Ep 5. Gray Matter

Walter White is struggling to come to terms with the fact that his former friends, Elliott and Gretchen Schwartz, have made a fortune from a company they all co-founded together called Gray Matter Technologies. The episode begins with a flashback to Walter's early days, when he was a promising young chemist and was dating Gretchen. Through his pride and insecurities, Walter had made some bad choices and ended up leaving their relationship and the company behind. Now, he's a high school chemistry teacher with cancer and is struggling financially to support his family.

Walter's brother-in-law, Hank, who works for the DEA, comes over for a barbecue, and Walter sees this as an opportunity to ask him about Elliott and Gretchen's company, but Hank doesn't have any new information on the subject. Walter's son, Walter Jr., invites his friends over, and Walter slowly begins to drink more and more beer, until he's quite drunk. He starts to become erratic and starts insulting Elliott and Gretchen and their company, making an embarrassing scene.

The next day, Elliott comes to Walter's house to confront him about his behavior, and Walter's pride and anger comes to the surface. He refuses to take any financial help from Elliott, and instead demands that Elliott give him a job in the company, threatening to expose embarrassing secrets about the company if he doesn't comply. When Elliott refuses, Walter becomes more and more desperate, until the situation escalates into a physical altercation.

In the midst of all this, Walter's relationship with his wife, Skyler, becomes more and more strained. She is starting to suspect that Walter is up to something, and she's becoming increasingly frustrated with his erratic behavior. Their interactions become more tense and fraught with meaning, as they struggle to communicate with one another.

In the end, Walter's desperation and anger lead him to take a dangerous and risky action, one that puts him and his family in harm's way. The episode ends with the sense that things are spiraling out of control, and that Walter may have crossed a line he cannot come back from.

Overall, this episode tackles themes of pride, desperation, and the desire for success and recognition. It's a fascinating exploration of Walter's motivations and character, and it sets the stage for much of the conflict and drama that will follow in later seasons.