The two-hour movie El Camino, which is now streaming on Netflix, is the perfect way to continue the Breaking Bad story. Picking up right where Breaking Bad left off, with Jesse Pinkman speeding away in Todd’s El Camino, the movie is almost like two great Breaking Bad episodes back-to-back…just airing six years later.
While it only centers on the character of Jesse Pinkman and what happens to him after he presumably escapes, it does bring back some characters from the series. Some are small and insignificant — you might have even forgot who they were until Jesse reminds you by asking them for help. Others are known faces from the Breaking Bad world.
The movie leaves fans wanting more, but it does answer some important questions that you might have still had from Breaking Bad. Here are 10 of them. (Note: major spoilers from the movie ahead.)
What Happened to Skinny Pete And Badger?
We never really found out what happened to Skinny Pete and Badger at the end of Breaking Bad. We can guess that the two friends still live together, smoke weed, play video games, eat Cheetos, and likely continue to be involved in illicit dealings, including drugs or other items.
They appear pretty early on in El Camino and show just how devoted they are to their friend Jeese by helping him hide the car, holing him up for the night, giving him money and clothes, and helping get the police off his scent so he can successfully escape.
How Much Skinny Pete Respected Jesse
Skinny Pete seemed to be a good friend to Jesse, but we learn just how much he respected him in the movie. When Jesse asks Skinny Pete why he’s help him, which includes arranging to give him Badger’s car, have Badger ride off in his, then lie to the police for him, Skinny Pete tells Jesse that he’s his hero.
It’s unfortunate that he looks up to Jesse because of how well he worked in the drug trade and for the fact that he was able to cook pure, high quality meth. But nonetheless, the sentiment was sweet.
How Big of a Sociopath Todd Was
The second we saw Todd shoot and kill a young boy on a bike in Breaking Bad, simply because he saw something he shouldn’t have, we knew that Todd was bad news and had a few screws loose. But it wasn’t until El Camino that we really got to see the extent of his madness.
He lived alone in an oddly pastel-painted apartment, strangled his otherwise lovely cleaning lady because she found his hidden money, then casually warmed up some canned soup a foot away from her dead body so he could get some sustenance before they headed out to dispose of the corpse. This deeper glimpse into Todd made him appear even more evil than we already knew he was.
How Jesse Escaped
We know how Jesse escaped from Todd’s captivity and from Uncle Jack. But how did he escape after driving off in the El Camino? Surely the police would be searching for him, knowing he had something to do with the drug empire, or at least had information that would be valuable to them.
Throughout the movie, we now know how Jesse was able to keep them off his tail thanks to the help of Skinny Pete and Badger, how he acquired money, and who he visited to help make himself disappear into a new life.
How Badly Jesse Was Tortured While In Captivity
We knew Jesse was kept in a cage and tortured while being forced to cook meth. But we had no idea the extent of his torture, such as when he was made to run and jump back and forth to try to break out of the chains that kept him secured as he cooked meth. The cruel and likely painful exercise was all to satisfy a bet. He was also, based on flashbacks, doused with powerful jets of water.
But we also saw how he was psychologically tortured by Todd, including being forced to go on errands with him, digging a grave and disposing of a body, and being hidden from sunlight almost 24/7. He was so frightened, in fact, that when he found a gun and had the chance to kill Todd, he couldn’t go through with it.
That Jesse Suffers From Severe PTSD
Everything that Jesse went through clearly led to some severe PTSD, as we saw him have troubling flashbacks while doing mundane things, like having a shower or staring at the ceiling. When he saw people or places, like Neil and his truck with the Kandy Welding Co. logo on it, he was also triggered with disturbing flashbacks.
While Jesse might be able to escape from his old life and start a new one in a new place under a new name, it’s clear there will be some lingering issues that he will have to deal with. He’s clearly not psychologically in the same place as he was before he was captured.
Did Walter Actually Die?
If there was any question from hopeful viewers that maybe there was a way Walt managed to survive and he never actually died, that’s all squashed in the film. Through radio news reports, we hear of how Walter White was dead, and that police are looking for a young suspect they believe will have information. That suspect, of course, is Jesse.
It would have been unbelievable, in any case, to think that Walter could possibly have survived his injuries. And while we never really saw him die, the final shot of him lying on the ground pretty much said it all. However, the radio reports in the movie confirm it.
Did Jesse Still Think Of Brock?
The series never wrapped up young Brock’s story. While we know that Todd shot and killed Brock’s mother Andrea right in front of Jesse to teach him a lesson and deter him from trying to escape again, Brock would have been left an orphan, or some believe gone to live with his great grandmother.
While Walt did poison Brock, he luckily survived. Which means he’s alive somewhere. And it appears that Jesse knows where, because he hands a letter to Ed right before walking off into the sunset that’s clearly addressed to Brock. And Ed promises to deliver it.
Did Lydia Survive?
In one of his final phone conversations on the series, Walt picks up Todd’s phone to find Lydia Rodarte-Quayle on the other end. He happily announces to her that he had poisoned her earlier with ricin, which would mean she’d have mere minutes to live.
In El Camino, a news report over the radio discusses the poisoning of a Houston woman and her possible connection to Walter White’s criminal organization. While her name isn’t given, the report suggests that she’s in critical condition and not expected to survive. It’s clear this is in reference to Lydia.
What Happened To Jesse After His Escape?
In the final scene in Breaking Bad, we see a hysterical and disturbed Jesse flee away in Todd’s El Camino, knowing that he might finally be free. Free from captivity and free from Walter who was pretty well dead by the time he left, suffering from a severe gunshot wound.
The entire premise behind El Camino is to show exactly what happened to Jesse after this point. And we find out where he went, what he did, and how he eventually found his way to escape to Alaska, and presumably start a new life under a new identity. Is that the end of the story? We’ll have to wait and see.
