There is no what if when you have Emmy and Emmy nom associated with the actors who portray those characters.
And if that were to happen then that would be the series finale.

I thought the same as you did Blue Runner, but here is a another thought. If you have seen the movie, "Psycho" (the original movie with Janet Leigh), the main character of that movie is eliminated in the first 1/2- 45 minutes of the movie, and the story carries on without the main heroine and successfully comes off as a classic movie. Many critics made the acclaim this movie would never be a success, but it did and to this day, is STILL a classic thriller movie. So evidently the main character can be eliminated, but the main question, WHOM would be the main character of Breaking Bad to carry off the series??? Possibly Hank? Or how about Gus and Saul?

The story could possibly continue without Cranston or Paul, but not without both. They are the heart and soul of the series.

I've become a huge fan of both of these actors, and I don't think I could pay either of them a bigger compliment than my comment above, suggesting that from now on, even in the absence of one, the other could still pull it off. Their work of the past two seasons, has laid some amazing groundwork. I think as long as at least one of these two amazing actors remains with the show, there's a whole lotta steam left in this thing.

If Aaron Paul was to ever leave the series I would no longer watch the show. It is his character along with Bryan Cranston's that draws me to the series. The longer it takes for them to air the show the more ratings their going to lose anyway. There's no reason why it should take a year if not longer to begin showing the third season. People are starting to lose interest because of the lengthily delays.

Oh it will be March before you know it.
We've all seen what Anna Gunn can bring. But like I said this would never happen.