In the original pilot script for Breaking Bad, Jesse's name was Marion Alan Dupree. Series creator Vince Gilligan originally intended for Jesse Pinkman's character to be killed at the end of Breaking Bad's first season. Gilligan wanted Jesse to die in a botched drug deal, as a plot device to plague Walt with guilt. However, Gilligan said by the second episode of the season, he was so impressed with Jesse's character and Aaron Paul's performance that "it became pretty clear early on that it would be a huge, colossal mistake to kill off Jesse". Gilligan also liked the chemistry between Paul and Bryan Cranston. The character has been said to become the "flawed moral center" to Walter White in later seasons. Paul has said that he initially saw the character as "black-and-white", but that over time it had become evident that Jesse "has a huge heart; it just got messed up".
