Breaking Bad's Tweleve Greatest Scenes: Number 1

Number 1: Walt compliments Jesse.

Season 3, Episode 7 “One Minute”

Picking the number one choice was certainly difficult. I knew it had to be turning point moment. However, along with being a critical plot moment, I also wanted the number one scene to explain the characters. Breaking Bad, more than any other drama series, is truly about the characters and their relationships with each other. While The Wire was about the drug trade in Baltimore, Breaking Bad isn’t really about the meth trade in Albuquerque. It’s about Walt’s journey, and how it affects his family and most importantly, how it affects his partner Jesse. It’s that rationale why I picked this heartbreaking scene between Jesse and Walt during “One Minute” as Breaking Bad's greatest scene.

In the previous episode “Sunset”, Hank is outside of Jesse’s R.V., demanding that Jesse open the door to let Hank search the RV. Unbeknownst to Hank, Walt is also inside the R.V.. When Jesse refuses, Hank makes a call so he can obtain a warrant to search the R.V. However, Jesse and Walt, with the help of Saul and his secretary, are able to trick Hank into thinking his wife Marie was involved in an accident and is currently hospitalized. Hank then rushes to the hospital, allowing Walt and Jesse to escape, but soon realizes he has been tricked. Early in this episode, Hank shows up at Jesse’s house and brutally beats Jesse, punching him several times in the face. Jesse is left hospitalized, with a swollen face and plans to press charges against Hank. Additionally, Jesse still blames Hank and harbors plans of revenge against him. With hopes on making amends, Walt tells Gus he wants to fire Gale and have Jesse come aboard as his lab partner. Walt then visits Jesse in the hospital to make him the offer.

Walt pitches the proposition to Jesse, allowing him to be a full partner, thus giving him a $1.5 million dollar salary. Jesse refuses, citing that Walt’s main motivations is just to protect his brother-in-law. When Walt asks him to explain how he’s going to turn down $1.5 million dollars, a frantic  and restless Jesse clarifies that he’s not turning down the money, but is instead turning down Walt. Jesse tells Walt that ever since he starting working with him everything good in his life has disappeared. Further, Jesse explains that he is currently left with nothing and with no one that cares about him. Jesse goes on, citing that Walt only cares about himself. On the verge of tears, Jesse then asks Walt why he would even want Jesse, when a few days earlier Walt called Jesse’s version of the blue meth inferior. Walt then states in a calm and reassuring voice “Your meth is good Jesse. As good as mine.” Walt exits and the camera pans to a trembling Jesse on the hospital bed.

This was certainly a watershed moment in the series. After Walt complimented Jesse, Jesse decided not to press charges against Hank and joined Walt in the super lab. If not for this scene, Jesse may have never worked for Gus or even Walt ever again. Although that may have been a good thing, I still believe Walt’s heart was in the right place here. Although not having Jesse as an enemy was certainly beneficial to Walt, I truly believe Walt felt deep remorse after seeing Jesse so beaten and spiteful earlier in the episode. Walt wanted to give Jesse something special, a very well-paying position in an advanced chemistry lab where Jesse would not have to face the dangers associated with dealing. Jesse’s speech to Walt, where he explains that everything in his life has gone wrong since he started working with Walt was heartbreaking. Further, the moment where Jesse presses Walt as to why he would even want a “nothing” like Jesse, who makes “garbage” meth was especially painful. However, Walt ended the conversation perfectly. Jesse and Walt need each other, but Jesse needs Walt as a father-figure especially. Jesse has a terrible relationship with his father, who has simply dismissed Jesse as a loser. As a result, getting a compliment and reassurance from Walt that he’s not a “nothing”, meant so much to Jesse. Additionally, it may have meant even more coming from his former chemistry teacher, considering Jesse failed Walt’s class in highschool. Additionally, we know how difficult it was for an egomaniac like Walt to admit Jesse’s meth was equal to Walt’s. Naturally, this makes the moment even more touching. Up until this point, this remains the most telling moment in the relationship between Walt and Jesse. It’s a beautiful scene between Breaking Bad’s two most important characters, and is one of greatest moments in the history of television.