Crazy Handful of Nothin'

"Crazy Handful of Nothin'" is the sixth episode of the first season of the American television drama series Breaking Bad. Written by George Mastras and directed by Bronwen Hughes, it aired on AMC in the United States and Canada on March 2, 2008.

Plot

Walter and Jesse come to an agreement: Walter will be the cook and silent partner only, while Jesse will sell the meth on the street. He also demands no more bloodshed. Meanwhile, Walter's chemo continues. He tells Skyler that Elliott's check came and he deposited it, when in actuality, he is struggling to pay for the treatment and plans on using the upcoming meth profits to cover it. At a family counseling session, Skyler tells Walter that she is concerned about his missing hours, but he explains that he just likes to be alone sometimes and take walks.

While cooking one afternoon in the RV, Walter feels weak and dizzy from the chemo. As he stumbles out of the RV, Jesse notices a radiotherapy burn on Walter's chest. He instantly recognizes that Walter has lung cancer (his aunt succumbed to the disease years ago, making Jesse very knowledgeable about it). Jesse finally realizes that Walter is cooking meth to help take care of his family. Unable to continue cooking for the day, Walter asks Jesse to finish up the process. Meanwhile, Hank's partner, Gomez, discovers that the gas mask they found belonged to Walter's high school.

The effects of the chemo begin taking a toll on Walter at school. He excuses himself from classes to throw up in the bathroom, where a janitor named Hugo often helps him. Jesse stays up all night selling meth around the city. He returns to Walter the next day with $2,600 - $1,300 for the both of them and far less than Walter anticipated. Jesse explains that he is a lone dealer and if they want to sell their whole batch for big money, they need to sell it to a distributor. Krazy-8 was Jesse's distributor, so they need to find a new one. He mentions Tuco Salamanca (Raymond Cruz), who has expanded into Krazy-8's turf, but says they would have to have someone vouch for them in order to get a meeting with him.

Hank visits Walter at school, explaining that Krazy-8 was their snitch and that someone used a gas mask from school property to cook meth. Walter lets him browse the chemistry supply closet, where he finds several pieces of equipment missing (the ones Walter brought to the RV). Hank suspects that a student stole Walter's keys and raided the closet. Jesse calls Walter, explaining that his friend, Skinny Pete, befriended Tuco in prison, so he is their connection. Jesse and Skinny Pete have a meeting with Tuco in his office, which is in an abandoned building in a bad neighborhood. At the meeting, Tuco is very impressed with the meth and agrees to Jesse's price of $35,000, but explains that Tuco's dealers have to sell it first, after which point he'll give whatever is made from the sale to Jesse. Jesse, however, wants the money upfront. After Tuco refuses, Jesse attempts to grab the meth and escape. Enraged at the possibility of Jesse selling to a different distributor instead, Tuco severely beats him, sending him to the hospital. Tuco keeps the pound of meth.

Hank's squad returns to Walter's school and arrests Hugo, suspecting him of cooking meth. As the janitor, he also had keys to the supply closet and he also had prior arrests for marijuana possession. Walter feels guilty because he knows that Hugo is innocent. Jesse will not answer his phone, but Skinny Pete finally answers, explaining that Jesse is in the hospital. Walter visits Jesse, who is unconscious with three broken ribs. Walter is furious.

The effects of Walter's chemo worsen - his urine turns orange, his weight drops, and he starts losing his hair. He decides to shave his head completely bald. Later that day, Walter pays a visit to Tuco himself with another pound of meth and is allowed a meeting. He calls himself "Heisenberg" and demands $50,000 - $35,000 for the meth that Tuco stole from Jesse and another $15,000 for Jesse's pain and suffering. A laughing Tuco wonders how Walter could be so stupid as to come to him with more meth for him to steal. Walter explains his bag is not meth, but fulminated mercury. He takes a piece, throws it on the floor and it explodes with tremendous force, blowing out all the windows and knocking everyone off their feet. As Tuco's men scramble for their guns, Walter threatens to throw the entire bag on the floor, which would kill them all. Tuco, intimidated and impressed, agrees to Walter's demands and also agrees to be Walter's distributor. He tells Walter to produce a pound of meth a week for $35,000. Walter upgrades it to two pounds for $70,000. Walter gets back into his car with the remaining fulminated mercury and money, scared but amazed about what he just accomplished.

Production

The episode was written by George Mastras, and directed by Bronwen Hughes; it aired on AMC in the United States and Canada on March 2, 2008.

Title meaning

The episode title is a part of a line from the 1967 film Cool Hand Luke. A handful of nothing means that you don't have valuable cards in your hand, you have 2 options then, give up or bluff. Walter chooses the latter when he visits Tuco.

Dragline: Oh Luke, you wild, beautiful thing. You crazy handful of nothin'.

Critical reception

The episode was critically acclaimed and is generally regarded as one of the best episodes in the series. Seth Amitin of IGN gave the episode a rating of 9.8 out of 10 commenting: "There is a certain truism about television and this is it: start an episode with an explosion and we like you. Start it off with an explosion and someone walking away with a bag full of cash and no explanation, we love you. Build up five episodes that were leading to a conclusion as drastic as this, and we'll worship the ground you walk on. This, friends, was a fantastic episode."^[1]

References

External links

• "Crazy Handful of Nothin'" at the official Breaking Bad site
• "Crazy Handful of Nothin'" at the Internet Movie Database
• "Crazy Handful of Nothin'" at TV.com

Breaking Bad Created by Vince Gilligan Characters Walter White Skyler White Jesse Pinkman Hank Schrader Saul Goodman Gustavo Fring Mike Ehrmantraut Episodes Season 1 Season 2 Season 3 Season 4 Season 5 Related shows Talking Bad Metástasis Better Call Saul Related articles Awards and nominations "to break bad" Quotations Media Database entry Travel guide Category