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Walt never became a heavy hitter the same way Scarface did

posted 8 years ago by iAmTheOneWhoKnocks
11 replies | jump to latest

Which is what Vince has been billing his show as since the beginning. I wanted to see him in an office and giving orders to his men. I wanted to see them working for him. I wanted to see him be a boss the same way Don Eladio was, or even Gus, but it was spent mostly low key with two or three associates. Like instead of doing business with the nazis, the nazis would be on his payroll doing his work without negotiation. Know what I mean? He never really felt that high up the chain. He was a grunt.

[–] Rambo_2 8 years ago

They could have made 1 more season and get Walt to that point. I would love to watch that.

[–] grayremnant1 8 years ago

True, but I think it would have been a mistake for them to go that route. Creating a meth empire akin to Gus' takes a lifetime of creating connections and establishing a chain of command. Walt was on borrowed time, and there was no realistic path for him to build that kind of empire before succumbing to his cancer.

[–] 8 years ago

[deleted]

[–] izzy520i 8 years ago

Agreed.

For me. it was impossible and unrealistic he would become a kingpin in so short a time, nor would he have since due to the Walter White persona and instincts. True the Heisenberg in him came out a few times, but until he could get rid of WW, he could never be a crime lord.

[–] mgreen9715 8 years ago

Walt was a complete crybaby bitch compared to Scarface, always begging for his life and struggling to worm his way out of sticky situations.

[–] dmcreif 8 years ago

That's kinda the point of it. For a hardened drug kingpin who kills a lot of people, Walt begs for his life and pleads a lot. Pissing his pants many other times, he's as scared worse than someone like Jesse half the time. But it makes sense when you realize Walt is not a hardened drug kingpin. Walt constantly acts like someone who got his ideals from TV shows and movies.

Consider his "I AM the one who knocks!" line from season 4. Seems kinda over-the-top and corny, doesn't it? Practically up there with Tony Montana's "Say hello to my little friend!" Walt idolizes Scarface, and even watches it with Walt Jr. in "Hazard Pay," saying "Look how cool this is!" Walt intentionally mimics the bravado from a movie character, regardless of how said bravado doesn't work in reality. Walt sees his life like a movie, he sees himself like the big boss, despite reality crashing in around him. That leads to him acting like I said in the previous paragraph. Walt never "gets it" and that's why everything constantly is falling apart for him. Hell, Jesse may have had his emotional flaws, but he understood what their role was in the big picture. It was Jesse who warned against doing business with Tuco (that in time put Walt on the Cousins' hitlist, and eventually caused Hank to get shot), Jesse who was against expanding into new territory (which got Combo killed), Jesse who was against meeting in the middle of nowhere, Jesse who was against continuing the operation after being offered a buyout, etc.

[–] SaidNDone 8 years ago

Walt had 0 sense. He constantly acted like he was living in a movie and got himself into terrible situations because of it. That is why that didn't happen.

[–] michael-cassity 8 years ago

I suppose it's true he was never a ruling drug lord - not in an obvious way. Like having a defined base of operations with sentries standing around and an extensive payroll. Walt was a family man after all.

He had his moments. Like when he told the Arizona boys to say his name, intimidated Saul, told Mike "it's fine" (the magnet operation) because he says so, and calmly pressed Jack to coordinate the timing of the prison murders. Walt was clearly calling the shots during the pest control era.

Walt's resume reads pretty good in the world of street cred... Top chef, 80 million in profit, train heist, double digit body count (including established players like Gustavo Fring, Jack, Lydia, Mike, etc.) and extensive collateral damage. I always questioned Walt's morality and judgment- no better example than his insensitive speech to the HS kids after the plane crash. But the close up of the Lilly plant was when I realized Walt was as diabolical as they come... to be feared as much as any of the other unsavory- yet entertaining- characters on the show.

[–] mgreen9715 8 years ago

Which is why I don't understand why people talk him up to kingpin status.

He was nowhere near as powerful and influential as Gus was and couldn't even last two years.

[–] michael-cassity 8 years ago

Yes Gus was legit. My favorite character. He was a heavy hitter and took care of his people. Gus was committed to the long term operation unlike Walt who was out to make the quick buck with a small crew before the cancer took over.

The writers probably struggled... wanting the Scarface character but understanding the way viewers were drawn to Walt as the constant underdog.

[–] Klockard23 8 years ago

I suppose if he had used the Nazi's as his unofficial hitmen more often (like sending them out to kill anyone on the streets that was dealing meth or possibly any other drugs to ensure he had absolutely no competitors), he could have more accurately fit that stereotypical image of a drug lord more, but he was still the boss; He had control of the meth flow in AB over everyone else as well as its distribution to Phoenix and Eastern Europe. He just wasn't on top long enough for anyone to come along and try and take him out. Even if a serious competitor had come along and threatened his empire, he could have used Jack and/or Declan's crew to help fight them off.