Unfortunately all good times must come to an end and these apprenticeships run their course. It seems that the life of the protégé is a short one in the context of their occupations and their mentor’s personalities. Jimmy was a troubled soul incapable of escaping the Great War that defined him. After failing to take power away from Nucky, Jimmy attempts to reconcile with him. After just two seasons on the show, Nucky executes Jimmy himself believing he can never trust Jimmy in the wake of his betrayal. Christopher had been battling his degenerate drug use since the series began. It was at once a source of anxiety and heartache for his mentor, Tony. After Christopher crashes the SUV Tony was riding in and after noticing a tree branch destroy the booster seat in the car, Tony decided there was no hope for Christopher. The booster seat made Tony realize he was a danger to his family, and like Jimmy, had become someone that couldn’t be trusted. So while Christopher sat wounded in the car in need of help, Tony smothered him with a handkerchief. After cooking a plethora of batches and enduring the hardships of drug dealing together, Walter and Jesse’s relationship is irreconcilable by the end of the show. It becomes apparent to Walt that this time he cannot manipulate Jesse into siding with him. Although Walt pays the skinheads to kill Jesse, some extraneous force saves him each time Jesse comes close to death. Following some much needed time to reflect in isolation, Walt comes to his senses and ends up actually saving Jesse, thereby breaking the prophecy established by the other mentors.

To say that the source of these similarities is simply The Sopranos’ influence on the latter two series seems unbecoming. There has to be something about the psychological profiles of these men and the nature of their occupations that necessitates a protégé. Perhaps it’s the lonely quality of a life of crime. Criminals don’t make the best of friends and so protégés may provide the mentor with a redeeming friendship. Indeed, all three of these difficult men feel some kinship with their protégés at one point or another. Perhaps the apprenticeship spawns from the mentor’s ego, with another set of eyes looking up at them reinforcing their position of influence and power. Yet, maybe the relationship is evidence of humanity within the heart of the monster. They feel so helplessly dehumanized by the immorality of their actions that they need this connection to hold onto this humanity, to keep them sane. It’s this juxtaposition, the human quality of these relationships in the context of the cold inhumanity of these character’s lives, which makes for the great stories that define this generation of television.