Ok, I’ll bite.
The manosphere has rapidly degenerated into a gaggle of fools gossiping like women about things they don’t understand. It’s lost. Dead. I shall bury myself in a cave until the apes have overrun us and civilisation reboots. Until then, I wish to knock this Breaking Bad rubbish on the head. Yes, it’s a great show. So great in fact that the writers really get the socio-sexual hierarchy and Walter White is as pure a gamma as ever puffed himself up on false pretentions. Let’s first dispense the alpha myth and where better to go than the first great popularizer of alpha game… Roissy. Let’s go to his enduring definition which is as accurate as you can get in so few words. A man’s alphaness is judged on three criteria.
“how hot are the women he can attract, how strong is that attraction for him, and how many of those women find him attractive.”
In five seasons Walter has sex with one used up old troll who treats him like shit until she becomes scared of him and then she merely exercises thinly-veiled contempt. And she cheats on him with an uber-chode. Look at her. A minger.
Why so serious?
No other women express any interest in him whatsoever. Even Lydia just finds him a provider chode and she’s as broken and externally-referenced as despicable man-jaw femcunts can be. WW is an omega by Roissy standards.
How about the leader of men theory?
How many beta males look up to and respect Walt? How many high value men want to hang out with him as peers? How many men seek him out for the pleasure of his company? It’s a big fat zero. People are repelled by his anti-charisma. Several men come into his orbit on the lure of using his chemistry genius to get rich (Saul, Gus, Tucco) and several are there because they are under orders (Mike, Victor) but all of them immediately find his character repellent and seek to distance themselves. The only two men who don’t use him as a provider chump are a gay fanboy nerd (Gail) and a little boy lost (Jesse). At least Scarface had bros and hos.
How about the empire building business?
Walt fails at everything he touches. His chemistry genius and gamma wiles get him out of near death situations several times but almost every sticky moment is of his own making because while a genius at chemistry he is a bumbling amateur at life. Selling out his shareholding in a soon-to-be billion dollar tech firm, destablising his cushy job cooking for Gus, bringing Hank back onto his trail just after he’d given up….. these are all Mensa member levels of total incompetence at life. Note how it takes him four seasons to break even on costs and when he does get money he can’t launder it.
At no point does he change his life for the better. He is careening from crisis to crisis and dragging everything down with him. This is the beauty of the show because it shows how toxic Walter really is. At no point does it occur to him that he’s incompetent. He wildly overstates his own ability to get things done.
Chode, yesterday
So no, Walter White is not an alpha male. The only way you could possibly think he is alpha is if you misunderstand the whole point of the socio-sexual hierarchy. I’m not trying to diss him on morality here. Sure he’s a reprehensible character but that’s neither here nor there. He has none of the alpha outcomes.
Girls don’t fancy him. Men don’t follow him. He doesn’t have his shit together. He’s deeply unhappy.
Go read Vox’s outline of the gamma male traits. Then check them against Mr Heisenberg
- High intelligence that he overvalues the importance of
- God complex in his belief in his own omnipotence and failure to recognise his errors
- Relentless bullying of those further down the hierarchy
- Burning toxic rage against the world for failing to recognise his genius.
- Prickly pride that constantly causes him to sabotage otherwise smoothly functioning systems
- Creepily over-investing in the one woman who gives him interest
I pity new manosphere guys who are being fed such tosh.
[Edit: About half the comments here show why the manosphere is just a knitting circle for whiny bitches.]
Krauser PUA 
August 29, 2013 at 11:02 pm
I agree with most of this. However, McQueen’s post at Return of Kings was written through the lens of a binary alpha/beta duality, and focused on improving your life by taking on a more assertive role (which Walter White undoubtedly does through the course of the show).
I actually doubt that the writers are as focused on the nuances of sexual dynamics as you believe. To their credit, they’ve left things ambiguous enough to be freely interpreted (much the way life is). But in the first season, it was explicitly shown that Walt’s newfound boldness caused his sex life with Skyler to heat up again (after it had gotten to the point where she just gave him a half-hearted handjob for his birthday). Beyond that, I think they’ve been content to ignore Walt’s sexuality, in order to free up more time to flesh out other aspects of his character.
If you asked the writers of Breaking Bad, I bet they would believe they had shown the transformation of Walt from a beta to an alpha. They just don’t really understand what an alpha is. They think that just means “destructive asshole.”
August 29, 2013 at 11:10 pm
It’s a TV show. It’s a show I have never even watched.
Since when were TV shows ever based on reality?
Who cares what the writers that write for the actors to act
Is it “alpha” to complain about a TV show?
August 29, 2013 at 11:44 pm
Soon it won’t be “alpha” to brush your teeth or take showers
August 29, 2013 at 11:32 pm
Any time the alpha/beta dichotomy and is used improperly in a PUA/Manosphere context, simply remind that person of what the term ‘alpha’ is trying to convey. It’s a simply a short simple word to get a concept through in a concise and clear manner which is “how hot are the women he can attract, how strong is that attraction for him, and how many of those women find him attractive.” Do this enough times and I think it will correct this problem.
For example, on CH under ‘Hitler Was Beta’:
Some commenters wanted to mock the Alpha/Beta and apply it improperly based on what they want alpha male to mean. One guy asked what greek letter would be given to various important thinkers in history and I kindly responded.
‘
FuriousFerret:
Let’s see, if we go by the classical definition that is repeatedly given on this site as Alpha Male – man that hot women want to and will fuck
then:
Nietzsche – Omega as fuck
Kant – Beta I believe
Hegel – Beta
Leonardo Da Vinci – Gay genius so probably Alpha +
Isaac Newton – Sperg gay omega
T.S. Eliot – Beta
Einstein – Beta
Kierkegaard – Notorious womanizer = Alpha
Monks – Omegas
RattLife – Alpha
‘
When you try to apply Alpha/Beta to attributes such as morals, intelligence, productivity, and other valued qualities it will quickly becomes a clusterfuck and ruin a good metaphor (comparing humans to actual monkeys) that conveys the concept of small percentage of sexy men that screw vs boring unattractive men that wank.
August 29, 2013 at 11:59 pm
Who the hell is Walter White?!
August 30, 2013 at 1:01 am
An Alpha male is the male who leads, provides for and protects his group. PUAs are not alpha males. PUAs are more like omega males, sniffing around at the edge of the group waiting till the alpha is busy or distracted so they can get sex. Like those guys who used to fuck the wives of soldiers who were busy dying in Europe.
‘Game’ does not make you an Alpha. it is the male version of fake tits and makeup.. a way for a low status male to pretend he is a higher status male.
August 30, 2013 at 4:47 pm
Dying because some other dude ordered you to do so. That is alpha…
August 30, 2013 at 4:55 pm
I was under the impression that game executed properly is ending or suppressing low value behaviors while reinforcing or learning high value behaviors. It’s not being disingenuous and hiding your “true self,” it’s about genuine improvement, making that true self better, increasing value and learning to assess and convey it.
Lies, monkey tricks, and routines are not and shouldn’t be considered game. They’re training wheels for men who don’t have or understand the concept of value and how to apply it.
August 30, 2013 at 1:04 am
Christ, what kind of losers are obsessed with meticulously categorizing every passing male homo sapien, whether real, fictional, historical, imaginary or lego action figure into a binary tree hierarchy of pussy control? This is the opposite of game.
As for people conflating alpha/beta qualities with other qualities and ruining a good metaphor, it does happen, but the more common and more egregious offense is often by “manosphere” blog proprietors that implicitly claim that being “alpha” is inherently more worthy than being “beta”. All else being equal that may be true but in real life there are tradeoffs that are being overlooked. Not to mention that most of these “alphas” in the manosphere are either fake “alphas” or former pathetic losers (especially in their own eyes) trying to get validation and assuage their shitty self perception.
August 30, 2013 at 1:11 am
You say White is morally reprehensible – “lies, cheats, weasels”,..but that this is neither here nor there to you because he doesn’t get Alpha outcomes
To you, is the man who gets Alpha outcomes but does so by lying, cheating, weasling, also a Type 1 Confident/ Competent Man?
I’m referring to your 4 Type overlay to the socio-sexual hierarchy
Or do you divorce “morality” from being confident/competent? Can you be a Type 1 confident/competent while also being so-called ‘morally reprehensible’: lying, cheating, weasling?
I’d imagine you’d say: if you get Alpha outcomes, you’re Alpha. But not necessarily a Type 1
Because if you’re getting Alpha outcomes by lying, cheating, weasling, etc. you are still broken and have more inner work to do.
August 30, 2013 at 1:27 am
Krauser is right on the spot and I feel disgusted as the misinformation given by the author praising the pitiful Walter White as the alpha male. Aside from the immorality of selling drugs that destroy the lives of people, this man lives a life of meaningless misery and the author is praising him as the character for having admirable traits? Right now the internet is full of the so called “Alpha” hype as if mentioning this word is enough for one to be a man and get laid like a rock star, then attack feminism to be the scape goat. Tom is doing a good job along with Mark Manson in spreading the truth while being constructive in helping men out. However, there are a few that are more concentrated in being popular, and calling out sound bites. They drown in their own vanity without bringing much rationality and clarity into their ideas.
August 30, 2013 at 1:35 am
This is the inherent danger of identifying with a media character. They are merely puppets of the writers of the media product.
White is an Alpha in the sense that he found himself after he looked inside, Krauser mentioned he sold a potentially lucrative investment?
What would a down the road lucrative investment mean for a man who is facing death? To hang onto would be Beta Provider, he’d never get to enjoy it, to sell it and do what White knew would bring the most cash the most quickly is not a foible, it is clear vision. Leastwise his cow of a wife would simply inherit it upon his impending death.
As for his obvious missteps, Alpha Males never make missteps? Hardly, Alphas simply motor through them and continue to do what it is they wish to do, he never said “gosh sorry I screwed that one up, maybe we should have a tea and hug it out”. Hardly, he dealt with the situations directly.
August 30, 2013 at 2:32 am
He didn’t seem to be enjoying any proceeds, and he cherishes his cow of a woman above everything, Far from doing what he wants, he’s mostly in a constant state of panic reacting to situations out of his control. Really they could have cast a woman, though if they did they’d have made her more of a man
August 30, 2013 at 3:28 am
These classifications are stupid. Gamma male? Seriously? That’s what you’re going to reduce him to?
Overvaluing his intelligence? Rage at the world for not recognizing his genius? Bullying? At most he manipulates people below him but it’s not based in insecurity and anger “bullying”. No one could possibly get these things from watching the show. None of the six things you listed apply to Walter White. You’re reaching to make him fit this “gamma” definition.
The show makes it obvious that Walter is doing all of this for his family. He can’t imagine ever leaving them. Probably because he loves them. Is that gamma/beta? Not leaving your wife does not disqualify you from alpha categorization and not having sex with a bunch of women does not mean you’re not an alpha male, especially if it’s because you simply have no desire to do that, which Walter clearly doesn’t.
Maybe he could if he tried to or maybe if he can’t then maybe it’s not his alphaness that would be getting in the way, maybe it’s his age and appearance. Or is being old and having cancer gamma?
Maybe since he has cancer all he has left is his legacy and what he leaves his family and he does not want that to be that he fucked around on his wife. He wants her to carry on his legacy so that everything he’s done and his entire life will not have been for nothing.
He is now the dominant one in his relationship which I’d say is “alpha”. He also never takes any shit from anyone and he broke free from the box society, his wife, his family and his own perceived limitations had kept him in his whole life. He is the one who controls his own life now.
Now he has options, control and agency. He went from being a weak, submissive schlub who was controlled, disrespected, bossed around and emasculated by everyone in his life: his wife, his brother-in-law and both of his bosses, to being a real man.
August 30, 2013 at 4:16 am
It is a TV show, not based in reality. This conversation should be is Walter White a well written character.
August 30, 2013 at 5:51 am
TL&DR: A fictional character X is not a fictional set of traits Y
August 30, 2013 at 11:16 am
A tv character doesn’t live up to a greek lettered hierarchy that was created based on women’s reaction to a man.
That sounds like living in a Matrix to me.
I’m labeling myself an omicron. Based off women giving me their looks.
August 30, 2013 at 12:21 pm
The manosphere, and all its groups, including PUAs are not alpha males and are not men. The whole problem is that Western society has very few proper men.
August 30, 2013 at 5:01 pm
Vague. Elaborate.
August 30, 2013 at 9:43 pm
What notes meant to say is that he hasn’t gotten laid in a long time
August 30, 2013 at 12:24 pm
ROK and all its affiliate sites are useless. Game is not the be all and end all. Also, what is alpha/beta etc…? Many of the traits you list of a gamma male are also to be found in the alpha.
August 30, 2013 at 6:21 pm
Walter White transforms himself from a wimp who lets everyone in his life step all over him into a man who takes what he wants — even if he has to commit murder to take it.
His journey is decidedly in the direction of “more alpha,” and to a dramatic degree.
At the start of the series, almost any of the other characters in Breaking Bad could have pushed Walt around, and many did. Now, not a single character can intimidate Walt — not even a DEA agent who has the evidence to put him away for life.
Walt is not a “Roissy alpha.” But he is the alpha that HE wants to be.
August 31, 2013 at 10:02 am
He never gets what he wanted. He left the company he was building of his own free will. It is hinted at it has to do with the Gretchen woman. Eventually even Gretchen cannot stand the sight of him.
I think K is probably right.
“He is the alpha HE wants to be”, Moving the goalpost. So now Alpha is: not fucking women, only being successful by killing. Not being able to keep secrets, and having no friends. And a family that can hardly stand the sight of him. And certainly not respects him.
Pingback: Walter White Is An Alpha Male
August 31, 2013 at 3:38 am
This alpha/beta dichotomy is tired.
If we follow the Roissy definition, a 25 year old dude with model good looks who sleeps with girls in his social circle is more alpha than a confident and charismatic midget who only sleeps with a new chick a couple times a year.
In other words, you’d be led to conclude that someone’s appearance alone is either more or less alpha.
Likewise, by this definition, no 80 year old man could ever possibly be alpha, just because he’s physically far past his prime and relegated to picking up new ass in the nursing home/hospice. [What’s up with all you binary thought? I’ve constantly stressed on this blog that your Game can only be distilled after subtracting looks and position. Hence my golden rule that you must be banging girls younger and better-looking than you are. K.]
August 31, 2013 at 5:12 pm
Hey, okay my mistake, I must have missed where you said that.
If that’s your definition, I agree. It’s the only one that makes sense.
Game = ability to attract and sleep with attractive women controlling for looks and other factors beyond your control.
Arguably money and fame are part of game since they are under our control.
August 31, 2013 at 8:14 pm
Midgets don’t get laid. I was one in a past life
August 31, 2013 at 10:35 am
It would be interesting to see him with some women. He needs so much validation. But it would have made him look pathetic, May be that is why they choose to not include them
August 31, 2013 at 3:01 pm
I hate this alpha this…beta that crap. Alpha/Beta are BEHAVIORS only! Not the definition of a man! The only thing that matters about being a man is: are you good at BEING a man?!
That’s it. That’s all folks. It’s that simple!
Women want men that are good at BEING a man.
Men want to be around men that are good at BEING a man.
Men that are good at BEING men are in CONTROL of their lives.
Men that are good at BEING men are in CONTROL of their emotions.
The fictional character “Walter White” has absolutely none of these qualities. He’s an arrogant, angry, bitter, resentful…schmuck. Which makes this TV show, just like 99.99% of all TV shows, utter and complete CRAP.
August 31, 2013 at 9:46 pm
Nick,
Off the cuff, Does your ability to hold and direct conversation- whether sexual etc correlate with your confidence to win an argument and in a woman’s case(anticipating a row) tell her adjust her attitude? [Possibly. I used to debate alot at university and I always assume I’m going to win any argument and can read the other person’s line of thought several steps in advance. That probably helps with women. K.]
September 1, 2013 at 12:29 am
“how hot are the women he can attract, how strong is that attraction for him, and how many of those women find him attractive.”
Roissy got it wrong (*gasp*), that’s puss-hound’s definition of “Alpha”.
Alpha is a man’s rank among peers, aka: status. A man who leads and achieves attains status and can use that capital in many ways, not all of which conform to Roissy’s definition. Traits of said men are instinctively attractive to women regardless if he partakes.
Roissy describes only one fruit of a man with status. It is but one outwardly observable marker of success. There are many more – wealth, resources, fame, power, etc. Although men who successfully mimic Alpha traits may attract females it is not the same as a man who has actually achieves status. Their “success” is limited to just this one area and I suspect fleeting.
In prosperous, polite, sanitized, hand-out societies an impostor can pass for an original, at least with most women. While Alpha traits many also assist you in leading and achieving, without true accomplishment you will likely soon lose any temporary credibility traits alone may have given you. As alluring as the idea that Game brings it’s own status it falls flat when tested in other competitive environments. Deal negotiation, politics, conflict, competitive sports – your notch count or last hb number will give you no advantage above your peers.
I’m not going to comment on a scripted actors portrayal of a budding drug king-pin, but should that type of person ever emerge in real life you can bet your ass he’d have the option of enjoying any and all of the fruits his status would bring him. [No. The world is full of alphas by this definition who suck with women even when they try to leverage it. All your DNA cares about is impregnating fertile women with good DNA. That’s why Roissy correctly puts success with women as the only real test of alpha. Everything else is just guys who don’t get laid trying to redefine the term to make themselves fit the definition. K.]
September 2, 2013 at 5:06 am
Erm, have you seen the kinds of people dating in the UK recently? The women may be fertile, but less good looking and dumb as f— compared to other countries. The guys are pathetic compared to other countries. Social evolution is about survival of the average/socially normative, not survival of the fittest. The normative/average ‘retarded’ Brit is alpha. Except that he’s not alpha and will be replaced with a foreigner. The immigrants have much better DNA than 99% of Brits.
September 4, 2013 at 11:25 pm
“All your DNA cares about is impregnating fertile women with good DNA.”
So how many women have you impregnated on your adventures?
September 1, 2013 at 4:13 pm
K: All your DNA cares about is impregnating fertile women with good DNA.
A cursory look through history shows that succeeding here had little or nothing to do with your interactions with females. http://therawness.com/the-myth-of-the-middle-class-alpha-male-part-3/
The male behaviors Roissy elucidates were first embodied by men of status. Their superiority colored their behavior. That women respond to it is irrespective of the reason for it. Cause vs effect. And let’s not forget Roissy hides hide his identity. It’s rumored his blog cost him employment at one point. He lacks sufficient rank to write openly without penalty. But alas, he knows well the hacks.
September 1, 2013 at 4:20 pm
Based on what Roissy has said on his blog. I would go one stage further and define an alpha as follows:
–How little of yourself you externally present in order to attract a hot girl and get her into bed–
The best seducers I’ve met were all jobless, poorly dressed and lived in small box apartments, yet were consistently banging hotties day in day out. The minute you need to rely on external things to capture a girls interest is a direct indication of an area of your worth that needs fixing.
In other words, you’re relying on a handicap to compensate a weak belief system or a hole in your self-esteem.
I’ve seen a lot of guys preaching on about ‘inner value’ and ‘inner game’ when these same guys are rocking smart casual outfits and expensive clothes when going out day gaming.
I challenge anyone to go out in a shitty t-shirt and worn out trainers and see how your day game fairs. If you can get numbers and dates with hot girls in those circumstances. Then consider yourself an alpha.
September 2, 2013 at 7:01 am
Why let your wardrobe hobble instead of augment you? These guys probably aren’t concerned with proving how alpha they are, just maximizing their chances of a pull. I doubt there are men whose pull rates in shitty clothes would be as good if they were in smart clothes. Looks definitely factor into perceived value.
September 1, 2013 at 6:33 pm
While I think Krauser is mostly right in this article, in one way Walter White is trying to be an alpha: Control! While he fucks everything up, he doesn’t want to be the beta guy everybody tossing around. I think there are some great advice in this show, if you understand them properly. For example this video, best part is from 1:25: http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi2433391641/
September 2, 2013 at 11:58 am
Krauser,
I think through your writing style you already attract readers who won’t run up and down Oxford street like headless chicken if you release the book. Most of them apply what they learned, but want to read quality stuff from time to time. And let’s face it, most products still target the newbies and promise streets full of 10s waiting to give you an instant blowjob. Even honest companies still target newcomers through their free stuff and give solid intermediate advice with emphasis on taking action in their products, but sometimes there is a need for more.
September 2, 2013 at 9:36 pm
If you think Walter White is an alpha male then you’re still sucking down on that blue pill thinking it’s red. In modern society any idiot can be an “alpha male” all you have to do is become a manager at McDonalds for example and you’re a leader over your employees, doesn’t mean you can bang 10’s though.This is whats so fucked up about modern society and this consumer culture it’s got 95% of people chasing things and roles they don’t need thinking that’s what value is, when real value is internal, the rest is all an illusion.
Like morpheous says in the matrix, no one can be told what it is you have to see it for yourself.
September 3, 2013 at 2:24 am
“University of Man” link on the side of page under “Mount Olympus” is dead, says the blog was deleted.
September 8, 2013 at 3:34 am
As far as I know WW has never been interested in seducing girls in clubs. He drives a Pontiac Aztec, ergo he couldn’t care less about this.
He needs to be judge on what he’s been doing, not on other people’s paradigms.
He started a meth business -> became the drug lord of the area, killing and replacing lord in place Gus, making himself a reputation to be the best cook ever. “- Say my name – Heisenberg”. In the end he got millions.
Of course he’s not happy and what he wins in $, he looses in family relations quality, bad conscience and morale. But that’s the universal rule of the drug/killing game everyone should remember: crime doesn’t pay.
So that should not be a criteria to judge him either, just a reminder on how things are going to finish. This is not a creative/productive activity, it’s a killing business, a destructive one.
If I like swimming and start a program, I want to be judge on my speed, swimming technique, etc, not my ability to seduce girls and having friends. And M. Phelps would be the Alpha guy of this field.
Alpha/beta dichotomy should be divided in fields of action, otherwise it doesn’t make sens at all. Maybe if WW started gaming chicks in clubs, after a couple of years he would kill it, by applying his science skillq on the field… who knows.
May 10, 2014 at 7:51 pm
I dunno. I read Roissy’s taxonomy, and I think Walter White might be a sigma, not a gamma.
February 28, 2015 at 7:50 am
This article is somewhat right , but not completely . Thats Your version of how You see things . he is a Beta provider , but deeply unaware of His own condition , existing for the – ” Service of Others ” . This is His reality and whoever recognizes this dire short coming in Him – exploits it . be it His family , business partners or friends . At same time – he shows surprising grit at times , he was once doing better in life , which I feel was pre marriage days . maybe , He rushed into it and from there its a down hill journey . And , surviving in face of imminent death is no joke either . if only He could see the bigger reality which He fails to do again and again .
September 23, 2015 at 8:17 am
Walter spends most of his time either in the meth lab or covering his tracks or arguing with Jessie or Skyler or dealing with the results of his actions. There would be zero hours on the clock for anything else.
August 19, 2016 at 11:44 pm
As a woman I am not crazy about the alpha and beta labels. Walter made very bad decisions and did waste his drug money ( once by blowing up a new car he bought (intentionally). He made big mistakes his whole life when it can to value and money. In honesty most of us in season 5 would have cashed in on five million dollars over desiring a meth empire. He was never interested in seducing a bunch of women and no doubt women know that. If alpha is just about being good with women due to looks then that would not be enough for society or sane women. Walter, in many ways reaches down to his male instincts. He did something most men will never do. Take control of his situation, provide for his family and reach his “potential.” Granted he overestimated himself and made big mistakes. Is Rick Grimes a beta or just a killer that people decided should be leader. I guess the debate is if alpha is enough to get things done.
May 7, 2018 at 11:53 am
Yo Krauser, say you’re given a cancer diagnosis and have 6 months left to live. Are you going to spend that time trying to fuck broads by daygame or are you going to do something epic?
Lol.