With only a few weeks to go until its release, Netflix has finally released a full trailer for the Breaking Bad sequel film El Camino. As has been the case with all releases thus far, not much concrete was revealed, and that little bit teased a lot more questions. Fans may find themselves particularly confused by a part towards the end of the trailer, in which a voice asked on-the-run Jesse Pinkman one simple question: "You ready?"
Who was that voice speaking to Jesse? The two appear to be engaged in a tense showdown, with both keeping their hands near their sidearm. With that being said, Jesse seems to have a relative ease about him, almost like he's feeling pretty chill about the situation. Let's break down who he could be talking to, and how it may play into El Camino.
Jesse Is Speaking To Ed "The Disappearer"
Breaking Bad fans who haven't watched the series in a while may not remember Ed "The Disappearer," but the character (played by Robert Forster) had a pretty big part in the series. He was the person responsible for Walt escaping Albuquerque, and helped Saul escape as well. Walt ended up leaving his cover, and Saul was able to successfully start a new life as Gene and get a job as a manager at Cinnabon.
Jesse once had the chance to disappear via Ed as well, but ended up bailing at the last minute. Jesse could be searching for Ed knowing that it's his only real shot at escaping the situation given the level of heat that's on him after the big shootout. We're not exactly sure how he'd go about finding him, though it seems Albuquerque would be the first place to start the search.
Is this why Jesse is seen at Skinny Pete's doorstep? It doesn't make much sense for Jesse to come back otherwise, though we can't fault him for simply wanting a warm shower, a haircut, and a change of clothes. It could also be there's some cash he had stashed away prior to his DEA capture he'd need to continue his journey, and if there's enough, maybe he'd convince Ed to help him.
Of course, there's just one problem with Jesse's plan. As Saul mentioned in Breaking Bad, a person only gets one chance to disappear with "the Disappearer." As mentioned earlier, Jesse blew his one chance some time before his capture, so even if he were to track down the mysterious character, he probably wouldn't help him. That is, unless he was threatening him in some way, which could be what that scene ahead of the line was all about.
Jesse Is Speaking To Walter White
Let's be real, the minute that screen went to black and the voice was heard over the trailer we all knew who we thought it was. The voice does sound a bit like Bryan Cranston after all, so it isn't too crazy to think the actor stood in for that voiceover. What is a bit crazier to think is that Walter White is the person speaking to Jesse, considering he was believed to be dead.
Is it possible Walter White survived? I'm gonna say no considering Walt wasn't in the best of health when he raided the skinhead compound and had a pretty serious gunshot wound. While this is television, where anything can happen, the body count on that radio report did seem to confirm that Walt's body was found amongst the deceased. Heisenberg may have been a bad ass, but he wasn't invulnerable.
What's more likely is that Walter White will appear in El Camino as part of a flashback, dream sequence, or hallucination. That would allow this voice to be Walt, but perhaps whoever made the trailer put the line out of place to throw off the audience in what the context of the scene really is. After all, the mere existence of this film and who's involved has been rife with deception to this point, so why stop now? Can we trust anything in this trailer?
Personally, I'm leaning towards Walt making a return as some form of hallucination. Jesse was held in captivity and abused for a long time, and trauma like that doesn't tend to just roll off the shoulders. If Jesse is going to keep it together and find a way to evade capture, he needs something to help him mentally cope with everything that has happened in the short-term so that he can live to see a long term.
Walt may not be the best spirit guide for Jesse, especially given his mixed feelings on his partner near the end of Breaking Bad, but he is the most obvious choice. For better or worse, Walt probably dominated a bulk of Jesse's thoughts when he was in captivity, mostly because he was responsible for what happened to him. It's only natural he would think about him, and possibly look to Walt for guidance as he had done in the past.
Jesse Is Talking To Mike Ehrmantraut
While we're on the subject of talking about dead characters who we could see again in some form or another, it's worth mentioning that Jonathan Banks has confirmed Mike will appear in El Camino. No one was necessarily thinking Mike was going to appear, especially seeing as we saw his corpse after Walt killed him.
Unfortunately, Jonathan Banks didn't go so far as to say what he'll be doing in El Camino. Not that it's that hard to guess, though, as the same scenarios that appeared plausible for Walter White are on the table for Mike. That is to say, he's probably going to be featured in some form of flashback, or he's a hallucination that will help guide Jesse through this perilous journey.
To be honest, it would make sense that Jesse would manifest Mike over Walt at this stage in his life. Mike was never anything but nice to Jesse, and was a sort of father figure to Jesse in some ways. Though it was never outwardly spoken, it was certainly clear that the connection between Mike and Jesse was much stronger than it ever was with Walt and Mike.
The only thing I can't justify is why Jesse would have a hand near his gun if he's talking to Mike. I mean, sure, I'd be a bit shook if I was seeing someone I thought I was dead, but as mentioned, Jesse and Mike were largely cool with each other. It's nice to know Mike will be a part of El Camino; the odds of him appearing in a threatening manner to Jesse feel slim.
Jesse Could Be Talking To Someone We Don't Know
Just to throw it out there, Jesse could be talking to someone that Breaking Bad fans are completely in the dark on. This could be anyone from a drug runner offering Pinkman safe passage south of the border for a batch of that trademark meth, or it could be a DEA agent asking the on-the-run convict if he's ready to give up. And those are only two possibilities!
It's part of the beauty of El Camino, because it's truly a rare treat that a film or television show can be completely unspoiled in the age of internet leaks. As crazy as these questions may make us, we're truly blessed that so little has been released on this project and that we still don't have a great idea of what to expect from this Netflix original. Here's hoping it doesn't disappoint!
4 TV Shows That Deserve A Movie After Breaking Bad's El Camino
El Camino arrives on Netflix Friday, October 11 at 12:01 a.m. PT.
