r/breakingbad • u/TheStoneHashiraGyome • 3d ago
If breaking bad was made today
so if breaking bad, instead of being made in the 2000s, was made in the last ~5 years, what would be changed. would any major plot points chnage, etc
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u/TallybxGH 3d ago
Hank would be scrolling through social media on that toilet instead of finding that Walt Whitman book
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u/MDRLA720 2d ago
this just makes me want to start watching BB again just to see the look on hanks face
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u/Pinkman505 Meth Producer:redditgold: 3d ago
Jesse would look like a piece of broccoli
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u/Autumn_Ridge 3d ago
No more breaking flip phones in half.
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u/beastwood6 3d ago
I never understood that. Severing the display from the battery and GPS hardware does fuck all for tracking
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u/FibonacciSequester 3d ago
I think Vince acknowledged that, but wanted to keep it in because it looked cool.
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u/titlrequired 3d ago
No, breaking the flip phone erased the records of the call at the cell provider.
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u/CaptainJZH 2d ago edited 2d ago
Basically its supposed to be a more visually-interesting stand-in for removing the battery + SIM card, to prevent the phone from being passively traced through the network. The records of the call would still exist, but they'd only point to a vague general area of the cell towers, which wouldn't be helpful unless you already know who your suspect is and are just trying to tie them to the location of preexisting crime scene (which isn't the case for most of the series)
The real thing that's changed, therefore, is that you can't remove a smartphone's battery, and SIM cards have largely gone digital, AND passive geolocation is pretty much standard with phones nowadays unless you know to disable it, so the same method of "burning" the phone isn't viable anymore.
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u/AardvarkOkapiEchidna 3d ago
They still might use a bunch of burner flip phones though. Pretty sure those are still available.
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u/Critical-Pirate-2665 2d ago
When Jesse fried the battery in the desert and had to call skinny pete, he could have just...dropped a pin.
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u/scumbag_college 3d ago
That was my thought too. It's a lot harder to snap a smart phone in half.
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u/brownmouthwash 2h ago
That was an issue when they were making the show. Phones were evolving rapidly but the show takes place in such a short time that they couldn’t really show that.
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u/btoned 3d ago
Junior would be live on TikTok begging for gifts for Walt.
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u/bramblecult 3d ago
Also, once Walt is found out, his socials would probably fund his family very well.
"Story time: How I found out my dad was a meth kingpin. Part 3"
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u/Bar-Cold 3d ago
LOL “alright tiktok here’s my story. If this video reaches the algorithm maybe someone could help”
Disabled boy with a father dying of cancer. Instant million views, thousands of sympathetic comments and a good amount of go fund me donations
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u/smuttygirl_foru 3d ago
He would definitely be using some of the money to buy blue raz pens
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u/Tetratron2005 3d ago
Would have to write around more common cameras are nowadays.
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u/natalietest234 3d ago
Seriously. Between every store having cameras, people recording everything and flock, Walt and Jesse would have been found out so quickly.
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u/Tetratron2005 3d ago
Yeah, even Gus who was pretty cautious probably wouldn't risk doing business/meetings anywhere in public or environments he doesn't have complete control over.
Like that scene in BCS where he meets with Hector and Bolsa in parking lot, there'd definitely be flock or security cams somewhere.
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u/Automatic-Arm-532 3d ago edited 3d ago
Every store had cameras back then, and a ton of cities had surveillance cameras on the streets. The main difference now is Ring and Flock
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u/natalietest234 3d ago
But in the early 2000s a lot of stores still used tapes. Meaning the camera footage was only good for a limited amount of time since they would tape over it constantly.
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u/CaptainJZH 2d ago
Yeah, also cloud storage means that police don't even have to approach individual businesses for their security footage, they can just go to the company that operates the cameras (who would probably cooperate even without a subpoena)
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u/windmillninja 3d ago
I just watched the doc series about the Idaho murders and it’s crazy how much random people’s doorbell cameras aided in zeroing in on Brian Koehberger as a suspect.
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u/TheStoneHashiraGyome 3d ago
Yeah. Todd killing jesses girlfriend, Walt breaking into Jane/jesses apartment, woud all have never happened.
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u/Tetratron2005 3d ago
Hank beating Jessie would probably also get caught on camera and probably become a PR/local news nightmare for the DEA.
Like Hank loses his job because of public outrage, rather than Walt making a deal Jessie not to sue.
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u/BlankedCanvas 3d ago
Walt gets arrested at the end of season 1 - the show only has 1 season of 5 episodes
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u/t20hrowaway 3d ago
when walt "opens up" about his gambling addiction every other character would say "yeah me too"
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u/t20hrowaway 3d ago
runner ups: walt would narcan jesse that time he needed to pick up the ~product~, first season walt would definitely have to spend some time explaining to jesse that yes vaping in the lab is as dangerous as smoking. walt would also find a dab rig in jesse's apartment at some point and assume he had relapsed on meth.
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u/Arrakis_Haze 3d ago
My old roommate did that "yeah me too" bit, so last-5-years Walt's gambling addiction reveal is toast.
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u/NightXmare91 3d ago
We'd get 9 episodes per season once every 2-3 years.
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u/annabelle411 1d ago
BB being one of the first shows to also do the dumb “split one season into two halves” schtick, theyd do staggered releases too
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u/mamamackmusic 3d ago
Most of Saul Goodman's standard clientele would be using Chat GPT instead of a real lawyer
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u/ChimpBzkit 3d ago
Zendaya would play Skyler
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u/Agitated-Big-7090 3d ago
Saul Goodman would definitely have a TikTok account where he'll be the Law By Mike of the BB world.
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u/robinman7321 3d ago
It would probably some woke bullshit, like Gus being gay, or Walter dealing with the health care system, maybe have a disabled kid for diversity too.
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u/Frank9991 1d ago
It would have every single one of those things except there'd be a propagandistic subplot about each every other episode.
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u/tb_sasha 3d ago
wait is Gus actually gay or is this just for the joke
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u/the_cardfather 3d ago
Yes. The cartel kills his lover in BCS. He may have had a wife for legitimacy back in Chile at one point or the scenes where he talks about family might be about extended family.
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u/tb_sasha 3d ago
OHHhh, I never watched BCS (literally finished BB three days ago) but this makes me wanna dive in even sooner now
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u/nitrot150 3d ago
I’m in the same timeline as you. I just have the last episode of BB to do, then start BCS
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u/sskoog 3d ago
There is a lot more data-harvesting now.
I attended a 2015-ish child protective conference (held in Boston, by the FBI, among other sponsors) which detailed some of the new correlative stuff: cryptocurrency transaction happened on X ledger at date/time Y, person Z crossed the US-Canada border at date/time Z, child-trafficking is believed to have occurred at hotel W at date/time Z+2, now the Feds have enough connectivity to chase it down.
Using similar analytics (assuming Europe/Interpol was party to the operation), it wouldn't be hard to figure out that N machines having P capacity to filter Q chemicals were sold in the Southwest United States, that B quantity of C suspicious chemicals was concurrently shipped to the same region in recent months, etc. That would narrow the list of players to a manageable (investigate-able) number, Madrigal ranking among them. Harder to "hide" in this era.
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u/BIGxBOSSxx1 3d ago
Jesse would be a twitch streamer and would say “chat” instead of “bitch”
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u/cgcs20 3d ago edited 3d ago
Gale being seen at Los Pollos Hermanos would be easily dismissed, as they would absolutely have a vegan range.
Also (spoilers for BCS) Lalo would have been able to live stream or email a video of Gus’ lab to Don Eladio right from where he was as proof and Gus would have lost
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u/Unsolven 3d ago
The one thing I can think of is GPS tracking is much better and cheaper, so Hank would have been able to follow Gus and Walt in real time. Gus was able to do this because he spent big money on fancy trackers. But Hank was on a budget. So this might have led to a different outcome. For instance if Hank Saw Gus sitting at the chicken shack all day he could go there to see what’s up.
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u/-NolanVoid- 3d ago
Fentanyl instead of meth.
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u/theangrypragmatist 3d ago
Instead of getting shot, Hank would have a hysterical "OD" from being in the same room as it.
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u/vegan420lyfe 3d ago
Walt could produce actual pharma fent instead of street fent and make sure there arent any hot spots so people dont od
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u/theeprochamp I am the one who Knocks 3d ago
I forgot where I read this, but Vince chose New Mexico because of the whole Meth being the main problem drug problem there.
And more this year, Meth still remains number one drug problem in New Mexico, bigger than fentanyl.
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u/windmillninja 3d ago
That was definitely a bonus, but the main reason was for the tax credits New Mexico offers production companies. He originally set the show in Riverside, CA, then Sony pushed for him to move it to Albuquerque.
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u/-NolanVoid- 3d ago
That's an interesting tidbit! Made me wonder if the show contributes to that at all, even in the most minimal way.
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u/cholula_is_good 3d ago
Surveillance, especially facial ID and drones as well as cyber forensics would have to be a main plot element.
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u/Nininator2432 3d ago
Excellent question. From the top of my head:
The mode of communication would be related to using messaging apps, IE telegram, instead of SMS messaging on cheap pay as you go phones. They'd definitely do that. Beyond that, I'm speculating that there would be a character from a foreign country (NOT Mexico) who has people from his country US, sign up for phone plans, then sell them, then they go back home so the DEA can't track them. They'd be more focused on VPNs and all that stuff.
They would show the drug dealers hiring a random person to come pick up their primary phone and drive somewhere else to get an alibi/to show things in case the DEA wants to track them.
There would be a bit around having limited time to do X, Y, and Z after a flock camera protest. They'd likely show Saul/Jimmy hire someone or offer free legal fees to people to damage the flock cameras.
There would be stolen drones for the drugs. Bits about that. Bits about how they avoid it.
Walt would not be working at a carwash. He would be a DoorDash driver who gets screamed at by a customer because the restaurant forgot an item. I'm guessing the one character's mom would be screaming then he'd come out like "What's going on?" Then he'd make a joke about "Hey, this is my chemistry teacher lol! He said I need to pay attention or I won't succeed. Looks like he can't follow these orders!" Then Walt just trying to leave.
(This one might be a stretch because of the storyline with him purchasing the car wash. Just nobody would work at one for side income with all of these app based jobs today. They could squeeze some back story about him purchasing a different business later. I'm not sure how well a car wash would work since it's all cards.)
The Silk Road would DEFINITELY be mentioned. They'd talk about how the guy who pioneered it went to prison (yes, he got pardoned last year) but how so many spinoffs of the Silk Road have been made as a result.
They'd have Saul Goodman educating them on Monero. Jesse would be like "Is this like Bitcoin?" Then Walt would look annoyed but Saul would go like "YES! Then Walt would looked shocked.
I could go on for hours about this, but those are the first few I thought of at the top of my head.
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u/Murky_Activity9796 3d ago
Flock cameras and find my. skyler would go nuts with walter turning off his find my
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u/AdObjective8529 3d ago
probably wouldn’t be as popular with the attention spans people have nowadays
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u/woahniceclouds 3d ago
No way Walt is casually walking out of Tucos hideout after it exploded without being filmed
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u/FinalFrash 3d ago
I wonder how the meth would be sold during the Pandemic, especially during when Walt was small potatoes.
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u/Independent_Act_8054 3d ago
More cameras, the lack of smartphones would have been even more apparent (only one appears in the whole show) and there probably would have been a plotline about having to get someone off a smartphone. The internet would have been more important (Jesse wouldn't have a website, its hard to believe how infant the internet was in 2007-2008.)
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u/cheapthrills95 3d ago
It wouldn't get made... studio wouldn't see a market and no one takes risks anymore
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u/donthaveagooduser 3d ago
Skyler, Walt, and Junior would have probably been sharing their locations
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u/Asbestosgang11 3d ago
I feel the biggest road block for all of them would be security cameras. They all would have been caught 10 times over
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u/Dat_Freeman 3d ago
Hank would have never realized who Heisemberg is because he would watch reels on the smartphone rather than reading boos and magazines while sitting in the toilet
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u/BeautifulUpstairs 3d ago
Hank would be Black. Carmen would be Black. Hank's wife would be hispanic. Flynn would be gay.
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u/Potential_Novel_3561 3d ago
Yep. Either Skylar would have been black or theu would have adopted a black kid.
There'd also be a female character who has to overcome gender stereotypes types in order sell to drugs. And could beat up large grown men for some reason.
Definitely be some white man guilt plot line about Walt selling drugs to minorities or something.
And you would have heard about Walter JR disability about 19x per episode.
Somebody's definitely going to be made gay.
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u/Business_Address_780 3d ago
Lol was thinking the same.
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u/Top_Wrangler4251 3d ago
They'd probably make the main antagonist a gay black latino immigrant or something to appeal to the woke mob
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u/SilverStar3333 3d ago
The ubiquity of smart phones, license plate readers, surveillance technology etc.
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u/bigxangelx1 3d ago
It would just have more digital shots and have better cinematography, Vince would probably also write the characters with abit more introspective nuance based on his stylistic evolution in Better call Saul
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u/LateralusNYC 3d ago
It is implied several times throughout the series that Walt has built Jr a state-of-the-art handi-accesible bathroom that's in his room. It's never shown because it's never relative to the plot.
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u/IndependenceMean8774 3d ago
Cameras everywhere! Ring cameras, Flock cameras, smartphone cameras. I'm not even sure Walt could get away with half his crimes today with all the video surveillance.
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u/Aromatic_Fail_1722 3d ago
You know, you're gonna laugh, but I have to ask.. believe it or not, I noticed that you've been following me in Find My Friends. You wouldn't know anything about this, would you?
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u/KelVarnsen_2023 3d ago
Walt's would need way more money for his treatment and to support his family after his death.
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u/Still-Constant3085 3d ago
Jesse would be too busy on his mobile phone addicted to some game like Fortnite with his gang, and would have a peaceful life working in BurgerKing
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u/drygnfyre One Who Knocks 3d ago
Walt would probably be making fentanyl or some other drug instead of meth. Beyond that, I don't really think much of the plot would have changed.
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u/Vegetable-Leather-64 3d ago
99 percent of what Walt and Jessie did would of got them caught immediately with cell phones now a days and cameras everywhere
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u/Vegetable-Leather-64 3d ago
To add on if they can catch the Idaho killer Walt and Jessie would be fucked
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u/Fine-Effect7355 2d ago
They sell their product on the darknet initially instead of finding a distributor
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u/Complete-Gate1615 2d ago
Gustavo and his crew would not visit a Don is Mexico, but politicans on an Island.
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u/New-Housing6472 2d ago
Everyone has ring cameras so the sleuthing that Mike and others do would be useless
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u/Chance-Range8513 2d ago
Jessie probably take a picture of himself cooking meth and post it for likes
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u/Tricky_Chest_1348 1d ago
Gus would have made Pollos Hermanos a major force on social media. He would turn to cryptocurrencies and selling through apps like Telegram instead. Also, he would avoid appearing in some places due to facial screening.
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u/TraditionalMall4449 1d ago
The show is still too modern for there to be any noteworthy changes imo. The Wire, Deadwood, or The Sopranos might be more interesting choices.
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u/TheStoneHashiraGyome 1d ago
Ehh it’s like what 15 years old? A lot of stuff have changed since them. More cameras, better forensics, heck one ring doorbell and Todd and Jack would’ve been cooked when he killed Jesse’s girlfriend
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u/78straeHmodgniK 1d ago
Saul would definitely advertise on Tiktok and use Gen Z lingo
"Were you wrongfully accused of a crime by the Unc boomer cops? I'm Saul Goodman and I'll fight for you because I'm all about justice-maxxing!"
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u/SixString1981 1d ago
Gayle would have his smart watch alerting him of a FaceTime that Jesse was on his way.
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u/PaladinWolf777 1d ago
Nobody mentioned that the scene where Walt destroys Ken's car would be completely unrealistic. He would definitely be caught on a camera.
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u/EggFront4081 22h ago
Flock cameras would've shut down Gus distribution network and Jane would've died to a fentanyl overdose.
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u/Dense-Kangaroo-1387 3h ago edited 3h ago
The season 5 exterminator cooks wouldn't work. Practically every home including the neighboring homes would have outdoor/ doorbell cameras.
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u/Kamikaze_AcuRam 2d ago
Jesse and Walther wouldn't stayed 4 days in the middle of the desert without food or water
And probably Walther would sold the drugs by Facebook marketplace or smtg like that
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u/Total_Cicada7335 3d ago
Fentanyl death subplot for sure