MovieChat Forums > Breaking Bad (2008) Discussion > Walt's "confession" tape

Walt's "confession" tape

posted 8 years ago by dmcreif
9 replies | jump to latest

I've always wondered, when it comes to the "confession" tape Walt made in which he "accused" Hank of being Heisenberg, what Walt was going to do with the tape. Was he going to turn it to the DEA if Hank refused to back down or not?

I mean, part of me thinks the tape is just meant to scare Hank, and Walt was never going to turn the tape over.

See, in real life, Hank's best option would have been to immediately begin seeking a defense attorney to navigate any legal issues, given that his job at the DEA is at stake and this "confession" might lead them (in his eyes) to think he was a mole for Walt. In the "confession," Walt had mentioned how his drug money paid for Hank's therapy. If Hank's lawyers could successfully prove that he had no knowledge that his therapy had been paid for with drug money, he'd be in the clear on that matter. Same for everything else in the "confession", as all of it is just half-truths that Hank's legal team would probably be able to discredit with character witnesses - and Hank has countless colleagues and bosses who could vouch for his activities, dedication to the job, and his character. Not to mention his obsession with nailing the mysterious Heisenberg well before discovering it was Walt.

My opinion is that Hank had next to nothing to fear about Walt's "confession" if he refused to back down. At the same time, I don't blame Hank for his decisions afterwards, because fear is a powerful self-defeating weapon that can cause poor decision-making, something inherent in every character whose life got touched by Walt/meth. Walt's "confession" tape was designed to exploit that, when in reality, he was probably just bluffing. The only thing Walt was doing was trying to scare Hank into backing down. If it failed to deter Hank, well, we don't know what Walt would've done, as he'd earlier refused Saul's suggestion of putting a hit out on Hank.

[–] InglouriousSister 8 years ago

I too think Hank should have turned that tape in right away, taken direct action. Walt admits to being Heisenberg (or well, "the chemist") on that tape, after that it would only be a matter of disproving Hank's participation which shouldn't be too hard - the only "evidence" of Hank's involvement was Walt's word, and who would the DEA be more likely to believe, their own ASAC or Walt? Hank's incapacitated for much of the show due to getting shot and being driven into the traffic by Walt and such anyways, so there must be times when Heisenberg has been very active and Hank's been out of commission.

I do think Hank was right in his assertion that his career was over the moment he turned Walt in. He did leak copious amounts of information of their investigation to their lead suspect, which probably prevented the DEA from getting to Gus Fring before he died in grandpa explosion. Explosion which, by the way, happens while Hank is under constant police supervision at his home - which seriously contradicts with/disproves Walt's direct claim that Hank gave that bomb to Hector. Sure he could have done that when Hector was visiting the DEA, but no one would have noticed that? Please.

But I don't see why it would have made any difference if Hank had turned in the tape - which obviously would have led to Walt's immediate arrest, even if someone did initially believe the BS he was spouting - or gone rogue like he did (except of course Hank and Gomie would be alive.) They would know Hank didn't murder Walt because well, Walt wasn't dead.

Do you even know what honor is?
- A horse.

[–] swolbach 8 years ago

Yeah, don't believe either one of them wanted that tape going to the DEA - just a bluff Walt was hoping wouldn't need to be called.

Marie even mentioned Hank should get ahead of it and take it in right away, but Hank then would not have had the opportunity to hunt Walt down and clear his name ahead of time, like he would have done with the cell call confession.

Even if the tape got turned in, and Hank was cleared from wrong-doing, the damage would be done, as far as working at the job he loved. This may have still happened, even if Hank caught Walt in the end. But if he's going down either way, at least Hank gave himself the chance to catch Walt.

[–] mgreen9715 8 years ago

I really don't understand how cracking the Heisenberg case and putting the biggest drug kingpin behind bars and putting a stop to that chain of violence would kill his career? Maybe it's just me.

[–] InglouriousSister 8 years ago

Quoting myself from the post you're replying to:

[Hank] did leak copious amounts of information of their investigation to their lead suspect, which probably prevented the DEA from getting to Gus Fring before he died in grandpa explosion.

Catching Heisenberg would probably give him some props, but he did unintentionally sabotage the investigation for months and acted extremely unprofessionally. Also, Hank's a proud man, even if he wasn't fired you think he could continue working there? The ASAC before him left because he had had a personal relationship with Gus but had never figured him out, and Hank was A LOT closer to Walt than what's-his-name was to Gus. Hank would assume everyone in the office to either pity him or think of him as a fool, and Hank doesn't strike me as a person who'd thrive in that environment. When he had to show weakness to Marie he acted like a 4-year-old with a temper tantrum. Imagine feeling like that in his workplace?

Do you even know what honor is?
- A horse.

[–] johnral (138) 7 years ago

I agree with you. That confession tape was poorly reasoned. The tape is proof-positive against Walt. The issue is then whether the drug crimes can be pinned on Hank. There are certainly some times to Hank (e.g. the Hit on Hank, the money for Hank's PT), but on the whole I don't think they could have ever linked Hank to all of this. The tape alone, even combined with a few random connections, would not have been enough. Especially these days with things like cell phone records and GPS data (even in 2008 perhaps) and security cameras everywhere, it's difficult to make someone into a drug kingpin when it's inconsistent with everything in his life; there's just no trail. Hank would have an excellent explanation in that he was going to bust Walt, and so that's why Walt made the tape.

[–] raymondoz2007 (2098) 7 years ago

That "confession" was brilliant. Don't forget Hanks boss was fired because Guss was right under his nose.
Before jesse came ariound the only evidence Hank had was squibles in a book.

[–] The LA Baker (971) 5 years ago

At the very least Hank would lose his job. If charges were brought against him, you better believe the prosecution would paint an ugly picture of Hank.
E.g. A man who is clearly obsessed with anything crystal. He has stacks of crystals in his home, and stacks of crystal meth in his lab. A man who pulls out his loaded pistol at a party and waves it around with complete disregard for proper firearm safety or those around him. A man with the proper drug connections from years in the DEA. A man who propositioned a prostitute to give his 16 year-old nephew fellatio. A man who poses for pictures smiling in front of dismembered corpses and encourages his coworkers to look at them. A man married to a habitual liar and kleptomanic for whom he abuses his position of authority to get out of legal trouble. A man who once severely beat Jesse Pinkman, a known associate of Heisenberg, until his knuckles bled, something a drug lord enforcing his will would do.

I could go on and on. It would be extremely easy to make Hank look like a terrible person and that is exactly what prosecutors do.

[–] MinorityRules15 (963) 6 years ago

It makes more sense to think that a DEA agent could be dirty than it does to think a no-name high school teacher with a disabled son would all of a sudden become a huge drug kingpin out of nowhere at age 50.

Before Walt mentally became Heisenberg, he was viewed as some weak chump who wouldn't hurt a fly.

[–] SpaceAce2001 (387) 6 years ago

Hank was a pussy and Walt knew it, all Walt was trying to do was scare hank and it worked perfectly.