Not sure how I managed it, but Better Call Saul ended its six-season run this past year, and I somehow went the entire length of the show without writing about it. Breaking Bad is quintessential peak television, and Better Call Saul is a strong example of a prequel/spinoff show that really works.
Jimmy McGill is hellbent on making it as a lawyer any way he can. After bootstrapping his way through law school, the former conman finds his old instincts coming in handy as he tries to keep his private practice afloat. He’s bursting with ingenuity of questionable ethics and has a strong chip on his shoulder due to old slights. Over the years, his practice—and his own identity—evolves, especially when his work brings him into contact with the Alberqueque meth cartels.
It's hard to sum up Better Call Saul, because it covers so much ground. We explore memories of Jimmy’s childhood and his present-day relationship with his agoraphobic brother, his longstanding resentment toward the firm where he used to work, his pavement-pounding work ethic and flexible attitude toward rules, and his evolution into Saul Goodman. We also meet other Breaking Bad characters in new contexts—most notably Mike and Gus, but numerous characters from the original show make appearances over the years—and slowly work our way up to the events of that show, even jumping beyond it for parts of the last season. Finally, we meet plenty of new characters who were never part of Breaking Bad, major characters in Jimmy’s life that we only see here. There’s his brother Chuck, his confidante and colleague Kim, and his former boss Howard, just to name a few. And on the meth side of the story, we get characters like Nacho Varga, a cartel enforcer who gets in deeper than he wants to, and a ruthless new Salamanca named Lalo.
As with Breaking Bad, the show is both a fascinating character study and a compelling drama with gripping action and intricate storytelling. It explores all kinds of complex themes with its many morally gray characters, and I consistently enjoy seeing how they come to the different choices they make. It teases what’s to come on the main show while also digging deeply into the past, serving as a companion for Breaking Bad but standing on the merits of its own story as well. Another knockout drama from Vince Gilligan (with co-creator Peter Gould)!
Bob Odenkirk is as fantastic as ever as Jimmy/Saul. He inhabits this character so well that’s you’re more than willing to believe that this is a younger version of the character we know, despite Odenkirk being older. The other returning actors, most prominently Giancarlo Esposito and Jonathan Banks, also step effortlessly into their old roles, and it’s exciting to see some of these characters explored in new ways. Rhea Seehorn is excellent as Kim, a dedicated lawyer who’s devoted to Jimmy but struggles not to be compromised herself. Other cast members include Michael McKean as Chuck, Patrick Fabian as Howard (I will always remember him as a guest star in the second episode of Pushing Daisies,) and Michael Mando (Sarah’s ex from Orphan Black) as Nacho.
Unfortunately, Better Call Saul continues Breaking Bad’s practice of casting multiple non-Latino actors to play Latino characters, which is frustrating. Also, I’m more attuned to the use of yellow filters as a visual shorthand now, and the show’s yellow filters for any scenes set in Mexico are pretty glaring.
Warnings
Violence, drinking/smoking/drug use, language, sexual content, strong thematic elements (including suicide,) and non-Latino actors playing Latino characters.
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