One of the most popular fan theories on the internet posits that AMC’s cultural phenomenons Breaking Bad and The Walking Dead are set in the same universe, with Walter White building his drug empire not too long before the zombie apocalypse rolls along and changes the world as we know it.
The theory dates back to the second episode of The Walking Dead‘s sophomore season, where crystals in Merle Dixon’s drug stash resemble Walt’s famous Blue Sky meth. That’s fairly innocuous, until you remember that the drug doesn’t come in shades of blue, so it technically doesn’t exist anywhere other than Breaking Bad.
CBR have dived deep into explaining why it all makes sense, and it’s a decent argument. In Season 4, it’s mentioned that Merle got his drugs from a skinny white guy who called him a bitch, which sounds an awful lot like Jesse Pinkman. On top of that, the Dodge Challenger Walt buys for his son appears in several installments of TWD, and it’s revealed that the Breaking Bad car was originally purchased from a salesman named Glenn who we never see, while Steven Yeun’s fan favorite takes the very same car for a spin on the show.
Gus Fring is even named as a potential cause of the zombie outbreak, tainting the production of Walt’s impeccable meth after losing focus due to the sheer number of enemies he’s forced to deal with, accidentally causing the end of the world as a result. Not only that, but he’s literally ‘walking dead’ when he’s blown up with half his face taken off during his final appearance on the show. Sure, it’s largely based on coincidence and happenstance, but it’s fun to think about nonetheless.