Here at GodHatesGeeks, we’re looking at Better Call Saul, AMC’s new Breaking Bad spin-off series. We’ve got two of our fellow brethren (“El Sacerdote” J.L Caraballo and “Divine” Derek Vigeant) going head to head to discuss the series premiere, and it looks like they’ve got a lot to talk about!
Is Better Call Saul worth subjecting to your eyeballs? How does it stack up to Breaking Bad?
Jose: This week, Derek and I will be looking at Better Call Saul, the spin-off to Breaking Bad featuring everyone’s favorite shady lawyer, Saul Goodman (Bob Odenkirk).
Derek: The first episode was a little slow, but I understood (!!) because it had to deal with PES (Pilot Episode Syndrome). Having to set up the series required a whole bunch of story– but that’s mainly done when they get to the second one. Enter the craziness of producer Vince Gilligan’s world!
J: The black-and-white, mostly-silent opening to the show felt very much in line with Breaking Bad, in terms of pacing and thematic resonance, and it was interesting to see what had become of Saul since he took his trip up north once everything went pear-shaped with Walt. It also nicely sets up that the show is a prequel, while still hinting that maybe we’ll be seeing the current goings-on with Saul down the line. As for Vince Gilligan’s craziness: YES. He really knows how to throw the audience for a loop and subvert our expectations.
D: Obviously people are going to make comparisons every step of the way to Breaking Bad but with this episode that is a good thing because we’re reminded of all the fun of that show.
J: “Fun” being a key word here. Better Call Saul is much lighter than Breaking Bad (which, admittedly, was pretty light in the first season before getting much, much heavier). But, even the open credits suggested a much lighter tone than anything we may have expected in the beginning.
D: The bulk storyline of this episode plays out with all the tension and intensity that we’re used to from Gilligan’s writing. He has such a way of playing out scenes at just the right pace that they’re slowly unraveling but not at the cost of losing the viewers’ attention.
J: It’s clear to see the myriad threads of conflict that will be building from Saul’s first case (a horrifying B&E involving three teens and a deceased body in a morgue that was so blackly funny I was cracking up, while my girlfriend was shocked…but in a good way). From his relationship to his eccentric brother, Charles (AKA Chuck), to his desperate attempts to legitimize himself (the man starts off operating out of a boiler room in a nail salon), to being hoodwinked by teenagers, to ultimately taking the first steps to being a Criminal Lawyer (“You know, times like this, we don’t need a criminal lawyer, we need a criminal lawyer”). There is great pacing, and while the scenes with Saul’s brother Chuck (a very adept Michael McKean) bordered on being quirky, it never crossed that line, and each conflict seemed to grow organically from the characters’ decisions.
D: Bob Odenkirk is in ridiculous fine form. He has such a comfortable familiarity with his character that he’s only taking it to new levels. Because during Breaking Bad we rarely ever got to see him actually be a trial lawyer it is so much joy to see him do his “lawyer speak” and his “wheeling and dealing.” We get to see some of the instances on how this character cut his craft and was able to refine his skills to become the man that was able to keep Walter White from ever getting caught by the authorities.
J: The “wheeling and dealing” scenes are the most dynamic and active, shot, staged, and composed with a great urgency and energy. It’s clear that Saul…much like the mother show’s Walt…is eager to stake his claim and be recognized for something, anything. And being a class-A bastard is natural to him. The deliberate pacing of the first half of the premiere is countered with a breakneck energetic pacing of the second half, shows that this is where the character is in his element. Gilligan and Peter Gould are great at showing charismatic, likable characters who are just great at being scumbags. It’s a bit of sleazy fun, but the scenes with Saul’s brother also show a vulnerability that sell the fact that, yes, Saul is a bastard, but he’s still human and he’s still got some good in him.
D: At the same time — because this is a prequel — it is before he has taken on the name of Saul Goodman and started his own practice.
J: Yes. Again, he’s operating out of a nail salon boiler room, driving a crappy triple-tone Element, and being a public defender to the most hopeless, depressing clients possible for chump change. But it’s clear that he’ll change his name (not just because his lawyer brother, Charles McGill, is part of a law firm that doesn’t want another McGill practising law in town, but also so that he seems more “legitimate”) at some point soon. The journey there is fascinating, and it’s fun seeing all the pieces being put into place for it to occur.
D: So we’re at a point in his life when he was broke, desperate, and just trying to hang on for that big client that will carry him to the promised land. Since we have so much love for the character we’re very invested in supporting his struggle. We can see how he’s in such a shit of a state in his life. How he’s so miserable and you just wanna go in there, sit next to him and tell him to hang in there because it’s going to get better. Jimmy McGill is a decent guy, at this point. He still has a heart and morals before he becomes the lying and manipulative lawyer Saul Goodman. I think this show will not go to the dramatic extremes as Breaking Bad but with the world of lawyers there is an abundance of potential for chaos and comedy to walk hand in hand every week.
J: I love the composition and the color scheme; it’s all very cinematic. The framing, the pacing, everything. And the conclusion of the premiere episode, with Tuco (Raymond Cruz) showing up…it was a very fun way to tie the show to Breaking Bad, and instantly notches up the drama and stakes. It’s also nice to see the talent behind the camera has remained (Peter Gould, Vince Gilligan, and the excellent director, Michelle MacClaren), and the whip-snap delivery of Odenkirk is a pleasure (especially his talking down of a death sentence to have been administered by Tuco…very tense, very, very impressive). All in all, I’m looking forward to following this series through to wherever it winds up going.
Derek: 4.25 (out of 5) Matchbooks.
Jose: 5 Cinnabons.