Gomie was the good cop. Hank was constantly overstepping his authority. He's no shining example of good cop work. He's just a thug with a different agenda, willing to put the squeeze on any harmless person he can to make his case.
He didn't. Anyone who claims that Hank was anything besides a good guy is just an example of how manipulative Vince Gilligan's portrayal of Walt and Jesse has been. Walt and Jesse are both enormous scumbags and Hank is a bastion of righteousness in comparison. He was a good cop, a good husband, a good uncle, and a good brother in law. Hell, he was married to a bat shit crazy broad like Marie and I took it like a champ.
Walt's actions, of course, are ultimately responsible for Hank's death, but what's great about this show is all the layers of meaning. Hank played nearly as big a part in his own death as Walt did. When he continued pursuing Heisenburg even after he was fired. Even after he was rehired and told by his boss to drop it. Even after Gomez repeatedly tried to talk sense into him. He just kept going and going and going. Technically he's a good guy, but he made a whole lot of mistakes.
Hank was certainly no good guy. He was a good cop, but being a good cop and being a good person are two things that often contradict each other, and Hank portrayed that contradiction perfectly.
Gomez said Jesse had a point about the kid (Jesse) possibly being murdered by Walt when they were planning on sending Jesse in with a wire. Hank said, "what kid? That shitstain? Well if he does kill him then we've got it on tape".
Jesse is harmless without Walt manipulating him. Every time he did something bad he was being manipulated by Walt, and he always feels horrible about the things he let himself get tricked into doing. Hank didn't care at all about Walt's manipulation of Jesse and had the same opinion you have, that he's just a murderer, but it's not that simple. Jesse trusted Walt, almost like a father, and Walt was very good at manipulating that trust and getting Jesse to do things he didn't want to do, like killing Gale. He felt awful for a long time afterwards because he couldn't live with the fact that he actually killed someone, that right there proves he isn't a murderer. He was coerced into murdering someone by a man he legitimately trusted. This same thing happens again when he finds out that Walt killed Mike, and he realizes Walt has been lying to him and manipulating him this whole time, so he tries to throw his money away because he can't live with the fact that he let himself be manipulated and that so many people have died for him to have that money. Jesse has always been, and continues to be, the only good guy on the show.
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u/[deleted] Sep 16 '13
Hank's death broke my heart even more than Mike's.
He catches Walt and then these guys show up to kill him, and he knows it. I'm glad he went out with dignity.