Top 10 Episodes #4
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Season 2, Episode 6: ‘Peekaboo’
Directed by Peter Medak
Written by Vince Gilligan & J. Roberts
Directed by Peter Medak, known for such hidden gems as Let Him Have It, Romeo Is Bleeding and The Krays, ‘Peekaboo’ is technically my favourite episode. This episode is all about family, and not just Walt’s family, but Jesse’s family and a third family: that of Spooge, his woman and their kid, introduced for the first and probably only time. It’s interesting to see the opposite ends of the spectrum and the in-between. On one side you have Walt cooking the meth that gets distributed by Jesse to Spooge and his woman. Walt lives the good life, with a house, two kids, two cars, a white picket fence and is a respected, supposedly law-abiding citizen. Than you have Jesse, whose parents turn their back on him, leaving him to find his own method of survival, thus selling the meth. And finally you see how the decision from the people on the top, so greatly effects those beneath them. A classic case of the rich getting rich and the poor getting poorer.
Skinny Pete has been ripped off by the aforementioned drug-addicted couple and Walt has made it plain to Jesse that unless he does something about it, word will get around pretty quick that they are an easy mark. But Pinkman, as hard as he tries, is no true criminal. He’s more the product of bad decisions, and being in the wrong place surrounded by the wrong people, time and time again. If there is ever one episode that asked the audience to accept a character and love him for who he is, despite all his faults and mistakes, it is ‘Peekaboo’. As I mentioned earlier in this list, the audience needs to side with at least one of the protagonists. After three seasons of Breaking Bad, there is no liking Walt. Walt is one of the most irredeemable characters in the entire series, perhaps in the history of television. Here, Jesse gets to show his big heart and unlike Walt, who only destroys lives, he saves one, that of the little red-haired boy. His sensible side shows every time when the little kid shows up—and we get a deeper understanding of his character, that plays a big part at the end of season three. Jesse might be a meth dealer but he has his rules and beliefs, and children should be left out of the game entirely.
Aside from being a heart wrenching episode, ‘Peekaboo’ also offers yet another “WTF” moment, with the ATM machine tipping over on Spooge. I don’t think any of us saw that one coming.
On a side note, I love that Jesse was angry that Spooge had stolen an ATM machine that belonged to Jesse’s bank. Classic.
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