1.04 Cancer Man

Summary and spoilers

Hank is leading an investigation into two missing drug dealers: Domingo (Krazy-8) and his cousin Emilio. Piecing together the meth and mask left at Domingo’s abandoned car, he knows it was a cook site and that there are new players in town with an extremely high skill set – a potential kingpin in the drug trade. Little does he know that the kingpin is his brother-in-law.

At a barbecue with Hank, Marie, Walt, Skyler, and Walt Jr., Walt tells what should have been a romantic story about how they first met by Walt doing crossword puzzles in the restaurant where she was working. When Skyler breaks down, Walt tells everyone what he told Skyler already: that he has ‘bad’ lung cancer. Walt Jr. buries himself in loud music while the others discuss Walt’s delay in telling everyone, and they offer to help. Skyler believes Walt’s cancer stems from his work 20 years earlier with lab chemicals. While Skyler wants to get a lawyer, Marie has a more practical plan: to get a second opinion from an oncology dream team.

Jesse’s got a couple of low-life pot-smoking friends over. When they express an interest in doing some meth, Jesse claims to have cooked up a perfect batch. But he also says he is not doing any of it right now due to health and paranoia reasons. When his friends decide to leave, Jesse says he is joking and brings out his stash. The next morning, long after his friends have used and left, he is still inside, crouched at the window, fearing the outside world, and deciding that smoking more is his only cure. This doesn’t work; instead, he sees two rough motorcyclists arrive in front of his house and dismount, carrying swords and hand grenades. Jesse grabs his full stash and flees out the back door in a panic. Cut to reality – the two visitors were clean-cut religious hawkers wearing white shirts and riding bicycles with little bells.

Walt is in the bathroom, secretly treating his stab wound gift from Domino. Meanwhile, Skyler is arranging Walt’s new doctor appointment with one of the top ten oncologists in the USA. There’s a $5000 cost just as a deposit for the consultation. Skyler feels that money is no object.

Walt digs out his stash of bills he got from Domino and gets caught, sort of, by Walt Jr., who confronts him for acting weird - like nothing is going on.

At the credit union, Walt loses the parking spot he is waiting for to Ken Wins (identified by personalized plates). The guy doesn’t even acknowledge that he cut Walt off. Inside, Walt has to continue listening to this obnoxious and offensive person loud-talking on his blue tooth. Finally, Walt uses his bills to gets a cashier’s check for the Oncology doctor.

Cut to a respective family discussing a budding oboe career with their obviously intelligent and gifted young son. They are interrupted by a suspicious sound from their back yard. But it’s someone they know – their wayward son Jesse, temporarily entangled in their new lawn furniture. Amid the memorabilia of his earlier simpler life, when he showed artistic talent, Jesse crashes in his bed in a safer haven. Through time-lapse photography, we see Jesse sleep through the night, the day, and into the next night. His dad suspects some kind of drug use. Jesse awakens in time for dinner. He is about to get kicked out by his dad as was the original deal (I suppose, "If you are using drugs, you cannot use our home as a rehab center"). But his dad is touched by Jesse’s dedication to setting the table, and he is silently granted a stay of execution.

Walt and Walt Jr. hook up at school with a chance to talk about things, but the extent of the conversation is Walt stating that he feels things have a way of working out.

Jesse is hanging with younger brother Jake in Jake’s room, annoying him while he is trying to work. Mom checks on the boys, making sure to ask Jake if things are okay, and also leaving the door open when she leaves. Jesse complains to Jake that he is the favorite son, but is given much to think about when Jake says the parents always talk about Jesse. Digging through his memorabilia, he looks at old sketches that show his untapped talent as a cartoonist. He also finds an old test paper from Chemistry class where Walt scrawled an F and the words ‘Apply yourself’, and Jesse responded with a rude cartoon. He is interrupted by a phone call from one of his druggie friends wanting more meth – in fact, his rich friends want to buy all of it.

Walt is appalled to find Jesse at his door. First, Jesse says he is there to ‘debrief’; then he proposes that they cook more; and, finally, he throws a wad of $4000 at Walt, his share of the sold batch. Walt kicks Jesse out and then methodically begins netting soggy bills out of the pool.

The expensive oncologist has some better news. It’s still serious cancer that has spread to the lymph nodes, but the radiation treatment can prolong life and sometimes cause remission. When he begins reciting the litany of serious side effects, however, Walt loses interest and blanks it out.

The cleaner has found a joint in Jesse’s room. Confronted by his parents, they don’t wait for another denial and excuse – they kick him out. On the steps, Jake joins Jesse to say goodbye, and thanks Jesse for not telling on him. He asks Jesse for the joint back, but Jesse scrunches it up, telling him it is skunk weed anyway. Jesse leaves in a taxi.

Walt tears himself away from Walt Jr. and an old sci-fi flick on TV called ‘Earth versus the Flying Saucers’ to discuss whether or not to undertake the new treatments. Walt wants to discuss it more. Skyler just wants to do it; Walt says 90 grand is too much. Hearing this Walt Jr. pipes in, telling Walt to just die now. A little later, driving in his car, Walt has a cough-up-blood fit that makes it look like he might comply with this. His fit is interrupted by the re-appearance of Ken ‘blue tooth’ Wins, who honks at and insults an old woman crossing in front of him. Walt has apparently seen enough; he walks purposefully to Ken’s car, wets a squeegee, opens the hood, and places it across the car battery terminals. Sparks fly; Walt closes the hood and calmly walks away; behind him; the car explodes in flames. And briefly, a bad-boy smile removes the troubles etched in Walt’s face.

Comments

Jesse shows a different, protective, and dare I say noble side in not giving up his younger brother’s pot use (despite the fact that it is a ‘gateway’ drug for everything else). J

I was thinking that Walt’s second opinion would reveal that he didn’t have lung cancer after all, but now I can see that the show could not really continue if that had happened.

After the Jesse/Walt meeting, I believe if their paths do cross again, Walt will be a little more patient and show more respect. It won’t be hard to improve in either area, come to think of it.

The pressure applied by Skyler and Walt Jr. may force Walt to begin the treatments, but I’m not sure how that will work within the framework of the show, especially if Walt has a particularly bad reaction and is bed-ridden for weeks.

I don’t have a lot of respect for Hank’s intelligence, but he seems to be dedicated, successful, and dogged in his line of work. He is not a guy I would like to have trying to track me down if I was a drug dealer/cooker.

The last time I heard the phrase ‘your breath could knock a buzzard off a shitwagon’ was when comedian George Carlin used it on a comedy album (I think it was AM and FM) in the early 1970s.

Nits

Did Jesse rip Walt off? I thought Jesse said the bag of meth was worth 45 grand. But Walt is only given 4 grand, which is supposed to be half of what it sold for. Surely Jesse couldn’t have smoked that much that fast.

Memorable Moments

• Time-lapse photography of the exterior of Jesse’s parent’s home used to show the length of Jesse’s Big Sleep.

Quotable Quotes

Hank: Operation Ice-breaker. How you likin’ that? We never used that before, did we?
Gomez: Isn’t that the name of a breath mint?
Hank: What?
Gomez: Ice-breakers, right? Breath mint?
Nobody’s gonna be thinkin’ that. Be thinkin’ about some big-ass ship at the North Pole, breakin’ ice!
Gomez: Says you. I’m gonna be thinking ‘Operation Breath Mint’.
Hank: I’m thinking ‘Operation Breath Mint’ every time you and me are on a stakeout together, alright? Breath could knock a buzzard off a shitwagon. Alright! Operation…TBD. Thanks for nothin’, Gom.

"So be on notice – we got new players in town. Now we don’t know who they are or where they came from, but they possess an extremely high skill set. Me personally – think Albuquerque might just have a new kingpin."
- Hank

Walt, Jr.: Hey, I want a beer.
Hank: Yeah? I want Shania Twain to give me a tuggy. Guess what? That ain't happening either.

Jesse: Yeah, man, you play the flute?
Jake: It’s a piccolo, actually.
Jesse: Play some, uh – play some Jethro Tull!

"How many chances have we given you? How many times have we sat right here and had the same conversation over and over again where you look us in the eye and you plead ignorance and you play on our emotions. And you tell us anything and everything you think we want to hear just so we’ll give you another chance. And it makes us feel like fools every time."
- Jesse’s mom

Skyler: So can I call them and tell them you’ll start next week?
Walt: I just think that we need to discuss it a little more.
Skyler: What is there to discuss? You’re gonna get the best treatment, and he’s the best.
Walt: Well, there’s the money discussion – I think, no, 90 thousand dollars out of pocket, maybe more -
Skyler: There’s a way, Walt – there’s financing; there’s installment plans; I could always go back to work. Walt, there’s always a way.
Walt: Alright, let’s say there is a way. And we spend all that money, and [pause]. Am I supposed to leave you with all that debt? No, honey, I just don’t want emotions ruling us. Maybe treatment isn’t the way to go.
Walt Jr.: Then why don’t you just fucking die already? Just give up and die.