Huge Breaking Bad plot hole finally answered by Vince Gilligan after a decade

Breaking Bad, the AMC crime-drama series that aired from 2008 to 2013, is known for its well-written plot and powerful character development, yet one question from the series has been left unanswered for years. That question is how Walter White managed to poison young Brock in Breaking Bad Season 4. The show never revealed the method directly, leaving fans debating the mystery long after the show ended.

Now, more than a decade later, creator Vince Gilligan has finally addressed the unanswered plot hole. His new explanation clears up what likely happened and offers insight into why the moment was not shown on screen.

Breaking Bad creator Vince Gilligan on how Walter killed Brock

In Breaking Bad Season 4, Episode 12, when Walter has fully stepped into his Heisenberg identity, to push Jesse into siding with him against Gus Fring, Walt secretly poisons Brock. The only evidence viewers get is that Brock was exposed to lily of the valley, the same plant growing in Walt’s backyard.

During a recent interview on Ringer TV on YouTube, Gilligan discussed different plot holes from Breaking Bad. During that conversation, the interviewer asked if Gilligan gets asked about the mystery of how Walter carried out the disturbing act of poisoning a child. Gilligan responded, saying,

"You reminded me. I haven't thought of this this in years. I don't get that many people asking me about specifics about the plot anymore... you just reminded me of the time jump we made in the writer's room because in the writer's room we all said, "How the hell did Walt get the lily of the valley into Brock's circulatory system", and it might have Sam Caitlin, I can't remember who it was, but somebody started joking about the mystery juice box man and snuck it into Brock's juice box."

Gilligan also said that he doesn't see not showing the details of how Walter killed Brock to be a plot hole. He said,

"If people want to call that one a plot hole, I would not argue with them. I would call that an elipses. That was something we left out."

Gilligan expressed what he guessed happened, not exactly confirming it to be the actual truth. He said,

"Walt over the seasons, he always seemed to me, at least pretty adept at you know weedling his way into people's homes, and you know, at making fantastical escapes. And I guess he got into, my best is he got into the house and put something in Brock's juice box through a syringe or something."

Many fans might find it odd that even the show’s creator does not know the exact method. But Gilligan explained that the writers never intended to map out every detail. Their goal was to highlight Walt’s moral fall, not the step-by-step process of the poisoning. As he said,

"But I'm really glad we didn't have to show because I don't know what the hell we would have done. That would've been a tough one."

As Gilligan said, the team chose to leave the act unseen so that the emotional focus remained on the characters. Instead of treating it as a strict plot hole, Gilligan views the moment as an ellipsis, a moment that happens between the lines, something that viewers have to understand themselves. According to him, this approach helped Breaking Bad keep its focus on characters rather than pure mechanics, making the overall story stronger.

You can stream Breaking Bad on Netflix.

Trending

For more articles like this, follow Soapcentral.

×

Was this article helpful?

Thank You for feedback