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To: FLT-bird

Walter was his own personal worst enemy, not Jesse. Walter constantly made self-destructive choices as he descended into further and further madness with no way back to sanity.

He was decisive but then would change his mind about things he agreed to. How much was enough? Always just a little more. And that is the beauty of his character.

We discover quite deep in the series that part of his underlying motivation is resentment over being separated from a company, of which he was a principle member and helped to build, losing a potential fortune and all of the good life that goes with it, to become a high school teacher. He was far too smart for that. And then he gets cancer.

Every choice he makes is reasonable when seeing things through the lens of his character. But from outside it is possible to see the resentment and pride he has that ultimately become his undoing. His underlying commitment to doing the right thing was not based on principle but pragmatism, unlike his brother-in-law who was willing to die for what he believed in.

Walter was a stickler for doing things the right way, but only if the right way could clearly be seen to pay off in the here and now. His lack of faith in the afterlife and eternal rewards (and punishment) gave him no rational way to handle the injustice of getting cancer after doing all the right things. Rather than being willing to leave his wife and son with a legacy of faith and moral values, he felt he had to leave them money. In the end, the things he loved most—his wife, son, and unborn child—were damaged most by his choices.

Jesse was a deeply flawed person—an addict. He had burned bridges with his family, but we can see his disappointment in not being able to undo the harm he did in youthful foolishness. Yes, he fails to kick his addiction, even though he has tried. His girlfriend becomes a new motivation for him to get clean and sober, but he keeps getting pulled back into the drug life because of his relationship with Walter even when he is starting to head the right direction. It is true that IF he had kicked the drug life completely before meeting the girlfriend, she probably would have stayed clean too (and lived). He is the character of the whole series who cares most about other people. He is disappointed in himself for letting others down. This is why his character is the one who survives and gets a chance at redemption after the series ends.


54 posted on 04/13/2019 8:39:18 PM PDT by unlearner (War is coming.)
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To: unlearner

Walter is deeply flawed no doubt. He is seething with rage and he’s also guilty of the “sin” of pride. Him getting involved in cooking meth - at Jesse’s urging - initially was understandable given his cancer. But then he went back to it for money/pride rather than just dire need. That was a choice and obviously given how destructive that crap is to others, it was not morally defensible at all. I do understand why Walt would feel the way he felt....ie underappreciated and like life had dealt him a pretty crappy hand despite his obvious brilliance...but you can’t just ignore the effects your actions have on others and he was willing to do that.

Jesse though was a train wreck. Yes he was “compassionate” - particularly about kids being harmed. But he was also not only incredibly self destructive but extremely destructive to everybody around him. His girlfriend gets sucked back into addiction and death because of him. He goes to Hank even AFTER Walt is retired and out of the business and thus gets Hank (and his partner) killed. This sets off a chain of events that gets his former girlfriend killed. It also gets Walt killed after Walt takes out the neo-nazi gang....I don’t particularly care that they all get killed that was like flushing the toilet for humanity.

Jesse is a constant whirlwind of destruction and you want to tell us he’s somehow morally redeeming in some way? He isn’t. He’s weak. He’s a danger to himself and everybody else around him. He’s also very whiny and annoying. I only wish he had gotten the gruesome death he deserved - and caused for several others.


55 posted on 04/13/2019 10:02:14 PM PDT by FLT-bird
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