Broken Promise: A Breaking Bad fan sequel

Extra Info for the Curious

I first thought about doing this story when, during a discussion of Breaking Bad someone suggested that a series of diary entries from the perspective of Holly White would be an interesting read. I later realized that Holly, if she were born on December 27, 2008—which the only reliable source I could find claimed—would be entering middle school in Fall 2020, which at first made me feel really old, but also made me realize that this would be an interesting period to explore in her life. (Again, this was in spring of 2019, so no COVID yet.)

My initial plan had been to have it follow her over a few years of her life, as she detailed the trials of being a middle schooler while living in the wake of her father's actions. What would the daughter of Walter White know about him at 11 years old, and how might her father's legacy haunt her experiences, like a ghost, without her being knowledgeable about his past actions? What would she know about her father? What would the Whites' family life look like more than a decade after the events of Breaking Bad, which seem to end sometime around 2010? I always knew that by the end, Holly would have learned who her father truly is, and that this revelation would come about through the conflict of the plot.

Since Holly was the daughter of two very intelligent parents, I figured she would end up in the advanced classes, but I wanted to play around with what she'd be best skilled at. At first, I wanted to make her a science enthusiast just like her father, but then I had the thought that Holly shouldn't be defined solely in relation to her father and, like Skyler says in the final letter, that she should have the opportunity to make her own legacy. So, since her mother was gifted at math, I made that Holly's area of specialty, and for a twist of irony, later made her have an antagonistic relationship with her science teacher.

(I could also argue that Holly's intelligence is why her journal sounds very mature for a 6th grader, but the honest reason is that I was twice her age when writing this and am not great at capturing unique voices in my writing.)

Most of Walt's associates are at this point dead, meaning there would be few emotionally satisfying antagonists to confront the Whites, Holly especially, with Walt's legacy, which was core to the story. Then, I remembered that Mike's granddaughter, Kaylee, was someone who was out money owed her, and, if she took after her grandfather, she'd have the investigative skills to discern what had likely happened to Mike. Considering that she had also lost $2 million while the Whites profited off the same money her grandfather helped procure and which was made by her grandfather's killer, Kaylee would be understandably angry. Her age also fit, since by this time she would be 21 years old, if she were born in 1999.

One of the pleasures in creating this narrative was bringing Jesse back into the picture, because while he doesn't have a large role in the story, his is an integral one, and Kaylee herself makes this clear: Jesse Pinkman is a necessary component to getting Holly back safely. I'd like to think that if Jesse were still alive and something happened to the Whites that was the result of his and Walt's business and he was required to be there, he would be, especially since it isn't Walt, but Holly who is in trouble; there also is an aspect of his return that's tied up in Walt's rescue of Jesse from the neo-Nazi gang, a favor which Jesse in a way returns by the end of the story. (Again, note that El Camino hadn't released yet, so Jesse's post-Breaking Bad life hadn't been revealed yet.)

Holly and Skyler putting their lives on the line to save Jesse's life symbolizes a full reconciliation of their animosity, and leads to the best possible outcome under their present circumstances, cooked up by Holly herself, following in her father's footsteps for her ability to get herself out of impossible situations.

The letter from Skyler is meant to tieeverything together, to finally have Skyler be able to let go of Walt's legacywhile reconciling with who he was, to have Holly know the truth about herfather, and to have her be able to get out from under his legacy and realizethat she can be her own person. Holly has done nothing wrong, and because ofthis, I can think of no better way to end her story than to have her get thehappy ending her father could never find.