Jesse Bruce Pinkman is a fictional character in the American crime drama TV show Breaking Bad, played by Aaron Paul. He is a person who makes and sells crystal meth and works with his former high school chemistry teacher, Walter White (played by Bryan Cranston). Jesse is the only other character besides Walter to appear in every episode of the show. Paul played the role again in 2019 for the spin-off movie El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie, which takes place after the original series ended. He also played the role in 2022 for the sixth and final season of the spin-off series Better Call Saul, appearing in both the original show, the movie, and the spin-off series.

At first, the creators planned to have Jesse die at the end of the first season. However, Paul’s acting persuaded the show’s creator and main writer, Vince Gilligan, to keep Jesse in the series. Critics and fans praised Jesse’s character development, as he changed from a character who was not liked to someone who showed strong morals. He became increasingly guilty and sorry for his and Walter White’s actions in the drug trade. For his role, Paul won the Primetime Emmy Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series in 2010, 2012, and 2014. He was the first actor to win this award three times since it became a separate category for drama and comedy.

In-universe biography

Jesse Bruce Pinkman was born into a middle-class family in Albuquerque, New Mexico. When the series begins, he has not spoken to his parents for a long time because of his drug use and work as a drug dealer. After being asked to leave his parents' home, Jesse moved in with his Aunt Ginny. He cared for her until she died from cancer, which made him learn a lot about the disease. After her death, Jesse was allowed to stay in her home, which became his property.

Jesse did not do well in high school. He spent more time with friends and using marijuana than studying. Walter White, Jesse's chemistry teacher, gave him a failing grade. Walt later said he did not think Jesse would achieve much in life. However, Jesse's mother, Diane, said Walt tried to encourage him and was one of the few teachers who cared about him. Despite his poor grades, Jesse graduated high school, with Walt present when he received his diploma.

In 2004, during the Better Call Saul episode "Waterworks," Jesse was outside Saul Goodman's office when Kim Wexler, a lawyer, came out after signing divorce papers. Jesse recognized her as the lawyer who helped his friend, Christian "Combo" Ortega, after Combo stole a statue from a Christmas display. Jesse was with Emilio Koyama, who wanted to hire Saul based on a TV ad. Jesse asked Kim if Saul was a good lawyer, and she said, "when I knew him, he was."

When Walt was diagnosed with lung cancer, he considered making meth to support his family. He learned about the drug trade by joining his brother-in-law, Hank Schrader, a DEA agent, on a drug raid. During the raid, Walt saw Jesse running from the scene, and Jesse's partner, Emilio, was arrested. Walt later discovered Jesse was "Cap'n Cook," a meth cook Hank was investigating. Walt used school records to find Jesse and forced him to partner with him, letting Walt cook meth while Jesse distributed it. Walt gave Jesse $7,000 to buy a recreational vehicle (RV) to use as a mobile meth lab. Jesse spent most of the money at a strip club, but a friend let him buy an RV for $1,400.

After Walt made his first batch of meth, Jesse was surprised by its quality and tried to make a deal with a distributor named Krazy-8. Krazy-8 was suspicious, so Emilio and Krazy-8 made Jesse bring them to meet Walt. Emilio recognized Walt from a previous DEA raid, and they tried to kill Walt. Walt used a chemical to kill Emilio and injure Krazy-8, then escaped with Jesse. Later, Walt had Jesse buy a container to dissolve Emilio's body, but Jesse used Ginny's bathtub instead, which damaged the house. After cleaning up, Walt and Jesse tried to distribute meth on their own.

Walt and Jesse moved their lab to Jesse's basement. Their meth became well-known in Albuquerque, drawing attention from Hank. Dissatisfied with the money Jesse earned, Walt convinced him to find a high-level distributor. A friend named Skinny Pete introduced Jesse to Tuco Salamanca, a powerful drug dealer. During their first meeting, Tuco severely injured Jesse, who had to be hospitalized. Walt forced Tuco into a partnership, and they stole a drum of methylamine to make more meth.

In the second season, Walt and Jesse delivered meth to Tuco, who killed one of his henchmen. After a DEA raid, Tuco became paranoid and kidnapped Walt and Jesse, taking them to a desert house where his uncle, Hector Salamanca, lived. Walt and Jesse escaped after fighting Tuco, and Hank found them using a tracking device on Jesse's car. Hank killed Tuco in a gunfight. Walt and Jesse fled into the desert, then returned to town. The DEA took Jesse's car and money.

Realizing the police would find him, Jesse asked his friend, Brandon "Badger" Mayhew, for help. They moved the lab back to the RV, which was later towed and stored on Badger's cousin's lot for $1,000. Jesse could only pay half upfront. His parents then evicted him after discovering the meth lab in his basement. He lost his belongings and motorcycle, and had nowhere to go. Jesse broke into the storage lot and slept in the RV. He later bought a car and moved into an apartment with Jane Margolis, a tattoo artist and recovering drug user. Jane hid their relationship from her father, who owned the building.

When Skinny Pete was robbed, Walt told Jesse to "handle it." Jesse confronted the robbers, but one of them killed the other. This made Jesse famous as a feared figure in the drug world. Jesse also used a corrupt lawyer, Saul Goodman, to help them avoid legal trouble.

After Combo was killed by rival dealers, Jesse started using heroin with Jane to cope. His drug use nearly ruined a $1.2 million deal with a powerful dealer named Gus Fring. Walt refused to give Jesse his share of the money until he entered rehab. Jane later forced Walt to give Jesse the money to escape to New Zealand. Later, Walt visited Jesse's apartment and accidentally caused Jane to choke on her vomit, leading to her death. Jesse blamed himself and relapsed into drug use. Walt later helped him recover.

Production

In the original pilot script for Breaking Bad, Jesse's name was Marion Alan Dupree. The show's creator, Vince Gilligan, originally planned for Jesse Pinkman's character to be killed at the end of the first season. Gilligan wanted Jesse to die in a failed drug deal to make Walt feel guilty. However, by the second episode of the season, Gilligan was so impressed with Jesse's character and Aaron Paul's performance that he decided it would be a mistake to kill Jesse. Gilligan also appreciated the chemistry between Paul and Bryan Cranston. Later in the series, Jesse became the "flawed moral center" of Walter White. Paul said he first saw Jesse as "black-and-white" but later realized Jesse "has a huge heart; it just got messed up."

Paul felt he understood Jesse's character well during the episode "Cancer Man," where Jesse's family is introduced. After Jesse's parents disown him, the character seeks a father figure in Walt and Mike. The writers debated how long Jesse's innocence would last under Walt's influence. Gilligan said Jesse's naivety makes him a better person than Walt.

Paul found it hard to play Jesse sober in the third season. He said, "It really threw me for a loop. It was hard to nail him. I had no idea where they were going with this character. He's so numb and cut off from everything." To prepare, Paul visited a rehabilitation clinic, observed patients, and interviewed the director.

In the fourth season premiere, "Box Cutter," Walt pleads with Gus to save Jesse, showing Walt's loyalty and paternal relationship with Jesse. Walt tells Gus he will stop cooking if Gus kills Jesse. Paul said this was "the first moment that Jesse realizes that Walt's loyalty is to Jesse."

The party scenes at Jesse's house in "Thirty-Eight Snub" and "Open House" were created to help Jesse cope with guilt and self-hatred after killing Gale Boetticher in the third-season finale, "Full Measure." Gilligan said these scenes showed how characters' actions in Breaking Bad have major consequences. The writers chose the party story arc because it was unexpected for the audience. Bryan Cranston said, "I thought it was a great way to show a person going through a private hell. That everybody suffers, deals with their own personal loss in many different ways."

The party scenes continued in "Open House," though the party was darker and more broken down in this episode. In "Open House," Jesse goes go-karting alone. The idea came from Paul and crew members racing karts between filming. The idea for Jesse to have his head shaved in "Bullet Points" was also Paul's, as he felt it reflected Jesse's inner struggle.

Gilligan left Jesse's ultimate fate unclear at the end of "Felina," allowing viewers to decide what happens to him. In 2018, rumors began about a Breaking Bad sequel film, with a logline about a kidnapped man's quest for freedom. Many believed this would reveal Jesse's fate after the series finale. The sequel became El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie, focusing on Jesse immediately after escaping the compound.

Regarding Jesse's new life in Haines, Alaska, Gilligan speculated that Jesse "would enjoy the brewery and maybe get a job with the ski manufacturer… the very nice people of Alaska would welcome him into the community." Paul believed Jesse "would keep his nose clean. He has quite a bit of cash on hand. He would live a modest lifestyle. He's moving to a small place in Alaska, so he doesn't need much money. He knows how to work with his hands, and he needs to refresh those skills and become the artist he was always meant to be."

After reappearing as Jesse in two episodes of Better Call Saul, Paul said he felt confident these were Jesse's final appearances and called it a farewell to the character.

Reception

Jesse's character development has been widely praised. Alan Sepinwall observed that the audience's sympathy gradually shifted from Walt to Jesse, who was initially less well-received in the first season. Aaron Paul mentioned that key episodes showing Jesse's change include "Peekaboo" and "ABQ." In his review of "Peekaboo," Erik Kain of Forbes wrote that as Walt becomes less sympathetic, Jesse becomes more human and complex, especially through his relationship with the neglected son of two drug addicts. Emma Rosenblum of New York Magazine noted that Jesse began as an "absurd screwup" with a "defiant gait" and the bravado of a wannabe gangster. Her view changed after "Peekaboo." Vince Gilligan said the writers created "Peekaboo" to explore Jesse's mindset. Emily Nussbaum of The New Yorker wrote that Gilligan moved background characters into the spotlight, allowing them to absorb the sympathy once given to Walt. Critics believed "Blood Money" showed Jesse's role as a contrast to Walt and the moral center of the series. Tim Goodman of The Hollywood Reporter also noted Jesse's role as a contrast to Walt. Alyssa Rosenberg of ThinkProgress compared Walt with Jesse's growing moral conscience.

Seth Amitin of IGN wrote that in "Peekaboo," Jesse was close to rock bottom but still avoided admitting his problems. Amitin called Jesse "the coward in all of us in tough situations" but was sympathetic to his pain and struggles, partly because of Paul's "fantastic acting." In his review of "Breakage," Amitin wrote that the episode "rehumanized" Jesse, noting that while Jesse is rebuilding his life, he has not learned from his mistakes.

Jesse's role in "Full Measure" received positive reviews. Tim Goodman of the San Francisco Chronicle called the episode "an exclamation mark on the tortured journey of Jesse." Entertainment Weekly named "Full Measure" one of Jesse's best episodes, noting that his killing of Gale marked the end of his innocence. Quentin B. Huff of PopMatters described Jesse's story arc as an "emotional rollercoaster animated by intense grief."

Michael Arbeiter praised Paul's performance in "Box Cutter," calling it "phenomenal" despite minimal dialogue. Seth Amitin of IGN called Paul's performance in "Problem Dog" "the performance of the series." Myles McNutt of Cultural Learnings wrote that in "Problem Dog," Jesse descends further into a place from which he might never escape. Robert Bianco of USA Today wrote that Aaron Paul's portrayal of Jesse, the show's moral compass, creates tension because Jesse seems on the verge of breaking.

Aaron Paul's portrayal of Jesse in El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie also received praise. Judy Berman of Time called his performance "mesmerizing," noting his ability to fully return to the role after years. Liz Shannon Miller of The Verge wrote that Paul's work in El Camino was "staggering" due to the difficulty of portraying many variations of the character and that the movie highlights how Jesse has changed.

In an interview with The Guardian, Paul remarked that fans' support for Jesse surprised him. He noted that initially, Jesse was seen as a "drug burn-out" but that the series revealed Jesse's depth, with Walt and Jesse trading positions in terms of morality.

Robert Downs Schultz of PopMatters wrote that while Jesse and Walt are both murderers, thieves, and drug dealers, only Jesse feels guilt and self-hatred. He argues Jesse is not just the show's moral center but a more complex character. Alyssa Rosenberg of ThinkProgress said the relationship between Jesse and Walt is powerful because of its contradictions. Donna Bowman of The A.V. Club wrote that in El Camino, Jesse found redemption by freeing himself from Walt's influence and avoided his mentor's fate.

In 2010, 2012, and 2014, Aaron Paul won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series. He was nominated in 2009 and 2013 for the same award. Paul won for the episodes "Half Measures" (2010), "End Times" (2012), and "Confessions" (2014).

In 2010, Paul won the Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor on Television and was nominated for the Television Critics Association Award for Individual Achievement in Drama and the Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Series, Miniseries, or Television Film for the third season.

In 2012, Paul was nominated for the Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series for the fourth season but lost to Giancarlo Esposito. He won the award in 2014 for the final season.

In 2014, Paul received his first Golden Globe nomination for Best Supporting Actor in a Series, Miniseries, or Television Film for the final season but lost to Jon Voight. He won the Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Series, Miniseries, or Television Film for the final season in 2014. He also won the Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series and the Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor on Television for the final season.

In 2019, Paul was nominated for a Satellite Award for his role in El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie for Best Actor in a Miniseries or Television Film but lost to Jared Harris. In 2021, he was nominated for the Saturn Award for Best Actor in a Film for his role in El Camino but lost to John David Washington.

Legacy

In the 2016 Walt Disney Pictures animated film Zootopia, Walter White and Jesse Pinkman are mimicked as "Woolter and Jesse," voiced by John DiMaggio. These characters use a subway car as a laboratory to illegally grow Night Howlers, a plant, and turn it into a blue serum meant to make anthropomorphized animals act "wild." Co-directors Byron Howard and Rich Moore explained that the characters' inclusion was not meant to be offensive. They noted that the scene involved a ram growing flowers in an abandoned train car to make a chemical serum, which references a popular culture show but does not harm the audience's feelings.

In August 2017, Jesse Pinkman and Walter White made short appearances in the Camp Camp episode "Cookin' Cookies." In this scene, they are threatened by Sasha and the Flower Scouts Troop #789 because their meth sales compete with the troop's drug-infused cookie sales.

In July 2022, bronze statues of Jesse Pinkman and Walter White were created and donated by Breaking Bad creator Vince Gilligan and Sony Pictures Television to the city of Albuquerque. These statues are displayed at the Albuquerque Convention Center.