Jesse Pinkman

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Jesse Bruce Pinkman is the deuteragonist of the crime drama series Breaking Bad, the main protagonist of its 2019 sequel film El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie, and a minor character in its prequel/sequel series Better Call Saul.

He was originally a small-time methamphetamine cook and dealer from Albuquerque, New Mexico who was blackmailed by his former chemistry teacher, Walter White, into partnering with him to manufacture and distribute an exceptionally pure form of methamphetamine created by Walt.

While Walt often treated Jesse like a foolish child in need of stern correction, they demonstrated a sense of loyalty towards each other. Like Walt (before he becomes more ruthless), Jesse is horrified by the brutality of the higher levels of the drug trade, particularly after partnering with drug lord Gustavo Fring, but always does what he deems necessary, including going out of his way to protect people. He struggles with feelings of guilt and sorrow over the deaths resulting from his and Walt's crimes, especially those of both of his girlfriends, Jane Margolis and Andrea Cantillo, along with Gale Boetticher, whom he reluctantly killed himself on Walt’s orders. After Walt kills Gus with the help of Hector Salamanca, Jesse, Walt, and Mike Ehrmantraut, Fring's former enforcer, partner up to form a new meth empire with Vamonos Pest serving as a cover for their operation.

As the series progresses, Jesse becomes more troubled and sympathetic, while Walt becomes more ruthless and violent. In the second half of Season 5, Jesse goes to war with Walt upon learning from his lawyer, Saul Goodman, that Walt tricked him into helping him bring down Gus by poisoning his girlfriend's young son, Brock Cantillo, and framing Gus for it. As a result, Jesse teams up with DEA agent Hank Schrader, Walt's brother-in-law, to bring Walt down. They are almost successful in arresting Walt in a desert, but are stopped by Jack Welker and his Neo-Nazi gang, regretfully summoned on Walt's orders. Hank and his partner Steve Gomez are killed by the Nazis, and Jesse himself is later taken prisoner by the gang, initially permitted by Walt under the assumption that he would be executed: he is forced into cooking meth for them for over six months, being kept in a caged, concrete hole, and working while attached to a harness.

However, he is freed by Walt after the latter kills off the gang. Before escaping, Jesse avenges the victims of his arch-enemy and the man who murdered his girlfriend, Todd Alquist, by strangling him to death with his chains. After Walt gives him the opportunity to get his revenge by sliding him a gun, Jesse refuses, telling Walt to kill himself instead if he wants to die, symbolizing his break away from Walt's manipulation. However, he still returns Walt's subtle nod of acknowledgement before departing for good in Todd's El Camino.

Following his escape, Jesse becomes a fugitive and suffers PTSD, vowing to escape to Alaska. He finds shelter at the house of his two friends, Skinny Pete and Badger, who later devise a plan to help him escape and throw the police off-course. After killing Neil Kandy, who was involved with his enslavement, to retrieve the money necessary, he manages to finally move on with his life with the help of criminal disappearer Ed Galbraith, who gave him a new identity as Mr. Driscoll. He asks Ed to deliver a note to Brock before setting off and starting anew.

He was portrayed by Aaron Paul, who also played Tobey Marshall in Need for Speed and voiced Chuck in Help! I'm a Fish and Nyx Ulric in Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV.

Personality

When Walter first meets him, Jesse displays an impertinent, irreverent, and often disinterested attitude, similar to how he was as Walter's student. He is a delinquent, hedonistic, drug-addicted dealer and petty criminal with a rebellious, unruly, and somewhat immature personality. He's also stubborn and prone to getting very angry when finding Walt exhausting. Despite his arrogance, Jesse frequently appears submissive and even fearful in front of authority figures or high-ranking bosses, such as Krazy-8 or Tuco Salamanca.

Jesse is also interested in many stereotypical trends in youth culture - he tends to speak crudely and in street slang, wear baggy, garish clothes, play video games, listen to loud music, take recreational drugs, and he drives a car fitted with hydraulics. He is rather personable, as he enjoys company with his friends Badger and Skinny Pete and develops a friendship with Walt as well (before it ends up deteriorating). He also has a sense of charisma and humor, and can be witty or sarcastic much of the time.

Throughout the series, it becomes clear that Jesse, despite his involvement in the drug trade, has a moral compass deep down regardless of his poor choices. He experiences severe remorse and regret for the deaths of Gale, Jane, and Andrea, self-loathing because of the destructive nature of his actions and believing he shouldn't be forgiven. He is also prone to self-sabotaging behavior during these moments, including increased drug usage or actively trying to embrace his role as the "bad guy" to cope.

Jesse also shows significant empathy for children, exemplified by his concern for the neglected young son of two drug addicts, his reaction to the case of Tomás Cantillo, and the rage he felt over the murder of Drew Sharp and the poisoning of Brock Cantillo. In the first example, he helped the child by anonymously alerting the police, and in each of the other cases, he responded by attempting to kill the perpetrators to exact justice. Despite his opportunism at first, the growing violence of his environment leads Jesse to act very selflessly, such as when he threw around his drug money in a poor neighborhood after believing it's unearned, or allowing the Nazis to enslave and torture him to protect Brock from execution.

Still, it's worth noting that, while Jesse possesses a conscious and grows out of most of his flaws, he's not above manipulating or hurting people to get what he wants throughout much of the series: sometimes he persuades vulnerable customers into purchasing meth, and if he deems it necessary or justified, he is willing to violently threaten, assault or even murder his foes.

Walter's influence on Jesse is evident in several aspects of his personality, particularly in his meticulous approach to cooking methamphetamine. Walter instills in Jesse a respect for hygiene and discipline in their work. He also becomes less submissive and more assertive throughout the series as a result, even standing up to powerful individuals like Gus for their contemptible behavior. Also, Jesse initially appears to be rather clueless, but his intelligence eventually shines through: he's particularly street-smart and is capable of devising clever strategies or solutions (like using a large magnet to destroy an evidence-ridden laptop from within a building), and managing his and Walt's business, with Walt suggesting in a flashback he pursue business management in college. His passion for drawing as a kid also reinforces his creativity. However, even as Jesse becomes more responsible over time, he frequently makes impulsive or irrational decisions, even with good intentions, that put himself and his criminal associates in potential jeopardy. This leads to figures like Mike or Gus viewing him as a liability, though the former ends up admiring Jesse's sense of integrity and tries to act as an advisor to him.

Jesse's admiration of and obedience to Walt, and even his continued role in the drug trade despite his disdain for its savagery, is based on his need for validation, purpose and guidance, as Jesse's whole life before him was kind of a mess - he was written off by his family, seen as a screw-up, and didn’t have a real father figure. Walt gives Jesse a sense of direction and treats him like a partner, but Jesse is ultimately able to recognize that Walt weaponizes this for most of the series until finally breaking free from his clutches.

Walt's and Jesse's character arcs serve as foils to each other. Walt begins as an ordinary, unassuming chemistry teacher, but becomes increasingly vicious, ruthless, greedy, and violent. Jesse, initially a bumbling, silly street thug, grows kinder, smarter, more serious, and mature - however, he's also become very broken from his past experiences. By the final season and in El Camino, Jesse has transformed significantly from his early days, no longer aspiring to be a major drug dealer but instead seeking a normal, low-profile life in Alaska.

History

Background

Jesse Bruce Pinkman was born in September 1984 into an upper-middle-class family (his mother Diane, father Adam, and younger brother Jake) in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Jesse met Emilio Koyama in elementary school. At some point in his early life, Jesse created the band "TwaüghtHammër" with his friends, serving as the drummer.

Jesse attended J. P. Wynne High School and was a poor student, largely due to his inattentiveness and apathy. He first met Walter White in his junior year when Walter was his chemistry teacher. Walter, whom Jesse almost always calls "Mr. White," flunked Jesse in his class. Walt later tells Jesse that he "never thought much" of him, though he did frequently write "Apply Yourself" on Jesse's graded quiz papers. When meeting Hank Schrader, Jesse's mother said, "Mr. White must have seen some potential in Jesse; he really tried to motivate him. He was one of the few teachers who cared." In high school, Jesse was already involved in the use, manufacture, and distribution of methamphetamine. On Jesse's website, he mentions that he attended "DeVry University data systems management".

After being forced to leave his parents' residence, implicitly because of his continued drug use, the final straw was when he took the blame for the "pot" his parents found in the house, which actually belonged to his little brother, Jake. Jesse moved in with his Aunt Ginny, whom he took care of until her death from lung cancer. Afterward, he was allowed to stay in her home, the ownership of which fell to Jesse's parents. Jesse has been long estranged from his parents due to his drug abuse and its attendant lifestyle.

Jesse's brother Jake was an overachiever, but he gets along with him despite their differences in age and aptitudes, as well as Jesse's spotty rapport with his folks. In fact, Jesse seems to connect extremely well with children in general and avoids exposing them to his own destructive behavior, even when doing so would be criminally inept and risky.

Quotes

Victims

Breaking Bad

• Gale Boetticher - Reluctantly shot in the head on Walter's orders.
• Joaquin Salamanca - Shot to death in self defense.
• Todd Alquist - Strangled with metal chains until his neck broke.

El Camino

• Neil Kandy - Shot five times in the chest.
• Casey - Shot in the head.

Overall

• Total - 5

Gallery

Images

Jesse with Walter White

Walter and Jesse shaking hands after Gus' death.

Walter and Jesse taking a break from cooking.

Jesse with his ex-girlfriend Jane Margolis.

Jesse with Mike Ehrmantraut.

Jesse with Saul Goodman.

Videos

Trivia

• Aaron Paul has been widely praised for his performance as Jesse, winning three Emmy awards.
• Jesse was originally going to be portrayed by Penn Badgley (who is famous for his portrayal of Joe Goldberg, the main protagonist of the Netflix series You, but he didn't make the final cut.
• Jesse is the only character besides Walt to appear in every episode of the show. However he has no lines in the episode "Buried", which makes Bryan Cranston (Walt) the only actor to have lines in every episode of the series. "Fly" casted only Walt, Jesse and a common housefly as the characters.
• Jesse claims in El Camino that he did actually graduate from high school and retrieve his diploma. This is despite the fact that others, such as Walt, doubted this.
• In the original pilot script, the character that would become Jesse was named "Marion Dupree".
• Jesse is the only main character in season 1 that isn't related to Walter.
• We find out that Jesse's middle name is Bruce in the episode "Down".
• Jesse was originally scheduled to be killed at the end of Season 1. Before then, however, series creator Vince Gilligan recognized Aaron Paul's excellent potential and acting, and decided to keep him on. No-Doze took this narrative position instead, being punched to death by Tuco in "A No-Rough-Stuff-Type Deal".
• Jesse and Walt are the only main characters to kill another main character.
• The only main character Jesse never personally meets is Walt's son, Walter White Jr.. However, Jesse seemingly mentions him to Krazy-8 during the time he is held in captivity by Walt.
• Jesse has owned several cars & motorbikes, including a 1982 Chevrolet Monte Carlo, Kawasaki GPX 750 R, Kawasaki ZG 1000 Concours, and 1986 Toyota Tercel.
• Jesse has used many different firearms throughout the franchise:
  • He had a Ruger SP101 purchased for self-protection against Tuco, and it was later confiscated by Mike following Jane's death. A Beretta 84F was acquired to eliminate the rival dealers and subsequently used in Gale's murder. This weapon was later dissolved in hydrofluoric acid along with Victor's remains.
  • Mike temporarily provided Jesse a Taurus Model 85, and a Beretta 92FS Inox was taken from the Cartel and used to kill Joaquin.
  • Jesse kept an AMT Backup made in .380ACP for protection against Walt, and he also had a Kimber Ultra Raptor II that was originally owned by Kenny, which Jesse briefly considered using against Walter.
  • A Ruger P95 was taken from Todd's El Camino by Jesse and used until Neil Kandy and Casey stole it. Also, the dealers who killed Tomas also used this same model. Later, Jesse took a Colt Woodsman that once belonged to Jesse's grandfather (originally located in his parents' safe) to confront Neil and Casey. Jesse attempted unsuccessfully to kill Casey with this weapon. A Smith & Wesson Safety Hammerless, also taken from his parents' safe, was used to kill Neil, and another Kimber Ultra Raptor II was taken from Neil and used to kill Casey.
  • The last three guns listed remain in Jesse's possession, though none are legally his.
• Jesse has several tattoos, including a tribal mark marking on his right hand, a dragon on his chest, and tiki skull on his back between his shoulder blades.
• In a deleted scene for El Camino, it is revealed that Jesse was actually wounded in the firefight at Kandy Welding Co., something that was not seen in the released movie. After Jesse pays him, Ed promises to look at Jesse's wound for him. Vince Gilligan explained the scene was cut because it prolonged the film's third act, but his one regret was losing one more scene featuring the late Robert Forster as Ed.
• Jesse's blood type is A-negative, meaning he can donate to A-positive, A-negative, AB-positive and AB-negative, and he can receive blood from A-negative and O-negative. He also weighs 70 kilograms (154 pounds) and he is 180 centimeters (5'11") tall.
• Jesse is allergic to erythromycin and needs to be treated with fazolin if he has a reaction.
• Jesse is shown playing the Sonic games Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing and Sonic the Hedgehog 2006 in "Bullet Points" and "Crawl Space" respectively.

External Links

• Jesse Pinkman on the Villains Wiki
• Jesse Pinkman on the Inconsistently Admirable Wiki
• Jesse Pinkman on the Villainous Benchmark Wiki
• Jesse Pinkman on the Guile Heroes Wiki
• Jesse Pinkman on the Breaking Bad Wiki
• Jesse Pinkman on Wikipedia

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