Jesse Pinkman is Heisenberg
Breaking Bad Theory

What if the events of Breaking Bad aren't what they seem? That everything we saw in the show and Better Call Saul involving Walter White was actually Jesse's alter ego; Heisenberg. A toughened drug lord who is feared by everyone in New Mexico. Throughout the show we see that Jesse Pinkman is a character who carries a lot of trauma with him. His addiction to hard drugs gives him intense paranoia and even hallucinations. There is a scene where Jesse thinks a hardened motorcycle gang is coming to his door, only for it to be revealed that it is actually some young boy scouts on bicycles. It is a funny scene for sure, but this tells us Jesse's mindset is so anxiety ridden, that he tends to see the worst in people, fearing everyone even if they are fairly innocent. If Jesse can convince himself of that, perhaps a lot of the more frightening scenes in the show can be explained away too. Perhaps Gus Fring really is just a restaurant owner, one that may be rich, powerful and certainly intimidating, but not an international drug lord using his business as a front. Perhaps Jesse worked for Gus in his past and often felt on edge around him, those scenes where Gus abuses his assistant manager could actually be Jesse's memories of working under such a cruel and stern boss. There is a scene much later in the show, where Jesse must visit a drug making factory without Walter/Heisenberg with him, at first Jesse is somewhat shy and unsure of himself, but when the factory workers call out his chemistry as inadequate, he suddenly becomes deeply offended and defends himself sternly with an immediate confidence (it is important to note that Gus Fring is with him instead, perhaps Gus is a stand in for Walter and Mike may even play the same role as a strong father figure that Jesse believes he needs). He acts an awful lot like the strict and mean teacher that Walter White was in this scene. Walter can often be this way too, when embodying the role of Heisenberg. In season 4 of Breaking Bad, Jesse shaves his head, giving him this almost bald appearance, he even wears black clothes eerily similar to those of Heisenberg's as well. It is clear that both characters evolve together and copy each other in different ways, looking more father and son as the series goes on. Of course this could be a visual way of telling the audience how much closer they've become throughout the series, but I suggest that it could mean something more, a clue by the director, to imply that they are in fact the same person. Much like "The Narrator" and Tyler Durden from Fight Club, perhaps Heisenberg is just Jesse's alter ego manifesting into a living person that he can talk and interact with. It could be that Walter White is a real person in the show, however Jesse's relationship with him only goes so far as Teacher and Student, that after his real life partner in crime, Emilio Koyama, was busted by the hands of Hank Schrader, Walter really was in the car with him and saw Jesse escape. They actually did make eye contact and then Walter was on Jesse's mind. Perhaps Jesse needed a new leader to continue his illegal drug business (as we see in episode 1 Emilio was more aggressive than Jesse, meaning he likely called the shots) and after seeing Walter in Hank's car, he remembered how strict and intelligent Walter was and believed he would make for a good replacement. So then he fantasized about Walter showing up at his house, offering to help him in his future drug dealing, with the promises of making a whole new drug (blue meth) that would be highly addictive making it successful and very profitable. This strong and confident side of Walter would eventually call himself: Heisenberg, who acts almost like a split personality of Walt, suddenly his anxieties and short comings fade away, making room for a whole new persona who is strong, confident and highly intelligent; everything Jesse wishes he could be. It is revealed that Jesse's parents were very critical of their son and often criticised him for his drug habits, instead of being caring and supportive, offering him much needed guidance and help. It could be that Jesse's lack of a strong and confident father figure, coupled with his messy life style full of drama and danger, resulted in him desperately needing someone to step in and take control of his life for him. He imagined himself as an older man who was pushed around by his wife and teenage son, this was a metaphor for how he felt society at large was treating him. That he really had to break bad and stand above the chaos to truly take control of it. So his mind created this fantastical version of Walter, who would eventually lead him to success and even off the drugs. Perhaps when he met Jane, Heisenberg acted as his subconscious, telling him that she was bad for him, due to her heroin addiction. It could be that when Walter let Jane die, it was actually Jesse deciding to leave Jane to her addictions and attempt to recover. Of course she would die due to her substance abuse and he would feel guilty for not helping her, passing the sorrow onto his split personality Heisenberg instead because it was too much for his fragile mind to handle entirely. Walter acts as the loving and caring father Jesse always needed, by helping him get into rehab and off the drugs entirely, also sharing the emotional weight of all the things he (they) had (both) gone through. While Heisenberg acts as the strong leader he needs in order to succeed as the rich drug lord he wishes to become. In the last season when Jesse is abducted by Joe, he is treated like an animal, chained up and forced to make drugs on their behalf. We see in El Camino that Jesse became a slave to Todd, basically performing every task he wanted him to do for treats like pizza. Obviously this must have been the most traumatic experience Jesse had ever been through; resulting in him imagining his fantasy life as Walter White also crashing down and burning as his true identity is revealed, then his wife and son reject him and so he goes on the run. Only to return triumphantly a year or two later, to "fix" everything he did wrong. Walter makes sure his family gets all the money he made, by threatening the Schwartz into "donating" the money to them when his children get older. He also meets up with Jesse's best friends to pull this off, Badger and Skinny Pete, who all welcome Walter back warmly and have fun doing this too. This supports the theory that it is another fantasy in Jesse's mind, catching up with old friends he hasn't seen for years and getting away with another daring crime. He then imagines Walter getting closure with his wife and eventually this leads up to Jesse's rescue. Walter creates an automatic machine gun turret in the back of his car (which is quite fantastical as well, if you really think about it) and tricks Joe, Todd and the rest of his gang into getting shot, while Walter saves Jesse by tackling him to the ground and keeping him pinned down. After Jesse's abductors are killed, he has one last exchange with Walter, who has a lethal gunshot in his stomach. Jesse leaves Walter to die on good terms and drives off into freedom. It could be that Jesse simply escaped from Joe and his gang, only imagining Walter coming to save him like some sort of super hero. However, when Jesse escapes, he no longer needs his Walter/Heisenberg persona to survive. Perhaps the ending of the show is really about Jesse finally growing up and living his own life without needing his imaginary father figure. Perhaps the real Walter White is still teaching chemistry somewhere in New Mexico and has a completely different life and family than what he saw on the show. The ending of El Camino has Jesse become his own man, a fresh new start in Alaska, leaving behind his past traumas to finally live a free and safe life without worry.
About the Creator
Joseph Roy Wright
Hello there!
My name is Joseph Roy Wright, the British author of over 30 Independent novels!
I like to write about movies, pop culture, fiction and horror! I review all the latest films (and classics), I also like to write short stories.




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