As he takes stock of the RV, Walt lays into Jesse a stern lecture about their new business model:

Jesse is to deal
with customers on the street, and Walt is to be the "silent partner" who deals with the chemistry. Walt reiterates
his desire for "no more bloodshed." Shots of Walt, clad in black with a buzz cut, slashing through a gang of
motorcyclists on a street strewn with charred wreckage while clutching a bag stained with blood intercut with
this scene.

Walt manages to persuade Skyler to let him be alone at the cancer clinic while he gets treatment. Skyler
mentions that the check that Elliott had promised them has not been received before she leaves. Walt makes an
exaggerated claim about having deposited Elliott's check, but when he pays with his own check, he begs the
clinic clerk to hold it until Monday.
The following day, Walt demonstrates to his class how relatively harmless substances can explode due to quick
chemical reactions using the case of fulminated mercury. Hugo, a school custodian, helps Walt finish his lesson
after he suddenly leaves to vomit in the men's room. Skyler confides in Walt at a cancer support group that she
and Junior often wonder where he goes on afternoons and that she gets the impression he doesn't want her
around. Walt goes for walks in nature and says he needs time alone sometimes.
Walt collapses outside the RV as he gasps for air while cooking. Jesse, who had an aunt who battled cancer as
well, helps Walt and immediately realises that he has the disease. Walt has started cooking meth so that his
family will have money to live on after he dies, Jesse learns. After Walt realises he can't keep cooking, he hands
Jesse the respirator and tells her to go finish the batch in the RV.
At the same time, Gomez finds Hank in the Express Inn parking lot and gives him the gas mask that was found
at Walt's original cooking site. Markings suggesting it originated from Walt's high school were discovered in the
crime lab report.

A new batch of meth is ready to be sold, and Jesse is busy selling it all over town and at the Crystal Palace. He
then hands Walt a prepaid cell phone the following day. Walt is unhappy because he only got $1,300 out of the
$2,600 that the batch made. Jesse says that selling meth isn't easy "one 'teenth at a time." In an effort to move
more product, Walt approaches Jesse and asks if she knows of any distributors. Until Walt murdered him,
Krazy-8 was Jesse's distributor, according to Jesse. Jesse informs Walt afterwards that Krazy-8's territory has
been seized by a "badass" called Tuco Salamanca. Walt yells at Jesse, telling him to "just grow some fucking
balls" when the latter insists on continuing with the safer strategy of selling smaller amounts of meth.
As Walt continues to receive treatment, he experiences more episodes of vomiting. Hank pays him an
unexpected visit later on and gives him the stolen gas mask that has been associated with meth production. Two
gas masks and a few broken glasses are among the items Hank discovers missing from Walt's chemistry lab's
storage room. Using Walt's prepaid phone, Jesse informs him that Skinny Pete, who was a prisoner with Tuco, is
prepared to introduce him. Hank playfully suggests that Walt should be on the lookout for any signs of drug use
and advises him to monitor his lab equipment more closely.

Across town, Tuco eagerly wants to purchase some of Walt and Jesse's meth after trying a little. Although Jesse
suggests a price of $35,000, Tuco informs him that he is engaged in a "consignment operation" and that Jesse
will have to be patient. Jesse is apprehended by Tuco's goons when he demands payment in advance and tries to
run away with the meth. Even though Tuco puts some money in a canvas bag from a safe, he brutally beats
Jesse.
Hugo is taken into custody by the Drug Enforcement Administration aboard the high school bus. Hank informs
Walt, over a poker game in the living room, that Hugo was a perfect fit for the lab thefts and that his house and
car were found to be full of marijuana, the latter of which will cause him to lose his job and go to jail. Hank
folds after Walt bets all of his chips. A look of shock crosses Hank's face as Marie reveals that Walt only had a
handful of nothing. Walt notices clumps of hair falling out the following morning while he is in the shower; this
is a side effect of his chemotherapy. His phone rings, and it's Skinny Pete who tells him that Jesse is in the
hospital. While there, Walt asks Skinny Pete to fill him in on Tuco after seeing a sleeping Jesse with a neck
brace.

After noticing additional clumps of hair falling out the following morning, Walt decides to shave his head
entirely. Walt sneaks into Tuco's hideout with what looks like crystal meth in his bag. Walt introduces himself
to Tuco as "Heisenberg" and demands $50,000. This amount includes $35,000 for the stolen meth and $15,000
for Jesse's suffering and pain. In response to Tuco's theft and attack on Jesse, Heisenberg brings him additional
meth to steal, and Tuco openly laughs at his "brilliant plan." With a level head, Walt removes a crystal nugget
from the bag, tells Tuco, "this is not meth," and then flings it to the ground. As a result of the subsequent
explosion, Tuco's office windows are shattered and debris falls to the street below.
As Tuco's vision clears, he sees Walt raising the packet of "meth" over his head and quickly instructing his men
to put away their weapons. His ears are ringing and he is coughing violently on plaster dust. He assures Walt
that his meth sold more quickly than anything else he had ever seen, and he agrees to pay Walt $50,000. Walt is
willing to sell Tuco his next batch if Tuco pays him in advance and accepts two pounds as payment. Tuco
inquires about the "meth" in the bag before Walt departs, and Walt clarifies that it is fulminated mercury.
Walt exits the destroyed hideout with a sack full of cash. Walt, still buzzing from his recent success, clenches
his fists and lashes out in his car. After Walt calms down, he gets in his car and drives away as police sirens
blare in the background.