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‘The Walking Dead’: Fan Theory Netflix Video Questions Whether ‘Breaking Bad’s’ Walter White Started Zombie Apocalypse [Video]

By Cia Young
Published on: 23:30 PST, Nov 2, 2016

The Walking Dead has never really addressed the origins of the zombie apocalypse that plagues its beloved characters and has them fighting for survival on a daily basis. As such, a recent video makes an attempt to link the worldwide crisis to another hit AMC television series, Breaking Bad.

The Netflix Fan Theories video, released Wednesday, asks whether Breaking Bad just might be some sort of prequel to The Walking Dead, and offers intriguing evidence to support this delicious notion.

According to Entertainment Weekly, Walter White (Bryan Cranston) was responsible for many terrible events, “including his brother-in-law’s death and a tragic plane crash…” He became the feared Heisenberg, the man behind a powerful drug empire, and his product could have been responsible for creating zombies, the Netflix video posits.

Walter, a cancer-stricken high school chemistry teacher, came up with blue meth, motivated to quickly make a buck for his family so they wouldn’t suffer financially after his death. Entertainment Weekly notes, Walter turned “himself into a full-fledged monster” and could have also had a hand in turning “everyone into… monsters.”

According to Variety, key connections in both Breaking Bad and The Walking Dead include Blue Sky meth, a red Dodge with black stripes, and two characters that may link the two shows: Walter’s sidekick Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul) and drug lord Gus Fring (Giancarlo Espisito). The video calls these four links “smoking guns” that point toward the theory’s validity.

In Episode 2 of The Walking Dead, Merle Dixon’s (Michael Rooker’s) drug stash is shown and, as the video notes, “…it conspicuously showcases Blue Sky meth,” suggesting The Walking Dead takes place in “a post-apocalyptic version of Walter White’s world.”

The red Dodge is an interesting connection indeed, as the video recalls that in Season 4, Episode 2 of Breaking Bad, Walter gives this car to his son. A red Dodge with black stripes is also seen being stolen and then driven by Glenn Rhee (Steven Yeun) in Episode 2 of The Walking Dead. The video argues there is a very specific reason Glenn wanted this particular Dodge and it all relies on occurrences in Breaking Bad.

Fans of Breaking Bad will recall that Walter’s wife was unhappy with his Dodge purchase, so he is forced to return to the car lot and attempt to return it. According to the video, a salesperson named Glenn informs Walter if he wants the car lot to accept the Dodge, he must pay a hefty restocking fee. Walter is displeased and violently disposes of the vehicle by blowing it up.

The Netflix video presumes Breaking Bad Glenn is also The Walking Dead Glenn and his experience with Walter motivated him to confiscate an identical red Dodge after the zombie apocalypse occurs.

Another connection between the two iconic AMC shows is via Breaking Bad’s Jesse. According to the video, at one point early on in The Walking Dead, Darryl Dixon (Norman Reedus), talks about his brother Merle’s drug supplier. Darryl describes this dealer as a small “white guy” who told him, “I’m going to kill you, b***h!” The word “b***h” was frequently and consistently used by Jesse throughout Breaking Bad.

This idea that Jesse sold Merle the blue meth circles back to Merle’s drug stash and explains where he obtained what is presumed to be Blue Sky meth.

The Gus Fring zombie connection is admittedly a stretch, according to the Netflix Fan Theories video. To make this viable, drug kingpin Gus would have had to ingest some of the blue meth prior to meeting his fate while visiting a rival’s relative in a nursing home. Following an explosion, planned by Walter White, of course, Gus is seen walking out of a room that just got incinerated as a pseudo-zombie, dead man walking, or one of the walking dead, as half his face is blown off, but he is still ambulatory.

Unfortunately, there are several problems with the Netflix video’s assumptions, as The Walking Dead has made it clear that some sort of illness or disease likely caused the zombie apocalypse, as anyone who dies in this universe from any cause, not just a walker bite, will turn into a monster unless his or her brain is destroyed immediately after death. Thus, a drug such as Blue Sky meth couldn’t really create such an epidemic unless everyone who was a zombie once used it.

The Glenn and the red Dodge theory is also questionable, as Glenn never made mention over his six seasons on The Walking Dead that he ever worked as a car salesperson. Instead, upon meeting Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) in Episode 1 of the series, Glenn tells Rick he delivers pizzas for a living.

As for Gus Fring being the first zombie ever, the idea would require too many assumptions, including having to assume that after the explosion, Gus tried to bite or attack people around him. As the video notes, these are things that the audience was never shown.

Whatever the case may be, it is still exciting to think about the Breaking Bad world of Walter White and the zombie-ridden universe of The Walking Dead being connected in some form or fashion.

Although Breaking Bad has met its end, The Walking Dead lives on and airs Sunday night at 9 p.m. Eastern Time on AMC. The Talking Dead hosted by Chris Hardwick airs immediately after to discuss events in the episode.

[Featured Image by Ursula Coyote/AMC]

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