Breaking Bad: The Psychology of Walter White (based on Nietzsche)

“The higher man is distinguished from the lower by his fearlessness and his readiness to challenge misfortune.” Friedrich Nietzsche.

Breaking Bad is considered one of the best television series ever made. It tells the story of Walter White, an unremarkable chemistry teacher diagnosed with terminal lung cancer. Shortly after the diagnosis, Walter decides to cook methamphetamine with former student Jesse Pinkman. And so his metamorphosis from a timid, awkward man to a ruthless underworld kingpin begins.

During his evolution, Walter White leaves a trail of destruction. From the beginning, he justifies his actions by telling himself he wants to provide for his family, as he won’t be able to look after them anymore after his illness kills him. From this perspective, he rationalizes earning money by cooking and selling meth as a selfless act. But throughout the series, it becomes clear that his family isn’t the only reason he does what he does.

Walt feels defeated by life and seeks redemption by becoming the best meth cook in the region under the pseudonym ‘Heisenberg.’ His distinctive blue crystals quickly become infamous with the underworld and the Drug Enforcement Administration, or DEA. The character of Walter White shows an interesting psychological transformation throughout the series that has been discussed and analyzed for years. Was Walter White simply a frustrated man gone evil? Or was there more to his evolution into Heisenberg? Could it be that Walter White achieved what many others only dream of, namely, to overcome himself?

Through the lens of Nietzsche’s idea of the ‘Overman (or Übermensch),’ this video explores the psychology of Breaking Bad character Walter White. Please note: this essay doesn’t condone Walter White’s actions, nor does it encourage people to imitate him. Also, this video contains Breaking Bad footage and imagery which belong to Sony Pictures, and it does contain spoilers.

In the first episodes of the series, we meet Walter White as a timid man, showing characteristics of low self-esteem and an inferiority complex. His posture is slightly bent forward. He generally speaks softly, half muttered, and rarely maintains eye contact. As a high school teacher, his pupils don’t respect him in the slightest, and at home, he’s henpecked by his wife, who loves him but doesn’t seem to acknowledge him as an equal within the household.

At a surprise birthday party, we see his macho brother-in-law and DEA agent Hank Schrader poking fun at Walt’s masculinity. To make ends meet, Walt has taken on a second job at a car wash, where he receives continual disrespect from his boss Bogdan. When a couple of his students see him washing a car, they laugh at him. His mediocre life is in stark contrast with his actual capabilities. Walt is a brilliant chemist who has obtained a Ph.D. and was once part of a startup called Gray Matter with two friends from graduate school, Gretchen and Elliot.

Gretchen and Walt were romantically involved at that time. But for personal reasons, Walt sold his share of the company to Elliot for $5000. Gretchen and Elliot eventually married each other, and Gray Matter became a multi-billion dollar company. Walter later felt that Gretchen and Elliot stole his work and blamed his financial problems on them. Despite his setbacks in life, Walter White remains a very prideful man.

He refuses to take help from Gretchen and Elliot, who offer to pay for his cancer treatment. Walt loathes the fact that his son looks up to Hank but looks to Walt with pity and eventually enforces his role as a father upon him. Also, he doesn’t want his wife Skyler (who’s pregnant with their second child) to work, as he wants himself to be the provider of the household. Walt’s ego gets particularly hit when Hank tells him, undoubtedly with good intentions, that he’ll always look after his family (something Walt feels incapable of doing).

His pride, his unwillingness to accept the past and how his surroundings perceive him, and his persistent feelings of inadequacy, shame, guilt, and r...