Someone wrote on Quora: Breaking Bad (TV series) Why does Walter White have so much loyalty to Jesse Pinkman?
The following was my response.
Initially, he didn't. There are a couple of reasons that changed.
1. He and Jesse went through a lot together. When you evade death multiple times with someone else, you tend to form a bond with them. This is similar to the loyalty that soldiers have sometimes felt for each other, after surviving dangerous situations in war.
2. As Jon Mixon said, there develops a sort of father-son relationship between them. Walter and Jesse are more compatible in some ways, than Walter and Walter Jr are. Jesse is actually pretty smart (even though he isn't well educated), smarter than Walter Jr, and for Walter White, smartness is necessary in order to form a true bond with someone.
3. I think that Walter recognizes the good-heartedness, the sincerity, the softness of heart that Jesse has (despite Jesse's many flaws). Although Walter does not himself have those qualities, he is able to appreciate them in Jesse. Remember when he tells Jesse "You're not a murderer" (I don't remember the exact words). He doesn't say "murder is wrong" because he (Walter) is ammoral, and doesn't care about the morality or immorality of killing, but he can still appreciate Jesse's aversion to killing people. Jesse has something that Walter lacks, and perhaps deep down Walter recognizes this.
The following was my response.
Initially, he didn't. There are a couple of reasons that changed.
1. He and Jesse went through a lot together. When you evade death multiple times with someone else, you tend to form a bond with them. This is similar to the loyalty that soldiers have sometimes felt for each other, after surviving dangerous situations in war.
2. As Jon Mixon said, there develops a sort of father-son relationship between them. Walter and Jesse are more compatible in some ways, than Walter and Walter Jr are. Jesse is actually pretty smart (even though he isn't well educated), smarter than Walter Jr, and for Walter White, smartness is necessary in order to form a true bond with someone.
3. I think that Walter recognizes the good-heartedness, the sincerity, the softness of heart that Jesse has (despite Jesse's many flaws). Although Walter does not himself have those qualities, he is able to appreciate them in Jesse. Remember when he tells Jesse "You're not a murderer" (I don't remember the exact words). He doesn't say "murder is wrong" because he (Walter) is ammoral, and doesn't care about the morality or immorality of killing, but he can still appreciate Jesse's aversion to killing people. Jesse has something that Walter lacks, and perhaps deep down Walter recognizes this.
