4 Days Out
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"4 Days Out" is the ninth episode of the second season of the American television drama series '' Breaking Bad''. It was written by
Sam Catlin Sam Catlin is an American television writer, director, and producer. He is the showrunner of AMC's ''Preacher'', and previously worked as a writer/producer on ''Breaking Bad''. He has been nominated for a Writers Guild of America (WGA) Award for ...
and directed by
Michelle MacLaren Michelle Maxwell MacLaren is a Canadian television director and producer. She has directed episodes of ''The X-Files'', ''Better Call Saul'', ''Breaking Bad'', '' The Walking Dead'', ''Game of Thrones'', and ''Westworld''. MacLaren won two back- ...
.


Plot

Walter White Walter White most often refers to: * Walter White (''Breaking Bad''), character in the television series ''Breaking Bad'' * Walter Francis White (1893–1955), American leader of the NAACP Walter White may also refer to: Fictional characters ...
arrives at the hospital with his family to learn how he has reacted to
chemotherapy Chemotherapy (often abbreviated to chemo and sometimes CTX or CTx) is a type of cancer treatment that uses one or more anti-cancer drugs ( chemotherapeutic agents or alkylating agents) as part of a standardized chemotherapy regimen. Chemothe ...
. 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 James Morgan Jimmy McGill, better known by his business name Saul Goodman, is a character created by Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould and portrayed by Bob Odenkirk in the television franchise ''Breaking Bad''. He appears as a major character i ...
's fees for money laundering leave him with little to give his family, he decides to spend several days cooking meth. He pressures Jesse Pinkman into joining him, on the false pretext that their supply of methylamine will soon spoil. At the cook site in the desert, Jesse leaves the RV's keys in the ignition switch, unaware that it is draining the
battery Battery most often refers to: * Electric battery, a device that provides electrical power * Battery (crime), a crime involving unlawful physical contact Battery may also refer to: Energy source *Automotive battery, a device to provide power t ...
. After a few days of cooking, Walt estimates that they have nearly $1.2 million in meth. With their
portable generator An engine–generator is the combination of an electrical generator and an engine (prime mover) mounted together to form a single piece of equipment. This combination is also called an ''engine–generator set'' or a ''gen-set''. In many contexts ...
out of gasoline, Jesse convinces Walt to take a break and find a hotel for the night, but when they go to start the RV, they find the battery dead. They siphon off gasoline from the RV to the generator to jump-start it, but fuel spilled on the generator catches fire, and Jesse uses all of their drinking water to douse it. Jesse suggests they call
Skinny Pete ''Breaking Bad'' is a neo-Western crime drama franchise created by American filmmaker Vince Gilligan, primarily based on the television series ''Breaking Bad'' (2008–13), its prequel/sequel series, ''Better Call Saul'' (2015–22), and its s ...
for help using Walt's cell phone; despite the risk of Skyler White discovering this in his cell phone records, Walt allows Jesse to make the call. When Skinny Pete does not arrive, they call him again, and discover he is far off the directions before the phone dies. Walter unsuccessfully tries to
trickle charge Trickle charging means charging a fully charged battery at a rate equal to its self-discharge rate, thus enabling the battery to remain at its fully charged level; this state occurs almost exclusively when the battery is not loaded, as trickle char ...
the RV's battery by manually turning the generator's crank. As he begins to despair, Jesse tries to rouse him, and this inspires Walt to construct a battery from the materials they have on hand. The makeshift battery provides enough power to jump-start the RV, and they are able to return to
Albuquerque Albuquerque ( ; ), ; kee, Arawageeki; tow, Vakêêke; zun, Alo:ke:k'ya; apj, Gołgéeki'yé. abbreviated ABQ, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico. Its nicknames, The Duke City and Burque, both reference its founding in ...
. Walt and his family return to the doctor the next week, and learn that Walt's cancer is in remission and his tumor has shrunk by 80%; the "growth" Walt spotted was simply inflamed tissue in his lung, and a resulting tear in his
esophagus The esophagus ( American English) or oesophagus (British English; both ), non-technically known also as the food pipe or gullet, is an organ in vertebrates through which food passes, aided by peristaltic contractions, from the pharynx to ...
caused him to cough up blood, but can be treated. Walt's family is ecstatic, but Walt, privately, has a violent outburst.


Production

The episode was directed by
Michelle MacLaren Michelle Maxwell MacLaren is a Canadian television director and producer. She has directed episodes of ''The X-Files'', ''Better Call Saul'', ''Breaking Bad'', '' The Walking Dead'', ''Game of Thrones'', and ''Westworld''. MacLaren won two back- ...
and written by
Sam Catlin Sam Catlin is an American television writer, director, and producer. He is the showrunner of AMC's ''Preacher'', and previously worked as a writer/producer on ''Breaking Bad''. He has been nominated for a Writers Guild of America (WGA) Award for ...
. It aired on AMC in the United States and Canada on May 3, 2009.


Critical reception

The episode received critical acclaim. Emily VanDerWerff, writing for ''
Slant Slant can refer to: Bias *Bias or other non-objectivity in journalism, politics, academia or other fields Technical * Slant range, in telecommunications, the line-of-sight distance between two points which are not at the same level * Slant d ...
'', 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." She added that the episode continued the series' world-building, comparing it to the likes of ''
The Wire ''The Wire'' is an American crime drama television series created and primarily written by author and former police reporter David Simon. The series was broadcast by the cable network HBO in the United States. ''The Wire'' premiered on June 2 ...
'' and ''
The Sopranos ''The Sopranos'' is an American crime drama television series created by David Chase. The story revolves around Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini), a New Jersey-based Italian-American mobster, portraying his difficulties as he tries to balance ...
'', stating "the best television series are full of the breadth and depth of the panoply of human life." 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." Donna Bowman, of ''
The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an American online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was cre ...
'', gave the episode an A. She praised the episode for highlighting the characters' ability to act under pressure. The Ringer ranked "4 Days Out" as the 27th best out of the 62 total ''Breaking Bad'' episodes.


References


External links


"4 Days Out"
at the official ''Breaking Bad'' site * {{Breaking Bad episodes 2009 American television episodes Breaking Bad (season 2) episodes