Walter White & Heisenberg | A Follow-Up Analysis 

This Reminds me of the laws in chemistry Conservation of mater mater can't be created or destroyed just converted or change form. (INSERT A TRITE ESSAY BELLOW) Idk if my original comment is still on your og video but I have since changed my thoughts on the concept it was a goodman turned evil but I want to elaborate in the patented usless breaking bad essay that somebody probably already said the same thing at some point because math Walt and heisenburg arent things out of nowhere The scene where walt talks about his dad. The time he rejects eliot in s1 and the flash back in season 5 show he always had pride that never changed. I don't count the 2016 interview that explains why walt left Grey matter mainly because it doesnt appear in either of the shows and is stupid for reasons I wish I could get into but regardless Walts transformation is not out of no where I think the idea he was always evil isn't what vince is saying BUT BUT. Obviously his pride never changed the most modest he js is when he said to jesse I'm glad it's acceptable after sinking down to the level of cooking meth. Which puts in perspective the most modest he gets is when it's somthibg he isnt proud of which is reading way to much into a single line of duolog but food for thought To me walt changes because he couldn't accept the thing he could never change. Some say brba is a story about toxic masculinity and to be honest that makes sense. But I prefer to see it as a contest between Peter and Vince to see who will get more essays But fr I see it as a story about acceptance The "I did it for me"scene is about walt adniting to himself not skyler he just wanted to say that infront of the person he kept telling the lie he told himself Walt both did and didn't change. Compare him killing krazy 8 and jane to lydia and brock. Walt appoligizibg to Krazy 8 when he is dead is very different to him justifying poisoning brock to jesse. Walt pretty much changes because he is in denial essentially He did change ethically but it's not as simple as good man turned evil or man never changes as a person only in status. Walt changed because he didn't accept that he was an arrogant pathetic man with poor self esteem and it made him a narcasistic man motivated to be the big man all behind a poor self esteem His talk about no more blood shed is a lie he tells himself so he could be the big man and he tells himself that lie to the point that it didn't matter if there was blood shed. He changed into an evil man because he didn't accept his own flaws until it long since made him evil. I think Bryan said somthibg to the effect take this with salt though Walt wasnt good or bad i dont think walt even knew who he was and didn't know if he wanted to be a drug dealer until he later did. I think it summarizes his transformation. That's my take on walt always being an asshole I don't expect people to agree on principle but idk Anyways that's another usless breaking bad essay nobody asked for

Based and sigmapilled review 😎

Maybe Skyler kicked him out *because of the Goatee 🎉😂😊

@@Lektuerekurs I don't think it was solely because of that, but it was probably a contributing factor. Once she knew about his business she probably saw it as a physical manifestation of Walt's newly emergent criminal persona. And she wasn't entirely wrong, it was the Heisenbeard after all

It's when he registered under that name, duh 🙄

​@@LocalSlasher That was the moment James Morgan McGill Esquire became James "Saul Goodman" McGill.

This was the moment when @TheSonicBros1 became the one waiting for the moment Jimmy McGill became Saul Goodman.

The moment Jimmy becomes Saulomanca

The moment Mike Ehrmantraut became Finger

to be honest, he could've turned out worse

I'm now imagining Jesse during downtime explaining Sonic lore to a Walt who looks like he wishes he could die right then.

@@SaiScribbles in the original script for the fly episode, that's the moment walt settles on when he should have died

You didn’t have to bring the holy gospel into this

And don't you forget it.

I think this is a point that a lot of writers get confused by. They try to create a "sympathetic villain" with some traumatic backstory, and it's often lame. You don't want a villain who's a good guy deep down. You want a villain who IRL people with low emotional intelligence will claim did nothing wrong, because that means that the explanation on WHY your villain is a villain is believable. It's kinda making your villain sympathetic but to a specific and arguably counterintuitive demographic.

​@@williamking7800do tell Can you give me an example of a villain that f Your interpretation?

I can't really say that dumbing down is even needed. It's more the shitposting and irony stops being separate. The funny jesters parrot the same viciously contrarian opinion that it ends up consuming them. Even if you "dumb things down" shitposters will find away to twist everything to complete lunacy. Best thing to do is to not care and enjoy the wildfire

@@redline841 shitposters have concrete brains, so i don't worry about them.

@@redline841 I think it's cute that you think they stop being separate. As if they were ever truly ironic. What's ironic is the irony itself; pretending it's a joke is a cover to be serious in safety.

I think that Walt's interaction with the Schwartzes was a major turning point in his character. In some flashbacks we see Walt talking with Gretchen in a way we never really see Walt interact with anyone later: full of energy and enthusiasm. I think that after that and before the beginning of the show, Walt went from being attracted by intelligence, to viewing intelligence as a threat. I don't think it's a coincidence that Walt settled into a job he's overqualified for, nor that he picked a spouse who he would see as intellectually non-threatening. I generally agree with Verdana's analysis of Walt's relationship with masculinity, but as far as Walt's relationship with intelligence I think one could say that the fallout with the Schwartzes was when Heisenberg was born. The trauma that Walt experienced then told him that intelligence was a weapon to be wielded against others, initially in the context of against Walt himself. He then tried to become a pacifist in that regard, sheltering himself from who he sees as intelligent people. But as the series begins he embraces his own cunning without fundamentally changing his view of it: as a weapon. Being "the smartest person in the room" is an ego thing for Walt, but it's also a warped survival strategy.

That's a really good point. Also I love hearing about people reevaluating Skyler years later. She's not super likeable but she was so overhated, like people refused to try and put themselves in her shoes bc they were too focused on how "cool" Walt was

One aspect that I think is interesting, is just how much Skyler is a better criminal than Walter Walter prides himself on being smart and having a million plans where he always gets away with it, even if he often spiraled into an even worse situation, but when Skyler does crime, she does get away. Firstly she doesn’t report the cooked books of Tod, which is already a crime, she was now an accessory to tax fraud, made worse because she as the bookkeeper and as such had knowledge of the situation. She later on fakes not knowing how to do her job and plays the bimbo convincingly enough that the IRS drops the suspicion of fraudulent intent. Which happened after she impersonated a government official well enough, that she was able to bully a man into selling his business for below market rate. She also never got too greedy and laundered more than what would be reasonable. Then she sent to men to intimidate Tod into paying his taxes and keep him hostage for a week. That woman is scary and if she wanted to, she might have been able to do almost as much harm as Walter

I think that's a common thread for older men dating younger women. A better example than the one given in the video anyway with Walt jumping on Gale after he made a 'mistake' in the lab. He didn't, Walt had already decided he needed Jesse under his supervision again and had begun to edge Gale out of the picture and was gaslighting Gale to give credibility to his lies. Had nothing to do with feeling like Gale was smarter than him

Hey wait I know you wtf

I really loved that lawyer character. I would really like to watch a show about how he ended up in his position.

@@depotheose7890 the comic relief guy? Vince is good, but I doubt he'd be *that* good.

​@@depotheose7890i think a cartoon comedy would be fitting

​@ooooothatsshit158 Yeah I think your right

such a hidden indie gem of a show

I also just watched the original video yesterday!

Same here dude what the hell RU-vid is freaking me out

@@cbj4sc1 The algorithm gods are blessing us.

I think that's missing the point a bit. Like that one clip from one of the writers said, they were careful not to add too much of Walt's backstory to the show to avoid people trying to pin his whole personality on one event. You could also pin a lot of his actions on how he felt cheated out of Gray Matter, he feels his legacy was stolen away so he has a need to build a new one and works hard to be the top dog in the meth game, he feels poor compared to what he could have, so he works to make money even when he doesn't need to anymore, and so on, I'm sure there's a lot more. Point is, there really isn't just one event, Walt probably feels like he's been the underdog his whole life, with loss after loss and everything he does, he does because it makes him feel powerful and he likes that feeling. Doesn't need one exact reason why he feels he needs that power.

I think it was a moment that made it possible for Walter to later admit to Skyler that he did it for himself.

sus amongus

100%, that scene was intentionally placed into the final episode of BCS for a reason, and that line for that reason. They drop a bunch of subtlety to give us an interaction between the two shows flawed protagonists at the lowest points of their descents (literally talking to each other in a hole in the ground), clearly to give more direct commentary on both of them. Its like fanservice for people who over-read into character writing lmao

I was thinking the same thing watching this video

"its just so stupid!" points to flynn

I think there really is a lot to say about how Walt treat's Flynn's disability throughout the show, but this is a point I didn't consider before. Good catch.

@@TiredCapybara It's kinda cool how his condition isn't brought up that often, but in a way it serves as a contrast to Walt. He got dealt a rough hand by life through no fault of his own, but he embraced help (not that he had any choice), never gave up and ended up a well-adjusted and charitable person.

I didn't even catch that.

I think it’s because the hat only fits when he’s bald.

No it’s because bald people are evil

Ooo I never thought about it maybe being a subconscious way to relate himself to Hank

Walt keeps all information withheld, literally everything, he won't share anything until it gives him an advantage, which is hoe he gaslights and lies to everyone

Good catch. My thoughts originally were that Walt was always like this because everyone take advantage of him all the time and mock him. And your comment adds to it. And I also remember the scene in season 1 at Elliotts birthday (correct me if I'm wrong). The moment he is talking to colleagues of Elliot. It really seems like they on a different level than Walt. And he is very uncomfortable talking to them. The same with gus and Mike. They surely see his true colors but bc Walter knew he's smarter than them(on intellectual level I mean) he's not that much scare of them as for example Jack. Walter knows that Gus and Mike are rational people, that they have limits. But Jack don't. That's why he was pleading for letting Hank go. He met truly ruthless man with no morality. And he knows he can't kill Jack and his crew right away because his not prepared. Unlike Jesse who immediately kills Gale at first order. Shame, I didn't really saw it after the first watch of the show

Huh?that explains why i feel that jacks gang are more terrifying even though they are objectively weaker than mike or gus

This is kind of idiotic, walt even impressed Gale who is regarded as above-average. I think Walt was successful in the show in becoming "the one who knocks" but the point is that that wasn't a good thing in the end becoming that person is what destroyed everything around him. But he was good at being an outlaw his own knowledge and plans saved him many times + allowed him to beat Gus. Also, the nazis were literally taking orders from him until a certain point. He was pretty successful in being human garbage

I haven’t seen BCS so the first point is fine I guess, the second not really. His research did contribute to a project that was awarded the Nobel Prize and he was immensely praised by Gale, who definitely was an above-average talented chemist.

@@svietlana5091 first point didn't really make sense either those "polite criminals" Who is Gus? The person who tried to kill Walt and his family and got outsmarted by Walt in the end. Or maybe Tuco or Crazy 8 💀 Jack wasn't anything special other than circumstances

People idolize the Tate brothers.

@@Itsunclegabby it's mostly stupid 13 year olds with masculinity problems

I didn't discover Breaking Bad until after the series finale. But the old me probably was the kind of person to idolize Walt. I wasn't involved in the drug trade or anything, but I was a lying narcissist, and it's downright scary how many times I told my now ex-wife that I was doing things for my family. The scene where Walt says he did it for himself hit me real hard the first time.

I was rooting for him on my first watch, despite all his evil deeds, but this Walter White worshipping is beyond cringey. He's not a good person, the show makes that very apparent.

I think he is quite admirable but I don't even know how I would defend his actions.

I think you’re right.

100% agree

This is how I’ve always thought of it too

I think the point of the scene is to have the audience unsure. I remember when I first saw it I went back a bit and rewatched for clues, and I think THAT is the intent. And I think the point of THAT is to put the audience in Gales shoes. It's saying that Gale doesn't know if Walt is telling the truth either, but he reacts that way anyway.

100% agree with this. I'm quite sure the opinion expressed in the video regarding this is objectively wrong given the intention the writers had

Do you see now All this murder and you still aren’t *BASED* -JetStream Sam

Probably Skyler's doing.

It was the breakfasts

@@williamking7800 skyler was doing all the ACTUAL work needed for a happy, healthy family life, walter white was just trying to convince himself that he was doing it for his family, when in reality he was extremely damaging to his entire family. walter didn't do it for his family, he didn't do it for money, he didn't do it for the sake of making meth; he did it because of his pride.

@@manboy4720 I'm not a fan of all/none/always/never statements, so I wouldn't say that Skyler did all the work. Walt would probably object and be able to point to one, maybe even two, significant (and real) accomplishments on his part over the course of a decade. But let's just agree that Skyler undoubtedly did most of the work.

I think it's kind of ignorant to disregard Walt ENTIRELY, especially when it comes to shit before the show even started. Like he obviously raised his son well and his family loved him before the show started. Sure he had an ego, sure he was prideful, but he was still a decent man at the end of the day. I disagree with the notion that he was "Always bad, only hiding it". I think what people are misinterpreting is that he had great POTENTIAL to be bad, and the cancer was the catalyst for the extreme reaction that unleashed his darker elements.

I think the real trauma wasn't at the hospital watching his dad die, but before that. It's not right for a kid to watch a close family member die and be overwhelmed by disgust at their weakness in that moment. Something else happened either prior to that or shortly afterwards that twisted the way Walt interpreted the entire experience. I don't think the hospital was in any way "one event" that "makes a person who they are," but instead an indicator that Heisenberg has been a part of Walt for an extremely long time.

Yeah in every fandom critique video I never see someone state that these fans in particular are like this .... because they're like this. It's always "you're being dumb, and if you just realized it you'd be better for it". For some this is true, for many this conclusion is irrelevant, because they'll just come back with more and more rationalizations about how everyone who disagrees "is dumb and just doesn't see it their way." Most likely many of them aren't deeply examining their motivations for championing such characters. Exposing that they're likely like this literally because they're just like them frfr, might do better to initiate. So yes, please do a vid on this if interested.

It's 1 30 am here too

how was it

@@KingKCoolworth it

So far I haven't met anyone who uses the word "based" unironically who isn't actually that dumb

I don't like musk, but probably not for the reason others do

@@redline841why don’t you like him

@@blob_man_guy1582 Not doing enough to start shit. Should have unbanned way more people and dug his heels in. Basically to put in funny words, I was hoping he'd be Hitler 2 like all the people were hyping him up to be but instead I just got another centrist redditor.

​@@blob_man_guy1582he doesn't want to inprison people who force kids to eat veggie bacon.

Oh, I agree. Walter is a better man than Gus Fring, or any of the Salamancas owing to the fact that he is actually capable of empathy, he just suppresses it in favor of his greater ambitions.

You say Walt's care for his family "is just undeniable" but Walt himself denies this in the final episode. And I think it's clear from the way he admits it, that he understands that it's a lie that he sold to himself so he wouldn't have to look too closely at his real priorities. Walt makes the distinction between a rationalization and genuine caring, and that's a distinction you should make too. No, Walt didn't objectively care about his family. He wanted to believe that he objectively cared about his family, which is a different thing from actually doing it. The reason that Ozymandias shows is such an emotional moment for Walt is not because he cares so much about his family. Walt collapses because the lie of him caring about his family dies in that moment. (He still attempts some additional manipulations before the rest of his family realizes that the lie is dead, but they figure it out too quickly.)

He never denied that he didn't care for them. Have to also point out that the entire point of the phone call in Ozymandias is that it proves just how much Walter actually cared about them. All Felina actually does is that it shows him accepting that his motivations were fundamentally selfish. Anyone who looks at that and thinks he never cared for his family is just illiterate plain and simple. But Walter absolutely did care for his family and Felina doesn't change that. He still went after Jack for killing Hank and stealing his money. He still got the money to Walter Jr. It wasn't a redemption, just him finishing what he started, which was his desire to be the one to provide for his family. While his goals were ultimately selfish and centered around gratifying himself, there's absolutely a sense of care to it. Walter didn't just get shattered because his lies about loving his family fall apart. It's more complex than that. Walt doesn't try to lie to them. He tries to brush it off because he doesn't want to say that Hank is dead. He then denies that he killed Hank (which is true) and they didn't believe him because he was so manipulative. That moment is where you see Walt as the paradox that he's written to be. He can both genuinely care for people yet ruthlessly manipulate and lie to them. While Walter's perception of what family means eventually become a superficial excuse to rationalize his actions, that doesn't mean he doesn't care about any of them. The scenes that most show this are his scenes with Holly as they show the other side to Walt and show that he was never fully gone. @@williamking7800

@@errwhattheflip I don't view going after Jack as being motivated by family. I think most of Walt's resentment is ego driven there. He is upset about being deposed as the boss. Regarding the money, I think it's still mostly ego. He knows that Walt Jr won't consent taking the money so he plans to circumvent this lack of consent. This shows disregard for who his son is as a person and instead is more based on his ego and his own ideas of fatherhood. I could easily imagine Walt Jr eventually finding out and being thoroughly traumatized by this.

It's a bit of both. There's obviously an ego thing there, but his family definitely played a part in it (and specifically him killing Hank). The way he killed Hank being reflected in Walt killing him signifies this. I don't think Walt cared about being deposed as the boss because by that point in time he had already left the business and had been fully legitimate for quite some time. I don't agree at all. While there is obviously an ego thing due to his own savior complex thinking that he needs to be the one providing for them to give his life meaning, that in it of itself is derived from a genuine care for Walter Jr. He gives Walter Jr. the money to secure his future, but he makes it clear that Walt Jr. wouldn't know it's his. That has more to do with Walt Jr. than it does about Walt not caring about his son when we know he does love his family. A lot of his interactions with people like Holly and Walt Jr. show pretty well that Walt does genuinely care for them and while he does drive them away due to his own misunderstandings of how they view and viewed him, that doesn't really mean he doesn't care for them. I feel that ignores key moments of the story and an interpretation like that only really works by ignoring key parts of the story@@williamking7800

*the dangers of toxic masculinity. Nothing wrong with masculinity in of itself, but Walt dooms himself by pursuing it out of insecurity

@@peanutgallery4 that’s why it’s a critique, not a condemnation. I’d consider toxic masculinity an aspect of modern western masculinity; it’s possible to keep the other aspects and consider the good leftovers “masculinity”, but I’d say masculinity, as a whole, contains both good and bad traits

Me reading this comment m.ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-ztVMib1T4T4.html&pp=ygUQeW91IHNlcmlvdXMgbWVtZQ%3D%3D

And yet somehow so many people seem to miss the point 😮‍💨

It’s not a critique of masculinity. It’s a critique of toxic masculinity.

He's not called Jessie anymore and he's living in Alaska. But I still want to know if he played them

That’s the best outlook to have yo

It was the perfect time lol

I actually agree that Walter wasn’t “evil” at the beginning of the show. In fact, I don’t think he was ever “pure evil”. But he was always desperate for power and validation right from the get-go. One moment that displays this is a scene in the pilot that people commonly point to as his first moment of confidence. It’s when he beats up a teenage boy for making fun of his son. Within the scope of the show, this may seem like a cool moment where Walt stands up for his kid, but when you actually think about it, it’s borderline unhinged. He literally attacks a minor because he talked in a way teenage boys commonly talk. It probably wouldn’t be wise to establish a precedent in which parents are allowed to physically attack those who are cruel to their children, lol (not that I think you're saying that, but I have seen a lot of people cheer Walt on in that scene). Whilst you’re correct in saying that the flaws in Walt are common to a lot of people, Walt’s solutions to those problems are extreme and violent from the very beginning. The thesis of my video wasn’t that Walter was always evil, but rather that the flaws in Walter were always there, and that he was always extremely susceptible to those flaws. In other words, Heisenberg was always lurking inside him and it informed his decisions much earlier than many realize. I also wanted to make clear that Walter was never a hero or even a good man, as many people seem to think. Good comment, though.

@@VerdanaVideos I really appreciate your contribution to the discussion surrounding this amazing show. Your insights are indespensible.

Weird how all these “sigma male”characters are very mentally ill criminals….

@@petermj1098 I know right!!! It just makes me wonder why people take them out of context and praise them so much!!!

Mr.White’s gay for me -Jesse Pinkman

bro tried to get the screenshot

Walt's admiration for Gus (who, at that point in the show, was clearly more capable and devious than Walt) contradicts this notion that Walt needs to be around people less smart than him. Gus may not be strictly as intelligent per se, but is clearly not someone who Walt can look at as an intellectual inferior. I also don't think Gale being as smart as Walt (despite Walt being the superior chemist and Gale knows it) would be enough to hurt Walt's ego enough for him to want Gale out when Gale does little else than stroke Walt's ego the whole time they're working together. Remember, Gale was his assistant, not his partner. With all this in mind, it just seems weird to claim that Walt shoved Gale out over his ego. Also it's worth pointing out that it's very probable Gale didn't actually make the mistake and Walt was just gaslighting him. I feel like it's implied given how perfect Gale was moments earlier and how the alternative is simple convenience, but obviously not confirmed.

Completely agree with this. I always interpreted Gale's screwup with the temperature as an intentional plot by Walt. Getting him to ruin a batch by intentionally giving him the wrong temperature would give Walt a credible reason for Gus to fire Gale, without one would make Gus suspicious. Gale being fired would allow Jesse to become his partner and drop the charges. Gale is learning under Walt and they seem equally intelligent, it just doesn't make sense for Walt to resent Gale.

@@LezlieLizard it makes all the sense in the world for Walt to resent Gale. The reason is extremely simple. Gale is happy. This, and not intelligence, is what Walt is jealous about, and why Walt must destroy him.

@@williamking7800 When does Walt ever express any sort of jealousy toward him? He doesn't even see him outside work, so how would he know whether he has a happy life or not? Walt shows jealousy and resentment towards say Gretchen and Elliot because he feels they personally wronged him. Gale did nothing of the sort and they seemed to have been hitting it off before Hank assaulted Jesse.

(copy pasting my reply from another comment thread because it addresses basically the exact same point) Personally, I do believe Walt liked Gale upon first meeting him, and maybe I should’ve specified that in the video. However, due to his ego, I think Walt is the kind of person that will always jump on an opportunity to tear anybody down who he views as a threat to his intellect or status. Gale was never going to be compatible with Walt in the long term. Once Skyler asked Walt to do something about the situation with Jesse, he found an excuse to start tearing down Gale which I think is what he had been subconsciously looking for from the start. That’s why Walter only showed his dislike of Gale outwardly after that moment, but I believe the jealousy existed deep within him before that. Like I said in the video, I believe it’s a case of Walter finding an excuse to do what he had truly wanted to do from the start, whether consciously or not. I think the exact same mentality was behind Saul and Kim’s persecution of Howard in BCS. They hated Howard but they couldn’t justify bullying him for NO reason to themselves, so they convinced themselves they were doing it so that they and all the Sandpiper seniors could get their money faster. Of course, this is all open to interpretation as Vince himself has said, but that’s how I feel at any rate. Thanks for the comment regardless. One thing I'll add in response to your specific comment is this: You say that Walter showed up in a bad mood and was immediately irritated by Gale's peppy attitude and cheerfulness. I think this is, in itself, an admission that Walter and Gale's personality simply were not compatible. Inevitably, regardless of the situation with Jesse, there would have been days that Walt would have been in a bad mood and Gale's personality probably would have pushed him to snap, similarly to how it did with the 85 degrees incident. Jesse just simply didn't annoy him in the way Gale did, even if he could get under Walt's skin in a different kind of way at times. Just because he consciously thought he liked Gale on first meeting doesn't mean they actually would have gotten along in perpetuity. I speak form experience: There are a lot of people I thought I liked at first that I went on to hate, and I don't consider myself nearly as irritable as Walter White is (or at least I hope).

I think this is sophisticated stupidity. By which I mean that it's not necessarily wrong to pay attention to becoming and ponder it philosophically, but to act as if becoming and being are mutually exclusive is just some form of denial. You're becoming something AND you are something. Whether or not you can perceive what you are is irrelevant to the fact that you are.

The idea that we are "always becoming" is one i reject wholeheartedly. Too much Hegelian gnosticism in it for me.

​@@williamking7800 I never claimed that one that is becoming doesn't exist, I merely stated that being 'something', completely irrespective of 'being' itself, is a simplification, since one that is eternally subjected to the process of time changes by nature. Substance changes form constanly. It always is substance, but it's form is dynamic. One could argue that such notion is dispensable, however I'd argue it ultimately serves as the only means of logically perceiving the process in question

​@@williamking7800If one was attempting to state that one is something while becoming something, reffering to its defining traits rather than to existence itself, then the question I'd ask is, at what point does one change? As I think we would come to an agreement that they do change in the first place. Perhaps at specifing points? But how specific would such points be? I don't intend to evaluate perceiving defining traits in stable, objective terms as stupid or inherently wrong, I merely identify it as an attemp to simplify complexity, which is a natural mechanism. But I believe that when considering complex cases such as this one, a healthy perception of being and change are valuable.

Agreed, it was a weird misread in an otherwise excellent video.

I noticed that too! I loved the video but I was like, "Whaa?" when he said that. Walt and Gale had a genuine connection and it was easy to tell that Walt legitimately liked him. Gale was brilliant but not to the point of feeling like a threat to Walt. Plus his fanboy behavior towards Walt stroked his ego ,since he always craved having respect + admiration for his skill. It seems like killing Gale was a sad but neccessary sacrifice to Walt.