It has been almost five years since we saw Aaron Paul's Jesse Pinkman drive off into the night at the end of Breaking Bad's series finale. The iconic show put Walter White's protégé through one emotional and physical wringer after another during its run, and many have wondered where Jesse ultimately ended up. With that burning question in mind, series creator Vince Gilligan recently opened up about some potential outcomes, admitting he thinks Jesse got away clean and then moved on from his life of crime. Per Gilligan:
There could have been police right around the next corner. Or there could have been an unfettered, free future for him. I personally would like to think he got away, because he paid his dues tenfold. I like to believe he got away. I don't really know in terms of what he should be doing as a career. I just hope he would get away, and meet somebody nice, and not be a criminal anymore and not face those horrors that he faced. I always liked that character. I always had a soft spot for him.
Vince Gilligan has a pretty clear point when he talks about Jesse paying his dues. Out of all the characters to ever appear on Breaking Bad, Jesse Pinkman arguably suffered more extended anguish than anyone. His fate at the end of "Felina" is left intentionally ambiguous, but Gilligan appears to be a member of the camp who wants to think that Jesse earned a reprieve with a happy ending -- although he tempered that optimism with the note that Jesse's post-Walt career prospects seem hard to figure out.
Of course, all of this talk about Jesse Pinkman's ultimate fate raises the question of whether or not the character could show up in Vince Gilligan's Breaking Bad sequel/prequel/spinoff series, Better Call Saul. Gilligan also spoke about that in his recent roundtable interview (via Digital Spy) and again suggested it as a possibility, saying:
You never know if that character may get revisited in the future. Anything's possible.
That does raise the question of how Jesse could potentially appear in Better Call Saul. Even if Aaron Paul does take a break from his time on shows like Hulu's The Path and Netflix's BoJack Horseman to gear up for a Saul cameo, it's always possible that he would just show up in flashbacks, and not the current "Gene" timeline. At this point, we will just have to wait and see.
For now, it seems likely that the ultimate fate of Jesse Pinkman will remain entirely up to viewers until Vince Gilligan and the other folks behind the Breaking Bad universe decide to provide some explanation. CinemaBlend will bring you more information related to Better Call Saul's highly anticipated fourth season as more information becomes available, and for now, you can take a look at our midseason premiere guide to see what else is coming this spring!
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