Breaking Bad Sex Scenes: Which Episodes?

Here’s everything about the Breaking Bad episodes with sex scenes:

Through the 5 seasons of Breaking Bad, there are 15 scenes with obvious sexual content.

The severity of the depictions ranges from implied, off-screen sex to outright nudity and obvious depictions of sexual activity.

None of the scenes are specifically pornographic in nature, but many are clearly not safe for work.

So if you want to learn all about which Breaking Bad episodes contain sex scenes, then this article is for you. Let’s get right into it!

What Is Breaking Bad?

In case you’re really not into television, spare me a minute to catch you up on Breaking Bad.

This is an extremely famous and popular TV show that ran from 2008 to 2013. There were five seasons in total, and they more or less told the story of Walter White.

He is a fictional character who is a chemistry teacher in Albuquerque, New Mexico. When he gets diagnosed with cancer, he knows he can’t afford the treatments, so he starts making drugs (methamphetamine) to make extra money.

Over the course of the show, he develops into a drug kingpin.

The show is definitely for mature audiences. There are frequent depictions of drug use, violence, and sexual content. Today, I’m specifically going to talk to you about the sexual content in the show.

Why Are We Looking for Breaking Bad Sex Scenes?

Look. We’re talking about sex scenes in a mature TV show.

Let’s skip the part where we all feel awkward about it; I’m going to talk to you candidly. I don’t actually care why you’re trying to find a list of sex scenes in Breaking Bad. The motivations don’t matter. I have the list below, and you can use it as you see fit.

The reason I’m going to talk about motivations for a moment is that they can inform what someone might consider an explicit sex scene or not.

If you’re trying to screen the show to decide whether or not you let your teenager watch it, the list can help you with that.

Obviously, that’s far from the only reason to read this list, but it gets at the motivation that I’m using to inform everything here.

I’m working on the assumption that you want to know which scenes are not safe for work (NSFW).

If you’re not familiar with the term, it’s a slang way to talk about content that is explicit in ways that could get you in trouble at work.

Everyone has their own definitions for what is and isn’t safe for work.

But, to help anyone who is looking at Breaking Bad from that kind of perspective, I’ve listed every scene with sexual content, and I’ve broken those scenes into two lists.

The first is the NSFW list where the content is explicit. The second is where the depictions are less extreme, even though the content is still sexual in nature.

Which Breaking Bad Episodes Have Explicit Sex Scenes? (11 Episodes)

This list has the raunchiest sex scenes in all of Breaking Bad.

The scenes in the list vary in degrees of the depictions. Some are overt and extremely explicit.

Others are close to the line.

I went with erring on the side of caution here.

If you think any of the scenes on this list are actually fine, that’s totally up to you.

There are a few notes I want to make. First, absolutely every incidence of nudity is listed below, whether the characters are involved in sexual activity or not.

Second, there are some scenes listed below that are not actually explicit, but they involve very mature content, including representations of sexual violence.

The NSFW scenes are listed in order, and you’ll quickly see that the show had a lot more explicit sexual content in the early seasons as opposed to later in its run.

#1 1.1 Pilot

The show actually opens with more explicit sex and nudity than you will see for most of its run.

Perhaps the showrunners wanted to establish that this is adult, serious content from the start.

Maybe they thought it would help with early ratings. Regardless, there is a sex scene with Walt in the first episode.This particular sex scene does not have direct nudity, but it’s fairly explicit.

On top of that, there is some female nudity later in this same episode, so you’re looking at multiple prongs of content that are not exactly safe for work.

#2 1.2 Cat’s in the Bag . . .

The first episode actually ends with an additional sex scene, and that scene is continued at the start of the second episode.

It shows some continuity, but more importantly for our conversation, this sex scene also falls into the explicit category.

Again, there isn’t an excess of nudity, but there’s absolutely no mystery as to what is happening.

After the scene, you also get to see a nice shot of Walt’s butt, so you can use that to gauge how you feel about the explicit content in this episode.

#3 1.3 . . . And the Bag’s in the River

We’ve made it to the third episode. There have already been multiple sex scenes and multiple cases of nudity, and it’s not done yet.

The sex scene in the third episode is visually tame compared to the first two, but I’m going to leave it in this category.

The idea is that the safer side of caution is to label things as NSFW if they’re at all close to the line. In this one, Jesse has implied sex with a prostitute, but the implication is very strong.

I’ll leave it at that to ensure that this article remains safe for work.

#4 2.1 Seven Thirty-Seven

Alright. There were explicit sexual moments in the first three episodes, but now we’re all the way to the second season before another occurs. 

Still, the second season has a strong, explicit moment in it that definitely needs mentioning.

In this case, sex doesn’t actually happen. The problem is that the scene comes very close to outright sexual violence.

I’m going to avoid details for those who don’t want them, but the gist is that a character stops within inches of committing a violent sexual crime.

It’s not a fun moment, and even though clothes stay on, it’s better to leave a moment like that in the NSFW category.

#5 2.3 Bit by a Dead Bee

Two episodes later, the adult content is a little less extreme.

In this episode, there is a scene where Walt walks through a store. Naked. In that scene, you get to see his bare butt again.

That’s a bit of a repeating occurrence, by the way. If you find naked butts amusing, then there’s plenty to keep you entertained with Breaking Bad.

If you’re not a fan, then that’s something you’ll have to contend with throughout the series.

#6 2.13 ABQ

The last explicit scene in the second season happens in the thirteenth episode.

This is another scenario where there is no nudity, but the sexual depiction is quite explicit.

On top of that, it’s in a very adult setting.

To put this in simple terms, some characters are in a crack den, and there is sex going on around them.

No naughty body parts are clearly scene, but there’s also absolutely no guesswork involved as to whether or not people are having sex.

#7 3.5  Más

We’ve made it through the majority of the explicit sex scenes, and we’re now well into the third season.

At last, we’ve come upon the most sexually explicit scene in the entire show.

This scene takes place in a strip club, and it lasts a while. It’s not technically a sex scene, as the characters are not engaged in reproductive acts.

But, there’s a lot of nudity.

In fact, a significant portion of all of the nudity throughout the show is in this one scene. I would wager that this is the most NSFW moment in the entire series.

#8 3.11 Abiquiu

The last explicit sex scene in the third season is a lot milder than the strip club scene in episode five.

In this case, there’s a rather brief moment where a woman can be seen without a top. To be clear, the explicit stuff is shown. This is very clearly not safe for work.

It’s not a long moment, but if you’re keeping tabs, then this one clearly counts.

#9 4.2 Thirty-Eight Snub

We’ve made it to the fourth season, and things are winding down as far as explicit sexual content goes.

This episode doesn’t have much in the way of overt sexualization, but there is a moment where you see a woman’s bare butt. 

It looks like Walk isn’t the only one who gets to moon the audience over the show’s run. That’s it for this scene.

I figure if I am including Walt’s butt in this section, I should include anyone else’s too.

#10 4.5 Shotgun

This is the penultimate sex scene.

In the episode, the actual depiction of sexual activity is relatively mild compared to everything you saw listed above.

But, after the scene, there is outright nudity. So, this one definitely belongs in the NSFW category.

#11 5.2 Madrigal

Last on the list is an infamous scene, and I’m going to try to be delicate about it.

First off, no direct depiction of sex occurs on camera.

The sex in this scene is entirely implied, so you’re not going to see anything graphic. In fact, by a lot of standards, this scene would be considered safe for work.

But, the context of this scene is intense and worth explaining.

The sexual activity might only be implied, but it’s very clear that it is non-consensual.

The moment is intended to be extremely uncomfortable, and the show succeeds on that front.

I’m putting this on the NSFW list mostly for those who might be triggered or otherwise completely opposed to watching even an implication of this kind of activity.

You might notice that I’m dancing around using strong language here.

The scene in question does not.

Which Breaking Bad Episodes Have Non-Explicit Sex Scenes? (4 Times)

All of the scenes with outright nudity are in the list above.

Below, you might find some near-nudity or partial nudity, as in characters might not be wearing clothes, but you don’t see the parts of their body that you’re not supposed to.

You get the idea.

There are still depictions of sexual activity, but everything below is a lot less explicit.

I’m calling this the safe for work (SFW) list.

Whether or not you would actually watch these scenes at work is another thing.

The point is that the graphic nature of these scenes is clearly toned down from the scenes above.

Also, the scenes in this category have no depictions of non-consensual sexual activity.

#1 3.4 Green Light

You’ll notice that the first scene on this list is in the third season.

This reflects what I said earlier. The show started off with a lot more explicit content and largely toned it down over the years.

Regardless of why, this is the first sex scene that I think really fits in this category, and it’s honestly on the line.

In this scene, characters have pretty obvious sex, but you only see their silhouettes.

The sexual depiction itself is rather explicit, so you’ll have to decide for yourself how you feel about that, but you’re clearly only seeing silhouettes and not people in the raw.

#2 3.12 Half Measures

Next up is the 12th episode of the 3rd season.

It’s hard to even fully call this a sex scene.

The characters are shown in bed after implied sex, so there’s nothing explicit at all in this scene.

One thing that is worth noting is that one of the characters involved is a prostitute.

If that’s something that’s important for you to note, you can easily switch this to the other category if you feel the need.

#3 4.3 Open House

This scene was a little tricky to categorize.

Let me start with the fact that there is no nudity portrayed on the screen at any point in this scene.

That said, a character is pretty clearly watching pornography in this scene.

The actual pornographic acts happen outside the view of the show’s camera, so you don’t see the stuff, but it’s still pretty easy to tell what is going on.

I’m leaving this in the SFW category because it’s more or less an offscreen implication of something happening on a TV in a TV show.

There are several layers to that, but if you’re screening this show for someone and you think any depiction of pornography is a no-no, by all means, you can add this to the other list.

#4 4.4 Bullet Points

This list ends in the fourth season.

The fifth season really didn’t lean into sexual scenes.

In fact, there’s only the one scene on the other list. In this scene, there is not an active depiction of sexual activity.

Instead, there is a naked woman sleeping on top of the sheets of a bed. She is not shown in any sense of full nudity.

Instead, viewers can see her profile. It goes right up to the line of nudity without crossing over it.

Author

  • Theresa McDonough

    Tech entrepreneur and founder of Tech Medic, who has become a prominent advocate for the Right to Repair movement. She has testified before the US Federal Trade Commission and been featured on CBS Sunday Morning, helping influence change within the tech industry.