Fact Is Walter White Couldn't Have Done It Without Me

Submission 14,736

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Fact Is Walter White Couldn't Have Done It Without Me is a quote from Jimmy McGill, also known as Saul Goodman (Bob Odenkirk), in the final season of Better Call Saul (a Breaking Bad spin-off series) in which McGill admitted that Walter White couldn't have become the meth kingpin and criminal he was without Goodman's help. The soundbite was remixed with the song "Immortal" by Playboi Carti in 2022, leading to a TikTok trend that used the TikTok sound for "Sigma Edits" and photo slideshows that emphasized other people, objects and concepts as the unspoken influencer of a more well-known person, object or concept.

Origin

Season 6, episode 13 of Better Call Saul titled "Saul Gone" aired on August 15th, 2022.^[1] Within the episode, the protagonist Jimmy McGill (Saul Goodman) spoke in a courtroom about his crimes alongside Breaking Bad protagonist Walter White. He ended the courtroom speech that ultimately indicted him with, "Fact is, Walter White couldn't have done it without me," in reference to White's illegal meth empire. On August 16th, 2022, the YouTube^[2] channel Invalid uploaded a colorized version of the scene that was originally shot in black-and-white. At the 4:34-minute mark, McGill states the aforementioned quote (shown below).

The first known meme made with the scene was uploaded by YouTuber^[3] Mikail Atiyeh on August 17th, 2022, which inserted Walter White saying, "You're goddamn right," where the character Marie Schrader was originally sitting. Over the course of three months, the video received roughly 328,000 views and 12,000 likes (shown below).

Also on August 17th, 2022, TikToker^[4] glo.ae posted a so-called "sigma edit" with McGill's quote and multiple clips from the Better Call Saul and Breaking Bad universe. TikToker glo.ae also added the song "Supervillain" by Playboi Carti^[5] as the background audio. Over the course of three months, the video received roughly 900,500 plays and 144,800 likes (shown below).

Spread

On August 20th, 2022, YouTuber^[6] Petronius posted a so-called "sigma edit" with the clip, using the song "The Perfect Girl" by Mareux^[7] as the edit's background audio. Over the course of three months, the video received roughly 14,000 views and 1,200 likes (shown below).

On October 28th, 2022, TikToker^[8] glo.ae posted another "sigma edit" with the scene's audio, this time adding "Immortal" by Playboi Carti^[9] as the video's background audio. The video received roughly 1.3 million plays and 204,200 likes in one month (shown below, left). On November 1st, 2022, TikToker^[10] uneducatededits2 stripped TikToker glo.ae's audio for their own edit using NBA player Kyrie Irving, gaining roughly 3.3 million plays and 262,400 likes in four weeks (shown below, right).

After TikToker uneducatededits2's video went viral, multiple TikTokers used their sound^[11] thereafter, amassing roughly 69,500 videos in four weeks. Many of the TikTokers used the sound satirically by outlining humorous scenarios in which they were an understated influencer. For instance, on November 6th, 2022, TikToker^[12] treyprince505 posted a video that inferred he'd helped his male friend learn to kiss, gaining roughly 1 million plays and 207,100 likes in three weeks (shown below, left). On November 9th, 2022, TikToker^[13] kaldentrainor referenced his siblings getting his clothing hand-me-downs, earning roughly 1.2 million plays and 250,700 likes in three weeks (shown below, right).

Other than videos, multiple photo slideshows emerged that used the sound that referenced pop culture and memes. For instance, on November 19th, 2022, TikToker^[14] caterwoose posted a slideshow that referenced the Walt Jr. Loves Breakfast meme, gaining roughly 2 million plays and 172,200 likes in ten days (photos shown below).