The complex relationship between Jesse Pinkman and Walter White in Breaking Bad was one of the primary reasons why the show got so popular. The veritable meth empire both characters created made its way to the fifth season when Walter White finally gave his life, and Jesse Pinkman escaped quite miraculously. However, when you ask the series director Vince Gilligan, this wasn’t exactly the show he initially suggested.
As a matter of fact, the creator of the series signed the death warrant of a significant character of the show at the very beginning. It is certain that if that particular character died, the whole franchise of Breaking Bad would have gone another way. Let’s see which actor tricked death and made it to the Breaking Bad finale and how it changed the show.
Why Jesse Was Supposed To Die In Breaking Bad Season 1
Jesse Pinkman, the former student of the chemist Walter White, was the one whose death was skipped back in Season 1 of Breaking Bad. In the series, Jesse Pinkman served as a loyal companion of Walter White to keep the meth production a functional side gig. Pinkman stayed by the side of White and also survived in Breaking Bad Season 5. But initially, Gilligan had something else on his mind.
The creator planned to kill off Aaron Paul’s character in the Breaking Bad Season 1 Episode 5. Fortunately, this idea was thrown out the window by the same creator after he filmed the second episode of the series. Gilligan didn’t want to mess up the “chemistry” between White and Pinkman, which was guessed to be the central perspective that could make the series a massive hit. Besides, some of the show’s best moments were with both of these together. So, killing off such an asset would have been a grave mistake for the show.
How Breaking Bad Would Have Changed Without Jesse’s Death
It wasn’t that the death of Jesse Pinkman was just a wandering idea that came in and flew out of the creator’s mind. He had a whole plot of the story behind it. But the bond between Walter White and Jesse Pinkman was far more potent. Firstly, the creator planned to use the death of Jesse Pinkman to characterize that not even the main roles are safe inside this meth empire.
The second original story was to make Jesse Pinkman a victim of the botched drug deal to open the gateway of the drug world and Season 2 for Walter White. The creator intended to use Pinkman’s death to make Walter White feel guilty and lead him into the world of drugs. Was that story good enough to get the same popularity that Breaking Bad has under its name now? Probably not, but it sure is an interesting one. All in all, Jesse Pinkman’s death would have simultaneously changed the show’s direction and the audience’s reaction.
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