cook. Production The episode was written by Vince Gilligan, and directed by Adam Bernstein; it aired on AMC in the United States and Canada on January 27, 2008. Title meaning The episode title is a part of a line from the 1957 film Sweet Smell of Success, in which a character reports that he resolved an issue: J.J. Hunsecker: That means you've got a plan. Can you deliver?Sidney Falco: Tonight, before you go to bed. The cat's in the bag and the bag's in the river. Critical reception The episode received critical acclaim. Seth Amitin of IGN gave the episode a rating of 9.6 out of 10, commenting: "It's strange, but there's a great chemistry between these three characters, like they're puzzle pieces and their jagged edges aren't even close to matching, but they fit somehow." Donna Bowman of The A.V. Club gave the episode an "A−", saying: "At the end of the powerhouse premiere last week, I thought: Well, it's all downhill from here... I found it hard to imagine that such an episode could maintain the premiere's edge-of-psychosis tone." In 2019, The Ringer ranked "Cat's in the Bag..." 31st out of all 62 Breaking Bad episodes. Vulture.com ranked it 33rd overall. See also References External links "Cat's in the Bag..." at the official Breaking Bad site 2008 American television episodes Breaking Bad (season 1) episodes Television episodes written by Vince Gilligan