Though she only appeared in nine episodes of “Breaking Bad,” Jane Margolis (Krysten Ritter) left an enormous impact on the rest of the series — as her tragic death would have far-reaching consequences for Walter White (Bryan Cranston), Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul), and the entire city of Albuquerque. Fans of the series will remember her short-lived relationship with Jesse in Season 2, which was portrayed as extremely loving though dysfunctional due to their respective addictions.
Although the series makes it clear that Jesse truly did love Jane (as her death leaves him devastated and reeling for much of Season 3), fans online have since questioned whether or not Jane actually cared about Jesse at all — claiming that she only cared about his money. “I really didn’t understand in the end if she really cared about him as much as he or she only liked the fact that he was a drug dealer,” wrote u/martinmmongiardim on Reddit, referencing the $480,000 that Jesse and Jane blackmailed out of Walt. “I think in the beginning she loved him, But you can see the exact moment she switched to seeing him as a source of income or an escape from her life,” explained u/CoolBean102.
Most users seemed to agree that it’s a little bit murky whether or not Jane really cared about Jesse in the end because, after she starts using again, she appears to have developed an ulterior motive and desire for his money.
She might have cared at one point, but her addiction changed that
The tragic downfall of Jane Margolis begins when she smokes crystal meth with Jesse Pinkman in the aftermath of his friend’s death, hoping to comfort him and simultaneously breaking her rigidly maintained sobriety. That one hit begins a rapid downward spiral, during which she introduces Jesse to heroin, and the duo becomes obsessed with scoring their next hit.
She transforms into almost a different character entirely, and fans online say that this is when she starts caring more about Jesse’s money than Jesse himself. “I think she cared… but when she relapsed, the only thing she cared about was money so she can get high with [Jesse],” wrote u/content_content77. “So she definitely developed an ulterior motive once she discovered how much Jessie has, but it doesn’t take away from how she really felt before getting into drugs again.” “But the moment she found out about the money, she started using him,” echoed u/Nihilus618.
Other fans referenced the fact that Jane didn’t even learn about Jesse’s money until a few days before her death, meaning that her early feelings were likely genuine, even if her addiction eventually started to drive her actions. It’s evident that fans are still unclear on what Jane’s final motivations were (particularly because of how her story ended). However, most seem to agree that, in the end, any feelings she had for Jesse were overshadowed by her addiction.
