Walter White Jr.

Walter Hartwell White Jr.[2] is the teenage son of chemistry teacher Walter White Sr. and writer Skyler White, and has cerebral palsy.[3] When Skyler tells her sister Marie Schrader that she is working on a new short story with a stoner character in it, she asks her about marijuana. Marie assumes that Skyler thinks Jr. is smoking pot, but Skyler insists that she was just talking about her story. Marie asks her husband Hank, a DEA agent, to scare Jr. straight, leading him to Jr. to a motel to show how meth has corroded the teeth of a prostitute.[4] After Sr. reveals to Hank, Marie, and Jr. that he has cancer, a fact he already shared with Skyler before, Jr. berates him for acting weird and nonchalant about his cancer. He also becomes upset at his father's decision of not choosing chemotherapy.[5] Over the weekend, Jr. and two friends are waiting outside a convenience store, waiting for somebody to buy them beer. The friends run away when Jr. approaches an off-duty cop. The cop tells him he got his "first and last warning." At an intervention held by Skyler for Sr., Hank, Jr. and Marie argue over what to do. While Skyler and Jr. want him to take the treatment, Marie, and later Hank, feel Sr. should be given the choice to decline the treatment if he wants; Sr. ends the intervention saying he will not do the treatment.[6]

Jr. and Skyler are disturbed when Sr. cheerily makes breakfast despite his condition. Hoping to reconnect with his son, Sr. offers to give Jr. a driving lesson while Skyler is out. Jr. shows his skill at driving, but Sr. notices that he is using both feet to work the pedals. When Sr. tries to get him to only use the right foot, Jr. gets upset and accidentally hits a safety cone. Around this time, Jr. adopts a new alias: "Flynn".[7] Jr. later creates a website so that people can donate to his father's cancer surgery, unaware that Sr. lives a double life as meth kingpin Heisenberg and has enough money which he does not want to reveal to his family. Sr.'s lawyer Saul Goodman arranges for a wave of fictional "donations" drawn from Sr.'s drug money, in order to launder it and also make Jr.'s efforts appear successful.[8] Jr.'s website gains media attention due to its apparent success; Sr. is uncomfortable in the spotlight.[9]

Skyler and Sr. separate. Jr., given no explanation by either parent, assumes that Skyler has inexplicably thrown his terminally ill father out of the house, and he takes his father's side.[10] He later experiences severe difficulty understanding why his mother (who already knows about Sr.'s double life) refuses to let Sr. back in, eventually snapping at her over dinner. Jr. goes to visit his father, who also does not tell him the truth, eventually calling Skyler about his whereabouts. Sr. takes his son home, where he tries to appease Skyler with pizza, to no avail.[11] After Sr. moves back into the house and tells Skyler he has no intention of leaving, Jr. is thrilled that his father is back, while Skyler's attempt to have Sr. thrown out fails.[12]

When Jr. tells his father that Skyler already set the date for Sr. to move back in, he is unnerved.[13] Sr. tells his son he is not moving back home and buys a flashy new Dodge Challenger car for him, but when Skyler comes back she demands Sr. return it, lest he blow his cover.[14] Rather than return Jr.'s car, Sr. takes it on a joyride, crashes it, and blows it up.[15] On Jr.'s birthday, Sr. never arrives to help Skyler present his birthday gift, a Chrysler PT Cruiser which he is less than excited about. Concerned about his father, Jr. pays him a visit, only to find him bloodied and on painkillers and alcohol. Concealing his fight with Jesse Pinkman, Sr. blames it on gambling; he tearfully apologizes but later accidentally calls Jr. as "Jesse" before drifting off to sleep. The next morning, Sr. finds Jr. on his couch and apologizes for his drugged state, saying he does not want to be remembered that way after he is gone. However, Jr. seems to be more satisfied with his father's apparent truthfulness than his double life for the past year.[16] Gus Fring, for whom Sr. works, takes him to the desert and fires him, informing him that Hank will be killed and that Sr.'s entire family, including Jr., will be murdered if he interferes.[17] Skyler, Jr. and his sister Holly go under DEA protection at Hank and Marie's home.[18] Jr. later watches a news report about Fring's death, unaware that his father caused it.[19]

After Skyler, Jr. and Holly return home, Jr. explains that Fring's illicit activities are the subject of a media frenzy and that the DEA believes the danger against Hank and Marie Schrader has abated.[20] Sr. and Jr. retrieve Sr.'s Pontiac Aztek from an auto repair shop. Sr. impulsively sells the Aztek to the mechanic for $50, leases a new Chrysler 300 for himself, and later leases a new Dodge Challenger for Jr.[21] Jr. remains oblivious to his father's criminal activities until Marie (who already knows, along with Hank, and is confident that Sr. is in Hank's custody) forces Skyler to reveal the whole truth to her son. Upon learning of his father's connection with Hank's death, Jr. mistakenly concludes that he killed Hank. Feeling betrayed, Jr. calls 911 when Sr. fends off Skyler's knife attack, forcing Sr. to leave and eventually end up on the most wanted list.[22] Months later, Sr. learns that Skyler and Jr. have left their house for a small apartment. He telephones Jr. and says that he is going to send money to Jr.'s friend Louis, who should give it to Jr., who should give it to Skyler. However, an enraged Jr. refuses, tells his father to hurry up and die, then hangs up.[23] After visiting Skyler for the final time, before leaving Sr. watches from afar as Jr. arrives home from school.[24]