Breaking Bad’s Confessions is no doubt one of the absolute finest episodes that the series
has to offer, swinging from total shock and drama to heartwrenching sadness with finesse
and mastery, and it is during one of its highlight scenes that we get a defining moment for the
series.
As pressure continues to ramp up on Walt following Hank learning the truth about Heisenberg,
he ultimately concludes that he has to deal with all of the loose ends that could result
in his arrest.
And naturally, that includes the partner that he has been cooking with for roughly a year.
In this scene, with Saul anxiously teetering in the background, Walter begins spinning
this narrative centered around the idea of it being such a nice thought for Jesse to
just get away from all of this - away from Albuquerque, away from the business, away
from Walter.
And notably, this is an idea that he had been totally against in the not-too-distant past
as he constantly tried to persuade Jesse to stay in the game.
And everyone present for this conversation understands the subtext here - Walt does not
want Jesse to get out of dodge solely because he truly wants the best for him.
He primarily wants him gone because he wants the best for himself.
Jesse is a loose end that could lead to his conviction, and as a result he needs him
to leave, forever.
It’s so easy to see that this is clear attempt at trying to control Jesse, and while it may
have worked to stunning effect in the past, Walt’s magic dust had worn off and Jesse
saw right through it
this time.
It’s such a cathartic climax for so many reasons - Jesse finally expressing his immense
pain, finally catching on to exactly who and what this man is, and more than anything,
simply conveying his wish for Walter.. to just tell him the truth.
But I consider Walter’s wordless reply to be the biggest emotional moment out of all
of this.
A simple hug - one that is initially forced upon Jesse that gradually becomes more and
more consensual.
This is one of the most complex and defining moments of Breaking Bad, and as great a summation
of Walt and Jesse’s relationship as anything.
There are many reasons behind Walt’s hug and many reasons for Jesse’s reaction to
it, and in my opinion it isn’t a case of it being one thing or another as much as it
is a combination of all of those factors and more.
The first thing to get out of the way here is that I one-hundred percent believe that
this hug was at least partly borne out of genuine care.
I think that there was true affection for Jesse behind this, and you may or may not
agree with me on this given your interpretation of the type of person Walt is with regards
to this relationship.
But in a series that contains many aspects that can be argued as up for debate, it is
clear as day to me that Walt grew to care for Jesse quite quickly and never stopped
caring until he took his last breath, no matter how much that care was buried underneath frustration,
hatred, pride, powerlust and care for his family.
He avenged Jesse against Tuco, he tried and tried to save him from himself and prevent
him from going deeper into drugs, he described Jesse as a nephew to Jane’s dad while venting
about him, he tried to patch things up, he constantly protected him from Gus, he risked
his and his family’s lives to save Jesse from thugs, and more.
Of course, I’m not arguing that any of this makes him a good person - I’m just providing
evidence of the fact that he cared for Jesse.
And this is just a short bullet point list of things he’s done for him, but really,
all you need to do is see their prolonged interactions and it’s really clear.
It is absolute fact that Walter used and manipulated Jesse for devious, selfish and at times malevolent
ends.
But that does not mean that he didn’t care for him very deeply.
The two aspects can co-exist, and in all honestly, he probably loved him like a son - With Jesse
tragically overtaking Walter Junior in his mind at times.
And so, I cannot look at this hug, the mood of the scene, and the emotions portrayed by
Bryan Cranston, and conclude that this isn’t sincere on some level.
It’s partly a display of care for Jesse, perhaps of sadness and lamentation that he’s
causing him such pain - although if that is the case, obviously a simple hug would not
even begin to make up for it even a little bit.
But also, following this train of thought, it’s a gesture of gratitude and relief due
to Jesse understanding the situation and what needs to be done.
Jesse is absolutely correct - Walter needs him gone.
And as much as part of Walter still cares for Jesse, he cares more for himself and his
family, and that was what was at stake here.
Walter was dreading the possibility of having to choose between Jesse and that, because
Jesse was always going to be the loser there and he would have hated to kill him - but
if it came to it, he would have.
So Walt’s relief is because Jesse understood the gravity of this situation and what needed
to be done to ensure his own safety.
Obviously this is twisted in itself and doesn’t redeem Walt in any way, but it informs us
of where his head is at and helps us to better understand how layered he is.
Yet of course, this is Heisenberg we’re talking about, so I’m sure there was some
element of manipulation and a play here as well, with his show of care also working as
a way to express his supposed compassion and affection for Jesse to try to convince him
that it is primarily because he is thinking of his benefit.
And in this way, the hug can be viewed as multifaceted - cynical and self-serving, but
also genuine and caring in it’s own way.
Very characteristic of the man himself.
To piggyback onto what was stated by the writers in the commentary for this episode, while
I did say earlier that Walt’s ideas for Jesse to move away and be free from all of
this are primarily for himself, I don’t believe that it is wholly for himself and
I do think a part of him would be happy to see Jesse happy.
But that part is dwarfed by his own self-interest, and that is the lasting impression he makes
on the people around him and the story.
And the significance of this scene goes past even all of that.
This isn’t just wordless gratitude because of Jesse understanding him, it isn’t just
relief that he wouldn’t have to bring harm to his former partner.
It’s the most honest Walter has been to Jesse in who knows how long.
Walt’s confession to Skylar in Felina about the true nature of why he did the things he
did is rightfully lauded as one of the emotional highs and most gratifying scenes in the series
for how he finally lays the truth of his ego and powerlust bare.
But this scene is an earlier and more subtle example of Walt finally stopping his habit
of trying to solve everything with falsehoods and lies.
He doesn’t straight out admit it when Jesse accuses him, but a lack of a denial is essentially
an admittance in itself when it comes to Walter.
He admits here to Jesse through not denying any of what he says that he does need Jesse
gone, that he has been manipulating him, and that he did kill Mike.
It’s a gigantic moment in the story for all of these reasons.
And there are so many elements at play here, some that I’m sure have passed me by, but
I think Jesse saw through Walt and realized all of it.
And his only response.. was to cry.
His reaction here to is just as important as the hug itself to me for what it means
from Jesse’s side of the relationship, and what it says about all of this.
Jesse slowly, but surely, breaks down and gives in to the embrace.
He doesn’t reciprocate physically and put his arms around Walt, but you can just see
him gradually abandoning the anger and just giving into the sadness as he cries into Walt’s
chest.
And from this, it’s easy to see what we already knew - that just as Walt cares for
him, he too cares for Walt, even now.
He likely hates himself for feeling this way and seeking comfort in him, but he just can’t
help it after what they’ve been through.
Walt is someone that simultaneously broke him down and acted as a pillar of support.
He needs a shoulder to cry on here and the only one in his life who he feels he can turn
to is the man who has hurt him so much and is now telling him he needs to leave or die,
and it’s desperately sad.
Of course, later in the episode Jesse would realize that Walt poisoned Brock, which basically
set him loose and naturally put him on a point of no return.
But his conflicting care and hate for the man prior to that is such a characteristic
moment of their dynamic.
Earlier on in the series after being beat up by Hank, Jesse goes on this rampage stating
that his life has turned to shit ever since he teamed up with Walt.
And he’s right.
He was carefree before, and now he’s lost one of his best friends and a potential future
partner, he’s been beaten close to death by both drug lords and DEA agents alike, and
his mental state has only gone from bad to worse.
His life has been tumultuous.
And one of the things that stings most is this inferiority he feels - that he’s never
been properly respected by Walt despite putting the work in.
He’s made tons of mistakes, some of them very bad, but someone like Jesse needs warmth,
guidance and acknowledgement, and Walt was only ever able to provide that in small doses
that were overpowered by the negatives and counteracted by coldness.
But those small doses did leave an impact, and it wasn’t all bad.
And the key moment to illustrate this occurs very soon after that same outburst.
Validation.
Acknowledgement of hard work and skill.
Essentially stating through this that he is the culmination of everything Walt has taught
him.
Walt helped Jesse mature into a man with a clear sense of responsibility and direction
- and a lot of that was sadly due to Walt’s destructive path resulting in Jesse being
forced to confront what he wants out of life due to losing so much, but Walt also taught
him things.
How to be diligent, how to be professional, how to grow up.
Yes, Jesse before and after Walt is like night and day in terms of happiness and overall
well-being.
But it’s also a huge contrast in terms of a clear focus on what he wants out of his
time on earth, and I don’t think Jesse can let go of that.
Through learning how to cook meth with Walt, Jesse ironically learned about how much this
business just wasn’t for him at all.
He discovered the type of life he wanted to live, and formed an almost sacred bond that
neither he nor Walt would be able to sever - for better or for worse.
Now of course, this is not me trying to say that this means that it was worth it, but
the presence of overwhelming bad does not totally eliminate all of the good, or all
of the care, especially for the characters themselves, and that’s all I’m saying.
It was not all 100% awful.
Jesse did not only ever experience bad things from Walt, and Walt wasn’t always disappointed
by Jesse.
They shared many great and productive memories that could never be totally erased even after
so much pain.
Their relationship was never easy to define and there were always so many dimensions to
it, so at times i2wqt’s difficult for them to fully comprehend how they feel about one
another.
And so with the dust cleared, they can’t fully hate each other with every fiber of
their being.
And it’s important to note that Jesse is the one who is most entitled to hate, but
I’m just speaking about the relationship holistically.
There were times when they looked like sworn enemies, but that was in the most heated moments,
and with all said and done, they can’t ignore everything they’ve gone through.
It is far from black and white - By the end There may be mostly hate there, but there
is also comeradery and something resembling a mentor-student or a father-son relationship,
gone bad but not forgotten.
Walt is a sociopathic manipulator who did Jesse dirty in so many ways and did many unspeakable
things that outshone the positives, but we can’t ever forget how intensely he tried
to set him straight from a relationship with a woman and drugs that was clearly going to
go down badly for him, how desperately he tried to save Jesse from Gus and his own destructive
tendencies, how he literally rescued him from a very likely death and his captivity by the
end.
Although honestly, rescuing him from captivity doesn’t deserve much praise because it’s
really the least he could’ve done.
And from the other side, Jesse hated Walt for all the evil things he did, but after
everything they went through together, he can’t really find the motivation to look
at him with complete loathing.
Time passed and both men and the nature of their relationship were in a constant state
of flux, but the scattered scenes we see throughout show that the care remained, hidden and underlying
but very much present through all.
It’s such a human, complex and raw relationship that is impossible to sum up with words, and
so this very telling and conflicting final look between the two was always going to be
the most appropriate way to sum it up.
Many thanks
for watching.