Todd Alquist, played by Jesse Plemons, is a character from the TV series “Breaking Bad.” He is a key figure in the show’s final season, as he becomes Jesse Pinkman’s captor and confidant. In “El Camino,” the Netflix movie that serves as a continuation of “Breaking Bad,” Todd appears in flashbacks, despite having been killed in the series finale. So how is Todd alive in “El Camino”?
To answer this question, we need to first understand the events of the “Breaking Bad” series finale. In the finale, Walter White (Bryan Cranston) stages a bloody assault on Jack Welker’s (Michael Bowen) compound, where Jesse (Aaron Paul) is being held captive. In the ensuing chaos, Walt is fatally shot and dies on the floor of the compound’s meth lab.
Before he dies, Walt frees Jesse from his captors and urges him to escape. Jesse, who has been traumatized by his captivity and the loss of his girlfriend Andrea (Emily Rios), decides to leave Albuquerque and start a new life. “El Camino” picks up right where the “Breaking Bad” finale left off, as Jesse attempts to flee from the law and start over in a new city.
Now, back to Todd. In “El Camino,” we see flashbacks to Jesse’s time in captivity at the hands of Todd and his associates. These flashbacks show Todd in his familiar role as Jesse’s oppressor, as he forces Jesse to cook meth and threatens him with violence. But they also show Todd in a slightly different light than we saw him in “Breaking Bad.”
In these flashbacks, Todd appears to have gained a significant amount of weight since his last appearance on “Breaking Bad.” This has led some viewers to speculate that the Todd we see in “El Camino” is actually a prequel version of the character, filmed before “Breaking Bad” season five. However, this is not the case.
The real explanation for Todd’s appearance in “El Camino” is that the flashbacks take place before the events of the “Breaking Bad” finale. In other words, Todd is alive in these scenes because they take place before he is killed by Jesse in the series finale.
This might seem like a small detail, but it has big implications for the story of “El Camino.” By showing us flashbacks to Jesse’s time in captivity, the movie fills in some of the gaps in Jesse’s story that were left unanswered in the “Breaking Bad” finale. We see how Jesse was treated by Todd and his associates, and we get a sense of the trauma he experienced during his captivity.
We also see how Jesse managed to escape from the compound. In one of the movie’s most tense sequences, Jesse tricks Todd into taking him out to bury the body of Todd’s cleaning lady, whom he had killed earlier. While they’re out in the desert, Jesse manages to overpower Todd and strangle him with his own handcuffs.
This scene is significant not just for its action, but for what it tells us about Jesse’s character. By killing Todd, Jesse is taking revenge for all the terrible things Todd did to him and the people he loved. But he’s also proving to himself that he’s capable of violence and self-preservation. This moment sets the stage for Jesse’s journey in “El Camino,” as he tries to escape his past and start over in a new life.
In conclusion, Todd is alive in “El Camino” because the movie includes flashbacks to before the events of the “Breaking Bad” finale.