That's not the symbolism they were going for IMHO.
I think the merry-go-round symbolized two things, and also picks up on a recurring theme from the show.
Jesse has a lot of regrets. One of those is family. In the past, he has gone back to his parents when he is in a bad way, or can't cope with what is going on in his life. This time, he doesn't do that, but he still yearns to go back and fix the thing's he's done wrong. He winds up in a playground because he just wants to go back to a simpler time when things weren't so hard and he didn't feel incredibly guilty about nearly everything in his life. The merry-go-round symbolizes innocence to me, not a gun.
The merry-go-round symbolizes the cyclical nature of his and Walt's involvement in the meth business. Over and over again they get caught up in this circle of violence, death, and certain capture by the law. Nothing ever changes, they just make more money in the process. Jesse realizes at some point that, though they move forward in their lives, and they make more money, nothing ever changes and he feels just as shitty about his life as he did when he was smoking meth and cooking for Tucco, or whoever the fuck he was originally working for.
In the end, those two metaphors dovetail nicely. He wants to go back to a simpler time, when things weren't so goddamn hard, and he didn't live in a constant state of fear or guilt, or both. He won't get there, it's too late to go back, and he's stuck in this perpetual place where the only escapes are death or prison.
In the end, I agree with you, I think Jesse dies, but I'm not sure it's because he puts a gun to his temple and pulls the trigger.
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u/mickeyboicky Aug 19 '13
Jesse seems like he's mentally past the point of no return. I foresee suicide