Breaking Bad (2008–2013): Season 1, Episode 4 - Cancer Man - full transcript

At a briefing, Hank presents his theory that Albuquerque has a new kingpin. At a barbecue, Skyler breaks down and Walter reveals to Hank, Marie and Walter, Jr. that he has cancer. Walter, Jr. doesn't respond well. The hole in Jesse's ceiling raises some questions. The meth is also making Jesse extremely paranoid. Skyler makes Walter go see a top oncologist. The doctor says it is possible to cure Walter, but it will be expensive. Walter does not want to risk leaving Skyler in debt. When Walter tries parking his car outside MESA, a narcissistic yuppie in his shiny, expensive, convertible BMW with the vanity plate "KEN WINS" cuts into a just-vacated square Walter was waiting for to park into. Ken's just messed with the wrong man.

HANK:
Operation Icebreaker.

How we liking that? We never
used that before, did we?

Isn't that the name
of a breath mint?

What?
Ice Breakers, right?

Breath mint?
HANK: Nobody's gonna think that.

Gonna be thinking about
some big-ass ship

in the North Pole
breaking ice.

Says you. I'm gonna be thinking
Operation Breath Mint.

I'm thinking
Operation Breath Mint

every time you and me
are on a stakeout together,
all right?

Your breath can knock a buzzard
off a shit wagon.



All right, Operation TBD.

Thanks for nothing, Gom.

Anyway, say hello to
Domingo Gallardo Molina.

A.k.a. Krazy-8. Way smarter
than your average cheese eater.

I turned him out
when he was street level,

but this dude's
like The Jeffersons,

moving on up.

Every small-time dealer
he'd throw at us,

he'd end up snaking
all their customers.

Now it turns out
that he's missing,
presumed dead.

Found his car
out in the boonies.

Last guy he ratted out
was none other than his cousin,

Emilio Koyama.

You thinking the cousin
found out and took revenge?



HANK:
Could be. Turns out
he's missing too.

And normally I'd say
someone did the world a favor.

But our snitch's car, turns out
we find two grams of meth in it,

we take it to the lab,
they come back,

they tell us it is the purest
they've ever seen.

Ninety-nine-point-one percent.
[WHISTLES]

I mean, our chemist is
blown away. Said he couldn't
do the same thing better.

Worse yet, it didn't come out
of some super lab in Mexico,

we're thinking this was
cooked right here in
the Land of Enchantment.

Car was abandoned at
what appears to be a cook site.

This is the, uh,
only other thing left behind.

We're sending it off
to Quantico,

see if they can pull
something off it.

Meantime, our guys swabbed
the filter element

and found the same 99.1 meth.

So be on notice.

We got new players in town.

Now, we don't know who they are,
or where they come from,

but they possess
an extremely high skill set.

Me, personally,

I'm thinking Albuquerque
just might have a new kingpin.

[SPITS]

[♪♪♪]

[HISSING]

Jesus, Walt, you're burning
the shit out of them.

Oh. Damn it.

Hey, Sky,
you got any more chicken?

Emeril here
is gonna need a fresh pack.

Bam.

HANK:
All right, looking good.

Is this low-fat mayonnaise
in the coleslaw?

Uh, I... I don't know,
it's store-bought.

Okay, uh, Hank,

you need another beer?

Does the pope
shit in his hat?

Yeah, I don't think
that he does, Hank,

and I think everybody
would like it

if you'd stop saying that.

Marie, some more wine, maybe?

I'm all right, thanks.

All right.
Hey, I want a beer.

Yeah, I want Shania Twain
to give me a tuggy.

Guess what.
It ain't happening either.

How about some more soda, hm?

Yeah, sure.

Honey, do you need anything?

Mm-mm. No, Walt,
thank you.

Okay. Be right back.

[♪♪♪]

WALT JR:
No.

What, are you
kidding me?

You look like
a damn movie star, man.

Girls gotta be lining up
left and right.

Tell him how
good-looking he is.

He's adorable.

He doesn't wanna be fricking
adorable, he wants to be hot.

Anyway, see what
I'm talking about?
That's female perspective.

She's supposed to say that.

HANK:
Look, a guy doesn't
gotta look like, uh,

you know, Charlton Heston...
I'm talking Moses days.

- To get a girl, all right?

You just gotta have confidence.

Confidence and, uh...
And persistence.

Okay? That's what
I'm talking about.

I chased your aunt Marie here
all over creation.

I kept bugging her for a date,
she kept saying no.

What, I asked you,
like, 50 times?

Yeah, it was before they
tightened the stalking laws.

[CHUCKLES SARCASTICALLY]

HANK: Anyway, how about
your dad here? That there's
a good story, Walt.

Tell him how you met Skyler.
Uh-huh.

WALT JR:
Mom was a waitress

in Los Alamos, and Dad said
that thing to you.

Well, actually, your mother
wasn't a waitress,

it was a summer job,
and, um, she was the hostess

and she also worked
the cash register.

And I used to
go in there a lot

because it was close enough
to the lab

where I could ride my bicycle.

And once I noticed her,

it got to be so that
I would only go in

when I knew she was working.

When it was slow, she would
lean against the counter,

doing her crossword puzzles,
uh, but kind of hiding it.

Right? Pretending that
she was still working,

and once I caught on to that,
I would do crossword puzzles

while I ate
my grilled-cheese sandwich.

It got so that every day
at lunch, we would both be doing

The New York Times
crossword puzzle

10 feet from each other.

And, uh... Heh-heh.

Eventually, I caught her
looking over at me,

so I began saying:

"Excuse me, um, 14 across,

seven-letter word
for whatchamacallit,

uh, may I ask what?

What you wrote down?"

And, uh, well,
that got us talking,

and, uh, boy,
I tell you, I was...

I was terrible
at those puzzles.

[CHUCKLES]

I don't think that I finished
even one of them.

But your mother
would do them in ink.

HANK:
Very smooth.

[CHUCKLES]

I bet you didn't think
your old man had it in him, huh?

But that's what
I'm talking about,

that's persistence, you see?

Once you set your cap
for something

or somebody,
you gotta just, you know...

[SOBBING]

Whoa. Skyler.

Mom, a... Are you all right?

MARIE:
Hey, hey.

Shh. Honey, it's okay.

What's the matter?

[SOBBING]

MARIE:
What is it?

[SNIFFLES]

Ask him.

[DOOR OPENS]

What's she talking about?

Walt?

Um...

I have cancer.

Lung cancer.

It's bad.

[ROCK MUSIC PLAYING
OVER HEADPHONES]

SKYLER:
Ask him how long he's known.

I guess a month, maybe.

Oh, for God sakes, Walt.

We're just sitting out there
having a cookout

like nothing's going on.

He made me promise
not to tell anybody.

Christ,
these last 48 hours.

And it's the weekend,

so I couldn't even get
his doctor on the phone.

Buddy, why? I mean, why
wouldn't you wanna tell anybody?

SKYLER:
Walt, don't you see

everybody just wants
to help you.

We're family.
We get through
these things together.

HANK:
And I don't get,
you know, lung cancer?

How can that happen?
You don't even smoke.

You know, I'm thinking that
this goes back 20 years, maybe,

to the applications lab,

all those chemicals
they had you working around.

We... We always took
the proper precautions.

One time you complained
that they didn't give you

the right kind of, um,
I don't know,

some kind of ventilation hood
or something, and... And...

And then the headaches.
Honey, it wasn't that.

How do they think
they can get away
with this?

We should hire
a lawyer.

Okay, so first
let's deal with this.

Okay, so,
what's the next step for Walt?

Certainly
a second opinion, right?

Right. Right, absolutely.

MARIE:
Okay, so first thing tomorrow,
I talk to my radiologists,

we find you the best,
the oncology dream team.

That's good.
That's good.

[CHUCKLES, SNIFFLES]

Yeah.

Yeah?

Yeah, okay.
Okay.

Yeah.

[SNIFFLES]

I'm gonna go
check on Walt Jr.

I, um... I'm gonna see

if I can talk him into,
I don't know, joining us.

I really didn't mean for him
to find out that way.

[CLEARS THROAT]

Walt, uh...

whatever happens...

I hope this goes without saying,
but, um, whatever happens,

I want you to know that, um,

I'll always take care
of your family.

[MOUTHING]
Yeah.

[THE PACK'S "FLY" PLAYING]

[TOILET FLUSHES]

[MEN SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY]

JESSE:
Yo, check out these, uh,
fake Pop-Tarts.

These are mad tight, yo.
No, thanks, man, pass.

Your loss. These are from, like,
Canada, or something. Imported.

Hey, yo, what happened
to your hallway, man?

Did, like,
the ceiling fall down, or?

Oh, yeah, uh, no, man,

I think the house
is just settling.

You know, it's been
caving in left and right.

Hit me in the eye. Heh-heh.

It's bananas.

Yo, my pops could fix you up,

he's, like, a contractor
or something.

Yeah? Yeah, right on,
I should grab that number.

Say, Jesse,
you still cook a little crystal?

Uh, could be, yeah.
You know, from time to time.

PETE:
I heard you lost
your partner.

Emilio.

Didn't he get locked up?
MAN: No, man, uh, he's out.

His cousin bailed him out.

I think he skipped town
or something.

I don't know about any of that,
I've just been

kind of doing my own thing
these days, so...

MAN:
But you maybe got
some crystal, man?

Because I could seriously
go for a bowl right now,
you know what I'm saying,

take the edge off.

Hell, yeah,
Sunday night bowl, yo.

All right.

Well, uh, maybe it
just so happens that, uh,

I just recently cooked
the best batch ever.

Yeah?

Oh, yeah. Came up
with this whole new recipe.

It's more like a formula.

It's, like,
way, way more chemically...

Shit, you know, it's...
It's just the bomb, so...

But, you know, I don't know,
I've been thinking lately

I'll just lay off of it
for a while,

because lately it's been kind of
making me paranoid, so...

You know, for, like,
health-wise, just lay off.

MAN:
Yo, if you're, uh,
not into sharing, man,

just tell us to piss off,
it's cool.

We don't need no soap opera.

Yeah, man, whatever.
No, no, it's all good, you know.

L-I'm just saying, uh, hey,
I got... I got plenty of pot.

Yeah, I think I'll bounce, man.

Yeah, sounds about right.

Hey, yo, yo.
Hey, homes, I'm joking.

Okay, I'm totally joking
with you.

You kidding? Sit down.

Best scante ever.

Grab that pipe.

[CHUCKLES]

[CLEARS THROAT]

[SIGHS]

[♪♪♪]

[BANGING ON DOOR]

[BELL RINGS]

[GASPS]

[♪♪♪]

[GASPING]

[GROANS]

Okay, there.

[SIGHS]

Shit.

[COUGHING]

SKYLER:
Walt, do you need some help?

[DOOR HANDLE RATTLES]

Oh, no, I'm... I'm fine, honey.

I'm fine. Just, uh, privacy.

Thanks.

[COUGHING]

SKYLER:
I'm right outside
if you need me.

Okay.

[COUGHING]

Yeah, any time on Friday
is absolutely fine.

Thank you so much
for working us in.

Uh, can I just put that
on a credit card?

Great. Perfect.

Okay, so we will see you
at 10:45 on Friday morning.

Thank you so much.

Okay.

Oh, yes.

Honey, the best oncologist,

I mean, not even
just in New Mexico,

but one of the top 10
in the entire nation,

his name is, um, Dr. Delcavoli

and we see him on Friday.

[SKYLER SIGHS]

Ah.

I mean, Marie really
came through for us.

She had her boss call, and...

[SIGHS]

Okay, this is good.

From here on out, I mean,
things are gonna...

What's? What's that we're
putting on a credit card?

Uh, it's just a deposit
kind of thing.

How much of a deposit?

It's $5000.

Five thousand?

Jesus.

What's that, just to start?

I mean, just to tell me
what I already know?

Walt, he's not in our HMO, okay?

So be it,
we'll figure it out.

Come on,
don't get hung up on money here.

I mean, we can
always borrow from Hank.

Absolutely not.

No, I just...

We're not gonna do that.

[SKYLER SIGHS]

Well, maybe we can ask your mom.

Have you even called her yet?

Walt, regardless, you're gonna
have to tell her about this.

I'm willing to do it, but I...
I'll call. I'll call.

Okay, look,

I don't even want us
thinking about money.

Money is not
the issue here.

It's not.
I know. I know.

It's not.

Okay.
Okay.

Okay.

I'll take care of the deposit.

Yeah?

Yeah.

I'll, uh...

I'll borrow it from my pension.

[DUCT CLANGS]

Oh, damn it!

Hey. Heh-heh.

Hey, pal, what's up?

Oh, uh, yeah, no,
I thought I heard mice.

Heh. Boy, that's...
That's all we need, huh?

[GRUNTS]

So, what's up, pal?

What the hell's wrong
with you?

What?

You're... You're acting all...

You're... You...

You're all...
Why are you acting so weird?

Son.
You're...

You're acting like
nothing is going on.

[SCOFFS]

[SIGHS]

[SIREN WAILING IN DISTANCE]

[WHISPERS]
Oh, no, please.
Please, please, no.

[EXHALES SHARPLY]

[LAUGHS, THEN COUGHS]

[SAY ANYTHING'S
"BABY GIRL, I'M A BLUR"
PLAYING ON CAR STEREO]

Hey, no, hey!

[HORN HONKING]

Hey!
MAN: Put that douche bag

on the phone.
WALT: Oh, come on.

MAN:
Hey, am I? Am I gonna
have to come down there

and whup your ass?

[SPEAKS INDISTINCTLY]

And let me tell you
something else,

I'm not doing this
for charity, right?

I'm hands down the best
he's got in that office.
He knows it, I know it,

I expect to be paid
to a level commensurate with...

I said, "Dave, do you think
40 grand is a proper bonus?"

That's less than 10 percent
of what I booked for you guys
this quarter. Come on.

I'm not gonna sit here
and be disrespect...

Oh, he's shitting bricks.

Oh, you know he is.

Yeah, that man lives in fear
I'll go across town...

Hell, I could go anywhere.

Hoffman, Gordon Bradley,
or Sorcher.

Even Goldberg-Wayne.
They'd make me a partner
at Goldberg-Wayne

just for walking
in the damn door,

that's how ecstatic they'd be.

WOMAN 1:
Next customer.

[IN HIGH-PITCHED VOICE]
Hells, yes, brother man.

[IN NORMAL TONE]
Dude, you should check
this chick out.

Who? No.
Buddy, she's a cow.

Stacey's a cow.

We're talking major
barnyard boo-hog.

Roll her in flour
and look for the wet spot

before you hit that, man,
you know what I'm saying?

That kind of stink
does not wash off.

Sir?
MAN: Ha-ha-ha. Right.

WOMAN 2:
Sir.

MAN:
Oh, yeah?

Sorry. Hi.
MAN: Yeah. Oh, totally.

WOMAN 2:
Hi. What can I do
for you today?

MAN:
Which dude?

Dude that looks like a lizard?
WOMAN 1: Next in line.

I, um...
MAN: He limps like some leper.

L... I'm sorry.
L... I would like...

MAN:
Grosses me out.

A cashier's check
in the full amount,

made out to Oncology Partners
of New Mexico, please.

Oh, that's O-N-C-O-L-O-G-Y.

Yeah, you got it.

MAN:
I don't understand why

they're forcing you to choose
between the piccolo and the oboe.

You show so much promise
with both.

They say they can't
have any switching
between woodwinds.

Because no matter
how they divide it up,
someone would be left out.

Well, rules are rules, I guess.

MAN:
Sure, rules are rules.
I'm all for that.

But I'm telling you,
you really shine on that oboe.

You have real talent,
and I'm not just saying that.

Thanks.

What about Mr. Pemberton?

Is he giving you
enough individual attention?

I'd have to say so.
He tries to talk
to each one of us

at least once
during every practice.

That's good.
Feedback's important.

It's key, I think.

Hey, so how was
soccer practice?

[METAL CLANGS]

I think that was
in our backyard.

[CLASSICAL MUSIC
PLAYING ON STEREO]

Who's there?

[SIGHS]

What the hell are you doing
out here?

Hey, Dad.

[CHUCKLES]

Hey, Mom.

Jake.

Got new patio furniture.

Right on.

[GRUNTS]

Hey. Heh-heh. My leg.

[GRUNTS]

[SIGHS]

[♪♪♪]

MRS. PINKMAN:
What do you think it could be?

God knows I'm no expert.

I don't know. Uppers, downers?
Your guess is as good as mine.

I think we should check
his arms for needle marks.

[SIGHS]

Do we let him stay?

The Presbyterian Church
has those meetings.

So maybe on condition, you know?
If he agrees to attend.

L... I just don't know
what to tell Jake.

[FOOTSTEPS APPROACHING]

Hey.

Hey. Good evening.

Well?
Sleep well?

What time's, uh?

What time is dinner?

In about an hour.

You know, I could, uh, wash
those clothes if you like.

They look a little lived in.

Oh, um, no, that's cool.
Yeah, maybe later.

We are not doing this again.

Adam...
No.

We said we'd lay down the law,
we lay down the law.

We just have to be
consistent about it.

[DOOR CLOSES]

Hey.

WALT:
You're, uh...

You're not taking the bus?

Oh.

All right. Well, listen.

Um, give me
maybe another 20 minutes,

and we'll get out of here.

All right.

Yeah, good.

[COUGHS]

You know, I...
I just think that, uh...

things have a way
of working themselves out.

JESSE:
Wow.

When did you, uh?
When did you get this?

Last May
at the year-end assembly.

They gave me that one too.
The one on the end.

Environmental
Consciousness Award.

What's that mean?
What, you, like,
recycle cans and shit?

I contacted
The Albuquerque Journal

and asked what kind of chemicals
they use to bleach their paper.

They wound up writing
an article about it.

Right on, little bro.

Making mad inroads
with the business community.

All right.

Now, hey, remember,

not all learning
comes out of books.

[CHUCKLES]

Look at you. Heh.

You know, we should...
We should hang out
more often.

You know, just, uh...
Just kick back and chill.

I mean, if you ever,
like, I don't know,
need advice.

Because, you know,
I've been...

I've been through it all.
For real.

Yeah, man, you, uh?
You play the flute?

It's a piccolo, actually.

Dude, play some, uh...
Play some Jethro Tull.

[KNOCKING]

Hey, guys,
how we doing in here?

We're, uh... We're good.

Jake?

Yeah. Fine, Mom.

Well, that's good.
That's... That's great.

You know, what the hell?
You see this?

What am I,
some criminal or something?

Whatever.

Whatever?

What, you?
You think that's okay?

Like, "Oh, we can't
let that scumbag

warp the mind
of our favorite son."

I'm the favorite?

Yeah, right.

You're practically
all they ever talk about.

[♪♪♪]

[CHUCKLES]

Oh, snap.

Awesome.

[CHUCKLES]

[CELL PHONE VIBRATES]

[BEEPS]

[WHISPERS]
Yeah?

MAN:
Yo, man, it's me.

Hey, listen. You know that,
uh? That product?

You got any more of that?

No, man, okay?
I'm done giving out freebies.

You want charity,
go ask the Salvation Army.

No, no charity. No.

I got this cousin,
he's got him some rich friends.

These dudes are in town,
they're looking to party.

And your stuff is, like,
so sweet.

So, what do you say?

You up for making
some fat stacks?

Because they'll buy
everything you got.

[METAL RATTLING]

[GRUNTS]

Yes. Yes. Okay.

[DOORBELL RINGS]

Oh, you can't be serious.

What the hell
are you doing here?

Yo, I waited
till the ball buster left.

I mean, no offense.

Who sent you, huh? Huh?

You wearing a wire?
Hey. Jesus.

You setting me up?

Homo. A wire? You want a wire?

I got a wire.
Speak into the mike, bitch.

What the hell's wrong
with you?

A wire.

Jesus.

So who did you tell
about?

Nobody. What, are you nuts?

Then why are you here?

I don't know.

To, like, touch base.

Touch base?

Yeah, you know, um,

what they call a debrief.

Maybe we could, like...

Thought we could debrief.

Debrief?

Wow, that's...

That's what you think
we need, debrief?

[LAUGHS]

Yeah, after what happened,

it just seems
like the thing to do.

Kind of, you know,
talk about it.

I mean, we can't...
We can't talk to anybody else.

Anyway, th...
That and I wanted to, uh...

Wanted to, you know,

tell you how much everybody digs
that meth we cooked.

Everybody digs the meth
we cooked.

Seriously. I got dudes
that would give their left nut

for a little more.

Oh. Great.

I'm just saying,
I mean, if you ever,

you know, saw your way clear
to, um, you know,

you and I cooking
a little more...

Wow.

Get the hell off my property.

What? I'm just saying.
Go. And don't come back.

Now.

All right.
All right, you know what?

Four grand.

Your share
from selling that batch.

That's why I'm here.

Yeah, yeah, that's right.
Hey, I didn't smoke it all.

Non-small-cell adenocarcinoma.

Stage 3A,

which means it's spread from
the lung to the lymph nodes.

There's no denying
it's very serious.

But it... Is it?

It is...

curable?

I prefer the word
"treatable."

But the treatments we have
at our disposal

can be very effective.

Without making any promises,

I can tell you
that the specific course

of radiation and chemotherapy
I'm going to suggest

has been successful.

In certain cases,
it's prolonged a patient's life

and even resulted
in remission.

Hmm. Um, what about
the side effects?

Well, they can be mild
to practically non-existent.

Or they can be
pretty darn awful.

It varies from patient
to patient.

Typically,
there's hair loss,

which begins a couple of weeks
after the start of chemotherapy.

You may find yourself unusually
fatigued, not much energy.

You won't want to
get out of bed.

You may lose weight
due to reduced appetite

and certain
intestinal issues.

Muscle aches and pains,
gums will get sore and bleed.

And, uh, of course, there's
the possibility of nausea,

although we'll prescribe
an antiemetic

and try to counteract that.

[FADING]
Possible kidney
or bladder irritation.

You may wind up with increased
bruising and bleeding.

There are maybe sexual symptoms.
Your skin may become dry...

[SIGHS]

Got anything to say?

What do you know about that?

Nothing.

Well, that's not
gonna fly this time.

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 wanna hear,
just so we'll give you
another chance.

Mm-hm.
And it makes us feel like fools.

Every time.

Enough, Jesse.

Enough.

[SIGHS]

MR. PINKMAN:
We are not going to
have this in our house.

We need you to leave.

[SCOFFS]

Thanks for not telling on me.

Uh, you think
I could have it back?

[LAUGHS]

It's skunk-weed anyway.

MAN [ON TV]:
While 3 percent
are listed as unknown.

The Air Force is aware
of the widely-held belief

that some of these
could be flying saucers from...

You know,
this is actually very hopeful.

Nothing conclusive
in the evidence,

but probing and digesting
of information about UFOs

continues unceasingly.

Did you hear me?

I said this is really
very, very hopeful.

Oh.

Defense Command in Colorado
Springs issued an order...

So can I
call them and?

And tell them
you'll start next week?

Uh...

Even as they did so,
the military wondered whether

their scientific know-how
and their best weapons

would be effective
in any battle

of the Earth
versus the flying saucers.

I just think that
we need to discuss it

a little more, that's all.

What is there to discuss?

You're gonna get the best
treatment, and he's the best.

Well, there's the money
discussion. I think...

No, $90,000 out of pocket.

Maybe more.
SKYLER: There's a way, Walt.

There's financing,
there's, um, installment plans.

L... I could always go back
to work.

Walt, there's always a way.

All right.

Skyler, say that there is a way.

And we spend
all that money, and...

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?

[GASPS]

Just give up and die.

[COUGHING]

[COUGHING VIOLENTLY]

[HORN HONKING]

Come on, move your ass.

Uh, name of the guy?
You'll like him.

Yeah, dude, I'm not worried.

I got the best
fricking attorney.

I would not want to be
on the other side of this one.

He's got this little team
of ninjas, too,

that go out and do forward
operations...

He's got crap on people.

[DARONDO'S "DIDN'T l"
PLAYING]

[ALARM BLARING]

MAN:
What the hell?

What?

ATTENDANT:
Don't go near it, buddy.

MAN:
What? What are you doing?
Call somebody.

Call the fire people.

ATTENDANT:
Yeah. I have a fire...

MAN: I don't believe this.
Do you know how much
I paid for that?

[SHOUTS]

Why are you doing this?