Breaking Half: "Crazy Handful of Nothin'"

Bryan Cranston
Are you tired of long, tedious accounts of Breaking Bad episode recaps? Then look no further than Breaking Half: a weekly column that takes the good and bad from each week's episode of Breaking Bad and dilutes it down to the core necessities. Each Monday, Breaking Half will attempt to take a few key moments from the episode and boil it down to one juicy paragraph.

Season 1, Episode 6
"Crazy Handful of Nothin'"


"No more bloodshed."
-Walter  (Bryan Cranston)

With Jesse (Aaron Paul) and Walter (Bryan Cranston) back in the business, they begin to look at ways to sell. Jesse is inefficient, as he appears to be smoking half of the supply and cutting profits. With this in mind, they seek a distributor. Meanwhile, Walter is taking chemo treatment and vomiting in the school bathroom before eventually being suspended a few weeks. Hank (Dean Norris) stops by to discuss how some of the school's equipment mysteriously ended up in the desert by a car owned by an undercover informant (Krazy 8). This leads them to arresting the janitor Hugo (Pierre Barrera), who has a rap sheet involving marijuana possession. Due to the chemo taking out Walter's hair, he goes bald. Meanwhile, Jesse goes with Skinny Pete (Charles Baker) to see Tuco (Raymond Cruz), who will hopefully get them a distribution deal. Jesse gets beaten and hospitalized, so Walter goes to bat under the guise of Heisenberg. After using some explosives, he convinces Tuco to distribute for him and to be paid upfront. The episode ends with Walter walking back to his car, leaving behind the chaos.


Rating 4 out of 5

Left to right: Dean Norris and Cranston
MVP: Hank (Dean Norris)
While we have been getting glimpses into the investigation to find the meth cooks, this is the first real episode where we get a sense that Hank is onto something. It is just unnerving to see him interact with Walter in such a casual manner while dropping vague terminology that could very well be misconstrued as drug slang. The charismatic wise-ass finally manages to prove why he is a legitimate threat on the show and sets the tone for the Hank/Walter relationship that builds throughout the rest of the series. The chemistry supply check scene alone justifies why Hank is not to be messed with.

Raymond Cruz
Best scene: Ladies and gentlemen - Heisenberg! The villain of our story finally gets a name in this episode, and it is in those moments in which Walter starts to vanish entirely. Along with the hair, he dons dark colors and slings explosives at anyone who stands in his way. While he has done similar methods in the past, this is the first episode where we get a sense of the havoc that is to come. Heisenberg is different from Walter. He is unrepentant and willing to crush whatever stands in his way. He's also more aggressive and angry, and that only makes it more intense to watch the interaction with Tuco as the tables turn and Heisenberg becomes the dominant man in the situation.


Come back tomorrow for a recap of "A No-Rough-Stuff-Type Deal"

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