Leah Baack
The Dynamic Duo
*Spoiler
Alert*
Breaking Bad is about a high-school chemistry teacher gone
meth-maker-millenary after being diagnosed with stage III terminal lung cancer
and not given much longer to live. Walter White, or as he later became known as
‘Heisenberg,’ was played by Bryan Cranston throughout the series. His former
student and partner in crime Jesse Pinkman, was played by Aaron Paul. Throughout
the series they find themselves in a number of unforeseen circumstances during
their rollercoaster ride, whether from cooking their first batch of meth in the
Winnebago/mobile-drug-lab to making a multi-million dollar deal to cook for Gustavo
‘Gus’ Fring. The partnership only becomes more stressful and involved when
Walter’s brother-in-law Hank, who just so happens to be a DEA agent, starts
looking for Heisenberg.
Throughout this paper I
will be examining the complex character development of both Walter White and
Jesse Pinkman and how their self-destructive behavior leads to the creation of
heroes and villains throughout the series. I will be analyzing this through the
different values both Walter and Jesse employ. Breaking Bad is unique because it is,
Not a situation in which the
characters’ morality is static or contradictory or colored by the time frame;
instead, it suggests that morality is continually a personal choice… The central question is this: What makes a man “bad” — his
actions, his motives, or his conscious decision to be a bad person? (Douthat, 2011).
The chemistry between characters is an important
aspect in the development of a series because it helps the audience make sense
of the program. For example, “Jesse was only suppose to last a single season,
but Vince Gilligan (the creator of Breaking
Bad) saw something in the role and the chemistry between Jesse and Walt
that caused him to change his mind” (Starr, 2013). I think everyone would agree
that Vince Gilligan was right in keeping Jesse a part of the remainder seasons,
because at it’s core Breaking Bad, “always revolved around the toxic
relationship between Walter White and Jesse Pinkman as their love, admiration,
hatred, and revulsion for each other played out…” (Starr, 2013).
Season
1 begins with Walter’s diagnosis of terminal lung cancer. Not only does he now
have a new financial burden, but he also has the responsibility of caring for
his pregnant wife, and disabled son. This initial framing of Walt’s character
is important to the development because he has the sympathy of the audience.
It’s through this framing that enables him to be drawn into the criminal world.
He does so because he wants to be able to provide for his family and not burden
them with his medical expenses. Walter becoming a drug manufacture is displayed
as a necessity rather than a desire. The unlikely partnership between Walter
and Jesse seemingly begins in season 1, episode 1, when Walter says to Jesse,
“You know the business. I know the chemistry.” It was the beginning of the end.
Throughout the development
of seasons 2 and 3, viewers can start to see the real Walter White. Instead of
being a loving husband and father, he turns into a narcissist pathological
liar, who has the ability to manipulate and work his way out of any situation.
For example in the late episodes of season 2 when Walter finally comes clean
about cooking to Skyler she demands a divorce for her silence. Instead of
giving her divorce, Walter selfishly guilt’s her into laundering his dirty drug
money. Another example of his extreme selfishness is in season 2, episode 12 when
he missed the birth of his daughter Holly, because he was finishing a test
batch for his future employer, Gustavo Fring. From that moment on the
relationship between Walter and Skyler was never the same.
As Chuck Klosterman states
in an article written by Ross Douthat in the New York Times, “The audience is placed in the
curious position of continuing to root for an individual who’s no longer good.
This is a series in which the main character has actively become evil, but we
still want him to succeed” (2011). At the beginning of the series Walter valued family and education
but throughout his character development it became clear that his values
shifted to what he valued as a drug manufacturer, which included loyalty,
respect, and meticulousness. Even though Walter is the
anti-hero it’s hard not to root for him because he’s a genius. His evilness is
“a product of his own consciousness. He changed himself. At some point, he decided
to become bad” (Douthat, 2011). This point is proven when he finally admits to
Skyler in the finale of the series that it did it for himself and enjoyed it
because it something he was extremely successful at (Collins, 2013). Walter White was truly a conniving mastermind.
Jesse Pinkman started off
as the dim-witted, irresponsible junkie. But over the course of the series, he
proves otherwise and the audience is able to see the depth of his character. He
is seemingly intelligent and proves so by how quickly he catches on to the
chemistry of making meth in both season 1 and 2. He is very meticulous with his
calculations and always double checks to make sure all the measurements are correct.
For example, in season 4 Jesse is cooking and operating the meth lab by himself
when working for Gustavo. Another way he proves his intelligence is episode 1
of season 5 after Walter kills Gustavo, he suggests the idea of the using a
huge magnet to deactivate Gustavo’s computer, which was being held in the
evidence room at the police station.
Another side to Jesse is his
inherent kindness and true morality. It begins to shine through when he
develops a relationship with Brock and his mother Andrea in season 4. Jesse
values honesty and responsibility, which are the opposite of Walter’s, the more
Walter sucks Jesse into the mess of murder and conspiracy, and the more Jesse
gets trapped. Through this conflict, the audience is able to see his inner
struggles with himself. Jesse has a conscious and remorse for his actions,
while Walter rationalizes everything to relieve himself of the guilt. For
example Walter hides the fact that he was there when Jesse’s girlfriend, Jane,
overdosed in the end of season 2 and he did nothing to save her. Walter also
hides that he murdered Mike when he was trying to flee from Albuquerque. Jesse’s
extreme loyalty to Walter topped with the secrecy and betrayal is what
ultimately drives the two against each other.
The complex character
development of both Walter White and Jesse Pinkman demonstrated how their
self-destructive behavior led to the creation of heroes and villains throughout
the series. Through their values, the audience is able to make sense of the
program. Jesse was somewhat of a hero when it became obvious he had a conscious
and tried to destroy Walt. While on the other hand Walt ended up being the
villain and got what he deserved in the finale of the series. It ended with the
song, “Guess I got what I deserve, kept you waiting there, too long my love, all that time, without a word. Didn’t know you'd think, that I'd forget, or
I'd regret. The special love I
have for you, my baby blue” (Ham,
Badfinger, 1972).
References
Collins, S. (2013, September 30). Breaking bad finale recap:
Heisenberg certainty
principle Rolling Stone,
Retrieved from http://www.rollingstone.com/movies/news/breaking-bad-finale-recap-heisenberg-certainty-principle-20130930
Douthat, R. (2011, July 28). Good and evil on cable. New
York Times. Retrieved from
Ham, P. (1972, March 20). Baby Blue [Recorded by Badfinger].
On Straight Up [CD].
Apple Records.
Starr, M. (2013, September 30). Spectacular finish to
"Breaking Bad.” Retrieved from
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