Breaking Bad was never just a show about cooking meth; it was a masterclass in what emotional warfare looks like. Allegiance shifted like desert sand in the series, and loyalty as a currency was even more volatile than Walter White’s temper.
Earlier in the show, it seemed like Jesse Pinkman and Walter would be endgame, taking down their competition and rising above everyone. But as the seasons unfolded, we realized that Vincent Gilligan’s creation was far more complex than that, and a few moments cut deeper than ever.
When Jesse’s loyalty turned to loathing in Breaking Bad
After years of manipulation, lies, and half-baked fatherly advice, Aaron Paul’s Jesse had finally reached his breaking point. From the beginning, we saw him get sucked into the meth trade as he struggled to escape the gravitational pull of Heisenberg’s ego. However, by the time season 4 rolled in, it was obvious that the cracks in their relationship had now become canyons.
In episode 9, titled Bug, Walt’s control-freak side lost all bounds as he planted a GPS tracker on Jesse’s car. When the latter discovered this, his reaction was a mix of rage and heartbreak. He had lied, risked his life, killed, and played along with unhinged schemes for Walt. But spying on him? Now that felt like his chemistry teacher-turned-drug-lord had crossed a line.
What followed was one of the most brutal physical confrontations in Breaking Bad. Walt couldn’t fathom why Jesse wouldn’t just obey him anymore. But Jesse finally saw his partner for the manipulator that he was and asked him to “get the f*ck out of here” after delivering a final blow.
Why Jesse chose Gus over Walt and what it meant
Earlier in the episode, Gus invited Jesse to dinner, which was a clear power move. Walt had given Jesse a ricin cigarette, expecting that he would poison Gus. However, Jesse hesitated, and there seemed to be several reasons behind the same, the first and foremost being that he doesn’t like killing people.
However, the most important one is the way that Gus gives him respect, which he never receives from Walt. Jesse wasn’t belittled, and Gus seemed like the lesser of two evils. Moreover, he had begun to develop positive feelings for Gus and believed that he had his best interest at heart, at least more than Walt.
By the end of this fiasco, it seemed like Jesse wasn’t just breaking bad but breaking free. However, he fell into the loop again, and Walt smartly manipulated him into yet another scheme under the pretense of wanting his partner to start a new life. So, was it truly a betrayal on Jesse’s part if he didn’t choose someone who never cared about him in the first place?
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