Is Breaking Bad the Prequel to The Walking Dead?

Breaking Bad and The Walking Dead are easily two of AMC‘s most popular series. But if you look closely, AMC might be trying to tell us that they are the exact same universe! Check out the parallels and take note now that there will be SPOILERS.

Breaking Bad, Walking Dead… the names themselves are pretty darn similar! Okay, okay… seriously now:

Smokes

Season 2, episode 3 of The Walking Dead, Dale stands on top of his RV and takes out a package of cigarettes. The brand on the box is called “Morely”, the same brand in various instances of Breaking Bad. That being said, Morely is a fictional brand of cigarettes used in many shows and films (including: American Horror Story, 24, Buffy, CSI and Psycho, to name a few) but it’s a coincidence nonetheless.

Coffee

Season 3, episode 6 of Breaking Bad, Gale Boetticher shows Walter White his fancy coffee-making… doohickey… set up to create the perfect chemical process to produce the perfect cup of coffee. Fast forward to season 3 of The Walking Dead where we can see the exact same setup on a table in Milton’s lab.

Season 3, episode 9 of The Walking Dead, the Governor lists off the names of people who he’s lost; Eisenberg or Heisenberg being one of them. Now, at the end of Breaking Bad, we technically don’t know if Walter White lives or dies so this is completely plausible. It would certainly explain how Milton got his fancy Gale Boetticher Original coffee machine.

The Car

In season 1 of The Walking Dead, Glenn finds a shiny new Dodge Challenger in Atlanta. Where have we seen that before? Oh, yes… Walter White buys one! But he burns it so I guess that can’t be the same car… but wait! He buys a second one! Think they look familiar?

Where did Glenn know to find that Dodge Challenger, though? Even in a zombie-infested world, it’s one heck of a find. We know that Glenn was a pizza delivery guy before the apocalypse but maybe when the economy collapsed, he lost a more prestigious job as the general manager at a car dealership? Perhaps he had to move to Atlanta for school or that sense of freedom one seeks at his age? Maybe the dealership belonged to his father, who could also be named Glenn? No matter the explanation, the name ‘Glenn’ is dropped by Mrs. White when she’s talking to Walter about returning the car.

The Meth

Season 4, episode 12 of The Walking Dead, Daryl talks to Beth about Merle’s drug supplier. The way he describes him… could he be talking about Jesse Pinkman?

In season 2, episode 2 of The Walking Dead, Daryl mentions that Merle was a drug dealer and goes through his older brother’s drug stash to help bring down T-Dog’s fever. What can we see in the bottom of the plastic bag? Is that blue crystal meth?

The… Cause…?

Maybe the zombie apocalypse was caused by a mistake in the chemical process of the blue meth? Well, season 4 of Breaking Bad sees the demise of Gustavo Fring’s meth empire in the aptly named 13th episode, “Face Off”. Now, keep in mind, it wouldn’t be unlikely that he ever tried his own product, right? Maybe an innovative new recipe? Or even something he may have been exposed to!

Think about that moment when he gets half his face blown (literally!) off; he still manages to walk out of the room, perfectly alright, look around and adjust his tie, BEFORE collapsing onto the ground. That would have to be quite the bout of shock. But was it shock or the first seen instance of the zombie plague that leaves the dead… walking?

Oh, AMC…