Breaking Bad: Todd Alquist - The Dark Child 

"Todd isn't a psycho, or o sociopath" *proceeds to explain Todd's completely sociopathic behaviours and actions*

"He doesn't seem to be particularly malevolent." That's what makes him so creepy and weird. He does all his evil acts up to and including murder so matter of factly. He doesn't enjoy the evil he does, it's just what he does. He makes evil seem routine, like something you just do like cook dinner or take out the trash.

I never thought Todd was evil. Sociopathic, sure, but not evil. When he says he didn't want to kill Drew, I believe him. I think he genuinely did it because those were the instructions. "No-one other than us can ever know that this robbery went down." Todd is like a robot. Following orders without care or emotion.

One moment that always stuck out for me is in the finale, after Walter has shot up the Nazi compound. Todd just looks out of the window and is like "Jesus, Mr. White", like he's thinking "somebody just shot everybody with a machinegun from a car trunk, can you believe it Mr. White?", expecting that they are both going to go out and investigate what this situation is all about. He is about as disconnected from the real world with its real humans in it as you can be.

I think the idea of Todd as a sociopath/psychopath comes from his not realising that an act is evil rather than the acts themself. Sure he only killed Drew and Andrea because of business but he full on doesn't feel remorse for what is done, Todd killed them and felt the same way as Skinny Pete when he killed the beetle Jessie was playing with.

Todd is absolutely a psychopath, how anyone can say otherwise is beyond me.

It was revenge for Andrea, along with a bunch of other things. There’s nothing we could do about it. Jesse was a made man, Todd wasn’t. We had to sit there and take it. It was amongst the meth cooks. Real chemistry shit.

Todd was perfectly cast.

To me he is the scariest type of evil. Not planning evil, just in the moment. Nonchalant, no sympathy and as you say, childlike but it feels fake to gain thrust. Fascinating character

Tbh Todd mentally can’t comprehend that the sh*t he does is wrong Him being well mannered isn’t him putting on a front it’s just who he his

I think of him more as like an innocent kid that is raised in a cult of pure evil from birth. He sweetly and politely accepts this world and tries his best to accel in it earnestly, while still trying to be (or appear) as decent sane and happy as possible.

He has an extraordinary ability to gain 100 pounds and lose it again very quickly. Bravo Vince!

Interesting how Todd and Jesse are similar in their relationship with Walter, but opposite in their personalities. In which, Todd was the image Walter wanted Jesse to be. But once Todd replaced Jesse, you could tell quickly that that paring wasn’t going to last long. Tells you something about Walt. In some way, he appreciated Jesse because he was the more moral of the two. Even he didn’t realize it.

Todd has sympathy for people but no empathy for people. He understands people’s logic but not people’s emotions.

Greatest Matt Damon doppelgänger in television history.

Todd's innocent-like demeanor doesn't not make him evil. Some of the worst kind of people are the ones who don't even realize how evil they are.

I had very similar thoughts especially during that scene in El Camino where Todd said he was sad about "having to kill" his maid. I mean I kinda believe him, he maybe was sad about it but still had absolutely no qualms about doing it, so that makes him very scary indeed, it's like he does have some emotions in him but he is so easily able to put them aside to do heinous things.

Todd is just a soldier who is completely at peace with what he is.

Kino: "Idk why Todd is hated among the community" "Todd keeps Jessie as a slave." Wow Detective Kino, you might have just cracked this case.

Put your psychopathic traits away Todd

Todd was the best thing introduced into BB later stages

I believe Todd is the adult version of the little boy Jesse had to spend the day with. The family that were heroin addicts and lived in filth. Who’s parents died in front of him. The mother killed the father right in front of the little boy so violence was unfortunately normalized in that trauma. Todd is the adult manifestation of that little boy growing up with no guidance and parenting.

He’s the literal definition of a sociopath, he doesn’t kill because he is “evil” rather he does it when it’ll be convenient for him and his family.

Point: Being a psychopath doesn't make you evil. It makes the majority of them prone to it yes. Being a psychopath means zero empathy which Todd is definitely guilty of. That's that.

Todd is definitely a sociopath and I caught on early to how he's a dark version of Jesse, but i still like him

I think your characterization of Todd actually seals it for me that he’s the most evil character

I love this character analysis series! Keep it up Kino! The Sopranos and Breaking Bad are my favorite tv shows ever, so you covering them in depth is entertaining and fun. Making this busy college student quite happy :)

Todd’s honestly a perfect Psychopath. He simply feels nothing and does what he thinks is necessary. That’s what’s scary about him - there’s nothing below the surface. Nothing scarier than somebody with zero capacity for remorse, compassion or empathy.

Todd is a product of his environment. He was raised around Jack and his gang. That's why he is the way he is. Had he been raised by a normal family, he'd probably be a pretty decent person. He is what happens when you take a child and purposely condition them to have no conscience.

Todd had those Manson lamps

Spot on analysis that Todd and Jesse both have a childlike innocence (as seen with their parallel care for, and fascination with insects). 👌 And that’s what is SO fascinating about Todd! He is absolutely a textbook psychopath/sociopath, but *huge* credit to the writers for creating a fully fleshed-out human who is more than the sum of his parts. Todd is complex. He performs like a soldier, just following orders; but he is in a very different kind of war where he truly does have choices. And the absolute lack of empathy/sympathy he experiences makes him utterly unnerving.

You answered your own question. The fact that Todd doesn't have emotional reactions such as remorse or regret or has no emotional or physical needs for his acts is what makes him PURE EVIL. He's the same as Micheal Myers or the Joker... until they tried and FAILED to make those characters human with a backstory.

I like your take on Jesse and his baggy clothes. Sure, our generation’s love for really baggy clothes is deep. But we all reached different ages where they just wouldn’t fly anymore. Jesse hung on a little too long, lol.

How can you hate this guy? He’s such a genuinely kind and well mannered stone cold killer, plus a humble hardworking man. He kills women and children but does so out of necessity and responsibility(from his warped perspective).

He's not the most evil character. He isn't sadistic, doesn't do evil because he likes to, or just for the sake of it. Everything he does has a logical reason. What makes him evil though is his absolute willingless to do anything and do it without hesitation and without remorse.

1:19 Apparently this guy doesn't know what a sociopath is....

It's largely his indifference to the suffering of others around him that marks him as a sociopath, even when he watches his uncle get killed in front of his he doesn't seem that bothered by it

I think people hate him so much because he’s not a “likeable” villain. Characters like Walt,, Gus, Lalo etc are just as bad if not worse but are more sympathetic or charismatic which make them easier to enjoy on screen.

I mean, that's part of a psychopath is. They don't have remorse or a capability of knowing right from wrong, morally speaking. That childlike view of things is exactly this.

Another interesting scene is when Jesse pulled a gun on him in El Camino, shortly after burying the cleaning lady. Todd didn’t get mad or punish him after, as anyone else would. He even offers Jesse pizza to diffuse the situation. It’s almost like when your dog barks at you and you ask “are ya hungry boy”?

Maintaining a childlike lack of empathy well into adulthood is a hallmark of the personality disorder we would have previously called psychopathy. So maybe not intentionally evil or malicious, but people's perception of your actions matter more than your intentions 90% of the time, and at a certain point, you just have to call a spade a spade.

It's the sick childish innocence that always surrounds his heartless acts, combined with Aryan Nation vibes. That's why he seems more evil than the rest. While walt seems hardened by his actions, this is still a coping mechanism that shows he's affected at least a little by his deeds. Todd will strangle a pup and go out for ice cream right after.

Cool video! Personally, I would have done a separate video for Fat Todd, since he's big enough to be his own separate character.

I have never heard such a complete and articulate summary of a character. Subscribing and looking forward to more.

Todd is hated for 2 reasons. Shooting the kid during the train robbery, and torturing and caging Jesse.

He has no remorse or feelings about killing people, that’s why people hate him. He’s a creepy sociopath.

Todd is the guy you always want around when shit go down Rip legend

The fact Todd killed out of nothing personal, makes him more of a sociopath

Todd's childlikeness and awkwardness with Lydia remind me of the school boy who falls for the young substitute teacher.

You kidding me? The creepiest part about him is he seems to not understand the evil things he does They're just tasks Sometimes he might need to pick up stuff at the store Sometimes he might need to murder a little boy I don't think he's able to look at jobs as immoral

Wait people hate Todd? Bro this guy was one of my favorite side characters for how absolutely unhinged he can be while looking so innocent like

Dude, he killed a kid then he killed his housekeeper and he shot Jesse's woman in the back of the head and showed no remorse whatsoever. If that's not a psychopath I don't know what is.

He was a total psychopath. Weird dude. No feelings. Evil and shallow.

apologizing to someone 1 second before you murder them means it's not evil. aight.

A lot of people hate Todd and I understand why, I can’t honestly say I like him either but I can say he wasn’t attached too his feelings he just did what needed to be done sadly the business they’re in that’s exactly how you needed to be. One of the greatest shows ever❤️

You could rename this "I don't understand Todd - here's how."

Dude, you don't know what the definition of evil is.

The fact that his parents are gone and he's with his uncle might have a lot to do with it. Someone taught him manners, grooming and dress from a young age, and it certainly wasn't Uncle Jack and his gang. His parents clearly taught him to respect authority figures, and then they were gone and his main authority figure was Jack, and then later Mr. White. Todd is a good boy, doing what needs to be done according to the people who know best, like a farmboy who likes the chickens, takes good care of them and keeps them well-fed and comfortable, but also knows that at some point that the chickens will be dinner and that's just a fact of life.

Todd never recovered from the guilt of killing the guy that tried to rape Tara in the parking lot

Todd is most definitely a psychopath, sociopath, and a serial killer. He killed Drew Sharp, Andrea, and his maid. The very definition of a serial killer is someone who murders at least 3 people. And that isn’t counting who he may have killed when his crew took out Declan’s crew.

Not comprehending morals is what makes someone a sociopath. Sociopaths are evil. And because it's an innate trait, not even worth trying to redeem. There's no point.

Todd is most definitely a sociopath/psychopath due to the fact that he cannot understand other’s emotions. That said, I don’t think he’s anymore evil than anyone else. He is actually pretty loyal and follows orders to a T. I think the reason the community is so harsh towards him is bias for Jesse (which is understandable) due to a lot of Todd’s actions harming Jesse.

He murders his maid because she finds his money in El Camino too. Then enlists Jesse to help him remove the corpse, while acting like Jesse's just a buddy of his he's asked to help move a couch. That puts his murders up to 3 innocent people. He's a sociopath, but a more realistic one. He doesn't feel anything, but isn't always overtly hostile or malevolent. He just has no problem killing if it's more convenient for him that way. Sociopaths in real life aren't all evil serial killers, most of them are just emotionally dead inside and sometimes a-moral as a result. I think his association with his uncle kind of enabled him. He knows there's no real consequences if he kills someone because Uncle Jack will clean up, so it becomes an option for solving any problems he might encounter. I've had the misfortune of knowing several sociopathic individuals in my lifetime, one was physically and emotionally abusive towards me when I was a kid. Most of them have more in common with a high school bully than Ted Bundy. Some are pretty much fine, they know what's expected of them and what role they have to play in society and perform said roles, they just don't actually have feelings like normal people. Sociopaths are really good at playing pretend, they see how normal people act and replicate it. Some I've spoken to are genuinely confused as to why things don't seem to affect them like other people, others think everyone is like that and it's normal people who are "pretending," putting on a show for each other but deep down unfeeling and uncaring like they are. A lot just seem to do the best they can to get through life like everyone else. I heard a statistic once that 1 in 100 people are sociopathic, and 1 in 100 sociopaths are violent. Most sociopaths I've met are liars, scam artists, and/or bullies. They take advantage of every situation they can and while not generally violent (my step dad is the only truly violent one I ever met, that I know of) they certainly have a tendency to be predatory. I had an abnormal psych professor that described them as "sharks with human faces." They're the people who have no qualms fking you over without a second thought if it benefits them in some way if they, and this is key, believe they can get away with it with zero consequences. I see Todd as a depiction of a more realistic sociopath who's protected from consequences by a powerful individual. He never sees anything he does as wrong, he has myriad excuses for each murder and believes each victim forced his hand. He simply doesn't feel the pain he inflicts on others. He isn't driven to hurt people because of sadism, like someone like Tuco, but rather self-interest. In Todd's mind, the kid died because he was in the wrong place at the wrong time and Todd was doing what he had to do to protect the team. Angela died because Jesse disobeyed Uncle Jack. The maid died because she was snooping. It's always someone else's fault, not Todd's. He didn't want to kill them, he had to kill them to protect himself and his uncles gang and business. The most dangerous people you'll ever meet are those with a mix of sociopathy, narcissism, and a deep sadistic streak that makes them actually enjoy the pain they inflict on others, it's one of the only things that makes them actually feel anything at all. This is where you get the more evil serial killers like Gacy or Bundy. Sociopathy by itself, usually results in just a scammer or liar or bully, unless they have an Uncle Jack, then it's whatever. It's not like they're gonna experience consequences for their actions, and knowing they will have consequences is what keeps a lot of sociopaths in line.

I think the hate for todd comes from killing Andrea, she was a genuinely good person who seemed like jesses way out of the criminal life

Everything this guy says Tod is not, he is. He is the textbook definition of a sociopath.

He's a psychopath. How is that not obvious to You? His lack of emotions while hurting and killing others and unability to emphatise with others is a definition of psychopathic behaviour.

Didn’t Kino almost drown in three inches of water? The penguin exhibit.

Jesse inadvertently brought down the south west meth empire and escaped to Alaska.

They call me Argon. . .they call me Dark Child.

finally a Todd video.....he was one of my fav characters to watch....so creepy

The opposite of good is not evil. It's indifference. Thats why fans find him so deplorable. He has no empathy towards humans but does not delight in harming others like Jack and the gang. His violence is purely utilitarian. He cant be reasoned with empathy. If it furthers his needs, anyone Innocent is killed without a second thought. That's why everyone views him as the most evil

The tarantula foreshadows Jesse's fate.

He just a lost child trying to fit in..

He is the epitome of "indifferent"

You perfectly described a psychopath

He is definitely a psychopath. But he doesn't kill because he likes it or because he derives some sort of joy out of it. To him, killing is like doing the dishes. It's like "oh no, anyways" And like you said, he's like a child. He does what he is told without question. You could argue that he has some sort of relationships with Jesse, Jack and Lydia. But they are superficial and he doesn't REALLY care like a normal human being would. He is one of the most mundane,normal and realistic depictions of a psychopath I have ever seen

Dude was literally a serial killer.

This can all be true while him simultaneously being an evil psychopath.

Dude....Todd is a complete sociopath with ZERO conscience. He killed his housekeeper because she stumbled on his money. To me Todd is the scariest character in the show because this is the guy who will smile in your face and blow your brains out without even flinching. You know Tuco is crazy. Gus will give the fake smile but when the smile fades you know he's about to kill you. Todd? Opie Taylor, Ritchie Cunnungham looking serial killer? I would hope to never meet a Todd.

"He does evil things, sure, but he doesn't seem to be malevolent"....duh, that's the definition of a sociopath.

This is a stretch. Even a Child could recognize how a human being should be treated. I think Todd is really broken person

I always felt like Todd and Uncle Jack's gang were fairly good in terms of business and demeanor. They were always relatively fair and reasonable. Leaving Walt a barrel after he gave them the location of his money, coming to save Walt even after he said never mind in the dessert, Todd apologizing to Andrea before killing her, Todd trying to help the empire, and more. As a gang, they were relatively reasonable.

Todd is a psychopath because he doesn't have the capacity to actually care about people and he has absolutely no moral compass. He's not cunning or greedy. He's just bluntly evil. He never feels remorse for his deeds because he doesn't even have a concept of good and evil. When his family is murdered he doesn't even care. He's just impressed with how Walt killed them. Every other villain in the show has some kind of code of honor or their own moral perspective, however twisted it may be. Todd doesn't. That's why he's so uniquely evil.

a silly but IMO funny premise would be that Lydia made it thorough and recovered in the hospital and due to Jesse's weakness, he wasnt able to kill TOdd with the chain but only render him unconscious. The show will be a sitcom about Todd and Lydia now being married in some other town after seeing the vacum cleaner dude. It could be a sitcom about their family life called "I simp for Lydia"

in a life of crime he’s a nice dude

That's the thing about Todd, he kills with no passion, no impulse, and no emotion. Murder is a job to be done not an emotional task that burdens him. Todd didn’t wanna kill Drew but he dud because it was like squashing a bug. You'll kill a bug if it bothers you but if it's just going about its day you wouldn't bother to kill it. He's completely indifferent either way. That's what's scary about Todd.

Mate, I usualy agree with you- but you said it yourself: "He causes harm and distraction around him, BUT it's because he *doesn't even realise* or *care* what the demage is" Thats textbook psychopathy mate😂 They are not always sadistic/malevolent- they "just" lack parts of frontal lobe for emphaty and guilt.

There are a few seconds which are shown in this video but not discussed. His reaction to the machine gun’s work goes the furthest for me towards explaining who he is. Every other deed he has witnessed or done has happened to someone he is not particularly close to, which leaves it uncertain whether he’s driven by indifference (or malice) towards people outside his group, or those traits towards everyone. He certainly seems to be close to his uncle and the group in other scenes. Seeing him peering out of the window removes that possibility. His entire extended family, by blood or by familiarity, has died. It doesn’t register. His body didn’t see fit to present any of this to his mind. There is a puzzle, something he doesn’t understand, outside, and now he’s drawn to the window. He isn’t really in the same world as the other people here. He’s in some kind of dream.

Someone clearly didn't see Todd's video of Analyzing Evil

its the fact that hes not malicious that makes me think hes so much worse, cause at least someone like tuco owned his actions and didnt act like an innocent golden retriever

I will hear no slander of Yacht Rocking, Bean and Bacon Soup Loving, No Loose Threads leaving Todd.

Todd is a immature psychopathic monster. He kills with no remorse . No amount of rationalization changes that. Not a bad kid but seriously crazy.

The character of todd actually has been aplauded as a very realistic depiction of a psychopath, Todd doesn't have some lust for murder, in the show he only does it because it seems like the best course of action for his interests at the time, which is exactly how real life psychopaths act, they ussually don't do bad things for the sake of it but rather because empathy just isn't a factor in their decisionmaking

"Gee mister white...that sure was nifty..."

Todd is LITERALLY a serial killer. He's not typically what you think of when you think of a serial killer, but by the literal definition (having killed 3 or more people in seperate incidents), he is a serial killer. I don't remember if he kills more than the 3 that I remember, but I remember he killed his cleaning lady, Andrea, and Drew Sharpe.

Todd is a psychopath job done

He’s not malicious but he does do despicable and evil things without flinching. He’s a perfect example of the banality of evil he had no issues killing or torturing as long as it’s the easiest way to get to his goal. If you judge people by there actions he is ABSOLUTELY evil but he isn’t consciously malicious or sadistic just amoral and remorseless.

Todd is just so nice and too eager to please.

Tod was pretty good in 'I'm Thinking About Ending Things'

Isn’t it funny how Jessie finds a beetle and lets it go and Tod finds a spider and keeps it as a pet just like he did to Jessie