How Hank Set Off a Domino Effect That Caused All the Events in Breaking Bad
It turns out that Hank was responsible for creating Heisenberg.
If you watched Breaking Bad, you know that every character plays a crucial role in the unfolding drama. However, a Reddit user brought up one particular character responsible for unknowingly setting the entire chain of events into motion.
If you think about it, you will quickly realize that it's Hank Schrader, of all people, who is guilty of Walter White becoming Heisenberg.
Hank, a DEA agent and brother-in-law to the show's protagonist, Walter White, invites Walt on a ride-along to a drug bust in episode 1. This might seem like a small, insignificant decision, but it’s this very moment that sparks the dramatic and dark path that Walter White eventually goes down.
According to the original poster, civilians are generally not allowed in DEA vehicles. By inviting Walt on this ride-along, Hank was, in essence, breaking the law.
It was during this ride-along that Walt first recognizes Jesse Pinkman, his former student, who later becomes his partner in the methamphetamine production business. Without this fateful encounter, it’s possible that Walt might never have entered the drug trade at all.
However, in real life, there might be an exception in the law for relatives, which would mean Hank wasn't breaking the law after all. But for the sake of the show's narrative, this small act — whether legal or not — was the catalyst for everything that followed.
This small yet crucial decision is basically an adaptation of Newton's Third Law — every action has a reaction. Hank’s decision to bring Walt on the ride-along didn’t just affect Walt’s life; it set off a chain reaction that impacted everyone around them.
From Jesse Pinkman’s tumultuous journey to the tragic fate of various characters, Hank’s one decision reverberated throughout the entire series. It’s a stark reminder of how one choice, however small it may seem at the time, can have far-reaching consequences.
How different would the lives of all the characters in Breaking Bad have been if Hank had never invited Walt on that ride-along? This is a kind of “what if” scenario fans would die to see come true.
Source: Reddit