MovieChat Forums > El Camino (2019) Discussion > Jesse and the Disappearer

Jesse and the Disappearer

posted 5 years ago by dteam6 (5073)
4 replies | jump to latest

I absolutely LOVED their two scenes together. Such phenomenal acting from both fronts.

What I loved about Ed is how much of a hardass he is while fair at the same time. You could tell by his facial expressions and mannerisms that, despite his tough exterior, Ed obviously DID sympathize with Jesse to some extend. The way he looks at Jesse momentarily after he apologizes for missing the pick-up and then looks at the money before saying "You owe me for that last pick-up" shows an obvious moment where Ed is contemplating whether to help Jesse or not and ultimately deciding to help him.

IF anyone thinks Ed is cold in this scene, let us remember that Jesse broke the rules--rules of which Saul was clear that: "Once you miss a trip with my guy, there's no going back". Ed may have seemed hard on Jesse when, in reality, he made an enormous concession to Jesse in allowing him a second chance. Sure, he penalized him severely, but the point is--he gave him a second chance. Ed's rules (according to Saul) is that you get one shot with him and that's it. If you get cold feet and skip the pick-up, you're done. Ed gave him a second chance which was against his rules.

Also, while I have no doubt that Ed would have turned Jesse in if he refused to leave the store, he knew well enough that Jesse would flee which is why he lied to the cops about his physical description.

I've always sensed that Ed had a code similar to Mike: a deal is a deal and a man must honor it. Ed seemed like a much more low-key version of Mike. Same basic criminal "moral" code of honor.

Hell, even after Jesse's repeated threats and refusal to leave, Ed was still willing to help Jesse after the police left.

What I loved about this scene is that it played out almost exactly like I'd always imagined it would if Jesse tried to barter with Ed.

Some people seem to fault this movie for being predictable but, if you ask me, I think that's one of its strong suits. Gilligan doesn't pull any punches. Everything we basically surmised would happen in a Jesse escape scenario happened. That's true to the series and the characters--no "schmuck bait" as Gilligan and Gould said.

PS: One thing I loved was the final scene where Ed is reading Jesse's letter addressed to Brock. There is a small moment when Jesse takes the time to close the door of the truck and lock it while Ed is reading that letter. I love that. It's another example of Jesse's generous nature as a character. Despite paying double for Ed's services, Jesse was enormously grateful to Ed. That's what I derived from that small act of closing/locking the door for Ed: he appreciated Ed's services even if they were paid services.

I also loved the little moment where Ed looked up from the letter and looked at Jesse for a moment. It seems that Ed was somewhat moved by what he read in the letter.

Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul are full of moments like these: facial expressions, mannerisms and the most mundane of acts all tell deep stories with this entire Breaking Bad saga.

[–] redban (6318) 4 years ago

I agree. The actor who played Ed did a fine job.

The whole deal with him making a big deal about $1,800 out of $250k ties with his eccentric personality. He’s just a guy strict about rules.

I’m not sure he was sympathetic. He didn’t sell Jesse off to the police probably cause there wouldn’t be any gain for him. If Jesse gets busted, then he wouldn’t get any money. But if Jesse gets away and comes back with $1,800, then he would get a deal ($$$).

Let’s face it - Ed is also big on money. I remember, in BB, Walt asked if Ed could give his money to Skylar and Walt Jr if anything happens. Ed says, “If I say yes, would you believe me?” Just heartless imo

[–] brux (14730) 2 years ago

> He didn’t sell Jesse off to the police probably cause there wouldn’t be any gain for him.

I doubt that. I think he doesn't need to attention. Sure, the cops would not take Jesse seriously if Jesse tried to out Ed, but on the other hand Jesse raising one fuss is one fuss closer to disaster for Ed who is at an age where he cannot weather any disasters.

Robert Forster was the actor who died in real life around the same time as this hit the screen. He was one of the best underrated character actors there was.

[–] Corneileous (414) 2 years ago

Ah hell…. rules, schmules. Rules were meant to be broken. The Disappearerer guy didn’t have to charge Jesse for the first time because one and whether he had to havre reason or not, he had good reason to turn and burn when the guy showed up and two, it’s not like the guy was too terribly worried about going after Jesse to get his $125k and the only reason why he did was because Jesse came back to him. He coulda just let that $2800 slide too in my opinion be side he had enough to pay double for the devices but then again, if he would have just let Jesse slide, he would’ve been essentially broke but because he didn’t, it gave him reason to go to the welding shop to which he made out like a banshee because he ended up with all of the welder guy’s 1/3rd of what was in Todd’s fridge so it worked out. Instead of being broke, he I’ll had around $250k.

[–] brux (14730) 2 years ago

Decent points, but Ed is as another commenter mentioned a lot like Mike, and Mike saw the goofball kid in Jesse and knew how to treat him to get him to knock that shit off.

That is, Ed, had to be tough on Jesse because if he engages in business with Jesse, he needs Jesse to be serious, and not think he can weasel his way around not keeping his word. Ed was setting bounds with Jesse, and that mimicry of fatherhood is just another meaningful thing to happen to Jesse to set him on the road to adulthood.