There was no shortage of deaths over the course of Breaking Bad‘s five seasons, but according to showrunner Vince Gilligan, there was one character his writers simply wouldn’t let him kill off.
During an appearance on a special Breaking Bad 10-year anniversary episode of Conan filmed at San Diego Comic-Con on Wednesday, Gilligan revealed that his pitch to take out the breakfast-loving Walt Jr. was not well received.
“Early on, I pitched to my writers, I had this idea where Walter Jr. gets killed by this nasty guy that Walt is somehow in business with,” he explained. “And all my writers looked at me like I had completely lost my mind and was the most horrible person to ever live.”
Gilligan was joined by cast members Bryan Cranston (Walter White), Aaron Paul (Jesse Pinkman), Anna Gunn (Skyler White), Dean Norris (Hank Schrader), Betsy Brandt (Marie Schrader), R.J. Mitte (Walt Jr.), Giancarlo Esposito (Gus Fring), Bob Odenkirk (Saul Goodman) and Jonathan Banks (Mike Ehrmantraut), who all had their own memories to share from their time on the award-winning drama.
Watch the full clip here.
More Must-Reads from TIME
- Introducing the 2024 TIME100 Next
- Sabrina Carpenter Has Waited Her Whole Life for This
- What Lies Ahead for the Middle East
- Why It's So Hard to Quit Vaping
- Jeremy Strong on Taking a Risk With a New Film About Trump
- Our Guide to Voting in the 2024 Election
- The 10 Races That Will Determine Control of the Senate
- Column: How My Shame Became My Strength
Write to Megan McCluskey at megan.mccluskey@time.com