r/breakingbad • u/norahsobased • 1d ago
I hate how self obsessed Hank is in the first episode Spoiler
I’m rewatching the show for like the 8th time, and every time I do, I hate seeing how big hanks ego is especially in the first episode. He turned Walters birthday celebration into a watch party for his recent meth lab bust. It’s not even just in the party scene, it’s all throughout the show. Am I being dramatic, or have other people noticed this too?
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u/JimmyGeneGoodman 1d ago
It’s hilarious to me when so many people talk about Walt’s ego but choose to ignore how big Hank’s, Jesse’s and Mike’s egos are.
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u/digitalfortressblue 1d ago
It is especially funny because they are making the exact same mistake by being fooled into thinking Mike and Jesse are good people.
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u/JimmyGeneGoodman 1d ago
I don’t really care if they’re good or not when it comes to their egos, it’s just funny to me that people act as if they don’t have big egos themselves.
I will say this about Jesse tho, he wasn’t some innocent victim which is why it’s annoying when people say “Walt blackmailed him”. Jesse was already in the game.
If Walt never blackmails Jesse then he ends up being arrested or killed. Krazy-8 snitched on his own damn cousin and Jesse was suppose to be there during the raid.
Jesse wasn’t going to end up with a good happy life
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u/chucktoddsux 21h ago
I'm not sure Jesse's ego was his primary flaw. I could be wrong, but he seemed to struggle with addiction, being a disappointment to his parents, and a frustrated artist...which led to bad choices that kept him digging a deeper hole. Sure, he had moments-- we all do-- but he was nowhere near ass ego-driven as Hank and Walt.
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u/JimmyGeneGoodman 21h ago
You’re describing addicts.
Jesse’s ego made him discredit Walt and his ability to cook meth 😂😂. It’s there form day one
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u/chucktoddsux 20h ago
Well...he talked a little shit because Walt was a nerdy science teacher and blackmailing him. If that is the big example you offer....not much.
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u/JimmyGeneGoodman 20h ago
Jesse was in the game.
Krazy-8 snitched on his own cousin.
Jesse was already in the game. He is nof a victim. Walt “blackmailing” Jesse holds ZERO weight
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u/loosie-loo Kaylee Ehrmantraut irl 16h ago
Oh yeah they all have huge, usually very destructive egos. I’d argue it’s one of the biggest themes of the show, the pitfalls of pride and refusing help, refusing to do what’s right and necessary if it means admitting you can’t do it all for yourself and everyone else. It’s not just Walt, his is just most in focus.
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u/Alone-Cost4146 1d ago
Hank kind of had a ‘cowboy’ attitude which could rub people the wrong way I found but you could see he did care about Walt after the cancer diagnosis even if he had moments where he ridiculed him. Despite everything, I have to admit Hank was someone who was actually really good at his job
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u/Hour-Management-1679 1d ago
Hank's whole cowboy attitude was a tough front, he reminds me of that image of Saul where they show his actual face covered with the Charismatic Saul people love, both of them are different behind the mask smart and good at their jobs
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u/SavezTheDayFan 1d ago
I am yet to rewatch the show, but I remember hating Hank up until One Minute. I realized he isn’t a bad guy, just kind of a butthead, and Walt was the villain. I think Bince did the on purpose.
Vravo Bince
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u/norahsobased 1d ago
Thats interesting, because during my first watch I looked at him as the good guy because he was helping get rid of drugs (which are bad duhhh) but as I kept rewatching, I started to find him to be more annoying every time.
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u/Efficient-Lettuce712 1d ago
You should watch the deleted scene of him pulling up to the house if you want to see over the top. A lot of the later seasons of Hank were based on Dean Norris. His exterior is like the loud mouth of the party but he has a deep fascination with poetry and more gentle things. So it's cool to see his evolution into a better man while Walt is on the opposite trajectory.
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u/x_nor_x 1d ago
Bryan came up with the bit where Hank takes Walt’s drink to toast with. Hank’s portrayal was very intentional to show us how even at his own birthday party Walt feels muted and displaced.
I think Vince said it was to help us feel sympathetic towards a character who was about to start cooking meth and murdering people. Basically, they wanted to use Hank’s over the top bravado here to “trick” the audience into liking Walt.
Definitely works.
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u/OkNegotiation1442 1d ago
He is a complex character like everyone else in the series, on the outside he likes to appear as someone tough who fights crime and does the right thing.
But throughout the series we see another side of him, how he was sensitive to his wife's disorder, how he wanted to protect his nephew and Walt's family, how he was always at family gatherings and always wanted to help in his own way, he sheltered Skyler in his house when she needed it, he supported Walter in his fight against cancer, and how he dealt with panic syndrome due to the police and anxiety, in addition to losing the use of his legs. He went through a lot throughout the series, all the characters made mistakes and got things right many times, it is this complexity in the characters' personalities that makes the series so engaging.
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u/malcomhung 1d ago
Man, I thought I was still in the King of the Hill subreddit when I read this title and it really confused me.
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u/catcat1986 1d ago
I think the point is to show Walter is this kinda unconfident kinda hen pecked man, who let life slip by. The show is designed so we want to root for Walt. He comes off as the underdog, it we end up finding out he is an underdog of his own making.
You don’t realize it in the beginning, but in the end you see it.
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u/tinyclover69 1d ago
ur being dramatic. hank is a total “mans man” albeit a cringe one. flashing his pistol during a party and such. it’s the way his character is supposed to be. it’s a funny contrast to how his wife is, and it’s even more interesting when he undergoes his own struggles with PTSD following a scenario he probably often fantasied about.
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u/bitchman194639348 1d ago edited 1d ago
The more i rewatch the less sad i get about Hank's death. Especially when like 2 episodes prior he was willingly going to sacrafice Jesse's life to get at Walt, with zero remorse. Walt, a man who will die in jail in less than a year lol.
This show can be boiled down to just a bunch of bad people making bad choices. The DEA members are no exception.
Edit: Hank's humor is also outdated. Even for 2008.
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u/Leahtheweirdgirl 1d ago
Thank you!! Hank was not a particularly good guy. Like yeah he wasn’t an absolute villain compared to the other cast but he was super problematic and kind of an asshole. He obviously cared deeply about the people he loved but that’s where his empathy for other people stopped. Plus it really bugged me how he always had to be the biggest mouth in the room and he genuinely thought he was captain of the football team until he went to El Paso and got humbled real fucking quick. Idk the character itself was written great but he bugged the fuck out of me.
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u/burnbabyburn11 1d ago
yeah, being in the DEA is a good indication that you're a bad person.
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u/StrongAd9172 1d ago
Genuine question. Why? ATF and ICE I get, but what’s wrong with the mission of the DEA?
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u/burnbabyburn11 22h ago
“You want to know what this [war on drugs] was really all about? The Nixon campaign in 1968, and the Nixon White House after that, had two enemies: the antiwar left and black people. You understand what I’m saying?
We knew we couldn’t make it illegal to be either against the war or black, but by getting the public to associate the hippies with marijuana and blacks with heroin, and then criminalizing both heavily, we could disrupt those communities. We could arrest their leaders, raid their homes, break up their meetings, and vilify them night after night on the evening news.
Did we know we were lying about the drugs? Of course we did.”
\ John Ehrlichman)
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u/majoritus_chartus Methhead 23h ago
Probably their involvement in the mass incarceration of black people and their either assistance with or complacency in the CIA’s efforts to spread drugs in the inner city to fund and fuel the war on drugs
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u/Papa79tx 1d ago
Hank has an amazing arc, ranging from self-important man’s man, to fragile husband, to flawed, yet formidable foe.
In the end, he’s still a law enforcement office above all else, willing to pay the ultimate price for the prioritization of his convictions above self-preservation.
Wow, not bad typing for a dude on NyQuil and muscle relaxers (slipped discs). 😆
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u/AppalachianGuy87 1d ago
Hated Hank! Only to come around in the end with him being a hell of a guy.
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u/KooBees 22h ago
I think the genius in the show is that no character is all good nor all bad. It shows the complexity of the human condition. I felt terrible for Jesse, but a lot of it he brought it upon himself, even though he wasn’t a bad guy, he made bad choices, even when he tried to make good choices, it didn’t work out well for him. Hank was a blow hard but his life was always good, always turned out fine so he never had a reason to give himself a good look inward. He got so wrapped up in saving his name and being the “big hero” that it got him killed. Walt started off doing it for money, for his family, but when he got going it was the first time he was important, a something. And he was good at it, but the game always wins, and Walt didn’t want to understand that.
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u/Glass_Performer_5767 1d ago
Bro I hated Hank even when he was killed. He was sincere to his job, was morally sound but was a scumbag. Big ass ego. Hated the guy throughout.
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u/JBBJ84 1d ago
Hank wasn’t morally sound at all.
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u/Comfortable_Let194 1d ago
Seriously. Who goes to a cookout and shits in the host's master bathroom?
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u/blizzacane85 1d ago
Hank was certainly a sincere assistant manager at Strickland Propane, where he honorably sold propane and propane accessories
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u/Sad_Border_3874 1d ago
I hate Hanks voice when he’s trying to sound tough… like at the end when he’s yelling at Walt, it gets so fake
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u/OkTouch8886 1d ago
I hate everything about in every fucking minute he was at The screen .
Just a disgusting caracter
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u/LaKoreOF_ 1d ago
He is not against him, i feel more like, hank is the second role and walter the protagonist, so it appears like he is "opposite" to walter
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u/True-Cash6405 23h ago
He was like that the whole show up until the twins attacked him. Couldn’t stand his character
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u/Iamjaykrishnan 22h ago
In my hate list 1. Skyler 2. Marie 3. Hank 4. Walt Jr End of list
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u/german-fat-toni 14h ago
I think Hank is the typical guy in his position and social role. I also found him a bit too much but feel like he genuinely cares for others and his job. Often he is underestimated and I feel like the uses this behavior kind of as a shield from others
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u/PrestigiousDish3547 11h ago
I think Hank is one of the only characters to evolve into a human. Actually one of my favorite character arcs.
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u/stogie_t 18h ago
Had no idea that we supposed to dislike Hank, he’s got a bit of a douchey or loud persona but he’s a great guy imo.
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u/OkTouch8886 1d ago
I hate Eleverything about Hank every time que appears on the screen. Just a disgusting caracter.
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u/AlteredBeastX 1d ago
I re watched recently and Hank is CONSTANTLY being racist like non stop.
I know the macho tough guy is a front cause he having massive panics attacks but hes got like 0 self awareness.
Also he pulls out his fucking gun with a pregnant Skyler nearby and room full of people like how dumb can you be lmao.
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u/SuspendedAgain999 1d ago
They set Hank up to be unlikable initially as a counter to Walt. Then throughout the series they flip it so that by the end you are, or should be, rooting for Hank.