Breaking Bad: Seven Thirty-Seven Review

Season 2 Episode 1: Seven Thirty-Seven
Episode Directed by Bryan Cranston
Written by J Roberts

March 5, 2009 - Breaking Bad debuted its second season with episode, Seven Thirty-Seven in its previous time slot of 10PM. Breaking Bad is dramatic crime series with comedic undertones about a high school chemistry teacher, Walter H. White (Bryan Cranston ) becoming a drug dealer after he is diagnosed with lung cancer.

Season one ended with Walter successfully establishing himself as the most prominent methamphetamine or crystal meth cook in his area with the help of his partner and former delinquent student, Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul). Walter propositioned the alliance when his brother-in-law, Hank (Dean Norris), a DEA officer had arrested Jesse’s partner in a drug raid.

Seven Thirty-Seven starts off by replaying the final moments of a drug deal between local drug lord, Tuco (Raymond Cruz) and Walter. In the midst of the drug buy one of Tuco’s underlings yells, “remember who you are working for”. The moment is slightly perplexing as no one responds to him, until Tuco screams and beats him for making a statement that seemed to imply he was inferior to Walter.

The underling is eventually beaten to death and Walt is unable to revive him with CPR. Walter and Jesse are allowed to leave but feel a rush of panic because they have just formed an ongoing deal with a murderous drug dealer. The rest of the episode depicts a freighted Walter and Jesse trying to figure a way out of their situation, but Tuco ultimately captures them.

At first it is rather perplexing that the writers would take the series in this direction; the junkyard scene in season one’s finale was rather comedic and had a different ambiance than season two’s junk yard scene. One came to the conclusion that Tuco would never kill Walter because he can produce an extremely rare and pure strain of crystal meth that all his customers wanted. The underling’s death was viewed more like a symbol of Tuco’s rash personality rather than an actual plot development. In addition one would think that a drug lord of Tuco’s status would casually kill underlings to exert control and authority.

However, if one evaluated the series in its entirety, the creative direction is rather predictable. Breaking Bad is first and foremost a drama series with comic relief. The writers would not have been able to continue the series with Walter continuously working with Tuco, making thousands of dollars. The show’s current direction ensures a more compelling show; Walter needing to escape Tuco while keeping his family safe and not alerting his brother-in-law who works in the DEA. Afterwards he would then start the process of finding a drug distributor again so the move was smart.

In addition Breaking Bad airs on AMC, a network not as prominent as NBC or FOX so it is safe to assume that Breaking Bad’s budget is much smaller than other television shows in similar genres and timeslots, forcing them to develop episodes that are only compelling or they will lose viewers.