9. Peekaboo (Season 2, Episode 6)
Breaking Bad isnt exactly Teletubbies, but when it gets dark, it gets really dark. This is particularly apparent when Jesse is bullied into taking control of their burgeoning little Meth Empire by Walter and he tracks down a couple of Meth-Heads who robbed Skinny Pete of his product. Jesses invasion of the addicts leads him to discovery a feral child, presumably their son. This provides a lot of twisted humour, but also a chance for Jesse to prove he cares. He gets in over his head with Spooge and his skank woman, especially once she crushes Spooges head with an ATM as payback for givng her the name skank, but Jesse seems less interested in getting back what is his and more about the wellbeing of the odd little child. Its at once quite disturbing and also very touching, and its one of the shows strongest moments when he calls social services so that the kid has a chance of surviving. Not that Walter takes a backseat- in fact, one of this reasons this episode is so high up the list is that the B-plot is just as strong as Jesses A-Plot. Walters former partner- business and romantic- Gretchen makes an appearance. She is just as confused as Skyler that she is apparently paying for Walters chemotherapy. Here is a good example of the cracks beginning to show in Walters charade and Skylers doubts growing. We also get a peek into Walters bitterness towards Gretchen at the life he could have led, but not enough that the audiences arent left intrigued by the mystery of Walts supposed exclusion from a chance of a better life that wouldnt have led to where he is now. So as well as developing Jesses character and giving us a unique episode, we also learn more about Breaking Bads enigmatic lead character.