Why exactly did Walt leave Gray Matter?

Why exactly did Walt leave Gray Matter? - People leaving underground station in city

Early on in Breaking Bad, it is revealed that Walt and Gretchen had a history together with Elliot in the construction of their company "Gray Matter".

However, one day while on vacation with Gretchen, Walt started packing and abandoned everything to do with that life, including Gretchen, his significant other at the time.

What caused this sudden change in personality to give up everything that he loved in exchange for seemingly nothing at the time?



Best Answer

The question is answered very well here in an AMC blog posting an interview with the actress who played Gretchen:

Q: What’s it like have Bryan Cranston curse at you?

A: Oh man, he’s a good actor. But it was easy because Vince Gilligan told us exactly what went down between the characters off screen: We were very much in love and we were to get married. And he came home and met my family, and I come from this really successful, wealthy family, and that knocks him on his side. He couldn’t deal with this inferiority he felt — this lack of connection to privilege. It made him terrified, and he literally just left me, and I was devastated. Walt is fighting his way out of going back to that emotional place, so he says, “F— you.” - actress who plays Gretchen AMC blog

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What happened to Walt in Gray Matter?

This we knew to be fact: White co-founded Gray Matter Technologies with friend Elliott Schwartz. Walt ended up dating his lab assistant Gretchen, but he suddenly left her one day, selling his shares in Gray Matter to his partner for $5,000. The company went on to make billions, and Elliott and Gretchen got married.

Why did Walt leave the company?

\u201cBreaking Bad\u201d actress Jessica Hecht, who plays Gretchen, mentioned in an AMC Q&A that Walt left the company and their relationship because he felt inferior.

Does Walt work at GREY matter?

Before all that, in the 1980s, Walter was a promising chemist who, along with his friend Elliott Schwartz (Adam Godley) assisted in the foundation of Grey Matter Technologies, a multi-billion dollar scientific research company which earned the men's work a Nobel Prize.

Did Walt actually do it for himself?

But it was only the beginning of what must be Walt's longest unbroken string of good decisions in the history of the entire show. He comes clean to Skyler and finally admits he did everything for himself. He reveals the location of Hank's body. He gives the ricin to its most worthy recipient, Lydia.



The Origin of Gray Matter | Problem Dog | Breaking Bad




More answers regarding why exactly did Walt leave Gray Matter?

Answer 2

The exact reasons surrounding Walter leaving Gray Matter were never covered during show's run. The only in-show information to go on is from the Breaking Bad Wikia page for Grey Matter:

...he [Walter] was dating his female lab assistant, Gretchen ("...and the Bag's in the River"). For reasons not yet explained, Walter suddenly left Gretchen during a vacation with her family, leaving her and his research behind ("Peekaboo").

Further details were then hinted at during the season 5 episode ("Buyout"), when Walter discussed leaving Gray Matter with Jesse. He shares his story about how he sold his stake in the company for $5000 while trying to justify why they shouldn't be selling out their current operation. This scene showcases his embarrassment over leaving his ideas and his creations behind and clearly demonstrates his regret in leaving but doesn't allude further into the details of why.

Answer 3

According to show creator Vince Gilligan and co-showrunner Peter Gould in a new interview with The Huffington Post:

The real reason White left Gray Matter, which serves as part of the motivation for the character’s dark turn, has remained a mystery, but while chatting with The Huffington Post about “Yo Soy Saul,” an original song created for “Better Call Saul,” show creator Vince Gilligan and co-showrunner Peter Gould also finally opened up about one of the biggest unanswered questions from the series:

“Breaking Bad” actress Jessica Hecht, who plays Gretchen, mentioned in an AMC Q&A that Walt left the company and their relationship because he felt inferior. Gilligan confirmed this was true to HuffPost, saying, “She’s correct, and that’s what I explained to her and to [Bryan Cranston] before they shot that big scene between the two of them where they were at the restaurant.”

The scene Gilligan is referring to takes place in the Season 2 episode “Peekaboo.”

“It ends with him being so nasty to her saying, ‘Fuck you,’ and then she leaves tearfully,” said Gilligan. “In my mind, the interesting thing here — and I always kind of hate to nail it down so explicitly — but let’s put it this way, most viewers of ‘Breaking Bad’ assume Gretchen and Elliott are the bad guys, and they assume that Walt got ripped off by them, got ill used by them, and I never actually saw it that way.”

Gilligan explained that the truth is more nuanced. It all stemmed from White’s feeling of inferiority while spending time with Gretchen’s family.

“I think it was kind of situation where he didn’t realize the girl he was about to marry was so very wealthy and came from such a prominent family, and it kind of blew his mind and made him feel inferior and he overreacted. He just kind of checked out. I think there is that whole other side to the story, and it can be gleaned. This isn’t really the CliffsNotes version so much. These facts can be gleaned if you watch some of these scenes really closely enough, and you watch them without too much of an overriding bias toward Walt and against Gretchen and Elliott,” said Gilligan.

Gould added, “I think the interesting thing is not exactly what happened but the fact that Walt hasn’t let it go over all these years. He has no perspective on himself. He gets to the point where all he can really do is try to justify everything that he’s done.”

Answer 4

Walt and Gretchen were an item. Elliot teams up with them to start Gray Matter. Gretchen cheats on Walt with Elliot. Heartbroken and betrayed, Walt leaves Gretchen and Elliott and, in the process, all of Gray Matter.

The show never spelled it out clearly, but there were enough hints to point to what seems an obvious and believable reason as to why Walt left.

Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

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