MovieChat Forums > Breaking Bad (2008) Discussion > A Tale of Two Todds SPOILER ALERT

A Tale of Two Todds SPOILER ALERT

posted 3 years ago by whynotwriteme (7720)
7 replies | jump to latest

I'm not referring to the jarring changes in appearance of Todd, but to the differences in the portrayal of the character.

In the series, he just struck me as a polite, well mannered guy with no conscience who did whatever was necessary to keep from getting caught. He never had that creepy horror movie vibe he displayed in El Camino. The El Camino Todd seemed more like a genuine serial killer. Basically, two entirely different Todds. I guess you could explain it by saying Todd was showing his real self to Jesse in El Camino when they were alone together, and in BB he was always keeping up a more 'normal' front for Lydia, Walt, Uncle Jack etc.

[–] atomicx (235) 3 years ago

I agree, but I also felt the same way about Jesse. In El Camino it was almost as though Jesse was turned into an action hero, which we never saw from him in the series. However, regarding Todd, I believe that there had just been so much time between the series and the movie that the actor perhaps had a hard time channeling back to the Todd character the same way he had originally, and just wasn't able to quite pull it off the same.

[–] Ace_Spade (9547) 3 years ago

Jesse was a lot more Clint Eastwood in El Camino, yeah. I attribute some of it to Jesse being broken down in that pit and coming up a lot more bitter and angry. Channelling that cynical side gave him advantages (like not really caring if he got shot down; there are worse things, after all) that freed up his mind and let him run a little harder than in the show. The movie was more of an action/thriller vibe, though. It wasn't too jarring to me. As for Todd...I went on a little ramble below about how I think the dude is a high-functioning sociopath.

[–] UserNameExists (60) 2 years ago

"...there had just been so much time between the series and the movie that the actor perhaps had a hard time channeling back to the Todd character"

Off topic a little but there's a clip of Al Pacino trying to do a Scarface impression recently and it wasn't very good lol

[–] Ace_Spade (9547) 3 years ago

I always got a really creepy vibe off of Todd. It was actually compounded by how he could often just appear to be a nice, gee-shucks kinda guy. The impression I got was that Todd was a sociopath. I've watched interviews with sociopaths, and a lot of them are functioning, well-adjusted people with friends and whatnot, but they describe having to remind themselves not to manipulate people.

Todd is pleasant and wants to please Walt because Todd can get money and power out of Walt. Todd is nice to Lydia because he wants to have sex with her. Todd is nice to Uncle Jack because Jack is another avenue for money and power. Todd is a creepy, murderous screwhead when he doesn't have to be.

When he did stuff like brought Jesse ice cream, it seemed more like he was keeping him as a pet. But also that Todd probably liked torturing pets, just like Jesse.

Naw, I think Todd's true colours were nasty.

[–] AP (5288) 3 years ago

I thought Todd was pretty consistent. He was always polite in BB but he was also willing to lill a small child and an innocent woman, never realizing why Jesse might be upset. He was the same way in El Camino: a nice, polite guy on the surface but still capable of random murder.

[–] acidraindrop (3055) 3 years ago

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[–] acidraindrop (3055) 3 years ago

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[–] acidraindrop (3055) 3 years ago

In the series, I always saw him as a creepy sociopath. I think that was part of the intention; he appeared to be polite and well-mannered but he could have been a serial killer once you learned more about him.

I feel like it was a nice progression of antagonist type for Walt. Early on in the show, you have loose cannon Tuco. And then later you have super controlled Gus, but he is not a purely evil man. And then for the final arc, you have a guy like Todd, super controlled, super manipulative, but totally evil.