The Messy Morality of Mike Ehrmantraut (Better Call Saul & Breaking Bad)
This video essay analyzes Mike Ehrmantraut's morality throughout Better Call Saul and Breaking Bad (distributed by Sony Pictures Television). Mike is a complicated character who does bad things for good reasons and seems to reduce harm. But is Mike a good person?
PATREON: / justanobservation
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Timestamps:
0:00 Is Mike Good?
2:59 Duty and Fairness
5:32 Motivations
8:15 Only Bad Guys
10:38 Just Following Orders
13:16 Leadership Style
16:44 Was It All Worth It?
Music used:
'Moonlight' by Scott Buckley - released under CC-BY 4.0. www.scottbuckley.com.au
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'Filaments' by Scott Buckley - released under CC-BY 4.0. www.scottbuckley.com.au
'In Search of Solitude' by Scott Buckley - released under CC-BY 4.0. www.scottbuckley.com.au
Pachabelly by Huma-huma
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#bettercallsaul #breakingbad #bettercallsaulseason6
"but yet the entire desert could be filled with nachos" has to be the oddest phrase in a video about moral relativity
lmao same thought
But also the most true sentence
lol
xD
He meant all of the people he killed in the desert could be good people
Mike is the embodiment of internal conflict that the people who are watching the show feel with almost every important character
hes the embodiment of a kid named finger
@kid named finger oh my god its him.
@kid named finger kid named teacher:
Except nacho
As long as you're not on his way, Mike won't harm you and may even help you. He's not a sadistic irrationnal killer. But he's still dangerous.
When he said “all the money he had was taken by the government, and now all he has left ARE the terrible acts he committed, and it was all for nothing” Shit made my heart sink.
Finger made A LOT of money in his time, and he was 100% knowledgeable on what happens to the money if things went south, finger was a meticulous man does anybody really think he left his real nut (pause) in reach of the governments grasp? He HAD to make sure they found something or else they’d never stop looking and his granddaughter would never be able to spend a dime without them on her ass, to think finger just let them take all the money he ever earned is such a weird thing to think considering we all know how smart he is
@@autismoid i absolutely adore the fact that everyone keeps up the running gag of randomly calling mike "finger" while the rest of their comments are dead serious
@@autismoid We will never really know if she ever gets money. At least we know Waltuh's kids will.
@@rodrigoodonsalcedocisneros9266 Why do you think Walt's kids get the money? I'm pretty sure they'd hire very good security, hire a lawyer, turn in the money.
@@rhamlet5290 It's unlilely. They would probably welcome the donation of a rich couple, not knowing the money actualñy comes from Waltuh
Damn, the conclusion that everything Mike did was for nothing in the end really hit me in the feels
It’s heartbreaking knowing he sacrificed years of time being able to support her for immediate stability built on the same dirty money that killed his son
Hey man most things in life that you cherish end up getting taken from you. Starts with your toys as a kid. Ends with your health. Somewhere in the middle you get a bunch of stuff and people but the stuff and people will slowly leave one by one. That’s the typical experience at least.
@@planobest8120 the common denominator of that loss is always at fault. Usually it’s the incividuals fault.
"I tried so hard, and got so far But in the end, it doesn't even matter I had to fall, to lose it all. But in the end, it doesn't even matter..." - Finger, 2010 CE
Yeah. It was really sad.
Mike isn't moral or ethical but principled. This is why Gus values him so much. For someone who uses people (often without their knowledge), Gus can count on Mike acting like Mike. There's no ambiguity in the principles Mike lives by, so he is free of the anxiety caused by people like Lalo or Walter.
Gus knew an idiot like Mike was predictable and easy to manipulate
Finally someone not looking through good/evil glasses
this is true
@@sadtirical You agree Mike was easily manipulated?
@@jasonvoorhees5640 not easily but everybody got collateral in the business :/
I think he views himself as irredeemable. He was corrupted as a young man, and that mistake hurt the people he loves. At a certain point he sees there’s no fixing what’s done. He decides to use his already broken morality to benefit the loved ones he has left as much as he can. Not to feel better about himself, but to sacrifice his redemption to protect the only good part left of him, his family.
This is it. Mike feels like he cannot turn over a new leaf in life. I think BCS shows this when he first moves to Albuquerque, he lives a straight and narrow life as a car park attendant. Eventually, he's like "screw this, I'm better at this than these losers, there's no hope for me now, might as well go out and make sure Kaylee will have a great future. It cant redeem her growing up without a father but whats left of my family can have a good life". But we know from BB the police seize all this money anyway. As another commenter said, his daughter in law and granddaughter who he does love so much will never know what happened to him, have no body to bury, and will be just as lost and grieving as much as when they lost Matty. All his family was to have Mike around. A sad cycle.
Or in other words: he didn't have the spine to try to make up for his wrongdoings. A lot of people do things that are irredeemable. But then they accept their punishment in this guilt and try to make it up for their whole life, even if they can't ever reach it.
In El Camino during a flashback scene, Jesse excitedly says that with this money he can change things, in fact, he can right all the wrongs of his past. He can “put things right.” “No,” Mike solemnly says. “Sorry kid, that’s the one thing you can never do.” So yes, I agree with you. And with Mike...to an extent. You may not be able to right the wrongs you've done but you can sure as hell not compound them.
exactly man. in el camino, the first scene is mike essentially outlining this school of thought.
@Lancor84 Jimmy ends up being more ethically respectable than Mike.
I feel like out of the murder's on the show mike always was the "good guy" in my eyes, but he really is just the lesser of evils. Such a great universe we got to watch, Mike was a 10/10 character.
edit: I found this very insightful but disagree with 17:20 ish. Sure, he regrets and knows he's done wrong, but he's in with the people who wouldn't take a two week notice. Him getting there is definitely something he regrets, and i personally believe he was trying to teach nacho how to be like him, or a better son. What about his family, sure he made enough money to stop a while ago, but gus wouldn't take that. The cartel threataned him enough in BCS before waltuhh was involved. Great video
👍.
Mike Ehrmantraut was really one of the most complex characters ever written for television.
Literally translated from German, "Ehrmantraut" means "ethical trout."
With most complex being Walter White
@@roastinpeace2320 walt was a really simple character he was just a chemistry teacher with cancer that started cooking meth
@@creeperminecraft294 Did you get over the first season of breaking bad?
@@creeperminecraft294Saul was also pretty simple, he was just a lawyer who went bad after his wife left
I loved that scene with Mike and Nacho’s father. For all his wisdom and righteousness, he’s not actually a good guy at the end of the day. No decent and moral person would kill someone like Werner. As an ex-cop, he could have always found work not involving a drug lord.
Genuine question, what kind of work? Wouldn’t his police record be public?
@@mattk7865 Unless his murder of those crooked cops became public - in which case he’d be incarcerated - he wouldn’t have issues. Hell, just look at how many bad gypsy cops with open misconduct on their records can find other law enforcement jobs.
@@mattk7865 I hear he's a pretty good security consultant.
@@mattk7865 The show goes out of its way to show how adaptable Mike is to virtually any line of work. The second he started standing in as his role of security consultant, he instantly became the most competent employee in the warehouse.
@@mattk7865 He could have made a fine living as a PI.
The cast of BrBa and BCS is full of monsters, and Mike is arguably one of them. But he's also one of the few that both recognizes he's a monster, and doesn't use that knowledge as an excuse to go further than he has to. Mike realizes that just because he IS a bad person, that doesn't mean he NEEDS to be a bad person at every opportunity.
As long as you're not on his way, Mike won't harm you and may even help you. He's not a sadistic irrationnal killer. But he's still dangerous.
How is he a bad person ?
@@sierraecho884 Well, he could have not joined the crime organisation, or just do crime in general. You could say he did it for his family as he was making shit money as a guard, but he did not have to be a guard. With his skillset he could have worked in a private security firm and make decent money (not shitload of drugmoney, but probably enough for his family).
@@Montcalf091 So being a criminal ? But that does not general mean you are a bad person. Being a criminal in Nazi Germany could mean saving jews. This was a crime back then. Also smoking weed is a crime in many placed, but you do not harm anyone. So being a criminal can not be exclusively considered being a bad person. Sure he could, he could have done many things differently. But the question is, is he a bad person. What you mentioned is he could have not joined organized crime and does something else, which I agree with, however this does not make him a bad person in my opinion. I could even argue that selling drugs is nothing bad. People can make their own choices on what they consume. Some inhale glue from the hardware store does that mean a hardware store employee is a bad person ? No. I personally think pople have the freedom to do with their bodies what they please unless they are belov a certain age or mentally handicapped.
@@sierraecho884 I personaly don't think beeing a criminal by itself is bad, nor that drugs are bad, most should be legalized. Mike knew though that getting into cartel shit could mean that he would hurt innocent people. I don't think he is BAD bad, but he cannot really claim any moral highground.
The fact that Mike's character analysis ( alone ! ) has produced so many interesting and contrary comments, just goes to show how compelling and nuanced these two series are. Both total masterpieces- I miss them so much !
This is why I love these shows.
You can rewatch them any time Nothing will beat the first watch though
16:02 I feel like this is an aspect of Mike's blow up towards Walter that gets too frequently overlooked. One of the key reasons Walt and Gus' relationship broke down is actually one of the few times Walter _wasn't_ just servicing his own ego, and was also one of the few times Mike _was_ just acting in self interest. Gus did not want to partner with Jesse from the onset, and when he started beefing with Gus' goons, Gus wanted to use that as an excuse to get rid of Jesse. Jesse would've been dead were it not for Walter getting involved and getting himself into hot water with Gus, and Mike the whole time was telling Walt to just let them kill Jesse, because as was said, ultimately the stability is what he cared about.
Finally, someone who doesn't repeat automatically the "we got a good thing going" speech... I have always sustained that Walt's ego wasn't to blame for his beef with Gus. But I always forgot that in Half Measures Mike asked Walt to let it go and accept killing Jesse was the best
I think Mike was referring to after Gus made the decision not to kill Walter in the basement. “You need to learn how to take ‘yes’ for an answer.”
Not to mention, Gus always planned to replace Walter with Gale. Walter and Jesse’s lives were at risk from the moment they started working for Gus. It was one of the few things Walter did that he genuinely had to do to keep himself and Jesse alive
@@bwweaver78 Even if Mike was referring to that, it is still Gus’s fault and NOT Walter’s. He was the one deliberately trying to drive a wedge between him and Jesse, he also threatened to murder Walt’s entire family if Walt didn’t allow him to kill his brother in law. Gus was responsible for the beef between himself and Walt, NOT the other way around.
yh i can't blame walts ego for wanting to outlive Gus. It was fear driving him then, don't see how Mike missed that even if his words were thematically appropiate for walts arc.
Kid named Finger is such a morally conflicted person and is the personification of all the moral dilemma we viewers feel when watching the show
"Waltuh I swear I'm a gud guy Waltuh please have sex with me waltuh"-finger
Temple OS
Temple OS
B
Why is the Internet filled with people who should have been swallowed by their mothers.....
9:20 I think killing Werner and what Manuel Varga said to him made Mike realise he was as bad as the other criminals which I think is why in Breaking Bad he's less questioning of Gus and just does what he's told whereas in Better Call Saul he almost quit working for Gus after Gus ordered him to kill Werner for drunkenly telling Lalo about the meth lab only to be talked back in by Gus patching him up and appealed to their shared hatred of the Salamancas. Mike also wouldn't let Gus kill Manuel.
No I don't see it like that. He realizes he IS evil, NOT like the others. His conversation with Gus in the village and his appearance afterwards, all in black and "hanging" with Gus' crew are a very poignant way of telling us that he agrees with Gus. They might be evil, but they're not like the Salamancas. You never see Mike killing no innocent in both of these shows and he's legitimately shocked by the way Gus treated Victor - as much as he knew Victor had to go at that moment, the way of doing it was not to Mike's liking. That is his turning point just like Saul's acceptance that his best game will be played on the dirtiest fields and that's ok. It doesn't make him "as bad" as the criminal world around him and I don't think the character showed anything to tell us that's how he felt.
@@Henrique.Souza0601 i agree with this post but something that was never too clear for me is why mike despised the salamancas to the point that he willingly jumped off the deep end into the corruptest depths of the criminal underworld just to join gus' brutal and destructive revenge quest (and support his family in the process, obviously, but there were still less egregious jobs he could have done). they threatened kaylee which is obviously the one thing which pisses off mike more than anything. but after the second time he sabotaged hector's operation, he told victor "i'm glad to have salamanca out of my head", indicating he was done with them. yet he continued working for gus and even got roped back in by him after being made to kill werner just by the prospect of revenge against the salamancas. what do you think changed? was hector threatening his granddaughter and killing a civilian really the impetus for his entire involvement with gus in particular? doubtless those are horrible and disturbing acts, but this contradicts what mike said about being done with hector.
@@lulu4882 I think that the episode "Dedicado a Max" answers your question. Mike already despised Hector and understood what kind of person he and his crew were: people who wouldn't think twice before killing a child in order to get what they want. Also, remember that if it wasn't for Gus, Mike would've ended up killed on a street after drinking and getting himself into some fight with local thugs. He had a drinking problem from the start and he'd definitely end up dying because of it. It's implied Gus told his story and why he hated Hector and the cartel, so he would've further confirmation that they were the worst possible kind of people. Another thing to consider is that Mike was already morally flawed and was also a wise man, he understood that with or without his involvement, the drug world would keep going and realized that it'd be better if there were more Gus and less Hector (metaphorically speaking). Gale says to Walter in BB "adults want what they want, if it isn't me producing, it'll be someone else, at least with me they get what they pay for" and I think this applies perfectly to Mike. If the crime's gonna be around anyway and the best way to get money for his family well-being is to be a criminal, at least be a criminal working for the guy that doesn't kill just because he feels like it, for the guy who has at least some sense of morality and is not an animal. And if the people you have to kill are friends with the worst scum of this world, maybe killing them can be understood as doing something good in the end. That's my reading of the situation. Jimmy becomes Saul Goodman after trying countless times to "do the right thing" and have life saying screw u and pushing him right into the "wrong path"; Mike, on the other hand, stopped trying to be the nice guy a long time before meeting Gus, but had a hard time accepting who he was. Gus says to him, when confronted about the village being his way to "compensate" for the things he did: "I am what I am." And after that point Mike is officially his henchmen, because him too accepts that truth about himself.
@@Henrique.Souza0601 i appreciate the in-depth response, i agree with your points and i think that clears things up. mike is not a character who telegraphs his emotions much at all or ever voices his feelings or inner world, so these things can be kind of difficult to pick up on for me. he definitely presents himself as the strong, stoic, silent type but it makes sense that his dealing with the salamancas and affiliated scum in the criminal underworld would really bother him and foster an ongoing resentment for them, going beyond just the initial 2 inciting incidents. and i forgot the aspect of working for gus giving his life structure and keeping him away from the path of alcoholism and self loathing which would inevitably lead to his miserable death. mike's such a great character, with his aloof attitude so much of this depth is portrayed really subtly but it's definitely there.
@@Henrique.Souza0601 Stop calling him Victor
Deep down Mike wanted to change but couldn't forgive himself for son's death so he continued going down the rabbit hole since there was no point fixing what can't be undone. He deserved second chance. Truly the most tragic character in the series.
There ain't beating Howard.
@@drkblu3394 Howard was a doofus.
@@rickdesper nah he was just played every step of the way. poor dude
Mike is tragic but yeah Howard is the most tragic literally did nothing wrong
I disagree. There are many points throughout the show where Mike could’ve changed his path, but didn’t. After moving to ABQ, he literally sought out the criminal underworld and began accepting work. He willingly decided to engage in criminal activities. You could say he only wanted to accept jobs where no one got hurt, but look how that ended up. With him killing and hurting people. After killing Werner, he had a chance to leave the game, but let Gus talk him back into it. He decided to continue to work for the man who he knows would make him commit similar acts, which includes hurting innocent people. Those are the two most significant cases I can think of, but the point is that he had multiple opportunities to change his path, to leave the criminal underworld and live a life away from crime. But he never did, so anything that happens to him after that is all on him as far as I’m concerned, which makes his character the opposite of tragic to me. And the video brings up a great point, would his son, Matty, even want Mike doing all this for his daughter. I don’t think so. All Mike is doing is perpetuating more pain and suffering for a dubious cause. He may be putting on a show of him being more moral and just than the other criminals, but he’s just like the rest of them. Like putting lipstick on a pig.
Mike is a great example of how a "bad guy" can be a flushed out character that people actually care about and relate to.
I don’t think Mike is a typical bad guy, it’s like he said in better call Saul you did something illegal that makes you a criminal are you a bad criminal or are you a good criminal? In other words, Mike is a man of his word.
What's really interesting is the Salamanca's weren't even really responsible for Nacho's death... That would be Mike's employer, Gus, who forced Nacho's hand by repeatedly threatening his father. That Mike seems to be in denial of this obvious fact is pretty interesting actually
There's is just so much you can do to convince your psycopath criminal boss to do or not do.
The Salamancas were threatening his father well before Gus tho. Him wanting to get rid of them and deal with Hector himself is what gets him noticed by Gus in the first place.
@@stefannita3439 Yeah both sides were ruthless and using Nacho. It goes to show how Gus has became as morally bankrupt as Hector and the rest of the Cartel despite considering himself to be different.
@@stefannita3439 Still kinda funny that he emotionally damaged the twins before his death, He got that SALAMANCA BLOOD.
@@petert2481funny how people try to make everything out to be so black and white. How old are you? 15?
In the violent criminal underworld, Mike is the 'good' when compared to the alternatives. You would much rather deal with Mike than Tuco.
facts, mainly because tucos unpredictable
@@itsluckzy2023 and Mike has honor and morals. People like Walt will backstab you the second it's convenient. Mike is not like that
@@suezuccati304 exactly 💯
As long as you're not on his way, Mike won't harm you and may even help you. He's not a sadistic irrationnal killer. But he's still dangerous.
@@suezuccati304 honor and morals? mike was an emotional and arrogant bully. Walt showed him what happens to bullies.
there will always be a special place in my heart for Pop Pop Ehrmantraut :(
The very personification of cognitive dissonance. Such a beautifully written character.
Walt is a much bigger example of cognitive dissonance.
At the start of BCS, Mike goes out of his way to find and report the body of an innocent man who died because he unknowingly got involved in Mike's feud with Hector. At the end of BCS, Mike's covering up the death of an innocent man to protect his boss's interests. Mike wanted to be at peace with himself over his son's death but ended up selling his soul in the process to obtain it
I think these two scenes tell us everything we need to know about Mike. Well said.
That’s why I hate season 6 episode 11 so much. It removed all of moral culpability from Gus and Mike, rendered both of them blameless victims.
What ? Can you explain your mind ?
@@nont18411 Yet Mike covering up Jane's death is fine?
@@TheMasterUnity Mike was corrupted by that point. The covering up of Howard's death is the moment we clearly see how much he changed.
"I've known good criminals and bad cops, bad priests, honorable thieves-you can be on one side of the law or the other, but if you make a deal with somebody, you keep your word. You can go home today with your money and never do this again, but you took something that wasn't yours and you sold it for a profit. You're now a criminal; good one, bad one-that's up to you." One of my favorite speeches in this series.
Mike is the embodiement of a rational, loyal and professional enforcer. Someone who takes care of problems without letting personal emotions get in the way. He's not a psychopath and he does have a moral code but is willing to break it if the job demands it. A good person? No. He's more sympathetic than many of the criminals portrayed in BCS and BB because he's not acting out of personal greed or irrational but does that make him "better" than Tuco, in example? Tuco was a product of his upbringing. Somebody who couldn't control his impulses, a psychopath. Is somebody, who's in full controll of his emotions and acting like Mike a "better" person than Tuco? Tuco might have klled people out of rage but Mike killed people on order of a ruthless criminal who accepted the utilization of minors as contract killers and drug traffickers. I really liked Mike throughout watching BB for the first time but my opinion on him changed a lot during BSC. Especially because of what happened to Nacho. Yes, he was morally conflcted about it but he went through with it anyway. He would have killed Jesse and he was about to take out Walt and he acted like they had no reaso to kill Gus. Yes, he was driven by his intention to secure a good life for his granddaughter but that simly doesn't override everything he did.
Nerd lol
There's a comment above mine and below yours that I can't see. What does it say? 🦉
mike is an amazing character. he’s background of the vietnam war and the guilt of his sons death meld together to make a really interesting character. the writing team is superb.
"The entire desert could be filled with Nachos". Sorry, that line sounds really funny to me out of context. Great video 👍
I was in deep thought within the video and it caught me off guard lol it was funny
Jesus, Marie, I said Cheetos, not Fritos.
@@Jouzou87 ☠
@@Jouzou87 ch ch ch cheetos
Imagine Walt tried to bargain nachos instead of money to save Hank in the desert
Thing about Mike is that ultimately he's a fatalist. It's all in his speech about the road; his fundamental belief is that once you're on a set path, there's no way off it no matter how hard you try. Once you cross a certain line, there's no second chances, no redemption, no becoming a better man. This ultimately informs all his actions; why not work as a hitman for a cartel if you're already damned? Contrast with Saul, who eventually comes to believe that it's possible to change and find some measure of redemption and improvement even late in a life full of crooked deeds.
Yes, I think fatalism is central to Mike's morality (there was a turning point in BCS when Mike talks of playing the cards one is dealt) but I think it's psychological as much as philosophical. Mike's fatalism is connected to the death of his son - It broke him. Not just the death itself, but also but because it induced Mike to commit murder out of revenge. As you say, those revenge killings probably marked a point of no return for Mike, where he thought he was irredeemable and that ultimately led him to abandon trying to live a decent life. Throughout the show, he seems to have this deep sadness and heavy heart, almost in despair. In this depressed state, while he is very capable day-to-day, it is as if he doesn't have full agency over the big goals and direction of his life. He likes to serve others because he has no inner direction. He gets swept along, following more driven characters like Gus, Saul and even Walt (despite their animosity). He is like a half-man, living a miserable existence, as if he were caught half way between this world and the next. That's why he sets himself up to be beaten and nearly killed by local hoodlum. He thinks he is damned, and clings to serving Kaylee and his code, like a man clinging to a floating piece of wood as the river is sweeping him off to his doom. I think if his son were alive, Mike would be a good man. But in the show, he broke bad because in some way Mike himself was no longer fully alive.
@@theodisius1 absolutely, there’s definitely a psychological aspect to Mike’s fatalism, where he’s just been utterly broken down by the world / the consequences of his own actions. Its a chicken-and-egg situation almost where he commits awful, unforgivable actions because he’s convinced himself he’s fundamentally irredeemable, but he’s only fundamentally irredeemable because he keeps committing awful, unforgivable actions…
@@theodisius1 Mike was just an evil narcissist bro
@@theodisius1 Wow this is a great analysis,some of u should make videos
@@FreshZCORD Right? These philosophies have really opened my eyes!
I always think Mike's morality is revealed in his attitudes towards Jessie and Walt, and this does flip somewhat as BB goes on, at first he is more sympathetic towards Walt, and wary of Jessie's recklessness. However, I think the character comes to recognise that although Jessie has done some terrible things, Jessie is tormented by what he's done and would undo the choices he'd made, and Jessie's soul can still be saved (ditto Nacho). Walt however, famously cites taking care of his family as his motivation, but eventually acknowledges that it was his ego, that he chooses to be immoral for his own selfish reasons. Unlike Walt, Mike is genuinely motivated (if misguidedly) by care for his family. Mike recognises himself in both Walt and Jessie, but sympathises with Jessie, both because of Mike's ethical code, and because Mike likes to see Jessie as a younger version of himself, who can still be redeemed. Walt is irredeemable, and will take everyone down with him.
I think the reason Mike hates Walter so much, is because Walter reminds him of who he really is underneath all his "honour" and "code". And he doesn't like looking into that mirror.
« I commit crimes for muh granddaughter » -doesn’t have a time limit like Walt’s cancer to justify going into crime for quick money. -gets mad every time he’s paid for doing nothing, actually enjoys doing crimes -still accepts being Gus’ bitch even after he instigated the death of 3 people he cared about (Werner, Nacho, Victor). And then develops a weird loyalty for him for no reason lol. Gus is every bit as petty and ego driven as Walter, even going as far as murdering a child to bait Jesse into a trap just because he didn’t like working with him. Walt’s worst action? Non lethally poisoning a child to gain Jesse back to his side to save his life. Why is this dead eyed cretin so loved?
Nope , it's because walter didn't know his place
I think having his background in Vietnam really explains his mindset. Just like in war you fight and kill the enemy because they are the enemy. If you see someone with a weapon you assume they're willing to kill you, and therefore it's ok to kill them. When he falls into crime wars it's just a natural extension of that same coping mechanism. "Us or them"
Vietnam plays a huge role in his personality.. crazy how the writers did that with a few simple lines
@@brandonallison3236 it's never rlly explored tho just implied in a scene that's about shooting snipers. Would be rlly cool to see him explain his days in the war tho but tbh it's not necessary
@@brandonallison3236 Are you saying Vietnams was the reason mike was sadistic and evil
It probably also explains his sympathy for civilians. He knew not to harm the innocent families during the Vietnam war.
@@jasonvoorhees5640 how is he sadistic? Or evil? I kinda get the evil thing cause he does bad things, but he doesnt do them for fun so I'd say he is just a bad guy, not "evil".
Mike is human. He isn't a sociopath like Gus or the entire Salamanca family. He doesn't like collateral damage, and avoids it when he can. He stick to his word, and is trustworthy. He's certainly a criminal, in an industry that preys on some of the most vulnerable of society. He is smart enough to know the various negative and life destroying effects that his bosses product has on its customers, but to him, they are "in the game" so he doesn't care what happens to them. In short, he does have good in him but he's not a good person.
Dont try to demonize people like Gus or The Salamanca. People like this exist, and they are a human being, just like you and me. And human being do awful things sometime.
@@Iwanwahid1969 do not demonize people like that? Are you serious? The cartels in the real world torture you, cut your body into pieces, cut of your face and wear while making fun of it, etc. and you dont want him to demonize those people? Let's also not forget all the human trafficking they do. In BB and BCS they depict the cartels on a way lighter sight than they really are!
@@Iwanwahid1969 do you know what a figure of speech is?
@@maxwell2162 any intentional deviation from literal statement or common usage that emphasizes, clarifies, or embellishes both written and spoken language.
@@Iwanwahid1969Stating that Gus and the Salamanca family were sociopaths is not demonization. Plenty of humans are, in fact, sociopaths.
In my mind he's clearly lawful neutral (whereas Gus would be lawful evil for example). He just does his job and is not good nor bad inherently but when he does bad things he still wants to do them with as much respect and fairness as possible towards those who deserve it
Mikes the best hearted corrupted person in the show. He’s not necessarily “good” but he tries his best to provide while also listening to his moral
All these characters have this one thing in common : extremely elaborate rationalization of terrible behavior. On this level Mike is no better than any other.
Are you saying the show was goofy and unrealistic?
@@jasonvoorhees5640 No he is saying that Mike is a terrible person but does not want to believe it.
@@coder9928 I find i weird how so many people see mike this way. walt was right to kill him.
@@jasonvoorhees5640 You get the gold medal for mental gymnastics bc there's no way that's the conclusion you make
@@jasonvoorhees5640 I think it's the exact opposite, in that it's in fact VERY realistic because there's no such thing as superheroes and supervillains in real life. Everything and everyone is a shade of grey, some people are perhaps darker shades of grey and some are lighter shades but 99% of the time there is no pure good and no pure evil, people do bad things for good reasons and good things for bad reasons
His “they’re in the game” isn’t “they’re bad people” its “they knew the risks” it’s the same as a soldier dying vs a civilian in a war zone, one willingly put themselves in danger knowing what might happen then other didn’t. He doesn’t think they’re all bad people for being criminals just that they knew what the rules were and that they might die working in this way.
Yup, like the old saying goes "You live by the sword, you die by the sword"
Soldiers are almost always drafted and fight against their will.
I think the moment that truly made Mike and Saul's relationship go down in Breaking Bad was the flashback in the final episode. Hearing that all Jimmy cares about was himself making more money, and not changing anything probably shows how much Mike is disgusted in who he brought into his life. Especially when he later had to clean up Howard's murder. He probably was think that the reason Howard was there was because of Jimmy's greedy and conning ways.
Dude you're providing something sorely missing on KZhead with your essays and I'm so glad I found your account on complete accident. This was terrific. Well done
What I love the most about Mike is every character feels safe around him and can be vulnerable around him and let things off their chest. Like when Gus told him about the memorial for max and took Mike there. Or Nacho telling him about Tuco and his history and telling him how scared he actually is inside of his mask. Also don't forget his relationship with Jesse in BrBa.
Very good point
Even Walt felt safe enough to suggest killing Fring. It cost him a jab to the face and the loss of any trust Mike might have had in him, but he opened up
Actually, not everyone feels safe around Mike. Kim felt terrified around Mike. That’s why she only confessed AFTER Jimmy told her that Mike’s dead.
Despite all the badassery he still carries that grandpa vibe. Like everyone can tell after a while he's not a sadist but is fed up of everything as much or more than everyone and is only doing a job. So it's normal that everyone trust and opens to him as not only you can't talk about these things with no one else but no matter what side you're at he seems to understand the most.
@@nont18411 speculation
It’s even worse when you remember that Mike’s family will find out what he did, and that they will never know his final fate. A barrel in the desert.
They probably never will know what he was involved with because he was never caught or taken to trial. He’ll just be a missing person. They’ll never know what happened to him.
@@HalfEatenMedia not true. he was publicly associated with Madrigal, if you recall
Brilliant analysis! Very thoughtful and actually a testament to the incredible script writing behind these two magnificent shows. Well done, Just an Observation! Bravo!
Very interesting take. Mike's muddy morality is definitely what makes his character so fascinating. He personifies the code of not harming civilians. He says "Hey, I didn't make the rules here, I'm just good at playing."
Mike is definitely my favorite character. He recognizes what he has done and what he has become. He has the most depth of awareness of all of the characters, which truly adds to his stoic and cold personality. I found myself respecting Mike the most because he is selfless and carries a great sadness and burden around him. Yet he still fights and doesn't give up.
Consciously making a decision to work in an industry that you know destroys communities to personally benefit yourself is not selfless. The fact that you are willing to ignore Mikes evil because you find some sort of quality in Mike speaks volumes about your lack of morals.
I think Mike is probably what Jesse would’ve turned into if he’d stayed in the game for a few decades. That’s why he tried to get Jesse to leave at every opportunity after Gus’s death, he saw himself in Jesse.
kid named finger
This was just like eating ice cream right out of the carton in that it was 19 minutes of greatness but only felt like five. Excellent job!
You helped me see some major events in this story differently, thank you for that.
He might have some nice qualities, but at the end of the day he’s a retired dirty cop who willingly became an enforcer for the cartel. He had a ton of opportunities to quit or turn away, but the fact that he stayed and killed people while on Gus’ payroll says everything you need to know. It doesn’t matter if he justifies it by saying it’s for his family like Walt, he still did a ton of horrible acts in the service of monsters. Even in the context of this video, the fact that he stayed in the game until the end (despite every chance he had to walk away) supersedes the harm reduction he did while he was active, since he didn’t know those scenarios would come up in the future. If he knew things were going to get this bad and he decided to stay in to reduce the harm, I might agree, but he just happened to be in the right place at the right time.
Yup
Very well put and I agree 💯%
Yeah and great point in the video, about how would Mike's granddaughter feel about what he's done
AMEN to that!
@DixonYamowthe yeah it's just a way for em to validate their actions. I mean I love Mike but his grandaughter would not like anything that he is doing when she got old enough to understand! She probably wouldn't even want to take the money honestly. Just blood money haha she's like I'm good
Mike is as good a person as the criminal underworld allows. He's hard, but fair. He believes in doing right by people. Compassionate, but never weak.
Absolutely. Outside of the criminal world, he's just another hired gun for the cartel. Absolutely despicable if you see him from any other POV.
i.e. someone who would shine in military roles, but when you get disillusioned you get ppl like Mike bringing every shitty thing they had to do in order to survive, to the streets and their families.
I disagree. As good a person as the criminal underworld allows would be someone like Gus.
@@cevest_blirobo7308 disagree
@@cevest_blirobo7308 Gus is as evil as they get. Not quite as bad as the Salamancas or Jack and Todd’s gang, but he’s up there. He literally has no feelings for anyone except Max and is willing to use or kill anyone
It just shows what a fantastic this series was that you are presenting a discussion about the morals and ethics of a fictional character.
Again, loved the analysis, I think your work is on a different level than most of KZhead, I'm glad I found you 😊
This scene between Mike and the dad is lowery one of the best and unexpected scenes in the whole series. It is really rare Mike let's his guard down enough for someone to ever have the upper hand. Even wjth Gus, you get the feeling Mike isn't afraid to die if he passes him off. In this scene, he comes forward seeking an affirmation of his way of life from somewhat who, through Nachos actions, has respect for. And in just one sentence Nacho's dad completely denies that to him and instead exposes Mike to be in denial about his own actions.
This and other comments I believe miss the point of the police are also corrupt. “Just turn yourself in, son” his dad says. But the police are or certainly could be corrupt. That’s why Mike is who he is. He was police, he new that meant looking the other way from what would be ‘right’ or ‘just’ sometimes, but that’s the way it works in the real world. Even for the ‘law’ Mike’s son was too good for the real world, that’s why he is dead. Everyone in the real world is corruptible, I think that’s a message the show meant to get across.
Mike and Papa Varga’s philosophies are pretty much completely opposite . Mikes logic is criminals can be good , there isn’t inherently a correlation between crime and morals . Nacho’s dad’s logic is that just because a criminal justifies their actions doesn’t make them good . Mikes code serves him initially , he makes his decisions for the right reasons and no one gets hurt. On the other hand nachos father code doesn’t serve him as well , he is willing to put his son and himself in danger to keep out of crime . By the end of the series though , Mike’s philosophy holds up less , though he tried his best to do bad things in the best possible “least morally bad” way he still did bad things and you can’t really say he is a good guy . Nacho’s dad isn’t completely right in the end but you can’t help but think things may have been better if nacho took his advice . In the end you think differently about their respective “code”s when you see them to their conclusion .
his dad never signed up to be in the game.
Nachos dad was completely unrealistic, and his inflexibility pushed nacho ever deeper. It got him killed in the end, and his dad had no appreciation for what his son did for him. Nacho made his own choices, but so did his father. He wasn't moral he was stubborn imo.
@@allgonewrongful I don’t think his dad knew about the internal stuff and Nacho saving him. He had no idea the situation nacho was in or how he contributed to it
@@allgonewrongful that’s what I had in mind when i said he is not completely right . If nacho took his advice and called the police early on it may have put him at risk but a lot of things probably wouldn’t have happened .
The end of the story ends with the DEA finding everything. It ends with the police on top. Nacho got into the game which forced his dad to deal with the game even though he shouldn't have to. By no means was his dad participating in the game, but throughout the show he was threatened without his knowledge as a tool against nacho. But even Mike stood up for his father. I think his father represents the law/spciety and the fence represents the divid between them. Mike will never be allowed into society but he wishes he could take it all back. His father never dies because in the end he is right, nacho should have just gone to the police. But Mike believes cops are crooked because he's a crooked cop, yet the shows shows numbers honest cops and lawyers who do fight for what's right and good.
Love this channel! Thank you, my friend.
Awesome video! I was positively surprised about the direktion and deeps it - great job
I think what’s important to note Mike ends up not putting his money where his mouth is. He tries to be criminal with a code, like he implies to Pryce, but He killed Werner Ziegler for similar reasons the dirty cops killed his son. He is swayed easily by Gus saying he is better than the Salamanca’s but doesn’t end up doing anything when children (Tomas and the one Todd shot) are killed. He seemingly takes a stand when Gus wants to betray Nacho, but ends up doing nothing. Mike gives Walt shit about half measures but his story involved protecting innocents which to justify having Jesse killed who is trying to protect a child from gang violence. Mike ends up giving up avoiding collateral damage and people “not in the game” Jesse is a shitty person too, but he sticks to his (admittedly not good) code and leaves the business when a kid gets shot. Papa Varga was right about Mike.
Mike is a walking contradiction.
Mike is just a straight up awful person
Mike’s code was that he kept his word, he always put his money where his mouth was, he followed his code to the letter and that is ironically ultimately what did him in, the only time he started slipping was when he kept hesitating to kill Walter.
Mike creates these rules for himself about not harming civilians, taking care of his family, and keeping his word as if those principles outweigh the absolutely evil acts he commits throughout both series. Unlike Gus' other henchmen, we see Mike's backstory and why he does what he does, which makes us feel sympathy for him and we try to rationalize his actions. Mike lies to himself the same way Walter does. The only difference is that Mike genuinely only cares about his family, and Walter only really cares about himself.
one thing I think about is even though Todd shot that kid Mike still went along with them dissolving his body In a barrel of acid so no one would find him. After that I don't think your code matters any more.
Mike just conveniently accepted the same thing Gale talks about in BB: "adults want what they want. If it's not me producing it, it'll be someone else". Mike could work for the guy that didn't have the need to kill a bunch of people just because, or let animals like the Salamancas being the only ones ruling the drug world. No, he is not a "good guy" per se, but he's not a "bad guy" either. He's morally flawed (what was amazingly enriched in BCS) from the start, even if he feels bad for it. But he's loyal to his people and rejects doing evil just for the sake of it. He's just like every BCS main character: a person. No person is flawless or absolute evil, we're all somewhere in between, some more to one side, some more to the other. Mike in my opinion is one of the reasons why Breaking Bad was such a good show and is definitely the main reason - alongside with Saul and Gus - why BCS is one of the greatest shows of all time.
And to add something about Mike talking to Nacho's father: for me, one of the greatest closure to a character ever, if not THE greatest. It summarizes his character completely. He wants to be "different" and is different in some ways, nonetheless he's a criminal and not a "good guy" like Nacho's father.
You could say that some serial killers and sadists are pure evil.
I’d reckon jack and Todd are 99.1% evil
This is a good explanation. I think the purpose of these arguments are that someone who partially leans towards good over evil vs someone who partially leans evil over good. Someone like Mike would lean towards the evil side, yet close to the center. While the vargo father would lean towards the good side. Hard to say how far on the good. You have to break the center threshold towards the good side to be considered a 'good' person. If you're actions are fundamentally self serving, it doesn't matter what you do, you will always lean towards the evil side. You could be a pastor or the creator of a non-profit. While you could argue Mike's intentions were not self serving, but in the service of his grand daughter. But that would be incorrect. Since he is in service to her to make him feel better about the guilt he feels for his son. Which would put him as close to the center while still being on the evil side of the threshold as possible. Just my thoughts on it
You left out Kim, who was the most complex person in BCS.
It is questionable if he did all this primarily for Kaylee. By being in the game he puts her actively in danger, no money in the world would justify this. He does it for the same reason why Jimmy keeps relapsing on his destructal behaviour. Its what he is best at, it fullfills him personally. Thats why he turns into a miserable alcoholic who even mistreats Kaylee when he is not on the job. His codex is a way to justify doing what he loves.
"Functional alcoholic" is a frame that really matches how Mike approaches the criminal life. Breaking Bad is a show about drugs as crime and crime as drugs.
"i liked it. i was good at it."
Rapidly becoming my favorite YT channel!
Mike is probably the most misunderstood character in BrBa. He's NOT a good guy. Great video!
He kills people, I’m baffled people don’t think that he’s a bad guy.
As long as you're not on his way, Mike won't harm you and may even help you. He's not a sadistic irrationnal killer. But he's still dangerous.
@@GaylordBonnafous That doesn’t justify anything.
@@TwistedFireX Correct, it's a lousy excuse of his bad behavior
@@TwistedFireX Hes completely right, what do you think there is to justify? Mike was a professional Killer, but he had Standarts and was never portrait as sadistic or irrational like Tuco or Walt for example. Mike and Hank were the only Characters in BB that had some kind of integrity and were at least trying to do the right thing from time to Time.
I never understood why Mike blamed Walter for "ruining everything". The only reason Walter rebelled against Gus was to save Jesse’s life in season 3. After that it was Mike who wanted to kill both Jesse and Walter. But in season 4 Mike likes Jesse once he gets to know him and starts puting all the blame on Walter and completely forgets the fact that he wanted to kill Jesse, the only reason Walter went against Gus was to save Jesse.
Jesse only worked for Gus because of Walt's insistence
@@alext8229 because he threatened Walt with snitching after Hank whooped his ass. Saul told him that Jesse is a threat and lowkey implied that they should have him killed. Walt could not do that and took the peaceful way to resolve it, he brought Jesse into the lab.
Jesse is shown not to be a particularly bright character in the show. Gus and Mike together faked a shootout to make Jesse feel like a hero, just after the Gale incident, and he fully fell for it. After that he puts the blame for all of that on Gus, and says it to his face at his home, but never on Mike, just because Mike acted like a father for a bit with him. Point is, Jesse is very gullible and confused.
@@ixian_technocrat Which is why Walt was able to manipulate him so much for so long. Even when Jesse eventually figured out that Walt poisoned Brock, Walt even with a gun pointed to his head was able to manipulate Jesse by planting a seed of doubt into his mind thinking it was Gus who ordered Brock's poisoning as some kind of master plan. Jesse of course, once again fell for a lie and spared Walt's life because like you say he wasn't particularly bright.
@ixiantechnocrat346 and now watch El Camino for an opportunity to re-visit the question of Jesse's capacity
I have to admire your conclusion man damn you are good at what you do appreciate that
He’s not evil, but he’s far from good… such an amazing and intricate character
I am deeply surprised we didn't get a scene with Kaylee in the Gene Timeline. I'd loved to see what she thought about Mike, especially since he was the deuteragonist of the show. Would have been nice to see the outcome of all this work.
Don't forget Kaylee's mom too.
My stance on Mike is that while he's obviously a crook, and has been for a really long time, he's a pro and is a straight shooter. His discipline and refusal to hurt people "not in the game" are admirable next to the likes of Walt or the Salamancas, but at the end of the day, he's just like the rest of them as Nacho's dad so eloquently states.
He murdered Werner who wasnt really in the game
@@josip342 Only because he HAD to and there was no other option. I see it as Gus killing Werner and not Mike. Gus was the one who made it impossible for Werner to survive
@@jameslough6329 he had a choice to not kill werner and live with his decision. Also the most important thing, he had a choice to not become a hitman for the cartel in the first place
@@josip342 If Mike didn’t kill Werner, Gus and his men would have killed him and his wife. So no, Mike didn’t really have a choice due to Gus’s ruthlessness
Beautiful video.😢 I really enjoyed it!
How the hell have I not seen this channel before? What a great content.
Mike's not a good guy but he's a lesser evil than the Salamancas, his boss Gus, Walt, Lydia, Jack, Todd and the like.
Walt is a bit of a stretch. Both did terrible things for the good of “Family” but in reality were just doing it because they liked it (or revenge) They both killed good people for reasons that are not morale justifiable. And in the end they just end up putting the ones they love in harms way over and over again. To me they are different sides of the same coin
He's equal not lesser
@@buddyfett1341 no he's less... mike has some morality
That's a hell of a low bar.
@@catchultr Gus had no family. His only partner in life, Max, was dead. He was driven purely by revenge, seemingly didn’t enjoy anything that he was doing.
Better Call Saul: the one series where all the antagonists had a party and didn't invite the main character from the original series
they did invited them
@@ididntmeantoshootthatvietn5012 metaphorically
Breaking Bad: the series where the main character finds out about the party, invites himself into it, and ends up killing everyone there
@@thahoule7924 "See Walt, THIS is why we didn't invite you!"
“An angel of death” made me tear up, what a masterpiece of a video!
Mike is certainly that kind of employee/collegue one dreams working with, always helping watching your six and always giving useful inputs ❤
I think the way Mike’s system of morality sees the world is through a lens of what’s “fair”, not “right”
Love how you made a video about this. The whole exchange with Nacho’s father is such a huge character moment. For a long time, viewers really sympathized and even propped up Mike because he stood above the other bad guys morally. That dialogue really puts into perspective how he still is a “bad guy” and shouldn’t get a pass simply because he’s not as bad as everyone else. Mike in BB, compared to BCS, knows himself and doesn’t make excuses
11:43 I always figured one of the reasons Mike told Gus he’ll handle it was to also make up for the whole thing happening to begin with. Mike was basically showing that he’s able to manage projects and be reliable when things turned sour.
I relate a lot with mike. You can't always like some things, but you still gotta do them to get an outcome you like.
I think the important thing about Mike was his code that people not in the game should be untouched by those in the underworld. I think the point of his fairness is a good one though.
a man gotta have a code.
Yes. As long as you're not on his way, Mike won't harm you and may even help you. He's not a sadistic irrationnal killer. But he's still dangerous.
innocent people still got killed because he helped drug kingpins stay in power though
Do not expect a majority here to understand what is a code.
Mike wasn't a "good guy" but I wish he had a better less tragic conclusion than being killed off by Walt. Our other antiheroes has relatively happy endings. Walt died on his own terms. Jesse Pinkman escaped. Jimmy/Saul accepted accountability and got the girl at the end. But Mike just wanted to leave money for his granddaughter who ended up never getting the money as far as we know. In other words, it was all for nothing.
it was his punishment in the story, if he just got away his actions faced no consequences. everyone pays for their crimes in the BB universe
@@blinkyy1088 I was about to say not Jesse but I guess losing two loves and like a year of dehumanising torture is probably a fate worse than death in some perspectives. Just cos he ultimately survives and escapes, doesn't mean he didn't suffer for his sins.
Walt showed the hubris of mike when he greased him lol
Walt died with everybody he ever loved despising him, Jesse escaped although he lost everything he had and has to live with depression
@@blinkyy1088 Not everyone. Kim never paid for her crimes.
Mike is the best person in the evil world he decides to work in, which means he's not a good person overall. But he actually makes the world less evil by being in it. It's complicated.
Great video! I do wish you would've brought up Drew Sharp though bc even though Mike didn't kill him, he still helped dispose of the body without providing closure to Drew's family which is despicable & left Drew's family with 0 closure. Knowing Mike, had he wanted to, he could've figured out a way to give Drew's family that closure they deserved without becoming implicated in the process. This was likely his worst point and again, it's because he could've figured out a way to provide that to the Sharp's yet he did nothing about it
One of the biggest things about mike is you can tell he’s remorseful for his actions, in the BCS finale he talked about how he would go back and change things with people, but he knows he can’t
He's a lowlife who doesn't see himself as a lowlife. Once he came to NM, he got involved in crime when he did not have to. Walt White has the balls to admit he likes being a criminal. But Mike has all these justifications for his deeds. The character as a younger man could've part of the world of 'No Country for Old Men.'
I don't know if Mike enjoys being a criminal like Walt, so much as his gulit makes him feels obligated to make enough money to support Stacey and Kaley for the rest of their lives by any means necessary, since he feels directly responsibility for the death of his son who was thier sole provider
@@TAG152gaming He was all smiles and proud of robbing the drug truck. He enjoyed it. He had no interest in flashy cars, no rolex but he enjoyed the power and fear he instilled in others. He was a corrupt cop which is a criminal.
@@TAG152gaming Mike clearly said in BrBa s3 ep 4 that he enjoys it
I think he does, Mike is just so far gone after killing the cops that he becomes the bad guy for the sake of his granddaughter
Mike never justifies any of his deeds, atleast that I remember.
First vid of yours I’ve seen, good work, I found it v interesting !
Mike is an honest person, but not a good person.
You’ve earned a like from me. I’m so tired of people that hate Walt, love Mike. He’s a great character but he’s a hypocrite. Nothing wrong with not liking Walt but that doesn’t mean everything Mike says is the gospel.
Mike and Walt were the two characters I wanted to reach through the screen and smack the most. Both are terrible people trying to convince themselves and others they are righteous when they are not.
@@Nick_CF Mike never tried to convince anyone he was righteous, he saw himself as scum and hated himself he just had a code he believed in, if you thought Mike believed he was self righteous you immediately misunderstood the character.
Mike isn’t a hypocrite, he’s actually the most consistent character in both shows, he keeps his word and he doesn’t harm those that aren’t in the game. Everyone he killed was involved in the game. Not saying it’s right or moral but it’s his code and he was completely consistent with it throughout. The only time he contradicts himself is the half measure mindset he adopts in Breaking Bad.
i hate how when you think mike is a bad person, the fans automatically assumes that you like walter, theyre basically the same level of bad but without mike having an ego
@@ididntmeantoshootthatvietn5012 I think many characters in BB/BCS are great examples of the "evils that men do", to paraphrase Iron Maiden. It's fascinating because they follow an internal logic and it seems clear, almost inevitable, that they end up doing what they do (like killing Ziegler). Or lashing out against a world that bullied you. And the show presents this in unhurried sequences that respected the audience. I especially remember how broken Walt was in Vermont and about to give himself up until he comes up with the insufferable smarminess of the Schwarzes on TV. It's hard not to agree with him in those instances. But take a couple of steps back, and you realize how deeply flawed and corrupted they are. It is really a credit to the genius of the show that so many of these characters are actively perceived as "good". Shows TV audiences can handle complex characters without much need of saccharine treatment.
Great video... with regards to Mike's intentions for Kayley, one has to also ask, would she rather grow up with the money (whether she knows the means where it is from) OR simply having Mike remain in her life for the foreseeable future, being there for her where her father couldn't. Not simply have disappeared with his death (seemingly abandoning her), with Mike not realising that he could have a positive impact on her life without the money.
plus there are other way to provide than being a hitman
great essay dude!
Love your content man thanks a lot
As soon as he got involved with Fring, his good guy days were forever gone.
Mike was just as trapped as Nacho, he just happened to outlive his gilded cage rather than the other way around.
Mike has a toolkit and skillset that's valuable. He forms the rules of applying those to be as straightforward and less deceptive as possible. Even if the project or actions are immoral and against the law of society. What Mike brings is structure to do the least amount of evil while still doing evil. Which is antithetical to greed.
Nice pfp
i usually have a 3 strike rule. if you can peak my curiosity for 3 videos straight, its a sub. you passed the test.
I love the way you explain these characters, one of my favorite “grey moral” characters is the punisher. Specifically the tv show. I would love too see you analyze the character
This is perfect summed up in his conversation with Daniel Wormald when he tells him that he took something that wasn’t his, and that makes him a criminal. He can make the choice if he’s a good one or a bad one
No redemption, no undoing it, no going back. Mike's worldview in a nutshell. Once you're in Hell, keep walking. And Daniel seemingly ends up embracing this ideology in whole.
Mike is a person who keeps his word. A true man.
"Those are the rules" (or something similar) is really the best way to discribe Mike by his own catchphrase. In my opinion.
I’m so mad I’ve just now found this video. Finally, an answer to one of the most profound questions in the history of 21st century TV. Thank you!
4:09 Mike does know about how the money was earned. There was that episode where Mike almost pressed charges against Jimmy, but believed his theory about the Kettlemans', and even gave him helpful insight on where they might be. I know it's not really crucial to the analysis of Mike's character or the point being made, but he did know the context.
I don’t think Mike’s caution about Walthuh comes from a view that Walter is less moral. I think he considers him as a man with nothing to lose and therefore a liability. The prisoners dilemma is often used to describe a situation where the best option is to screw someone over, however that’s only true if you consider the dilemma in isolation. If you consider the prospect of working together in the future you can then justify the “altruism” again through self interest. However, Walter is the dilemma in isolation. There is no future. There’s no working together again. He will die and so his only incentive is to screw everyone over. It essentially the same as working with someone who has a death wish or is impulsive and short sighted.
Great analysis! Thank you !
Mike is a brilliantly written contrast to Walt. They are both very skilled, both living on borrowed time, and their alleged primary motive is help their family, but Walt shows his true colours eventually, that he's really in the empire business, whereas Mike is not.
Did we ever find out if Stacey Ehrmantraut was being paranoid or manipulative about hearing gunshots at night? I feel like it's a very significant occurrence in BCS because it's what forces Mike into the criminal life in order to make enough money to move them to a better home.
i believe we see in the same episode that she is mishearing the paper getting delivered as gunshots because of her trauma/grief
Mike sits outside her house one night to keep watch and see what is going on, without her knowledge obviously. Nothing happens , but than Stacey calls Mike that next morning saying it happened again and shows him a "bullet mark from a stray" that his the side of the house. Mike knows she's lieing or just paranoid but just goes with it anyway.
I think Stacey is often trying to manipulate Mike into providing for Kaley. Remember, the whole ordeal ended with her and Kaley moving to a better neighbourhood with a better school. Same with the babysitting, she never outright asks him for it, but semi-subtlety nudges him into doing it. Which works, Mike is babysitting her constantly. Mike can propably see right through it, but since Staceys intention is a good life for Kaley and Mike's intentions are ultimately the same, he propably goes along with it. He doesn't take it personally that she's trying to guilt him into taking care of Kaley since that's what he would have done anyways. You can't even really blame Stacey in my opinion, any mother would prioritise her own daughter over her father in law.
@@sertu1462 oh ya absolutely, like when they are looking for a new house and Stacey loves the " big open space room" clearly unnecessary for the two of them but like you Mike just goes with it.
Mike is a good character as in conceptually, but he's as evil as Walt imo. When Drew Sharp died he didn't seem overly fussed.
right. its so annoying when people treat Walt as an evil monster, yet act like mike is a saint
@@TH-cx2yx I doubt they would think the same thing if they came across someone like Mike in the real world.
While I agree to a certain extent, I think he felt that he had to keep a "hard exterior" to keep the authority. He was definitely more bothered than Walter, you can tell by the way he threatens Todd after they decide to keep him on the team. Mike is no saint, but hes more human than some of the other villains on the show. Not by much but hes like jesse. Made bad decisions, which we all have, and gotten in over our heads. Some worse than others. One of my favorite quotes of all time is from buffy the vampire slayer "you have a choice. You dont have a good choice but you have a choice".
@@kristinebautz1859 Huh? Jesse literally tried to save a kid from gang violence and even took a stance against Gus by himself while Mike was just sitting there. And then he put himself in danger just to avenge the kid from the two child killers. Mike doesn't even compare to Jesse morality-wise
@@diamond7099 I didnt say hes on the same moral ground as Jesse. Jesse is still early in the game compared to Mike. Mike tried to fight for Werner, but was left with lousy options, he just did the "least" of the evil. Jesse isnt a good person either. He killed Gale, even if it was for Walt, was going to burn walt's house down without considering that walt's family had nothing to do with Brock, killed some of the cartel with no hesitation and wanted to sell meth to recovering addicts because he "accepted" that he was the bad guy. Both mike and jesse have their moments where they try to do good. Problem is that the world they are in is dog eat dog. They wont win a moral argument with those who only want to cause harm.
Kid Named Morally Ambiguous
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I think this was commented on very well in the first season of true detective where Hart asks Cohle if he ever wonders if he’s a bad man, to which cohle responds “the world needs bad men, Marty. We keep the other bad men from their door”