After months of buildup, Better Call Saul premieres this Sunday on AMC, with the second-half of the pilot airing on Monday. You probably have questions. We have some answers.
Well…is it good?
Yes, very much so. I watched the first two episodes, which air Sunday and Monday night, and at no point did they drag. It helps that so much about Saul as a character has already been established, so creators Peter Gould and Vince Gilligan (who co-wrote and directed the pilot) don’t have to spend precious minutes building Saul‘s universe from scratch. But it’s not a Breaking Bad clone, either. It’s a different sun-stained Albuquerque we’re exploring, one filled with lowlifes who can’t even think grand enough to envision selling drugs. Also, because the series central question isn’t as fraught with tension — Breaking Bad‘s “how did Mr. Chips become Scarface?” becomes Better Call Saul‘s “how did Jimmy McGill become Saul Goodman?” — the tone is a little looser, a little more willing to fill the silence with dark comedy.
Who are the characters?
There’s Saul, of course, except he’s not Saul. He’s public defender Jimmy McGill, with an office in the backroom of an Asian nail salon. Just how pitiful is his existence? His car exhales more black fumes than Jesse Pinkman inhaled meth. His brother is Chuck McGill (Michael McKean), who left a prestigious law firm after suffering some sort of mental breakdown. His character is the one minor scuff on another otherwise pristine premiere, but McKean gives a convincing performance. A few other scumbags, lawyers, and ticket-takers float around, including the returning Mike Ehrmantraut (Jonathan Banks, who’s given little to do other than scowl, which he’s great at!) and schemer Nacho Varga (Vic the Dick from Orphan Black), as well as one Breaking Bad alum whose cameo I won’t spoil, but Saul and Chuck are the two main characters so far.
When does it take place?
Both before and after Breaking Bad. Let’s just say Cinnabon’s probably going to trend on Twitter on Sunday evening, and it ain’t because they finally opened an all-you-can-eat buffet.
Is it funny? Dramatic? Sad? SEXY?
Yes? OK, maybe not sexy (although Bob Odenkirk does walk around without pants for a scene), but definitely the other three. The first thing my wife said to me after watching the premiere was, “I feel bad for Saul.” It’s to Odenkirk’s credit that he can make someone who aligns himself with a pair of skateboarding “biznatches,” all for an easy payout, so sympathetic. It’s a nuanced performance that requires humor, sadness, desperation, and confidence, sometimes all four in the same monologue. He’s not amoral yet. Just a desperate shyster who says things like, “I’m a lawyer, not a criminal.” Better Call Saul is a little like FX’s Fargo, and not only because both star Odenkirk: even the darkest scenes are damn funny (there’s a courtroom video tape that comes to mind) and a threat of gruesome violence lingers over the entire series.
Can you watch it if you’ve never seen Breaking Bad?
I mean, you CAN. But you should probably watch Breaking Bad first, though Saul works as its own entity, too. Even if all you know about Jimmy/Saul is that he’s “played by the guy from Let’s Go to Prison” (says no one), these episodes do a bang-up job of showing us what kind of person he is within minutes. Even without context, the opening scene is heartbreaking.
Should it be compared to Breaking Bad?
It’s hard not to, for obvious reasons, but resist the temptation. Remember, it took a bit for Breaking Bad to become BREAKING BAD. The Better Call Saul premiere is more assured, but it’s telling a different story. Walter White was a genius; Jimmy McGill is only pretending to know it all. Besides, again, it works very well by itself. This isn’t a Friends-to-Joey situation here.
So, in conclusion, what you’re saying is: Better Call Saul better than Joey?
Yes, Better Call Saul is better than Joey.
