  |
This article's content is marked as Mature The page contains mature content that may include coarse language, sexual references, and/or graphic violent images which may be disturbing to some. Mature pages are recommended for those who are 18 years of age and older. If you are 18 years or older or are comfortable with graphic material, you are free to view this page. Otherwise, you should close this page and view another page. |
| “ | I have people. I have people waiting for me. They don't know what I do, they never will. They're protected, but I do what I do so they can have a better life and if I live or if I die it really doesn't make a difference to me as long as they have what they need. So when it's my time to go, I will go knowing I did everything I could for them. Now, you ask me how I keep going? That's how. | „ |
| ~ Mike Ehrmantraut to Jimmy McGill in the desert. |
Michael "Mike" Ehrmantraut is a major character in the crime drama series Breaking Bad, the deuteragonist of its prequel series Better Call Saul, and a posthumous character in the 2019 sequel film El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie. Formerly a corrupt Philadelphia police officer, Mike becomes a private investigator, enforcer, and fixer for drug kingpin Gustavo Fring to provide for his granddaughter and her mother in Albuquerque. He is often characterized by his professionalism, efficiency, and code of honor among the more ruthless or unforgiving characters in the series.
He was portrayed by Jonathan Banks.
His "Good" Ranking[]
His "Heroic" Deeds[]
In General[]
- He often feels remorseful about the criminal path he chose in life. He even told Saul Goodman that he regretted accepting his first bribe as a police officer, although he continued down a criminal path, leaving it unclear whether he ever truly renounced it.
- His granddaughter Kaylee and her mother, Stacey, are deeply important to him, and much of his criminal activity is driven by a desire to protect and financially support them.
- He has a strong sense of honor, believing that only those who willingly choose a life of crime deserve to be caught up in its violence.
Past Actions[]
- As a police officer, he once intervened to protect a domestic abuse victim by threatening her abuser.
- When his son was pressured to take a bribe to avoid being killed by his criminal partners, he was heartbroken by the outcome. He deeply admired his son's moral strength, which surpassed his own, and later sought revenge on Hoffman and Fensky for his son’s death by entrapping and killing them.
Better Call Saul[]
Season 1[]
- He honored Jimmy's deal and refused to take the Kettlemans' money.
- He tries to warn Daniel Wormald that criminal work is not for him and later convinces Nacho Varga to return Daniel Wormald's personal baseball card collection that he stole from him.
Season 2[]
- He agrees to Nacho's request to help arrest the psychotic drug lord Tuco Salamanca by provoking him and holding him in place for the police, knowing this could and would likely result in a gruesome beating. This helped Nacho's situation, and was also a result of Mike talking down the former's previous request to murder Tuco instead.
- Instead of killing him as many other characters would have, Mike spared the ice cream truck driver and only took the cartel's money as well-earned revenge for threatening him and his family, while also rightfully thwarting the cartel’s schemes.
- Although it was mainly for work at Caldera, he shows that he cares about the dog he gave to his granddaughter.
- He stands up to Hector after his daughter was threatened, bravely risking his own life in the process.
- He returns half of the money Hector gave him as compensation to Nacho considering that Tuco would return sooner than expected, keeping his word with no ulterior motive.
Season 3[]
- Partly due to guilt or feeling responsible for the event, he went out of his way to locate the remains of an innocent man killed by Hector Salamanca after Nacho informed him of what happened at the scene, ensuring that the man's family and the police would know the truth.
- He supported Stacey by attending a community church, even though he had no personal interest, and even made sure to build a garden for the community.
- After losing his temper over his granddaughter, he tried to apologize to Stacey and for his outburst against a liar in the congregational church.
- He led some Cartel workers to be arrested by the police for drug possession.
- He personally helped Nacho incapacitate Hector, who was endangering his father, by switching his meds for sugar pills.
Season 4[]
- He sympathized with Jimmy over his brother's death and refused to help him steal from the guys who had offered him a job.
- He supported Werner Ziegler's team while they were working on a secret mission and cared for their well-being.
- Although he killed Werner Ziegler on behalf of Gus, he did so knowing a much worse fate awaited him otherwise, and he felt great remorse for it, falling into a deep depression. Additionally, Mike had helped Werner save his wife from Gus' men.
- Mike left Gus in protest of this action, telling him to keep his "retainer," but returned to protect his family from the Salamancas, who threatened his young granddaughter
Season 5[]
- He helped the villagers while recovering from his injuries.
- He rescued Saul Goodman from the Colombian gang sent by Juan Bolsa to kill him, even putting himself in danger of being killed by the gang or from dehydration in the desert, eliminating the entire crew.
- When Saul Goodman gave up and was ready to die in the desert, Mike motivated him by sharing his own experiences and motivations, ultimately saving Saul's life again, and generally helped him to keep moving along during their journey
- He notified the police about Lalo Salamanca's car, leading to Lalo's arrest for murdering Fred Whalen and burning down the TravelWire.
- He called out Gus for threatening Manuel Varga, Nacho's innocent father.
- He tried to convince Gus to let Nacho go.
Season 6[]
- He refused to let Gus use the innocent Manuel Varga as leverage to control Nacho, claiming "that's not going to happen," braving a gun to his head in the process.
- He gave Nacho the strength to face the Salamancas, knowing that his father would survive. It appears that Mike genuinely tried to prevent Nacho's death, although Nacho ultimately chose to kill himself.
- After realizing that Lalo was alive, he assigned bodyguards to Kim, Jimmy, and Gus and informed Kim about the situation. He also made sure that his own family was protected as well, even though it created disagreements.
- When Kim Wexler was sent by Lalo to harm Gus, he tracked her down, informed Gus immediately, and freed Jimmy, who had been tied up.
- After Nacho's death, Mike informed his father, Manuel, about what happened to his son, assuring him that his son was ultimately a good person in the wrong circumstances and (misguidedly) insisting that there would be "justice."
- He recognized early on that Walter White was not suited for a life of crime and tried to warn Jimmy about associating with him.
Breaking Bad[]
Season 2[]
He cleaned up the crime scene after Jane Margolis' death, coaching Jesse Pinkman on how to avoid suspicion by the police.
Season 3[]
- He stops a fight between Walt and Saul.
- He informs Gus about the cousins at Walt's house, which saves the latter's live.
- Although not explicitly confirmed, it is strongly implied that Mike warned Hank Schrader about Marco and Leonel Salamanca, saving his life. He later kills Leonel, as deserved.
- After a junkie stays at Jesse's place and steals his money, Mike captures and ties up the junkie, then hands him over to Jesse with the money for Jesse to deal with, noted by Jesse to implicitly imply that Mike was never going to kill him.
- Although Mike was partially responsible for the situation, he tried to prevent Gale's murder by sending Victor to the scene (though this ultimately led to Victor being killed).
Season 4[]
- He denies Walt several opportunities to kill Gus and states that he will no longer meet with him privately.
- Despite starting off tough with Jesse, Mike softens overtime. He praises Jesse after he prevents the theft of money, allows him to smoke in his car, and shares a meal with him, treating him like a student-figure of sorts.
- When Jesse is in shock from Gaff's gunfire, Mike saves him and drags him to cover, and also helps him gain confidence and "make himself useful."
- He helps Gus destroy the entire Cartel, nearly getting killed in the process.
Season 5[]
- He equally feeds the chickens in the Mexican village.
- Although he wanted to kill Walt after orchestrating Gus' death, he stops for Jesse.
- He returns to cooperate with Walt despite his anger, but only after the DEA prevents his granddaughter from receiving direct funds.
- He spares Lydia Rodarte-Quayle's life, even though she insults him, hesistant to harm her in front of her child.
- When he learns about Todd Alquist killing Drew Sharp, a child, he personally threatens and warns Todd for bringing a gun to the robbery without telling him beforehand.
- He disdainfully rejects Lydia's suggestion to murder Gus' nine men to prevent them from testifying against Walt, instead offering to pay them a fair amount for their silence. He also tries to prevent Walt from learning their names, which eventually leads Walt to shoot him, which Mike calmly accepts
- He leaves Walt's empire alongside Jesse.
El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie[]
- In a flashback, he suggests that Jesse leave the world of crime behind and help him find a new life and family elsewhere, inspiring Jesse to finally quit the game and start a new life as Mr. Driscoll. He also tries to level his expectations by telling him that he can't entirely make up for what he did in the drug trade despite his best intentions to do so.
Why He Isn't Actually Heroic?[]
- The vast majority of his "heroic" actions, many of which involve weakening the Cartel or preventing them from harming others, are merely him working on behalf of Gus Fring and furthering Gus's quest for revenge, as opposed to explicit altruism. This makes him partially a hero by proxy, simply following orders.
- His ultimate position is that of a purposeful hitman for a ruthless drug kingpin, actively participating in violent crime. He prioritizes the efficiency of the operation and his role within it, rather than trying to improve the situation for innocents who become entangled in it, despite his "honorable" qualities.
- Much of the time, what is perceived as "honor" is just him trying to maintain consistency and efficiency for his own selfish reasons, even if it harms undeserving actors or those perceived as "liabilities." In essence, he is not consistently bound by doing what is right or wrong, but rather by what makes things easiest or most functional for him: keeping order and serving his own interests, not doing good.
- His decision to honor his word or do right by others is not governed by moral limitations, as he will do anything for another person as long as he feels the circumstances obligate him to do so.
- Despite trying to provide for his family, his criminal lifestyle actively endangers their lives. He ultimately abandons his granddaughter in a public park due to being followed by the DEA, prioritizing his own interests. His family would likely reject his drug money anyway if they knew of its origins.
- He is a massive hypocrite who routinely criticizes others for perceived ethical or strategic failings, which significantly undercuts the extent to which he stands out as a "hero" among the other characters.
- Overall, while he does do good things sometimes, he does far more harm than good, and is best understood as an honorable anti-villain rather than an anti-hero.
External Links[]
- Mike Ehrmantraut on the Villains Wiki
- Mike Ehrmantraut on the Breaking Bad Wiki
- Mike Ehrmantraut on the Inconsistently Admirable Wiki
- Mike Ehrmantraut on the Villainous Benchmark Wiki
[]
 /  Conflicting Good
| ||
|
Breaking Bad / Better Call Saul | ||