First of all, welcome, Don! It's always nice to hear some new opinions around here.

Many of us are wondering the same thing about Gretchen and Elliott. Why is it that Walt took the path of leaving such a lucrative career for something "safe"? Like you, I believe that it did have something to do with the previous relationship between Walt and Gretchen.

I prefer your first scenario as the best explanation, but I think that Walt and Elliott both knew Gretchen at the same time and Walt had the first relationship with her. As we've seen, Walt's not exactly a ball of fire, though, and my impression is that Elliott entered the picture and Walt just gave up. Or maybe Gretchen wanted something that Walt couldn't deliver.

Regardless of that, I think Elliott and Walt were pretty firm friends, so Walt doesn't hold a grudge against him for that reason. I think he is more pissed off at Gretchen. Remember when he got the phone call and at first Walt thought it was Elliott? He was merely annoyed, but then when it turned out to be Gretchen, he got a little more rattled.

Gretchen, for her part, is trying to insinuate herself into Walt's life again. I also feel that she is jealous of Walt's family. Remember when Walt and Skyler arrive at the party and Elliott and Gretchen fawn over the pregnancy? Then later Elliott says, "We're 'just thinking' about it for ourselves."? Perhaps Gretchen now wishes that she had chosen a family instead of a career.

All she's got now to show for her life is a kitchen full of roosters!

Hm, I'm partial to the wandering Gretchen theory as well, DR. For one thing, it does away with the possibility that either Walt or Elliot double-crossed the other. I wonder about your characterization of Walt as "not exactly a ball of fire", though. It seems to me like the (very scanty) picture we have of Walt the young lover is a little ambiguous. On the one hand, the story of how he met Skyler is endearingly dorky and cute. On the OTHER hand... the scene with Gretchen in the classroom... yowza. I wish I could come on to girls like that.

See, that's why, as much as I'd like to latch on to it, I can't quite settle comfortably on the idea that Elliot the Skinny Nerd lured Gretchen away from "Nothing But Chemistry" Walt by sheer pheromonal sex power. That's why I turn to the theories about cheating, unpalatable as they are.

Agh! There's just not enough information. I'm dying for Season 2 here.

Anyway, interesting thought about Gretchen having baby envy. I hadn't picked up on it but I bet you're right. It was kind of weird for her to phone Walt out of the blue. You think that she's still carrying a torch for him?...

You're right. We really don't have enough information to come to any firm conclusions about what happened between Gretchen, Elliott and Walt. In some ways, the tension of trying to figure it out is the best part. I think it's probably the wave of the future for this series. I hope that the second season gives us a few bits to sustain us.

We have to remember that the "real" story is Walt and Jesse and what happens to them. That doesn't mean the other characters will be ignored (hopefully), but they're more the support system rather than the main structure.

OK, back to speculation: Since we don't know for sure how Gretchen responded to Walt's "just chemistry" remark, at least in my view as a woman, I'm not certain he got all that far with it. It could be that she saw him as "soulless" (since she specifically asked about it...) from that point on and decided to not continue their relationship. And what I meant about him not being a ball of fire is that he seems to be inept in social matters. You said yourself that his courting technique with Skyler was dorky! Usually people improve over time, not get worse!

Again, it's too early to say if Gretchen really still has feelings for Walt. She obviously does care about him. I do think I'm on the mark about her wanting a family.

No matter what or how it happens, I have a lot of confidence it will be well-written and provocative. I haven't watched a lot of fiction TV recently...at least anything good. For the few months this show was on, I learned to trust the writers to deliver a quality product and I haven't been disappointed.

I'm curious about the whole reason why Walt left Gray Matter myself. Maybe some of that will be revealed in Season 2. I just hope it doesn't morph into a complicated sub-plot and detract from the main theme of the show.

I'm really glad to get your perspective, DR, because I just reflexively assumed that the "chemistry" line (and not just the line, of course, but the accompanying body language) was a killer come-on. It simply never occurred to me that you could just as well read it as overbearing and even insensitive. But, I guess you could.

How Gretchen herself read it... that's to be discovered. We hope.

Yeah, I know what you meant by the ball of fire thing. My viewpoint was that the classroom scene portrayed someone precisely the opposite of "inept in social matters". But again, that scene could impact different people different ways.

Also, people only "improve over time" if they keep practicing what it is they're trying to improve at. ;)

And, I likewise have zero doubt that however it is resolved, it will be with style and panache. I think Vince and team are just getting warmed up.

However. DR, you say that the "real story" is Walt and Jesse. MightyJoe, you don't want Walt's past to detract from the "main theme" of the show. Here's my question. How can either of you be sure what the "real story" is? We've only seen seven episodes so far. Yes, they've dealt primarily with Walt's entree into the drug trade, and have thus naturally featured Jesse prominently, nor do I have any doubt that he will continue to be a major character. But I always assumed that the "real story" was Walt, tout court. Just... him. What makes him tick. What he does, and why he does what he does. He's the main character, right? HE'S the "main theme" of the show. And if Gretchen (as seems quite possible) was a major part of his life, then she must in justice play a major role in the show, at least eventually.

But... hey... I could be wrong...

Don't sell yourself short, Don. Your opinions are just as important as anyone's.

I've come to my conclusions of Gretchen and Walt based on when we first see the flashback...as Walt is cleaning up the mess of Emilio. Ironic, isn't it? He's cleaning up a literal mess and thinking back to another mess in his life. Also probably wondering where his life went wrong. At least that's what I think.

I will grant you, absolutely, that Walt's pose in the scene with Gretchen is sexy and playful. My primatologist friends would call that presenting. But we don't see her reaction and if she asks about souls and instead gets "let's fool around", she might decide that he'd rather play games than take care of her heart.

Would that be enough to throw Walt back to a bike-riding, grilled cheese-eating existence when it comes to women? I guess that's what we have to figure out.

As for whether or not this is Walt's story alone, I thought you might call me on that. My position on this point is not as developed; however, Walt pretty much dragged Jesse into his life and now (at least with regard to the meth) they can't be separated. I have the feel that in the days to come, Jesse will infiltrate other parts of Walt's life.

My main impression of the flashback was that it was a sort of Hamlet in the graveyard moment. Scrubbing up the bloody remains of a corpse isn't something one does every day, and it certainly might make one think "What ARE we, really? Is this all there is to us? Just gory slabs of tissue? Alas, poor Yorick" etc. And so naturally he reflected back on the infamous "chemistry" conversation. I myself wonder if he was reconsidering his youthful, ultra-materialistic judgment in the light of everything he had recently been through... or have those experiences merely confirmed it?

Hmm...

In any case, I like your interpretation too. And it seems quite likely that they're both true.

I think it's an interesting angle to consider the writers' intentions. Why did they choose to introduce Gretchen as a character, and Walt's relationship to her, at just that moment, in that situation? After all, it wasn't an accident.

And no, I don't have any deep thoughts on that score, because it just occurred to me. But I am going to have to mull it over.

And, like I said, I have no doubt at all that Jesse will continue to be a marquee character. What I objected to was, well, for instance, you characterizing all of the characters in the show except Walt and Jesse as the "support system". Whereas my view is more that all of the characters except WALT are the support system; i.e., that the show is about Walt, not Walt and Jesse (or Walt and anybody else in particular). After all, it's Walt who's "breaking bad", not Jesse. Jesse probably broke bad in pre-school. That train has left the station.

I think it's important to consider whether Walt regrets his life as is. Ultimately the answer is probably no, but in almost all regards he would have had a much more comfortable (and professionally happier) life if he had stayed with Gretchen and Gray Matter. What makes the character so compelling is that despite that fact, he is still for the most part happy with his life, in love with his wife and family, and ready to fight for what little he has. It's a bitter irony that under different circumstances his cancer would be so much less consequential. But I guess that's not what makes for good drama these days.

Don: I like that, the Hamlet thing! One of my work colleagues has a poster of Olivier as Hamlet with the skull at her desk. I walk past it several times a day, but had never considered it until now. Good!

Clayton: Whatever other still unknown regret Walt has, being with his family is not part of it. Granted they've got some things to work through, but even if they ultimately discover his secret, they'll stand by him. At least I hope so.