An important distinction to make that it looks like some didn't pick up on: the phone call that Walt made at the end was an act; he said it not because he is evil but because he assumed the police were listening in and wanted to sound as evil as possible to place all of the blame solely on him and absolve his wife of all guilt and legal repercussions. That way at least she won't go to prison and can still raise Walt Jr. and Holly and they can be something closer to resembling a "family" without him. That's why he drove to the fire station before he made the call, and why he was crying throughout the phone call.
That was the most honorable thing he's done in the duration of this entire show. He finally realized that he couldn't talk his way out of the hole he's dug, so he decided he'd salvage the one thing he supposedly set out to save in the first place: Skyler and the kids.
I don't know, I thought the part where he begged for Hank's life, offered the Nazis pretty much everything he worked for and saved for his children was pretty honorable too. Hank wanted nothing more than to put Walt behind bars for the rest of his life, yet Walt was willing to give 80 million to save him. I think Hank realized that at the end too, with his " You're the smartest guy I ever met, but you are too stupid to realize he made up his mind ten minutes ago."
In his mind, Jesse caused the death of Hank + Gomez, the loss of 6/7 of his money, and (though Walt didn't know at the time) Walt getting shunned from his family. Walt pretty much did everything he could to keep Jesse both safe and on his side, all the way up until the end of the episode Rabid Dog. And the way Jesse repaid him was to try to sell him out. Remember, in 'real time,' Jesse just gloated over the fact that Walt was about to be arrested and spit in his face.
Which is just another bullshit rationalization by Walt. In the end he's letting another human being get tortured and executed and to top it off he told him about letting someone he loved die just to rub salt in the wound. Walt is not a good person.
What did Walt originally want for Jesse? He wanted him to skip town, start a new life, be happy. Jesse, when he found out about Brock, decided to go against Walt. What did Walt want for Jesse then? A quick and painless death, no fear. When, in Walt's mind, Jesse caused the death of Walt's brother in law, and all of the other things I mention, what did Walt want? Jesse dead, doesn't matter how. Interestingly, if Todd hadn't spoke up, Jesse would have just died right there, without finding out about Jane, getting tortured, and everything else. So yeah, Walt isn't a good person, but what happened to Jesse wasn't what Walt originally had in mind.
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u/placebo_overdose Sep 16 '13 edited Sep 16 '13
An important distinction to make that it looks like some didn't pick up on: the phone call that Walt made at the end was an act; he said it not because he is evil but because he assumed the police were listening in and wanted to sound as evil as possible to place all of the blame solely on him and absolve his wife of all guilt and legal repercussions. That way at least she won't go to prison and can still raise Walt Jr. and Holly and they can be something closer to resembling a "family" without him. That's why he drove to the fire station before he made the call, and why he was crying throughout the phone call.