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Will Jesse get a happy ending?

  • Yes

    Votes: 231 48.2%
  • No

    Votes: 248 51.8%

  • Total voters
    479
  • Poll closed .

Tawpgun

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
9,861
I think it also felt a tad rushed. I can accept it as being SOLELY Jesse's story so in that aspect it makes sense but it would have been awesome if it was instead a mini series that could have gone into the ramifications of the finale.

What about Walts family. Hanks wife? The DEA fallout and investigation. More time with jesse's family and Brock. Mikes daughter in law/grandaughter. Cartel stuff?
 

Deleted member 31817

Nov 7, 2017
30,876
So how did the cops

know to put a tracking device on the El Camino before Jesse ever used it?
 

Ramala

Member
Oct 28, 2017
6,042
Santa Monica, LA
It's missing the point of said criticism, whether you agree with it or not. The original finale of Breaking Bad heavily implied Jesse got out of the whole deal scarred and beaten up, but alive and as a free man. He may be alone, traumatized, but at least he isn't dead or in prison like so many other people in the story. This was a 120 minutes adventure where Jesse went from being a lonely free man riding in a car to... being a lonely free man riding in a car in a different state. In both cases he's a wanted man, but of course there's less chances of him being caught over there.

That's why some people say it was unnecessary. It's a 2 hour explanation of something that was heavily implied in the original run, and the story brought Jesse to a place where 99% of the fans expected him to end anyway. The added flashbacks about the torture he went through wasn't particularly revealing either: we knew Todd is a sociopath, we knew the nazis are evil fucks who enjoy fucking around with him and so on. The only potentially not so obvious element was how supportive his friends were after Jesse disappearing for so long and his shenanigans throwing them in bigger trouble. But nothing we saw in BB suggests their friendship was ever in jeopardy, so that was still a fairly safe assumption to make ultimately.

You can love or hate the movie, but it really is hard to deny the movie was a very predictable epilogue that brought Jesse down a path that most people already assumed. It was rather obvious that he would at first get his money back, then go to the only person the entire series has known for disappearing, and then indeed doing so. Easily the most predictable thing in the Breaking Bad franchise so far, except maybe for Walt's end (given his condition since episode 1 it was rather obvious he wasn't getting out alive of this series).

Except that when the creator of the series, the architect of the Breaking Bad universe, sat down to write this movie his first instinct was to have Jesse end up in jail.

Also, why would anyone assume Jesse would get away at the end of Breaking Bad? He has no resources, he is not thinking straight, he is psychology broken, in a few hours there's going to be an unprecedented manhunt for him.

In my head he never got away. Ending it where they did was like freeze framing on Thelma and Louise in the aurvto.
 

Dreezy

Member
Oct 27, 2017
846
It was a "nice" send off for Jesse but I wish the road there had some taller hills to climb and sharper turns. Still enjoyable to root for Jesse again.
 

Cpt-GargameL

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
7,024
This should have been made into a 6-8 episode Netflix run instead of this 2hr movie. Huge Breaking Bad fan and this sucked.
 

Speevy

Member
Oct 26, 2017
19,326
This should have been made into a 6-8 episode Netflix run instead of this 2hr movie. Huge Breaking Bad fan and this sucked.

There's not an 6-8 episodes worth of story to tell. I'm glad they didn't create some huge sprawling Breaking Bad story because this one just involved Jesse and didn't upset the established BB storyline.

If you're a BB fan, you should know that the plot is pretty much immaculate. Contriving a further ending would only lead to more questions.

I mean, I'm not against you for not liking it. But there is a very clear structure to this film/epilogue or whatever you want to call it.

1) Jesse has to get out of town.
2) Jesse has to cope with the knowledge that the people who have been controlling his life for the past 2 years are now gone.
3) Once Jesse reconciles with what he's been through and what he's learned, he can move on and become his own person.

If anything, it's just slightly too long but for me, it works.

They could have had Jesse tell Marie he was sorry for how the thing with Hank went down, and have a new DEA agent looking for him, and a cartel boss even tougher, and just completely reopen the book on Breaking Bad, but they closed it.
 
Oct 29, 2017
2,600
This was amazing. Beautiful, heartbreaking and hilarious in only the way Breaking Bad can be

Skinny Pete literally picking up his fence made me howl
 

Speevy

Member
Oct 26, 2017
19,326
I'm gonna go to a locally owned, hole in the wall business and ask the owner if they're the guy.
 

Speevy

Member
Oct 26, 2017
19,326
What you said was just so random I couldn't tell if you were poking fun at the movie or something.

I could see that as a criticism considering people are saying the movie has some weird unnecessary stuff, feels pointless, etc.

So your post was a random joke?

I go wherever the universe takes me.
 
OP
OP
Aurc

Aurc

Member
Oct 28, 2017
6,890
6 episodes of what? Jesse running away?
It could explore the aftermath of Breaking Bad in general, not just Jesse on the run. Walt's impact, Skyler, Marie, and Flynn coping, the potential for new criminals looking to step up and take Walt and Jesse's place, etc. That's not even considering the fact that Jesse on the run doesn't have to be conveyed within a two hour window, they could easily write it differently.
 

Speevy

Member
Oct 26, 2017
19,326
It could explore the aftermath of Breaking Bad in general, not just Jesse on the run. Walt's impact, Skyler, Marie, and Flynn coping, the potential for new criminals looking to step up and take Walt and Jesse's place, etc. That's not even considering the fact that Jesse on the run doesn't have to be conveyed within a two hour window, they could easily write it differently.

But the story of Breaking Bad is over. The show takes place over 2 years. You have to imagine that after that time the larger meth distribution business/cartel has been put down.

It's not like one of those "There's always a bigger fish." stories. It was about the repercussions of one man's choices.
 

Jiggy

Avenger
Oct 25, 2017
9,279
wherever
It could explore the aftermath of Breaking Bad in general, not just Jesse on the run. Walt's impact, Skyler, Marie, and Flynn coping, the potential for new criminals looking to step up and take Walt and Jesse's place, etc. That's not even considering the fact that Jesse on the run doesn't have to be conveyed within a two hour window, they could easily write it differently.

That's not the story Vince Gilligan wanted to tell. Breaking Bad is over. There's no part 2. They wanted to give Jesse an epilogue and that's what they did.
 
OP
OP
Aurc

Aurc

Member
Oct 28, 2017
6,890
But the story of Breaking Bad is over. The show takes place over 2 years. You have to imagine that after that time the larger meth distribution business/cartel has been put down.

It's not like one of those "There's always a bigger fish." stories. It was about the repercussions of one man's choices.
I get that, but there legitimately always is a bigger fish when it comes to the manufacturing and distribution of drugs. It's not exactly the asspull contrivance that it is in other genres.
That's not the story Vince Gilligan wanted to tell. Breaking Bad is over. There's no part 2. They wanted to give Jesse an epilogue and that's what they did.
The ending we got years ago was already a great place to end the show, but then we got Better Call Saul and El Camino, both of which are good (the former even more so), so "the story Vince Gilligan wanted to tell" is always changing and evolving. When asked if El Camino was "the last one of these", he even said himself that he claimed that last time, but then changed his mind.
 

Jiggy

Avenger
Oct 25, 2017
9,279
wherever
The ending we got years ago was already a great place to end the show, but then we got Better Call Saul and El Camino, both of which are good (the former even more so), so "the story Vince Gilligan wanted to tell" is always changing and evolving. When asked if El Camino was "the last one of these", he even said himself that he claimed that last time, but then changed his mind.

Better Call Saul was being worked on before Breaking Bad was even over. Some sort of epilogue for Jesse was an idea Vince Gilligan had pretty much immediately after finishing the show, it was originally supposed to be a 15 minute short that gradually evolved into a feature. Gilligan didn't alter the story in any drastic way for either the spinoff or the film. They were concepts that flowed naturally from when the show ended.

If Vince Gilligan wanted to make an 8 episode sequel series, there's nothing stopping him. AMC or Netflix would greenlight it in a heartbeat. But again, that wasn't the story he wanted to tell. It's silly to criticize El Camino for not being something it was never intended to be.
 

Doggg

▲ Legend ▲
Member
Nov 17, 2017
14,440
Just finished it. It was pretty good. Best line: "I graduated high school, you dick."
 

Veelk

Member
Oct 25, 2017
14,705
I disagree with the "it's pointless" comments from a lot of different perspectives that I'm not gonna go through because lord that would take a long ass time and few would agree because I have some wierd perspectives on stories.

However, I'll do you one better and say that even if I were to agree that there is development because Jesse is in a similar place from where he was last time, I would say there is merit to the journey he takes purely from an empathetic angle.

The 'point' of El Camino is to see him recover or begin recovery from his utterly horrific treatment by the nazi's. The point is to see Skinny Pete give him a piece of genuine kindness that is shocking due to it's scarcity. The point is to see him be clever and brave in finding the money in the hidden compartment. The point is to see echo's of his hilarious, old idiot self when he tries to call the Vacuum guy's bluff only to realize he's dead wrong. The point is seeing him willing to have a stand off without breaking a sweat, a farcry from the nervous wreck he was at all over instances of live combat.

Everyone views movies differently and for some people, a movie where a character ends in a similar place where he begins is simply a waste of time. And I get that in some sense, and it's tantamount in some instances, but in others, sometimes a movie is bliss just because of what is happening on screen is entertaining or heartwarming or intense simply on it's own, rather than because it serves a broader arc. I could argue there is character development that happened, but even ignoring that, I see nothing wrong with simply enjoying it as a brief return to Breaking Bad's world.
 

Snowy

Banned
Nov 11, 2017
1,399
This was kind of a pointless little thing. If you were desperate for more Breaking Bad, I guess it kinda fits, but you learn nothing of interest about anyone, Todd is inexplicably chubby, Jesse ends up in exactly the place he ended in the show, and the ending with Jane was just outright bad and trite.

Honestly, it weakens the Breaking Bad finale, in that there was something poetic and interesting about Jesse's ending being a more spiritual than literal liberation.
 

Nikus

Avenger
Oct 25, 2017
10,362
I disagree with the "it's pointless" comments from a lot of different perspectives that I'm not gonna go through because lord that would take a long ass time and few would agree because I have some wierd perspectives on stories.

However, I'll do you one better and say that even if I were to agree that there is development because Jesse is in a similar place from where he was last time, I would say there is merit to the journey he takes purely from an empathetic angle.

The 'point' of El Camino is to see him recover or begin recovery from his utterly horrific treatment by the nazi's. The point is to see Skinny Pete give him a piece of genuine kindness that is shocking due to it's scarcity. The point is to see him be clever and brave in finding the money in the hidden compartment. The point is to see echo's of his hilarious, old idiot self when he tries to call the Vacuum guy's bluff only to realize he's dead wrong. The point is seeing him willing to have a stand off without breaking a sweat, a farcry from the nervous wreck he was at all over instances of live combat.

Everyone views movies differently and for some people, a movie where a character ends in a similar place where he begins is simply a waste of time. And I get that in some sense, and it's tantamount in some instances, but in others, sometimes a movie is bliss just because of what is happening on screen is entertaining or heartwarming or intense simply on it's own, rather than because it serves a broader arc. I could argue there is character development that happened, but even ignoring that, I see nothing wrong with simply enjoying it as a brief return to Breaking Bad's world.
Thanks for this post. Agreed on all points.
The following replies make me shake my head tbh

I see the word "pointless" thrown around in so many movie threads these days... it has become the most shallow criticism for me.
That, and "there was no stakes".
 

DJMicLuv

The Fallen
Oct 27, 2017
1,179
Is Unnecessary Entertainment a modern concept? What's Necessary Entertainment?

I enjoyed it anyway.
 

Ronnie Poncho

Avenger
Oct 27, 2017
2,133
I didn't want this film to end. Every flashback was perfect, and the story was told at a fantastic pace. Great acting all round, and it was joyful to revisit old characters without feeling like fan service. Each flashback added more substance to Jesse's story or to the wider story of BB.
 

Antrax

Member
Oct 25, 2017
13,271
I'll echo the posters who said that Jesse's "happy ending" wasn't really that convincing in BB. I always assumed he got locked up or killed by police like a day or two later. It's actually really fucking hard to get away from a nationwide manhunt when you literally don't even have $5 on you. El Camino even had to bend logic a bit by having the cops never put out an APB for Jesse's associate's vehicles either.

In most Westerns, the "hero" isn't done until they're dead or in Mexico (subverted here).

I also liked the duel. That's the first time since Gail that Jesse murdered somebody outside of a moment of passion. He's embraced that he's "bad" in that moment.
 

Hydrus

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
4,298
Watched it last night. It was great! Aaron Paul is fantastic! Weird to say, but it felt too short.