The most beautiful cinematic moment of the entire episode may come at the end of the sepia-colored flashback to what we can assume is one of the happiest moments of Jesse’s life. We see him crafting a wooden box with such care and precision that his love for the work jumps off the screen. We’re reminded of the meeting where he talks about how much he loved woodworking, how he had once made a box he thought was perfect, and traded it for drugs. We’ve seen his affinity for artistic expression, whether through drawing or making music. There have been plenty of reminders along this journey of where Walter has come, but it was nice to see how far Jesse has fallen, even from before his days as a small time drug dealer kicked off.
Then we’re quickly jerked back to his grim reality in a fast, sharp cut. His little daydream ends when he feels his chains, a reminder that the freedom he once enjoyed is gone. The Jesse character may be the most complex in the series, and the fact that he’s a supporting player means he gets less attention, but the choices that have led him to his current state come to the surface in this scene. That decision to toss aside his artistic aspirations and get into the drug trade is as crucial as Walter’s decision to get in that RV and cook. It’s a tragic juxtaposition of images marked with a punchy cut, one of Gilligan’s most inspired moments of the episode.
