– because it makes the first four seasons even better in hindsight.
Season 3 is where the tension became unbearable. With the introduction of the silent, deadly Salamanca Cousins and the completion of the "Superlab," the scale of Walt's operation reached professional heights.
The debut season is excellent, but it ranks last simply because it is the shortest and the show was still finding its footing. Impacted by the 2007-2008 writers' strike, Season 1 consists of only seven episodes.