(Season Two, Episode 8) – Meeting Walter White
Walter White and Jesse Pinkman are, by this point, well established in the crystal meth business, with Walt having created a mysterious, anonymous alter-ego known as Heisenberg, and Jesse having created a network of dealers. One of those dealers – Badger – gets himself arrested, and finds himself in need of a lawyer. It’s up to Jesse and Walt to find him one. Enter, Saul Goodman.
“When the going gets tough,” says Jesse, “You don’t want a criminal lawyer – You want a CRIMINAL lawyer.”
As Walt sits in the waiting room of Saul’s strip-mall shop front – hidden behind a baseball cap and shades – he is unimpressed by the assembled clientele. Soon enough, he is called in to pay Badger’s legal fee, and he poses as the dealer’s uncle.
“Mayhew,” ponders Saul, after inviting Walt to sit, “Is that Irish or English?”
“Er….Irish,” hesitates Walt.
“Faith in begorrah!” exclaims Saul in a faux-Irish accent, “A fellow potato eater! My real name’s McGill. Yeah. The Jew thing I just do for the home boys. They all want a pipe-hitting member of the tribe, so to speak. But, I digress…”
As the meeting continues, Saul reveals to Walt that the DEA are involved in Badger’s case, and they are pressing him for information.
“They’re after some mystery man – some heavy-hitter, goes by the name Heisenberg. They want this guy like the axe wants the turkey. Seems young Brandon [Badger] may have some information that could lead to his arrest.”
Walter – also known as Heisenberg – looks despondent.
“Jesus, cheer up! Brandon fell in the doo-doo pile and came up smelling like Paco Rabanne!”
Without revealing his motivations, Walt offers Saul $10,000 to prevent Badger from giving information to the DEA. We discover – much to Jesse’s surprise – that Saul Goodman doesn’t take kindly to being offered bribes.