Miss ‘Breaking Bad’s Jesse Pinkman? Tryst on ‘Fakes’ Is Here to Help

Warning: Spoilers for Netflix’s Fakes ahead.

If you’re desperately missing the Breaking Bad universe, which recently came to an end with the Season 6 finale of Better Call Saul, I have an odd suggestion. Watch Fakes on Netflix.

The charming ten-episode teen crime comedy shows besties Zoe Christensen (Emilija Baranac) and Rebecca Li (Jennifer Tong) accidentally starting a super successful fake ID operation and falling into business with the wrong guy, who’s literally named Guy (Oliver Rice). The series isn’t close to being in the same league as Vince Gilligan’s masterful Emmy-winning Albuquerque crime drama about a high school chemistry teacher who starts cooking meth after being diagnosed with cancer. But one of its characters, Tryst (Richard Harmon), has massive Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul) energy and he’ll help fill that Gilliverse void, if only for a few hours.

Tryst is a local drug dealer/hustler who Rebecca recruits to help her and Zoe get their fake ID business off the ground. They’re the Walter Whites of the operation, designing and printing the IDs, but their success wouldn’t be possible without Tryst, who moves the product and shows them the ropes.

The small-time dealer and Pinkman certainly have their differences. Tryst advises people to “say no to drugs,” regularly goes to therapy, is knowledgable about influencers and fashion, and visits his alma mater to deliver motivational speeches to at-risk youth — all things that seem well outside of Pinkman’s wheelhouse in early seasons. But Harmon’s standout, layered, at times raw performance creates clear parallels between the two characters that go well beyond their vocal similarities, which are strong by the way.

While Tryst appears slightly more put together than our beloved Breaking Bad boy, every so often he switches into Pinkman mode with a loud impassioned outburst or a phrase like “you girls are cool as shit,” “that guy fucks,” or “deuces.” The two share a penchant for swearing (though Tryst doesn’t seem to be a fan of the B-word in Season 1), a soft spot for kids, and a desire to make something of themselves. They’re both charming, comical, stressed, and emotionally fragile. And though they each have an edge, it’s no secret they’re sensitive souls who try to do the right thing when it matters most.

Tryst faithfully pops up throughout the series, but Episode 5, “Real Gs Move Like Lasagna,” lets us see the world from his perspective. We tag along on a day in the life of the budding Jesse Pinkman and see Tryst deal drugs, pitch potential businesses, host a rager, come face to face with police, and get held at gunpoint — all while guarding a duck stuffed animal. We later learn the plush is a present for his baby daughter, who lives with her mother, and that Tryst is tirelessly trying to provide for family and prove himself worthy of being in their lives. We get the feeling that like Pinkman, Tryst has a tendency to be self-destructive, but he likely wouldn’t be involved in illicit activities if he felt he had another choice.

The Fakes character’s Pinkman energy peaks whenever he loses his temper, whether that’s screaming to ask “who the fuck” took his limited edition golden duck plushie in Episode 5, or putting his performative rage on display in the final two episodes in an attempt to protect the girls from Guy. Like Paul did with Pinkman, Harmon successfully summons Tryst’s pain and inner turmoil to the point where viewers genuinely feel for him. And the final scene where Guy tosses a defeated Tryst to the ground and orders Zoe and Rebecca to shoot him? Tell me doesn’t feel like a dilemma straight out of Breaking Bad.

Prior to Fakes, Harmon was best known for his role as badass John Murphy on The CW’s sci-fi drama The 100. But Tryst’s complexities — that balance of humor, innocence, drive, and a life of crime — perfectly suit the actor. There’s no doubt that Aaron Paul was born to play Jesse Pinkman, but Richard Harmon does a hell of a job channeling his energy. If Tryst survives another season, slap a Pinkman beanie on him and give him way more screen time. He deserves it.