Box Cutter (Breaking Bad)
Encyclopedia
"Box Cutter" is the fourth season
premiere episode of the American television drama series Breaking Bad
, and the 34th overall episode of the series. It originally aired on AMC in the United States on July 17, 2011. In the episode, Walter
and Jesse face repercussions from Gus for having killed Gale during the previous season
. Meanwhile, Skyler breaks into Walter's condominium while investigating his sudden disappearance, and Marie struggles to help Hank recover from his injuries. Written by series creator Vince Gilligan
and directed by Adam Bernstein
, "Box Cutter" was the first original Breaking Bad episode in 13 months.
The episode marked the final regular performances of actors David Costabile
and Jeremiah Bitsui as Gale and Victor, respectively. Gilligan considered changing the episode based on audience responses to the third season
finale, "Full Measure", but ultimately decided against it. During a twist scene in "Box Cutter", Gus murders his loyal henchman Victor before Walt and Jesse's eyes. Giancarlo Esposito
, who plays Gus, said he was concerned about filming the scene "without really hurting my spirit and my soul", and he concentrated so hard that he remained silent and focused during filming, rarely speaking to others on set. The scene was so bloody it made actor Bryan Cranston
's daughter faint during a screening.
A major theme of "Box Cutter", and for the entire fourth season, involved Walter's gradual change into a darker character who becomes more proactively violent and dangerous. The episode also illustrates Jesse's moral decline and self-guilt over his killing of Gale, and Skyler's growing involvement in Walter's illegal activities. The episode received positive reviews, and was seen by an estimated 2.58 million household viewers, according to Nielsen Media Research
. It was the most watched Breaking Bad episode in series history and the second highest rated season premiere for any AMC show, falling behind only the series premiere
of The Walking Dead
.
manufacturer Gale (David Costabile
) excitedly sets up an underground meth lab
for drug kingpin Gus (Giancarlo Esposito
). Gale asks Gus about the blue meth being produced by chemist Walter
(Bryan Cranston
), who at this point is not yet working for Gus. Gus explains he has reservations about hiring Walter, but Gale insists Gus hire him because of his superior product. After the opening credits, the story returns to the present day, where Walt's partner Jesse (Aaron Paul
) has just shot Gale to death on orders from Walt, who insisted that if Gale is dead, Gus could not kill them as he had planned because he would have nobody to produce meth for him. Gus' henchman Victor (Jeremiah Bitsui) arrives at Gale's apartment and finds him dead, surrounded by neighbors who just called the police. Victor finds a stunned Jesse sitting in his car outside and forces him at gunpoint to return to the meth lab, where Gus' employee Mike (Jonathan Banks
) is holding Walter hostage. Mike, who is concerned that Victor was seen by bystanders at the murder scene, calls to inform Gus of the events. Victor, who has often watched Walter work, starts cooking meth himself to prove they do not need Walter and Jesse at all. Walter grows concerned when Victor proves better at the process than he expected.
Meanwhile, Walter's wife Skyler (Anna Gunn
) observes Walter's car in her driveway and, not wishing her son Walter Jr. (RJ Mitte
) to see it, drives it a few blocks away to conceal it. Concerned about Walter's apparent disappearance, she calls their lawyer Saul (Bob Odenkirk
), but he is too busy checking his office for listening devices
, having grown paranoid from Walt's falling out with Gus. Skyler hires a locksmith to break into Walt's condo for her, claiming it belongs to her. When he hesitates to do so without identification, Skyler cries and insists her purse was stolen until he finally agrees. She finds little of interest inside the condo. Elsewhere, Skyler's sister Marie (Betsy Brandt
) struggles to maintain her composure while caring for her bedridden husband Hank (Dean Norris
), who is still recovering from the multiple gunshots inflicted in the attempt on his life. A cranky Hank lashes out at Marie and scoffs when she speaks of the progress he is making at rehab, but Marie nevertheless maintains an outwardly positive demeanor.
Gus arrives at the meth lab but says nothing. Walter soon launches into a nervous, rambling monologue of excuses and justifications, trying to convince Gus he needs Walter and Jesse alive. He claims it is Gus who is ultimately responsible for Gale's death, not them, and insists Victor cannot produce the meth Gus needs. Gus maintains his silence, even while changing into hazmat gear and selecting a box cutter
while Victor grins in anticipation. Never changing his demeanor, Gus suddenly slices Victor's throat, startling the others. Through the killing, Gus simultaneously punishes Victor, while delivering a stern message to Walter and Jesse. Gus drops the body to the floor and coldly eyes both Walter and Jesse to ensure his message was received. Gus quietly returns to his street clothes, then walks out of the lab, pausing only to say, "Well, get back to work," before disappearing. Later, Walter and Jesse dispose of Victor's body, the gun that killed Gale and the box cutter in a barrel of hydrofluoric acid
. During breakfast later, Walter insists to Jesse that Gale's death was necessary, but expresses concern that Gus will kill them at his next opportunity. Jesse doubts this, believing it will be too much trouble for Gus to find another drug manufacturer, and that both they and Gus understand the situation: neither can kill the other, so they might as well make them wish they were dead. The episode ends with police investigating Gale's apartment, where his lab notes sit waiting to be discovered.
premiere of Breaking Bad
, was directed by Adam Bernstein
and written by series creator Vince Gilligan
. Filmed in January 2011, the episode was edited by Skip MacDonald, one of a handful of editors who have regularly worked on the series. It was broadcast on July 17, 2011, and was the first original Breaking Bad episode in 13 months, since the third season
finale episode "Full Measure" aired in June 2010. AMC officials delayed the fourth season premiere until July because they felt the Nielsen ratings
would be better during the summer. While Breaking Bad scripts are generally 50 pages long, the screenplay to "Box Cutter" was 43 pages long, and Gilligan was originally concerned because he did not want to stretch out the episode simply to pad the running time. "Full Measure" ended with Jesse pulling a gun on Gale and firing directly into the screen, with Gale's death not visibly revealed on-screen. This led to wide speculation among fans and reviewers that Jesse did not actually kill Gale, but rather aimed away from him and fired the gun. This speculation continued up until the original broadcast of "Box Cutter", which confirmed Jesse indeed killed Gale. Gilligan said he never intended for that scene to be a cliffhanger
and he thought it clearly conveyed that Gale had died.
"Box Cutter" featured the final regular appearances of recurring Breaking Bad characters David Costabile and Jeremiah Bitsui who, respectively, played Gale Boetticher and Victor. Stand-up comedian Lavell Crawford
also made his first of several guest appearances in "Box Cutter" as Huell, Saul's new bodyguard. Gilligan said he called the episode "Box Cutter" mainly because "it just sounded like a cool title", but also because he was concerned that the climax of the episode took so long to build to that, by calling it "Box Cutter", "Perhaps I was thinking on some level, 'We'd better let the audience know that there's something at the end of this.'" Although the Breaking Bad staff always intended for Gale to be killed, the audience reaction to "Full Measure" made Gilligan and the Breaking Bad writing staff reconsider whether their plans were the best ones. However, Gilligan said they instead decided to follow their original plan, saying "At the end of the day, the choice we made for how to press forward was the choice we felt was the most honest, and the one that would best continue the story."
Giancarlo Esposito said he when he first read the script for "Box Cutter", he was so shocked that he had to put it down and walk away from it. Esposito said he did not want to "take any of [the scene] home with me" and had "some deep concern about being able to do it and coming out of it unscathed, without really hurting my spirit and my soul". He worked through these concerns by justifying Gus' actions in that, by killing Victor, he was protecting everyone else who works for him. Nevertheless, he said it was "a difficult moment for me" to slit Victor's throat, and that during one take he tried to hush the character to make him die more calmly. That scene took two days to film, and Esposito remained silent and focused during filming, rarely speaking to the others on set. The boots he was originally given were too large and he was concerned that he would slip, which would be out of character for his character, who was completely calm and in control. A costume designer quickly drove to a fisherman's place and found the right-sized boots for him.
In writing the script, the Breaking Bad staff decided early on that Gus would not speak much during the scene because they felt it was more dramatic that way and more appropriate for his character. Esposito felt the scene was a pivotal moment not only for his character, but for Gus' relationship with Walter, and a warning that Walter should continue to operate Gus' way or risk death. Regarding his character's murder of Victor, Esposito said: "This had to be done. Someone did something, they got seen. ... It was about survival. This had to be done, but I could do it in a way that also sent a message to the people who weren't listening." Bryan Cranston said he was not expecting the episode to take the direction it did. He called the scene "painful, but beautifully crafted, and reasonably so", and commented on the contrast between Gus' calm demeanor and Walter's "tap-dancing to stay alive". Cranston said of Esposito's performance, "When he plays that bad character, his eyes go dead, and all it takes is to look into his eyes." Gilligan said although Gus' actions in the scene were scripted, "You'd be surprised how little I talked to Giancarlo about how he played that part ... This is a man with amazing instincts."
A major theme of "Box Cutter" involves Walter's gradual change from an unwitting participant in a drug-dealing enterprise into a man more comfortable with a life of crime who embraces his darker side and becomes more proactively violent and dangerous. This development began during the latter episodes of the third season and will continue to be a major theme throughout the fourth season. The episode also introduced the ongoing theme of Jesse's moral decline and self guilt over his killing of Gale. Aaron Paul said of this, "Jesse's much more raw this season. He's very distant, and he's turned to just utter chaos and destruction to keep his mind busy. When he's left alone in his own thoughts, that's when things can get kind of dangerous and scary for Jesse."
The scene when Walter pleads with Gus demonstrates the paternal sense of protectiveness Walter has developed for Jesse. During that scene, Walter told Gus, "You kill me, you have nothing. You kill Jesse, you don't have me." Jesse is visibly moved by the statement, which Aaron Paul described as "the first moment that Jesse realizes that Walt's loyalty is to Jesse." "Box Cutter" also illustrated Skyler's growing involvement in Walter's illegal activities through the subplot in which she lies to a locksmith to break into Walter's house, going so far as to use her baby as a prop in her facade. After Skyler breaks in to Walter's apartment, she finds the plastic eyeball of a teddy bear that has been part of the series since the second season
. The eye has long been used as a symbol to identify Walter's gradual descent into a life of crime, and Skyler's discovery of it symbolizes her own similar descent.
Jeremiah Bitsui sprained his ankle during filming of the scene when Walter and Jesse shoved his corpse into a barrel to dispose of it with hydrofluoric acid. During that scene, Mike questions whether the acid will effectively dispose of Victor's body, and Jesse replies, "Trust us." This is a reference to the first season
episode "Cat's in the Bag...", when Jesse uses the acid in his bathtub to dispose of a body and causes the tub to completely crash through his bathroom floor. After Victor's body is disposed of in "Box Cutter", Jesse lifts the barrel with a forklift and it is lit in a way that the barrel can be seen through. This was accomplished by back-lighting the barrel and tying monofilament to the bottom of it, which staff members then moved and twisted outside of the view of the camera to create the lighting effect. "Box Cutter" also introduced a subplot involving Hank and Marie, in which the latter treats Marie poorly while coping with his injury. Gilligan said the writers decided on this storyline early on in planning the episode, and they believed it made the most sense for Hank psychologically in his situation.
"Box Cutter" was first publicly shown on June 28, 2011, at the Grauman's Chinese Theatre
in Hollywood. During the scene when Gus killed Victor, Bryan Cranston's daughter Taylor fainted in her seat inside the theater at the sight of all the blood. This prompted theater officials to briefly interrupt the screening and ask for a doctor in the audience, causing a brief panic among the crowd. During the original television broadcast of "Box Cutter" on July 17, AMC aired a one-minute preview of the second season
of the zombie
television series The Walking Dead
, in which protagonist Rick Grimes
kills two zombies with a large rock. The violent scenes in "Box Cutter" proved so bloody that AMC included a disclaimer warning about the violence at the start of the episode and after the commercial break halfway through the episode. During one scene in "Box Cutter", the bedridden Hank tries to purchase minerals
at the fictional website mineralemporium.com. In real life, that URL
redirected to the official Breaking Bad website.
, where Vince Gilligan worked as a writer and producer. It refers to the October 13 birthday of X-Files creator Chris Carter
. A copy of Everything's Eventual
, a collection of short stories by Stephen King
, can be seen in Gale's apartment. After Walter and Jesse are released by Gus, they eat lunch at Denny's
, a coffee shop and family restaurant chain. During this scene they are wearing matching T-shirts with country music singer Kenny Rogers
on them. The T-shirts are deliberately not explained in the episode, but Vince Gilligan said he believed Mike simply bought the first articles of clean clothing he could find for Walter and Jesse after their clothes were soaked with Victor's blood - Walter's still retains the price tag. During the final scene of "Box Cutter", when Walter walks back to his condominium, the Alex Ebert
song "Truth" plays in the background.
. It was the most watched Breaking Bad episode in series history and the second highest rated season premiere for any AMC show, falling behind only the series premiere
of The Walking Dead, which drew 5.3 million household viewers. It was also a 32 percent increase in viewership compared to the third season premiere, "No Mas". "Box Cutter" performed especially strong with men between ages 18 and 34, among whom viewership was up 67 percent compared to the third season premiere. The episode was seen by 1.4 million household viewers in both the 18 to 49 and the 25 to 54 age groups, a 21 percent increase in the former group and a 26 percent increase in the latter.
said the episode demonstrated how effective the creators of Breaking Bad are at manipulating the emotions of their viewers. Sepinwall described the story as "remarkably simple" but the execution as extremely effective, and he called the amount of screen time dedicated to Gus calmly changing his clothes before and after killing Victor "a move so ballsy and so brilliant I actually started giggling the second time they did it". Time
magazine writer James Poniewozik
said the episode demonstrated how effective Breaking Bad can be even with a minimal amount of dialogue, such as Gus' silence during his scene in the lab, and Jesse's wordlessness throughout the episode as he processed what he had done to Gale. He also praised the color scheme of the blood-red meth lab as an illustrator of Walter and Jesse's descent into hell. Entertainment Weekly
writer Ken Tucker said of the episode, "Its eloquent silences, its breath-taking pictorial compositions ... these are pleasures that transcend 98% of television's usual attempts at dirty realism or fashionable pessimism". Kim Potts of TV Squad called Gus' killing of Victor "one of the more jarring scenes in Breaking Bad history". The Faster Times
writer Craig McQuinn called it "one of the most intense episodes I've ever seen", and said it solidified Gus' standing as "one of the greatest TV antagonists I've ever seen". Matt Zoller Seitz of Salon.com
compared the filmmaking in "Box Cutter" to that of works by Alfred Hitchcock
and the Coen brothers
, and called the best example of television's ability to "take an elastic approach to narrative and let certain incidents or moments expand to fill up most or all of an episode" since "The Suitcase
", an episode of the television series Mad Men
.
Seth Amitin of IGN
called it a minimalist, deliberately-paced episode but said it was never boring due to the excellent acting, dialogue and suspense which illustrates "just how quickly this show lost its innocence". He also said the subplots involving Skyler, Hank and Marie kept the episode's pace well. Los Angeles Times
writer Todd VanDerWerff praised the performance of Aaron Paul despite his almost complete lack of dialogue throughout the episode, and felt the script raised interesting contrasts between Walt, who acts impulsively and rash while captured, and Gus, who seems calm and in control. However, he said it felt like Victor was killed rather than Walter or Jesse simply because the writers could not kill the two main protagonists. Michael Arbeiter of Hollywood.com called it a "great and intriguing way to start the season" and particularly praised Aaron Paul, who he said was "phenomenal" despite barely speaking any dialogue in the episode. However, he had "mixed feelings" about the Gus character's evolution from a behind-the-scenes criminal to a hands-on killer. Jessica Johnson of Time Out Chicago called it an "exquisite exercise in tension" that builds a "slow crescendo of what looks to be an impressively strong season". Andy Vineberg of the Bucks County Courier Times called it "a great start for a show that just keeps getting better". He praised the dark humor that kept the tension of the show balanced, and particularly complimented the pre-credits scene and the ramifications it had for the show and its characters. RedEye
writer Curt Wagner found that the cinematography, pacing and tension were so effective in "Box Cutter", that "I think I broke a sweat just watching". Paste
magazine writer Brent Koepp praised the transformation of Walter, and said few other shows would risk making their protagonist so unlikeable. Koepp called the climactic scene with Gus "brilliant" and complimented the script for taking its time in building the tension.
Matt Richenthal of TV Fanatic praised the episode for its effectiveness in scenes featuring little dialogue, particularly with Jesse and Gus, claiming, "No show does silence like Breaking Bad." He also complimented Cranston's desperate monologue while trying to convince Gus not to kill him, claiming it provided a deep insight into Walt's character and his inability to accept responsibility for his actions. Zap2it
writer Rick Porter called the scene with Gus killing Victor a "master class in building tension" due to the strong writing, direction and acting, particularly by Esposito. Scott Wampler of Collider.com called it "a fantastic, bloody, shocking season premiere, one of the best in the show's history". He particularly praised Esposito's performance and suggested it could make the actor worthy of contention for an Emmy Award
. BlackBook magazine writer Chris Mohney strongly praised Esposito's performance, and described his silence and calm during the climactic scene as "one of the great recent moments of TV menace". June Thomas of Slate
magazine called it a "fine opening episode" that did not advance the plot significantly but "served as an artful reminder of where the characters stand psychologically". Thomas said she believed the episode demonstrated that Walter is in fact a weak man, comparing his useless pleas to Gus to his ineffective attempts to mislead Skyler about his drug-manufacturing activities in earlier seasons. Not all reviews were positive. Jessica Grose, also of Slate magazine, said while she prefers episodes that mixed its darker aspects with black humor, "Box Cutter" was "all claustrophobia and fear". The Philadelphia Inquirer
columnist David Hiltbrand condemned the violent scene with Victor's death, which he called "totally gratuitous ... serv[ing] no plot or character purpose".
Breaking Bad was so commonly discussed on the social-networking website Twitter
during and after the broadcast of "Box Cutter" that the show was among the site's trending topic
s, which are indicative of being the most popular topics being discussed on Twitter at a given moment. Several celebrities shared their thoughts on the episode through the site. Bill Lawrence
, co-creator of the television series Cougar Town
, wrote, "Current talent jealousy, letter "B" only: Book of Mormon, Breaking Bad, Bridesmaids
, Bon Iver
." Damon Lindelof
, executive producer of the television series Lost
, wrote, "Every potential Supporting Actor Drama nominee for 2012 who watched BREAKING BAD tonight just quietly muttered, 'Shit.'" Film producer Scott Mosier
wrote, "Breaking Bad - favorite show on the air. Great - great stuff." African American author Nelson George
wrote, "Giancarlo Esposito has role of his career in 'Breaking Bad.' Very controlled internal performance from actor who was once over the top. Nice." Kyle Killen, creator of the television series Lone Star, wrote, "Dear Breaking Bad, we give up - The Rest Of Television."
Breaking Bad (season 4)
The fourth season of the American television drama series Breaking Bad premiered on July 17, 2011 and concluded on October 9, 2011. It consists of 13 episodes, each running approximately 47 minutes in length...
premiere episode of the American television drama series Breaking Bad
Breaking Bad
Breaking Bad is an American television drama series created and produced by Vince Gilligan. Set and produced in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Breaking Bad is the story of Walter White , a struggling high school chemistry teacher who is diagnosed with advanced lung cancer at the beginning of the series...
, and the 34th overall episode of the series. It originally aired on AMC in the United States on July 17, 2011. In the episode, Walter
Walter White (Breaking Bad)
Walter Hartwell "Walt" White is a fictional character and the antihero of the American television drama series Breaking Bad on AMC. He is portrayed by Bryan Cranston and was created by series creator Vince Gilligan...
and Jesse face repercussions from Gus for having killed Gale during the previous season
Breaking Bad (season 3)
The third season of the American television drama series Breaking Bad premiered on March 21, 2010 and concluded on June 13, 2010. It consisted of 13 episodes, each running approximately 47 minutes in length. AMC broadcast the third season on Sundays at 10:00 pm in the United States...
. Meanwhile, Skyler breaks into Walter's condominium while investigating his sudden disappearance, and Marie struggles to help Hank recover from his injuries. Written by series creator Vince Gilligan
Vince Gilligan
Vince Gilligan is an American writer, director and producer. He is the creator of the highly acclaimed television series Breaking Bad. Gilligan has also worked on the hit series The X-Files and The Lone Gunmen. He is a graduate of the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University...
and directed by Adam Bernstein
Adam Bernstein
Adam Bernstein is an American film, music video and television director and screenwriter. He was born in Princeton, New Jersey...
, "Box Cutter" was the first original Breaking Bad episode in 13 months.
The episode marked the final regular performances of actors David Costabile
David Costabile
David Costabile is an American actor. Born in Washington, D.C. He is best known for his recurring television roles on The Wire , Flight of the Conchords , Damages , and Breaking Bad...
and Jeremiah Bitsui as Gale and Victor, respectively. Gilligan considered changing the episode based on audience responses to the third season
Breaking Bad (season 3)
The third season of the American television drama series Breaking Bad premiered on March 21, 2010 and concluded on June 13, 2010. It consisted of 13 episodes, each running approximately 47 minutes in length. AMC broadcast the third season on Sundays at 10:00 pm in the United States...
finale, "Full Measure", but ultimately decided against it. During a twist scene in "Box Cutter", Gus murders his loyal henchman Victor before Walt and Jesse's eyes. Giancarlo Esposito
Giancarlo Esposito
Giancarlo Giuseppe Alessandro Esposito is a Danish-born American film and television actor and director.-Early life:Esposito was born in Copenhagen, Denmark to an Italian father and African-American mother. His mother was an opera and nightclub singer from Alabama, who once appeared on the same...
, who plays Gus, said he was concerned about filming the scene "without really hurting my spirit and my soul", and he concentrated so hard that he remained silent and focused during filming, rarely speaking to others on set. The scene was so bloody it made actor Bryan Cranston
Bryan Cranston
Bryan Lee Cranston is an American actor, voice actor, writer and director. He is best known for his roles as Hal the father in the Fox situation comedy Malcolm in the Middle, and Walter White in the AMC drama series Breaking Bad, for which he won three consecutive Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama...
's daughter faint during a screening.
A major theme of "Box Cutter", and for the entire fourth season, involved Walter's gradual change into a darker character who becomes more proactively violent and dangerous. The episode also illustrates Jesse's moral decline and self-guilt over his killing of Gale, and Skyler's growing involvement in Walter's illegal activities. The episode received positive reviews, and was seen by an estimated 2.58 million household viewers, according to Nielsen Media Research
Nielsen Ratings
Nielsen ratings are the audience measurement systems developed by Nielsen Media Research, in an effort to determine the audience size and composition of television programming in the United States...
. It was the most watched Breaking Bad episode in series history and the second highest rated season premiere for any AMC show, falling behind only the series premiere
Days Gone Bye
"Days Gone Bye" is the first episode of the post-apocalyptic horror television series The Walking Dead. It originally aired on AMC in the United States on October 31, 2010. The episode was written and directed by Frank Darabont, the creator of the series...
of The Walking Dead
The Walking Dead (TV series)
The Walking Dead is an American post-apocalyptic horror television series developed for television by Frank Darabont and based on the ongoing comic book series, The Walking Dead, by Robert Kirkman, Tony Moore and Charlie Adlard...
.
Plot
During a pre-credits flashback sequence, methamphetamineMethamphetamine
Methamphetamine is a psychostimulant of the phenethylamine and amphetamine class of psychoactive drugs...
manufacturer Gale (David Costabile
David Costabile
David Costabile is an American actor. Born in Washington, D.C. He is best known for his recurring television roles on The Wire , Flight of the Conchords , Damages , and Breaking Bad...
) excitedly sets up an underground meth lab
Clandestine chemistry
Clandestine chemistry is chemistry carried out in secret, and particularly in illegal drug laboratories. Larger labs are usually run by gangs or organized crime intending to produce for distribution on the black market...
for drug kingpin Gus (Giancarlo Esposito
Giancarlo Esposito
Giancarlo Giuseppe Alessandro Esposito is a Danish-born American film and television actor and director.-Early life:Esposito was born in Copenhagen, Denmark to an Italian father and African-American mother. His mother was an opera and nightclub singer from Alabama, who once appeared on the same...
). Gale asks Gus about the blue meth being produced by chemist Walter
Walter White (Breaking Bad)
Walter Hartwell "Walt" White is a fictional character and the antihero of the American television drama series Breaking Bad on AMC. He is portrayed by Bryan Cranston and was created by series creator Vince Gilligan...
(Bryan Cranston
Bryan Cranston
Bryan Lee Cranston is an American actor, voice actor, writer and director. He is best known for his roles as Hal the father in the Fox situation comedy Malcolm in the Middle, and Walter White in the AMC drama series Breaking Bad, for which he won three consecutive Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama...
), who at this point is not yet working for Gus. Gus explains he has reservations about hiring Walter, but Gale insists Gus hire him because of his superior product. After the opening credits, the story returns to the present day, where Walt's partner Jesse (Aaron Paul
Aaron Paul
Aaron Michael Paul is an American actor. After appearing in several roles in American television, including a recurring role on the HBO series Big Love, Paul came to prominence in the late 2000s for his critically acclaimed portrayal of Jesse Pinkman in the AMC series Breaking Bad, for which he...
) has just shot Gale to death on orders from Walt, who insisted that if Gale is dead, Gus could not kill them as he had planned because he would have nobody to produce meth for him. Gus' henchman Victor (Jeremiah Bitsui) arrives at Gale's apartment and finds him dead, surrounded by neighbors who just called the police. Victor finds a stunned Jesse sitting in his car outside and forces him at gunpoint to return to the meth lab, where Gus' employee Mike (Jonathan Banks
Jonathan Banks
Jonathan Ray Banks is an American actor in film and television.Banks was born in Washington, D.C. in 1947. His mother worked for the CIA. Banks attended Indiana University Bloomington where he was a classmate of Kevin Kline...
) is holding Walter hostage. Mike, who is concerned that Victor was seen by bystanders at the murder scene, calls to inform Gus of the events. Victor, who has often watched Walter work, starts cooking meth himself to prove they do not need Walter and Jesse at all. Walter grows concerned when Victor proves better at the process than he expected.
Meanwhile, Walter's wife Skyler (Anna Gunn
Anna Gunn
Anna Gunn is an American actress, best known for her roles as Assistant District Attorney Jean Ward on The Practice, Martha Bullock on Deadwood, and, currently, Skyler White on Breaking Bad. She appeared on Seinfeld in the episode "The Glasses" and on the first season of Murder One...
) observes Walter's car in her driveway and, not wishing her son Walter Jr. (RJ Mitte
RJ Mitte
Roy Frank “RJ” Mitte III is an American actor best known for his role as Walter White Jr. on the AMC television series, Breaking Bad....
) to see it, drives it a few blocks away to conceal it. Concerned about Walter's apparent disappearance, she calls their lawyer Saul (Bob Odenkirk
Bob Odenkirk
Robert "Bob" Odenkirk is an American actor, comedian, writer, director and producer. He is best known as the co-creator and co-star of the HBO sketch comedy series Mr...
), but he is too busy checking his office for listening devices
Covert listening device
A covert listening device, more commonly known as a bug or a wire, is usually a combination of a miniature radio transmitter with a microphone. The use of bugs, called bugging, is a common technique in surveillance, espionage and in police investigations.A bug does not have to be a device...
, having grown paranoid from Walt's falling out with Gus. Skyler hires a locksmith to break into Walt's condo for her, claiming it belongs to her. When he hesitates to do so without identification, Skyler cries and insists her purse was stolen until he finally agrees. She finds little of interest inside the condo. Elsewhere, Skyler's sister Marie (Betsy Brandt
Betsy Brandt
Betsy Brandt is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Marie Schrader in Breaking Bad-Early life:Brandt is a native of Bay City, Michigan. Betsy graduated from Western High School in 1991....
) struggles to maintain her composure while caring for her bedridden husband Hank (Dean Norris
Dean Norris
Dean Joseph Norris is an American actor currently starring as DEA agent Hank Schrader, the brother-in-law of main character Walter White in the AMC series Breaking Bad, which premiered on January 20, 2008.-Biography:...
), who is still recovering from the multiple gunshots inflicted in the attempt on his life. A cranky Hank lashes out at Marie and scoffs when she speaks of the progress he is making at rehab, but Marie nevertheless maintains an outwardly positive demeanor.
Gus arrives at the meth lab but says nothing. Walter soon launches into a nervous, rambling monologue of excuses and justifications, trying to convince Gus he needs Walter and Jesse alive. He claims it is Gus who is ultimately responsible for Gale's death, not them, and insists Victor cannot produce the meth Gus needs. Gus maintains his silence, even while changing into hazmat gear and selecting a box cutter
Utility knife
A utility knife is a knife used for general or utility purposes. The utility knife was originally a fixed blade knife with a cutting edge suitable for general work such as cutting hides and cordage, scraping hides, butchering animals, cleaning fish, and other tasks.Today, the term "utility knife"...
while Victor grins in anticipation. Never changing his demeanor, Gus suddenly slices Victor's throat, startling the others. Through the killing, Gus simultaneously punishes Victor, while delivering a stern message to Walter and Jesse. Gus drops the body to the floor and coldly eyes both Walter and Jesse to ensure his message was received. Gus quietly returns to his street clothes, then walks out of the lab, pausing only to say, "Well, get back to work," before disappearing. Later, Walter and Jesse dispose of Victor's body, the gun that killed Gale and the box cutter in a barrel of hydrofluoric acid
Hydrofluoric acid
Hydrofluoric acid is a solution of hydrogen fluoride in water. It is a valued source of fluorine and is the precursor to numerous pharmaceuticals such as fluoxetine and diverse materials such as PTFE ....
. During breakfast later, Walter insists to Jesse that Gale's death was necessary, but expresses concern that Gus will kill them at his next opportunity. Jesse doubts this, believing it will be too much trouble for Gus to find another drug manufacturer, and that both they and Gus understand the situation: neither can kill the other, so they might as well make them wish they were dead. The episode ends with police investigating Gale's apartment, where his lab notes sit waiting to be discovered.
Production
"Box Cutter", the fourth seasonBreaking Bad (season 4)
The fourth season of the American television drama series Breaking Bad premiered on July 17, 2011 and concluded on October 9, 2011. It consists of 13 episodes, each running approximately 47 minutes in length...
premiere of Breaking Bad
Breaking Bad
Breaking Bad is an American television drama series created and produced by Vince Gilligan. Set and produced in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Breaking Bad is the story of Walter White , a struggling high school chemistry teacher who is diagnosed with advanced lung cancer at the beginning of the series...
, was directed by Adam Bernstein
Adam Bernstein
Adam Bernstein is an American film, music video and television director and screenwriter. He was born in Princeton, New Jersey...
and written by series creator Vince Gilligan
Vince Gilligan
Vince Gilligan is an American writer, director and producer. He is the creator of the highly acclaimed television series Breaking Bad. Gilligan has also worked on the hit series The X-Files and The Lone Gunmen. He is a graduate of the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University...
. Filmed in January 2011, the episode was edited by Skip MacDonald, one of a handful of editors who have regularly worked on the series. It was broadcast on July 17, 2011, and was the first original Breaking Bad episode in 13 months, since the third season
Breaking Bad (season 3)
The third season of the American television drama series Breaking Bad premiered on March 21, 2010 and concluded on June 13, 2010. It consisted of 13 episodes, each running approximately 47 minutes in length. AMC broadcast the third season on Sundays at 10:00 pm in the United States...
finale episode "Full Measure" aired in June 2010. AMC officials delayed the fourth season premiere until July because they felt the Nielsen ratings
Nielsen Ratings
Nielsen ratings are the audience measurement systems developed by Nielsen Media Research, in an effort to determine the audience size and composition of television programming in the United States...
would be better during the summer. While Breaking Bad scripts are generally 50 pages long, the screenplay to "Box Cutter" was 43 pages long, and Gilligan was originally concerned because he did not want to stretch out the episode simply to pad the running time. "Full Measure" ended with Jesse pulling a gun on Gale and firing directly into the screen, with Gale's death not visibly revealed on-screen. This led to wide speculation among fans and reviewers that Jesse did not actually kill Gale, but rather aimed away from him and fired the gun. This speculation continued up until the original broadcast of "Box Cutter", which confirmed Jesse indeed killed Gale. Gilligan said he never intended for that scene to be a cliffhanger
Cliffhanger
A cliffhanger or cliffhanger ending is a plot device in fiction which features a main character in a precarious or difficult dilemma, or confronted with a shocking revelation at the end of an episode of serialized fiction...
and he thought it clearly conveyed that Gale had died.
"Box Cutter" featured the final regular appearances of recurring Breaking Bad characters David Costabile and Jeremiah Bitsui who, respectively, played Gale Boetticher and Victor. Stand-up comedian Lavell Crawford
Lavell Crawford
Lavell Crawford is an American stand-up comedian and actor from St. Louis, Missouri. His mother is Annita Crawford. His sisters are Elonda Goodwin and Erica Roach. His step-father is Dwight Davis....
also made his first of several guest appearances in "Box Cutter" as Huell, Saul's new bodyguard. Gilligan said he called the episode "Box Cutter" mainly because "it just sounded like a cool title", but also because he was concerned that the climax of the episode took so long to build to that, by calling it "Box Cutter", "Perhaps I was thinking on some level, 'We'd better let the audience know that there's something at the end of this.'" Although the Breaking Bad staff always intended for Gale to be killed, the audience reaction to "Full Measure" made Gilligan and the Breaking Bad writing staff reconsider whether their plans were the best ones. However, Gilligan said they instead decided to follow their original plan, saying "At the end of the day, the choice we made for how to press forward was the choice we felt was the most honest, and the one that would best continue the story."
Giancarlo Esposito said he when he first read the script for "Box Cutter", he was so shocked that he had to put it down and walk away from it. Esposito said he did not want to "take any of [the scene] home with me" and had "some deep concern about being able to do it and coming out of it unscathed, without really hurting my spirit and my soul". He worked through these concerns by justifying Gus' actions in that, by killing Victor, he was protecting everyone else who works for him. Nevertheless, he said it was "a difficult moment for me" to slit Victor's throat, and that during one take he tried to hush the character to make him die more calmly. That scene took two days to film, and Esposito remained silent and focused during filming, rarely speaking to the others on set. The boots he was originally given were too large and he was concerned that he would slip, which would be out of character for his character, who was completely calm and in control. A costume designer quickly drove to a fisherman's place and found the right-sized boots for him.
In writing the script, the Breaking Bad staff decided early on that Gus would not speak much during the scene because they felt it was more dramatic that way and more appropriate for his character. Esposito felt the scene was a pivotal moment not only for his character, but for Gus' relationship with Walter, and a warning that Walter should continue to operate Gus' way or risk death. Regarding his character's murder of Victor, Esposito said: "This had to be done. Someone did something, they got seen. ... It was about survival. This had to be done, but I could do it in a way that also sent a message to the people who weren't listening." Bryan Cranston said he was not expecting the episode to take the direction it did. He called the scene "painful, but beautifully crafted, and reasonably so", and commented on the contrast between Gus' calm demeanor and Walter's "tap-dancing to stay alive". Cranston said of Esposito's performance, "When he plays that bad character, his eyes go dead, and all it takes is to look into his eyes." Gilligan said although Gus' actions in the scene were scripted, "You'd be surprised how little I talked to Giancarlo about how he played that part ... This is a man with amazing instincts."
A major theme of "Box Cutter" involves Walter's gradual change from an unwitting participant in a drug-dealing enterprise into a man more comfortable with a life of crime who embraces his darker side and becomes more proactively violent and dangerous. This development began during the latter episodes of the third season and will continue to be a major theme throughout the fourth season. The episode also introduced the ongoing theme of Jesse's moral decline and self guilt over his killing of Gale. Aaron Paul said of this, "Jesse's much more raw this season. He's very distant, and he's turned to just utter chaos and destruction to keep his mind busy. When he's left alone in his own thoughts, that's when things can get kind of dangerous and scary for Jesse."
The scene when Walter pleads with Gus demonstrates the paternal sense of protectiveness Walter has developed for Jesse. During that scene, Walter told Gus, "You kill me, you have nothing. You kill Jesse, you don't have me." Jesse is visibly moved by the statement, which Aaron Paul described as "the first moment that Jesse realizes that Walt's loyalty is to Jesse." "Box Cutter" also illustrated Skyler's growing involvement in Walter's illegal activities through the subplot in which she lies to a locksmith to break into Walter's house, going so far as to use her baby as a prop in her facade. After Skyler breaks in to Walter's apartment, she finds the plastic eyeball of a teddy bear that has been part of the series since the second season
Breaking Bad (season 2)
The second season of the American television drama series Breaking Bad premiered on March 8, 2009 and concluded on May 31, 2009. It consisted of 13 episodes, each running approximately 47 minutes in length. AMC broadcast the second season on Sundays at 10:00 pm in the United States...
. The eye has long been used as a symbol to identify Walter's gradual descent into a life of crime, and Skyler's discovery of it symbolizes her own similar descent.
Jeremiah Bitsui sprained his ankle during filming of the scene when Walter and Jesse shoved his corpse into a barrel to dispose of it with hydrofluoric acid. During that scene, Mike questions whether the acid will effectively dispose of Victor's body, and Jesse replies, "Trust us." This is a reference to the first season
Breaking Bad (season 1)
The first season of the American television drama series Breaking Bad premiered on January 20, 2008 and concluded on March 9, 2008. It consisted of seven episodes, each running approximately 47 minutes in length, except the pilot episode which runs approximately 57 minutes. AMC broadcast the first...
episode "Cat's in the Bag...", when Jesse uses the acid in his bathtub to dispose of a body and causes the tub to completely crash through his bathroom floor. After Victor's body is disposed of in "Box Cutter", Jesse lifts the barrel with a forklift and it is lit in a way that the barrel can be seen through. This was accomplished by back-lighting the barrel and tying monofilament to the bottom of it, which staff members then moved and twisted outside of the view of the camera to create the lighting effect. "Box Cutter" also introduced a subplot involving Hank and Marie, in which the latter treats Marie poorly while coping with his injury. Gilligan said the writers decided on this storyline early on in planning the episode, and they believed it made the most sense for Hank psychologically in his situation.
"Box Cutter" was first publicly shown on June 28, 2011, at the Grauman's Chinese Theatre
Grauman's Chinese Theatre
Grauman's Chinese Theatre is a movie theater at 6925 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood. It is on the historic Hollywood Walk of Fame.The Chinese Theatre was commissioned following the success of the nearby Grauman's Egyptian Theatre which opened in 1922...
in Hollywood. During the scene when Gus killed Victor, Bryan Cranston's daughter Taylor fainted in her seat inside the theater at the sight of all the blood. This prompted theater officials to briefly interrupt the screening and ask for a doctor in the audience, causing a brief panic among the crowd. During the original television broadcast of "Box Cutter" on July 17, AMC aired a one-minute preview of the second season
The Walking Dead (season 2)
The second season of AMC's television series The Walking Dead premiered on October 16, 2011 on AMC and will feature 13 episodes. The series is based on the series of comic books of the same name by Robert Kirkman, Tony Moore and Charlie Adlard; it was developed for television by Frank Darabont, who...
of the zombie
Zombie
Zombie is a term used to denote an animated corpse brought back to life by mystical means such as witchcraft. The term is often figuratively applied to describe a hypnotized person bereft of consciousness and self-awareness, yet ambulant and able to respond to surrounding stimuli...
television series The Walking Dead
The Walking Dead (TV series)
The Walking Dead is an American post-apocalyptic horror television series developed for television by Frank Darabont and based on the ongoing comic book series, The Walking Dead, by Robert Kirkman, Tony Moore and Charlie Adlard...
, in which protagonist Rick Grimes
Rick Grimes
Rick Grimes is a fictional character in the ongoing black-and-white comic book series The Walking Dead and as well as its television series adaptation, The Walking Dead.-Comic book series:...
kills two zombies with a large rock. The violent scenes in "Box Cutter" proved so bloody that AMC included a disclaimer warning about the violence at the start of the episode and after the commercial break halfway through the episode. During one scene in "Box Cutter", the bedridden Hank tries to purchase minerals
Mineral
A mineral is a naturally occurring solid chemical substance formed through biogeochemical processes, having characteristic chemical composition, highly ordered atomic structure, and specific physical properties. By comparison, a rock is an aggregate of minerals and/or mineraloids and does not...
at the fictional website mineralemporium.com. In real life, that URL
Uniform Resource Locator
In computing, a uniform resource locator or universal resource locator is a specific character string that constitutes a reference to an Internet resource....
redirected to the official Breaking Bad website.
Cultural references
During a scene when Gale's neighbor calls police to report his murder, a clock in Gale's apartment reads 10:13. This is a deliberate reference to the number 1013, which frequently appeared in The X-FilesThe X-Files
The X-Files is an American science fiction television series and a part of The X-Files franchise, created by screenwriter Chris Carter. The program originally aired from to . The show was a hit for the Fox network, and its characters and slogans became popular culture touchstones in the 1990s...
, where Vince Gilligan worked as a writer and producer. It refers to the October 13 birthday of X-Files creator Chris Carter
Chris Carter (screenwriter)
Christopher Carl Carter is an American screenwriter, film director and producer. He is the creator of The X-Files and Millennium.- Ten Thirteen Productions :...
. A copy of Everything's Eventual
Everything's Eventual
"Everything's Eventual" is a novella by Stephen King. It was originally published in the October/November 1997 issue of The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction. In 2000, it was included in the game Stephen King's F13...
, a collection of short stories by Stephen King
Stephen King
Stephen Edwin King is an American author of contemporary horror, suspense, science fiction and fantasy fiction. His books have sold more than 350 million copies and have been adapted into a number of feature films, television movies and comic books...
, can be seen in Gale's apartment. After Walter and Jesse are released by Gus, they eat lunch at Denny's
Denny's
Denny's is a full-service coffee shop/family restaurant chain. It operates over 1,500 restaurants in the United States , Canada, Curaçao, Costa Rica, Honduras, Jamaica, Japan , Mexico, New Zealand, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates.Denny's is known for always being...
, a coffee shop and family restaurant chain. During this scene they are wearing matching T-shirts with country music singer Kenny Rogers
Kenny Rogers
Kenneth Donald "Kenny" Rogers is an American singer-songwriter, photographer, record producer, actor, and entrepreneur...
on them. The T-shirts are deliberately not explained in the episode, but Vince Gilligan said he believed Mike simply bought the first articles of clean clothing he could find for Walter and Jesse after their clothes were soaked with Victor's blood - Walter's still retains the price tag. During the final scene of "Box Cutter", when Walter walks back to his condominium, the Alex Ebert
Alex Ebert
Alex Ebert is an American singer-songwriter. He is best known for being the lead singer and songwriter for the American bands Ima Robot and Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros.-Early life:...
song "Truth" plays in the background.
Ratings
In its original American broadcast, "Box Cutter" was seen by an estimated 2.58 million household viewers, according to Nielsen Media ResearchNielsen Ratings
Nielsen ratings are the audience measurement systems developed by Nielsen Media Research, in an effort to determine the audience size and composition of television programming in the United States...
. It was the most watched Breaking Bad episode in series history and the second highest rated season premiere for any AMC show, falling behind only the series premiere
Days Gone Bye
"Days Gone Bye" is the first episode of the post-apocalyptic horror television series The Walking Dead. It originally aired on AMC in the United States on October 31, 2010. The episode was written and directed by Frank Darabont, the creator of the series...
of The Walking Dead, which drew 5.3 million household viewers. It was also a 32 percent increase in viewership compared to the third season premiere, "No Mas". "Box Cutter" performed especially strong with men between ages 18 and 34, among whom viewership was up 67 percent compared to the third season premiere. The episode was seen by 1.4 million household viewers in both the 18 to 49 and the 25 to 54 age groups, a 21 percent increase in the former group and a 26 percent increase in the latter.
Reviews
"Box Cutter" received positive reviews. Alan Sepinwall of HitFixHitFix
HitFix, or the HitFix.com is an entertainment news website that launched in December 2008 specializing in breaking entertainment news, insider information and providing reviews and critiques of film, music and television...
said the episode demonstrated how effective the creators of Breaking Bad are at manipulating the emotions of their viewers. Sepinwall described the story as "remarkably simple" but the execution as extremely effective, and he called the amount of screen time dedicated to Gus calmly changing his clothes before and after killing Victor "a move so ballsy and so brilliant I actually started giggling the second time they did it". Time
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
magazine writer James Poniewozik
James Poniewozik
James Poniewozik is an American journalist and television critic. He writes Times Tuned In column and has a blog with the same name.Originally from Monroe, MI, Poniewozik attended the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, graduating with a BA in English. He subsequently attended the graduate program...
said the episode demonstrated how effective Breaking Bad can be even with a minimal amount of dialogue, such as Gus' silence during his scene in the lab, and Jesse's wordlessness throughout the episode as he processed what he had done to Gale. He also praised the color scheme of the blood-red meth lab as an illustrator of Walter and Jesse's descent into hell. Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
writer Ken Tucker said of the episode, "Its eloquent silences, its breath-taking pictorial compositions ... these are pleasures that transcend 98% of television's usual attempts at dirty realism or fashionable pessimism". Kim Potts of TV Squad called Gus' killing of Victor "one of the more jarring scenes in Breaking Bad history". The Faster Times
The Faster Times
The Faster Times is an online newspaper launched by Sam Apple on July 9, 2009. Many print newspapers were going out of business and reporters were losing their jobs. The New York Times reported that in this climate, Apple was able to recruit professional writers guaranteeing them 75% of revenue...
writer Craig McQuinn called it "one of the most intense episodes I've ever seen", and said it solidified Gus' standing as "one of the greatest TV antagonists I've ever seen". Matt Zoller Seitz of Salon.com
Salon.com
Salon.com, part of Salon Media Group , often just called Salon, is an online liberal magazine, with content updated each weekday. Salon was founded by David Talbot and launched on November 20, 1995. It was the internet's first online-only commercial publication. The magazine focuses on U.S...
compared the filmmaking in "Box Cutter" to that of works by Alfred Hitchcock
Alfred Hitchcock
Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock, KBE was a British film director and producer. He pioneered many techniques in the suspense and psychological thriller genres. After a successful career in British cinema in both silent films and early talkies, Hitchcock moved to Hollywood...
and the Coen brothers
Coen Brothers
Joel David Coen and Ethan Jesse Coen known together professionally as the Coen brothers, are American filmmakers...
, and called the best example of television's ability to "take an elastic approach to narrative and let certain incidents or moments expand to fill up most or all of an episode" since "The Suitcase
The Suitcase
"The Suitcase" is the seventh episode of the fourth season of the American television drama series Mad Men, and the 46th overall episode of the series. It aired on the AMC channel in the United States on September 5, 2010. The episode is almost entirely centered around the characters of Don Draper ...
", an episode of the television series Mad Men
Mad Men
Mad Men is an American dramatic television series created and produced by Matthew Weiner. The series premiered on Sunday evenings on the American cable network AMC and are produced by Lionsgate Television. It premiered on July 19, 2007, and completed its fourth season on October 17, 2010. Each...
.
Seth Amitin of IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
called it a minimalist, deliberately-paced episode but said it was never boring due to the excellent acting, dialogue and suspense which illustrates "just how quickly this show lost its innocence". He also said the subplots involving Skyler, Hank and Marie kept the episode's pace well. Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
writer Todd VanDerWerff praised the performance of Aaron Paul despite his almost complete lack of dialogue throughout the episode, and felt the script raised interesting contrasts between Walt, who acts impulsively and rash while captured, and Gus, who seems calm and in control. However, he said it felt like Victor was killed rather than Walter or Jesse simply because the writers could not kill the two main protagonists. Michael Arbeiter of Hollywood.com called it a "great and intriguing way to start the season" and particularly praised Aaron Paul, who he said was "phenomenal" despite barely speaking any dialogue in the episode. However, he had "mixed feelings" about the Gus character's evolution from a behind-the-scenes criminal to a hands-on killer. Jessica Johnson of Time Out Chicago called it an "exquisite exercise in tension" that builds a "slow crescendo of what looks to be an impressively strong season". Andy Vineberg of the Bucks County Courier Times called it "a great start for a show that just keeps getting better". He praised the dark humor that kept the tension of the show balanced, and particularly complimented the pre-credits scene and the ramifications it had for the show and its characters. RedEye
RedEye
The RedEye is a daily publication put out by the Chicago Tribune geared toward 18 to 34-year-olds. RedEye was created due in part to the loss of readership among young people of the Chicago Tribune and other major newspapers...
writer Curt Wagner found that the cinematography, pacing and tension were so effective in "Box Cutter", that "I think I broke a sweat just watching". Paste
Paste (magazine)
Paste is a monthly music and entertainment digital magazine published in the United States by Wolfgang's Vault. Its tagline is "Signs of Life in Music, Film and Culture."-History:...
magazine writer Brent Koepp praised the transformation of Walter, and said few other shows would risk making their protagonist so unlikeable. Koepp called the climactic scene with Gus "brilliant" and complimented the script for taking its time in building the tension.
Matt Richenthal of TV Fanatic praised the episode for its effectiveness in scenes featuring little dialogue, particularly with Jesse and Gus, claiming, "No show does silence like Breaking Bad." He also complimented Cranston's desperate monologue while trying to convince Gus not to kill him, claiming it provided a deep insight into Walt's character and his inability to accept responsibility for his actions. Zap2it
Zap2it
Zap2it is an American website and affiliate network that provides news, photos and video, local TV listings and movie showtimes. The site is produced by Tribune Media Services , part of the publishing division of the Chicago-based Tribune Company...
writer Rick Porter called the scene with Gus killing Victor a "master class in building tension" due to the strong writing, direction and acting, particularly by Esposito. Scott Wampler of Collider.com called it "a fantastic, bloody, shocking season premiere, one of the best in the show's history". He particularly praised Esposito's performance and suggested it could make the actor worthy of contention for an Emmy Award
Emmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
. BlackBook magazine writer Chris Mohney strongly praised Esposito's performance, and described his silence and calm during the climactic scene as "one of the great recent moments of TV menace". June Thomas of Slate
Slate (magazine)
Slate is a US-based English language online current affairs and culture magazine created in 1996 by former New Republic editor Michael Kinsley, initially under the ownership of Microsoft as part of MSN. On 21 December 2004 it was purchased by the Washington Post Company...
magazine called it a "fine opening episode" that did not advance the plot significantly but "served as an artful reminder of where the characters stand psychologically". Thomas said she believed the episode demonstrated that Walter is in fact a weak man, comparing his useless pleas to Gus to his ineffective attempts to mislead Skyler about his drug-manufacturing activities in earlier seasons. Not all reviews were positive. Jessica Grose, also of Slate magazine, said while she prefers episodes that mixed its darker aspects with black humor, "Box Cutter" was "all claustrophobia and fear". The Philadelphia Inquirer
The Philadelphia Inquirer
The Philadelphia Inquirer is a morning daily newspaper that serves the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, metropolitan area of the United States. The newspaper was founded by John R. Walker and John Norvell in June 1829 as The Pennsylvania Inquirer and is the third-oldest surviving daily newspaper in the...
columnist David Hiltbrand condemned the violent scene with Victor's death, which he called "totally gratuitous ... serv[ing] no plot or character purpose".
Breaking Bad was so commonly discussed on the social-networking website Twitter
Twitter
Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
during and after the broadcast of "Box Cutter" that the show was among the site's trending topic
Trending topic
A trending topic is a word, phrase or topic that is posted multiple times on the social networking and microblogging service Twitter. Trending topics become popular either through a concerted effort by users or because of an event that prompts people to talk about one specific topic...
s, which are indicative of being the most popular topics being discussed on Twitter at a given moment. Several celebrities shared their thoughts on the episode through the site. Bill Lawrence
Bill Lawrence (producer)
William Van Duzer Lawrence IV is an American screenwriter, producer, and director best known as the creator of Scrubs and co-creator of Cougar Town. Lawrence is married to the actress Christa Miller whom he cast in both television series; they have three children together...
, co-creator of the television series Cougar Town
Cougar Town
Cougar Town is an American television sitcom that premiered on ABC on September 23, 2009. The series focuses on a recently divorced woman in her forties facing the often humorous challenges, pitfalls and rewards of life's next chapter, along with her son, ex-husband, and friends who together make...
, wrote, "Current talent jealousy, letter "B" only: Book of Mormon, Breaking Bad, Bridesmaids
Bridesmaids (2011 film)
Bridesmaids is a 2011 American romantic comedy film written by Kristen Wiig and Annie Mumolo, directed by Paul Feig and produced by Judd Apatow, Barry Mendel, and Clayton Townsend. The plot centers on Annie ....
, Bon Iver
Bon Iver
Bon Iver is a Grammy nominated folk band founded in 2007 by American indie folk singer-songwriter Justin Vernon. It includes Michael Noyce, Sean Carey, and Matthew McCaughan. Vernon released Bon Iver's debut album, For Emma, Forever Ago independently in July 2007. The majority of that album was...
." Damon Lindelof
Damon Lindelof
Damon Laurence Lindelof is an American television writer and executive, most recently noted as the co-creator and executive producer for the television series Lost. He has written for and produced Crossing Jordan, and wrote for Nash Bridges, Wasteland, and the MTV anthology series Undressed...
, executive producer of the television series Lost
Lost (TV series)
Lost is an American television series that originally aired on ABC from September 22, 2004 to May 23, 2010, consisting of six seasons. Lost is a drama series that follows the survivors of the crash of a commercial passenger jet flying between Sydney and Los Angeles, on a mysterious tropical island...
, wrote, "Every potential Supporting Actor Drama nominee for 2012 who watched BREAKING BAD tonight just quietly muttered, 'Shit.'" Film producer Scott Mosier
Scott Mosier
Scott A Mosier is an American-Canadian film producer, editor, podcaster and actor best known for his work with director Kevin Smith, with whom he co-hosts the weekly podcast, Smodcast.-Early life:...
wrote, "Breaking Bad - favorite show on the air. Great - great stuff." African American author Nelson George
Nelson George
Nelson George is an African American author, columnist, music and culture critic, journalist, and filmmaker. He has been nominated twice for the National Book Critics Circle Award....
wrote, "Giancarlo Esposito has role of his career in 'Breaking Bad.' Very controlled internal performance from actor who was once over the top. Nice." Kyle Killen, creator of the television series Lone Star, wrote, "Dear Breaking Bad, we give up - The Rest Of Television."
External links
- "Box Cutter" at the official Breaking Bad site