The Walking Dead's Ending Makes So Much More Sense After You Know Its Creator's Take on Breaking Bad

When one thinks of The Walking Dead or Breaking Bad, their minds will likely jump to the two hit AMC television series. However, long before either show hit the airwaves, The Walking Dead was a comic book series created by Robert Kirkman - the mastermind behind Invincible as well. The reason that’s significant is that, even in the comic book landscape, The Walking Dead and Breaking Bad still share a connection, though not necessarily a flattering one. Indeed, Kirkman has actually shared his criticism of Breaking Bad, which directly correlates to how he chose to end The Walking Dead (and Invincible).

In the letters column of Invincible #143 (by Robert Kirkman and Ryan Otley), Robert Kirkman answers fan mail where he addresses the fact that character deaths at the end of series (comic book series or otherwise) have less of an impact on fans. That is the case because the series in question is already coming to an end, so, of course, some main characters are going to die. Plus, fans don’t have to experience the series without those characters, so their deaths aren’t really felt in-world as much as they would be if those same characters died much sooner.

In this case, a fan named Adam is referring to the deaths of a few main characters from Invincible, who made it almost all the way to the end of the series before dying just a few issues from the end. Robert Kirkman agreed with Adam that these types of deaths don’t have that great of an impact, and he even used Breaking Bad as an example.

Robert Kirkman: I do agree with you, Adam, that when you know a series is ending… the character deaths have less impact. When watching Breaking Bad’s final season (spoilers), I expected Hank to die… so his death had no impact for me.

In Breaking Bad, Hank Schrader died in the third-to-last episode of the series, and it happened just as Walter White’s life was crumbling around him. Plus, the situation Walt was put in was a ‘him or me’ scenario with Hank, and since Walt was the main character, Hank’s death should have come as no surprise. And, to Robert Kirkman, it didn’t come as a surprise, which is why Breaking Bad is the perfect example of how a character’s death late in the series has less of an impact on fans. However, Robert Kirkman found a way to avoid that, and actually make late character deaths impactful.

Both The Walking Dead & Invincible Have Significant Time-Jumps in Their Final Issues

Robert Kirkman Makes Late-Death Characters Matter By Showing a World Without Them

In the final few issues of Invincible, Nolan, Oliver, and Thragg are killed, which arguably has less of an impact than if they had been killed many issues prior. Kirkman admits that fans aren’t given enough time to mourn those characters, since what they’re really mourning is the ‘death’ of the series as a whole. However, that doesn’t mean these late-death characters aren’t impactful, as Kirkman found a way to make them matter: time-jump.

The final issue of Invincible (issue #144) takes fans 500 years into the future, showing a world without Nolan, Oliver, or Thragg. By doing this, their absences can really be felt, giving fans both enough time to mourn them, and also wonder what the world would look like if they were there.

Robert Kirkman does the same thing with The Walking Dead, as the final issue of that series (issue #193) took fans decades into the future from where the series was in the previous issue. In The Walking Dead #192, Rick Grimes is killed, which wouldn’t have been that impactful if the final issue simply took place the next day (or if the series ended with his death). But, like with Invincible, The Walking Dead allowed fans to take a look at the world without Rick, which makes his late-death actually matter.

Breaking Bad Unwittingly Took a Page from The Walking Dead & Invincible’s Books

Better Call Saul Gave the Breaking Bad Universe a ‘Robert Kirkman-Style’ Ending

Interestingly, the Breaking Bad universe actually (unwittingly) took a page from Robert Kirkman’s book with the sequel/prequel television series Better Call Saul. While the majority of Better Call Saul takes place before the events of Breaking Bad, the last few episodes of the final season take place exclusively afterward. In those episodes, the impact of Hank’s death can actually be felt, and the fallout of Walter White’s actions seem to encapsulate the entire world. The late deaths in Breaking Bad may not have felt important in Breaking Bad since the series was ending, but they certainly became impactful in Better Call Saul - right after a time-jump.

But, regardless of what the Breaking Bad franchise did or didn’t do to make its late-death characters matter, the real takeaway is what Robert Kirkman did to ensure his late-death characters had an impact on readers - and his criticism of Breaking Bad only makes the endings of The Walking Dead and Invincible make so much more sense.