Jesse Pinkman actor Aaron Paul is one of the many vital performances that madeBreaking Badone of thebest TV shows of all time, and his favorite scene speaks to why he was perfect for the role. Goofy and good-hearted slacker Jesse is headed for doom when he is paired up with Walter White (Bryan Cranston), a dissatisfied chemistry teacher whose descent into villainy is the core ofBreaking Bad. Purportedly to make enough money to secure his family financially before his death, Walt recruits Jesse, a former student, to start a meth business.
As most people know by now,Breaking Badshows how this endeavor spirals out of Walt’s control.However, along the way,Walt and Jesse’s relationshipis deeply toxic but also strangely affectionate, as it takes Jesse a long time to realize that he has misplaced his loyalty and that he needs to cut Walt out of his life. But before then, the ways that Jesse is genuinely friendly to Walt make for some ofBreaking Bad’s best scenes. Aaron Paul’s favorite is one where Jesse is somewhere in the middle ground.
Jesse And Skyler Meet Again For A Conversation They Do No Want To Be Having
When theBreaking Badcastwere asked byEntertainment Weeklyfor their favorite scenes in the series in 2018,Paul chose the scene where Jesse is roped into having dinner with Walt and his wife Skyler(Anna Gunn) in season 5, episode 6, “Buyout.” Jesse comes to Walt’s home to attempt to persuade him to sell their methylamine, earning them $5 million each and a way out of the business. However, a power-drunk Walt says he can make much more and refuses when Skyler comes home for dinner, and Walt invites Jesse to stay. Of this scene, Paul said:
I think that really stands out — just Jesse holding onto his glass of water as if it’s his security blanket […] He’s kind of hiding behind his glass of water watching this marriage sort of just fall apart in front of his eyes. When Skyler says, “Did he also tell you about my affair?"— I’ve seen that scene so many times and I laugh each time, just at the absurdity of it all.
As he says, Jesse is then stuck there, witnessing firsthand how Skyler is also trapped.In typical Jesse fashion, he is still trying to be amiable, complementing the food (which Skyler bought,rather than prepared herself). Jesse wants out at this point and is starting to get a sense of how dangerous Walt really is, but the dark humor of this scene comes from him acting like everything is normal, even more so than Walt. Skyler, on the other hand, is beyond pretending that she isn’t miserable, and strikes down Jesse’s polite comments.
And Aaron Paul Was Always Great At This Part Of Breaking Bad
Suffice it to say, the dinner scene is really awkward. Walt’s family members are all staple characters of the show, but they largely inhabit a space entirely separate from Jesse. Jesse and Skyler have met once before in another hilariously uncomfortable scene, but they are not the friendly acquaintances that Jesse is acting like they are. Skyler knows exactly who Jesse is and what he and Walt have done together, and she is having none of it. Especially whenWalt, in inviting Jesse to stay, is treating the situation like he is having a respectable business partner over for dinner.
And so, we get this scene where Walt and Jesse are once again trying to smooth things over, but Skyler is just bluntly preventing it this time. Jesse gets a lot of funny scenes throughout the series where he is simply being goofy or amiable and Walt can’t believe him — the fact that Paul finds this moment enjoyable says something about how he was cut out for this role. This is truly the time whenJesse’s personality and Walt’s denial create the most awkwardness.
A lot ofBreaking Badis about presenting a veneer of everything being fine while Walt takes more violent action in his meth business. And so,Breaking Bad’s awkward meal scenesare a series tradition, especially with the White family. They almost always show how Walt is desperately pretending like everything is fine, when things are spinning out of control, or he and his family are just painfully disconnected from each other. From one of the first scenes inBreaking Bad, this was established as a motif, which would ironically become Aaron Paul’s favorite moment years later.
