"Peekaboo" is the sixth episode of the
second season of the American television drama series ''
Breaking Bad
''Breaking Bad'' is an American crime drama television series created and produced by Vince Gilligan. Set and filmed in Albuquerque, New Mexico, the series follows Walter White (Bryan Cranston), an underpaid, overqualified, and dispirited hig ...
''. It was written by J. Roberts and
Vince Gilligan
George Vincent Gilligan Jr. (born February 10, 1967) is an American writer, producer, and director. He is known for his television work, specifically as creator, head writer, executive producer, and director of AMC's ''Breaking Bad'' (2008–2 ...
and directed by
Peter Medak
Peter Medak (born Medák Péter, 23 December 1937) is a Hungarian-born film director and television director of British and American productions.
Early life
Born in Budapest, Kingdom of Hungary, Hungary, he was the son of Elisabeth (née Diamoun ...
.
Plot
Jesse Pinkman
Jesse Bruce Pinkman is a main character in the American television series '' Breaking Bad'', played by Aaron Paul. He is a crystal meth cook and dealer and works with his former high school chemistry teacher, Walter White (Bryan Cranston). Jess ...
gets the address of the couple who ripped off
Skinny Pete
''Breaking Bad'' is a neo-Western crime drama franchise created by American filmmaker Vince Gilligan, primarily based on the television series ''Breaking Bad'' (2008–13), its prequel/sequel series, ''Better Call Saul'' (2015–22), and its seq ...
and goes to their dilapidated house. Upon breaking inside, he finds and tends to their young neglected son. When the couple returns home, Jesse holds them up and demands that they return his
meth
Methamphetamine (contracted from ) is a potent central nervous system (CNS) stimulant that is mainly used as a recreational drug and less commonly as a second-line treatment for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and obesity. Methamphe ...
and his money. They give him part of the meth, claiming to have lost the other portion, and show him an
ATM they have stolen from a convenience store. The husband,
Spooge, works unsuccessfully to open the ATM. While Jesse is busy playing with the son, the wife knocks him unconscious, stealing his gun and drugs. Jesse wakes up to see Spooge trying to open the ATM from the bottom. His wife, angry that he keeps calling her a "
skank", knocks the ATM over, crushing him; she then takes his drugs and gets high on the couch. Jesse hurriedly takes back the gun, takes what money he can when the ATM pops open, and calls
9-1-1
, usually written 911, is an emergency telephone number for the United States, Canada, Mexico, Panama, Palau, Argentina, Philippines, Jordan, as well as the North American Numbering Plan (NANP), one of eight N11 codes. Like other emergency nu ...
. He then brings the boy out of the house, tells him not to go back inside, and runs away.
On his first day back teaching after finishing
chemotherapy
Chemotherapy (often abbreviated to chemo and sometimes CTX or CTx) is a type of cancer treatment that uses one or more anti-cancer drugs (chemotherapeutic agents or alkylating agents) as part of a standardized chemotherapy regimen. Chemotherap ...
,
Walter White Walter White most often refers to:
* Walter White (''Breaking Bad''), character in the television series ''Breaking Bad''
* Walter Francis White (1893–1955), American leader of the NAACP
Walter White may also refer to:
Fictional characters
...
teaches his class about Dr.
Tracy Hall
Howard Tracy Hall (October 20, 1919 – July 25, 2008) was an American physical chemist and one of the early pioneers in the research of synthetic diamonds, using a press of his own design.
Early life
Howard Tracy Hall was born in Ogden, Uta ...
, the inventor of synthetic diamonds, who earned only a pittance for his invention while
General Electric
General Electric Company (GE) is an American multinational conglomerate founded in 1892, and incorporated in New York state and headquartered in Boston. The company operated in sectors including healthcare, aviation, power, renewable energ ...
made an incalculable profit. At home,
Skyler White
Skyler White ( née Lambert) is a fictional character in '' Breaking Bad'', portrayed by Anna Gunn. For her performance, Gunn received critical acclaim, with some critics even lauding her character as the template for television anti-heroines. ...
gets a call from
Gretchen Schwartz
'' Breaking Bad'' is a neo-Western crime drama franchise created by American filmmaker Vince Gilligan, primarily based on the television series '' Breaking Bad'' (2008–13), its prequel/sequel series, ''Better Call Saul'' (2015–22), and its ...
, whom she still believes is paying Walt's medical bills. Skyler invites Gretchen over that afternoon, but Gretchen quickly leaves when Walt arrives home. Walt follows Gretchen outside and tells her not to say anything until they can talk. Walt then drives up to
Santa Fe to apologize to Gretchen for lying, but Gretchen demands to know why Walt did it and how he has been paying for his treatment. Walt, angry at being cut out of Gray Matter Technologies, denies her any right to that information; Gretchen insists that Walt was the one who left by walking out of their past relationship. Walt curses at Gretchen, making her leave. When Walt gets back home, Skyler tells him that Gretchen called to say that the Schwartzes will no longer be paying for Walt's treatment. Walt covers by telling her that the Schwartzes have gone broke, and that he drove up to Santa Fe to discuss the situation with Gretchen.
Production
The episode was written by J. Roberts and
Vince Gilligan
George Vincent Gilligan Jr. (born February 10, 1967) is an American writer, producer, and director. He is known for his television work, specifically as creator, head writer, executive producer, and director of AMC's ''Breaking Bad'' (2008–2 ...
and directed by
Peter Medak
Peter Medak (born Medák Péter, 23 December 1937) is a Hungarian-born film director and television director of British and American productions.
Early life
Born in Budapest, Kingdom of Hungary, Hungary, he was the son of Elisabeth (née Diamoun ...
. It aired on AMC in the United States and Canada on April 12, 2009.
Critical reception
The episode was universally acclaimed by critics, with some calling it one of the best in the series. Donna Bowman of ''
The A.V. Club
''The A.V. Club'' is an American online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was cre ...
'' gave the episode an A−, praising the episode for reversing the roles of Jesse and Walter.
In 2009,
TV Guide
TV Guide is an American digital media company that provides television program
Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or t ...
ranked "Peekaboo" on its list of the 100 greatest television episodes of all time.
Aaron Paul was nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series for this episode.
In 2019
The Ringer ranked "Peekaboo" as the 26th best out of the 62 total ''Breaking Bad'' episodes.
In 2022, the twin brothers who shared the role of the young boy who plays peekaboo with Jesse, reunited with Paul and Cranston at an autograph signing.
References
External links
"Peekaboo"at the official ''Breaking Bad'' site
*
{{TV Guide 100 Greatest Episodes 2009
2009 American television episodes
Breaking Bad (season 2) episodes
Television episodes written by Vince Gilligan