Who kills Walter White?
In the dramatic Breaking Bad series finale, Walter White meets his end due to a gunshot wound from a remote-activated M60 machine gun he had set up to kill Jack Welker and his gang. This ingenious but deadly contraption ultimately backfires and speeds up Walt‘s death from terminal cancer.
Walt‘s Journey Towards Death and Redemption
Walter White undergoes a complex transformation over the course of Breaking Bad‘s five seasons. Initially a mild-mannered chemistry teacher searching for a way to provide for his family after being diagnosed with inoperable lung cancer. Walt‘s desperation drives him to begin manufacturing and selling methamphetamine. Partnering with his former student Jesse Pinkman, Walt – adopting the persona "Heisenberg" – enters the dangerous world of drugs.
As Heisenberg gains power and money, Walt becomes more ruthless and willing to do anything – and sacrifice anyone – for control and empire building. His greed and pride obscure the original motive of seeking money for his family. Realizing this path can only lead to more violence, suffering and isolation, the series finale sees Walt seeking vengeance and also a chance at redemption.
Seeking Vengeance Against Jack Welker‘s Gang
After Walt‘s brother-in-law Hank discovers his identity as Heisenberg and gets murdered by Jack Welker‘s neo-Nazi gang, Walt becomes consumed with vengeance. He purchases an M60 machine gun from Lawson, his illegal arms dealer, with the intent to kill Jack and his associates who now control Walt‘s drug money.
Walt constructs an automated mounting system for the M60 integrated into the trunk of his car. He can remote activate this automated firing system using the car‘s key fob, allowing him to rain down hailing gunfire without being in the direct line of fire.
Killing the Neo-Nazis, Saving Jesse
Walt drives his rigged vehicle to the neo-Nazi compound where Jesse is being forced to produce meth. Parking strategically, Walt meets with Jack, demanding they release Jesse in exchange for showing them where he buried $80 million in drug money in the desert.
As Jack refuses and orders Walt‘s murder, Walt flips the remote car key in his pocket. The car trunk pops open, the M60 begins wildly firing hundreds of rounds per minute. The hail of bullets massacres Jack‘s entire crew as they sit paralyzed at the negotiation table. Jack is wounded but alive.
As the smoke clears, Walt sees that he too has been wounded – struck by a stray M60 round to the abdomen. But filled with focused hate, Walt struggles over to Jack and strangles him with his handcuff chains in a symbolic act of vengeance for Hank.
Walt then finds Jesse, imprisoned underground in a meth lab. In his final redemptive act, Walt throws down the controls to Jesse‘s suspended cage – freeing Jesse before security arrives, telling his former partner to leave and "do what you do best." This last-second freedom for Jesse is Walt‘s only sliver of atonement for the suffering he has caused.
Walter White‘s Death
Bleeding from the abdomen and knowing the police are imminent, Walt ambles through the meth lab examining the equipment. He reverently touches a gas mask and stainless steel tank – call backs to his early meth cooking days with Jesse wearing gas masks in the RV. Despite not needing the money, Walt couldn‘t stop doing what he was best at. He found purpose in his transformations to Heisenberg.
Walt then collapses onto the floor, succumbing to the gunshot wound as police arrive on scene. Lydia calls Todd on the phone, but Walt picks up, dramatically revealing that he has poisoned Lydia using ricin he had intended for himself. Walter White ultimately died from the M60 bullet on September 7, 2010 – his own 52nd birthday.
A Cautionary Tale of Greed andChoices
Walter White is killed by figurative monsters of his own creation. His desperation and ruthlessness spawned a dangerous drug empire, turned friends into enemies, and caused the death of so many people Walt cared for. The automated M60 machine gun Walt used to kill others ended up taking his own life.
Breaking Bad serves as a complex morality tale about choices and consequence. Society often glorifies figures who achieve power at any cost. But the rise and fall of Walter White shows no empire gained through ruthlessness lasts long. And no matter how small at the end, everyone has a choice and chance to change direction towards redemption.
