Breaking Bad: 10 Worst Things Jesse Pinkman Has Ever Done
2. Killing Gale
The moral event horizon for Jesse at the end of season three in a sense proves just how uncorrupted he is by the meth game. Yes, he shoots Gale, another quasi-innocent, point blank at the behest of his mentor-cum-controller Walter. He can excuse it as an act of self preservation, but any way you slice it, it’s cold blooded murder.
But unlike Walter, who by this time is hardened and frozen, Jesse cannot shrug this off. It consumes him for many episodes hence as he slips further into drug use and surrounds himself with anonymous company so he doesn’t have to think about this awful act.
His remorse, though, doesn’t make up for the crime itself, and the killing of Gale is a shocking moment - so much so that, after the season finale, fans tried to read into a minor camera move to suggest Jesse had decided against the killing. The following episode proved this not to be the case.
It’s one of Jesse’s more explainable crimes, a “him or me” situation, but Gale didn’t deserve to go out like this.