Walter White Jr.

Walter Hartwell White Jr. (also known as Flynn) is a fictional character in the crime drama series Breaking Bad. Played by RJ Mitte, Walt Jr. is the son of main protagonist Walter White and his wife Skyler. He has cerebral palsy, as manifested in speech difficulties and impaired motor control, for which he uses crutches.

Walter White Jr.
Breaking Bad character
RJ Mitte as Walter White Jr.
First appearance"Pilot" (2008)
Last appearance"Felina" (2013)
Created byVince Gilligan
Portrayed byRJ Mitte
In-universe information
Full nameWalter Hartwell White Jr.
Aliases
  • Flynn
  • Junior
  • Emo McGee[1]
OccupationStudent
Family
HomeAlbuquerque, New Mexico, United States
Date of birthJuly 8, 1993

Fictional character biography

Season 1
See also: Breaking Bad (season 1)

Walter Hartwell White Jr.[2] is the teenage son of chemistry teacher Walter White Sr. and writer Skyler White, and has cerebral palsy.[3] When Skyler tells her sister Marie Schrader that she is working on a new short story with a stoner character in it, she asks her about marijuana. Marie assumes that Skyler thinks Walt Jr. is smoking pot, but Skyler insists that she was just talking about her story. Marie asks her husband Hank, a DEA agent, to scare Jr. straight, leading him to Walt Jr. to a motel to show how meth has corroded the teeth of a prostitute.[4] After Walt Sr. reveals to Hank, Marie, and Jr. that he has cancer, a fact he already shared with Skyler before, Jr. berates him for acting weird and nonchalant about his cancer. He also becomes upset at his father's decision of not choosing chemotherapy.[5] Over the weekend, Jr. and two friends are waiting outside a convenience store, waiting for somebody to buy them beer. The friends run away when Jr. approaches an off-duty cop. The cop tells him he got his "first and last warning." At an intervention held by Skyler for Sr., Hank, Jr. and Marie argue over what to do. While Skyler and Jr. want him to take the treatment, Marie, and later Hank, feel Sr. should be given the choice to decline the treatment if he wants; Sr. ends the intervention saying he will not do the treatment.[6]

Season 2
See also: Breaking Bad (season 2)

Jr. and Skyler are disturbed when Sr. cheerily makes breakfast despite his condition. Hoping to reconnect with his son, Sr. offers to give Jr. a driving lesson while Skyler is out. Jr. shows his skill at driving, but Sr. notices that he is using both feet to work the pedals. When Walt tries to get him to only use the right foot, Jr. gets upset and accidentally hits a safety cone. Around this time, Jr. adopts a new alias: "Flynn".[7] Jr. later creates a website so that people can donate to his father's cancer surgery, unaware that Sr. lives a double life as meth kingpin Heisenberg and has enough money which he does not want to reveal to his family. Sr.'s lawyer Saul Goodman arranges for a wave of fictional "donations" drawn from Sr.'s drug money, in order to launder it and also make Jr.'s efforts appear successful.[8] Jr.'s website gains media attention due to its apparent success; Sr. is uncomfortable in the spotlight.[9]

Season 3
See also: Breaking Bad (season 3)

When Skyler and Sr. separate, Jr., given no explanation by either parent, only sees that his mother has (from his point of view) inexplicably thrown his terminally ill father out of the house, and he takes his father's side.[10] He later experiences severe difficulty understanding why his mother (who already knows about Sr.'s double life) refuses to let Sr. back in, eventually snapping at her over dinner. Jr. goes to visit his father, who also does not tell him the truth, eventually calling Skyler about his whereabouts. Sr. takes his son home, where he tries to appease Skyler with pizza, to no avail.[11] After Sr. moves back into the house and tells Skyler he has no intention of leaving, Jr. is thrilled that his father is back, while Skyler's attempt to have Sr. thrown out fails.[12]

Season 4
See also: Breaking Bad (season 4)

When Jr. tells his father that Skyler already set the date for Sr. to move back in, he is unnerved.[13] Sr. tells his son he is not moving back home and buys a flashy new Dodge Challenger car for him, but when Skyler comes back she demands Sr. return it, lest he blow his cover.[14] Rather than return Jr.'s car, Sr. takes it on a joyride, crashes it, and blows it up.[15] On Jr.'s birthday, Sr. never arrives to help Skyler present his birthday gift, a Chrysler PT Cruiser which he is less than excited about. Concerned about his father, Jr. pays him a visit, only to find him bloodied and on painkillers and alcohol. Concealing his fight with Jesse Pinkman, Sr. blames it on gambling; he tearfully apologizes but later accidentally calls Jr. as "Jesse" before drifting off to sleep. The next morning, Sr. finds Jr. on his couch and apologizes for his drugged state, saying he does not want to be remembered that way after he is gone. However, Jr. seems to be more satisfied with his father's apparent truthfulness than his double life for the past year.[16] Gus Fring, for whom Sr. works, takes him to the desert and fires him, informing him that Hank will be killed and that Sr.'s entire family will be murdered if he interferes.[17] Skyler, Jr. and his sister Holly go under DEA protection at Hank and Marie's home.[18] Jr. later watches a news report about Fring's death, unaware that his father caused it.[19]

Season 5
See also: Breaking Bad (season 5)

After Skyler, Jr. and Holly return home, Jr. explains that Fring's illicit activities are the subject of a media frenzy and that the DEA believes the danger against Hank and Marie Schrader has abated.[20] Sr. and Jr. retrieve Sr.'s Pontiac Aztek from an auto repair shop. The mechanic believes the car will last a long time, but when Sr. puts on the hat he dons for his Heisenberg persona, his pride takes over. Sr. impulsively sells the Aztek to the mechanic for $50, leases a new Chrysler 300 for himself, and later leases a new Dodge Challenger for Jr.[21] Jr. remains oblivious to his father's drug trade life until Marie (who already knows, along with Hank, and is confident that Sr. is in Hank's custody) forces Skyler to reveal the whole truth to her son. Upon learning of his father's connection with Hank's death, Jr. mistakenly concludes that he killed Hank. Feeling betrayed, Jr. calls 911 when Sr. fends off Skyler's knife attack, thus forcing Sr. to leave and eventually end up on the most wanted list.[22] Months later, Sr. learns that Skyler and Jr. have left their house for a small apartment. He telephones Jr. and says that he is going to send money to Jr.'s friend Louis, who should give it to Jr., who should give it to Skyler. However, an enraged Jr. refuses, tells his father to hurry up and die, then hangs up.[23] After visiting Skyler for the final time, before leaving Sr. watches from afar as Jr. arrives home from school.[24]

Concept and creation

Walt Jr. is portrayed by RJ Mitte and is the eldest son of protagonist Walter White and his wife Skyler. Creator Vince Gilligan commented on the character's habit to be eating breakfast a lot during the series by saying: "Flynn’s favorite breakfast food I would think is a toss-up between some form of dry cereal or bacon. Flynn definitely loves his bacon, although definitely not vegetarian bacon — which tastes, of course, as we all know, like band-aids. Admittedly, you don’t keep a tally of how often you’ve seen Walter, Jr. eat breakfast. And then suddenly you turn around one day and you say, 'My God, this kid. All he does is eat breakfast!' So, that amuses me and the other writers as well, greatly. The idea that Flynn or Walter, Jr. — depending on what mood we’re in we’ll call him one or the other — but Flynn’s love of breakfast indeed seems to know no bounds."[25] Walt Jr.'s Flynn alias was derived from actor Errol Flynn.[26] Though Mitte too has cerebral palsy, albeit a milder variation, he does not use crutches unlike his character.[27] The fictional website that Walt Jr. creates to collect donations for his father's cancer treatment also exists as a real website, and as of 2013 the donations made to this website were directed to the National Cancer Coalition.[28]

Gilligan had plans for Walt Jr. to be killed off early into the series, much like Jesse Pinkman.[29] Mitte even said that he himself wanted the character to be "bludgeoned and beaten to death".[30][31][32]

Reception

At the 2013 Media Access Awards, Mitte received the SAG-AFTRA Harold Russell Award for his portrayal of Walter White Jr. on the series.[33]

Other appearances

Mitte voiced Walt Jr. in an episode of Robot Chicken titled "Food".[34]

gollark: I mean, it's a novel idea.
gollark: A Macbook as a *phone*?
gollark: No. They cost too much.
gollark: Your carrier provides ones you actually interact with? Weird.
gollark: That doesn't mean it's the SIM card doing it.

References
  1. Tucker, Ken (August 12, 2012). "'Breaking Bad' review: Robbery, death, and Meryl Streep". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved August 16, 2020.
  2. Grieco, Jake (October 3, 2013). "Walter Hartwell White Sr.: father, husband, friend, meth kingpin". The News Record. Archived from the original on April 18, 2020. Retrieved June 18, 2020.
  3. "Pilot". Breaking Bad. Season 1. Episode 1. January 20, 2008. AMC.
  4. "...And the Bag's in the River". Breaking Bad. Season 1. Episode 3. February 10, 2008. AMC.
  5. "Cancer Man". Breaking Bad. Season 1. Episode 4. February 17, 2008. AMC.
  6. "Gray Matter". Breaking Bad. Season 1. Episode 5. February 24, 2008. AMC.
  7. "Down". Breaking Bad. Season 2. Episode 4. March 29, 2009. AMC.
  8. "Phoenix". Breaking Bad. Season 2. Episode 12. May 24, 2009. AMC.
  9. "ABQ". Breaking Bad. Season 2. Episode 13. May 31, 2009. AMC.
  10. "No Más". Breaking Bad. Season 3. Episode 1. March 21, 2010. AMC.
  11. "Caballo sin Nombre". Breaking Bad. Season 3. Episode 2. March 28, 2010. AMC.
  12. "I.F.T.". Breaking Bad. Season 3. Episode 3. April 4, 2010. AMC.
  13. "Shotgun". Breaking Bad. Season 4. Episode 5. August 14, 2011. AMC.
  14. "Cornered". Breaking Bad. Season 4. Episode 6. August 21, 2011. AMC.
  15. "Problem Dog". Breaking Bad. Season 4. Episode 7. August 28, 2011. AMC.
  16. "Salud". Breaking Bad. Season 4. Episode 10. September 18, 2011. AMC.
  17. "Crawl Space". Breaking Bad. Season 4. Episode 11. September 25, 2011. AMC.
  18. "End Times". Breaking Bad. Season 4. Episode 12. October 2, 2011. AMC.
  19. "Face Off". Breaking Bad. Season 4. Episode 13. October 9, 2011. AMC.
  20. "Live Free or Die". Breaking Bad. Season 5. Episode 1. July 15, 2012. AMC.
  21. "Fifty-One". Breaking Bad. Season 5. Episode 4. August 5, 2012. AMC.
  22. "Ozymandias". Breaking Bad. Season 5. Episode 14. September 15, 2013. AMC.
  23. "Granite State". Breaking Bad. Season 5. Episode 15. September 22, 2013. AMC.
  24. "Felina". Breaking Bad. Season 5. Episode 16. September 29, 2013. AMC.
  25. Krzyzanowski, Jeanine. "Vince Gilligan Answers Fan Questions (Part II)". AMC. Archived from the original on April 20, 2019. Retrieved May 3, 2020.
  26. "Breaking Bad: The Reason Why Walt Jr. Changed His Name To Flynn". Screen Rant. March 22, 2020. Archived from the original on May 6, 2020. Retrieved May 16, 2020.
  27. Gary Strauss (February 21, 2008). "For teen star of 'Breaking Bad,' real-life disability is no obstacle". USA Today. Archived from the original on October 17, 2019. Retrieved April 18, 2020.
  28. Couch, Aaron (August 22, 2013). "AMC Drops 'Worst Charity' From 'Breaking Bad' Fundraising Website". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on September 19, 2018. Retrieved June 17, 2020.
  29. McCluskey, Megan (July 20, 2018). "Breaking Bad's Creator Could Not Kill Off This One Character". Time. Archived from the original on May 21, 2019. Retrieved May 16, 2020.
  30. Moore, Sam (July 20, 2018). "Breaking Bad's RJ Mitte wanted Walt Jr. to be 'bludgeoned and beaten to death'". Metro. Archived from the original on July 21, 2018. Retrieved May 16, 2020.
  31. Snierson, Dan (July 19, 2018). "'Breaking Bad' alum RJ Mitte wanted Walt Jr. to be 'brutally murdered'". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on July 26, 2018. Retrieved May 16, 2020.
  32. Alexander, Susannah (July 20, 2018). "Breaking Bad star wanted Walt Jr to be brutally killed". Digital Spy. Archived from the original on June 18, 2020. Retrieved May 16, 2020.
  33. "2013 Media Access Awards". Writers Guild of America. November 1, 2013. Archived from the original on January 3, 2014. Retrieved June 17, 2020.
  34. Walsh, Michael (May 8, 2016). "Robot Chicken's Breaking Bad Rap Is About Cooking up Breakfast". Nerdist. Archived from the original on April 19, 2020. Retrieved May 3, 2020.
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