From Gus literally exploding, to Walter White’s weirdly meta realization that this whole thing, it’s … all about him, to Hank’s mid-poop epiphany that his brother-in-law is notorious meth manufacturer, Breaking Bad is full of iconic television moments, however, it seems none are quite as memorable as Jesse Pinkman’s final appearance during the show’s 2013 finale. Speeding away from Jack Welker’s compound in his El Camino, Jesse screams, laughs, and cries as he escapes into the night, seemingly dreaming of fleeing to Alaska, where he can spend the rest of his days hiding from the FBI and making artisanal zebra boxes. It’s an ending so good, that it even warranted its own sequel, 2019’s El Camino.
Yet as Screen Rant noted earlier this week, it seems we almost never got this memorable finale. According to a video of the cast reading the script of the series finale rediscovered by Showbiz CheatSheet earlier this summer, Jesse’s original ending was seemingly much more somber, meaning the manic conclusion we’ve come to love may have just been a testament to actor Aaron Paul’s on-screen chops.
“[Walter White] and Jesse share one last long look, and then Jesse chuck’s the car into gear and punches it. The El Camino goes squealing away into the night. Walt stands there watching it go. Jesse speeds into the chainlink locked gate,” Bryan Cranston, the actor behind Walter White, reads aloud during the clip. “‘Bam! He smashed through it like it was nothing. We leave the compound behind. Close angle on Jesse, grimly determined, fearing nothing, he speeds toward the darkness.”