For the most part, Breaking Bad had the perfect series finale. Season 5’s “Felina” concluded the saga of Walter White in a way that satisfied fans across the world and, as a whole, Breaking Bad stands as a virtually flawless complete work. But there’s only so much time to wrap up every storyline in an hour-long episode of television. There were a handful of less important loose ends that “Felina” neglected to tie up.
Enter El Camino, Vince Gilligan’s spin-off movie, which picked up Jesse Pinkman’s story where “Felina” left off to tie up some of those lingering loose ends. So, here are five loose ends from Breaking Bad that El Camino tied up, as well as five it didn’t.
Tied Up: Did Jesse Manage To Escape Albuquerque?
In the closing moments of Breaking Bad’s series finale, Jesse escaped the Nazi compound in Todd’s car, while Walt wandered around the meth lab Jesse had been cooking in and bled out before the cops arrived.
The timing of the police’s arrival on the scene led some fans to worry that Jesse had driven right into a police blockade on his way out of the compound. Fortunately, as El Camino showed us, he narrowly managed to evade the cops and made it out of Albuquerque.
Didn’t Tie Up: Where Is Brock?
Pretty much everyone that Jesse came to care about throughout Breaking Bad’s five seasons met a grim fate. When he tried to escape from Uncle Jack’s Nazi compound, the gang killed Andrea on her front doorstep to make sure he wouldn’t do it again.
But we never found out what happened to Brock after Andrea’s death. He could be living with his grandmother, or he could be in a foster home or an orphanage. Jesse gave Ed Galbraith a letter to deliver to Brock, but there was no confirmation about the boy’s whereabouts.
Tied Up: Is Walter White Actually Dead?
The ending of “Felina” makes it pretty obvious that Walt is dead. Having been shot in the stomach while shielding Jesse from his gunfire, Walt collapses on the floor of Uncle Jack’s meth lab while a pool of blood spills out around him.
But since we didn’t actually see a death certificate, some Breaking Bad fans theorized that Walt might’ve survived the gunshot. As confirmed by a news report early in El Camino, Walt is, in fact, dead.
Didn’t Tie Up: Is Skyler In Prison?
Although Walt’s heartbreaking phone call in “Ozymandias” seemed to absolve her of all wrongdoing, Skyler is still an accessory to Walt’s crimes. For years, she ran the money laundering operation that kept the Heisenberg empire afloat.
If an incriminating piece of evidence was found or Skyler cracked under police questioning, she’d go to jail. But since El Camino focused on Jesse’s story, it gave viewers no indication of Skyler’s fate.
Tied Up: What Happened To Badger And Skinny Pete?
The last time we saw Badger and Skinny Pete in Breaking Bad, Walt was paying them to pose as hitmen threatening Elliott and Gretchen with a couple of laser pointers. They didn’t know where Jesse was, and neither did Walt.
El Camino gave us a better idea of how their lives turned out. They still just lounge around, playing video games, but they have plenty of integrity, doing everything in their power to help Jesse evade the feds and skip town.
Didn’t Tie Up: What Happened To Huell?
Hank and Gomez had Huell in a safe house in DEA custody when we last saw him in Breaking Bad. They left him there when they drove out to the desert to lure Walt to his barrels of money, and then didn’t survive the altercation.
For all we know, Huell is still sitting in that safe house, waiting for Hank and Gomez to return. It’s unlikely, but El Camino gave us no sign otherwise.
Tied Up: Is Lydia Dead?
At the end of “Felina,” Lydia calls the Nazis and Walt picks up the phone. He informs her that he slipped ricin into her Stevia and she’ll be dead shortly.
A news report in El Camino confirmed that a poisoned woman was Heisenberg’s final victim. She wasn’t named, but it was obviously Lydia.
Didn’t Tie Up: Did Kaylee Get Mike’s Money?
For four seasons on Breaking Bad and now five seasons on Better Call Saul, we’ve seen Mike Ehrmantraut working for Gus Fring, Saul Goodman, Walter White, and various other illicit employers to save up cash to give to his granddaughter on her 18th birthday.
Unfortunately, the feds kept getting ahold of Mike’s money, and he was killed by Walt before he could secure a direct financial line to Kaylee. El Camino didn’t tell us whether Kaylee will ever receive Mike’s money.
Tied Up: Can Jesse Recover From His Traumas?
Throughout Breaking Bad’s five seasons, Jesse Pinkman was really put through the ringer. His working relationship with Walt forced him to commit murder; he fell in love with Jane, then she died of a heroin overdose and he blamed himself; he fell in love with Andrea, then she got killed. And she was only killed because he tried to escape from the compound where he was being held in captivity as a meth-cooking slave.
The flashbacks in El Camino juxtaposed with Jesse’s emotional journey in the present-day scenes seemed to suggest that Jesse will eventually recover from his many traumas.
Didn’t Tie Up: Is Jesse Out Of The Woods For Good?
El Camino ended with Jesse arriving in Alaska with a new name, a new identity, and a new lease on life. But that doesn’t mean he’s out of the woods forever.
When Walt was relocated to New Hampshire, he ended up returning to Albuquerque to settle his old scores and die. When Saul was relocated to Nebraska, he was recognized by a taxi driver (although we won’t know how that pans out until Better Call Saul’s final season airs next year). Who knows what fate the universe will provide for Jesse?
