Red, yellow, and blue are the primary colors in the painter's color wheel. Violet, orange, and green are the secondary colors. Show Colors worn by the leading Breaking Bad characters from Season 1 through the first half of Season 5. "I want to do the color timing for each of these episodes where you sit with the colorist and make sure that the color of each individual scene is just the way you want it."―Vince Gilligan, IndieWire interview, July 2012
Below is a summary of the colors worn by the Breaking Bad characters and the colors' symbolism. The Color WheelThe relationships between the central Breaking Bad characters are analogous to the relationships between colors on the red, yellow, and blue painter's color wheel. For example, the color for Walter's alter ego, Heisenberg, which is often green, is created by mixing the colors of his two closest partners, Skyler, who often wears blue, and Jesse, who often wears yellow. Further, Heisenberg is opposed by Hank, who often wears shades of orange, ranging from red to brown, which is located on the opposite side of the color wheel from green. Marie, being the sister of Skyler and wife of Hank, is represented by purple, which sits between blue and red colors on the color wheel. While Walter's signature product is sky blue in color, the meth made in the show technically should be yellow. The characters' relationships to the drug is represented by their colors' locations relative to yellow on the color wheel. Marie is farthest from the meth drug trade, being neither a user, cook, hired hand, nor narcotics officer, and is represented by purple which is opposite yellow on the color wheel. The characters that are closest to the drug, principally the cooks Walter White, Jesse Pinkman, and Gale Boetticher, all wear yellow jumpsuits in the meth lab and frequently wear yellow in other scenes of the show. Gustavo Fring, while not a meth cook, wears a yellow shirt when working at his fast-food chicken restaurant Los Pollos Hermanos. Skyler White and Hank Schrader, and their colors, represent two end-member relationships to the drug trade and Walter White. Skyler's blue represents loyalty and peace, while Schrader's red represents violence and anger. Partners who are loyal to Walter White receive money (represented by green, a mixture of blue and yellow), while those who oppose him are met with violence (represented by orange, a mixture of red and yellow). GreenWalter White in a green apron and white underwear. Skyler White in green at a meeting with her lawyer after discovering Walter's bag of money. Worn by: Walter White, Skyler White, Saul Goodman, Jesse Pinkman, Walter White Jr. Symbolism: Greed, money, growth, envy Secondary color: Formed by blue + yellow Examples:
BlueSkyler and Walter White wearing dark blue. Todd Alquist in blue while working as Walter's assistant. Worn by: Skyler White, Walter White, Todd Alquist, Lydia Rodarte-Quayle, Jesse Pinkman, Walter White Jr. Symbolism: Loyalty, power, magic (as in the "magic of chemistry" that Walt and Gale talk about), sadness, purity, water, sky, coldness, escape Blue is a primary color on the RYB color wheel. Examples:
YellowJesse Pinkman in yellow and black Worn by: Jesse Pinkman, Gustavo Fring, Gale Boetticher, Walter White, Krazy-8, Don Eladio Vuente, Walter White Jr. Symbolism: Methamphetamine, optimism, pleasure, caution, cowardice, fear, pseudo-toughness, the pain and suffering that results from meth and the false hopes and careless pleasures it engenders, as well as the unhappiness of suspicion and paranoia. Yellow is a primary color on the RYB color wheel. Examples:
BrownHank in a brown shirt. Worn by: Hank Schrader, Walter White, Skyler White, Walter White Jr., Steven Gomez Symbolism: Earth, humility, stability, strength Composite color: Formed by red + yellow + black Examples:
PurpleMarie Schrader in a purple hoodie and yellow t-shirt. Worn by: Marie Schrader, Huell Babineaux, Saul Goodman, Patrick Kuby Symbolism: Luxury, royalty, protection, safety, not involved with the meth trade (purple is the polar opposite of yellow), and most importantly, self-deception. Vince Gilligan in an interview with Vulture said, “Well, Marie would say purple is the color of royalty." Secondary color: Formed by red + blue Examples:
OrangeHank in an orange shirt. Saul Goodman in orange and black. Worn by: Hank Schrader, Badger, Saul Goodman, Jesse Pinkman, Walter White Jr., Gus Fring, Steven Gomez Symbolism: Humor, action, fire, violence Secondary color: Formed by red + yellow Examples:
PinkHolly White. Walter White in "ABQ" Worn by: Holly White, Walter White, Kaylee Ehrmantraut, Skyler White Symbolism: Naiveté, youth, tragedy Composite color: Red + white Examples:
RedJesse meeting with drug kingpin Tuco Salamanca Walter White wearing a dark red shirt in the "I am the Danger" scene. Skyler White talking with Hank Schrader. Lydia's Louboutins Worn by: Walter White, Jesse Pinkman, Hank Schrader Symbolism: Blood, murder, aggression, violence, experience, criminality. Red is a primary color on the RYB color wheel. Examples:
BlackWalter White in black. Worn by: Walter White, Hank Schrader, Jane Margolis, Mike Ehrmantraut, Gustavo Fring, Jesse Pinkman, Marie Schrader Symbolism: Death, darkness, evil, power, secrecy, deception Black is formed by the absence or absorption of all colors of visible light. In the painter's wheel, it is formed by mixing equal parts blue, red, and yellow. Examples:
GrayJesse in gray after Jane's death. The Cousins waiting to kill Walter ("Caballo Sin Nombre") Worn by: Jesse Pinkman, Hank Schrader, Skinny Pete, The Cousins Symbolism: Depression, illness, guilt, mourning, revenge, regret Composite color: Formed by black + white Examples:
WhiteMarie in a white lab coat. Worn by: Skyler White, Marie Schrader, Combo Symbolism: Innocence, light, non-violence, new begining White is formed by the reflection or transmission of all colors of visible light. On a painter's canvas, white is the absence of color. Examples:
BeigeSkyler and Walt in beige when confronting Hank and Marie Worn by: Walter White, Skyler White Symbolism: Bland, a little bit dirty, rich, neutral, not a threat Composite color: Formed by white + some yellow + possibly some red Examples:
Multicolor CombinationsStriped curtains in the White's master bedroom. Worn by: Walter White Jr., Saul Goodman, Gale Boetticher Symbolism: Conflicted emotions, mixed feelings, confusion, multiple meanings Examples:
Jesse Pinkman
No colorWorn by: Walter White Symbolism: Nakedness, transparency, having nothing to hide Examples:
Color Connections Between CharactersWhile the colors in the show can help convey how a particular item or person fits in the story or feels during each scene, they also help convey how the characters relate to one another.
Production Trivia
Why does Skyler always wear green?Skyler starts out blue, but turns dark once she starts to figure out Walt's secret. Her timeline turns deep blue, almost purple, as her flirtation with Ted grows, and then it turns green once she discovers Walt's stash of money.
Why does Marie only wear purple?Throughout the series, Marie is almost always shown wearing the color purple, which creator Vince Gilligan explained is symbolic of her being misled; for example, Walt and Skyler were deluding Marie about who was behind the drug business.
Why is everything purple on breaking bad?Purple. In Breaking Bad, Purple is primarily worn by Marie and it is used to symbolize protection, self-deception, and complete lack of involvement in the meth trade. Marie often wears the color purple to show her self-deception. Throughout the show he often tries to convince herself that she is somebody that she isn't ...
What do the green letters in breaking bad mean?Factual errors. In the opening credits letters in the names are highlighted in green so as to represent a chemical element symbol. However, Michael Slovis, the Director of Photography, for several of the beginning episodes, they highlight the Ch. There is no chemical element symbol Ch.
|