Dead Freight - S5-E5
Plot hole: Preparing to steal methylamine from the train, Walt, Jesse and Mike measure off a predetermined distance from the railroad crossing, which happens to coincide with a handy arroyo, where they bury their tanks. Problem is that they couldn't have known that distance (calculated by knowing the position of the methylamine tanker car in the train) until Lydia told them. But she didn't call that info in until the night after they'd already buried the tanks.
Suggested correction: They were counting on the tankers being at the back of the train, far enough away and at a curved angle so that the conductors wouldn't see them, and the hoses they were using would have been long enough to reach the tankers on either side of the one they stole from. Their heist hinged on a lot of educated guesses and luck, especially because they would have had to abort if the tanker was at the front of the train, but being lucky doesn't make it a plot hole.
I'd have to respectfully disagree. When they paced off the distance to the trestle over the arroyo, they had a particular number in mind (814). It's not explained whether this number represented knowledge of how far back the tank car would be if the engine stopped at the crossing. But if it did, how could they have known that? Not even Lydia knew until much later. And why would they assume the tank car would be toward the back of the train? Lydia doesn't mention that. When she calls Walt, all she says is, "I've got it." And even if she were to tell him, at that point everything's in place for the heist to happen at the location where the tank are buried.
IIRC the crew contacted an expert on hazardous materials shipping for advice on the scene. Rail guidelines require tankers containing hazardous materials are at a minimum "six-deep", that is, six cars away from the engine. Lydia probably told them in advance how long the train would be in terms of cars, so they had a rough guideline for which three or four tankers could possibly contain the methylamine. From there, it seems like their hoses were long enough to get to any of the other cars.
The 814 feet was to ensure that the spot they chose would be far enough away from the conductors so as to not be seen. And they weren't assuming the tankers would be at the back, they were just hoping they would be. As I mentioned, if the tankers were at the front, they wouldn't have been able to move forward with the mission. Lydia told them they would only have 6 hours to prepare for the heist after she told them where the tanker would be. That wouldn't have been enough time for them to get an excavator out there and dig the holes for their own tanks to transfer the methylamine into, so they had to guess the best spot to do it ahead of time and hope that's where it would end up being.
Factual error: The final scene of the episode, the cousins are hiding with other migrants amid a farm truck's bales of straw. One of the migrants claims they are in Texas. However, the mountains in the distance are the Manzano Mountains which are just several miles southeast of Albuquerque, more than 200 miles away from the border with Texas and Mexico. The migrant claims he has gone through this route 3 times, so it is unlikely this would simply be a character mistake.
Suggested correction: He could have just been boasting, whilst not actually knowing where he is. He is just a kid after all.
Worse than all of that, is the fact that you can't get directly from Mexico into Texas without traversing a river. There are no land routes.
There are no bridges?
Cancer Man - S1-E4
Character mistake: When Walt is in the bathroom using hydrogen peroxide to clean his leg wound he received from killing Crazy 8, he notices blood on his pants. He tries to clean the bloodstain off with a toothbrush. I think that any and EVERY chemist would know that hydrogen peroxide almost instantly removes blood stains from clothing. But, instead of using this somewhat common knowledge, Walt scrubs the stain with a toothbrush under the sink. Even if he had never heard of this 'trick', given the nature of H2O2 and Walt's understanding of chemistry, he would have realized this chemical solution immediately... Especially since he used the peroxide seconds before discovering the blood stain. (00:15:55 - 00:17:10)
Factual error: Hydrofluoric acid is so dangerous that no high school chemistry lab in the US would have a thimble full of the stuff around, let alone gallons. While it's incredibly toxic it's also a very poor choice for getting rid of bodies, which Walt would know.
Suggested correction: Walt also has never had to dump a body before. Hydrochloric acid would dissolve enough of the body to make it unrecognizable and easier to move, especially in a proper container where it can be transported. Plus this acid was more readily available to Walt and Jesse at this point in the series.
This isn't a valid correction. First, hydrofluoric acid was used, not hydrochloric acid. Second, just because Walt never had to dissolve a body doesn't mean he thinks it would. He should know as a chemist that it wouldn't. Third, you missed the point that no high school would have hydrofluoric acid on hand. So how can that be more readily available than something common and effective like lye.
One Minute - S3-E7
Factual error: As demonstrated in the earlier scene where Leonel shot the truck driver/arms dealer, bulletproof vests do not make the wearer immune to bullets. Bulletproof vests are only designed to stop penetrating injury- they do not counteract the high energy of an impacting round, which can easily break ribs and cause internal injury. When Hank empties Leonel's dropped gun into Marco, Marco is barely staggered despite the fact that he just took five rapidly fired bullets in quick succession to his upper chest. That many hits at such close range in such a small zone would have, at minimum, shattered several of Marco's ribs and potentially punctured one or both of his lungs - both critical and incapacitating injuries on their own. As a result, Marco should have been unable to lift his gun to shoot Hank twice in the chest, much less swing an axe. Additionally, at least one bullet appears to strike Marco's clavicle and upper shoulder- both areas that are not protected by the vest. (00:44:00 - 00:45:00)
Suggested correction: Bullet proof vests disperse the energy of projectile impacts. Bad bruising can result but certainly not broken bones or punctured lungs.
They are not bulletproof vests. The correct name is bullet-resistant vest. Smaller rounds, like a .22 or .25 caliber, can penetrate a vest by going between the protecting fibers because of their smaller size. Also, they are not designed to resist high-powered rifle rounds.
Continuity mistake: Throughout this entire season, the blue tape holding the new windscreen in place on Walt's car is constantly disappearing and reappearing. This happens throughout several episodes.
Suggested correction: The tape is only there while the adhesive sets in his continually new windshields, as he only just replaced the windshield and probably took off the tape off camera because it wouldn't add to the plot.
Other mistake: The configuration of the front side of the house does not match the configuration from the inside. The outside view looking at the house from the street indicates (1) there are no rooms to the right of the garage (when inside there are rooms on the side of the garage). Also when looking at house from street side, to the left of the front door the house comes forward. When inside, (at least in episode 13, season 3) the inside of the house does not extend forward towards the street.
Suggested correction: If you research "The Breaking Bad House" you will see that the house used was filmed both inside and out, so this error couldn't have happened.
The garage is shown to have an interior door. Walt comes through it when he is showing baby Holly the money hidden behind the insulation. However, the is no corresponding door inside the house. The interior house scenes, at least most of them, must be a set.
Wrong, the interior of the house is a set, and there are numerous inconsistencies that show this. One, being the location of the fireplace, and the other being an interior door to access the garage.
Continuity mistake: Emilio and Krazy 8 show up to the cook site to visit Walter. Krazy 8 leaves the drivers side door open when he exits the vehicle. Later when Walt is trying to flee the area in the RV, he drives past their car. The door is closed.
Green Light - S3-E4
Other mistake: The ATM video from the gas station in the desert should have shown Jesse and not just the RV. (00:35:10)
Continuity mistake: When Badger is talking to the cop at the start, a guy behind them gets on his bike and cycles off behind a pillar but never appears the other side of the pillar. Given the width of the pillar you should see him instantly. He just vanishes. (00:02:00)
Audio problem: When Jesse rings Jane's phone when it's cut off, Jesse is still pressing buttons but there is no sound, despite there being sound when he pressed buttons before.
Suggested correction: He only presses 2 buttons. Anything else is just something like his thumb twitching, like he's anxious or nervous. You see him call Jane's phone multiple times by only pushing 2 buttons.
Stupidity: Why do they always have to go through that washing machine setup in the laundromat when they have a great functioning elevator to the lab?
Suggested correction: Why would Gus go through the process of hiding the lab entrance stairs behind a washing machine but leave access to a freight elevator wide open? The elevator would be just as hidden and probably locked up. Not to mention it would be slower to take than simply walking downstairs.
One Minute - S3-E7
Other mistake: At the end, we see the gunfight between Tuco's cousins and Hank. Several shots are fired, cars smash into each other, a woman runs off screaming. So not a "quiet" attack. However, as the camera zooms out to show the carnage, 2 people who are not involved in the attack, are just stood talking in the car park. A bit odd since there has been a very clear shoot out. (00:44:50)
Suggested correction: Nobody is actually standing in the car park. People are standing around on the sidewalks talking to each other about what was going on, keeping their distance. Personally I would keep a bigger distance, but whatever distance they feel safe with.
