# Breaking Bad Memes > Breaking Bad Memes are post-ironic shitposts and reaction images from AMC's *Breaking Bad* and *Better Call Saul*, reaching absurdist peak on r/okbuddychicanery during the latter's 2022 final season. Breaking Bad memes are ironic shitposts, reaction images, and catchphrase formats built around AMC's *Breaking Bad* (2008–2013) and its prequel *Better Call Saul* (2015–2022). While quote-based memes like "I Am the One Who Knocks" circulated during the show's original run, the ironic meme wave exploded in 2020 with the creation of r/okbuddychicanery and hit peak absurdity during *Better Call Saul*'s final season in 2022[1]. A new generation of viewers discovered the shows through Netflix and TikTok edits, turning deadly-serious drama into surreal, post-ironic comedy[2]. ## Origin The earliest Breaking Bad meme activity dates to the show's later seasons. On March 11, 2012, a 4chan /tv/ user posted "Bravo Vince" in response to a thread about a 2008 film co-written by series creator Vince Gilligan. The phrase mocked fans who treated every background detail as intentional genius by Gilligan. It stuck around on /tv/ and picked up again after *Better Call Saul* premiered in 2015. Quote-based memes emerged during the show's broadcast. Walter White's "I am the one who knocks" monologue from Season 4, Episode 6 (aired 2011) spread across social media as both a fan favorite and a reaction format. On July 28, 2012, Redditor Pass-A-Fist posted a "Yeah Science, Bitch" image macro to r/AdviceAnimals, kicking off another popular format. By the time *Breaking Bad* ended on September 29, 2013, with 10.3 million viewers watching the finale, the show had generated a steady stream of meme content. The ironic meme movement that would come to define Breaking Bad's internet legacy traces to early 2020. The subreddit r/okbuddychicanery was created on March 24, 2020, adopting the OkBuddyRetard format of intentionally stupid humor applied specifically to the *Breaking Bad* and *Better Call Saul* universe. This coincided with the "Jesse, What the Fuck Are You Talking About" format gaining traction, where Jesse attempts to explain modern internet slang like "based" to a confused Walter White. - **Platform:** 4chan /tv/ board (early ironic memes), Reddit r/okbuddychicanery (main hub), TikTok (video edits) - **Creator:** Unknown (community-created from AMC's *Breaking Bad*) - **Date:** 2012 (early memes), 2020 (ironic meme wave) ## Overview Breaking Bad memes span two distinct eras. The first wave, from roughly 2011 to 2015, consisted of straightforward quote macros and fan appreciation content tied to the show's original broadcast. Lines like "I am the one who knocks" and "Say my name" became standard internet reaction material. The second wave, starting around 2020, flipped the tone entirely. Drawing from the r/OkBuddyRetard tradition of deliberately crude, absurdist humor, communities on Reddit and 4chan began treating Walter White, Jesse Pinkman, Mike Ehrmantraut, and the rest of the cast as characters in an elaborate inside joke. Memes from this era are often intentionally low-quality, nonsensical, or built on layers of irony that make them incomprehensible to outsiders. Mike Ehrmantraut got renamed "Finger" for no clear reason. Walter became "Waltuh." The show's most intense dramatic scenes got green-screened over Minecraft gameplay. ## How It Spread The "Jesse, What the Fuck Are You Talking About" format launched the ironic era into wider visibility. On March 13, 2020, iFunny user CosmicRewind posted an early version using a scene from the 2019 film *El Camino*. The format broke through on April 6, 2020, when Twitter user @garfpoop posted a version that pulled over 860 retweets and 5,400 likes in two months. By July 2020, creator Jixaw posted a voice-acted ironic interaction between Walter and Jesse called "Breaking Good" on Twitter. Uploaded to YouTube on September 12, 2020, it earned 530,000 views in one month. An Arabic Walter White variant by YouTuber Black Yoshi followed on September 20. The meme machine kicked into another gear in early 2022. On March 13, Redditor ToddChungus dropped a collection of anime memes with punchline panels swapped for Mike Ehrmantraut images in r/okbuddychicanery, earning over 7,300 upvotes. This spawned "Mikeposting," a trend of inserting Mike's deadpan face into unrelated formats. Nine days later, on March 22, another user combined Mikeposting with the "Kid Named X" teacher meme template, creating "Kid Named Finger," which gave Mike the inexplicable nickname "Finger" and earned 3,800 upvotes. TikTok drove its own wave. On February 24, 2022, TikToker mineralsmarie reposted a clip of Anna Gunn's "My Name Is Skyler White, Yo" scene from Season 1, earning 1.4 million plays and 159,900 likes in seven months. By September 6, 2022, the sound had been used in roughly 10,100 TikTok videos. The summer of 2022 was the peak. *Better Call Saul*'s final season was airing from April through August, and r/okbuddychicanery capitalized on each new episode[2]. The "Waltuh" meme, which had originated on 4chan's /tv/ board in September 2018 as a parody of Mike's pronunciation of "Walter," spawned a viral offshoot on May 30, 2022: "Put Your Dick Away, Waltuh." Twitter account @BreakingBadIrny spread the fan-made audio clip in June, and it achieved mainstream recognition by August. Breaking Bad Minecraft memes added another layer. TikToker mineralsmarie had started the trend by green-screening Marie Schrader into a Minecraft cave on August 5, 2021. TikToker spaghetti_recital revived it in May 2022, with a video of Walter falling while mining diamonds pulling 2.4 million plays and 394,700 likes. ## How to Use Breaking Bad memes work across several formats: **"Jesse, What the Fuck Are You Talking About"**: Pair a screenshot of Jesse saying something absurd (typically modern internet slang or zoomer terminology) with Walter looking bewildered. The humor comes from transplanting online culture into the world of two meth cooks. **"Kid Named Finger"**: Use a screenshot of Mike Ehrmantraut captioned "Kid Named Finger" in response to setups involving the "teacher says" format. The joke is its own punchline; the absurdity is the point. **"Waltuh"**: Caption Mike Ehrmantraut images with dialogue addressing Walter in an exaggerated, pleading tone. "Put your dick away, Waltuh. I'm not having sex with you right now, Waltuh." Often used as a reaction to someone doing something unnecessary. **"Bravo Vince"**: Comment "Bravo Vince" sarcastically when someone points out an obvious or trivial detail in any media, not just *Breaking Bad*. **Chicanery copypasta**: Adapt Chuck's courtroom monologue to accuse someone of any petty scheme. Replace the legal details with whatever fits your situation. **Minecraft edits**: Green-screen *Breaking Bad* or *Better Call Saul* scenes over Minecraft gameplay footage, typically with calm Minecraft music playing underneath. ## Cultural Impact The *Breaking Bad* meme ecosystem drove measurable interest in a show that had been off the air for nearly a decade. Student journalists at multiple publications reported on how TikTok edits were the primary way Gen Z audiences discovered the series[1]. The NYU Greene Street Review published an analysis of the memes' cultural mechanics, treating the ironic reinterpretation as a distinct form of fan engagement. The official *Breaking Bad* TikTok account, managed by Sony Pictures, acknowledged the meme community by incorporating ironic references into its content strategy. Vince Gilligan's team showed awareness of "Bravo Vince" by using the phrase in their own captions. The subreddit r/okbuddychicanery grew to approximately 360,000 members, making it one of the larger show-specific ironic meme communities on Reddit[2]. Its influence extended beyond Reddit: formats like "Kid Named Finger" and "Is He Stupid?" spread to Twitter, TikTok, and Instagram through accounts like @BreakingBadIrny. ## Fun Facts - *Breaking Bad* is widely considered the first TV show to gain a second life through Netflix streaming, with viewership more than doubling between seasons as binge-watchers caught up. - The "Bravo Vince" meme predates the ironic movement by eight years. Its earliest known use on 4chan /tv/ was on March 11, 2012, sarcastically referencing a completely different Vince Gilligan project. - The fan-created "Put Your Dick Away, Waltuh" audio clip was never in the actual show, but it was convincing enough that some newer fans believed it was a real line. - The show's official TikTok bio reads "I Am The One Who Toks," a play on Walter White's famous line. - "Kid Named Finger" gave Mike Ehrmantraut the nickname "Finger" with no explanation. The subreddit r/okbuddychicanery adopted it so thoroughly that the name stuck across platforms. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What are Breaking Bad memes? Breaking Bad memes are internet memes built around characters and scenes from AMC's *Breaking Bad* and *Better Call Saul*. They range from straightforward quote macros to deeply ironic, absurdist shitposts. ### Where did Breaking Bad memes come from? Early memes emerged during the show's original run (2008–2013) on platforms like 4chan and Reddit. The ironic meme wave began in 2020 with the creation of r/okbuddychicanery on March 24, 2020. ### What does "Bravo Vince" mean? "Bravo Vince" is a sarcastic phrase mocking fans who treat every minor detail in *Breaking Bad* as intentional genius by creator Vince Gilligan. It first appeared on 4chan's /tv/ board on March 11, 2012. ### How do you use Breaking Bad memes? The most common format is the "Jesse, What the Fuck Are You Talking About" template, where Jesse explains internet slang to a confused Walter. Other popular formats include "Kid Named Finger" image macros, "Waltuh" audio clips, and Chicanery copypasta. ### Are Breaking Bad memes still popular? The meme culture peaked during *Better Call Saul*'s final season in summer 2022. While the initial frenzy has cooled, formats like "Kid Named Finger" and "Is He Stupid?" still circulate on Reddit and TikTok. ### What is r/okbuddychicanery? It's a subreddit created on March 24, 2020, that applies the r/OkBuddyRetard style of deliberately stupid, ironic humor to *Breaking Bad* and *Better Call Saul* content. It grew to approximately 360,000 members[2]. ### What is "Kid Named Finger"? A meme that inexplicably renamed the character Mike Ehrmantraut to "Finger." It originated on r/okbuddychicanery on March 22, 2022, combining "Mikeposting" with the "Kid Named X" teacher format. ### What is the Chicanery copypasta? It's an adaptation of Chuck McGill's courtroom monologue from *Better Call Saul* Season 3, Episode 5 (May 8, 2017). The speech first appeared as copypasta on 4chan on May 11, 2017, and is used as a template to accuse people of petty schemes. ### Why did Breaking Bad memes blow up in 2022? Multiple factors aligned: *Better Call Saul*'s final season airing from April to August 2022 gave the community fresh material, while TikTok edits and Netflix introduced the franchise to Gen Z audiences[1][2]. ### What is the "Waltuh" meme? "Waltuh" parodies how Mike Ehrmantraut pronounces "Walter." It originated on 4chan /tv/ in September 2018 and spawned the viral "Put Your Dick Away, Waltuh" audio clip in May 2022. ### Did the show's creators acknowledge the memes? Yes. The official *Breaking Bad* TikTok account incorporated ironic references, and Vince Gilligan's team used "Bravo Vince" in their own captions when Gilligan joined TikTok for the show's 15th anniversary. ## References 1. [NPC (meme)]() 2. [Breaking Bad Memes - Know Your Meme]() --- Source: https://meme.com/memes/breaking-bad-memes Published by meme.com — The Internet Meme Library