It's sick how Hank was producing meth all this time and using Walter as his hostage/ in-house chemist. Good thing Walter managed to confess everything.

Hank never seems to care about making the streets safer, it always seems to only care about winning over the other guy.

My read on Hank is that he sees people as very black and white. As good people and bad people. This is why he never considers Walt as a suspect, because he already put him in the good person category. This is why he loses his crap when he finds out it Walt. It’s also why he dosent car about Jesse, beats him and is okay with letting him die. Because he judge Jesse as a bad guy from the minute he had the fake phone call about Marie.

Hank is like if the war on drugs was a person.

Of course Hank was upset, he loved Walt like a brother in law

One theme that makes Breaking bad so amazing is that the characters aren’t good or bad… just different shades of grey

It made sense that Hank would have a huge blind spot to Walter after 20ish years of knowing him.

The whole breaking bad series is about how ego gets everyone killed. Even the main character

Hank sending Jesse to his possible death so he can catch Walt and justifying it by saying Jesse's death would just be more evidence to incriminate Walt is all you need. He's no hero. Edit: Almost everyone missed the point. It's not about who is right or who is wrong. The point is that hank isn't a hero, his actions towards the end proved that he isn't the hero. I'm not going to sit and argue with anyone about it, it's a fact.

Lyle was really the only good guy in the BB universe. He just had to clean that fryer and make it spotless!!!

One of my favorite scenes with Hank is when he brags about the Cuban Cigar to Walt, right after making fun of people who were arrested for Marijuana, it shows you right there, Hank is willing to break laws to bring himself satisfaction, even if it contradicts everything he says and stands for. Seems like a small moment when it happens, but it really does give you a lot of insight into Hank as a person.

Hank is in the end a complex human being. You could say he's a bit of an anti-hero. He's a very flawed person. His motivations aren't always pure, and his actions sometimes even hurt him and the people he cares about. His redeeming qualities ultimately do make him a good guy in the context of the story, mostly the fact that he genuinely cares for his family and never consciously acts against their best interest. That's the difference between him and Walt. Walt claims he's only acting to serve and protect his family, but he actively chooses to ultimately hurt them.

Hank was a great character. In the end, just like Walt, he was willing to circumvent rules both written and unwritten, just to get exacly what HE wanted. He showed that when he tried to lure Skyler into incriminating herself, to get some dirt on Walt that he could present to his superiors. After that, he was willing to let Jesse get killed in order to get to Walt. After all, Jesse was just a "junkie murderer" in his eyes. Hank ended up having no morality beyond what was best for himself... once again, just like Walt.

Hank also took pictures of Tuco's dead friends. It was disgusting behavior from the perceived good guy.

Hank never seemed to care much about the lives of Albequerque's residents or the harms caused by the drug trade. He just liked being a winner and 'busting' the crooks. I always got the impression that if his early life shaked out differently, he would have easily fought on the other side of the drug wars.

Homie outed his father 🤣🤣🤣

A lot of people fail to realize Hank’s own obsession with Heisenberg has led to his demise He passed up the promotion in Texas to pursue a lead on Blue Sky, he was directed by his own superior to drop the Fring case yet he chose to follow up on it Just as Walt had his own ego issues, Hank equally had his own obsession issues

I found out about this ironic parallel between BB and BCS In Breaking Bad, the biggest foe Walt faced was a former employer, Gus Fring, while the death that led to his downfall was his brother-in-law, Hank. In Better Call Saul, the biggest foe Saul ever faced was his brother, Chuck Mcgill, and the death that led to his moral downfall was his former employer, Howard Hamlin.

3:03 is wild out of context

"Causal racism is how you show you care about each other." -this channel

By the end Hank was defending his pride, because he couldn't stomach the fact that Walt did all of this under his nose. An amateur that he ultimately was the reason he even considered selling meth. Walt heard the amount of money an average bust was, and he was all in

We see Hank’s pride and destruction but we never see how depraved he truly is. I think he choose that career as a way to keep his demon locked away.

Just becausse hank has a mexican friend doesnt mean he isnt racist, he clearly holds racist beliefs throughout the whole show

I have news for u, If in law enforcement “casual racism is how you show you care for each other” then it’s an inherently racist institution. So basically u are saying, hank isn’t really a racist, but he has to act like he is, and enforce racist laws, to be a cop…

For mine Hank is Walt’s true nemesis. Right from the start Hank is the centre of attention at Walt’s 50th, he’s everything Walt isn’t because he’s satisfied with his career, content with himself as a man and is happily married to a woman who doesn’t run his life. Walt entertains this idea of Hank as his rival when he confronts him by the pool but isn’t really honest with himself about this. When the two face off outside Hanks garage it’s then that Walt realises his mask has slipped and Hank sees him for who he truly is. All this time though Walt didn’t want Hanks downfall, he just wanted to feel like he was better than Hank and when the latter dies, it sinks in with Walt that his criminal life is irreversible. He deluded himself all this time by thinking he could make meth and never deal with any bloodshed, now that he’s suffering consequences it’s sunk in that his choices have affected his family that cannot be undone.

I agree with this and I always hated how he never grew from his early interactions with Jesse and still viewed him as expendable

Apart from everything everyone else said, Hank brought along Walt, a civilian, while on a Dea operation, he took photos of himself making fun of the corpse of a criminal and had the trashiest paperweight ever. worse than everything else, he shared reserved information with his family, just for the fun of it (Gale's video and lab notes). He brought Junior, a disabled teenager, to see meth addicts and bullied a prostitute in front of him because he wanted to be the cool uncle. This doesn't make him a monster, but it makes him deeply flawed in my book. It's true the thing that mattered the most to him was his ego.

11 minutes of Clif Notes recap of series. 1 minute of original thought.

Hank and Steve going alone to arrest Walt is something that they do in all movies/tv. The heroes always go alone to take out the bad guys. However, I didn't get to hear Steve Gomez do the Wilhelm scream. I feel jipped.

In the end, hank’s gloating over arresting Walt got him and gomie killed. If he hadn’t taken so long to get Walt in the car mocking Walter or calling Marie he would’ve gotten out before jack’s gang arrived

"Hank isnt racist." No he defiently is 😭 If it was just banter with his friend steve then yea, id agree. But hes shown to use slurs outside of his kinship with his friend, often dosent really treat mexicans like people, or well, any criminal by that matter. And yknow were supposed to think that. In one of the scenes in his new job, he does some racist shit. And everyone looks at him weird for it. Racism dosent have to be an evil thing, its just a behavior people slip into. Everyone has that part of them to some degree, and id say hank has it more than the avarage person. I dont think hank like, hates Mexicans, but its extremely clear that he tends to veiw them as criminals and doesnt have much respect for their culture.

3:04 this is where i tapped out 💀 no way bro said this unironically

Finally someone talked about it. Hank had indeed good traits on him, but being on the right side of the law kinda covered who he really was. He's pictured as an aggressive man, who never showed empathy or even respect toward people he considered "lower" than him. He didn't really cared about the consequences his hunt to Walt could lead to Skyler, Walter JR, Marie and especially himself as we see in the end.

I think Hank's disrespectful attitude toward Walt was a major factor that pushed Walt toward crime. He didn't only want money, but also the respect of those around him.

Great video and really sound analysis here! However, I think that it’s important to understand that just because Hank doesn’t attend Klan rallies doesn’t make his behavior not racist. I think it supports your conclusion to understand his casual racism as an extension of his machismo and arrogance. As you say, casual racism is often accepted within law enforcement communities, and I think that contributes to Hank’s characterization as someone who seeks to gain social status without really considering the harm he might be doing to others. Rather than dismissing his behavior as “just part of being a cop”, I think you could strengthen your analysis by understanding it as a different kind of racism.

Vince Gilligan had originally planned to kill both Jesse and Hank by the end of Season 1. Season 1 was originally approved for 9 episodes, but was cut down to 7 due to the WGA strike. Hank was meant to meet his end in Episode 9. Jesse was also meant to die in Season 1 as a way of showing that even the main characters in the series were not safe, but once Gilligan saw Jesse's performance, he knew that killing off his character would be a mistake. Good thing for that strike.

Hank is a typical bully. He treats you like shit and jokes about you while hiding it behind "Oh, I'm just kidding, lighten up!" and gaslighting you.

He was far from perfect, but when you’re surrounded by the rest of those main characters you tend to look like a full-blown saint 😂 I agree that “pride goeth before destruction” was definitely a theme for many characters though, and hank was one of them.

„Hank isn’t a racist, my dad showed me all cops are like that“ is an extremely funny way to gloss over how Hank is in fact a racist but grows at a person over the course of the show

Casual Racism is how you show you care about each other??? Lmfao that has to be the funniest wildest thing ive heard in 2023 lol 😂😂😂 i literally almost choked on my food

Also all those clues were spread across like 2 years and seen by the audience as obvious because we were in on it. We see the whole thing, and we see it as obvious in hindsight too. He was aware of the Salamancas and the cartels, discovered Gus Fring's thing entirely on his own, and eventually did figure out the wild card that had been playing him the entire time, Walter White. He's a very good detective.

Man he racially profiled Hugo, dude is racist, and noting the casual racism in law enforcement (institutions that have a known problem with racism) doesn’t make him not racist ?!

Bro said he’s not a racist, he just uses racists remarks.

“My father is in law enforcement. Casual racism is how they get thru the day” 💀💀💀💀💀

It seemed immediately obvious to me from the pilot episode that Hank's arrogant belittling of Walt as a man who was incapable of taking care of his own family is what triggered everything that transpired in the rest of the series.

Great analysis! I have always felt the same way about Hank. Honestly, the only redeeming characters in the series are Walt Jr and Holly...IMO. When actors, writers and directors can blur all lines between redeeming qualities and abhorrent behaviors you know you have something special.

I think one of the most important things abt the whole series is that NO ONE is a hero per se. Everyone has self-destructive flaws, so that to the extent some play the role of the "good guy", they're far from being a hero - as is the case with most of us in real life. A person can perform a heroic act without otherwise being a heroic person. Just as sometimes bad people do something decent.

“Hank isn’t racist, he just uses slurs and says racist jokes” bro do you hear yourself

“Cops that use racist banter are not racist because my dad’s a cop”. Normally i’d agree with that sentiment in any other career, but american law enforcement isn’t exactly known for their progressive and colorblind tactics. So i think your process that brought you to the conclusion that Hank is not a racist id flawed. Hank can very well be racist (i don’t think he is), there really isn’t enough context in the show to decide for the viewer to make a conclusion on that notion.

Only the poorly educated and highly propagandized to consider Hank a hero.

"Casual racism is how you show you care about each other?" *sigh* That aside, great analysis into a very flawed character.

Casual racism has the word racism in it but i guess somehow isnt racist. Bro definitely also outed the entire police force as casually racist too. Just because people participate in it doesnt make it okay. Especially with cops too, wtf

I love the fact the Hank was kind of what Walt shouldve been. He had all the macho alpha man bravado only to deal with PTSD when I saw action while WW being meek and mild manner ended up becoming a savage.

Kino confirming casual racism is common in the police force 😅

“My family member was in law enforcement, and racism is good ackchually”

"casual racism is how cops show they care about each other" dear God were just in complete denial 💀💀💀

Thank you for making this video! I have felt crazy like I was the only one seeing how Hank was willing to do whatever to catch Walter at the end. So many people were rooting for him at the end but I just got irritated how Hank was cutting corners to get his conviction. While he was right about Mike, he really abused his powers of law enforcement to harass the guy with no evidence. Hank’s gut was not wrong but you can see how that started making him dangerous.

Hawk is the perfect representation of an America cop. Unhinged and wreak less with disregard for living beings

bruh he aint no racist, this is how cops are, just like my daddy

I began watching this series in 2008. I loved Walt from the very beginning WW is still my favorite character. Cranston did a phenomenal job with the role of a lifetime. This series would not be as fantastic as it is without the character of Walter White. Absolutely pure perfection! My favorite series.

a big character flaw within Walt is his pride and his ego, as so eloquently put by Mike. But that's also very much true of Hank, too. Pride cometh before the fall, after all.

Hank is like.. if Tony Soprano was a DEA Agent. Kinda. Hank is kinda similar in many ways emotionally especially toward the end. Yelling, ego, Fatness. I'm gonna keep an eye on that next watch of Breaking Bad and see if it holds up.

I would say Hank’s racist banter isn’t a problem with close friends but with random people and those he is authority over them it’s a problem

Hank showed who he was by how he treated the prostitute in the first season. He never really changed. The difference between him and Walt is the law is (sort of) backing him up. Hes not as corrupt as Walt but he's definitely willing to put other's lives in danger to reach his goals.

THANK YOU! Despite being on the "right" side of the law, Hank was an obsessed glory-seeker just like Walt. His short-sightedness led in a very direct way to leaving his family without a father, Jessie's period of unjust imprisonment and eventual escape, and Walt having the opportunity to die on his own terms.

Casual racism is still racism, needing to put on a front of toughness fpr your racist cop brothers doesnt make a bit ot dofference.

"Im not racist! My partner is Mexican!".... Please....

Bro just admitted institutionalized racism is real 😂

Seriously, the mental gymnastics people go through to defend Hank are astounding. It was pretty clear he was on a power trip throughout the show. And no, I don't care if he was doing it to mask his trauma from the job, that didn't give him a right to be a bully.

“Hank is not a racist” has gotta be the funniest shit I’ve ever heard.

Breaking Bad is one of the greatest, if not THE greatest, drama series of all time. These interesting, complex and nuanced characters are no small part of that. I’ve watched the series so many times and I always get more out of it. Not going to argue with those who disagree, but that’s my opinion. I don’t think they could have chosen a more perfect cast. Such a phenomenal series.

It’s telling that Hank’s first action when he catches Walt is to call his wife to gloat, rather than reacting professionally and following proper procedures. Hank’s ego not only cost him his life, but that of Gomez as well. For that reason alone, Hank is no hero.

The entire BB universe is designed to make you question morality and truth. It doesn't tie up loose ends, characters in this series lie and their lies are never exposed, it's often up to the audience to interpret where someone is being delusional, lying, being honest, where they stand morally. Hank isn't a hero because he does so many things that are sketchy for his own glory and self promotion. He doesn't give a fuck about Jesse, but he makes Jesse think he does so that he can use him to get Walt. He doesn't care about the rules at all, ironically since it's the one thing he should definitely stand for as a law enforcement officer. He's a pretty bad guy, he's not like Walt, but he's more sadistic than Walt is, he laughs at people's misery, including Walt's as he's arrogantly taking him in. All of it is his undoing. He's not an evil man though, Walter has become a truly evil person with some of the things he's done, and that's why Hank's death is still tragic. Hank has never taken someone's life for personal gain for example, he's defended himself, he's beaten people up for selfish reasons, but never murdered someone. You can't forget to see the gray area when you're watching these shows, that's what makes them so great is that in most shows everything is to be taken at face value, but in BB/BCS it's not, and there really aren't any heroes. Everyone's done something pretty fucking awful except for the children like Walter Jr for example.

Thoughtful essay, mostly. I want to empathize that it’s hard to default to the opinion of an internet stranger above your own father. But…. I would consider that maybe it’s not that every single law enforcement member is constantly saying racist things but they’re not actually racist, and consider if the institute of law enforcement may encourage racism. And maybe it leaks out of casual banter and is reflective of a system designed to keep some people on top. This extends to Hank too. I do think your experiences maybe blind you to how Hank’s racism is a huge part of his character and an indicator of the same dangerous tendencies that brought down Walt. I think you got so close to fully understanding his character, and expanded my perception of him, but couldn’t see that detail.

Hank wasn’t upset because he loved Walter, Hank was upset because the entire situation made him look and be the biggest idiot in the room.

I think the literal point that Breaking Bad is making is that nobody is all good or all bad we all have the potential to be both in us and how the events and decisions surrounding our lives can push us 1 way or the other and even people who have never put a foot wrong like Walt under the right circumstances can be pushed all the way to being evil

Ahh yes , law enforcement workplace racist banter , checks out for the police in America, but out of respect for YOU ! & your fawtha for bringing pure kino into this world thank you Mr kino

I haven't thought about hank's acting showing regret for himself laying bloody in the sand but now that I think about his expressions the scene is even more heartbreaking Great video as always! Vince does say that every character breaks bad at some point so I guess I need to rewatch. After I watch the Sopranos again! Maybe watch both 1 episode each and compare

To put simply Hank is the Anti-Hero to Walt's Anti-Villain

Hank was an awesome character, He was actually my favorite character and I felt it when he and Steve where ended. He was a tough SOB.

I relate to hank. Ptsd and panic attacks are horrifying and I always try to be there for people suffering from any mental illness. It's hard.

A character can still be a hero of a story without being a perfect person or a "good guy"

I love how both him and Walt start in completely different places and end in same different places all the while remaining so close to the other

"Hank isn't a racist. I know this because my own dad is a cop, and constant racist remarks are just how cops show they care so much about you!" Listen to yourself, my dude.

i guess real racism must be how law enforcement shows they care about the public. they keep it casual with each other though.

Glad to see some more Breaking Bad videos

Absolutely great video. It's been a while since I finished Breaking Bad, and sometimes it's hard to remember how nuanced the whole thing is. Specially because the majority of Breaking Bad video essays on youtube tend to lean on the morality of Walt's actions and often forget about the other characters, although they are just as complicated.

Hank loved Walter as a brother in law

A true hero , goes home , & gets his fuckin Shinebox - Tywin Lannister

Bro said casual racism lmao

I’m so lucky I grew up in abq and live here I’m 24 and happy I’m reminded of this show every time I drive around town

Casual racism is still racism.

You know such a good point with hank not seeing Walt was the bad guy. It’s like in the departed when Martin sheen heard Matt Damon say “my friends are still coming” but not wanting to think Matt Damon was the rat

Checked out at "my dad's a cop and casual racism is cool"

This video and the comments section reads a lot like a shitpost

hanks racist as so is your cop dad

Now then Kino, how's life treating you over the Atlantic ocean this 2nd day of October, I see you are taking the piss with the dinner break as you couldn't create this one in a single hour! 😂 Seriously though this is another well produced and professionally put together piece but it's your thinking that's the draw and I often think what I would have made of Breaking Bad if you were around back when we 1st ploughed through the entire series. Great stuff once again and many thanks 👍 ☘️

Best Hank video so far. Great job!

Anyone here see all the dark comedy throughout breaking bad? The characters dynamics, walt with hank and jesse are genius at this! It get very dark toward the end though.

I mean i'm still confused how in the very first episode, they say they are looking for someone who calls themselves Captain Cook. Then when walt goes missing, he tracks down Jessie's car and he would HAVE had of noticed the plates saying.....THE CPTN Right? Why does he NEVER EVER think of that later in the show and keep closer eyes on Jessie?