Season 1 Overview

by **Rob** Fri Aug 07, 2009 3:30 am

Season 1

Synopsis wrote:
Walter White, a chemistry teacher with a pregnant wife, Skyler, and a son with cerebral palsy, is diagnosed with stage-three terminal lung cancer. Interested in earning an inheritance for his family before his death, Walter enters the drug trade on the production side, using his chemistry knowledge to cook remarkably potent methamphetamine (crystal meth) with Jesse Pinkman, a former student. Operating out of a recreational vehicle (RV) in the desert, the two must defend themselves against two dealers, formerly Jesse's distributors, who accuse Walter of being a DEA agent. At first offering them the recipe to his crystal meth, Walter instead gasses them with phosphine gas and leaves them to suffocate in the RV, before driving away with an injured Jesse in tow.
Walter and Jesse discover that one of the dealers is still alive, and restrain him in Jesse's basement. After a coin flip, Jesse is tasked with disposing of the dead dealer's body, and Walter with killing the other, a prospect that sickens him. Jesse dissolves the dead body in a bathtub of hydrofluoric acid, but the acid eats through the tub and the floor beneath it, spilling dissolved entrails in the hall. Meanwhile, Walter has begun providing food and a latrine to his prisoner, Krazy-8, whom he also confides in, attempting to find any excuse to leave him alive. Due to his illness, Walter passes out briefly while delivering food in one such instance, breaking a plate. Awakening later, Walter picks up the broken plate and goes to get the key to set Krazy-8 free. However, while upstairs, Walt has the inspiration to deduce that there is a large sharp piece of the plate missing, which Krazy-8 has hidden. Realizing that Krazy-8 intends to kill him the second he sets him free, Walt decides that he has no choice but to kill the dealer, which he does by pulling back on the bike lock around his neck holding him in place until he chokes to death. Following the disposal of the body, Walter severs ties with Jesse and the drug trade.
Meanwhile, Walter's brother-in-law Hank, who actually is a DEA agent and is aware of a powerful new drug producer in the region, follows a trail of evidence left at Walter's cook site. Meanwhile, it is revealed that Walter's sister-in-law, Marie, is an occasional shoplifter. At dinner with his family, Marie, and her husband Hank, Walter finally reveals his cancer. They implore him to visit specialist doctors and undergo chemotherapy. At first adamant to decide his own fate, to die honorably instead of suffering the indignities of chemotherapy side-effects, Walter finally agrees to treatment. He pretends to accept financial assistance from wealthy friends as a cover story to explain the source of payment for his chemotherapy. In reality he approaches Jesse to rebuild their business arrangement and so pay for the treatments himself as a matter of pride. Jesse, unable to replicate Walter's recipe, accepts Walter's partnership and agrees to their clearly defined roles: Jesse the salesman and Walter the cook. Jesse learns that Walter has lung cancer and, realizing his goals of helping his family after his death, develops a newfound respect for him.
Walt sends Jesse to negotiate with Tuco, a violent psychopath who has taken over local drug distribution. During their first meeting, Tuco refuses to pay up front for the product and savagely beats Jesse when he attempts to end the deal. With Jesse in the hospital, Walt confronts Tuco with the demand for up-front payment, using the pseudonym "Heisenberg." As Tuco prepares to assault him, Walt detonates a concealed explosive (Mercury(II) fulminate), blowing out the top floor of the hideout and intimidating Tuco into surrendering payment with a promise for future business. Jesse recovers from his wounds and the two resume cooking meth, this time circumventing the restrictions on over-the-counter pseudoephedrine products by stealing a large drum of methylamine from a chemical warehouse and using an alternate method of synthesis. Now able to produce four times as much crystal meth as before, the two begin steady business with the increasingly psychotic Tuco.

Cast:

Bryan Cranston as Walter White
Aaron Paul as Jesse Pinkman
Anna Gunn as Skyler White
RJ Mitte as Walter White, Jr.
Dean Norris as Hank Schrader
Betsy Brand as Marie Schrader
And
Matt L. Jones as Badger
Steven Michael Quezada as Steven Gomez
Max Arciniega as Krazy 8
Raymond Cruz as Tuco Salamanca

Episodes:

Season 1 - Season 2 - Season 3