Walt decided that manufacturing crystal meth was the best way to raise money for his family in the event that he dies from his bout with terminal cancer. But his integration into drug manufacturing had a little more meaning than that for him; Walt has always been a talented chemist and this was a way, albeit a bad choice, of him getting back into it. As he got more into it, he became more comfortable in himself, feeling more alive, more confident; it was in the way he talked, his gait, how upright he stood (the brilliant acting by Bryan Cranston earned him best actor accolades from both the Emmys and IGN's Best Of Awards, which is at least on par with the Emmys).
After a very memorable opening scene (something I wish I could talk about, but am not allowed to by the spoiler guidelines), "Seven Thirty-Seven" opens right where we last left off, when Tuco beat his own man. It was such a jarring scene, not for the beating, but for Pinkman and Walt's reaction, and, despite the mutilated corpse falling from the ceiling and Walt murdering two guys in seven episodes, it was the most memorable from season 1 because there wasn't a resolution. Walt and Pinkman didn't even say anything to each other at the end, they both just watched Tuco's car drive off into the distance. For almost nine months, I've been wondering where they go from here. How do Pinkman and Walt react to this?
"Seven Thirty-Seven" jumps us right back into the frying pan and shows us the fire. Not only is the opening just as memorable and question-raising as the ending of last season (I wish I could talk about this so much), but it deals immediately with the emotional reaction both Walt and Pinkman have to seeing their new psychotic boss pummel his own man to death. What does this mean to them? What happens if they say a mildly perceived slight? Has he already decided to kill them?
Skyler is back (obviously) and immediately makes an impact. The loving, yet stern matriarch is more loving and stern than ever, but she has made it clear in previous episodes that she isn't someone he can turn to in these times, unless Walt breaks that wall down. Skyler has handled every situation that's been thrown at her. She's pregnant, her husband has terminal cancer, her water heater is leaking rust and her family is falling apart, yet she's still centered enough to tell Walt what he can and cannot do to her.
Hank is back as well, this time dealing with his own stuff: surveillance footage of a break-in and a murder gone awry while dealing with a wife who has her own problems. He gets a little lost in all of that and finds that Walt is a good person to talk to -- I hope they become friends.
Breaking Bad has been spinning these characters and stories like plates, and so far none of them have wobbled. The Season 2 opener not only reintroduces all of them, but refreshes them. The DEA agent brother-in-law, the distance between Skyler and Walt, the falling apart of the family nucleus, Tuco, Skyler's shoplifting sister, Pinkman's paranoia and drug use, and all the while keeping up the gravitas with that dark humor. Although "Seven Thirty-Seven" does a lot more setting up than knocking down, season two is going to be killer.
Breaking Bad's return is long overdue, but for those who have been patient, you will be rewarded.