SPOILERS It's a great show, and I agree with a lot of what you're saying. > Jesse's girlfriend got him hooked on heroin. Jesse was on a downward spiral and wo

SPOILERS It's a great show, and I agree with a lot of what you're saying. > Jesse's girlfriend got him hooked on heroin. Jesse was on a downward spiral and would surely die thanks to her continued interference. Jesse was on a downward spiral, yes, but the other two points are less clear. They might be true from Walt's perspective. > Walter saw the toxicity of both the drugs and the relationship and did Jesse a cruel but necessary kindness by letting her asphyxiate. It wasn't ethical, it wasn't humane, but it served a greater purpose (even if it was so Walter wouldn't be without an assistant). It's impossible to tell how much Walt's letting Jane die / killing Jane had to do with helping Jesse. I think it's clearer Walt killed Jane to keep control over Jesse and to protect himself. And that worked out pretty well, for a while. Jane didn't fear Walt, and she knew too much about him for Walt's comfort and safety. So he let her die / killed her. > He did far worse deeds for less grounded reasons as the series went on; there are better examples to choose from to make a case of villainy. This is true. For me, Jane's death caused a major nosedive in sympathy for Walt. Definitely previous things he did were villainous and later things even more so. But there was something about Jane's death. A big step down in his descent.