Breaking Bad will always be one of my favorite shows and it’s hard to believe it ended nine years ago. Show runner Vince Gilligan and colleagues created a universe populated with amazing characters in the New Mexico desert and the city of Albuquerque.
One character that always seemed shrill to me – a little out of place among the rest of the cast was Saul Goodman (Bob Odenkirk). He seemed cartoonish, while the rest of the characters were so real that you cannot even fathom that you were watching actors during those years.
Saul’s voice and clothes were too loud, his oily sleaze too over-the-top. I even hated the Saul show logo.
That’s why I never really cared to watch Better Call Saul
Well, I’m not shocked that I got something wrong, but I am totally blown away by the giant achievement that the spin-off turned out to be. My god, this show has kept me busy for the past week or so, during which I watched all six seasons. I loved it. Loved.
In some ways BCS might even be better than Breaking Bad – or at least just as good.
Why?
- Flexible Timeline: by making the Saul series both a prequel and a sequel to BB, the writers were able to give us rich backstories on several characters that we did like: namely Gus and Mike Ehrmantraut (the great Jonathan Banks), plus we got to see a human side of Saul – the show runners admit that he was written rather broadly for comic relief, but their instinct to go back to when Saul was known by his real name, Jimmy McGill was gold.
- Deep Bench of Supporting Characters: Yes, we see a few stunt appearances from the BB cast, but the new characters were fascinating and held their own. I would argue that without Michael McKean as Chuck McGill and Rhea Seehorn as Kim Wexler, we almost wouldn’t have a show – to say nothing of actors like Ed Begley Jr., Dennis Boutsikaris as Richard Schweikart, Patrick Fabian as Howard (probably the broadest among this cast), and Michael Mando as Nacho Vargas. They’re not just face flashes of character actors; they are fully fleshed out beings. And that’s just scratching the surface.
- Character Curveballs: In some ways, Saul is the most predictable of them all. He just can’t help repeating the same behavioral patterns – right to the bitter end. He, and we, something think he can change, and sometimes he seems to, but he’ll always be “Slippin’ Jimmy.” That is not the case with characters like Kim Wexler; she keeps things so close to the vest, but she also has done things we didn’t see coming on more than one occasion. Same goes for other characters- we think we can predict their rhythms, but don’t get complacent-they’ll surprise you.
You may have noticed that I have gone light on details. You can read all the synopses here, but not in this post. I wouldn’t dare spoil the many revelations and developments that the Saul guys jammed into 6 Seasons.
And finally, Bob Odenkirk. Word on the street was that the producers were not expecting him to reveal such fine acting chops when he was first hired for a 4 episode gig on Breaking Bad. But it turns out that the well-respected comedic actor/writer had some range and realistic offerings. He and the writers humanized an often impenetrable character to the greatest extent possible.
I shouldn’t have judged a book by its cover; it’s been a pleasure spending the last week inside the pages. I’m a little sad that it’s all over. I envy those who haven’t had the pleasure of being immersed in that little universe.
