By Kait Thompson
Since over 10 million viewers tuned in for the series finale of the emmy-winning show in 2013, Breaking Bad has cemented itself as a show that helped usher in the “second Golden age of television.” I was too young when the show started in 2008 to watch it as it aired, and by the time the series ended when I was in high school, I was honestly tired of hearing everybody talk about it. It put me off the show for a few years.
Then Better Call Saul, a prequel series that would revolve around Bob Odenkirk’s Saul Goodman, was announced and my interest was finally piqued in the so-called Gilliverse. I was in the minority of Better Call Saul viewers who started watching the prequel before the original; I had no real idea who Saul Goodman was —- other than the memes that I had seen of the character’s ultra campy in-universe late night commercial — but as a lifelong comedy nerd, I was a fan of Odenkirk from his sketch show with David Cross, Mr. Show, and was interested by the idea of him in a dramatic role.
I made my way through the first few seasons, and then went back and caught up on what I had missed with Breaking Bad while I waited for new episodes. Watching the two shows in this way so close together, it only highlighted that while there are stylistic tones that connect Better Call Saul to its parent series, Saul has felt distinct and fresh from the beginning.
The series first introduces us to a younger Saul, six years before the events in season one of Breaking Bad — going by his real name, Jimmy McGill — who kicks and screams against the world and tries to eke out a living as a lawyer in the shadow of his older brother Chuck’s (Michael McKean) law firm, HHM. Jonathan Banks also returns as a younger version of stone-cold Breaking Bad fixer, Mike Ehrmantraut.
For the first time, we are also introduced to Kim Wexler, (Rhea Seehorn) another lawyer who acts as Jimmy’s foil and voice of reason. One of the first scenes we get between Kim and Jimmy takes place in the underground of HHM, and it is a shot that looks more like it belongs in a noir film. As they lean against the cement wall, sharing a cigarette in silence, their faces are partially obscured by shadow; an omen, as over the next five seasons, Jimmy slowly slides into his con-man ways, and we are given the sense that Kim is being dragged along into the shadows with him.
Also introduced is Nacho Varga, (Michael Mando) a cartel member with a conscience whose fate is intertwined with Jimmy’s during a confrontation out in the desert that screams classic Breaking Bad. Patrick Fabian, who plays Howard Hamlin, Chuck’s smarmy, french-collar-wearing, BMW-driving partner at HHM (and Jimmy’s sworn enemy, at times) manages to imbue a deeply sympathetic quality into a character that you wish you could hate; and of course, Giancarlo Esposito reprises his role as the iconic Gus Fring, rounding out an ensemble cast that blends the old with the new.
Where Better Call Saul truly shines, however, is in the writing. The plot lines weave in and out in a carefully controlled burn that forces you to empathize with and care about these characters as they slowly draw closer to what awaits them in Breaking Bad. When series co-creator Vince Gilligan pitched Breaking Bad, he famously described it as “turning Mr. Chips into Scarface.”
While Breaking Bad does this transformation well, there is something about the likeability of the characters in Better Call Saul that, in my opinion, makes the transformation of Jimmy McGill into Saul Goodman even more compelling than the Walter-to-Heisenberg arc. Better Call Saul has moments of bizarre, dark humor as Odenkirk infuses his natural penchant for physical comedy into scenes effortlessly, saving the show from ever erring into the pretentious. It’s impossible not to root for Jimmy, even as he’s tossing bowling balls at BMW’s or committing forgery on case files.
Better Call Saul both lives up to expectations as a prequel, and now also as a sequel that sticks the landing. The final season bookends the beloved “Gilliverse” with a finale that is gut wrenching and satisfying all at the same time — and really, what else could you ask for?
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