10 Times Breaking Bad Was Actually A Comedy

Breaking Bad evolved into one of the darkest shows in TV history throughout its five seasons. Walter White (Bryan Cranston) sheds his goofy exterior from season 1 as he climbs the ranks of the drug game and obliterates his family’s hopes and dreams in the process. It’s all utterly tragic and a haunting warning to those with giant egos and selfish ambitions to find other avenues for their misery than cooking methamphetamine. 

At the same time, the premise of creator Vince Gilligan’s show is a tad funny, don’t you think? Walt’s lack of common sense, Jesse’s (Aaron Paul) clueless, yet good-natured inner core, and Saul Goodman’s (Bob Odenkirk) crooked criminal law firm combine for a cartoony outer shell that’s brought to life by actors who have tons of comedy experience throughout their careers. These are the 10 funniest moments in Breaking Bad!

“My name is Skyler White, yo.”

The first season of the show arguably possesses the most chaotic comedic energy in the series. Watching Walt and Jesse bumble through drug dealing, hiding bodies, and maintaining a facade all against the backdrop of Walt’s cancer diagnosis emanates black humor in the best ways possible. When Skyler (Anna Gunn) starts to sniff around her husband’s alternative line of work, she incidentally pokes fun at Jesse’s mid-2000s Millennial slang and misunderstands the severity of the situation. Paul’s facial reactions to the encounter sell the scene exquisitely. 

“Get off the toilet!”

Walter and Jesse couldn’t be more different in demeanor and motivations for dealing drugs. This results in incessant bickering that resembles a married couple more than a teacher and former student, and Cranston and Paul are a match made in heaven. The banter often breaks up the atrocious consequences of their actions, none more so than when Jesse wants to smoke some meth on the can. Do you think Walter approves? 

“Fuck you and your eyebrows!”

Walter White earns a lot of enemies throughout the series. He never seems more disgusted than with his car wash nemesis Bogdan (Marius Stan) in the pilot. In a moment where Walt just can’t put up with his life anymore, he lets his boss have it. Effective use of the f-word and Cranston’s awesome line delivery makes for an unforgettable laugh. 

Jesse Endures a White Family Dinner

Breaking Bad is very much not funny throughout season 5. The blackness of the endgame hangs over our favorite characters like the plague, but one last cringe-worthy comedic sequence interludes during the first half of the season. Jesse tries his best to smooth over the ripe hatred that Walt and Skyler exude during a forced dinner, but even he doesn’t understand the severity of their broken marriage. It shouldn’t be funny, but it’s funny. Kind of like in a Ross kissing his cousin type of way. 

Walter and Jesse’s first cook

When Walt and Jesse combine their meth cooking talents for the first time it’s nothing but straight comedy for the fans at home. Jesse calling a farm a cow house, Walter stripping to his briefs, Jesse grilling said tighty whities: what more could you ask for? 

“Yeah, Mr. White! Yeah, science!”

Thinking back to times when Walter and Jesse didn’t disdain each other becomes impossible in later seasons, but the first several episodes with the duo make it seem like they might just like working with one another deep down somewhere. Jesse’s childlike innocence and Walt’s pseudo pep talk make for the show’s most nostalgically warm scene and a big smile on the faces of fans. 

“Restrain this!”

Bryan Cranston never shies away from showing off his bottom half without pants on. It produces one of the funniest moments of season 3 when he’s wallowing in self-pity after a phone call from Skyler in which she threatens to file a restraining order against him. Walt’s exasperation with his wife creates one of the more human and hilarious responses from him in the show.

“There’s rot.”

Walt’s paranoia throughout Breaking Bad makes it hard for audiences and characters in-universe to decipher the motivation behind it. Right after he’s cleared of his cancer at the end of season 2, he spends almost an entire episode trying to clear his house of wood rot and fruiting bodies. Nobody understands what’s happening, but Walt’s constant reminders to Skyler and Flynn never fail to amuse us as he acts like his chores are life and death. 

“They’re minerals! Jesus, Marie!”

Hank’s mineral phase after being shot in season 3 makes it hard for Marie (Betsy Brandt) to function in her daily life. The DEA officer bides his time in bed ordering rocks online, an annoying new hobby for the Schrader household. The obsession makes for some of the best memes in Breaking Bad. 

Hector’s Big Interrogation Poop

Toilet humor gets the best of all of us, even if we should have outgrown it after middle school. When Hank and Gomez (Steven Michael Quezada) want to get information out of Hector (Mark Margolis), they get a poopy floor instead. The sound effects, Margolis’ face, Aaron Paul’s reaction, and Hank’s blunt assessment of the diarrhea make this scene a golden brown.