The episode received mostly positive reviews . Robert Bianco of '' USA Today '' praised Bryan Cranston 's performance calling it " riveting and remarkable " . Jonathan Storm of '' Philadelphia Inquirer '' praised the show calling it " unpredictable and stimulating " . Barry Garron of '' The Hollywood Reporter '' called the show " suspensful and surprising " . Donna Bowman of '' The A.V. Club '' wrote a positive review , citing Cranston 's " mesmerizing " , " nihilistic " and " hulking yet impotent " performance and Gilligan 's " keenly observed screenplay . " Bryan Cranston won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series for this episode at the 60th Primetime Emmy Awards . Vince Gilligan was nominated for Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series and won the Writers Guild of America Award for Television : Episodic Drama . Lynne Willingham won Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing for a Drama Series and John Toll was nominated for Outstanding Cinematography for a One Hour Series
60th Primetime Emmy Awards
60th Primetime Emmy Awards
Pilot (Breaking Bad)