2.06 Peekaboo

Summary and spoilers

Jesse is following up Walt’s directive to ‘take care of it’: ‘it’ being the two junkies who stole an ounce from Skinny Pete at knife point. Jesse loads up his gun, smokes some meth to bolster his courage, and enters their graffiti-scrawled house. Whereas the outside of the house is run-down, the inside is shocking. Apart from being kept in a state of darkness preferred by junkies, there is stuff everywhere – ashtrays filled with cigarette butts, piles of scattered rubbish on the floor, half-empty bottles, and a feeling that, obviously, all the occupants care about is where they are going to get their next hit. All this would be depressing enough if the drug couple were the only occupants, but that isn’t the case; a skinny, dirty, cute little boy, no more than three, emerges from a back bedroom, turns on the television, and starts watching the Home Shopping Network while his spare hand loosely fiddles with the duct tape that is holding the lounge together. Jesse, sitting on the other end of the lounge and basically ignored by the boy, is shocked and saddened. When Jesse attempts to change the channel to a program more suitable for kids, he discovers there is only that one working channel. The boy quietly says, "I’m hungry," so Jesse makes the boy something to eat. When the couple returns, Jesse puts the boy back in his bed and tells him to stay there. He bashes the Mr. Spooch and holds he and the woman at gunpoint, demanding his ounce of meth and his money back. After many denials, they each pull some drugs out of their anal hiding places, although most of the meth is already gone – lost, or so they say. But Mr. Spooch has a better plan – he’s stolen an ATM in what he said was a victimless crime (although we see that the store clerk was killed during the robbery). Spooch moves the ATM inside the house and proceeds to bash at it for hours with a mallet, which has no effect. Distracted and tired, Jesse plays peekaboo with the boy, and is knocked out by the mom.

When Jesse comes to, he no longer has his gun. Spooch is now underneath the propped-up ATM, trying to drill through the supposed weak point. His lady wants some more meth, but he says she lost her share. When he calls her a skank one too many times, she pushes the ATM back, crushing his skull. She then removes the remaining meth from his pocket and collapses on the lounge, happy and out of it. Jesse examines the ATM; the door pops open and money pours out He pockets the money, calls 911 and leaves the phone off the hook, then takes the boy from the bedroom, telling him to cover his eyes (and saving him from seeing the dead man). He leaves the boy outside on the steps of the house, wrapped in a blanket, as the sirens draw nearer.

Walt is back teaching at school, under the watchful eye of Principal Carmen. The story Walt chooses to tell is focused around the element Carbon, and Tracy Hall, the man who invented the process for making synthetic diamonds. Walt says Hall was working for General Electric and made countless millions of dollars for the company. His reward? A ten dollar savings bond. Carmen watches as Walt gets a little emotional and dramatic at this point in the story, but it’s no surprise: this is Walt’s story with Gretchen and Elliot’s company, Gray Matter, except he didn’t even get the savings bond.

Speaking of Gray Matter, Gretchen calls, checking on Walt, and gets Skyler on the phone. When Skyler profusely thanks her for providing the money for Walt’s treatment, Gretchen doesn’t let on that she has not done so, and instead accepts an invitation to come around for a visit. The visit with Skyler is pleasant, but when Walt comes home, Gretchen suddenly has to leave. Walt walks her to her car, asking her not to tell anyone the secret, but Gretchen does not respond.

Later, Walt and Gretchen meet at a restaurant to discuss the matter. Walt apologizes for dragging Gretchen and Elliot into his lie, but for Gretchen, this is not enough. She wants to know why Walt did it and where the money is coming from. Walt says this is none of her business, that all she is owed is an apology. The anger from each of them stems from the past – when Walt ran out on Gretchen, and Gretchen and Elliot screwed Walt by using his research to make millions for their company. The meeting ends in anger, with nothing resolved. Later, at home, Skyler says that Gretchen called to say that she and Elliot will no longer be paying for Walt’s treatment. Walt partially admits to having met with Gretchen that afternoon (he says it was Gretchen and Elliot) and immediately involves them in another lie, telling Skyler that the reason they stopped paying is that Gray Matter is sliding down and they are broke. Skyler at first seems completely accepting of this reasoning, but then wonders aloud why Gretchen is still driving a Bentley.

Comments

Series creator Vince Gilligan co-write this sometimes achingly sad episode. The attention to detail in the meticulous squalor of the house of the two junkies is depressing enough, but, cleverly, we don’t know there is a child under their care until we’ve had a good long look at how sad their lives are. Immediately, their self-destruction moves from ‘pathetic’ to something approaching ‘evil’.

Memorable Moments

• Beetle-cam and fridge-cam

Breaking Bad Quotes

Walt: You know who might have done it?
Walt Jr.: I have no idea.
Walt: Well, here’s what I think: you I.D. him, and then together, you and I put a bag over their heads. We tie ‘em up, drive ‘em way out into the desert, strip ‘em naked, then bury them up to their necks in a huge mound of fire ants. Saw it in an old western. You with me?
Walt Jr.: Scorpions?
Walt: Scorpions are good! Yeah!.

Jesse: What the hell kind of mother are you?
Meth mom: Huh?
Jesse: How ‘bout you feed the kid a decent meal every now and then, huh? Give him a bath. Put some baby powder on him. Get him some decent TV to watch; I mean, what is that shit? Are you serious?
Meth mom: You give me one hit, and I’ll be any kind of mother that you want.

Gretchen: How can you say that to me? You walked away; you abandoned me – Elliot.
Walt: You rich girl – just adding to your millions.
Gretchen: I don’t even know what to say to you. I don’t even know where to begin. I feel so sorry for you, Walt.
Walt: Fuck you.

"Ain’t a skank."
- Meth mom (repeated line)

"You have a good rest of your life, kid."
- Jesse to little boy