El Camino may have cooked up a fitting epilogue for Aaron Paul’s Jesse Pinkman, but the Breaking Bad movie still left some major Albuquerque characters with uncertain fates.
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Case in point: Skinny Pete and Badger. Although we saw Jesse begin a new life in Alaska, his two best friends (played by Charles Baker and Matt Jones, respectively) were left to face police interrogations over his disappearance – as hinted at by the film’s first teaser. Would they enjoy their lives after helping a wanted felon flee? Or would their every move now be scrutinised by law enforcement?
The answer, it turns out, isn’t the cheeriest. At least, the answer according to Aaron Paul – the actor recently told RadioTimes.com that Skinny and Badger would face continuous surveillance and questioning by police for years after the events of El Camino.
“This is the biggest meth ring in history and they've got some sort of connection to it,” he said. “They definitely are being watched, harassed – probably constantly!”
Aaron Paul in El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie Netflix
However, even though the pair’s main source of income – drug dealing – won’t be possible with this police interference, Paul still sees a bright future for the duo. “They’re still happy!” he said. “They’re the good guys!”
Paul also delved into El Camino’s most compelling flashback, a scene which saw Bryan Cranston redeem the role of Walter White circa season two. Although the diner sequence portrays a tamer version of the mass-murdering Heisenberg seen later in the show, Paul clarified the scene still doesn’t signify Jesse’s feelings towards his former mentor have softened.
“He still despises the man,” he said. "Walt completely turned Jesse upside down, from the moment he met him and just shook his life to its core. Because of Walt Jesse became a murderer. Because of Walt, the people around him started dying. I think he feels very let down by the man. Very disappointed. And just angry."
Paul added: “That flashback with Walt was such a beautiful scene and so eye-opening. It really showed what Walt was all about. When he says to Jesse 'you're so lucky it didn't take your entire life to do something special’ and he's talking about making meth – that's pretty terrible!”
Fortunately, however, Paul says Jesse is beginning to leave this anger behind at El Camino's close. "I think it'll be some time, but Alaska is the perfect antidote,” he said. “Maybe Jesse opens up a woodshop. Maybe he starts making things with his hands again. Keeping his down, you know, for doing really bad things.
“It's going to be a bumpy road ahead, but I think he's headed in the right direction.”
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El Camino: A Breaking Bad movie is available to watch now on Netflix now
Thomas is Digital editor at BBC Science Focus. Writing about everything from cosmology to anthropology, he specialises in the latest psychology, health and neuroscience discoveries. Thomas has a Masters degree (distinction) in Magazine Journalism from the University of Sheffield and has written for Men’s Health, Vice and Radio Times. He has been shortlisted as the New Digital Talent of the Year at the national magazine Professional Publishers Association (PPA) awards. Also working in academia, Thomas has lectured on the topic of journalism to undergraduate and postgraduate students at The University of Sheffield.
