretchen are renewed, Skyler makes contact with Gretchen, who tells her they never paid for any of Walter's medical bills.In the penultimate episode "Granite State", she is seen with Elliott on Charlie Rose. Walter sees the interview at a secluded bar in New Hampshire immediately after calling the DEA to turn himself in. Rose questions them about their association with Walter White, who is now tracked as a criminal. Elliott insists that Walter had nothing to do with the development of Gray Matter, aside from the name. Gretchen adds that the Walter White she knew, not "Heisenberg," is gone. Walter, quietly furious while watching the interview, leaves the bar before the police arrive.
In the series' last episode, "Felina," Walter forces Gretchen and Elliott to give the remainder of his money to Walt Jr. as a donation from their foundation, warning that two hitmen will kill them if they do not give the money to his son.
Rich Schweikart
Richard Schweikart is the co-founder of the Schweikart & Cokely law firm. Rich is the lead attorney for the Sandpiper retirement homes in HHM's lawsuit against the company. He observes that Kim Wexler is both highly skilled and underappreciated at HHM, and offers her a job at S&C, which she declines. Kim later starts a solo practice with Mesa Verde Bank as her only client, but begins to spend more time and effort on pro bono criminal defense cases that she finds more appealing than banking law. She approaches Rich about joining S&C, and becomes a partner in charge of the firm's new banking division, including the Mesa Verde account. Kim devotes increasing time and effort to her pro bono cases, which eventually causes her to quit S&C and her representation of Mesa Verde.Drew Sharp
Drew Sharp is an inquisitive teen living in McKinley County in northwestern New Mexico. In the opening scenes, Drew is on his motorcycle riding around the desert scrub. He finds a tarantula, which he places in a jar; he then hears a train coming down the tracks and sets off to see it, only to encounter Walter White, Jesse Pinkman, and Todd Alquist as they are celebrating their success in stealing the methylamine from the tanker car on the train Kuby helped them stop. Walt, Jesse, and Todd turn off the engine to their pump and discover Drew and his motorcycle on the other side of the trestle. They wave hello to Drew, but Todd then pulls out his pistol and kills Drew in cold blood, to Jesse's dismay.Drew's body and motorcycle are hauled back to Vamonos Pest in Albuquerque, where Walter, Mike and Jesse dispose of them, once again using hydrofluoric acid. Todd keeps the tarantula in the jar. Later on in that episode, KOB Reporter Antoinette Antonio reports on the disappearance of Drew Sharp and how the search for Drew has now expanded beyond McKinley County. The killing of Drew is a critical turning point for Jesse, who ultimately severs his ties with Walter's operation due to his horror and grief at the young boy's death. After Walter belatedly leaves Jesse his share of the buyout money, Jesse seeks Saul Goodman's help to send half of the $5 million to Drew's family, but is rebuffed as such a move would draw the attention of the authorities. The murder of Drew is mentioned in the tape Hank and Gomez make of Jesse confessing to his and Walter's criminal history.
In , it is revealed that Todd kept the tarantula at his apartment.
Spooge
Spooge is a drug addict who steals meth from Skinny Pete at knifepoint. Jesse later accosts Spooge in the latter's home as Jesse attempts to retrieve the stolen drugs or cash payment. Spooge attempts to repay Jesse by breaking open an ATM he has stolen from a convenience store. While attempting to drill into the machine from the bottom, he begins verbally abusing his girlfriend, who tips the ATM, crushing Spooge's head and killing him instantly. Spooge had a son, whose neglect disturbs Jesse as he realizes the dreadful side effects of the drug business. Before leaving he calls 911 and leaves the phone line open to allow the police to trace the call, making sure that the boy will be taken care of, and instructs the boy not to go back inside the house.Manuel Varga
Manuel Varga is Nacho Varga's father who manages an upholstery shop. Nacho has gone to great lengths to prevent Manuel from learning about his role in the Salamanca drug trade, but as Gus starts to undermine the routes the Salamancas used to smuggle drugs into the U.S., Hector Salamanca considers turning to Manuel's shop to use as a drug staging area, forcing Nacho to reveal his role to his father so that his father can refuse the offer; this creates a tension between the two. Later, when Nacho is forced to work as a mole for Gus, he starts preparing new identities for himself and his father so they could flee together. When Lalo Salamanca arrives to take over the Salamanca operation, Gus threaten to kill Manuel unless Nacho becomes Lalo's confidante; Nacho tries to discretely have an associate buy Manuel's shop so that Manuel would no longer be compelled to stay in Albuquerque and move away for his safety. Manuel, however, guesses Nacho was behind the deal, and refuses to sell, and urges Nacho to give himself up to the authorities as to get the protection he may need.Holly White
Holly White is Skyler and Walt's infant daughter and Walt Jr.'s younger sister. Walt is not present for his daughter's birth because he is preoccupied with drug-related business, and he blames Jesse for making him miss the birth. Ted Beneke, Skyler's boss, takes Skyler to the hospital when she goes into labor. Skyler brings the baby on her trip to the Four Corners Monument. Holly is seen learning to walk in Season 5. Holly and her brother spend three months in the home of their Aunt Marie and Uncle Hank while their parents work to determine the state of their marriage. After her Uncle Hank's unexpected death, which causes a nasty fight between Walter and Skyler, Walter kidnaps Holly to "punish" Skyler for attempting to stab him, but later has second thoughts and leaves her at a fire station. She is later returned safely to Skyler. Holly's last appearance occurs in "Felina" where Walter, via a request that is granted by Skyler, holds and embraces her for a moment before he leaves.Bogdan Wolynetz
Bogdan Wolynetz is the owner and proprietor of the car wash at which Walt is employed at the beginning of the series. He is abrasive and rude to Walter, who finds this job degrading and tedious. After Walt is diagnosed with lung cancer in the pilot episode, he angrily lashes out at Bogdan and quits.Bogdan does not reappear until the third season, when Walt and Skyler are trying to purchase the car wash in order to launder Walt's drug money. When Skyler is trying to negotiate the purchase, Bogdan brings up Walt's angry outburst and states that, if Walt wants to purchase the establishment it will cost him $20 million. When Saul suggests that Walt and Skyler could accuse Bogdan of harboring Islamist terrorists in order to force him to sell the car wash, Walt exasperatedly reveals that Bogdan is, in fact, Romanian. Eventually, Walt and Skyler are able to purchase it for $800,000 after Skyler hires Kuby to perform a fake environmental audit on the car wash.
When Bogdan hands the keys to the building over to Walter, he taunts Walter by implying that he needs his "woman" to do things for him. Walter, having been riled up by Bogdan, refuses to let him leave with his first American business dollar which had been framed and mounted in his shop. Subsequently, Walter spends that dollar in the vending machine to buy a can of soda.