Breaking Bad’s Pilot Gave Away The Story In 10 Minutes – Theory Explained

As intricate and effective a story as Breaking Bad told, one theory says the pilot gave away the whole plot early. Created by Vince Gilligan, who had his first taste of big success as a writer/producer on The X-Files, Breaking Bad introduced the world to Walter White (Bryan Cranston), a high school chemistry teacher who turns to cooking and selling meth after a lung cancer diagnosis suggests he’ll die fairly soon. Walt starts out wanting to leave behind a nest egg for his family, but things quickly spiral out of control.

Over the course of five nerve-wracking seasons, Walt cultivated a criminal empire, getting himself deeper and deeper into the ugly side of life. He may have amassed lots of money, but every dollar seemed to bring with it more problems to deal with. Breaking Bad became an Emmy magnet, especially for stars Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul, and is arguably one of the best dramas to ever grace the small screen.

Way back in Breaking Bad‘s pilot episode, it’s hard to imagine those watching had a clue just where Walt would ultimately end up after deciding to break bad. However, a theory posted (via Reddit) suggests that one of the earliest scenes shown in Breaking Bad‘s debut subtly lays out the basics of the plot to follow. The scene in question sees Walt, prior to his diagnosis, giving his class a lecture on chemistry.

As part of the lecture, Walter White describes the study of chemistry as being a cycle of three things, growth, decay, and transformation. According to this theory though, those three words also describe both Walt’s life up to that point and what’s coming in his future. The growth aspect can either refer to Walt simply growing older or to the growth of the cancer he’ll soon discover is inside him. The decay either references the effect that the lung cancer will have on Walt’s health or the fact that his life has decayed to where Walt was unhappy even before the cancer is found in the pilot episode. His marriage to Skyler has gotten boring, he feels unappreciated at his jobs, and his brother-in-law Hank routinely teases him about his mundanity.

As for the transformation aspect, that also has two meanings according to the theory in question. There’s Walt literal’s transformation from mild-mannered family man to drug kingpin named Heisenberg, but also his emotional changes. His life is no longer boring when he transforms in Heisenberg, and his status in the underworld has given him the confidence he never had before. While many fan theories are far-fetched at best, this interpretation seems pretty spot on, and considering the amount of foreshadowing present on Breaking Bad, feels exactly like something Gilligan and company would’ve thrown in to make repeat viewings more rewarding. It also drives home just how important chemistry is to Breaking Bad, serving as a running theme throughout.

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