The issue of why Walt chose not to save Jane has been discussed in depth, and personally I’d conclude that he did it to ‘save Jesse’ and silence Jane, who threatened to ’roll’ on him.

However, the content of the elephant documentary that Walt watches as Skyler sings her lullaby interested me as holding other possible ideas.



What can be heard:

“The largest land animal on the planet lives in a tightly knit matriarchal society lead by the eldest female in the herd..”

“…only the most dominant male can…”

“…much more fierce than they actually are - smaller, younger , less confident males will usually retreat from battle before any damage is done…”

“HOWEVER, during the mating season …”

(?) change…(?)..a sense of rage, and aggressive behaviour.. (?)…fight any other male they encounter, stalk the female (??) searching for a mate.“

"Bulls (male elephants) will attack female elephants, when there is not a female in heat…”

“There seems to be a connection to dominant behaviour as well."



Dominant male elephant = Walt

Retreating younger male elephant = Jesse

Female elephant under attack = Jane

Matriarch Female elephant (thanks salon_kitty) = Skyler



I’m very sure this is deliberate and not coincidence. The sound designer, with direction, would have chosen exactly which excerpts that they wanted to be heard, and how clearly.

I do think Walt’s motivation to kill Jane was to save Jesse from almost certain death, but - looking at this suggests it was also the 'dominant’ behaviour.

You could theoretically give an extra reason for Walt wanting end the relationship of Jesse and Jane - sexual frustration. "Bulls will attack female elephants, when there is not a female in heat…” (prepare for weird idea) Skyler would not be menstruating having recently been pregnant (OKAY, I may be getting a bit too in to the pyscho-analysis here, but the ideas interest me - I am getting this all from the primary source material, it’s not from thin air.)

Walt and Skyler had been growing apart. Skyler was cold to him, in return to his distancing himself . She was likely refusing sex, (or at least, the sex would have been very different) Plus the strains of money problems and pregnancy/other factors. Walt could have subconsciously been jealous of Jesse’s relationship with Jane - the ’stripper?’ the ’little junkie girlfriend?’. The death when it happens scene even plays out in the bedroom, in the bed.

This was raised again when Walt tried to separate Jesse from Andrea in 5A to keep Jesse with him. Walt wanted to distance himself from Brock - a painful and guilty reminder of the poisoning, to keep Jesse close, and also, - because he was jealous. He was jealous that Jesse’s relationship with Andrea was going so well, in comparison to his own collapsing marriage with Skyler.

So, it was not just jealously in the sense that Jane and Andrea had Jesse, and Walt wanted Jesse. It may also have been that Walt was jealous of what Jesse had with Jane and Andrea.