a reference to the third season episode "Caballo sin Nombre", when Walter flung a pizza of the same type onto the roof of his house after an argument with Skyler. Reception Ratings In its original American broadcast, "Thirty-Eight Snub" was seen by an estimated 1.97 million household viewers, according to Nielsen Media Research, making it the second most-watched episode of Breaking Bad in series history. Nevertheless, it marked a significant drop in viewership compared to the previous week's episode, fourth season premiere "Box Cutter", which was seen by a series-high of 2.58 million household viewers. "Thirty-Eight Snub" received a 0.9 rating among viewers between ages 18 and 49, means 0.9 percent of viewers in that age bracket watched the episode. Reviews "Thirty-Eight Snub" received very positive reviews. Entertainment Weekly writer Melissa Maerz compared the direction in "Thirty-Eight Snub" to the film-making of Sergio Leone, particularly in its "extreme close-ups", "tense silences" and the "saloon fight" between Walter and Mike. Time magazine writer James Poniewozik said the filming techniques used in Jesse's party – "which starts off like a rap video then turns into some kind of distorted, jumpy tweak-vision" – effectively conveyed Jesse's frame of mind. He also liked the way the script conveyed Marie's "increasing isolation" in dealing with Hank. Alan Sepinwall of HitFix called the episode a "terrific, unsettling hour" and particularly complimented director Michelle MacLaren and cinematographer Michael Slovis, especially for shooting Jesse's party scenes "in a way that let you experience the chaos just as Jesse was trying to". Sepinwall strongly praised Aaron Paul, who he said "keeps finding new layers of Jesse, and new talents to show them with". New York magazine writer Logan Hill praised the film noir elements in the episode's photography, and said the opening scene, with Walter staring into the mirror asking, "So, how's it look?", refers to the season's ongoing theme of internal self-reflection and surveillance. Los Angeles Times writer Emily VanDerWerff said while the episode didn't advance the plot very far, it included a great deal of internal development among the characters, which she called "an interesting new dynamic for the show to explore". She also called Jesse's emotional breakdown at the end "easily the most chilling thing so far this season". Paste magazine writer Brent Koepp called it "another incredible episode" and said the impending conflict between Walter and Gus "has the makings of one of television's finest