History Recap / BreakingBadS2E9FourDaysOut

Directed by Creator/MichelleMacLaren

[[caption-width-right:350:♫ ''Cause when the war is over / The fight is done / We'll be lying in the sun...'' ♫]]

->''"You brought a meth lab to the airport?"''

* TheMillstone: Jesse, never more than in this episode. See TooDumbToLive below.

* TooDumbToLive: Though they both survive this ordeal, Jesse kicks off the majority of this episode by leaving the keys in the RV's ignition, draining its battery and stranding them in the middle of the desert. When they try to start the generator up, Jesse suggests keeping it warm while it's covered in gasoline, setting the entire thing on fire. As Walt hurries back into the RV, Jesse panics and douses the flames out with their water cooler... just when Walt walks out with a fire extinguisher.
-->'''Walter:''' I wasn't the one who dumped out the last of our water, that's what I know!\\
'''Jesse:''' There was a fire! Excuse me for thinking on my feet.\\
'''Walter:''' ''OH!'' Is-is that what-- you were "thinking"? Now we have identified the problem. You and thinking, that's the problem!

* ArtisticLicensePhysics: When the generator catches fire, Jesse dumps his and Walt's water supply on it to put the fire out. In real life, you ''never'' put out an electrical fire with water, as the water can conduct electricity and electrocute you, which does not happen here.

Now stranded in the desert, Jesse tries to get a cellphone signal on his phone to contact Skinny Pete for help, but to no avail. Walt's phone has a signal, but he is reluctant to use it since he suspects Skyler checks his call logs. He eventually relents and lets Jesse call on his phone, so Jesse can give Pete directions to their location. Unfortunately, Pete gets lost, and the phone dies when Jesse tries to redirect him.

Walt undergoes a combination of chemo and radiation treatment to shrink his tumor. He won't know the results of his treatments for four days, though, and he is left to dread the outcome as the scan of his chest reveals a large white spot on his lung...

* WhamEpisode: Walt's cancer goes into remission after he and Jesse cooked several ''pounds'' of meth in the desert.

----

--> '''Hank''': "Just when I try to get out, they pull me back in!"

--> '''Walter:''' I wasn't the one who dumped out the last of our water, that's what I know!\\

'''Walter:''' ''OH!'' Is--is that what-- you were "thinking"? Now we have identified the problem. You and thinking, that's the problem!

->'''Walt:''' ''I have it coming. I deserve this.''\\
'''Jesse:''' ''Snap out of it. All right, first off, everything you did, you did for your family. Right?''\\
'''Walt:''' ''All I ever managed to do was worry and disappoint them. And lie. Oh God, the lies...I can't even...can't even keep them straight in my head anymore...''\\

* BaitAndSwitch: The white spot and Walt coughing up blood? Lung inflammation and a tear in the esophagus (respectively), not because of the cancer.
* BloodFromTheMouth: Walt starts coughing up blood in "4 Days Out". That is, until the end of the episode confirms that he's in remission.

* CuttingTheKnot / StatingTheSimpleSolution: Stranded in the wilderness due to the RV's battery running flat, Jesse frustratedly tries to coax Walt into figuring out a means of escape by {{Main/MacGyvering}} something together. Among several laughable suggestions - including building a robot or an alternate vehicle from the RV's chassis - comes the sensible (and actually doable) notion of building a new battery out of the assorted contents of their rolling lab.

* FiveSecondForeshadowing: What does Jesse say in regards to his failed attempts at trying to start up the (gasoline-covered) generator? "It just needs to warm up a little." [[TemptingFate Then Jesse makes one last pull.]] [[KillItWithFire Cue a spark.]]

* HopeSpot: Inverted. At first, it seems like the makeshift battery doesn't work... and then the engine roars to life.
** Played straight earlier when, having spent hours manually cranking the generator, Jesse gets the engine to start up for all of two seconds before it dies again.

* WhamLine: For Walt's family ([[OhCrap and Walt especially]]), "Walt, I have your test results. You're showing signs of remission."
** And later in the same scene, "Walt, your tumor has shrunk by 80%

->'''Walt:''' ''I have this coming. I deserve this.''\\

** And later in the same scene, "Walt, your tumor has shrunk by 80%."

[[caption-width-right:350:"'Cause when the war is over / The fight is done / We'll be lying in the sun."]]

* RageAgainstTheReflection: Walt repeatedly punches his reflection in a bathroom tissue dispenser after hearing the news that his cancer is in remission. Ordinarily this would be good news, but for Walt, it means his "exit strategy" for getting out of the crystal meth business just vanished. There are multiple interpretations to his rage here, none of which are mutually exclusive. Along with the above, it also robbed of him of a convenient excuse to continue doing criminal deeds.

* RageAgainstTheReflection: Walt repeatedly punches his reflection in a bathroom tissue dispenser after hearing the news that [[spoiler: his cancer is in remission. Ordinarily this would be good news, but for Walt, it means his "exit strategy" for getting out of the crystal meth business just vanished]]. There are multiple interpretations to his rage here, none of which are mutually exclusive. Along with the above, it also robbed of him of a convenient excuse to continue doing criminal deeds. This gained even more traction in the GrandFinale four years later when [[spoiler:he admits that everything he did, he did because he enjoyed doing it.]]

* RageAgainstTheReflection: After finding out he's in remission, Walter punches the hell out of a reflective towel dispenser.

* ShoutOut: When Walt and his family get the news that he's in remission, Hank joyfully quotes [[Film/TheGodfatherPartIII ''The Godfather, Part III'':]]

--> '''Hank''': "Every time I try to get out, they pull me back in!"

Four days after embarking on his biggest cook yet, Walt visits his doctor with his family to get the results of his medical examines. To everyone's surprise, the tumor had shrunk by eighty percent! At this point, it could be surgically removed! The white splotch on his scan? Just inflamation from the treatments. His coughing up blood? A rupture in his esophagus from all of his coughing, which can be treated.

The following morning, Walt tries to trickle-charge the RV's battery by hand-cranking the generator. Jesse realizes Walt lied about the methylamine spoiling. The process is slow and exhausting, leaving Walt weak and coughing blood. Walt falls into depression, stating that he deserved to die for all of the lies he told to cover his illegal activities. Jesse begs Walt to stop being pessimistic and think of something scientific that will get them out of their predicament.