Walt and Jesse scale up. They need methylamine, a key precursor chemical. Walt engineers a brilliant, dangerous heist: using thermite (made from rust and aluminum powder) to melt a lock on a warehouse holding the chemical drums. The plan works perfectly. Almost too perfectly.

The series begins with Walter White (Bryan Cranston), a 50-year-old overqualified high school chemistry teacher in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Underpaid, unappreciated, and suffering from a stifling marriage to Skyler (Anna Gunn) while raising a teenage son with cerebral palsy (Walter Jr., played by RJ Mitte), Walt receives a terminal diagnosis of inoperable lung cancer. Desperate to secure his family’s financial future before his death, he leverages his extensive chemistry knowledge to enter the dangerous world of methamphetamine manufacturing. He partners with a former student, the impulsive and street-smart Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul), setting off a chain reaction of violence, lies, and moral decay.