Breaking Bad Season One Recap:

For those that have missed this Emmy award winning AMC series, this is a good time to get caught up before the new season begins March 21. Below is a quick recap of the first season. I would suggest you buy the first two seasons of Breaking Bad and have a late night marathon getting caught up with television’s most realistic bad guy since Tony Soprano.

Just follow this link to order Season One and Two of Breaking Bad on DVD or Blu-Ray.

The Rundown (the official recap from AMCTV.com)

Walter White, a high school chemistry teacher, learns he has terminal lung cancer. Desperate to secure the financial future of his family — his wife Skyler is pregnant, his son Walter Jr. has cerebral palsy — the 50-year-old leaves his second job at the car wash and teams up with a former student named Jesse to make and sell meth. “You know the business. I know the chemistry,” he tells his new partner, who declares Walt “a damn artist” after sampling the first batch cooked in their Winnebago/mobile-drug-lab.

Jesse takes said sample to Krazy-8, cousin to Jesse’s recently busted drug-dealing partner Emilio. Emilio, out on bail and convinced Jesse ratted him out, sets up a double-cross. When a desert rendezvous with all four turns nasty, Walt creates a chemical explosion that leaves Emilio dead and Krazy-8 struggling to survive. Krazy-8 escapes only to have Walt recapture him then lock him to a pole in Jesse’s basement.

Jesse and Walt then flip a coin to determine who’ll dissolve Emilio’s body in acid (Jesse’s job) and who’ll kill Krazy-8 (Walt’s job). Skyler, meanwhile, uses *69 to trace a suspicious call from Jesse. When Skyler asks who this is, Walt says that Jesse is his pot dealer.

Skyler visits Jesse to tell him to stop selling her husband marijuana. After she leaves, Jesse gets to work on disincorporating Emilio’s body. Because he ignores Walt’s specific instructions to use a certain type of plastic container, opting instead to pour acid on Emilio in the bathtub, the acid completely eats through the tub, which collapses to the floor below leaving Walt and Jesse with a bloody mess to clean up.

At Walt’s house, Skyler poses vague questions about marijuana to her sister Marie, who thinks they’re discussing Walter Jr. Shortly thereafter, Marie persuades her husband, Hank, a DEA agent, to scare the boy straight. Marie is breaking the law herself, however, having stolen a pair of shoes from a store where she felt the sales clerk was ignoring her.

In another part of town, Jesse bolts from his house after Walt berates him for divulging personal information to Krazy-8. Walt says they have more work to do, but Jesse begs to differ: “Coin flip is sacred! Your job is waiting for you in the basement.” A heart-to-heart with Walt leaves Krazy-8 confident that Walt will spare him, but when Walt realizes Krazy-8 is conning him, he strangles the dealer.

At a family barbecue, Walt reveals his illness to Marie, Hank, and Walter Jr. Walt balks at spending $5,000 to see a renowned oncologist. Walter Jr., frustrated by his dad’s lack of emotion, blurts out, “Then why don’t you just f—ing die?” Walt relents, using drug profits to pay the bill.

Jesse, haunted by recent events, flees to his parents’ house. There, the maid discovers a joint. Jesse denies it’s his, but his parents kick him out. As he leaves, his younger brother, Jake, thanks Jesse for not telling on him.

At a birthday party at his fancy home, Elliott, Walt’s Nobel-prize winning former colleague, offers Walt employment, saying his company provides excellent health insurance. Walt declines the offer, later accusing Skyler of putting Elliott up to it.

Jesse attempts to cook meth but can’t match Walt’s quality. At a family pow-wow about Walt’s cancer, Walt tells everyone, “All I have left is how I choose to approach” having cancer; he chooses not to have chemo. The next morning, though, he says he’ll accept treatment and Elliott’s help.

At a chemotherapy clinic, Walt tells Skyler he’s taking Elliott’s money but in fact, he’s using the drug-dealing profits. His chemo bills mounting, Walt tells Jesse they need to sell meth in bulk.

Having discovered a gas mask (labeled property of Walt’s high school) in the desert, Hank inventories the storage room of Walt’s chemistry lab and concludes that “some meth monkey had a feeding frenzy” there.

Jesse finagles an interview with Tuco, Krazy-8′s “badass” replacement as a distributor. Tuco loves Walt’s meth but refuses to pay for it up front, beating up Jesse and swiping the meth. Walt returns to face down Tuco, deceiving him with what looks like meth, but which is actually an explosive compound Walt uses to demolish Tuco’s office. “You got balls,” Tuco allows, and they make a deal for more meth.

Jesse becomes outraged upon learning that Walt is doing business with Tuco. Things turn tenser still when Walt can’t produce Tuco’s meth order. Walt talks Tuco into a loan, albeit at high interest, so that he and Jesse can procure the proper supplies.

Walt tells Skyler he’s going to a sweat lodge but instead heads to Jesse’s house. He congratulates Jesse for scoring the supplies, though a key chemical is missing. Jesse knows thieves who can steal it, but they want ten grand. Walt suggests he and Jesse pinch it themselves.

Meanwhile, Skyler heads to a jewelry store to return a baby-sized diamond tiara Marie gave at her baby shower. When she approaches the owner with the gift she is apprehended and informed it was stolen. Faking labor pains, Skyler avoids arrest and confronts Marie, who is evasive.

Walt and Jesse pull off their heist and cook in Jesse’s basement. At an auto junkyard, Walt delivers the new meth to Tuco, who is ecstatic about the results. When one of Tuco’s henchmen presumes to speak for him, Tuco viciously beats the guy to a pulp. Walt and Jesse look on in shock. Finishing up, Tuco laughs and tells Walt he’ll see him next week.

Breaking Bad Season One, Episode Seven

Original Air Date: March 9,2008

Director:  Tim Hunter        Writer: Peter Gould

Breaking Bad Episode Seven “A No-Rough-Stuff Type Deal” Spoilers

The season finale to Breaking Bad doesn’t wrap up the show or leave us at a cliffhanger, but what it does do is show us the evolution of these great characters and how much they have grown, good or bad, from the beginning of the season.

Walt (Bryan Cranston) has embodied the philosophies of Nietzche as the saying “if you den with monsters, soon a monster you will become” has taken over the once mild mannered pushover. After attending a meeting with his wife at his high school about the theft in the chemistry labs, Walt and Skyler (Anna Gunn) end of having sex in his car.

When asked where did that come from and why was it so good, Walt replies, “Because it was illegal.”

Walt meets Jesse (Aaron Paul) at the RV parked on Jesse’s property where he hands the young drug addict his share of the drug deal and lets him know that they have to make two more pounds.  Jesse informs him that it will be impossible to secure that much psuedoephedrine to produce that crystal meth that quickly.

Making what they can, they meet Tuco (Raymond Cruz) at a junkyard where he is not happy with being shorted on product. Walt not only asks for more money, but also tells the drug dealer that he can produce four pounds for him. Tuco warns, “Talk is talk. But owing me money, that’s bad.”

Back at Jesse’s house, he tells Walt there is no way they could come up with that much sinus pills to make four pounds of crystal methamphetamine and Walt tells him they will produce their own ingredients. He hands Jesse a list of chemicals to buy, but Jesse tries to back out. Walt convinces him that he can do this and Jesse is successful except for one important item. He tells Walt that they can pay some thugs $10,000 to steal it for them, but Walt decides that they will conduct their own theft.

Plan in motion, Walt tells Skyler that he is going off to a sweat lodge for some alternate medicine treatment for his cancer and he will be gone all weekend. Walt and Jesse break into the warehouse and steal the chemical only to find that the RV won’t run the next day, so they have to make the dope at Jesse’s house where he forgot that a real estate agent is coming to show the house. Jesse gets pushy and tells the agent that the house is not for sale anymore.

Later, the meeting at the junkyard takes place where Walt hands over some blue-colored crystal meth to Tuco. The drug dealer wonders why it is blue and Walt tells him it involved a different process.

“Blue, yellow, pink. whatever, man. Just keep bringing me that.”

After a violent confrontation with his own henchman, Tuco informs Walt that he will see him next week.

The end of Breaking Bad Season One.

To comment on Season One finale, place comments below.

Breaking Bad Season One, Episode Six

Original Air Date: march 2,2008

Director:  Bronwen Hughes     Writer: George Mastras

Breaking Bad Episode Six “Crazy Handful of Nothin” Spoilers

Now that Walt (Bryan Cranston) and Jesse (Aaron Paul) are back in business together, Walt decides to lay down some ground rules. He wants to be the silent partner in this operation, where he only deals with making the product and Jesse deals with the distribution.

Later, Walt starts his first treatment of chemotherapy. Skyler (Anna Gunn) goes with him and expresses concern about whether or not his friend Elliot has sent the check for the deposit. Walt assures her everything is alright, and asks her to leave. Once gone, he asks the clinic’s clerk to hold off depositing his check until Monday.

Walt is teaching class the next day when he suddenly leaves class to go vomit in the bathroom as a side effect to the therapy. Walt and Skyler begin attending a support group for cancer patients and their families. While there, Skyler tells him that she feels he doesn’t want her around and she wonders where he disappears to sometimes. Walt lies and tells her he needs to be alone with nature.

The nature happens to be Walt out in the desert in the mobile meth lab. while making a new batch, Walt struggles to breathe underneath the respirator and stumbles out of the trailer. Jesse, having dealt with an aunt who had cancer, recognizes the marks from his therapy. “I’m your partner, man,” he says. “You shoulda told me.”

Walt sends Jesse back in to finish the meth.

Meanwhile, Gomez (Steven Michael Quezada), Hank’s DEA partner traces the respirator back to Walt’s high school where they end up arresting the janitor Hugo (Pierre Barrera) on suspicion of manufacturing crystal meth.

When Jesse fails to move all the meth, Walt is dissatisfied with how the meth is selling.  He asks Jesse if he knows any distributors, and Jesse says that they killed the only ones he knows. Jesse gets an idea to go talk with another major dealer in the area named Tuco (Raymond Cruz).

The deal goes bad, Jesse gets robbed for the dope and Walt’s hair begins to fall out in the shower. Walt finds out the Jesse is in the hospital where he goes and visits. In there, he meets Skinny Pete (Charles Baker), Jesse’s friend and they talk about Tuco.

The next day, Walt shaves his head and heads to Tuco’s headquarters with a bag of crystal in hand. He demands 50,000 for the stolen dope and what’s in his bag. Confused, Tuco laughs and asks why he is gonna give him more crystal meth after he just got robbed?

Walt informs him that the bag does not contain meth and he tosses a crystal to the ground which explodes blowing out all the windows.

This convinces Tuco to pay the money. Walt makes a deal for his next batch and leaves.

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Breaking Bad Season One, Episode Five

Original Air Date: February 24, 2008

Director: Tricia Brock    Writer: Patty Lin

Breaking Bad Episode Five “Gray Matter” Spoilers

Life tries to return to a sense of normality for Walt (Bryan Cranston) and Jesse (Aaron Paul). Jesse decides to try and get a job but feels that wearing a costume spinning signs is not cut out for him. He runs into an old friend, Badger (Matt L. Jones), and they smoke a joint and discuss the future of the drug trade.

Meanwhile, Walt and Skyler (Anna Gunn) attend a birthday party for Elliot (Adam Godley), one of Walt’s former business partners and his wife, Gretchen (Jessica Hecht), who was also a former lab partner of Walt. at the party, Elliot offers Walt a job with excellent health insurance, but Walt declines.

Jesse introduces Badger to the mobile lab and the two take the Winnebago out to the desert to cook a new batch of meth. he tries to make a batch similar to Walt’s but fails after several attempts. Badger argues over the ruined batches and Jesse throws him out of the lab and drives off.

At Walt’s house, things come to a head as Walt Jr. (RJ Mitte) is busted for buying beer from an off-duty cop. This leads him going to his Uncle Hank (Dean Norris), which leads to Marie (Betsy Brandt), back to Skyler and in the confusion, Skyler tells Marie that she was talking about Walt being the drug addict, not her son. They try an intervention to get treatment for Walt’s cancer and they all discuss their feelings about his illness. Walt refuses to go to treatment, but after sleeping on it, changes his mind in the morning.

Everyone, including his friends are pressing him with offers to pay for the therapy, but in the end, Walt shows up at Jesse’s house and asks, “Want to cook?”

If you would like to place comments on this episode or anything in Season One of Breaking Bad, do so below.

Breaking Bad Season One, Episode Four

Original Air Date: February 17, 2008

Director: Jim McKay   Writer: Vince Gilligan

Breaking Bad Episode Four “Cancer Man” Spoilers

This episodes starts out with Hank (Dean Norris) and his DEA unit as he announces that there are new players in town and they have some super-pure crystal meth.

From there, we see Walt (Bryan Cranston) at home with Skyler (Anna Gunn). They are having a barbecue with Hank, Marie (Betsy Brandt) and Walt Jr  (RJ Mitte). It comes out that Walt has cancer and they begin to talk about his options including using an “oncology dream team.” Hank reassures Walt that whatever happens, he will take care of Walt’s family.

Jesse (Aaron Paul) begins to spiral out of control with his meth use. He begins to see things like crazed bikers with hand grenades at his front door. Fearing for his life, he flees out his back door leaving two Mormons on bicycles at his doorstep. Later, Jesse shows up stuck in the patio furniture of his estranged parent’s yard, where they let him in to sleep off his habit.

Skyler makes an appointment with a top-rated oncologist where Walt has to pay an upfront deposit of $5000. He dips into his hidden stash where he takes his money to the bank to get a cashier’s check. While at the bank, Walt has a run-in with a rude guy in a BMW convertible.

Awake and refreshed, Jesse agrees to attend meetings as his family debates letting him stay over the effects it will have on his little brother, Jake. Jesse tries to reconnect with his brother and his previous life and finds an old chemistry test where Walt had graded with a big red F. While in the room, he gets a call for more product.

Jesse meets with Walt and discusses continuing their partnership. As Walt is on the fence, Jesse tosses him $4000, his share from the last deal.

A maid finds a joint in his room and his parents ask him to leave. As he is leaving, Jake confronts Jesse about the marijuana and thanks his big brother for taking the heat. After asking for his joint back, Jesse crushes the joint and gets into his cab.

Walt learns that his treatment will cost him $90,000 to start and begins to realize that he might have to continue his partnership. Again, he runs into the rude guy with the BMW at a gas station. While the driver is inside, Walt sticks a squeegee between the battery terminal and walks away. As he gets back to his car, the BMW explodes.

Watch scenes from Breaking Bad Episode Four “Cancer Man” below.

If you would like to make comments about Breaking Bad Season One, please make them below.

Breaking Bad Season One, Episode Three

Original Air Date: February 10, 2008

Director: Adam Bernstein       Writer: Vince Gilligan

Breaking Bad Episode Three “…And the Bag’s in the River” Spoilers

Dealing with the acid-eaten remains of Emilio (John Koyama), Walt (Bryan Cranston) and Jesse (Aaron Paul) now deal with having to clean up the chemical mess. Back at Walt’s house, Skyler (Anna Gunn) talks to her sister Marie (Betsy Brandt) about writing a story about a pothead and Marie deduces she is talking about her son, Walt Jr (RJ Mitte).

The drama continues at Jesse’s house where the two partners get into it over Jesse’s meth habit and what to do with Krazy-8 (Max Arciniega) who is chained in the basement. Jesse brings up the fact that they flipped a coin to deal with the drug dealer and that it is Walt’s responsibility to end Krazy-8′s life.

Marie convinces her husband Hank (Dean Norris), a DEA agent to talk to Walt Jr. about his pot habit. Hank decides to try the “scared straight” method and takes the teen to a rundown motel to show him the destructive nature of drug use, especially in relationship to crystal meth.

Meanwhile, Walt wavers on the fence, trying to decide whether to spare Krazy-8 or kill him. Walt confesses to the drug dealer about his cancer and family issues and Krazy-8 talks about his childhood. Walt begins to reconsider killing Krazy-8 until he learns that the drug dealer has a makeshift weapon and has no choice but to choke him with the bike chain.

When Jesse finally returns home, he is greeted with a clean house and the bike lock, but no signs of Krazy-8.

Out in the desert where the drug deal went bad, Hank and his DEA team discover the Walt’s crystal meth cook site and an abandoned low rider. Looking inside the vehicle, Hank pieces together that the owner is Krazy-8 and we learn that the drug dealer was a DEA informant.

Walt returns home after some introspection and finds Skyler sobbing.

“Skyler,” he whispers. “There’s something I have to tell you.”

Watch the video below to get a teaser for this episode.

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Breaking Bad Season One, Episode Two

Original Air Date : January 27, 2008

Director: Adam Bernstein Writer: Vince Gilligan

Breaking Bad “The Cat’s in the Bag…” Spoilers

Having survived the aftermath of his first failed drug deal,a pants-less Walt (Bryan Cranston) decides to part ways with his partner Jesse (Aaron Paul) after they dispose of the bodies of Emilio( John Koyama) and Krazy-8 (Max Arciniega) who Walt had to gas in the first episode. After getting towed by a Native American out of a ditch, Walt starts the RV , he quickly learns that one of the dead men is not dead.

Having no choice but to take the RV to Jesse’s house, Walt leaves the whole mess there for Jesse to deal with while he returns home to his family. Krazy-8 refuses to just die slowly and this causes Jesse to contact Walt at his home where he quickly fends off the call as a telemarketer to his overly curious wife, Skyler(Anna Gunn).

From this point, things begin to spiral out of control as Krazy-8 escapes until to be found by Walt. After the drug dealer recognizes Walt, he runs into a tree which makes it easy to be recaptured. Skyler researches the strange phone call and tracks him down to his “MyShout” page where she learns how much Jesse loves “fine herbage” and MILF’s.

When confronted about the existence of Jesse at the doctor’s office, Walt tells Skyler that he is his pot dealer while he learns that she is going to have a girl.

Meanwhile, back at Jesse’s house, the meth-smoking addict takes shortcuts to disposing of Emilio’s body while Krazy-8 stays locked up in the basement. When Walt arrives, he is greeted to sizzling liquid leaking through the floor as the upstairs bathroom falls through the house thanks to Jesse using hydrofluoric acid in the bathtub instead of plastic containers.

The shot of the tub melting through the floor is priceless and really sets the overall feel for this series.

Here is some footage from Breaking Bad Season One Episode Two “The Cat’s in the Bag…”

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Breaking Bad Season One, Episode One “Pilot”

Original Air Date : January 20, 2008

Director:   Vince Gilligan                                    Writer: Vince Gilligan

Breaking Bad Episode One Spoilers

This is the episode that set the pace for this great show and showed the world the most honest look at the world of drug dealing. In the first Breaking Bad episode, we are introduce to Walter White (played by Bryan Cranston), a middle-aged chemistry teacher who has come to the crossroads of life and chooses to head down a dark path of making crystal meth to support his family while he deals with the recent knowledge that he has terminal lung cancer. Contacting a former student, Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul), to sell his supply, he quickly learns that the world of drug dealing doesn’t come with easy cut and dry situations.

After his partner is abducted by rival dealers,  Walter has no choice but to show them his mobile lab, but manages to poison them while showing them his recipe for meth.

Below is a trailer for episode One.

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