showdowns". He also said the script made good use of the supporting characters, and that the growing distance between Hank and Marie was particularly well handled. Matt Seitz of Salon.com compared "Thirty-Eight Snub" to excellent third season episodes that had "very few scenes and sequences but luxuriated in them, allowing the characters (and the viewer) time to experience the tiny eddies and currents of the moment". He also called an overhead shot of Walter standing outside Gus' house alone "one of the best shots in the show's history". Tim Surette of TV.com especially praised the scene with Walter approaching Gus' house, writing: "Breaking Bad has always been good at creating an air of tension, but now it seems as though the series has mastered it. He also said Paul's acting during Jesse's emotional breakdown "ripped my heart out and shredded it to pieces". The Hollywood Reporter writer Tim Goodman said the photography and direction during Jesse's party scenes were masterful: "Here we are four seasons into Breaking Bad and I shouldn't still be amazed at the innovated visuals or perfectly honed sense of sound. These are masters at work, people." Slate writers Jessica Grose and June Thomas both enjoyed the episode, although they found Walter's character increasingly difficult to sympathize with. Both praised the scene when Mike attacked Walter, while Grose especially enjoyed Aaron Paul's performance and Skyler's subplot. Matt Richenthal of TV Fanatic complimented the opening scene with the gun purchase, which he called "reminiscent of season one, when the show took the slow, fascinating steps that no other program would touch". He also complimented the episodes for taking the viewers "inside the minds" of Walter and Jesse. Craig McQuinn of The Faster Times enjoyed the slow pace of the episode and complimented the show's lack of predictability, claiming he had no idea how Walter's confrontation with Gus would end, "and that’s why I love this show". Michael Arbeiter of Hollywood.com compared the opening scene to the works of Quentin Tarantino, and called the bar Mike frequents "the most beautifully shot setting I've seen in TV lately". He also called the subplot between Marie and Hank a "surprisingly interesting story". Carl Williott of CNN complimented the shows' "clever pieces of misdirection" by having Walter purchase a gun but never getting to use it, and by showing Mike's conflicted emotions but having him side with Gus against Walter. However, Williott