4 Days Out

"4 Days Out"
Breaking Bad episode
Episode no. Season 2
Episode 9
Directed by Michelle MacLaren
Written by Sam Catlin
Original air date May 3, 2009 (2009-05-03)
Running time 47 minutes
Guest appearance(s)

"4 Days Out" is the ninth episode of the second season of the American television drama series Breaking Bad, and the sixteenth overall episode of the series. It was written by Sam Catlin and directed by Michelle MacLaren.

Plot summary

Walt arrives at the hospital with his family for a CT scan to learn how he has reacted to chemotherapy. He is told that the results of the test will not be ready for a week, but sees a scan of his lungs and notices a prominent growth. Believing that he has little time left, and realizing that recent expenses and Saul Goodman's fees for laundering his money leave him with little to give his family, Walt decides to spend several days doing nothing but cooking meth. Walt makes up a story about visiting his mother for an extended weekend to be able to explain his absence to Skyler. Walter convinces Jesse to help the weekend, forgoing his plans to go on a date in Santa Fe with Jane, by claiming their supply of methylamine will go bad and they need to use as much as possible before it does.

After Jesse collects the additional supplies and picks Walter up from the airport, they drive the Winnebago out to the wilderness to cook. Walter tells Jesse to leave the keys in a safe spot, and Jesse puts them in the ignition switch, unaware that it is draining the vehicle's battery. After a few days of cooking, Walt estimates they have nearly $1.2 million in meth. With their portable generator out of gasoline, Walter wants to get more gasoline and get right back to work, but Jesse convinces him they should take a break to find a hotel and restaurant for the night. When they go to start the Winnebago, they find the battery dead. They attempt to siphon off gasoline from the Winnebago to the portable generator to jump start the Winnebago, but gasoline spilled during the siphoning causes the generator to catch fire, and Jesse uses all of their drinkable water supply to douse it.

Jesse suggests they call Skinny Pete for help using Walter's cell phone. Walter knows that Skyler will likely review his cell phone records and may discover this, but allows Jesse to make the call. Jesse tries to give directions to Pete but they are unsure if he got them all. When Pete does not arrive, they call him again, and discover he was far off the directions, before Walter's phone dies.

Walter tears down the portable generator to allow him to try to trickle charge the Winnebago's battery by turning the generator's crank. Though this briefly enables the engine to turn over, the battery quickly dies. Walt becomes depressed and starts suffering from heat exhaustion. Jesse realizes that Walt believes he is going to die, evidenced later when Walter coughs up blood. Walt believes he deserves to die as he has constantly lied to his family. Jesse tries to cheer Walt from his slump, and this inspires Walt to construct their own battery from the materials they have on hand. The make-shift battery provides enough power to jump-start the Winnebago, and they are able to return to Albuquerque. Jesse drops Walt at the airport, assuring him that if he dies, his family will get the share of the money.

Walt and his family return to the doctor the next week, and learn that Walt's cancer is in remission; the "growth" Walt spotted was simply a tear in his esophagus that caused him to cough up blood but will heal in time. Walt's family is ecstatic, but Walt, privately, has a violent outburst realizing that death will not put an end to his web of lies or his drug empire.

Production

The episode was directed by Michelle MacLaren and written by Sam Catlin. It aired on AMC in the United States and Canada on May 3, 2009.

Critical reception

The episode was universally acclaimed by critics and is generally considered to be one of the best episodes in the series. The episode was cumulatively rated 9.1/10 by IMDb users.[1] Todd Vanderwerff, writing for Slant, praised the episode for its cinematography: "It's also staggeringly beautiful, drinking in the desert landscape that dominates its running time with a wide-eyed sense for the beauty of the wilderness." He added that the episode continued the series' world-building, comparing it to the likes of The Wire and The Simpsons, stating "the best television series are full of the breadth and depth of the panoply of human life."[2] Alan Sepinwall felt similarly, writing "image after image -- the glowing orange light of the desert, the cool blues of the chemicals mixing together, the tableaux of the RV resting in the tall grass or Walt and Jesse enjoying the night air after a hard day's work -- looked absolutely gorgeous."[3] Donna Bowman, of The A.V. Club, gave the episode an A. She praised the episode for highlighting the characters' ability to act under pressure.[4]

References

  1. ↑ "Breaking Bad, 4 Days Out". IMDb. Retrieved 17 September 2016.
  2. ↑ Vanderwerff, Todd. "Breaking Bad Recap Season 2, Episode 9, "4 Days Out"". Slant. Retrieved 17 September 2016.
  3. ↑ Sepinwall, Alan. "Breaking Bad, "4 Days Out": Flight of the RV". What's Alan Watchiung. Retrieved 17 September 2016.
  4. ↑ Bowman, Donna (May 3, 2009). "Review: Breaking Bad: 4 Days Out". A.V. Club. Retrieved May 26, 2015.

External links


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