As I explained previously how Walter White’s spiral was inevitable, in this post I will discuss one of the first detrimental moments in Heisenberg’s transformation. Once joining forces with the deuteragonist, Jesse Pinkman, Walter is faced with his first dose of ethical dilemmas. After being invaded by two rival dealers, Walter thinks quick on his feet to de-escalate the situation and save himself and Jesse. Walter’s diversion kills the first dealer, Emilio, but only severely wounds the other, leaving him and Jesse with a lot of cleaning up to do. At this point in the first season, Walter is heavily affected by all of the heinous crimes and actively tries to conserve his morality. When left to deal with the second dealer, Krazy-8, Walter makes a pros and cons list to weigh his options. As he tries to avoid extreme measures, Walter gets to know Krazy-8 a little, as he looks for any good reason to let him go free without consequences. Walter cares for Krazy-8 while he’s imprisoned in Jesse’s basement, going as far as to cut the crusts of his sandwiches and mutually sharing stories about their families. Consequently, these interactions make it harder for Walter to tie up loose ends, because he gains empathy for Krazy-8 and does not have the guts to finish the job. The writers consciously added these scenes of contemplation and the two getting to know each other to show the moral struggle Walter is faced with, to later contrast Walter’s emotionless personality in later seasons. After Krazy-8 pleads and convinces Walter to let him go, he realizes that no matter what he decides someone is going to die, so Walter has to “be the man” and chose himself over Krazy-8. Thus, the murder of Krazy-8 is one of the first moments Heisenberg abandons his morality and takes over Walter White.
