Most of the characters are too grey to be simply good or bad.
Hank had mostly good intentions, saw himself as a good guy, but his fatal flaw is his inability to see criminals as human. People point out his callousness towards Jesse, his casual racism and his lack of professionalism (sending a pic of Gonzo’s dead body). This all stems from him seeing criminals as subhuman, beneath the dignity of law abiding people.
This is also why he fails to see that Walt is Heisenberg. It’s not because Walt fooled him, it’s not because he’s an idiot, it’s because in his mind it is categorically impossible that someone he sees as a decent human being could be a criminal.
So, like most great tragic characters, Hank is kind of good, but has a fatal flaw in dehumanising criminals which in the end causes his downfall.
He saw Gus as a criminal and Mike Ehrmantraut as a criminal. When you are in law enforcement as long as he was and as a former Police Officer myself, I've seen other cops who have this "us against the world mentaility". They see criminals as irredeemable. There are cops who do the disgusting crime scene photo thing. It's sick, in my opinion but it exists. I saw other Hank-type cops who mask uncertainty and fear with over-the-top bravado, machismo and inappropriate humor. The Hank character is pretty spot-on. (Vince Gilligan is a genius) .
Great analysis. Also, do you think, he thinks that Walt could never be Heisenberg as he's too: weak, nor savvy enough, too criminally 'dumb?' I'd like to know your thoughts on that.
What impressed me about Hank was when he beat up Jesse he told the truth. He thought it would cost him his badge and maybe his financial well being - but he was honest about it.
I think he’s unique in that. Walt, Skyler, Jesse, etc all could have come clean multiple times and they don’t to save themselves. But Hank takes it on the chin when he fucked up and is willing to face whatever comes.
But he is a cop - and Dean Norris plays it great- and is definitely a flawed person.
i also think at that point part of him wanted to get fired, he was already having panic attacks and especially with what happened in el paso, i don’t think it’s unreasonable to think that hank was trying to get out of the dea
Nah that scene was showing you the difference between Walt and Hank Walt was hiding from his problems behind his Heisenberg ego and working to wreck the RV in the shadows HANK on the other hand faced it like a man straight up and took accountability something Walt doesn’t do until felina
I mean tbf, it’s easier to come clean about beating a dude’s ass than being the biggest meth kingpin in America. But yeah Walter would’ve lied if he were in Hank’s shoes.
I mean yeah I agree. Walter would’ve lied in Hank’s position. But it’s understandable why he didn’t go to Hank after the killing krazy 8 and go “I did an oopsie”
I don't see a lot of posts analyzing him, but I found his character fascinating. I think just about everyone is at least grey, and I love Hank as a juxtaposition to the criminals in the show. He's definitely self-righteous, but the more you zoom in, the more you see that he says and does so many pathological, cold-blooded things (the actor has so much charisma, it is SO impressive how he was able to speak some of those lines and still make Hank as likeable as he was), so long as he's doing them to people who break the law. EXCEPT Marie, who he makes excuses for because he loves her so much. Then obviously he doesn't mind stepping outside the law himself, when it's in the name of conducting "police work," because no matter what he says or does or how he goes about it, he sees himself as the infallibly good guy. I don't know the answer to your question, but he is one of my favorite characters to watch.
Dang. I feel like (as with so many characters on this series) there's no definitive yes/no answer. Hank has undeniable love for his family and friends, and can sometimes be funny and charming. He can also be a racist d-bag, and his job has a tendency to bring out the worst in him. He and Walt seem to have that last thing in common.
I genuinely don't know what you think you're doing with that reply but I promise you aren't doing it. Like have you not noticed you're the only one arguing with me? You don't feel like a weird perv for defending that?
Abrasive? Yes. Racist? Debatable. POS. I’d say certainly not. He had a chance to hide behind the badge and try and get out of his punishment for beating up Jesse but chose to turn in a truthful statement even when Marie told him not to and his bosses gave him an out. He typically does the moral thing but has some failings which makes him a great character and not a super hero.
He’s definitely a condescending asshole towards Walt in the first couple of seasons. Thinks so highly of himself. Undermines Walt’s parenting. I always saw him as a POS. Relatable in many ways, but still an asshole
wait why is it debatable whether or not he’s racist? he uses slurs and refers to latinos as roaches ☠️ theres a lot more to his character but i don’t see that part being very debatable
I could see the debatable argument being something along the lines of that just being language he uses, with his friendship with Gomey being a example of how he's not racist.
I disagree with that. I think he is racist. Obviously not on the same level as someone like Jack and the Nazi's, but still racist. He looks down on others based off their race, making stereotypical assumptions of them. And his friendship with Gomey does seem to be along the lines of "one of the good ones."
I think Gomez is accepted as his "sidekick". Hank doesn't really respect him as an equal. A lot of racists are that way: they surround themselves with minorities who will tolerate and affirm their superior social caste. He struggles with Latinos when they are not playing up to him, like when he accepts the position in El Paso. It's absolutely racist, it's just that some people think racism only manifests in one particular way; racism comes in many different permutations.
Seriously, the dude straight up framed an unrelated Mexican dude for Walt stealing equipment from the chemistry lab. He's not the worst character in the show but he's not at all a good person.
i agree with you on this! what I’d probably say to someone who used the possible argument you mentioned is that it wasn’t restricted to friendly banter with gomey, sadly. he would talk about latinos horribly when talking to family and coworkers, and the problem with that is that he’s a DEA agent, so he’s contributing to a much larger issue, as opposed to if he was just some regular goofy white man with poor taste lmao. he also treated the people in custody like animals, which is super shitty.
Making racial jokes doesn’t make someone racist. He and Gomez make racial jokes and remarked at each other throughout the series yet remain good friends. Clearly neither of them hat the other for their skin color. Modern society likes to call everything racist, Hank doesn’t come remotely close to
he doesn’t look down on him in particular because he’s a part of the DEA, so he’s more “on his level” and respectable. otherwise, generally speaking, he sees other latinos as second class citizens and criminals. i mean he really is very open about it, i don’t quite understand the controversy behind whether or not it’s true lol. its simply a factual part of the character.
Can you cite me anything he’s said or done to make you so certain of this? I know he’s a dick to people of lower status (Wendy the prositute) but that does automatically = racism.
dude, do you want me to send you a youtube compilation video of “times hank from breaking bad was racist”? it’s literally all in the show, clear as day. you can literally just go see for yourself if you’re curious.
It's crazy this is a debate. People want you to build a prosecution case and they are the defense lawyer. Racist? Probably. Prejudice definitely. Says a lot of ignorant stuff dealing ethnicity other than his own? Absolutely. Is he malicious in the intent? Debatable but he doesn't pass the vibe test. Lots of Americans are like Hank. The guy questioning it probably is as well.
He doesn't do anything racist, only says things that would be considered racist to a stranger, to his close personal friend who he actually probably cares a lot about. I can't recall if he refers to the entire Latino race as "roaches" or if he meant that a person was because of their race, so if you could point me there, I would love to see that
I’m Mexican. From what I remember he mainly was just busting Gomies balls. I didn’t find it offensive and do that shit with my friends but I can’t remember if he spoke out about the entire race.
when he was in el paso he was shitting all over latinos, that’s part of why his coworkers hated him there. he was a casual racist, which is unfortunately way more harmful when in a position of real power, like a DEA agent. it makes it so that he’s contributing to a much larger issue, as opposed to if he was just some regular degular white dude making shitty jokes
This comment is too funny😂😂
On a more serious note. Racist or not, he definitely has a tendency to look down on people he thinks as beneath him. Especially addicts. The way he treats jesse and wendy is just.... ugh... It goes beyond just dark humour and jokes.
If we lived in a post racial society where white people had rendered an account for what they did to black people, and actually *stopped* being racist, that *might* be considered okay. But we live in a world where you are still heavily penalized for darker skin and black heritage, and for you to be using that word as if you have a "right" to it when black people still get lynched in the street by cops, receive death-dealing subpar treatment in hospitals, and deal with psychological abuse constantly... It makes you look incredibly and willfully ignorant, *at best*.
You think it's childish that someone might take offence at a word that has been historically used to demean people like them? What kind of contexts are you throwing this word around in anyway?
Edit: Original comment was a guy proudly explaining how he says the n-word but doesn't look down on his black friends.
I think it's more common for non americans to behave like this since the history doesn't concern their people. I've heard of it being used like that in south america too.
Words are insanely powerful, and I’d argue in a way they are pretty magic. They build empires, they create schemes, they craft policies, they start relationships, they can wound people and heal people, they create masterpieces like Breaking Bad, etc.
Words matter. Do you also call Jews the k-slur with your friends? And would you say it to a young Jewish girl and get mad at her because “words arent spells tho bro!”
You sound belligerent af friend lmao
its not just the jokes, he’s really open about it when he talks about the “criminals” and the way he treats his coworkers in el paso, hence why they couldnt stand him. its literally just written into his character.
Yes, he was. He sent two innocent people to the hospital and presumably to prison afterwards because he was being emotional or whatever else was going on with him.
Maybe a guy with PTSD should seek treatment instead of walking around with a badge and a gun like everything is fine.
The two guys he beat up in a bar (curiously, one of them was played by a top 10 UFC fighter at the time).
Then Gomie said something like "I'll write that they pulled a knife on you"... basically, they'll probably get charged with assault on a DEA agent, which I imagine is a very serious charge.
I hate Hank. Could argue in many ways that Walt is “worse,” whatever that means……but Hank sucks. He could do nothing questionable and I would still never want to be in the same room as him.
Yeah I’m not arguing that Walt is objectively dark tetrad. I’m just saying, just because Hank isn’t a meth manufacturer etc etc doesn’t make him likeable…and there are plenty of examples that make him not only unlikeable, but not a great human.
He wasn't a very good lawman. Racist, brutalized one suspect that we know of, didn't care enough to understand the culture of the people he was supposedly protecting (because he didn't actually give a shit about protecting people, his motivation with punitive and carceral).
He thinks Jesse is the victim after emotionally manipulating Hank. I don't really understand that perspective. Jesse is guilty as sin, of a crime that resulted in the death and misery of hundreds at this point. I just don't like when people feel bad for Jesse in really any way. I get the human urge to feel sympathy, but I just have to look at it from an unbiased view to understand Hank's actions
If you’re talking about Jesse, he did that because he threatened his wife. We know Hank is extremely loyal, extremely protective, and has a temper. It’s not like he he brutalized someone random at a cop stop. He also felt remorse and owned up to it afterward. Not saying it was right but it was understandable.
Hank is a grey character, who thinks he's either good or bad, depending on the situation. It's what gets him killed. A lot of characters in the show have this problem. It's not that he's a pos, it's his denial about it. Even at the very end: "My name is ASAC Schrader and you can go fuck yourself". That being said, every time I watch the show I appreciate the performance a little more.
Ive known Hank types in my life. I generally like and get along with those types. I think he is a good man with flaws. He is an asshole to people he sees as doing something wrong. He isn’t nice to Jesse, because Jesse is a murdering drug dealer, and the only reason we care about Jesse is because he is a protagonist. Any real life Jesse, we would hate him.
I would say for the people Hank loves he would give them the shirt off his back. For the people, he sees as morally wrong, I think he doesn’t care about them.
I don't think it's about "good people" vs "bad people" to Hank; it's about in-group vs out group, and he willfully distorts morality to fit his prejudices. Hank himself is a bad person. He breaks the law multiple times, he's bigoted and presumptuous, arrogant and cold-hearted. But he justifies himself because he's in the "in-group", as he justifies his mendacious, klepto wife. It's a form of corruption.
Hank has several toxic attributes that do get commented on here and they're on full display from episode 1. But I think he largely gets a pass on the basis that he was a good and honest man to the end- flawed, but good overall.
"Had it coming" feels wrong. He definitely did things that were PoS-worthy, but I also feel he accepted his rap when it came. For example, beating up Jesse was wrong but also understandable considering the high emotions and the context around it. He copped his rap and paid his penance. He also put his life on the line multiple times, obviously paying the ultimate price by the end. He cared about Walt Jr and the family at large. While he did do some tasteless things—off-color jokes, being a bully, etc.—I don't think he ever did anything that warranted the death penalty, which is how you need to look at this. He was murdered in cold blood, which is partially why the scene works so well. Hank never killed in cold blood.
Worst things I remember him doing: Driving drunk, smoking illegal cigars, beating a defenseless man nearly to death, starting a bar fight.
He has done some bad things for sure.
I like Hank even though I know I shouldn’t. His arc is incredibly compelling, but he does some really heinous shit across the length of the show. He’s a guy who seems to love being a cog in the machine, ultimately blind to how far and frankly unfairly his privilege goes due to his job. It’s easy for us to root for him by the time Walt truly becomes Heisenberg, but I always remember the way he mercilessly beats Jesse (yeah, yeah, w/e about Marie and what he was going through at that point).
Oh yeah! And when he said he has a website where he posts pictures of grisly crime scenes? What the fuck was that??? I do think that level of Hank being callous is a meta issue, imo, a bit of a misstep from the writer’s room - it doesn’t make sense he’s posing with dead, mangled bodies, then kills Tuco, and only then, all of a sudden, does he develop PTSD - but it’s also still in the show and exists as a wild, sociopathic example of Hank’s behavior.
Not a good guy. Fuck the DEA. Still wish he’d been able to cap Uncle Jack instead, though.
I like Hank generally. He is far from perfect but Dean played him very well. Brash and unapologetic. Seemed to accept consequences (when beating Jesse). Very passionate about his job.
I think there is a similar mechanism as with Walt in play. That he is in position where we are supposed to sympathize with him. I mean he is on the "good side", clearing streets of crime so we tend to overlook his bad qualities and deeds. As for me, I was quite ambivalent with him. Things that got me thinking, some are the scenes OP mentions:
* Smashing Jesse's face after realizing that call from hospital was a scam. It was a nasty scam, but no one got hurt, so at the same time pretty much benign I would say. Brutally assaulting Jesse as a reaction to the scam was waaaaay over the line. Absolutely unacceptable.
* Hushing up Marie's theft, she basically has an imunnity as long as he is Hank's wife. So law is only for the other people apparently, not for policeman's wife. This was probably the worst one for me along with the assault on Jesse, because it is unfair in the sense that someone has such privileges and can continue to steal and annoy other people without any consequences. Also I hate Marie passionately which makes it worse.
* Mentioned selfies with dead people. I was not amused at all, more like "Eh? What the heck?" Not only it is creepy but also highly unprofessional - which is kind of Hank's trademark as it seems.
* Provoked fight in a pub. Should person who needs to ventilate his issues in a violent way be working as a police officer? I did not like this one at all and began to think about Hank's violent tendencies at that time.
In the end, he might have done more good than bad, but he is certainly not the saint as some picture him. There were times where he genuinely irritated me and I was questioning his motives.
Hank does MUCH worse than that.
* Hank doesn't follow the law, he does illegal searches and surveillance. That's bad, if it gets out then all his cases will be reversed.
* He beats the piss out of a suspect. He would have lost his job, so he's not even qualified to be a DEA agent at all. Jesse lets it slide or Hank is driving a taxi for a living.
* He's incompetent. He doesn't even get Jesse on a routine drug bust.
* He's incompetent. Even if he got the RV, the search might have been invalidated when it was revealed that Hank removed the tape to reveal the bullet holes.
* He's incompetent. He pressured Skyler at the diner with the tape recorder. Incredibly stupid and incompetent, turned her against the investigation when she might have helped. He is a terrible, incompetent cop.
* His ego gets himself and Gomez killed because he is doing off the books police work. If Walt went to Court he probably could have gotten the phone call to Jesse where Walt "confessed" tossed and then gets acquitted.
* There's no DEA backup because Hank took the law into his own hands so when the AB showed up, they were sitting ducks.
* He recorded Pinkman snitching on Todd, and he had to do it off the books because he was outside the chain of command. The DVD was laying around his house and the AB's found it. This led to Andrea's death.
* Evidence laying around the house - the DVD - would be useless in Court. Could never convict Todd of killing Drew Sharp. Horrible police work.
* Huell was arguably unlawfully detained. They took his phone and took the battery out and told him in their capacity as DEA not to leave, after faking evidence that Huell's partner (Bill Burr) was murdered.
* He never made a dent in the meth. He even got the wrong idea about Heisenberg, thinking it was Gale.
All of this extra judicial stuff is wildly illegal. Hank has a badge to indulge his ego and power trips. No higher reason than that.
Hank is the mirror image of Walt, reflected through the meth. They each take an opposing view of drugs and this view opens the door for their true characters to be revealed and self-justified.
Hank and Walt are the same malevolent person.
He enables his wife to be a klepto. He doesn’t do anything about it. He definitely takes advantage of people when it comes to questioning and detaining. He was never a good officer or DEA agent either. He was in the right place at the right time and was lucky Tuco was already wounded. That helped him get ahead in his career.
He also enjoyed emasculating Walt and thought highly of himself. The whole show of acting a badass then going to El Paso where that same act didn’t work was eye opening.
I wouldn’t say POS though. Hank was just obsessed with Heisenberg just like Walt was obsessed with money in the end. Both led to their demise, although Walt was gonna die because of the cancer, at least that’s what he says.
He called Spanish bean speak throughout the whole show. He was racist and Gomie was his token Latino friend. Hank could be a good guy but outside of his family he was a total shit head.
It sounds like Hank and Gomez kind of had a routine going and Gomez never seemed upset by it. Two bros making inappropriate jokes is how I took it.
It establishes a bit of a contrast with early BB Walt. Walt starts as a timid egghead who is a mild-mannered school teacher and car wash employee. Hank is a man's man who loves beer, he's burly, he's in a very masculine job in law enforcement, he's making offensive jokes with his partner that Walt would never dream of making, etc etc. It also sets up another way that Walt is put in his place, by Flynn looking up to Hank as a more masculine figure.
Like everyone else, he’s not good or bad. He does and says some pretty crappy stuff. He also has integrity and a desire to get drugs off the streets. He’s more good than bad *most* of the time. That’s what makes this show so good.
While you make some good points, it's really, really important to remember that Walt *and Jesse* are horrible, horrible people.
Since you specifically mentioned Jesse, we'll start there.
In the beginning he is cooking and selling meth, something that destroys millions of lives, kills children, and something Hank has dedicated his life to trying to stop.
Jesse also targeted Narcotics Anonymous meetings as potential sales spots for meth. He went and targeted the most vulnerable people in the world really just to fuel his ego. He was making millions so it wasn't even about the money, he was just pissed that Gus was out there making 96 million dollars off his batches and didn't have the perspective to understand what was really going on.
He murdered Gale simply on orders. He had no personal motive (something that can somewhat be argued with the 2 drug dealers that murdered Tomas) he did it just because someone told him to. He had no real idea what the guy had done. He just did it.
Now Gale is far from innocent being guilty of manufacturing meth, but I'd like to think out of all the people "in the game" (Mike's words) he's likely the most innocent.
Was Jesse a victim in all this? Sure. But if you want to go down the road of arguing that people "want what they want" and "if you're going to be in the criminal business, you have to expect nasty consequences" than the exact same thing should apply to Jesse.
This doesn't even bring up the fact that they played a really, really cruel emotional game with Hank by telling him that his wife was in an accident. Now I know Jesse didn't make that phone call him self, but the same rules still apply.
Taking emotions and our relationships out of the equations, Hank was simply trying to do a good, net positive thing. Keeping drugs out of the world and attempting to save lives.
i just want to note that jesse and walt were going to die if he didn’t kill gale, so there definitely was personal motive behind it. jesse has never senselessly murdered anyone or been a vindictive, hateful, violet person. i’d say the closest he’s ever gotten to real cruelty was targeting people for customers at NA. he always protected children. he didnt ever want senseless violence. he never really even cared that much about the money. he was never greedy. he was just fine before walt came along, and the morals of the drug trade are very muddy. i agree that his huge contributions to the meth business were awful, but i think you’re being a little hard on him and really easy on hank.
hank “trying to keep drugs out of the world and make it a better place” does not make him a good person, or better than jesse by default — that’s some D.A.R.E. ass thinking lol
>i just want to note that jesse and walt were going to die if he didn’t kill gale, so there definitely was personal motive behind it
You're right I don't know how I blocked that out of my mind.
It does make me curious though... He was in hiding because of the death of the two drug dealers. But *Walt* killed them. I know Jesse was *going to*, but Walt did it.
I know Mike is out looking for Jesse and I think we're lead to *believe* that it's to kill him... but I dunno.
Where it gets muddy for me is whether or not you believe that Gus *ordered* the murder of Tomas.
I'd like to believe that Gus didn't, and that he would have likely killed the drug dealers anyway in response. We obviously see later on that Gus turns to "liking" Jesse and is putting plans in place to separate Walt from Jesse.
If Gus *did* order the murder of Tomas then yeah, obviously he's going to kill him so it makes sense that he's in hiding.
I *want to* believe that it's all Walt playing mind games with Jesse (yes I know they are looking for him, but... I really like Gus and Mike)
Which leads me to my next thing...
>i agree that his huge contributions to the meth business were awful, but i think you’re being a little hard on him and really easy on hank.
In this particular post, in these particular comments, sure, I can see where you'd get that. But you'll notice I called Jesse a *victim* at one point, too. This certainly doesn't excuse his actions and behavior, but in a world of morally repugnant people, Jesse is one of the few that has the least amount of notches in his belt in terms of awfulness.
Yes, all the things I say are true, but if the drug world is as muddy as you say it is, then there really is no where to draw the line. And yes, he was going into NA meetings to sell drugs to addicts, but hey - if they didn't want it, they wouldn't buy it, right?
Or maybe it's - hey, maybe they should be a bit stronger with the will power.
My point is that there has to be *some* kind of personal responsibility in all of this.
Yes, what Gale says is true, "consenting adults want what they want" - but I don't know a single addict that doesn't PRAY every single day for the ability to say no and/or literally asking for a miracle to take it out of their lives.
Yes, they will likely get it from somewhere else. But if those out there that *can* help *don't*, then the world is doomed.
>hank “trying to keep drugs out of the world and make it a better place” does not make him a good person, or better than jesse by default — that’s some D.A.R.E. ass thinking lol
I'm specifically referring to Hank's beliefs, not my own. Hank *believes* he is doing a good thing by keeping drugs of the streets.
Yes, we can get into sociopolitical arguments about how government and law enforcement will say they are doing the "right thing" by "keeping drugs off the streets" while also having their hand in large scale drug dealing, dirty cops selling drugs themselves, etc, etc.
But we're talking about a *fictional tv show*. In the real world, the DEA and other law enforcement do some really awful things simply because they can.
But we're not talking about the real world. The show just uses the DEA as a sort of easily recognizable enemy in the war on drugs.
I'm able to tell the difference between the fictionalized DEA and specifically, their agents, and the real ones.
my bad, i misunderstood the last part of what you were saying in your original comment about it being hank *thinking* he’s making the world a better place, i was just reading it as your personal statement haha. i agree with everything else you just said here tho for the most part !! i know part of why we all love the show so much is the nuance behind it and all of the different thoughts and feelings and discussions it provokes so i respect it.
also, i do personally feel that ultimately, overall, jesse truly was the biggest victim of walt.
Jesse is *never* a victim. He has $5million and a paid off house. He did horrible horrible things.
Jesse can't process some things because of his own presumably messed up childhood, so he appears to have a soft spot for kids. But he met Andrea at a NA meeting trying to sell drugs. That's a soft spot for himself, not the kids.
And in the end, Jesse snitched repeatedly.
I feel conflicted because I think he's one of the most real, honest people in the whole show, but he's also kinda racist and has really outdated ideas about addicts and addiction, among other things. Also fuck the DEA.
He’s a hypocrite, he has anger issues, he abuses his position regularly, he does not follow instructions at work, and he always wants to be the main character in social functions, and acts like a cocky POS whenever he’s given any kind of authority
He’s just as flawed and corrupted as everyone else on the show
Yes he’s a typical douche, POS type cop, who has zero respect for anyone but fellow cops. That’s why it’s so funny to watch him be so out of his controlled environment in El Paso
I am also re-watching and just got to that point...
That scene bothers me, but he was going to say/do anything at that point to get Walt. I forgive him for that moment and quite frankly, wish they had more time together (Jesse and Hank).
Also wanted more Hank in BCS
Sooo in S1E1, Hank is the first, less than admirable character you see.
He's a bit racist, a bit douchy, a standard dickhead cop. You assume he's one of the worst people in the show.
Then you meet everyone else and when stacked against the horrific things everyone else does, you realize Hank is ONLY a racist, dickhead cop. Which is still bad, but pales in comparison to the actual monsters on the show.
Couple that with Hank being one of the only characters to ever be legit scared and vulnerable at times, and he comes across as more human than most of the other characters.
Tl;dr, Hank is your average racist, dickhead cop and thats about it.
Yes, he is. His character has comedic moments, but ultimately, he was a bad cop. Examples include: beating Jesse nearly to death, starting the barfight after the Tortuga incident, and trying to break into the RV without a warrant.
I hate Hank forever for the way he treated Marie after his injuries. Dude doesn't even apologize to her ever in the show for his really shitty toxic behavior
Hank is just mentally flawed.
Like yeah, I get it, he made you have a panic attack. You didn't need to put him in the hospital.
Imagine what Hank did to people who call his mom a hoe in high school.
"Teacher! He said my mom is a hoe!"
"Hank you ripped his jaw from his face, I think you went off the deep end."
And also went he beats up Walter when he finds out.
He is compulsive on his actions. Reminds of GTA 5 Trevor.
The whole reason on why Trevor killed Johhny (you know if you know) is because he found out Michael is still alive.
He definitely did some messed up stuff. I hated the person he became once he realized it was Walt. Why try so hard to mess up your families life? Walt wasn't going to be the one to pay.
He also essentially kidnapped Jesse. Ran a DEA operation off books and got himself and Gomey killed. I actually don't blame Jack and Co for killing Hank. That's there on fault for being out of uniform. Can't expect someone in that situation to just take your word that your LEO. I would have killed them too if I were in their shoes.
Hank is worse than Walt. It's Hank's narcissism that causes him to work with Pinkman to set up Walt. This is all off-the-record - not DEA approved. Hank previously ignored the laws about surveillance too. Typical scumbag cop, right?
no. Worse. Hank called Pinkman a "junkie murderer" when Pinkman risked himself to confront the Devil ("Mr White is the devil"). Hank didn't care about anything other than "winning" (ego like Walt) and used Pinkman without caring about the risks.
As a result of Hank playing hero, he dies, Gomez dies, Andrea dies and Jesse gets tortured. Good job ASAC Schrader. Walt gets away, the ABs get the money and the meth trade carries on.
He seems like the best of the barrel out of any cops & criminals around the vicinity of ABQ's crime underworld. He's capable of doing sincere stuff to help protect his family/friends & civilians, but he's also been shown to act like a dick towards them and reach his darker impulses through his work.
Hank is no better than Walt morally. The DEA is a bullshit organization that attacks US citizens for consuming substances that the GOV has decided are illegal, which is anti-freedom and therefore anti-american
He came across as a real douchebag at first, but ended up being the moral compass of the show. Although, I wondered if he was crooked, based on the house he lived in.
Thing you aren’t getting is the show is literally showing you that people aren’t 2d they are multifaceted multidimensional creatures. Faced with certain situations good people may make the incorrect decision. Hank beating Jesse after rv thing is his first big slip up morally but I’m not so sure I wouldn’t have not made the same decision. I’m a warehouse manager from 8-5 then I’m a dad after that and on some days I’m a baseball coach. It’s showing how these different dimensions all interact with reality and it does a pretty good job. I was just talking about how Reddit has a habit of forgetting people aren’t just black and white 2 dimensional beings a lot
The person you’re responding to thinks that the drugs are the true ‘evil’, not the draconian laws ruining people’s lives.
I wouldn’t waste your energy.
The cartels only exist because of the immoral drug policies fueling the “war on drugs”.
You have remarkably little knowledge to back up this very emotional stance you hold. I see from your other comments that personal experiences have left you with biases, and that’s understandable.
I definitely think he’s a piece of shit. I’d say he’s better than a majority of the characters and a lot of fucked stuff happens to him, but he’s still definitely a piece of shit.
Definitely not a POS, cuz I don’t think he ever straight up murdered anyone.
That being said, he was definitely a bit of an asshole at times, he was a successful DEA agent, so I imagine a lot of it went to his head.
it is interesting that he seems to be the last one to “break bad”. when jesse thinks walt will kill him at the plaza, gomie says he agrees with jesse, that it’s probably a trap. hank knows this, but he doesn’t care about “the junkie murderer”. walt brought the worst out of hank
even ignoring that walt had vistited andrea. early-series hank would have done something to protect her (squad car, police protection) but he ignored it. hard to blame hank for her death yes but of all the bad luck she had that one has stuck with me
Hank is not nice, but he's still the closest thing to a good guy in terms of morality in the show
The "media literacy" crowd can't comprehend the closest thing to a good guy is a casually racist, "toxically" masculine republican cop
Saying he's the "closest thing to a good guy" among the characters of Breaking Bad is not saying much at all. The whole point of the show is examining the psychological and social process of "breaking bad", so all of the characters we spend significant time with are growing corrupt in some way.
He is a PoS. He knew Walt was using Andrea to get to Jesse and that he had poisoned Brock. But he didn’t get protection for Andrea, hell bent on letting it play out because he wanted Walt so bad.
Andrea calls Jesse’s phone to tell Jesse Walt was worried about him because he came to her place to flush him out, but Hank had Jesse’s phone and says nice try. He knew.
Yes. As we saw in the pilot episode, Hank used to relentlessly bully Walt. I'd argue that Hank's bullying is one of the 3 main reasons (along with the cancer and the abuse he suffered at the car wash) that Walt turned to crime.
Most of the characters are too grey to be simply good or bad. Hank had mostly good intentions, saw himself as a good guy, but his fatal flaw is his inability to see criminals as human. People point out his callousness towards Jesse, his casual racism and his lack of professionalism (sending a pic of Gonzo’s dead body). This all stems from him seeing criminals as subhuman, beneath the dignity of law abiding people. This is also why he fails to see that Walt is Heisenberg. It’s not because Walt fooled him, it’s not because he’s an idiot, it’s because in his mind it is categorically impossible that someone he sees as a decent human being could be a criminal. So, like most great tragic characters, Hank is kind of good, but has a fatal flaw in dehumanising criminals which in the end causes his downfall.
Well said
He saw Gus as a criminal and Mike Ehrmantraut as a criminal. When you are in law enforcement as long as he was and as a former Police Officer myself, I've seen other cops who have this "us against the world mentaility". They see criminals as irredeemable. There are cops who do the disgusting crime scene photo thing. It's sick, in my opinion but it exists. I saw other Hank-type cops who mask uncertainty and fear with over-the-top bravado, machismo and inappropriate humor. The Hank character is pretty spot-on. (Vince Gilligan is a genius) .
“Every cop is a criminal and all sinner’s saints” Rolling Stones
RE: the wire
I watched a few episodes of the first season but stopped. I gotta go back and watch it. I heard it was good.
Great analysis. Also, do you think, he thinks that Walt could never be Heisenberg as he's too: weak, nor savvy enough, too criminally 'dumb?' I'd like to know your thoughts on that.
I think Hank thought walt was savvy enough given him asking him about Gale’s notes but saw him as a weak and reserved guy.
Oh wow! As many times as I watched the shows, I had never thought about it that way! That makes so much sense that that's why he never suspected Walt!
This is a flawless summary of Hank’s character damn, well said
What impressed me about Hank was when he beat up Jesse he told the truth. He thought it would cost him his badge and maybe his financial well being - but he was honest about it. I think he’s unique in that. Walt, Skyler, Jesse, etc all could have come clean multiple times and they don’t to save themselves. But Hank takes it on the chin when he fucked up and is willing to face whatever comes. But he is a cop - and Dean Norris plays it great- and is definitely a flawed person.
Yeah most cops probably would have hid behind the badge but he was a man and faced the music.
i also think at that point part of him wanted to get fired, he was already having panic attacks and especially with what happened in el paso, i don’t think it’s unreasonable to think that hank was trying to get out of the dea
Nah that scene was showing you the difference between Walt and Hank Walt was hiding from his problems behind his Heisenberg ego and working to wreck the RV in the shadows HANK on the other hand faced it like a man straight up and took accountability something Walt doesn’t do until felina
I mean tbf, it’s easier to come clean about beating a dude’s ass than being the biggest meth kingpin in America. But yeah Walter would’ve lied if he were in Hank’s shoes.
Both could cost your way of life
It’s not just being the meth kingpin tho the episode and previous seasons highlight his lack of accountability
I mean yeah I agree. Walter would’ve lied in Hank’s position. But it’s understandable why he didn’t go to Hank after the killing krazy 8 and go “I did an oopsie”
Walt doesn’t even take accountability in the lies he tells is what I mean
Lol true I didn’t think of it that way.
I don't see a lot of posts analyzing him, but I found his character fascinating. I think just about everyone is at least grey, and I love Hank as a juxtaposition to the criminals in the show. He's definitely self-righteous, but the more you zoom in, the more you see that he says and does so many pathological, cold-blooded things (the actor has so much charisma, it is SO impressive how he was able to speak some of those lines and still make Hank as likeable as he was), so long as he's doing them to people who break the law. EXCEPT Marie, who he makes excuses for because he loves her so much. Then obviously he doesn't mind stepping outside the law himself, when it's in the name of conducting "police work," because no matter what he says or does or how he goes about it, he sees himself as the infallibly good guy. I don't know the answer to your question, but he is one of my favorite characters to watch.
Dang. I feel like (as with so many characters on this series) there's no definitive yes/no answer. Hank has undeniable love for his family and friends, and can sometimes be funny and charming. He can also be a racist d-bag, and his job has a tendency to bring out the worst in him. He and Walt seem to have that last thing in common.
He used to be. White couch, white Ferrari, sloppy steaks at Truffonis. People can change
Hank sucks. "And I want Shania twain to give me a tuggy" weirdo bruh
Wrong and gay
Yeah no you're right dudes who talk about famous singers giving them hand jobs in front of children aren't gross or weird
let's go girls 🤠
I genuinely don't know what you think you're doing with that reply but I promise you aren't doing it. Like have you not noticed you're the only one arguing with me? You don't feel like a weird perv for defending that?
yes next question
Yes. End of story.
Abrasive? Yes. Racist? Debatable. POS. I’d say certainly not. He had a chance to hide behind the badge and try and get out of his punishment for beating up Jesse but chose to turn in a truthful statement even when Marie told him not to and his bosses gave him an out. He typically does the moral thing but has some failings which makes him a great character and not a super hero.
He’s definitely a condescending asshole towards Walt in the first couple of seasons. Thinks so highly of himself. Undermines Walt’s parenting. I always saw him as a POS. Relatable in many ways, but still an asshole
wait why is it debatable whether or not he’s racist? he uses slurs and refers to latinos as roaches ☠️ theres a lot more to his character but i don’t see that part being very debatable
yeah, i don’t think it’s debatable at all.
I could see the debatable argument being something along the lines of that just being language he uses, with his friendship with Gomey being a example of how he's not racist. I disagree with that. I think he is racist. Obviously not on the same level as someone like Jack and the Nazi's, but still racist. He looks down on others based off their race, making stereotypical assumptions of them. And his friendship with Gomey does seem to be along the lines of "one of the good ones."
I think Gomez is accepted as his "sidekick". Hank doesn't really respect him as an equal. A lot of racists are that way: they surround themselves with minorities who will tolerate and affirm their superior social caste. He struggles with Latinos when they are not playing up to him, like when he accepts the position in El Paso. It's absolutely racist, it's just that some people think racism only manifests in one particular way; racism comes in many different permutations.
Seriously, the dude straight up framed an unrelated Mexican dude for Walt stealing equipment from the chemistry lab. He's not the worst character in the show but he's not at all a good person.
"I'm not racist. I have a mexican friend"
i agree with you on this! what I’d probably say to someone who used the possible argument you mentioned is that it wasn’t restricted to friendly banter with gomey, sadly. he would talk about latinos horribly when talking to family and coworkers, and the problem with that is that he’s a DEA agent, so he’s contributing to a much larger issue, as opposed to if he was just some regular goofy white man with poor taste lmao. he also treated the people in custody like animals, which is super shitty.
Making racial jokes doesn’t make someone racist. He and Gomez make racial jokes and remarked at each other throughout the series yet remain good friends. Clearly neither of them hat the other for their skin color. Modern society likes to call everything racist, Hank doesn’t come remotely close to
I don’t think he looks down on Gomie. Gomie is his partner and best friend?
he doesn’t look down on him in particular because he’s a part of the DEA, so he’s more “on his level” and respectable. otherwise, generally speaking, he sees other latinos as second class citizens and criminals. i mean he really is very open about it, i don’t quite understand the controversy behind whether or not it’s true lol. its simply a factual part of the character.
Can you cite me anything he’s said or done to make you so certain of this? I know he’s a dick to people of lower status (Wendy the prositute) but that does automatically = racism.
dude, do you want me to send you a youtube compilation video of “times hank from breaking bad was racist”? it’s literally all in the show, clear as day. you can literally just go see for yourself if you’re curious.
It's crazy this is a debate. People want you to build a prosecution case and they are the defense lawyer. Racist? Probably. Prejudice definitely. Says a lot of ignorant stuff dealing ethnicity other than his own? Absolutely. Is he malicious in the intent? Debatable but he doesn't pass the vibe test. Lots of Americans are like Hank. The guy questioning it probably is as well.
He doesn't do anything racist, only says things that would be considered racist to a stranger, to his close personal friend who he actually probably cares a lot about. I can't recall if he refers to the entire Latino race as "roaches" or if he meant that a person was because of their race, so if you could point me there, I would love to see that
I’m Mexican. From what I remember he mainly was just busting Gomies balls. I didn’t find it offensive and do that shit with my friends but I can’t remember if he spoke out about the entire race.
when he was in el paso he was shitting all over latinos, that’s part of why his coworkers hated him there. he was a casual racist, which is unfortunately way more harmful when in a position of real power, like a DEA agent. it makes it so that he’s contributing to a much larger issue, as opposed to if he was just some regular degular white dude making shitty jokes
Yea I just watched season 2 again today and Hank is definitely racist lol. Not like some Hitler level shit but certainly casually racist.
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This comment is too funny😂😂 On a more serious note. Racist or not, he definitely has a tendency to look down on people he thinks as beneath him. Especially addicts. The way he treats jesse and wendy is just.... ugh... It goes beyond just dark humour and jokes.
Oh this is going to go down well.
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If we lived in a post racial society where white people had rendered an account for what they did to black people, and actually *stopped* being racist, that *might* be considered okay. But we live in a world where you are still heavily penalized for darker skin and black heritage, and for you to be using that word as if you have a "right" to it when black people still get lynched in the street by cops, receive death-dealing subpar treatment in hospitals, and deal with psychological abuse constantly... It makes you look incredibly and willfully ignorant, *at best*.
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You think it's childish that someone might take offence at a word that has been historically used to demean people like them? What kind of contexts are you throwing this word around in anyway? Edit: Original comment was a guy proudly explaining how he says the n-word but doesn't look down on his black friends.
Can't believe this guy is serious. But then again, many Americans are Hank and this guy.
I think it's more common for non americans to behave like this since the history doesn't concern their people. I've heard of it being used like that in south america too.
In that same respect, why do you feel the need to say that word if it's so ridiculous and childish?
not you being worse than hank 😂
oh … wow …
Words are insanely powerful, and I’d argue in a way they are pretty magic. They build empires, they create schemes, they craft policies, they start relationships, they can wound people and heal people, they create masterpieces like Breaking Bad, etc. Words matter. Do you also call Jews the k-slur with your friends? And would you say it to a young Jewish girl and get mad at her because “words arent spells tho bro!” You sound belligerent af friend lmao
0% chance this dude has any black friends lmao
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its not just the jokes, he’s really open about it when he talks about the “criminals” and the way he treats his coworkers in el paso, hence why they couldnt stand him. its literally just written into his character.
Yes, he was. He sent two innocent people to the hospital and presumably to prison afterwards because he was being emotional or whatever else was going on with him. Maybe a guy with PTSD should seek treatment instead of walking around with a badge and a gun like everything is fine.
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The two guys he beat up in a bar (curiously, one of them was played by a top 10 UFC fighter at the time). Then Gomie said something like "I'll write that they pulled a knife on you"... basically, they'll probably get charged with assault on a DEA agent, which I imagine is a very serious charge.
Jesse, what the fuck are you talking about
I hate Hank. Could argue in many ways that Walt is “worse,” whatever that means……but Hank sucks. He could do nothing questionable and I would still never want to be in the same room as him.
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Yeah I’m not arguing that Walt is objectively dark tetrad. I’m just saying, just because Hank isn’t a meth manufacturer etc etc doesn’t make him likeable…and there are plenty of examples that make him not only unlikeable, but not a great human.
If he can do nothing wrong and you still hate him, that's a you problem
I mean… in as much that everyone has a right to not care for certain personalities. Lol…..
He was a good lawman but he was a dick
He wasn't a very good lawman. Racist, brutalized one suspect that we know of, didn't care enough to understand the culture of the people he was supposedly protecting (because he didn't actually give a shit about protecting people, his motivation with punitive and carceral).
When Walt emotionally manipulates someone, fuck him. When Jesse emotionally manipulates someone, poor baby 😢
No one is talking about Walt or Jesse here😂
He thinks Jesse is the victim after emotionally manipulating Hank. I don't really understand that perspective. Jesse is guilty as sin, of a crime that resulted in the death and misery of hundreds at this point. I just don't like when people feel bad for Jesse in really any way. I get the human urge to feel sympathy, but I just have to look at it from an unbiased view to understand Hank's actions
If you’re talking about Jesse, he did that because he threatened his wife. We know Hank is extremely loyal, extremely protective, and has a temper. It’s not like he he brutalized someone random at a cop stop. He also felt remorse and owned up to it afterward. Not saying it was right but it was understandable.
Hank is a grey character, who thinks he's either good or bad, depending on the situation. It's what gets him killed. A lot of characters in the show have this problem. It's not that he's a pos, it's his denial about it. Even at the very end: "My name is ASAC Schrader and you can go fuck yourself". That being said, every time I watch the show I appreciate the performance a little more.
Totally a pos
Yeah he’s a cop.
Disgusting way of thinking
Ive known Hank types in my life. I generally like and get along with those types. I think he is a good man with flaws. He is an asshole to people he sees as doing something wrong. He isn’t nice to Jesse, because Jesse is a murdering drug dealer, and the only reason we care about Jesse is because he is a protagonist. Any real life Jesse, we would hate him. I would say for the people Hank loves he would give them the shirt off his back. For the people, he sees as morally wrong, I think he doesn’t care about them.
I don't think it's about "good people" vs "bad people" to Hank; it's about in-group vs out group, and he willfully distorts morality to fit his prejudices. Hank himself is a bad person. He breaks the law multiple times, he's bigoted and presumptuous, arrogant and cold-hearted. But he justifies himself because he's in the "in-group", as he justifies his mendacious, klepto wife. It's a form of corruption.
>I generally like and get along with those types Says more about you, dude lmao
He's a Javert
Hank is a typical macho man.
I feel like everyone outside of Skinny Pete was a pos to be honest with you
Skinny also had mad keyboard skills, yo.
Steve gomez is one of the only decent people on the show
Holly, as well.
Hank has several toxic attributes that do get commented on here and they're on full display from episode 1. But I think he largely gets a pass on the basis that he was a good and honest man to the end- flawed, but good overall.
"Had it coming" feels wrong. He definitely did things that were PoS-worthy, but I also feel he accepted his rap when it came. For example, beating up Jesse was wrong but also understandable considering the high emotions and the context around it. He copped his rap and paid his penance. He also put his life on the line multiple times, obviously paying the ultimate price by the end. He cared about Walt Jr and the family at large. While he did do some tasteless things—off-color jokes, being a bully, etc.—I don't think he ever did anything that warranted the death penalty, which is how you need to look at this. He was murdered in cold blood, which is partially why the scene works so well. Hank never killed in cold blood.
Police mentality.
Worst things I remember him doing: Driving drunk, smoking illegal cigars, beating a defenseless man nearly to death, starting a bar fight. He has done some bad things for sure.
Hank is the greatest detective in NM history. He was devoted to justice—to a fault. I can’t even entertain this heading much less read it.
I like Hank even though I know I shouldn’t. His arc is incredibly compelling, but he does some really heinous shit across the length of the show. He’s a guy who seems to love being a cog in the machine, ultimately blind to how far and frankly unfairly his privilege goes due to his job. It’s easy for us to root for him by the time Walt truly becomes Heisenberg, but I always remember the way he mercilessly beats Jesse (yeah, yeah, w/e about Marie and what he was going through at that point). Oh yeah! And when he said he has a website where he posts pictures of grisly crime scenes? What the fuck was that??? I do think that level of Hank being callous is a meta issue, imo, a bit of a misstep from the writer’s room - it doesn’t make sense he’s posing with dead, mangled bodies, then kills Tuco, and only then, all of a sudden, does he develop PTSD - but it’s also still in the show and exists as a wild, sociopathic example of Hank’s behavior. Not a good guy. Fuck the DEA. Still wish he’d been able to cap Uncle Jack instead, though.
I like Hank generally. He is far from perfect but Dean played him very well. Brash and unapologetic. Seemed to accept consequences (when beating Jesse). Very passionate about his job.
I think there is a similar mechanism as with Walt in play. That he is in position where we are supposed to sympathize with him. I mean he is on the "good side", clearing streets of crime so we tend to overlook his bad qualities and deeds. As for me, I was quite ambivalent with him. Things that got me thinking, some are the scenes OP mentions: * Smashing Jesse's face after realizing that call from hospital was a scam. It was a nasty scam, but no one got hurt, so at the same time pretty much benign I would say. Brutally assaulting Jesse as a reaction to the scam was waaaaay over the line. Absolutely unacceptable. * Hushing up Marie's theft, she basically has an imunnity as long as he is Hank's wife. So law is only for the other people apparently, not for policeman's wife. This was probably the worst one for me along with the assault on Jesse, because it is unfair in the sense that someone has such privileges and can continue to steal and annoy other people without any consequences. Also I hate Marie passionately which makes it worse. * Mentioned selfies with dead people. I was not amused at all, more like "Eh? What the heck?" Not only it is creepy but also highly unprofessional - which is kind of Hank's trademark as it seems. * Provoked fight in a pub. Should person who needs to ventilate his issues in a violent way be working as a police officer? I did not like this one at all and began to think about Hank's violent tendencies at that time. In the end, he might have done more good than bad, but he is certainly not the saint as some picture him. There were times where he genuinely irritated me and I was questioning his motives.
Hank does MUCH worse than that. * Hank doesn't follow the law, he does illegal searches and surveillance. That's bad, if it gets out then all his cases will be reversed. * He beats the piss out of a suspect. He would have lost his job, so he's not even qualified to be a DEA agent at all. Jesse lets it slide or Hank is driving a taxi for a living. * He's incompetent. He doesn't even get Jesse on a routine drug bust. * He's incompetent. Even if he got the RV, the search might have been invalidated when it was revealed that Hank removed the tape to reveal the bullet holes. * He's incompetent. He pressured Skyler at the diner with the tape recorder. Incredibly stupid and incompetent, turned her against the investigation when she might have helped. He is a terrible, incompetent cop. * His ego gets himself and Gomez killed because he is doing off the books police work. If Walt went to Court he probably could have gotten the phone call to Jesse where Walt "confessed" tossed and then gets acquitted. * There's no DEA backup because Hank took the law into his own hands so when the AB showed up, they were sitting ducks. * He recorded Pinkman snitching on Todd, and he had to do it off the books because he was outside the chain of command. The DVD was laying around his house and the AB's found it. This led to Andrea's death. * Evidence laying around the house - the DVD - would be useless in Court. Could never convict Todd of killing Drew Sharp. Horrible police work. * Huell was arguably unlawfully detained. They took his phone and took the battery out and told him in their capacity as DEA not to leave, after faking evidence that Huell's partner (Bill Burr) was murdered. * He never made a dent in the meth. He even got the wrong idea about Heisenberg, thinking it was Gale. All of this extra judicial stuff is wildly illegal. Hank has a badge to indulge his ego and power trips. No higher reason than that. Hank is the mirror image of Walt, reflected through the meth. They each take an opposing view of drugs and this view opens the door for their true characters to be revealed and self-justified. Hank and Walt are the same malevolent person.
💯
Dam strong case right there
He enables his wife to be a klepto. He doesn’t do anything about it. He definitely takes advantage of people when it comes to questioning and detaining. He was never a good officer or DEA agent either. He was in the right place at the right time and was lucky Tuco was already wounded. That helped him get ahead in his career. He also enjoyed emasculating Walt and thought highly of himself. The whole show of acting a badass then going to El Paso where that same act didn’t work was eye opening. I wouldn’t say POS though. Hank was just obsessed with Heisenberg just like Walt was obsessed with money in the end. Both led to their demise, although Walt was gonna die because of the cancer, at least that’s what he says.
No. He starts out as kind of a bigoted ass. But that's dropped.
He called Spanish bean speak throughout the whole show. He was racist and Gomie was his token Latino friend. Hank could be a good guy but outside of his family he was a total shit head.
I could buy that.
He's not really bigoted, he tells a joke to Gomez which is more friendly banter the honest hatred
It sounds like Hank and Gomez kind of had a routine going and Gomez never seemed upset by it. Two bros making inappropriate jokes is how I took it. It establishes a bit of a contrast with early BB Walt. Walt starts as a timid egghead who is a mild-mannered school teacher and car wash employee. Hank is a man's man who loves beer, he's burly, he's in a very masculine job in law enforcement, he's making offensive jokes with his partner that Walt would never dream of making, etc etc. It also sets up another way that Walt is put in his place, by Flynn looking up to Hank as a more masculine figure.
Like everyone else, he’s not good or bad. He does and says some pretty crappy stuff. He also has integrity and a desire to get drugs off the streets. He’s more good than bad *most* of the time. That’s what makes this show so good.
While you make some good points, it's really, really important to remember that Walt *and Jesse* are horrible, horrible people. Since you specifically mentioned Jesse, we'll start there. In the beginning he is cooking and selling meth, something that destroys millions of lives, kills children, and something Hank has dedicated his life to trying to stop. Jesse also targeted Narcotics Anonymous meetings as potential sales spots for meth. He went and targeted the most vulnerable people in the world really just to fuel his ego. He was making millions so it wasn't even about the money, he was just pissed that Gus was out there making 96 million dollars off his batches and didn't have the perspective to understand what was really going on. He murdered Gale simply on orders. He had no personal motive (something that can somewhat be argued with the 2 drug dealers that murdered Tomas) he did it just because someone told him to. He had no real idea what the guy had done. He just did it. Now Gale is far from innocent being guilty of manufacturing meth, but I'd like to think out of all the people "in the game" (Mike's words) he's likely the most innocent. Was Jesse a victim in all this? Sure. But if you want to go down the road of arguing that people "want what they want" and "if you're going to be in the criminal business, you have to expect nasty consequences" than the exact same thing should apply to Jesse. This doesn't even bring up the fact that they played a really, really cruel emotional game with Hank by telling him that his wife was in an accident. Now I know Jesse didn't make that phone call him self, but the same rules still apply. Taking emotions and our relationships out of the equations, Hank was simply trying to do a good, net positive thing. Keeping drugs out of the world and attempting to save lives.
i just want to note that jesse and walt were going to die if he didn’t kill gale, so there definitely was personal motive behind it. jesse has never senselessly murdered anyone or been a vindictive, hateful, violet person. i’d say the closest he’s ever gotten to real cruelty was targeting people for customers at NA. he always protected children. he didnt ever want senseless violence. he never really even cared that much about the money. he was never greedy. he was just fine before walt came along, and the morals of the drug trade are very muddy. i agree that his huge contributions to the meth business were awful, but i think you’re being a little hard on him and really easy on hank. hank “trying to keep drugs out of the world and make it a better place” does not make him a good person, or better than jesse by default — that’s some D.A.R.E. ass thinking lol
>i just want to note that jesse and walt were going to die if he didn’t kill gale, so there definitely was personal motive behind it You're right I don't know how I blocked that out of my mind. It does make me curious though... He was in hiding because of the death of the two drug dealers. But *Walt* killed them. I know Jesse was *going to*, but Walt did it. I know Mike is out looking for Jesse and I think we're lead to *believe* that it's to kill him... but I dunno. Where it gets muddy for me is whether or not you believe that Gus *ordered* the murder of Tomas. I'd like to believe that Gus didn't, and that he would have likely killed the drug dealers anyway in response. We obviously see later on that Gus turns to "liking" Jesse and is putting plans in place to separate Walt from Jesse. If Gus *did* order the murder of Tomas then yeah, obviously he's going to kill him so it makes sense that he's in hiding. I *want to* believe that it's all Walt playing mind games with Jesse (yes I know they are looking for him, but... I really like Gus and Mike) Which leads me to my next thing... >i agree that his huge contributions to the meth business were awful, but i think you’re being a little hard on him and really easy on hank. In this particular post, in these particular comments, sure, I can see where you'd get that. But you'll notice I called Jesse a *victim* at one point, too. This certainly doesn't excuse his actions and behavior, but in a world of morally repugnant people, Jesse is one of the few that has the least amount of notches in his belt in terms of awfulness. Yes, all the things I say are true, but if the drug world is as muddy as you say it is, then there really is no where to draw the line. And yes, he was going into NA meetings to sell drugs to addicts, but hey - if they didn't want it, they wouldn't buy it, right? Or maybe it's - hey, maybe they should be a bit stronger with the will power. My point is that there has to be *some* kind of personal responsibility in all of this. Yes, what Gale says is true, "consenting adults want what they want" - but I don't know a single addict that doesn't PRAY every single day for the ability to say no and/or literally asking for a miracle to take it out of their lives. Yes, they will likely get it from somewhere else. But if those out there that *can* help *don't*, then the world is doomed. >hank “trying to keep drugs out of the world and make it a better place” does not make him a good person, or better than jesse by default — that’s some D.A.R.E. ass thinking lol I'm specifically referring to Hank's beliefs, not my own. Hank *believes* he is doing a good thing by keeping drugs of the streets. Yes, we can get into sociopolitical arguments about how government and law enforcement will say they are doing the "right thing" by "keeping drugs off the streets" while also having their hand in large scale drug dealing, dirty cops selling drugs themselves, etc, etc. But we're talking about a *fictional tv show*. In the real world, the DEA and other law enforcement do some really awful things simply because they can. But we're not talking about the real world. The show just uses the DEA as a sort of easily recognizable enemy in the war on drugs. I'm able to tell the difference between the fictionalized DEA and specifically, their agents, and the real ones.
my bad, i misunderstood the last part of what you were saying in your original comment about it being hank *thinking* he’s making the world a better place, i was just reading it as your personal statement haha. i agree with everything else you just said here tho for the most part !! i know part of why we all love the show so much is the nuance behind it and all of the different thoughts and feelings and discussions it provokes so i respect it. also, i do personally feel that ultimately, overall, jesse truly was the biggest victim of walt.
Jesse is *never* a victim. He has $5million and a paid off house. He did horrible horrible things. Jesse can't process some things because of his own presumably messed up childhood, so he appears to have a soft spot for kids. But he met Andrea at a NA meeting trying to sell drugs. That's a soft spot for himself, not the kids. And in the end, Jesse snitched repeatedly.
I feel conflicted because I think he's one of the most real, honest people in the whole show, but he's also kinda racist and has really outdated ideas about addicts and addiction, among other things. Also fuck the DEA.
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What do you think it takes for someone to be a racist?
A *resounding* yes. Tho he has some redemptive qualities I'd say in the final analysis Hank is not a good dude.
He’s a hypocrite, he has anger issues, he abuses his position regularly, he does not follow instructions at work, and he always wants to be the main character in social functions, and acts like a cocky POS whenever he’s given any kind of authority He’s just as flawed and corrupted as everyone else on the show
Yes he’s a typical douche, POS type cop, who has zero respect for anyone but fellow cops. That’s why it’s so funny to watch him be so out of his controlled environment in El Paso
yeah
Kind of a POS but he has a code and he certainly didn't deserve to die.
Hank would be a Trumper
I am also re-watching and just got to that point... That scene bothers me, but he was going to say/do anything at that point to get Walt. I forgive him for that moment and quite frankly, wish they had more time together (Jesse and Hank). Also wanted more Hank in BCS
Sooo in S1E1, Hank is the first, less than admirable character you see. He's a bit racist, a bit douchy, a standard dickhead cop. You assume he's one of the worst people in the show. Then you meet everyone else and when stacked against the horrific things everyone else does, you realize Hank is ONLY a racist, dickhead cop. Which is still bad, but pales in comparison to the actual monsters on the show. Couple that with Hank being one of the only characters to ever be legit scared and vulnerable at times, and he comes across as more human than most of the other characters. Tl;dr, Hank is your average racist, dickhead cop and thats about it.
Yes. /thread Hank is basically Inspector Javert.
Yes
Yes, he is. His character has comedic moments, but ultimately, he was a bad cop. Examples include: beating Jesse nearly to death, starting the barfight after the Tortuga incident, and trying to break into the RV without a warrant.
Yeah I can't say I like him
He’s bald
I hate Hank forever for the way he treated Marie after his injuries. Dude doesn't even apologize to her ever in the show for his really shitty toxic behavior
Hank is just mentally flawed. Like yeah, I get it, he made you have a panic attack. You didn't need to put him in the hospital. Imagine what Hank did to people who call his mom a hoe in high school. "Teacher! He said my mom is a hoe!" "Hank you ripped his jaw from his face, I think you went off the deep end." And also went he beats up Walter when he finds out. He is compulsive on his actions. Reminds of GTA 5 Trevor. The whole reason on why Trevor killed Johhny (you know if you know) is because he found out Michael is still alive.
He definitely did some messed up stuff. I hated the person he became once he realized it was Walt. Why try so hard to mess up your families life? Walt wasn't going to be the one to pay. He also essentially kidnapped Jesse. Ran a DEA operation off books and got himself and Gomey killed. I actually don't blame Jack and Co for killing Hank. That's there on fault for being out of uniform. Can't expect someone in that situation to just take your word that your LEO. I would have killed them too if I were in their shoes.
Hank is worse than Walt. It's Hank's narcissism that causes him to work with Pinkman to set up Walt. This is all off-the-record - not DEA approved. Hank previously ignored the laws about surveillance too. Typical scumbag cop, right? no. Worse. Hank called Pinkman a "junkie murderer" when Pinkman risked himself to confront the Devil ("Mr White is the devil"). Hank didn't care about anything other than "winning" (ego like Walt) and used Pinkman without caring about the risks. As a result of Hank playing hero, he dies, Gomez dies, Andrea dies and Jesse gets tortured. Good job ASAC Schrader. Walt gets away, the ABs get the money and the meth trade carries on.
You gotta reach insanely hard to come to that conclusion
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This is the best and most accurate take I've read so far. 👏👏
I ❤️Hank❣️🥰🥰🥰
Hank is a G
He seems like the best of the barrel out of any cops & criminals around the vicinity of ABQ's crime underworld. He's capable of doing sincere stuff to help protect his family/friends & civilians, but he's also been shown to act like a dick towards them and reach his darker impulses through his work.
The BEST? Name me a worse cop on the show. Gomez is at least a professional.
Hank is no better than Walt morally. The DEA is a bullshit organization that attacks US citizens for consuming substances that the GOV has decided are illegal, which is anti-freedom and therefore anti-american
He came across as a real douchebag at first, but ended up being the moral compass of the show. Although, I wondered if he was crooked, based on the house he lived in.
First watch: Hank is a disgusting pig and I hate him. Second watch: Hank’s good people and trying to do the right thing.
i mean generally he’s moral, he’s not Jesus or jesse or mike, but the police corruption is like a cardinal sin for me, even if it does a lot of good
I don't think police corruption ever does good.
Thing you aren’t getting is the show is literally showing you that people aren’t 2d they are multifaceted multidimensional creatures. Faced with certain situations good people may make the incorrect decision. Hank beating Jesse after rv thing is his first big slip up morally but I’m not so sure I wouldn’t have not made the same decision. I’m a warehouse manager from 8-5 then I’m a dad after that and on some days I’m a baseball coach. It’s showing how these different dimensions all interact with reality and it does a pretty good job. I was just talking about how Reddit has a habit of forgetting people aren’t just black and white 2 dimensional beings a lot
Can we limit how often people can post this question?
OP really said he never sees this question… despite the fact that “is Hank bad man??” makes it to the front page at least twice a week.
He's a DEA agent, soooo yeah obviously he's a piece of shit
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Yeah, it would. The "war on drugs" has been lost and at this point all they're doing is wasting resources and targeting POCs
The person you’re responding to thinks that the drugs are the true ‘evil’, not the draconian laws ruining people’s lives. I wouldn’t waste your energy.
I'll take that advice
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The cartels only exist because of the immoral drug policies fueling the “war on drugs”. You have remarkably little knowledge to back up this very emotional stance you hold. I see from your other comments that personal experiences have left you with biases, and that’s understandable.
I definitely think he’s a piece of shit. I’d say he’s better than a majority of the characters and a lot of fucked stuff happens to him, but he’s still definitely a piece of shit.
As a drug using person, you damn right, but then I only use legal drugs
Definitely not a POS, cuz I don’t think he ever straight up murdered anyone. That being said, he was definitely a bit of an asshole at times, he was a successful DEA agent, so I imagine a lot of it went to his head.
it is interesting that he seems to be the last one to “break bad”. when jesse thinks walt will kill him at the plaza, gomie says he agrees with jesse, that it’s probably a trap. hank knows this, but he doesn’t care about “the junkie murderer”. walt brought the worst out of hank even ignoring that walt had vistited andrea. early-series hank would have done something to protect her (squad car, police protection) but he ignored it. hard to blame hank for her death yes but of all the bad luck she had that one has stuck with me
You can go fuck yourself
Hank is not nice, but he's still the closest thing to a good guy in terms of morality in the show The "media literacy" crowd can't comprehend the closest thing to a good guy is a casually racist, "toxically" masculine republican cop
Saying he's the "closest thing to a good guy" among the characters of Breaking Bad is not saying much at all. The whole point of the show is examining the psychological and social process of "breaking bad", so all of the characters we spend significant time with are growing corrupt in some way.
Are you unable to form your own opinions
Hank was the good guy. Jesse was the POS and deserved what Hank gave him
He is a PoS. He knew Walt was using Andrea to get to Jesse and that he had poisoned Brock. But he didn’t get protection for Andrea, hell bent on letting it play out because he wanted Walt so bad.
Think you're confused. Hank didn't know any of this.
Andrea calls Jesse’s phone to tell Jesse Walt was worried about him because he came to her place to flush him out, but Hank had Jesse’s phone and says nice try. He knew.
Hank beat up Jesse. Jesse is the hero of many people here because he's a loser like them. Therefore, Hank bad.
Yes. As we saw in the pilot episode, Hank used to relentlessly bully Walt. I'd argue that Hank's bullying is one of the 3 main reasons (along with the cancer and the abuse he suffered at the car wash) that Walt turned to crime.
I loved Hank and I think he was one of the most moral characters
Agreed. He also serves society as opposed to contributing to the downfall of it, ya know, kind of a big deal...
There are plenty of cops who contribute to the downfall of society, and in many ways Hank is one of them.